Meet Author Rob Sanders ~By Suzy Leopold

Being able to write well is a gift. It is a skill that I aspire to do, as I continue to hone the craft of writing for kids. A writer must choose the right word and write the word in the right spot to create a book that kids want to read again and again. 

Who better to turn to for inspiration as great read alouds and to study his books as mentor texts? He is a writer that knows the right words that make a story sing. He knows the right spot to write the words, enticing the reader to turn the pages. He chooses words that are bouncy and playful and carefully selected verbs. This published author teaches students how to select the right word and use it in the right spot in their own creative writing. 

I want to introduce you to a writer who knows about the gift of writing. Meet children's book author: 

Mr. Rob Sanders

Q: Tell us about your books, Cowboy Christmas and Outer Space Bedtime Race. 
A: COWBOY CHRISTMAS was illustrated by John Manders, edited by Diane Muldrow, and published by Golden Books-Random House in 2012. The book follows three cowboys stranded on the range at Christmas time. Their cook, Cookie, is with them, too. The boys try to recreate their Christmas memories with each failure worse and more hilarious than the one before. When Christmas finally arrives, the cowboys mope out with the cattle certainly that Christmas (and Santy Claus) has missed them. But a surprise awaits the cowboys back at camp!

Cowboy Christmas
By Rob Sanders
Illustrated by John Manders

OUTER SPACE BEDTIME RACE was illustrated by Brian Won, edited by Maria Modugno, and published by Random House Children’s Book. The rhyming, bedtime story uncovers the bedtime routines of aliens throughout the universe. Eventually readers make the trek back to Earth where it’s time for bedtime for earthling sleepyheads.

Outer Space Bedtime Race
By Rob Sanders
Illustrated by Brian Won

RUBY ROSE ON HER TOES is illustrated by Debbie Ohi, edited by Margaret Anastas, and will be published by HarperCollins. The book releases early in 2016. The story follows Ruby Rose (who dances everywhere she goes) as she enters her first day of school. To her horror, dancing is not part of school and everyone seems to tell her, “No dancing allowed.” But by the end of the story Ruby gets everyone (including her teacher Mrs. D.) up on their feet!

Q: Share your author history. How long had you been writing until you became published? 

A: I’ve been writing all my life—like most of us. In my twenties I started writing religious education materials for children and their teachers. By 30 I was working at the publishing company I’d been writing for, and by 35 I was managing the editorial group that published children’s educational curriculum and products for the largest religious publishing company in the world. I worked for that company for fifteen years and wrote an untold number of teaching units, books, magazine articles, and more. A few of those titles are still in circulation.

When I left that company, I started teaching creative writing in elementary schools in Tampa, Florida. One day I decided I needed to stop talking about writing, and start doing the kind of writing I always wanted to do. At 50, I wrote down my goal—become a real published children’s author. All the success I’ve enjoyed thus far—two books released, three more under contract, signing with an agent, and more—has happened in the last six years.

Six years is a short time in the world of publishing, but I really have been putting in the work and gaining experience that led to this point in time for the last thirty years!

Q: Can you tell us about the process of finding and signing with an agent/editor? 

A: My first book deal was made without an agent. I met Diane Muldrow from Golden Books-Random House during a paid critique at the SCBWI Los Angeles Conference. She was immediately interested in my COWBOY CHRISTMAS manuscript because her dad and granddad were both cowboys! She suggested some revisions. Of course, I immediately got busy revising! I mailed off the revised manuscript to Diane a week later. Within two weeks she took the book to acquisitions and, two months later the book was under contract, and two years later COWBOY CHRISTMAS was released!

I met my agent, Rubin Pfeffer, at an SCBWI Florida conference during a paid critique. Rubin didn’t like the piece he was critiquing—actually, I think he said he knew he couldn’t sell it, which is the kiss of death for a manuscript. But I pitched other manuscripts to him during that critique and we agreed to stay in touch. For several weeks we emailed back and forth, had phone conversations, and I sent different manuscripts to Rubin to evaluate. Finally, we decided to work together.

