The query that sold “Thirty Minutes Over Oregon”

On 11/27/12, I emailed the following query to Jennifer Greene at Clarion.

On 1/10/14, she made an offer.

(This ran a bit longer than the query that sold Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman. Sorry, Jennifer!)

I’m the author of more than 70 books for young people including the nonfiction picture books Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman and Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. Boys of Steel is an American Library Association Notable Book; was named to multiple “best of the year” lists; and was featured in a USA Today cover story.

Bill the Boy Wonder (new this year) has been covered by NPR’s All Things Considered, Forbes, Washington Post, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, WIRED, and even MTV; it also led to an invitation to give a TED talk. Reviews below. The book trailer features whimsy...and tights.

I’d like to query you on another nonfiction picture book for older readers. Thirty Minutes Over Oregon tells the jaw-dropping tale of a WWII pilot—on the Japanese side—who did something historic and, some would say, heroic. He is not a household name but his story was significant enough to earn a half-page obit in the New York Times. It’s a famous first that is not yet famous. I’m far from a war buff but I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most riveting true stories I’ve heard. (Plus it manages to be a war story without death.)

The book inspired a mock cover experiment that got a lot of buzz in the kidlitosphere (you can see the NYT obit there, too). The response to that (from librarians, teachers, booksellers, parents, kids, agents, fellow authors, and even editors) has been overwhelming and 100% positive; read the comments below the post, especially the most recent one.

Educators of all kinds have come forward to express hope that this book is published; they do this via blog comments, tweets, post-keynote comments. Among their most common requests:

• books that will appeal to boys (i.e. books they don’t have to force boys to read)
• middle grade nonfiction picture books
• previously untold stories
• World War II stories (boys clamor for them)

Mine is all four.

Plus as we all hear, Common Core Standards are placing increasingly greater emphasis on nonfiction.

I promote my books as often as I brush my teeth. I speak at schools, conferences, and other venues 30-50 times a year, and I sell stacks of books at most venues. Within the past year, I have been invited to places as far-off as Guam and Chile.

A few more compelling selling points:

1 - Excerpt of blog post by attendee of the Shenandoah Children’s Literature Conference:

>> I have met many authors that are new to me. Today’s authors (I’m sure) will become two of my favorites. Marc Tyler Nobleman inspired me with his dedication and passion. His attention to detail and his desire to right the wrongs of the world (at least the world of Superman and Batman) are honorable and inspiring. I didn’t know there were people out there like him. Boys of Steel, a story about the creators of Superman, will grab my boys! He gives me a great entry into interesting nonfiction. The story about World War II Oregon, Thirty Minutes Over Oregon, has to be published. I am amazed that the story exists and we don’t know about it. That’s what I mean, his passion is contagious.

2 - Editor at major house:

>> So, so cool, and SO moving. (In a way, it reminds me of the mega-bestseller Unbroken—but for picture-book readers!)

3 - Comment from a fellow writer I don’t know that I received via a fellow writer I do know:

>> I am blown sideways, gobsmacked, dumbfounded. What an extraordinarily moving story. It simply MUST be told. I can’t believe it hasn’t been picked up -- that is a travesty! And I love how Marc promotes/pitches it on his blog; why, it’s ... it’s ... heroic! His passion for the story is palpable -- contagious even. He is a gifted storyteller. This tale zigs, it zags and then ... WHOOSH, it dives and hits!

4 - Tweet to me from a 5th grade teacher:

>> The more middle grade nonfiction picture books, the better.

5 - Attendee comments after I mentioned the book in my Nevada Reading Week keynote (it was an hourlong talk and this book was only about 5 minutes of it, yet a sizable number of people singled it out):

• “Very interesting—this is great history no one knows about. I hope it will be published soon.”
• “I am interested in Thirty Minutes Over Oregon. Hopefully it will be published.”
• “Want to read Thirty Minutes Over Oregon.”
• “Especially poignant was the publishing process story of the Japanese [pilot] who bombed Oregon.”
• “The Japanese bomber story was amazing.”
• “Hope the Oregon book goes public.”
• “Loved his story about Thirty Minutes Over Oregon and hope it gets published.”
• “Interesting Oregon bombing story!”

Sorry for so much info, but I feel it’s all relevant in making an informed decision! As you can see, I have a lot of passion for this project and that will motivate me to work even harder to promote it. After all, look how much I have done even before it is a book...

May I email you the manuscript?

