Donor Wisdom

We asked our prize donors  from this year and years past (authors, illustrators, and agents) to share tips about zombie manuscripts. Here's what they had to say:

Cathy Ballou Mealey:  Circle your favorite 20 words in your manuscript and use them to create a word cloud or word list. Does this' word snapshot' capture the tone and heart of the story? Find synonyms for at least 10 words on the list, and try substituting them back into your document. Does this lead you to new twists, surprises or pathways that you hadn't considered before?

Andrea Denish:  Listen to your Zombie manuscript and find out what it needs, they aren't all after your soul! Sometimes a shift in point of view will make a difference - if it's written in third person, try writing in first person. Are the jokes falling flat? Maybe a more lyrical tone is a better fit. But if a complete overhaul is needed, remember what inspired you in the first place and find the heart of the story. Give yourself permission to surgically remove the parts that are not working (save those little darlings in case they can be used elsewhere) and give that precious beating heart a new look and a new life. 

Lynne Marie:  Dead manuscripts are sometimes just manuscript corpses awaiting a bolt of lightening (ala Frankenstein) to bring them back to life. There are so many ways to attempt to facilitate that strike -try swapping out the theme, the setting, the character, the problem, or even the topic, and rewriting with a different slant.  Or, set the story timeperiod before or after your manuscript and see if that gives it a spark. As some examples, make Goldilocks a Zombie, or transform a story about two sisters into one about two witches - the sky's the limit! 

Erin Dealey:  Writing is a Language ART. The process is supposed to be messy! 

Sarah Aronson:  When I want to raise a ms from the dead, I go back to what sparked my imagination in the first place. I ask: what do I have to say? Who are these characters? Why are they still bugging me? And then I ask the story: do you want to play? 

If the story says yes, levitation can commence!

Berrie Torgan-Randall:  I have a lot of dead manuscripts and dummies gathering dust on my studio shelves and in my google drive. I used to be discouraged about these poor lost souls but now I think of them as practice which led to better manuscripts and dummies. And remember friends - never give up the ship (keep going even if you feel like giving up).

Kim-Hoa Ung:  Keep writing and seek help from critique partners. Rooting for you!

Anne Cavanaugh Sawan:  Let the zombies rest in the dark for a while. You'll be surprised to see how differently you feel about them when you pull them out a few months later. 

Anne Cavanaugh Sawan:  I don't have too much advice about picture books, though I would say two things about revising and writing for children in general:

1. Take the time to play when it comes to revision. Your words aren't wasted by starting over again and again. You never know when a new entry into the story will appear.

2. Keep going! Keep going! Keep going! 

Sandra Martín:  Print it out. Tape yourself reading it. Does it have a beginning, middle, and end? Does the rhythm stumble? Try a different POV or tense.

Hannah Holt:  When a manuscript isn't working, I draft from scratch. I'll play with the POV, rewrite in rhyme/prose, try a different story structure, and change the voice. You can't bring something back from the dead by reshuffling words. It needs a crash cart. Zap that baby back to life like a defibrillator. "Clear!" BZZZ! 

Heather Stigall:  Sometimes letting a manuscript sit for a while is all you need to look at it with fresh eyes, so find a story you thought was dead and channel your inner Doctor Frankenstein!

Janie Havemeyer:  Remind yourself why you wanted to write the story in the first place.  Writing improves over time. Recognize that the story reflects who were as a writer when you last worked on it. Now decide whether you want to make small edits, revise or rewrite.

Dianne Ochiltree:  My best advice on how to revise dead PB manuscripts?  First, do some marketplace research on your story's topic/theme to find out what is already published, how many titles are covering the same territory, with a focus on relatively new books in the marketplace.  (An Amazon website search gives you a decent consumer-focused result, and WorldCat.org offers a look at the database of books in circulation at libraries.  You'll want to know both.) THEN review your manuscript against the data you've collected about recent picture books that are like yours. Do not despair if you see something similar!  Ask yourself: can I find a new approach or angle on the topic? Can I adjust the target readership to slightly younger or slightly older than the recently-pubbed books on this topic? And so on.