I can’t say enough about the benefit of being a member of SCBWI, and of attending conferences. Pay for a critique. It’s the perfect way to meet an editor and/or agent. That face-to-face contact is invaluable. I’m still having critiques at conferences. As a matter of fact, I had one two weekends ago. The editor once again didn’t care for the piece I had sent in for critique, but we talked about other pieces. I asked my agent to send the editor one of my manuscripts that I thought would tick off all of his boxes. Two days later he asked for a phone conversation to talk about revisions. The following Monday we talked and by the end of the day he had sent a contract to my editor. If I hadn’t met the editor, listened to his presentations, and had some face-to-face time with him via a paid critique, none of that would have happened.

A note about agents—Agents are a really vital part of the publishing industry. Many publishers only accept submissions from agents. Additionally, agents are specialists (or should be) in contracts and work for you to make sure you get the best terms and the best results from a publisher. Picture book writers often find it difficult to secure an agent until they’ve got a publishing deal. Going to conferences will help you meet editors who often allow conference participants to break the rules and send a manuscript to them. That’s the way to get your foot in the door with a publisher which then might lead to an agent representing you.

While an agent is important, remember you are responsible for your own writing career. No one can do the writing for you, no one can make the contacts for you, and no one can establish an ongoing relationship with an editor for you. Be prepared to do the work before and after you have an agent!

Q: What words of wisdom or advice do you have for aspiring writers?
A: You’ve got to write a lot. The more you write, the better writer you become. Experiment with different styles. Listen and learn and let your writing reflect what you’ve learned. An editor and agent most likely will ask you, “What else are you writing? What else do you have? What else can you show me?” Or like me, you may have a critique that goes south pretty quickly and you’ll need to be able to pull out another piece or another idea or pitch a different project. Keep on writing.

Q: What inspired you to write your first book?

A: Well my first book and my first published book are two different things! LOL! The story of my first published book begins when I was driving home from my first Lisa Wheeler picture book boot camp. I was listening to a CD for a choral concert. One of the songs was called “Hanukkah Cowboy.” I thought, “I should write a book with that title. No one’s done that!” Then I remembered that I didn’t know anything about Hanukkah, so the idea quickly morphed into Cowboy Christmas. I basically plotted out the story as I drove home listening to that CD.

Q: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
A: Deborah Arms White taught the first writing boot camp I attended, she got me started. I stalked Deborah Wiles at a conference in my school district, attending every session she led. She told me about SCBWI. I met Joyce Sweeney at an SCBWI Florida conference and she has become a dependable editor and critiquer. Margie Palatini has been a kind and generous online friend and supporter. But I think I would have to say that Lisa Wheeler is my picture book mentor. Lisa leads great picture book boot camps, gives on-the-nose critiques, and has a real feel for what works and what doesn’t. She has been generous with her time and is a constant cheerleader for me! She taught me how to critique others (as well as myself), and has made me a better writer. 

Q: Do you have any hidden talents you want to share?
A: I started college as a music major and had dreams of a Broadway or operatic career. I’ve sung for audiences as small as ten and as large as three thousand. Though I’m not actively involved in music these days, I often sing to my students—it gets their attention and can get them moving faster if they know doing so will make me quit singing!

Q: How do you come up with ideas to write about?
A: Ideas are absolutely everywhere. Listen to conversations, look at billboards, remember events in your childhood, go on a walk, visit the dog park, volunteer at an preschool or elementary school, watch children’s TV shows, listen to music. Seriously. Ideas are everywhere. I’ve found gathering ideas is easy. Doing something with them is the difficult part. Here’s one of my favorite things to do with a list of ideas—mash two unexpected things together. Cowboys and Christmas don’t naturally go together, neither do aliens and bedtime. When you start making interesting mash-ups, interesting things begin to happen. 

Rob Sanders

Where can readers find out more about you?

Web site: www.robsanderswrites.com

Blog: www.robsanderswrites.blogspot.com

Twitter: RobSandersWrite

Facebook: RobSandersWrite

And for a previous post that was featured on our GROG Blog, check out this graphic organizer created by Rob. It is an excellent writing tool to add to your Writer's Tool Box.

What a delight to share your story, Rob. You are admired. A big thank you for celebrating our GROG One Year Birthday Bash this month. Your generous book giveaway is appreciated.

Hip, Hip, Hooray 

for the winners of the giveaway:

OUTER SPACE BEDTIME RACE

Damon Dean

COWBOY CHRISTMAS

Joyce Tucker