As part of my ongoing series, here is part two of  ”The Birth of a New Book.” 

The beginning stages of a book are like the beginning of a new world. Exciting and fast paced. Where there use to be a blank screen or piece of paper, there is life. Ideas begin to grow and swirl and take shape. Their is a slight glimmer of light that shines brighter and brighter. There is movement. All is fresh and new. But then what? Once that world exists, what is the next step. This can vary depending on the writer and the type of story and I can not say what is right or wrong for someone else. Also, I have never been one to learn strictly through a book. One of the greatest teachers I ever had, the talented and insightful Tim McLaurin said it best when he sat before his fresh faced class of writers, pointed out of the classroom window and told them point blank, “There isn’t anything I can teach you in here. You have to learn it out there.” I keep that in mind at all times. So I follow no set course or set of rules or book of how or why. I let this meandering new world dictate to me what happens next.

Let’s get our feet wet! When I last left this story, I pulled it verbatim of how I wrote it 8 years ago. I have grown a lot since then. No, I don’t mean in the waistline! Grown as a writer and a person. My first step with this story is to edit and fine tune the story. I will make notes as necessar. Also at this stage, I begin to think about page breaks. This isn’t always true for writers, but since I will be doing the illustrations as well it is a consideration I keep in mind. As I read the passage, I visualize an illustration…Is it strong enough to make a compelling image? Does it have movement? Variation? Can the idea stand alone on its own page? If not, that is a sign I need to rewrite or reflow. I can’t stress this enough: Every page must have a purpose. One question I constantly ask myself at this stage is “how does this advance the narrative?” If I can’t answer that question, it is a red flag something isn’t working. This story is also different in that it rhymes. Rhythm and the cadence of sounds must garner attention as well. Saying it out loud as it is edited will help.

Here is my first rewrite.My changes will be in pink. My comments in green. Eliminated words will be struck through.

Why Orange Monkey do you live in a tree?
Asked the Purple Fish who lived in the sea.(make this a spread) PF and OM are names, not “the’s” capitalize throughout
Trees are so scary, they reach to the sky! (give emphasis with punctuation, effects how it is read)
And It would hurt very much to fall from that high.(make this a spread)

Trees are hard but my sea is soft.
A sea is a thing you can never fall off. (make this a spread) love the way this lines rolls off of tongue
So why Orange Monkey do you live in that a tree? consistency
Come Jump in the water and live in the sea!(make this a spread) Jump is better call to action than “come.” Should make more compelling image.

Because, said the monkey swinging on who swung from a vine. (more consistent with “who lived in the sea” above”
The sea is not yours but this tree is all mine. (make this a spread) adding “not” gives more meaning here
My tree is hard but your sea is too big. love the directness. “Sea, not “see,” nice catch Stacey!

Compared to your sea my tree is a twig.(make this a spread)

Your tree is so high. High as can be.
My water is low. Come live in the sea.(make this a spread) not completely sold on these two lines, will give further though and revisit.
I love to swing. I love to live life in the sky. “life” is more compelling, more descriptive and appropriate.
I love being a monkey and here is why. (make this a spread)

Up high there is In this tree lives one monkey. That is my wish. Reads with better rhythm.
Because But down deep in the water there are lives many bigger fish. (make this a spread) These sentences now agree and work together better. 

And So, said the Orange Monkey that lived in the tree. consistency.
I live up high. Living Down there is for you, up here is for me. (make this a spread) much better.

The Purple Fish just smiled and then swam away. insert “just” for better rhythm.
He loved the water. It is where he would stay. (make this a spread)
And the Orange Monkey was so happy to live up high, smiled back from up in the sky
That he hung Then hanging from his tail, and he waved good-bye.(make this a spread)
The Purple Fish may swim, in his down there in the sea, use “the” instead of “his” to show he doesn’t own sea, use “down” to compliment “up.”
But I’m happy up here. This tree is for me. (make this a spread)

This is just the first rewrite. I am sure there will be many small tweaks here and there. One thing I will be giving a lot of thought to is tense. It is important to make sure past, present and future are all used consistently. In my opinion, this is a weakness of mine so I am careful to watch for it. Page breaks aren’t usually this cut and dry but because of the structure and being a rhyming piece, they are easy to place in this story. As I have the breaks now, there will be 26 pages total.  Great! I’m under 32! Plus it will leave room for the title page, cpi data, etc..I will probably add in one more spread to give me 28 pages.

On another note, for people interested self publishing, I have come across a wonderful blog. It is maintained by Stacey Geist and shares her experience as she self publishes her children’s book Stomple and the Super-Huge Temper Tantrum. It contains lots of great insights into her experience. Check it out if you have a moment. Stromple’s Spot.