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Re: Jacob's New Dress
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From: Ian Hoffman <ianhoffman101_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 21:34:44 -0700
That's an interesting story, KT.
Our first job on the path to publication was to convince our agent--Deborah Warren of East/West Agency--that Jacob's New Dress was commercially viable. When we showed it to her, in 2011, gender variance was a new and edgy topic. Deborah liked the manuscript, but wasn't familiar with the subject. She told us that if she was going to walk into a mainstream publisher and sell our book, we had to convince HER there was a market for it before she could convince anyone else.
We were a little shocked. We'd worked with Deborah for years and really trusted her. Didn't she see the value of the book? I mean--THIS WAS OUR LIVES!!!
But after we took a few deep breathes, we realized Deborah was right. If we wanted to reach a mainstream audience through a mainstream publisher, first we had prove there was an audience. So we wrote up a great pitch and a marketing plan and sent them back to Deborah.
Once Deborah understood the topic and the audience , she knew just where to take the book--Albert Whitman & Company. Albert Whitman has a long history of really lovely books about special interest subjects. They picked it up right away, paired us with a terrific illustrator (Chris Case), and got the book out within a year.
I don't mean to downplay the work Sarah and I did writing Jacob's New Dress, but children's picture books are a team effort. There are writers, agents, publishers, editors, illustrators, art directors, marketers, librarians, booksellers, and readers behind every successful book. Sarah and I are genuinely grateful for our team.
-Ian Hoffman ianhoffman101_at_gmail.com
Co-author, "Jacob's New Dress," Albert Whitman & Company, Spring 2014
On May 21, 2014, at 4:04 PM, K.T. Horning wrote:
> Ian, thanks so much for the thorough background. How lucky Sam is to have parents who appreciate him and who are willing to let him be himself!
>
> While there have been a few picture books about boys who want to wear dresses either self-published or published by small alternative presses such as Lollipop Power, I think "Jacob's New Dress" may be the first to be published by a mainstream U.S. publisher (in this case, Albert Whitman). So I'm curious: what was your path to publication? Was it relatively easy to find a publisher?
>
> --KT
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Received on Wed 21 May 2014 11:35:16 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 21:34:44 -0700
That's an interesting story, KT.
Our first job on the path to publication was to convince our agent--Deborah Warren of East/West Agency--that Jacob's New Dress was commercially viable. When we showed it to her, in 2011, gender variance was a new and edgy topic. Deborah liked the manuscript, but wasn't familiar with the subject. She told us that if she was going to walk into a mainstream publisher and sell our book, we had to convince HER there was a market for it before she could convince anyone else.
We were a little shocked. We'd worked with Deborah for years and really trusted her. Didn't she see the value of the book? I mean--THIS WAS OUR LIVES!!!
But after we took a few deep breathes, we realized Deborah was right. If we wanted to reach a mainstream audience through a mainstream publisher, first we had prove there was an audience. So we wrote up a great pitch and a marketing plan and sent them back to Deborah.
Once Deborah understood the topic and the audience , she knew just where to take the book--Albert Whitman & Company. Albert Whitman has a long history of really lovely books about special interest subjects. They picked it up right away, paired us with a terrific illustrator (Chris Case), and got the book out within a year.
I don't mean to downplay the work Sarah and I did writing Jacob's New Dress, but children's picture books are a team effort. There are writers, agents, publishers, editors, illustrators, art directors, marketers, librarians, booksellers, and readers behind every successful book. Sarah and I are genuinely grateful for our team.
-Ian Hoffman ianhoffman101_at_gmail.com
Co-author, "Jacob's New Dress," Albert Whitman & Company, Spring 2014
On May 21, 2014, at 4:04 PM, K.T. Horning wrote:
> Ian, thanks so much for the thorough background. How lucky Sam is to have parents who appreciate him and who are willing to let him be himself!
>
> While there have been a few picture books about boys who want to wear dresses either self-published or published by small alternative presses such as Lollipop Power, I think "Jacob's New Dress" may be the first to be published by a mainstream U.S. publisher (in this case, Albert Whitman). So I'm curious: what was your path to publication? Was it relatively easy to find a publisher?
>
> --KT
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Received on Wed 21 May 2014 11:35:16 PM CDT
