Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

Today’s debut-ess has a wonderful book that is both adorable and educational – what an accomplishment!

Before I introduce you, though, we have giveaway news!

First, a giveaway winner to announce from last week. Lizzie Brooks kindly offered winner’s choice of a signed copy of her book, IMPERFECTLY PERFECT POSEY (US addresses only, please), OR a PB critique (non-rhyming, under 650 words)!

And the winner is. . .

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(who I believe is Dina Hardt?)

Congratulations, probably Dina! Please email me at your earliest convenience so I can get your prize to you!

Second, we have not one but two new giveaways! This week’s debutess is offering one lucky person a copy of her book, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, a signed, personalized sticker to put in the book and a bookmark. She is offering another lucky person a rhyming picture book manuscripts critique! All you need to do to put yourself in the running to be one of the randomly selected winners is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday July 6th at 3 PM Eastern!

Now, are you ready to meet today’s debut-ess? Allow me to introduce you all to today’s debut-ess, Deborah Holt Williams, and her delightful book, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS!

Title: Nighty Night, Dinos
Author: Deborah Holt Williams
Illustrator: Anna Doherty
Publishing House: Familius
Date of Publication: June 16, 2026, Fiction
ISBN: 979-8893960501
Age range: preschool

SUSANNA: Welcome, Deborah! Thank you so much for coming to chat with us today! We are so looking forward to hearing all about our journey to publication and learning what we can from your experience! Where did the idea for this book come from?

DEBORAH: The idea for this book came from a bedtime story contest I entered. It didn’t win, but I liked it and rewrote it as a board book. I’m a big believer in contests and writing challenges, like the ones Susanna offers!

SUSANNA: That’s so nice, Deborah! I am also a big believer in the benefits of contests. They can be so helpful! How long did it take you to write this book?

DEBORAH: The basic poem came in a couple evenings, then it was a few more days to add stanzas to turn it into a board book.

SUSANNA: Were there any mentor texts that helped you zero in on the direction you wanted to take your book?

DEBORAH: As a child I read A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson over and over, and I credit his poems with my “ear” for rhythm and rhyme.

SUSANNA: I used to read those poems, too! My favorite was “The Swing” 😊 When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

DEBORAH: I always have my computer “read” my work using the Read Aloud feature in Word, and when the meter sounds perfect and the rhyme works, I know it’s ready to submit.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

DEBORAH: I submitted the board book manuscript to Familius Publishing in 2021, and heard back from the head of the company, Christopher Robbins, the very next day! He really liked it, but the company had several dinosaur books in the pipeline already, so he didn’t take it on at that point but we kept in touch.

Then one day in 2023, out of the blue, Christopher wrote and asked if I would add four more stanzas so they could turn it into a 32-page picture book! I couldn’t say yes fast enough! I sent the new stanzas within a few days, then waited to hear.

SUSANNA: How amazing! How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign?

DEBORAH: One month later I was in the hospital after a heart procedure, couldn’t sleep, turned on my laptop and there was the contract! Woohoo!

I signed and returned the contract the next day. Then I celebrated by making enormous bubbles! I like to make them for library events and special occasions.

I call that a DINO-sized bubble! 😊

SUSANNA: That is a seriously impressive bubble! Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

DEBORAH: To tell you the truth, I didn’t examine the contract very thoroughly, although I know writers should. At my age, they could have paid me in dog treats and I still would have signed! I was so excited to finally have my dream of a published book coming true. There is no advance but they send a royalty check once a month, 5% for the first 10,000 copies sold, 7.5% on the next 20,000 copies sold, and then 10% on any copies sold thereafter.

SUSANNA: Can you tell us a little about the editorial process?

DEBORAH: There were no changes to the manuscript, other than adding the extra stanzas.

SUSANNA: What was your experience of the illustration process like?

DEBORAH: I saw the illustrations at a preliminary stage and I asked for a few more ferns and fewer bats, and the artist (Anna Doherty) took care of it. (There were quite a few bats so I had to research whether bats existed in the dinosaur days, and they did.) When the editor told me the illustrator planned to put clouds on the endpapers, I asked if the clouds could be shaped like chubby dinos, and that’s how Anna drew them! I happened to be in Greece for a wedding when Familius sent the completed artwork, and I was thrilled with it! I love the little touches Anna added, like a hot water bottle, a teddy bear, bunny slippers, etc.

text copyright Deborah Holt Williams 2026, illustration copyright Anna Doherty 2026, Familius Publishing

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

DEBORAH: The Familius team sent me the reviews as they came out, first from the School Library Journal and then from Kirkus, both very positive!

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

DEBORAH: I first submitted in 2021 and the book came out in 2026, so it took five years.

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

DEBORAH: The publisher connected with an Instagram influencer, submitted the story for reviews and created some game cards for me to use in my presentations based on the illustrations. Familius has a very active presence on social media and they attend the Bologna and London book fairs, so I know my  book will get great exposure.

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

DEBORAH: I created bookmarks, stickers, a banner, business cards, and posts for Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and Threads. I was tickled to learn that this year’s national Summer Reading Program theme is dinosaurs so I made flyers and sent them to all our local libraries, book stores and also to some dinosaur museums in our area with gift shops. That has led to several story time bookings ahead this summer, where I’ll proudly wear the dinosaur dress and dino crocs I ordered online!

SUSANNA: Wow! You were committed! How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

DEBORAH: I started writing stories as soon as I learned how to write, in first grade. I wrote for the local town paper in high school and received a journalism degree in college and wrote for a small-town newspaper. But it wasn’t until the last of my five children was in school that I joined SCBWI in 1998 and started submitting stories to publishers. A year later I saw in the Children’s Book Insider newsletter that two teachers had started a publishing company called Seedlings and they were looking for early readers. I sent in Awful Waffles, a story I made up for my son, and they bought it and then they soon bought 4 more! Then they sold the company to Continental Press, which has never responded to my submissions since then. But my little books are still in their catalog, still helping kids learn to read for more than 25 years. About 10 years later I sold a poem to Highlights, which led to several more and to pieces for Jack and Jill, Appleseeds and other magazines for kids. I love Highlights and have been to 5 workshops at their barn in Pennsylvania. Then, another ten years of unsuccessful submissions, and two close calls, and two agents who dropped me amicably, and then—Nighty Night, Dinos!

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

DEBORAH: My advice to writers is KEEP GOING! Follow blogs and enter contests like Susanna’s, join a writers’ group, become active in your regional SCBWI, take classes, and keep going no matter how many rejections you may accumulate. At a Highlights workshop, author Eileen Spinelli gave us each a little rubber ball to remind us to bounce back from rejection! (I like to throw mine against the wall with a few well-chosen words, but then it’s back to writing and subbing!)

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

DEBORAH: My youngest grandson turns 4 this summer, just the right age for a dinosaur book, and I can’t wait to give it to him on his birthday and read it with him. It’s been 28 years since I started subbing on the road to publication, but I know that moment will make it all worthwhile!

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to share your publication journey with us today Deborah, so that we have the opportunity to learn from your knowledge and experience. So helpful! Best of luck with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Deborah, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond! And remember, your comment on today’s post puts you in the running to be one of the two randomly selected winners of Deborah’s generous giveaways of a copy of her book, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, a signed, personalized sticker to put in the book and a bookmark to one winner, and a rhyming picture book manuscript critique to another winner if you comment by Monday July 6th at 3 PM Eastern!

Author Deborah Holt Williams

website: www.deborahholtwilliams.com
Instagram: @debwriter
Bluesky: @debwriter
Face Book: Deborah Holt Williams
Publisher: www.Familius.com

You may purchase Deborah’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!