Writing Tales ~ Dog Books

A couple of years ago, a dog turned up in my life. He was found down the street from my house, on Memorial Day, with rope tied to his neck. He was a gentle, rust colored, Lab mix and I fell in love with him that very day and adopted him. Being a new dog person, this sounded like a good premise for a picture book, so I wrote it. After some rounds and revisions with my critique group, I polished it to the best of my ability, at the time, and submitted it for review to an agent while attending the SCBWI Working Writer's Retreat 2016. 

Submitting a newer story to an agent is almost never a good idea. But, I really wanted the feedback on this particular story. And yes, there was that secret hope that the agent would love my story as much as I loved it and sign me on the spot. Nope. That didn't happen. But, I did receive the feedback.

There were no comments about my writing style, voice, sentence structure, or plot development. Instead, she nailed me on originality. Hmmm. As it turns out, I was not the first person to write a story about a stray dog. Yup. There was already the perfect story about a lovable stray dog, called, The Stray Dog. I wanted to believe that my story was different. My dog was special. My story was special, too. Yes, my story was different, but...not different enough. The Stray Dog was a well crafted picture book, just as the agent had informed me. In fact, it won the Caldecott Honor in 2002. Woe. I pondered for many hours trying to rethink my story and still could not come up with an angle that felt fresh, current and relevant. ​

So, my dog story sits in the back of my brain somewhere, as I revise other stories I am working on. As I scour through the lists of picture books to read and study, I happen upon, Excellent Ed, fresh with a new perspective, just what I am needing! It is about a dog that wonders how excellent he must be to share in his family's privileges.  This clever story is about a family dog, rather than a stray, but, nevertheless, clever stories make me think. ​

There are 324,806 books that show up, when searching the word Dog at Amazon Books. This means, I have some work to do in order to make my book stand out. But, my dog deserves the story, so, I will not give up. In fact, new ideas are already coming to mind. This experience will make my book better, and in the process, I've discovered two picture book gems! It's a win-win!

Happy reading and writing,
Moni

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