SAKAMOTO’S SWIM CLUB: HOW A TEACHER LED AN UNLIKELY TEAM TO VICTORY written by Julie Abery
If you’re a fan of overcoming the odds and a sucker for those feel-good Disney sport movies AND would go bananas over beautiful illustrations...this book is for you.
And really, everybody you know.
Today, I’m so happy that Julie Abery is sharing her revision journey for her upcoming picture book SAKAMOTO’S SWIM CLUB: HOW A TEACHER LED AN UNLIKELY TEAM TO VICTORY with delightfully wonderful illustrations by Chris Sasaki.
(Fun fact: Chris also illustrated a recent American Library Association’s 2021 Asian/Pacific American Award for Best Picture Book!)
Julie is a former preschool teacher that has taught English to international schools, which means she has had a lot of practice absorbing the rhyme and rhythm of stories as she read them aloud to her students. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she’s running with the dog in the forest, walking or pottering in the garden.
Or participating in kidlit blogs like this one.
(Thank you, Julie!)
Now, on with the interview…
Hello, Julie. And thank you again. Tell us...what’s the story behind your story? What sparked your story concept?
In 2017, I joined a non-fiction writing workshop. I had recently written and signed a book about Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer, Yusra Mardini (Yusra Swims, 2020, Creative Editions, illustrated by Sally Deng).
As I searched for an idea to work on during the month-long course, I wondered about other Olympic legends and heroes. When I stumbled upon Soichi Sakamoto and his swim club in Maui, I knew the story was a powerful one, and this was the nugget I wrote for the course:
Science teacher turned swim coach, Sakamoto, plucks a group of sugar-cane workers’ kids from the irrigation ditches in Maui and trains them into Olympic swimming champions.
As a teacher myself, I was deeply moved by his unfailing commitment to the children he coached, and his life-long passion to give them the opportunity to be the best they could be – many of his swimmers went on to be accepted by US universities on sports scholarships. What a legacy!
That is so lovely. And it’s awesome that you identified a story of someone that shaped the lives of so many in such a positive way. How long did it take from idea to book?
It took just over four years from idea to book! But it has absolutely been worth the wait!
And I can’t wait for it to release, either! What was your revision timeline?
March 2017: Wrote first draft
Round 1 of self-edit: I read the manuscript aloud to myself...am I saying what I mean?
Round 2 of edits: Rework
Round 3 of edits: Sent out to my critique partners. Received feedback, revised again
April 2017: I sent it to my agent. Yaay! She loved it!
May 2017: Small round of submissions
July 2017: Kids Can Press signed the story
January 2018: Started revision process
Round 1-5: Revised with editor
Round 6: Revision with copy editor
April 2018: Final copy signed off
Fantastic. Can you tell us what the hardest part of revising is for you?
The hardest part of revising a manuscript written in spare rhyming stanzas, is the rhyme and rhythm! It’s important to capture exactly what you want to say, move the story on, make every word count, without diving into an easy rhyme that detracts from the story. There were differences between my UK English and US English too.
In Sakamoto’s Swim Club I needed to revise ‘unrelenting/training scheme/ use resistance/swim upstream’ to avoid using ‘unrelenting’ – too adult and ‘training scheme’ – training ‘regimen’ would be more normal in the US. My final revision kept the story meaning and moved the story on ‘Daily program/Strict regime/Use resistance/Swim upstream’.
Did you have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment with your manuscript during the revision process? If so, what triggered it?
There were no real “ah-ha!” moments, but I probably wondered why I wrote the story in rhyming verse in the first place! 😉
Ha! I mean, rhyming is one thing. Rhyming a biography...whew. What advice do you have for other writers? Are there any resources you would recommend to help with the revision process?
Patience and perseverance. Revising takes time to get right – oh and a great rhyme dictionary for any rhymers out there!
I know the rhymers appreciate it. And now, a snippet from one of Julie’s early drafts...
Spread 11 is a pivotal moment in the swim club’s Olympic dream – Pearl Harbour and America’s entry into World War II. My first draft read…
Tension knocks
at Europe’s door,
Olympic dreams
crushed by war.
Dark clouds looming.
Hostile skies.
Ditch kids answer
country’s cries.
During the revision process my editor pointed out that I use ‘dream’ many times throughout the story and she wanted me to try and swap it out of verse one above.
She also pointed out that the first two lines of verse two were essentially saying the same thing. At this point I did some detailed research on the morning of the Pearl Harbor bombings and discovered that the planes flew in at dawn, shattering a perfectly peaceful sky.
And now, I’m SO EXCITED that Julie has shared her final words paired with the stunning illustration of Pixar artist Chris Sasaki...
But tension knocks
at Europe’s door.
Olympic hopes -
crushed by war.
Dawn raids shatter
peaceful skies.
Athletes answer
country’s cries.
You can pre-order your copy of this gorgeous story today at Indiebound, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble and other places books are sold and it is launching May 4th!
Be sure to follow Julie on Twitter (@JulieDawnAbery), Facebook, Instagram (@JulieDawnAbery) and keep up to date with her latest news on her website.
Thank you again, Julie! I can’t wait to hold this book in my hands and have it on the shelf.