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Featured Interview -Heather Ayris Burnell

I can’t say enough about Heather. She’s an awesome mother, an amazing writer, an adventurer, always willing to help others and an up and coming innkeeper. Watch out Hilton Family!

When you’re finished reading this interview, please visit Heather’s website to learn even more about her.

Heather, do you remember the first story you ever wrote? How old were you and is that story still in print inside a personal scrapbook or box somewhere?

The first stories I “wrote” were ones I dictated to my mom. She wrote them down on the bottom of the pictures I’d drawn for the story. She actually recently brought me a big box of my stories. Apparently I made a lot of them!

Growing up, what picture books were your favorites?

I absolutely loved What Do People Do All Day? By Richard Scarry. I would sit and read that book for hours. I loved learning about where things came from and how they were grown or made. The artwork in that book is fabulous. It showed so much of the intertwining of life. I was fascinated.

Some other definite childhood favorites were Chicken Soup with Rice and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Are You My Mother, Go, Dog. Go!, and Big Dog…Little Dog by P. D. Eastman, any book by Mercer Mayer, Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate, and Put Me In The Zoo by Robert Lopshire. I also loved The Elves and the Shoemaker. Not sure of which version, but I thought the idea of two little elves coming in and helping someone was so very nice. I still do. I wish some would come over to my house!

Where did your inspiration to become a serious writer for children arise?

Not too long after I decided to start writing for children I told one of my best friends, who also happens to be a child psychologist, that I had written some children’s stories. She somehow talked me into sending her one to look at. I mailed her my handwritten story and she marked it all up and mailed it back. Really, it wasn’t a very good story, and she kindly pointed out the problems she saw in it. But she was also enthusiastic and encouraging about it. She’s an amazingly blunt person so I knew that if she believed in my writing there had to be something to it. I decided to go 21st century, get a computer, hook up to the internet, and start really trying to be a writer. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Can you tell us a bit about your road to publication? When did you seriously begin submitting your stories to publishers? Did you get a contract for the first book you wrote? Walk us through your journey.

I wrote a lot of stories before I ever tried submitting to publishers. I was completely freaked out at the prospect of anyone reading anything I wrote, so I had to ease into it. I immersed myself in all the books and websites on writing that I could find. After I’d been writing for a while I went to a local writing class where I met a lady who had run a small publishing company that she had sold years back. She was looking to start a new company. We got to talking and she asked to see some of my work. I showed her a few of my picture book manuscripts. There was one that was a mystery about a missing librarian. She asked if I could turn it into a chapter book that could help teach children about the library. So I did. That became my first published book. The company wanted more chapter books from me but with three young children I just didn’t have the time or energy for longer works. Picture books were just a better fit for me at the time so I decided to focus on them and other shorter works.

I joined a great critique group which really kept me writing. One day one of my partners put up a monster story for critique (It is now a published book, I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll), which reminded me that I had a monster story too. I polished it up and managed to get it sent to a couple of publishers. I got a request from one on a query at the same time I had interest from Raven Tree Press on the full manuscript. The other publisher passed, but Bedtime Monster made it through all the readings at Raven Tree and they offered me a contract.

Becoming an author has definitely been a process. In eight or so years I’ve written a lot of stories, many of which have never been read. I’ve gone from form rejections, to some nice personals here and there, to acceptance for publication, and now to being represented by Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary. It’s been slow and steady but I finally feel like I might sometimes actually know what I’m doing.

Of the rejections you’ve received, do any really stand out in your mind as distinctive in a good or bad way?

For sure the nice, helpful rejections stand out in my mind. I can’t even choose which one of them was the best because they were each special to me and helped me move forward with my writing. Anytime an agent or editor takes the time to write back and give advice on a manuscript is a special gift.

What advice can you provide beginning writers who receive rejection after rejection and feel like giving up?

Form rejections are just that—forms. They’re not bad. People are just busy. If writing is what you love to do, keep doing it! I like to think that rejections are even good. They mean you’re getting your writing out there and making a go at meeting your goal of publication. Belief in yourself is the most important thing you can have as a writer because you will be told no. Numerous times. Immerse yourself in the world of literature. Always keep learning. Read books in your genre. Study the market. Be a part of the online and offline writing communities. You never know when some new piece of knowledge will help propel your efforts forward.

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