How did I get commissioned to write a children's book series? I'll tell you...
đ A two year time-line of how I wrote and illustrated Marty Moose (book 1)
Dear Powells,
It is only a few days until the first book in my debut series comes out.
Bringing the book (and series) to life took two years. Let me tell you how it happened.
2023 March: A serendipitous event occurs: I illustrate a motherâs day card, with a mouse in a postal uniform holding a tiny letter. The tiny letter falls off in the envelope and, unknowingly, dad throws it in the bin. He retrieves it and we all laugh. The âincidentâ gives me an idea.
Still March: I write an email to my agent.âWhat if there is a Postmouse called Marty and things always go wrong when he is out on his rounds?â She replies: âWrite it. See where it takes youâ.
April: My book schedule is full but I begin writing every day. Ideas pour from me like water from a broken tap. I invent the world of Little Ditch and draw the map. I have the inspired idea to shape it like a mouse.
May - June: I realise I already have all the characters I need, give or take a few, drawn in various sketchbooks from over the years. I dig them out and it feels as though they have been waiting for me to do just that.
I need a series title. Marty Mouse is too obvious. I play around with letters and like the sound of Marty Moose. An idea drops in - an accident with a blob of ink on his birth certificate changes his surname from Mouse to Moose. I am a genius.
I am on a roll now. I barely leave the house. At some point there is a heatwave and I sit with a wet tea-towel on my head in my south facing attic studio, designing the branding. As this is a book about posting things, I turn the characters into stamps.
July: Stefan and I get married. No biggie.
Late August - Sep: I come back from honeymoon and start pulling the pitch together with my agent. It is a lot of work and contains: the map; 17 characters and their personalities; a series overview; ideas for 5 books; a 2 page plot summary for book one; the first 3 chapters of book one written, laid out, designed and illustrated.
My agent sends the pitch out on Friday 29th September. I wait for news despite it being a weekend. I refresh my email every four seconds and check my phone hasn't accidentally been left in a âno serviceâ area.
2nd October: Interested parties start emailing. I forget now, but I think there were six publishers interested in making offers. This makes me feel very important and swells the size of my ego for at least a week.
3rd October: A pre-empt is made by Walker Books with an offer to commission me to write four books in the Marty Moose series, plus a picture book. A pre-empt means that a publisher moves fast to make an offer before anyone else does and you have a limited time to accept it. The gamble is, if you do accept youâll never know if other publishers might have offered more. Pre-empts are a way for publishers to try and avoid a bidding war and to show their commitment to you.
4th October: We accept the pre-empt. Walker were always top of my list to publish Marty Moose so it wasnât a hard decision for me.
5th October: The deal is done*. We drink champagne. I take 2 photos in bad lighting:
*(Technically it wasnât done yet - my agent had a fat contract to look through and there was a lot of back and forth before I actually signed anything but that doesnât sound as good as saying âthe deal is doneâ).
November: Work begins. I tweak Marty, making him more suitable for a 5-7 age range, work with the art director Jamie Hammond on the series branding, sketch ideas for the cover.
December: I finish writing the first draft alongside trying to sell my London shared ownership flat, it was about to turn into a 12 month saga but I didnât know that yet. It is a very stressful month but somehow, every time I sit down to write Marty Moose in my local cafe it flowed. Christmas 2023 came and went.
2024 January: My cardigan shrank.
February: The buyer for my London flat falls through. It was empty and I was covering the costs. I have to compartmentalise the stress because I need to artwork the prologue and the first 3 chapters of Marty Moose for the Bologna Childrenâs Book Fair. Due to the conveyancing shit-show I was in, I end up with 5 days to do it. I sleep 2 hours a night for five days straight. I would prefer not to do this ever again and I do not recommend it. However, the work I create is some of my best to date.
March: I am invited to speak at the Walker Sales Conference in London. I wear mouse ears and make the big-wigs play a postal quiz with animal buzzers. I didnât know it at the time, but an editor from Candlewick Press (USA) was in the audience. She loved the sound of Marty Moose and it resulted in the series being bought by them for publication 2026. A second buyer is found for my property. Things are looking up!
April - May: I work on other projects.
June: I sketch the rest of the interiors.
July: I start final art for the rest of the book. I enjoy it more than anything else I have ever done in my life. The second buyer pulls out of buying my London flat. I feel cursed and I mistrust life for a long time after.
August: I deliver the final artwork and go on holiday the day after. I would not recommend doing this. Greece was nice.
September: Book goes to print. A third buyer is found for my flat. I am sceptical.
October: Stefan and I buy a house and I am diagnosed with ADHD. I end up with no studio for 5 weeks. I start writing book 2 at my new kitchen table surrounded by boxes with the sound of an industrial sander as background noise.
November: My advance copy for book one arrives but Iâm so nervous I make Stefan open it first in the other room. Itâs better than I ever imagined it would be. I cry. I receive news that Marty Moose has been chosen to be an audio book. My editor thinks I might be good to narrate it. I audition. I get the part. My London flat finally sells on 28th. The nightmare is over but it has left me broken and broke.
December: I go to London and narrate my book. I am nervous but soon settle into it, I eat an apple which helps. We are done by lunchtime. Everyone is surprised. Marty is selected as an editorâs choice in the industry magazine, The Bookseller and also as one of Waterstonesâ âChildrenâs Books You Need to Read in 2025â. Another Christmas comes and goes.
2025 January: I start promoting book one (read about how that went here) whilst sketching book two. I parcel up 45 books as VIP Mailers to look like page one of the book - each has an individual tiny letter from Marty, plus a map, bookmark, and a tiny pencil. It takes hours and I get callouses on my hands from cutting things but the results are pleasing:
Reviews start coming in for Marty Moose, so far none of them have been bad. My favourite:
A chapter book for younger readers, itâs lively, exciting and adorably absurd. Think Brambly Hedge by way of The Twits and Grimwood.
February: Present day. I am sat writing this on a Saturday night by the fire. Stefan is out watching rugby, or some other game that involves a ball. I will be going to London on Wednesday for promo things. I still have a lot to do before then and Iâm behind illustrating the final art for Montgomery Bonbon book 4. The Marty Moose launch party is on Thursday evening. I hope I donât ugly cry - I best add âbuy waterproof mascaraâ to my to-do list.
Yours, grateful youâve read this far,
Powell x
Ps. Februaryâs Lucky Dip will be the chance to win a VIP MAILER as described and shown above. You must be a subscriber to be in with a chance to win! đŽ Details will be sent in next weekâs postcard!
I love that all the characters were all in your sketchbooks just waiting for a story! So flippin proud of you Mrs! Enjoy every minute of this launch week! x
Love this story! What beautiful illustrations. I need me some Marty Moose.