WHALE FALL CAFE written by Jacquie Sewell
In sixth grade, I was obsessed with manatees. And the ocean. Naturally, I was convinced that my life’s calling was to be a marine biologist. My dreams were dashed when I quickly learned that I had no sea legs and seasickness is NOT fun.
But when I heard about Jacquie Sewell’s book WHALE FALL CAFE illustrated by Dan Tavis, the kid inside of me (and really, the adult on the outside) was hooked.
Jacquie, likewise, had a childhood dream of being an oceanographer. And that dream came true when she researched and wrote her story!
So where did her story start and how did it get polished?
Let’s dive right in...
Thank you for sharing your journey, Jacquie! What is the story behind your story? What sparked your story concept?
I read an article about Dr. Craig Smith’s discovery in 1987 of a natural whale fall (the ecosystem that develops on a whale’s carcass on the ocean floor). The creatures he discovered were grossly engrossing and I knew children would be as fascinated by them as I was.
How long did it take from your initial idea to a published book?
Nine plus years!
That is fantastic! What was the timeline of your book from start to finish?
Spring 2010: I read an article about the discovery of a whale fall by Dr. Smith and I began researching more. I learned that my son had taken a class with the same Dr. Smith at U of H!
July 2010: I wrote a rough draft
December 2010: I wrote extended first draft and continued researching whale fall articles online
February 2011: I exchanged emails with two leading scientists in the field
July 2011: I sent a 3800 word manuscript to Dr. Smith and Dr. Vrijenhoek for review
August 2011: I sent my nonfiction chapter book query to several publishers
September 2011: I revised my manuscript
October 2012: I queried Capstone and continued sending queries and sample chapters to publishers throughout the rest of the year
January 2014: I sent the story to Highlights Magazine, and intermittently submitted to various agents throughout this time as well from 2012-2015
October 2015: I attended the Highlights Nonfiction retreat and had critique session with Deborah Hopkins
May 2016: I met Dr. Craig Smith in person and visited his lab
July 2017: I sent query to Tilbury House Publishers, but received no response
October 2017: I revised my manuscript and changed it to a picture book
December 2017: I developed an outline for a magazine article and sent a query for magazine article to Muse Magazine
July 2018: I wrote my fifth revision on my picture book manuscript
December 2018: I submitted my manuscript to Ask Magazine
January 2019: I sent my story to Rate Your Story for a critique and sent the story to four different publishers throughout the year
August 2019: I shared my manuscript with my critique group and made major cuts and revisions based on the feedback
September 2019: I shared a new version with my critique group and sent it to Tilbury House Publishers
October 2019: I sent the story to Rate Your Story for another critique
October 2019: I signed a publishing agreement with Tilbury House Publishers!!!
January 2020: I saw illustration thumbnails
Summer 2020: I made minor revisions with editor with two or three exchanges
Sept 2020: Finalized back matter
November 2020: Saw final cover illustration
December 2020: Sent out pdf of interior spread to scientists requesting dust jacket quote
What was the hardest part of revising?
The hardest part of revising was knowing how best to share all the fascinating information about the hidden world of whale falls and the new discoveries scientists were making almost daily.
Whale Fall Cafe started out as a much longer manuscript but since my passion is picture books I decided (with encouragement from my critique partners) to pare it down and focus on the “kid-factor” - the creatures that make up a whale fall ecosystem. A lot of the information moved to the back matter. That way curious kids can go “deeper” (get my pun there?) to learn even more.
Did you have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment with your manuscript during the revision process? If so, what triggered it?
When I made the decision to tighten the focus and change from a chapter book to a picture book the project started to gain momentum. Then a critique partner suggested even deeper cuts and to move some of the information to the back matter. It wasn’t too long after that an offer was made by Tilbury House!
What advice do you have for other writers? Are there any resources you would recommend to help with the revision process?
I hope readers will realize that I re-submitted to Tilbury House two years after receiving no response from an earlier submission. By then I had made serious revisions to Whale Fall transforming it into a picture book for ages 5-10. Both of my published books were “in progress” for more than a decade.
Second time was a charm! I was so excited to receive an email in October 2019 from Jon Eaton at Tilbury House asking for more info about how I came to the story and then a followup email with an offer.
Perseverance is key in this business.
Don’t give up.
Join SCBWI and attend as many conferences as you can. Join a good critique group. Read books in your genre. Spend time with kids.
If it’s something you believe is important for kids to know/experience then keep working on it. But be open to different approaches. One webinar I attended suggested writing your manuscript several different ways (fiction, NF, first person, third person, rhyming, prose) - shake it up until you find the best way to share your story.
Very solid advice!
And now, I’m very excited to share a snippet of one of the early drafts of the book written in 2010...
Portrait of a Dying Whale
Far out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean a blue whale swims north along a path that her kind have traveled for centuries. It’s a path only whales can detect. She’s made this journey for more than thirty years, heading north in the spring to gorge herself on the abundant krill in the frigid arctic waters; heading south every fall to breed or calve in the warm tropical seas. But this trip is different. She’s pregnant and she’s been injured.
...and the final opening below sent to Tilbury House nine years later in 2019 along with a sneak peek of one of the spreads!
Whale Fall Cafe
[page 2-3]
The bottom of the ocean is deep, dark, and cold.
A lot of people think nothing lives down there.
But they are wrong!
[page 4-5]
Extraordinary creatures live in the deepest parts of the ocean.
Some of them glow in the dark.
Some of them have huge eyes.
Some of them have transparent heads.
And some of them live on whale falls.
Wait! What is a whale fall? I’m so glad you asked!
Thank you, Jacquie!
What a WHALE of a tale.
(I know, I know. I couldn’t resist.)
To all the lovely readers out there, be sure to follow Jacquie on Twitter (@JJSewell416) and keep up to date on her latest news and future books on her website.
Do you have a budding oceanographer in your life?
Buy WHALE FALL CAFE at Bookshop.org, your favorite indie store, or some of Jacquie’s favorite indie stores like The Bookman, Reader’s World Books and Bestsellers Bookstore.