During the summer of 2013, I sent Jennifer copies of Boys of Steel and Bill the Boy Wonder, adorning the envelope with three symbols:

Thank you again to Candy Fleming and Audrey Vernick for pointing me toward Jennifer. And thank you again to Jennifer for taking flight with Nobuo and me.

By the way, Nobuo's first flight over the United States took place 76 years ago today.

Say it out loud for good luck

In May 2004, I began querying about Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman. Coincidentally, also in May 2004, I began being rejected for the same!

Querying continued for the rest of the year, interspersed with revision. The process reads like a shampoo bottle:

Query.
Revise.
Repeat.

By February 2005, more than a dozen editors had turned it down. I decided to do something I’d never done before: focus group a manuscript. On kids.

From 2001-2010, I was an author volunteer in a New York City program called Authors Read Aloud (part of an organization called Learning Leaders). In the program, authors make four visits a year to two classes in an underfunded school. (Note that I didn’t say “underprivileged.” You don’t need money to be privileged.) This enables the author and students to develop more of a rapport than your typical one-and-done school visit. My ARA schools were always in the Bronx.

On 2/10/05, on my third of the four visits that school year, I read the Boys of Steel manuscript to my two 5th grade classes. As unlike me as it is, I didn’t seem to record any verbatim reactions, but I remember they did tell me they liked it. (I know, kids in that situation will say they like most anything, but I did challenge them to explain why and remember being convinced that they did get something out of it.)

However, I don't remember if I made any changes based on their feedback. Still, just sharing it with part of the target audience may have been a good move, cosmically speaking.

Twelve days later, I queried Random House.

Six days after that, the Random House editor called to express interest. Three days after that, she called back to make an offer.

I don’t believe in karma or luck or omens. Except, perhaps, when it comes to kids from the Bronx.

The query that sold "Boys of Steel"

At the Wooster (OH) Young Authors' Conference, an aspiring author (and mother of one of the Young Authors) was asking me about getting published. We've stayed in touch and this week, she e-mailed me two questions.

One of the questions: "Do you have any suggestions as to how I can sell myself to an editor when I have never been published previously?"

Every editor is different so there is no one-pitch-fits-all answer. But generally, it doesn't matter if you've been published. What matters is if you wrote a good book. (Every author used to be an unpublished writer. And every author, regardless of how many well-received books s/he's had published, can still turn out a subpar book.)

Of course an editor will not get to your good book unless you introduce it both in a professional manner and in a way that makes it irresistible. In the query letter, describe your book as if it were flap (or back cover) copy, or even a poster tease, engineered to hook that casual browser.

Here is the query I sent Janet Schulman, the editor who eventually bought Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (which, at that time, was Boys of Steel: The Subtitle Is Undetermined):

I'm a writer who's authored over [oops—should have been "more than"] 40 books with publishers including Scholastic, HarperCollins, and Dutton. I also write regularly for magazines including Nickelodeon and National Geographic Kids. I don't work with an agent, which is why I'm contacting you directly.

May I have your permission to submit a picture book manuscript? I ask you because of The Boy on Fairfield Street. My manuscript is similar in that it focuses on the origin of another 20th century icon. Here's a one-line summary:

In the thrilling days of yesteryear, after a sleepless summer night, two shy boys create a character who will become the greatest icon in the history of pop culture.

I know the picture book market is tough right now, but this would be the first book on this subject in this format; plus the subject is as kid-friendly as they come. With all due respect to Ben Franklin, Pocahontas, Rosa Parks, and Neil Armstrong, the shelves are starving for some new blood, and my subjects are particularly inspirational. I'm confident that this book would appeal to a whole bunch of libraries, school and public. And there's a whole other active market for it which will be obvious once you read it.

If I may send it, to what address?

I didn't give the title or even specify the subjects of the book. Funnily, the book itself doesn't include the word "Superman" in the story proper. But that's off-topic.

The other question the aspiring author asked this week: "What is currently the turnaround time from putting an article or query letter in the mail to receiving the editors acknowledgment and answer?"

There is no "currently." It varies from editor to editor, day to day.

I e-mailed the above query on 2/22/05 at 11:10 a.m. I heard back at 11:26 a.m. But I e-mailed other editors queries before that...and, in some cases, have yet to hear back. So again, it varies.

(I should clarify that industry protocol typically dictates that unpublished writers not e-mail an editor unless submission guidelines or the editor him/herself has stated that is okay.)