Welcome to Tuesday Debut, everyone!

Are you ready to celebrate?

We have a book birthday debut today! 😊

Every birthday needs cake. . .

please help yourself to as many slices as you’d like!

. . . and presents!

So let’s give away a PRIZE!

Last week’s debut-ess, Jessica Milo, author of MY PONY WONDER, kindly offered a picture book manuscript critique (800 words or less) and the winner is. . .

Tara Cervan!!!

I hope you enjoy your present, Tara! Please email me at your earliest convenience so I can connect you with Jessica!

PLUS we have a new giveaway from today’s debut-ess, Jessie Atkin, who is offering such a fun giveaway – a full set of her “Oodles of Noodles” stickers! (Which I’m realizing belatedly that I don’t have a picture of – I’ll have to see if I can add that in later – or maybe that’s one of the stickers on the fish tank in the photo of Jessie’s work buddy below!) All you need to do to qualify to be the randomly selected winner of what I’m sure are fun and delightful stickers is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday July 20 at 3 PM Eastern!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Jessie Atkin, author of OODLES OF NOODLES!

Title: Oodles of Noodles (A Counting Word Play Board Book for Toddlers)
Author: Jessie Atkin
Illustrator: Moesha Kellaway
Publishing House: Little Bee Books
Date of Publication: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 978-1499818956
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
age range of your book: 0-3

Count to 10 in this book that uses rhyme and word play to humorously show hungry animals eating! This counting book is a silly, tongue-twisting food and animal adventure! Each animal is paired with a favorite food and a unit of measurement–from one box of lox to ten skies full of fries–until all plates are clean and every tummy is full. 

SUSANNA: Welcome, Jessie, and happy book birthday! We are so excited to have you here today and can’t wait to hear about your journey to publicaation with OODLES OF NOODLES! Where did the idea for this book come from?

JESSIE: The rhyme that got the whole thing going was “Oodles of noodles for all of the poodles” which had been taking up space in my head honestly since high school, when I had a golden doodle named Dustin. However, it wasn’t until a little over two years ago when my sister announced she was pregnant with my niece that I sat down to really expand a single rhyme into a full book. From there I worked to find other foods and animal rhymes to work the piece out into a full manuscript.

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

JESSIE: The initial manuscript, once I sat down to put it together, took about a week. However it took longer to edit down all the rhymes I had into the best set for a condensed counting book.

Jessie says, “I usually write in single-subject notebooks with fountain pens (which are featured in the foreground of my writing setup pic). But two Hanukkahs ago, my parents got me a typewriter, which is where I’ve been doing drafts of new picture book ideas. I still write novels by hand in notebooks, but the typewriter has been very fun for shorter picture book drafts.”

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

JESSIE: My sister and I had a favorite when we were kids (still exceptionally popular). We absolutely loved “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” and so when I first considered writing a board book I definitely wanted to go the rhyming route.

SUSANNA: I love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, too! Did you go through many revisions?

JESSIE: In anything I write I always do an out loud read to myself. It felt especially helpful with “Oodles of Noodles” and getting the final rhythm of each page, along with the book as a whole, in place.

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

JESSIE: I had a number of family members and friends with kids read through the manuscript and, after getting sign off from my “focus group,” I was ready to send it to my agent. I made a few more edits based on her suggestions and then we were ready to send it out on submission.

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

JESSIE: I do have an agent, though this was the first picture book/board book we’d worked on together. She put together a submission list of publishers/editors and we sent out the story with a wish and a prayer.

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”?

JESSIE: After the book went out on submission to a small handful of publishers, we heard back that there was interest from a publisher about 10 weeks later and, after some small edits, the book was taken to an acquisition meeting about a month after that. A week after the acquisition team meeting at the publisher we heard that it was an official “yes”!

Jessie’s writing buddy – Betta fish, Springsteen 😊

SUSANNA: So exciting, isn’t it?! 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 😊)

JESSIE: I got the call from my agent on December 13, 2024 (yes, I wrote down the date so I would remember forever). We were both teary on the phone. We’ve been working together for many years, and this was the first manuscript that had officially been picked up. It was a huge day for both of us. To celebrate even more, I Facetimed my sister and my niece (since they were the reason I’d written this particular tale in the first place) and there was some big cheering from my sister and some excellent smiles from my niece.

SUSANNA: How wonderful that you were able to celebrate with your sister and the niece who inspired you! And I hear you on writing down the date to remember forever – I did the same thing with my first book! 😊 How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign?

JESSIE: I received my contract in March, so it was a little over three months between receiving the offer and officially signing on the dotted line.

