Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

You’ve probably noticed we’re a on a Tuesday Debut spree!

We had 2 last week, and we have one today, and we have another coming on Friday!

And so many generous giveaways! All these debut authors are SO NICE!

First, we have TWO giveaway winners to announce from last week! The lovely Deborah Holt Williams offered a copy of her book, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, along with a signed, personalized sticker to put in the book and a bookmark. She offered another lucky person a rhyming picture book manuscripts critique!

And the winner of NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, along with a signed, personalized sticker to put in the book and a bookmark is. . .

Jan Milusich!!!

The winner of a rhyming picture book manuscripts critique is. . .

Mindy Baker!!!

Congratulations, Jan and Mindy! Please email me at your earliest convenience so you can collect your prize!

AND we have a new giveaway for this week! Today’s debut-ess, Jessica Milo, is offering one lucky winner a picture book manuscript critique (800 words or less)! All you need to do to put yourself in the running to be the randomly selected winner is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday July 13th at 3 PM Eastern!

And now, I am so delighted to introduce you to today’s debut-ess, Jessica Milo, who has written a book that speaks to my heart – MY PONY WONDER!

Title: MY PONY WONDER
Author: Jessica Milo
Illustrator: Ramona Kaulitzki
Publishing House: Random House Studio
Date of Publication: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 979-8217031375
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of your book: 4-8

MY PONY WONDER follows a young girl and her pony on a joyful trail ride adventure through the woods, exploring themes of friendship, trust, and the wonders of nature.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Jessica! We are thrilled to have you here with us today and can’t wait to hear all about MY PONY WONDER! Where did the idea for this book come from?

JESSICA: Originally, I set out to write the story of my big sister getting her first horse for her 11^th birthday. But the draft wasn’t coming together on the page the way I wanted it to. After taking time away from it, I thought about my fond memories of horse-riding with my sister throughout our childhood. I looked at photos of us with horses, and I started to think more broadly and “zoomed out”—maybe this story should be about a young girl and her horse going on a trail ride. What also helped me find this idea was reading TOGETHER WE RIDE by Valerie Bolling and Kaylani Juanita. I loved how that book and thought—what if this book was about riding a horse, not a bike? I also loved that it was in sparse rhyme, and I wanted to try that. So, I started drafting this new story of a girl and her horse on a trail ride through the woods. I wrote it in sparse rhyme, a bouncy rhythm to emulate the sound of clip-clopping horse hooves. It all came together quickly and smoothly, which doesn’t happen often for me!

I recommend writers try broadening and zooming out from their story idea if they feel stuck writing about a specific experience or memory that isn’t coming across on the page as they had hoped. That really helped me! Also, reading mentor texts and possible comp titles (comparison titles) was extremely helpful in giving me the story structure and format for this picture book idea.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

JESSICA: It didn’t take long to get a first draft down that I was happy with! I think I got the initial idea in summer 2022 while trying to write the story of my sister getting her first horse, which didn’t work, so I scrapped it. Then I came up with my new idea: the girl and horse going on a trail ride, and I wrote the first draft for the trail ride story on October 27, 2022. Definitely give yourself time to brainstorm about your story idea and its possibilities. It can take days, weeks, months, or years until you find the best one that you feel compelled to write!

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

JESSICA: I did six revisions between October 27, 2022, and March 2024. I would revise it, send it to my critique partners/groups, then revise again with their feedback, and so on. I did the first 3 revisions in winter 2022, and the next 2 in the first half of 2023. Then I left it alone and didn’t touch it until March 2024. I was probably working on and focused on other stories at that time.

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

JESSICA: My last revision was on March 28, 2024, and I felt like it was polished and ready for submission. My agent and I felt it flowed; the rhyme was well done, the rhythm was bouncy and tight, and the story was there throughout, with an arc, and the characters were developed. We felt it was time to submit it widely to editors.

Gus – Jessica’s writing buddy 😊

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

JESSICA: My agent submitted this story in early April 2024 to I think 12 or 14 editors. I signed with my agent in December 2022, and this story was part of the package of picture book manuscripts I sent her when she asked for more work. We subbed a different rhyming story first in early 2023, which didn’t go anywhere. So in early 2024, we pivoted to my horse book as my next picture book to go out on wide sub. And we got an offer!

SUSANNA: How long after you found out about your book going to acquisitions (if you did) or after you submitted were you told it was a “yes”?