Stephanie Hansen:  Receiving feedback can be beneficial for authors revising a stalled manuscript. However, it's important to first review the feedback and then put it aside for several days or weeks until you have devised a strategy. This provides some separation from your work and allows your mind to creatively map out the next steps. If approached properly, revisiting your manuscript should be an exciting experience.

Judith Valdés B.:  Actually, my debut, AN OFRENDA FOR PERRO is a manuscript I revised during KidlitZombieWeek. It's a living testament that the program works—I had shelved the manuscript, but when the program started, I took it out again. That revision helped me land my agent and set me on the path to publication.

Angela De Groot:  Sometimes stories only appear to be dead. Perhaps they're resting like Snow White and only need the kiss of revisions to bring them back to life.

Ellen L. Ramsey:  Try out new ideas and suggestions from critique group partners, editors, and agents. See if these ideas work for the story you want to tell. Don’t give up on manuscripts you love. A BOOK FOR BEAR was published many years after I wrote the first draft.

Shannon Stocker:  Butt in chair, and listen to the feedback you get from your trusted critique partners! 

Teresa Ho Robeson:  I like to go by the mantra from the movie Galaxy Quest when it comes to my manuscripts: never give up; never surrender. 

Kelsey E. Gross :  Revision is where the magic happens! It's amazing how some time away from a manuscript can bring solutions and new ideas. Sometimes you'll stick with the original story, and other times it will spark ideas for something new....either way, it's always time well spent! 

Diana Murray :  Manuscripts are never truly dead because if nothing else, they inspire other ideas.

Maria Antonia :  I like to take an idea I'm stuck on and brainstorm the "promise of the premise." Basically, you write down any and all possibilities connected with your premise ... things the reader will expect in your book. This can help you figure out what needs to be in your story. You can also use this to subvert expectations and give your reader that clever twist! 

Suzy Levinson:  Sometimes I like to copy/paste my dead manuscript into a new doc, rename it, and take out ALL the formatting. Changing the font is especially helpful! It's a lot easier to start hacking away at a story when it looks like a weird, format-free mess.

Aixa Perez-Prado:  Sometimes to bring something back from the dead you need to wait until it's been dead long enough that it's no longer warm. Meanwhile, work on other masterpieces and then go back to your dead friend with fresh eyes. 

Sandra Nickel:  One of the best ways I know to revise a dead manuscript is to break your text into 14 spreads. Most picture books have 14 double-page spreads, and this way you can 'see' your story as it will be told in book format. In Spread 1, give your readers a good idea what the story is about. From there, build the tension of your story. For example, show your protagonist's day getting worse and worse. By about Spread 10, the tension of the story should be at its highest. From Spread 11 to 13 plan on resolving the story. On Spread 14, have fun! This is the kicker that will add that extra bit of humor or maybe an "awe" moment.

C.K. Malone: Any manuscript can be brought back to life because nothing written can be dead forever if peeps are willing to put in the work. 

Melissa Trempe: Time creates the distance we need to “fall out of love” with a manuscript. Not that you won’t still love it, but perhaps you won’t be blinded by love the way you were when you first wrote it. Time away from a story allows me to see it more clearly and be open to trying a new POV, angle, or plot twist. So, brush off the dust and dive into those forgotten files. Perhaps some time away was all you needed to envision something new! 

Ana Siqueira: Read your Zombie manuscript, read the feedback you have received and be open to try different versions of the same. Try many different versions, then mix and match, and maybe you will find the recipe to revive it. Good luck. 

Maria Antonia: When evaluating a story to see if it still has life, first be sure you've had enough time away to come back to the story with fresh eyes. Now, read the story from beginning to end. Then try giving it a critique as if somebody else had written the story! 

Kim A. Larson: Go back to your first draft and find the vison and passion you had for it. They are never too old to resuscitate! 

