SUMMERTIME SLEEPERS written by Melissa Stewart
I’m absolutely blown away that Melissa Stewart, author of more than 180 science books (yes, you read that number right!) was willing to share a behind-the-scenes look of her writing and revision process. Melissa has written everything from board books to books for educators and has an incredible amount of knowledge to share.
Prior to becoming a full time writer, Melissa worked as a children’s book editor for nine years. Melissa believes that nothing brings nonfiction writing to life like first hand research. While gathering information for her books, she has explored tropical rainforests in Costa Rica, gone on safari in East Africa, and swam with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands.
For all of you nonfiction fanatics...you’re in for a treat!
Could you tell us a bit about the story behind your story? What sparked the idea?
Sometimes I like to scan the shelves in the natural history section of my town library and see what grabs my attention. On a hot June day in 2011, I stumbled upon a 250-page tome on hibernation.
Photo courtesy of Melissa
It contained a single paragraph about an animal behavior I’d never heard of—estivation. And that made me curious.
To find out more, I typed “estivat” into a database of science journals, hoping to pull up papers with any form of the word—estivate, estivation, estivating. The reference sections of those initial papers led me to more resources, and soon I had plenty of material for a book about animals that sleep through summer.
Here’s the book’s description:
What do mourning cloak butterflies have in common with pixie frogs and yellow-bellied marmots? They all estivate, or sleep through summer. Everyone knows about hibernation, but this book offers young readers a lyrical look at its fascinating warm-weather counterpart. Discover how a variety of animals survive by taking a break during the hottest days of the year.
Because my research unearthed so many great examples of estivators from every corner of the animal kingdom, I knew early on that I’d write a list book. To make the presentation engaging and emphasize the diversity of the animals, I decided to employ a compare-and-contrast text structure with layered text.
Image courtesy of Melissa
But I struggled with voice. At first, I tried a lively, humorous voice. But it just didn’t feel right for a book about inactive animals. I needed to let the topic dictate the voice, so a soft, cozy, lyrical voice was a better fit.
Image courtesy of Melissa
Next, I had to admit that my beginning wasn’t working. After a year of being stuck, I realized that my introduction was buried on page eight. After cutting the first fifty words, I added to and reorganized the animal examples. Then I sent the manuscript to the editor who eventually bought the book. With her guidance before and after acquisition, I tightened the structure, strengthened the flow and pacing, and reworked the back matter.
Finally, the text was ready for the illustrator.
How long did it take from idea to book?
Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, will finally be published in April—after 10 years.
What was the timeline and different stages of bringing this to life?
June 2011: Began research
June 2011 to March 2012: Researching, writing, critiquing, revising June 2011-March 2012
April 2012: Went on submission
July 2012: Rejection with feedback
July 2012 to August 2012: Revisions, critiques
August 2012: Went on submission
September 2012 to November 2013: Rejections with no feedback
December 2013: Revisions, critiques
January 2014: Went on submission
February 2014: Feedback from editor
February 2014 to March 2014: Revisions, critiques
April 2014: Went on submission
May 2014: Book was accepted!
February 2015 to May 2015: Revisions with editor
September 2018: Illustrator Sarah S. Brannen began sketches
May 2019 to November 2019: Reviewed sketches
February 2020 to September 2020: Reviewed paintings
October 2020: Went to printer!
What was the hardest part of revising?
From the fall of 2012 to December 2013, I was stuck. Eventually, I realized that the beginning wasn’t working. I cut the first four pages, and suddenly the book came into focus and I made a variety of changes to make the book more of what I wanted it to be. One of my critique partners—April Jones Price—suggested adding onomatopoeia at the beginning and end. That’s when I knew I was getting close to a publishable manuscript.
Did you have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment with your manuscript during the revision process? If so, what triggered it?
One of the breakthrough moments for me was recognizing that I needed to change the voice. I was reading my book Under the Snow to a group of kindergarteners during a school visit.
A student said that he liked the way the words and pictures in the book felt calm and quiet, just like falling snow.
Photo courtesy of Melissa
I was so impressed that he recognized the lyrical voice of the text and the reason I had chosen it. On the drive home, I started thinking about Summertime Sleepers and suddenly realized that since it was about animals sleeping through summer, it should have a lyrical voice too.
What advice do you have for other writers? Are there any resources you would recommend to help with the revision process?
Enjoy the journey and celebrate successes—even the small ones!
So many things about book publishing are out of our control, and there are lots of challenges and disappointments along the way. That’s why it’s important to make a big deal out of every single bit of progress, from a “good” rejection to a starred review.
Mentor texts can be incredibly helpful during the revision process. I’m constantly reading children’s books, and when I find one I really admire, I study the text carefully to see how the author crafted the prose.
And now a snippet of one of the early drafts of SUMMERTIME SLEEPERS...
...and the beautiful spread of the published book!
If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate be sure to order it from her local bookstore: www.silverunicornbooks.com
Make sure to follow Melissa on Twitter (@mstewartscience), read her updates on her website, and check out her Pinterest!
Thank you, Melissa, for sharing your journey!
I will definitely add estivation to my own list of hobbies in addition to hibernation.