JESSICA: We subbed MY PONY WONDER widely on April 11, 2024. On June 11, 2024, my editor emailed us saying she wanted to do this book with us! On June 14, we got an official offer letter.

SUSANNA:. When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊) and how did you celebrate (if you care to share 😊)

JESSICA: Yes, the email! On June 11, 2024, 2 months to the day after my agent widely subbed my story, we got an email from my editor saying she wants to acquire our book! It was the best, most incredible feeling. Especially since it sold so quickly and in its first round of sub. However, between those 2 months, before we heard from my now-editor, we had another interested editor who gave us an R&R. We did the R&R revision, sent it back to the interested editor, and shared the updated version with my now-editor. The goal of the R&R was to show more of the horse and girl’s bond/friendship and to add more emotionality to the story. Both editors loved this new version, and we got an offer from my now-editor and accepted it (and later found out the R&R editor was still working on an offer for us).

You might be wondering, “Jessica, you keep saying you wrote this story about a girl and a horse, but your book is called MY PONY WONDER! That’s because, after my editor acquired the book, she suggested we change the horse to a pony—more fitting for a little 6-year-old girl. I agreed and loved the idea of a pony! How cute! That sparked a new/revised line in the story “my pony wonder, trusty steed” which was originally “my gentle giant, trusty steed” (which no longer worked because ponies aren’t giants!). And it hit me that MY PONY WONDER was the title, and my editor agreed and loved it.

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

JESSICA: I got my offer on June 13, 2024, and got the contract to sign on August 14, 2024.

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

JESSICA: Yes, the contract was what my agent and I expected in terms of advance, royalty percentages, and publication timeline. Since my book is with Random House Studio, an imprint of Penguin Random House (a large house), we were able to secure a good advance that we were really happy with, especially for a debut picture book. I was also so ecstatic to get 25 author copies!

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

JESSICA: The editorial process was great and smooth, and really, it was just a few words/text changes we made. The biggest change was that my editor thought it was more fitting for the horse in the story to be a pony instead (a smaller horse since we imagined the main character to be around 6 y.o.). She suggested this change, though, and it wasn’t a requirement that the horse be a pony—my editor left it up to me. I loved the idea of the main character riding a pony and agreed that it was more fitting for the girl’s age. I adore ponies and used to ride them a lot! So, I was super excited that this was going to be a pony book. I loved my editor’s vision for the story, and it totally aligned with mine. We were both open, which I think is super important for both the editor and the author during the process (but also remember to always follow your heart)!

Another change we wanted to make was to have a new title, one that was more appealing and charming. The original title of the picture book when my agent and I submitted it was TRAIL RIDE TOGETHER, and we knew we could come up with a better title!

Thus, since the horse was now a pony in the story, I knew I had to change a line in the text, which was originally:

“Click and clip!

Halter, lead.

My gentle giant,

trusty steed.”

I couldn’t have “gentle giant” now—ponies aren’t giants! Then one evening, as I was mulling it over and knew I wanted to have the word “pony” in the title, it hit me out of nowhere, and the new line popped into my mind:

“My pony wonder,

trusty steed.”

Aha! I knew that was the right line change and the perfect title, too! I immediately emailed my editor with this, and she absolutely loved it and agreed with the text change and this new title of MY PONY WONDER.

SUSANNA: It’s a great title! Honestly, put a dog or a pony in the title and I’m hooked! What was your experience of the illustration process like?

JESSICA: did get to see sketches and a sample color spread, which was amazing! My editor and the art director were open to my opinions and thoughts, which I greatly appreciated. The main thing I gave input on was the cover—there were two cover ideas, and the editor and the Random House Studio team loved both equally, so they asked for my opinion. I told them that I loved both cover options but preferred the second one, but I also made sure to mention that I wanted the illustrator, Ramona Kaulitzki’s, input and to choose what she’d have the most fun illustrating and creating. I didn’t know that the official cover was the one I had chosen until I got the digital F&G! Seeing the digital arc was the most incredible feeling. Everything was so spot-on! Ramona’s illustrations exceeded my expectations and made the book so gorgeous, charming and sweet. The art is better than I could have ever imagined!