Megan and Jorge Lacera: Get comfortable with revising...over and over again! Many people stop too early with a manuscript...dig deep and prepare to venture into the very heart of your story. We estimate that we revised our debut picture book over 40 times. 

Tammi Sauer:  I’ve had many zombie manuscripts rise from the dead and become real live books. One example is Nugget & Fang. Confession: In the original draft that I sent to my agent, Fang (the shark) ended up eating his best friend Nugget (the minnow). I know, I know. Terrible, right? But I thought it was hilarious! My brilliant agent kindly told me that one main character eating the other main character might not be the best plan. I put the manuscript away and forgot about it. Nearly a year later, out of nowhere, I figured out how to save Nugget’s life. I’m so glad I did. The book sold at auction. I went on to publish two more books about these fishy friends. 

Kristen Schroeder:  Good ideas can be executed in many different ways, so keep trying! A manuscript I revised during #KidLitZombieWeek 2020 is out on submission at the moment. 

Melissa Richeson: Sometimes it’s best to open a blank document for a “zombie” rewrite. Working directly in an old document could limit your creativity to mere line revisions or tie you to a less-than-ideal structure. You may not get the most lively zombie that way! Instead, consider reading the “dead” text several times and noting your favorite parts. Use those pieces as a foundational framework, then allow a new creation to “come to life” in a blank space. Change the POV, enhance the voice, play with dialogue, reverse the timeline—let your zombie come to life in unexpected ways. 

Jennifer March Soloway: A PB Revision Tip: Every word in a picture book needs to work to achieve the following (a) story, (b) characterization, (c) tone, (d) cadence, and (e) readability—not necessarily in that order. Review each word for those qualities. If the word doesn’t achieve 2-3 of those qualities, cut or replace with a better word. 

Brian Gehrlein: I'm participating in #KidLitZombieWeek because I believe any story can be "zombified" given enough time and revision. I thought my debut book, THE BOOK OF RULES (FSG 2021), was dead...turns out it only needed to be dug up and fed a few spoonfuls of brains! 

After you dig up an old, dead story, look at what inspired you to write it in the first place. What's the heart? Time in the grave can help sort out how to get the heart beating again...then slash the rest to pieces! How can you tell the same story but in a totally fresh way!? 

Rosie J. Pova: What inspired me to participate in Kidlit Zombie Week was that throughout my writing journey, I've gradually learned to love and appreciate revisions, and now, revising has become one of my favorite stages in the process of crafting a story! I am always open to editorial feedback and revisions have revived many stories for me, transforming them into publishable works. So, I'm ALL for breathing life into a zombie manuscript! 

My advice to writers is to stay open-minded when receiving feedback, to play and experiment with their stories, and also to trust the process, knowing that revision is vital and that it WILL be all worth it in the end. 

Lindsay Leslie: I highly suggest leaning on critique partners to point out the rough spots in your manuscript. Also, never fully give up on something you've shelved. There might be a shiny nugget in a shelved piece that may take you someplace new and fantastic. You just need the distance of time to see it. 

Dead manuscripts can be a diamond in the rough! You’ve given up on a story. It sits in your “dead story” file folder collecting cyber dust bunnies for months. Perfect! Your brain has released from it enough. Now you can take another look at it with those fresh eyeballs and fresh brain (not the zombie brain we get when looking at our own tortured work for too long). I’ve done this very thing with a manuscript of mine, and it is now on submission. Go dig up that grave! 

Tara Lazar: There is always a story lurking somewhere! Sometimes if I can't revive an old manuscript I'll use pieces of it in new stories--kind of like Frankenstein, cobbled together from parts. 

Revision is good, but don't revise to death. When you're down to making nitty-gritty word choices, or decisions about commas, you are probably done. 

