This month’s Breezer Making Waves is Heather C. Morris, a writer whose devotion to the craft has seeded a budding literary career. Her debut picture book, Trunk Goes Thunk (Gnome Road Publishing), is now widely available.
Let’s dig into how Heather cultivated her publishing success and hear her guidance for fellow Breezers like you.
Hi Heather. What are we celebrating with you?
This year has brought with it some huge milestones and moments for celebration! In July, the Haunted States anthology (Godwin Books/Macmillan) released, featuring my middle grade story, "White Thing." The acceptance letter from the SCBWI judges in January of 2022 was my first "yes" in my publishing journey, and so, will forever be treasured. In a few weeks, my debut picture book, Trunk Goes Thunk (Gnome Road Publishing), will be widely available. Seeing these two books in the world is a dream come true, and I am so grateful to the critique partners, friends, editors, designers, illustrators, and more who made these books the unique works of art that they are. Finally, also in July, I signed with my agent, Kristen Terrette, and we're already on submission with my picture books.
Congratulations! What does this opportunity mean to you?
It is the realization of years of dreaming and working and hoping and struggling and being rejected and persevering. My family will tell you that for each one of these opportunities, there were about fifty rejections. Probably more in some cases. Online opportunities where my work wasn't selected. Queries that went unanswered or harshly rejected. Pitch contests or conference submissions that didn't go anywhere. But each one of those things was a step. I learned something every time. And, I hope, they made me a better writer.
What do you feel led you to this place on your journey?
Love and respect for kids and the books they enjoy, hard work, love of story, dependable family and friends, learning about the industry as much as I could, and connections with other writers in the publishing industry.
Do you have any advice for Breezers who want to achieve something similar?
Write! Practice your craft. Find craft exercises that resonate with you and do them. Play with forms and structures and points of view. And then read. Read deeply and ask yourself how the author set up this scene, wrote that dialogue, built to the climax, wrote a satisfactory ending. I think we as writers want it to be harder than this. Like there should be a magic formula. But the business of being a writer is writing. Always learning, always trying something new. Then, through it all, connect with others in the writing industry. Don't be afraid to send out your work. It will get rejected. Not every submission will be a yes...but you might be surprised which ones are a yes.
Send your warmest wishes to Heather on:
Instagram: @morr_writing
Twitter: @morrwriting
Website: https://heathercmorris.com
Big or small, we want to celebrate your recent success! Visit bit.ly/breezerspotlight to submit for a full-length interview or a brief mention in an upcoming spotlight.