Ramona added and illustrated things that I fell in love with that I hadn’t originally had in the story. Firstly, the fact that the main character is riding with other friends/kids on ponies and a grown-up, and her horse. And these characters are diverse in age, gender, race, body shape, etc.! I was so grateful that Ramona and the team were cognizant and that the art shows these characters experiencing pony/horse joy and trailriding fun!

text copyright Jessica Milo 2026, illustration copyright Ramona Kaulitzki 2026, Random House Studio

I also loved that there is a little dog who joins them on their trail ride! What’s so interesting is that my favorite movie that I watched (by my verbal request) every day when I was little is THE WIZARD OF OZ. I was obsessed with that movie and Dorothy and Toto. My editor and Ramona (illustrator) never knew this! But it felt like kismet that the main character girl has two pigtail braids (my favorite hairstyle and another request I made to my mom to “make my hair look like Dorothy’s”) and that the little dog in the book looks like Toto!

I’m so grateful and honored that Ramona illustrated our book. I had suggested her to my editor when they asked for illustrator suggestions, and I was thrilled when she agreed to illustrate MY PONY WONDER! I realize that not every publisher and editor lets you give illustrator suggestions/names, and I’m so happy that I was able to suggest Ramona and share our book together.

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

JESSICA: I did! I saw the review from Kirkus, who gave MY PONY WONDER an absolutely lovely review! I also got a great review from Booklist, and its last line stole my heart— “Sure to trot off shelves and into riders’ hearts.” I find it so cute!

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

JESSICA: I got the offer on June 13, 2024, and my editor mailed me the first advance copy they had ordered and received to see the quality, so I received that first copy on March 26, 2026, exactly one week after my birthday! Best present ever!

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

JESSICA: I just came back from ALA as I write this, and I was THRILLED to see a copy of my book displayed at the Random House Booth!! Seeing it featured with other amazing 2026 releases and the fact it was available for others to pick up, read, look at, etc. was so cool to see! My publisher also submitted my book to trade reviewers which, when/if receiving a review, helps with promotion. They have also mailed copies to book influencers and bookstagrammers for them to use for their content if you choose to do so. A lot of the publicity and promotion that the publisher does is work that is behind the scenes/stuff I don’t visibly see and I trust that they are promoting and sharing about my book!

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

JESSICA: As anyone who sees my Instagram will see, I love creating graphics about my and Ramona’s book! So, I post often on my feed to help promote. I did an “unboxing” video where I filmed myself opening my first ever physical copy. I also created promo postcards to give out and had them displayed at the front office desks at the local schools in my district. I created bookmarks and stickers, and am doing a blog tour, as well as a mini local storytime-and-signing tour (dates, times and locations are posted on my IG). I created flyers for those storytimes to post around and hand out. I also made lovely connections at ALA—it’s a great conference and place to talk about your book to librarians, teachers, other creators, etc! I brought along my first physical copy to show people the book in person.

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

JESSICA: I started writing seriously in July of 2021, and my agent and I sold MY PONY WONDER in June 2024.

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?)

JESSICA: My number one advice for up-and-coming writers is to READ, read, read a ton of recently published picture books. Type out/write out your favorites/the ones that you love and see how it works from a craft perspective. Also, invest in yourself and your writing craft! Take webinars/workshops/classes to improve your skills and put them into practice. Don’t be afraid to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) write new stories often! Then revise and polish your favorites with your critique partners and be open to seeking professional feedback from agents and editors too.

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

JESSICA: I hope that kids (and all readers) enjoy MY PONY WONDER! It’s such a fun rhyming read aloud, and I hope it brings much joy and fills hearts everywhere—hearts of kids who are horse/pony-riders, hearts of kids who dream of riding a horse/pony, and kids (and adults) who love ponies and horses in general!

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from your knowledge and experience, and thank you for all the great details you shared. Wishing you all the best with this and future titles!

JESSICA: Thank YOU so much, Susanna, for featuring my and Ramona’s book on your fantastic blog!

SUSANNA: Readers, if you have questions for Jessica, 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 by Monday July 13th at 3 PM Eastern puts you in the running to be the randomly selected winner of a Picture Book Manuscript Critique (800 words or less) from tiday’s debut-essJessica Millo!

Author Jessica Milo

– Website: www.jessicamilo.com
– Instagram handle: @jessicamiloauthor

– My publisher’s Instagram handles: @randomhousestudio and @randomhousekids
– My illustrator’s Instagram handle: @ramonakaulitzki

You may purchase Jessica’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!