Lori Degman: My first published book, 1 Zany Zoo, was a zombie manuscript. I wrote the first versions in the 1990's. I submitted the typewritten manuscript seven times and they were all rejected. Back then, there was no internet, and I had no idea there were organizations like SCBWI. I'd never heard of critique groups and I didn't know any other children's book writers. I was completely on my own. After about four years of writing and submitting, I went back to work. I was so busy with work and my kids' activities, that I stopped writing and submitting. Fast forward about ten years.  My sons were in high school and college and I had much more time to write, so I decided to give it another try.  I found SCBWI and a critique group on the internet and with the help of both, started revising my old manuscripts.  I got a paid critique and the critiquer suggested I make it an alphabet or counting story (which I did).  After rewriting it, I heard about the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest and entered my manuscript.  In November, 2008, I won the contest and the manuscript was purchased by Simon & Schuster. 

Teresa Robeson: Queen of Physics was a zombie manuscript. I thought it died when my first agent, after having submitted it to editors, quit the business. It rose from the grave when the one-and-only Jane Yolen picked it to mentor after my wonderful critique group the Penguins persuaded me to send it to the We Need Diverse Books mentorship program for 2017. And then it completely resurrected when fabulous editor Christina Pulles made an offer on it. 

Never give up on a story if you know in your gut that it is an important one. Publishing is such a subjective business. Just because the current group of editors can't appreciate your story doesn't mean that a few years from now, when 50% of the editors have turned over, there won't be one who sees the same spark in your story that you do. 

Amanda Jackson: You’ve already taken a break from your story - now’s the perfect time to brainstorm! Before you start revising, try to reconnect with the spark that inspired the story in the first place. Was it something that made you laugh? Curious? Angry? How did you feel? Get back there and stay open to new ways of fleshing it out. You might be surprised by the ideas that come with this fresh perspective. 

Shauna LaVoy Reynolds: Out of all the stories I've shelved, I can't think of any that I would never want to return to. Some are only missing a little something, and some only have a little something that's salvageable. What they all have in common is that I need some time to grow as a person and a writer to figure out exactly how to resurrect them. 

My revision advice? Sometimes a switch from third person to first (or vice-versa!) can help you understand your characters better. Sometimes a change of setting is needed to make your characters more (or less!) comfortable. It's your world -- there are a million ways to go wild and experiment until you get it just right. 

Sophia Gholz: If I could impart one piece of advice it would be this: it's okay to pause when you need to. So often we hear that authors have to write everyday to keep going. The adage of "butt in chair" is a mantra we repeat. Yes, you have to actually sit and write in order to produce a manuscript, and often you have to force yourself to do so. But hitting the pause button can be just as important. It's about balance. Allowing yourself to focus on other things can refill your creativity when it's lacking. It's okay to take a day/week/month if you need it. A writer is always a writer, whether words are flowing or not. Pause and come back when you need to. 

Vivian Kirkfield: One of my manuscripts went to an editor who asked for an R&R (revise and resubmit). I revised. We resubmitted. The editor said it wasn't there yet. I revised. We resubmitted. The editor said it still wasn't there yet. But, if I was willing to keep trying, she'd be willing to look at it again. I found out what books she had edited in the past few years, borrowed them from the library, and studied them as mentor texts. I revised. We resubmitted. And the editor acquired it and PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Cycle Around the World will be coming out in Spring 2023. EMBRACE REVISION AND NEVER GIVE UP. 

Kirsten Larsen: Revision to me is more about re-imagining a story. Don’t be afraid to go back to your initial story spark and just start over, choosing a completely different POV or different structure. 

Pam Calvert: I have a heart for the poor little zombies that exist in desk drawers all over the world. I have a picture book that has almost sold so many times I can’t count but for whatever reason, mostly timing, it's still buried. 

Never EVER give up! Selling a book is one part talent and ten parts DETERMINATION. If you receive glowing rejections, you know your zombie might resurrect one day! 

Donna Barba Higuera: It’s okay to delete and start over. Those words aren’t precious. What IS precious are the ideas in your mind. The ideas and nuggets of goodness that matter won’t disappear. The most important things will find their way back into your work surrounded by new life. 

