Advice for young writers from Anna Lazowski, debut picture book author of T.REXES CAN’T TIE THEIR SHOES (illustrated by Steph Laberis)
Shortlink to this post: https://debbieohi.link/t-rex ~ Retweet suggestions: Anna’s Advice
Looking for a hugely entertaining alphabet book that also has an uplifting message of empowerment for young readers? I highly recommend T. REXES CAN’T TIE THEIR SHOES by Anna Lazowski and Steph Laberis, launching June 29th, 2021 from Doubleday Books For Young Readers. The back matter also has an alphabetized factoid list of “all the amazing things animals CAN do!”
This is an alphabet book that can be appreciated by grown-ups as well as young readers, with lots of potential discussion points. The illustrations of animals in ridiculous situations are so SOOOOO FUN — omigosh, even as I’m writing this post, I went back to look through the digital ARC and can’t decide which is my favourite, though I’m leaning toward the “Cheetahs can’t chew bubble gum” page.
I asked debut picture book author Anna Lazowski if she had any advice for young writers, and here’s what she said:
“Write what you want to write, because as you move through the publishing process, it will become incredibly important for you to truly believe in your work. The rejections in this industry are endless, and they come at every stage. Critique partners might reject elements of your manuscript, agents will reject your work, and once you’re on submission to editors, they will reject your work. Then once you’re finally published, some reviewers will reject your work. If you don’t fully believe in your stories, this will be extremely hard to take. It’s hard as it is, so make sure you’re all in on the work you’re doing. It will make the rest a little bit easier to navigate.”
Wise advice. Thank you, Anna! And congrats to you and Steph on your upcoming launch!
Also see other Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators From Children’s Book Creators and my other Interviews With Children’s Book Creators.
Image at the top of this post was created for my new #BookADay book journal. For more info about Donalyn Miller’s #BookADay challenge, see Donalyn’s post in the Nerdy Book Club blog.