I joined SCBWI in the summer of 2020. The most impactful thing I have learned from being in SCBWI is valuing the feedback of my critique group. I appreciate the insights of members who look at my manuscript with fresh eyes and provide keen insights on how to revise and improve my work. Their feedback helps me to see what isn't working and what isn't clear or understandable to the reader. Also, the group is very encouraging, which is important when it can take years to persevere and publish a book!
My genres are picture books, nonfiction, biography, and graphic novels.
My best time to write is in the morning before anyone else in my family gets up; I like how it is very quiet so I can think. I take time to journal about my writing journey, reflect on how God has opened different doors for me, pray for my readers and what I am called to write, and record what I am thankful for—such as being able to build friendships with other writers. Remembering these small steps of progress helps me have a growth mindset toward my writing, especially when facing rejections or delays.
My writing process is very slow, partly because I want to fact check everything. For example, I spent weeks researching one letter for the correct transliteration of a Chinese character and had to search an antique Chinese dictionary and ask a Chinese American professor who specialized in the Hoisan-wa/Toisanese dialect for more insight. I can spend the whole day contemplating the impact of one punctuation mark—whether to use a comma or an em dash—and the difference it will make on the emotional tone of my story. I like how SCBWI writers in our region understand how these subtle differences in punctuation can change the impact of one sentence!
Moreover, I like to craft every word carefully to find just the right metaphor and cultural symbolism to weave as a thread throughout my whole story. Therefore, I spend a lot of time researching many reference images to give me insight into the visual aspects I want to create for my readers, so they feel like they are walking in my character's shoes.
Robert Frost once said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
After working hard on gathering more research about Mamie Tape to improve the narrative arc, my book finally made me cry; then I knew my story was finally ready for publication to share with the world. One of the best compliments I received was from a friend who told me that she teared up while reading aloud Mamie Takes a Stand to her son. It truly made all the years of research and writing worthwhile when I got to see my words and story move the hearts of readers.
I don't usually have a word count goal because my problem is I have too many ideas and tend to write too much and need to edit more. It is hard to condense complex ideas into a picture book that is engaging and understandable for kids.
I have been writing for four years. However, my love for diverse children's books started in graduate school when I wrote a curriculum that integrated multicultural children's literature and character education. I began writing for children after my youngest son died unexpectedly. Reading picture books about grief and loss helped our family process the different emotions that accompany the death of a child. I didn't find many books about grief and loss that featured Asian American families, and I thought more representation was needed there about our unique cultural perspectives, so I hoped that sharing my story would help other families who have experienced a similar struggle.
My inspiration for writing a picture book biography about Mamie Tape came from learning about Sylvia Mendez and the Mendez et al. v. Westminster et al. case from Duncan Tonatiuh's children's book, Separate is Never Equal. I learned about school segregation in Orange County, California through Tonatiuh's book, which led me to research school integration cases in California, and eventually learn about Mamie Tape and the Tape v. Hurley case. I wanted to highlight the story of this hidden figure for children (and the adults who read the books aloud to them too!) in my book, Mamie Takes a Stand. Using a picture book biography format also makes this information more accessible for all. Furthermore, my heart was very touched when one of my former students said that she saw herself in the pages of my book (Mamie Takes a Stand). I was elated because I wanted children to see themselves reflected in this story.
Most of my education about children's book writing came from attending SCBWI conferences and workshops. I also connected to editors, agents, and authors through Writing for Your Life, Publishing in Color, and West Coast Christian Writers conferences. I am also an active member of the Redbud Writers Guild and Entrusted Women University, which offer wonderful support for women of color writers.
I write in various places. Yes, I enjoy doing my hand-lettering and Chinese calligraphy in natural light and looking out a window at nature. However, I do my very early morning writing, sketching, and journaling in my closet, so I don't wake anyone else up. It's a cramped, but a very quiet space, and I can write my deepest reflections there undisturbed. Most of the time though, I am at my computer desk doing research or revising my manuscripts.
My dream project is to publish a picture book featuring an Asian American family dealing with the loss of a child and sibling to help families on their grief journeys.
I also have a dream of publishing a graphic novel that focuses on the struggles of next generation Asian American youth from immigrant families who are navigating faith, being bicultural, and being advocates for social justice.
Right now, I am writing a fun middle grade graphic novel about Asian food.
I am not a professional illustrator, but I love art and am a visual learner, so I admire the work that the amazing illustrators in our SCBWI SoCal region create. I always enjoy going to the illustrator workshops to learn more about art, but I mostly only sketch out my thumbnails to give me a sense of the flow of the page turns of my book, how to layout the composition of a page, and evaluate whether a book cover design is good, effective, and reflects the heart of my story. I do have book ideas to incorporate my Chinese calligraphy and hand-lettering in my story.
My advice to emerging writers would be to focus on building community with other writers. I am so grateful to all the writers who extended the table and generously shared their expertise to mentor me when I was first learning how to write children's books. Having a spirit of collaboration, instead of competition, is very important, and I love how the writers in our region cheer each other on our writing journeys.
Also, I would suggest reading as many mentor texts as you can for the genre you are writing. I went to several libraries and requested and read as many children's book biographies of hidden figures that I could when I was writing Mamie Takes a Stand. I asked other children's book authors, who wrote similar biographies, about their process and studied the back matter of their books and their accompanying educator guides. The nonfiction writing conference SCBWI hosted with the Smithsonian was very helpful too.
Another suggestion I have is to physically cut and paste your manuscript and make it into a mini-book so you can have a feel of the actual page turns and pacing of your story. Ask a child to illustrate the text of your mini-book to see if they can visualize what you're writing. If they can see it, then an illustrator probably can create art for it too. Also, ask someone else to read your story out loud to help you hear where the story could improve in the way it flows.
Jevon Bolden of Embolden Media Group is my agent and an amazing advocate for authors of color. I met her through the Publishing in Color conference. I am grateful that even though I didn't have a large social media following, she saw the potential in my manuscript and saw the value of telling the story of Mamie Tape's fight against injustice, and therefore, she was willing to offer me representation.
If junior high awards count, I won a districtwide writing contest for my short story that was written almost completely in alliteration when I was in eighth grade. When I was in high school, my English teacher gave us the assignment of writing letters to the editors of local newspapers. As a youth, I was amazed to see my writing printed in the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register! When I was a freshman, my college essay was published and chosen to be a writing sample in A Student Guide to Writing at UCI. I also received a SCBWI BIPOC scholarship sponsored by author Christopher Paul Curtis for my biography of Mamie Tape, Mamie Takes a Stand.
The book I have published is Mamie Takes a Stand: The True Story of Mamie Tape, a Chinese American Girl's Fight for School Rights
Some interesting facts about me:
1. I used to live in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Literally, the home of Fred Rogers was a few blocks away from where I lived and the public television station where he recorded his program was closeby too.
2. I enjoy hand lettering and writing calligraphy in both Chinese and English.
3. I have a giant rabbit named Sunshine that I adopted from the rescue in 2020. My rabbit loves it when I read aloud new picture books to her. Sunshine is a reading rabbit!
You can connect with me at:
mariechan.com/books
Instagram: @mariechanbooks
Facebook: @mariechanbooks
X/Twitter: @mariechanbooks