Beth Anderson: While all manuscripts that we labor over for months and years are near and dear to our hearts, I think we have to be able to understand and accept the difference between “dead” and “mostly dead” - because as you know in The Princess Bride, “mostly dead” Wesley had a lot of life left in him. Some manuscripts, for various reasons, really have no marketable future. They served a purpose in our growth as a writer, but really won’t make it in the publishing world. The best thing to do there is pack up those lessons and move on to a new project. BUT—(isn’t there always a “but”?) there’s always that chance that story reforms as a new one, or that you happen upon a receptive editor, or that you wait a few years for that other book on the same subject to age a bit…it’s good to be an optimist, but also move forward. Though I’ve had a couple manuscripts that didn’t fare well in the beginning but will soon be released as books, I also have a few that will probably never make it out of the crypt drawer. Recognizing the ones with potential forces you to seek out feedback, grow, and persevere. 

Anita Amin: If you’re stuck or your story isn’t coming together the way you want or it isn’t selling, then put it away for a few months, until you can read it again with a clear mind. It’s a lot easier to pinpoint areas needing revision. And definitely don’t throw away old manuscripts! New opportunities might arise and your manuscript might be a great fit. With work-for-hire, where you have to have ideas ready to go and a book written in a month, zombie manuscripts are so useful in a time crunch!

Norene Paulson: The path to publication is littered with dead manuscripts. They are how you know you're growing as a writer. 

June Smalls: Zombie manuscripts and Zombie research are related. I shelved a manuscript but had done a ton of elephant research for it. You never know when that idea or information will rise up and become something new. This worked for me in creating She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch and I want other artists to give life to their old ideas and to recycle their research.

Lynne Marie: As you dig up dead manuscripts, consider those that are the most marketable. To use a Frankenstein analogy, try and identify at least three marketing hooks. Look at them as potential sites for you to connect your electrodes to. Because without these viable connections, it will be difficult to breathe enough life into the manuscript to get it to not only come alive, but thrive (get a publishing contract). 

AJ Irving: My advice is to dream big & never give up. The kidlit community is beautiful. We lift each other up and celebrate accomplishments every step of the way. A yes will come as long as you keep going. I’ve seen it countless times. I happy dance for my kidlit buddies every single time.‬

Candace Spizzirri: Keep at it. Get as many eyes on your manuscript as you can. Give careful consideration to all suggestions but stay true to your vision. It’s your story. Also, putting a story aside for a bit and coming back to it in a week, two or even a couple of months can help. Find the joy and write on!

Kristen Schroeder: If you like the story idea or concept, keep playing with it. Start with a blank page instead of tweaking around the edges of an old draft. 

Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia: It’s okay to put your manuscript in the drawer. Even, if you have worked and worked on it and you think it is ready. Let it sit. Put some distance between you and your manuscript. Then, in two weeks to a month (or as in my case, a few years) – pull it out and look at it. With fresh eyes, you will see it in a different light. Sometimes, we get so close to our manuscripts we don’t see or don’t want to see what they really need to make them submission-ready.

Elizabeth Brown: I was inspired to participate in Kidlit Zombie Week because “zombie” manuscripts are part of every writer’s collection of stories. Never be afraid of “zombie”manuscripts...only real zombies!

Keep looking at different ways to tell your story as you develop a love for revision. 

Revision keeps me engaged in seeing my story anew; it's where I can truly find a manuscript's soul. Keep revising! 

Penny Parker Klosterman: "Know" your manuscript so that your revisions fit your vision for your story. Knowing your manuscript helps you consider feedback from others in terms of that vision, which helps you decide how to apply feedback in a way that will strengthen your story.

A dead manuscript can find new life in unexpected ways and at unexpected times if you’re willing to be as ravenous for revisions as a reawakened corpse is ravenous for flesh … ewww gross! 

