HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT written by Roberta Gibson
A lot of people (myself being one of them) hold the dream to be a published writer. But in addition to being a writer, writers have other work and passions.
And sometimes, when you mix a great opportunity with experience and passion, it results in a book.
Roberta Gibson is an entomologist who used her experience to create her upcoming book, HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT illustrated by Anne Lambelet and published by Lerner Books.
As Roberta says, her road to publication with this manuscript is probably a bit different from many other writers.
A bit unconventional? Hm. Perhaps.
Inspiring? Yes, definitely!
Onto the interview...
Hi Roberta, and thank you for being a part of the First Draft to Final Book blog series. Can you share the story behind your story? What sparked your story concept?
In March 2018, Lerner put out an open call for K-3 nonfiction on their blog. Editorial Director Carol Hinz was looking for STEM manuscripts that could be illustrated with photographs. As a scientist with a photography hobby, it seemed like a perfect fit for me. I polished up a manuscript about ways animals use silk — it had gotten some interest during a review session at our local SCBWI conference — and submitted it.
That might have been the end of it, but I noticed they were accepting multiple submissions. When would another opportunity like this present itself? None of my other manuscripts seemed appropriate, so I needed to write something else to submit. Fast!
I noticed Carol Hinz was looking for topics presented “in playful or unconventional ways” and an experience I had when I studied entomology in college popped into my head. During laboratory quizzes, the teaching assistants would position insects under microscopes for us to identify. Every so often they would make up a “Franken-insect,” gluing a praying mantis head onto a beetle’s body or something similar, as a prank. As well as making us laugh, encountering the odd insect mash-up made us observe closely and kept us on our toes.
What if I could capture some of that playfulness in a book for kids? I remembered a related hands-on activity I had presented for children’s programs over the years and I had the germ of an idea.
That is really cool. I’m not sure how I’d react to a “Franken-insect”! Actually, I do.
I’d probably shriek.
How long did it take from your idea to a published book?
The manuscript took a little over a month to complete. That may seem fast, but it was based on decades of training and experiences.
I have to wonder if the fact that I didn’t have much time to overwork was a good thing. The story stayed fresh. It was so fresh in fact the paint wasn’t even dry.
What was your revision timeline?
March 17, 2018: Scribbled the first draft into a composition notebook with rough sketches
March 18, 2018: Completed Laurie Purdie Salas’ exercise on wonder (from her series of articles about writing a nonfiction picture book), which added some depth to my first draft. Once the first draft was completed, I went to the library with my writing buddy, Cassie Bentley. I piled up all the books about insects I could find. I read through each one and took notes, especially looking for potential comp titles. I visited a second library. I read about 20 books in total, in addition to dusting off some of my Entomology textbooks.
March 31, 2018: Tempe Library writer-in-residence and children’s author Dusti Bowling critiqued a 347-word draft version and gave me some helpful suggestions.
April 25, 2018: I had the idea to compare insect anatomy to human anatomy and revised the manuscript accordingly.
April 29, 2018: I submitted a 619 word manuscript for HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT (submissions closed May 1, 2018).
That is AWESOME! What was the hardest part of revising?
Being on such a tight timeline was difficult. I revised up to the last minute before the submissions were due, including changing the title.
Did you have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment with your manuscript during the revision process? If so, what triggered it?
I actually wrote down the time my ‘ah-ha’ moment occurred in a notebook. It was at 4:30 a.m. on April 25, 2018. Perhaps it was triggered by a dream. More likely, by lack of sleep and desperation.
Gotta love when our brains keep working even when we sleep. What advice do you have for other writers? Are there any resources you would recommend to help with the revision process?
My biggest advice is to be ready and have your eyes open for opportunity. As you can see from my experience, not everything comes about in the way you plan or expect. If I had told myself, “You can’t possibly write and polish a manuscript in a month,” this book never would have happened.
Learn your craft, read books, and be active in the children’s literature community. Sometimes the educational experiences aren’t obvious ones. For example, over the years I have read hundreds of nonfiction picture books as a first and second round judge for the Cybils awards.
Besides exposure to the best books published every year, as a judge I was privy to some wonderful behind-the-scenes conversations with passionate experts. What on the surface might seem like an activity that used up precious writing time was actually a way to develop a much, much deeper understanding of the field.
As for resources, look no further than this blog.
Aw, thank you Roberta!
(You can imagine my coy and extremely flattered hair flip here.)
Though this revision process went at almost supersonic speed, Roberta kindly shared a snippet from an early draft...
What do you need to make an insect?
How about body sections?
...and then the final words in the book:
Let’s build an insect.
Where should we start?
Humans have a head.
Most animals have a head.
Let’s give our insect a head.
And an additional note from Roberta…
All good nonfiction picture books have back matter, so here’s mine: HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT was originally slated to come out October 6, 2020, but due to recent events it has been moved back to April 2021.
You can connect with Roberta on Twitter (@RobertaGibson), Instagram (@RobieGibson) and stay up to date with her upcoming book news on her website (Robertagibsonwrites.com). Are you on Pinterest? She is too!
Preorder your copy of HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT for your budding Entomologist at Lerner Books or one of Roberta’s favorite bookstores Changing Hands.
Thank you, Roberta!