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

JESSIE: Again, I’m very lucky to have an agent. She reviewed the contract with me and said everything in the contract was pretty standard. Interesting that the percentage authors make on board books seems to be, in general, lower than on other types (ex: hardcover, paperback, etc). The publication timeline was faster than some of the other books my agent has represented in the past and that was very exciting for both of us. I’ll be getting 15 author copies when the time comes.

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

JESSIE: It was my editor’s idea to make the book into a counting book, which I think was great. That vision really put us into a more marketable category that I didn’t have any background with, but obviously helped focus the text. The editorial process after this was working through which animals/rhymes to cut and how best to order the rhymes that remained. There were a few rounds of revisions to get to the final draft but there was very much an embrace of the original content, and a lot of the rhymes were consistent through to the final version. My editor was also really responsive when I had questions about changes and very willing to take my thoughts into account, including with rhyme and rhythm, and there was never an issue when I pushed back on certain suggestions.

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

JESSIE: I adore my illustrator but had no idea what the process was going to look like when my manuscript was originally picked up. I was really lucky that another artist produced a few sample images my agent was able to send out with the manuscript. We were never an official team, and my agent was clear in her submission package that the manuscript was available solo if desired, and that was the way it was finally accepted. So, it was clear my editor had a vision in mind when she accepted the piece. While I worked on edits, they were looking for an illustrator for the project and when they found Moesha they sent me her portfolio to see if I was comfortable with her style. It was great that they wanted my opinion and, I guess luckily, we’ll never know what would have happened if we’d had a difference of opinion because I adored her work. It was so colorful and joyful and had such a unique style, I couldn’t have asked for more. Her illustrations really brought personality to the animals in the book that matched the fun I was having with the words. My editor also shared sketches and art with me along the way and asked for any feedback I had and really did take my thoughts into account. I’ve heard this isn’t always the case and I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to be a full participant in the process as the book comes together as a whole.

The only art notes I included with the original manuscript were on a few foods that some people might not have been familiar with (like what a knish was).

text copyright Jessie Atkin 2026, illustration copyright Moesha Kellaway 2026, Little Bee Books

text copyright Jessie Atkin 2026, illustration copyright Moesha Kellaway 2026, Little Bee Books

SUSANNA: You’re not exaggerating! Those animals are adorable! Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

JESSIE: I did not.

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

JESSIE: Over 2 years and 4 months.

SUSANNA: I know how long that feels, but actually, picture book publishing time (akin to dog years! 😊), that’s pretty reasonable. What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

JESSIE: What I know of is they reached out to a few bookstores (who only take communications from publishers). They also submitted the book for trade reviews and worked with the distributor (Simon and Schuster) to make sure the title was pitched along with their other books. A few advanced copies were sent to individual reviewers and influencers as well, but I wasn’t given a list or anything of who they were.

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

JESSIE: I created coloring pages and stickers. I also reached out to online book reviewers and bookstagrammers, along with partnering with a few other picture book authors to promote and review each other’s work coming out in 2026. I reached out to local bookstores in the DC, MD, and the Northern VA area as well. On my personal social media pages I also posted illustration reveals, a few reels on why I do not illustrate my own books (haha), and submitted the book to the alumni associations at all my alma maters.

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

JESSIE: Oh boy, I was trying to get an agent even before I started my MFA Creative Writing Program back in 2013, so I’d say it’s been fifteen years probably.

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?)

JESSIE: Patience. Be patient with yourself, be patient with your editor and your agent. Patience is a muscle you will definitely need to use and exercise as you wait to hear after you go on sub and then wait for details when you are lucky enough to inch toward publication. I knew there would be waiting, but the time it takes to write feels like nothing compared to the time it takes to get published and it wasn’t something I fully understood until I went through it. I wrote a whole blog post on a previous manuscript that was with a publisher for years only to, in the end, get turned down. And even after that, I had to be patient, and keep going.

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

JESSIE: Whoever your “village” is before you get published, they will be your main supporters and promoters when you finally do sign the contract and have a book in your hand. Make sure, in every part of your life, you surround yourself with people who love you because they are the ones who really make a difference on every step of your journey. And make sure you let them know how much they are appreciated.

Wonderful advice! Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Jessie! We are grateful to have the opportunity to learn from you, and wish you all the best with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Jessie, 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 3 PM Monday July 20th puts you in the running to be the randomly selected winner of Jessie’s assuredly delightful and fun stickers which maybe I’ll get a picture of in time to add into this post! 😊

Author Jessie Atkin (who has a major sweet tooth and is a big fan of ice cream and oreos – clearly she and I are twins separated at birth 😊)

www.jessieatkin.com
FB: jaatkin
Instagram: JessieA_7
Threads: JessieA_7
X: JessieA_7
Bluesky: https://jessieatkin.bsky.social/
Illustrator Moesha Kellaway
Instagra: Moesha.kellaway

You may purchase Jessie’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!