Lauren Kerstein: My advice is to be courageous like Rosie! You must hold your hatchet and truly do the work that needs to be done. Cut. Revise. Be brutal. But also, be kind to yourself! Revisions are HARD! If your gut says a change needs to be made, make it. If you see a flaw, lean into it and massage it until it sparkles. Your manuscript will be that much better for your courage! In the words of Charlie, "You've got this!"

Chana Stiefel: Read your manuscript to very small people--your readers! I read my WIP to a bunch of little rascals who've been riding bikes on my street. They told me what was FUN & where the ms. was too adult (aka "boring"). Going to buy them ice pops. #tinycritiquegroup 

When dead manuscripts have you staring into the abyss, invite some ghoulish guests to help resurrect them and give them new life. Fresh eyeballs tend to spot the flaws and help dust off the cobwebs. 

Katelyn Aronson: My personal tip is on HOW to choose which undead ms to bring back first? Answer: The one with the most angles/layers/hooks. People call them different things, but they amount to selling points, or things that might recommend your ms to an audience. (For ex: My « Piglette » is about pigs/Paris/perfume on the surface. Beneath the surface, it’s about striking out on one’s own, the thirst for adventure, finding one’s place, & missing one’s home & family.) 3-5 layers are good. 5-7 is even better! Think of all possible layers your mss have. The 1 with the highest number is the winner! Revise that one first!! It’s your most marketable manuscript. 

Candice Marley Conner: Give yourself grace to put a manuscript down for a bit if something just isn’t working. Maybe there’s something you need to learn or do or be before the story is complete. No writing is ever a waste of time or energy. It’s not giving up on it if you switch gears to work on something else. 

Valerie Bolling: First, read your story aloud to hear how it sounds. Appreciate all that works well and then decide what to focus on to make it "pop." 

- Should you start by reading the last feedback you received?

-Can you write several different beginnings to see what works best to grab your reader?

- Do you have a "quiet" story that needs more tension?

- Do you have a nonfiction story that could benefit from a different structure or from more 

  research?

- Does your ending pack a punch? 

Amanda Davis: If the passion for the original subject matter has waned, or didn't exist in the first place, how can you dig deep to spark a new flame? Sometimes my artwork is based on a simple prompt and then once completed, I will put that artwork aside. Every once in a while, I will come back to some of these old artworks and as myself, "What story is hiding in here?" If I'm still stuck, I ask myself, "What can I add to this old artwork to help convey a stronger narrative?" For example, perhaps I give my old character a setting or new environment. Adding these sorts of details to an old piece, may spark new ideas. In the end, I think it is easy to forget how much we learn and develop over the years and whether it is art or writing, we can use these new skills to return to old old work with fresh eyes and a more extensive toolbox. Let's not be afraid of those zombie manuscripts and instead forge ahead with confidence knowing we have learned the tools and techniques to tackle them! 

Anne Appert: Re-read your manuscript and assess what the heart of the story is. Now, write a fresh version with that goal in mind. It's ok if it needs to then go back in the drawer for awhile after this. Sometimes manuscripts just need to percolate! 

Bitsy Kemper:  Sometimes revising a dead manuscript means putting most of it to rest, and taking one tiny part and running with it. It's okay to say goodbye to a huge chunk if it means reviving what's worth keeping! What did you love about that keepable idea segment? What makes you happy when you think about working on it? How do you think readers will connect with that part of the idea? How can you turn that idea into something bigger--or something smaller and even more specific? Play around with it! No ideas are too lame, no thoughts are wasted. Have fun resuscitating! 

Tracy C. Gold: My book coming out in 2023, "Call Your Mother," was a "zombie." I "wrote it from scratch" and then realized I had a very similar manuscript that I had drafted years before. Sometimes as a writer you just need to let an idea percolate and find a new way to express it. 

Laura Gehl: Sometimes I combine ideas from two dead manuscripts to make one way-better, risen-from-the-dead manuscript!