A Milestones Met Interview
Please share your exciting news (agent signing, book sale, etc.)!
My debut picture book, Fish Friends Forever, about a spunky child and her friendship with and loss of her beloved pet sold to Lauri Hornick at Penguin/Rocky Pond Books this past Spring! The book will be illustrated by the talented Aliaa Betawi and is due out in Summer of 2025.
How long have you been writing/pursuing an agent/publishing deal and how has the Courage to Create program/tools served you in reaching this milestone?
August 2023 marks *five years* of focusing on the genre of picture books. Wow. I signed with my agent Sara Crowe in the Summer of 2022, and we went out on submission with this book early the next year and it sold that Spring. I have always been a writer, but I am finally doing the hard work of getting out of my own way to become more comfortable with and confident in sharing my stories with a wider audience. Courage to Create has helped with this oft less-discussed side of writing — the emotional one. CtC has provided a community of writers who understand writing isn’t JUST the act of writing. It’s so much more than pen to paper — when it’s good, it’s deeply personal and hugely vulnerable. I’m getting better at sharing despite my instincts to always hold things close to the chest.
When we reach a milestone, it means we may encounter new fears and challenges, as well as joys along the journey. How has being a part of the CTC community prepared you for both enjoying the celebration of a milestone reached and the work that is next to come?
These stories and books we make are important. And the careers that build up around them are, too. This is all very hard work, isn’t it? CtC has helped reveal how taking the long-view is vital: to celebrate the successes and to grieve the failures knowing that both are essential parts along the path to becoming the best author I can be. I so appreciate the weekly check-ins acknowledging the ups and downs of each week — knowing that I’ve had both as well. We are not alone!
In the Courage to Create, we call on our Big Why as we engage in the ups and downs of the literary life? What’s your BIG WHY and how does it keep you motivated to keep working towards new milestones?
I write stories to reveal the Power of a Child (and Childhood) and acknowledge the Magic of the Every Day. Kids are incredible humans — and, as both my audience and my inspiration, they are at the heart of what keeps me working toward new milestones.
It’s not easy to keep creating courage when it comes to our literary lives. Did you ever encounter a low point or period and did you lean on any of the CTC tools or practices? What did the no/not yets, or near misses/champagne rejections teach you in hindsight not that your YES is here?
Everything takes SO LONG in publishing. We all have heard that. But I REALLY heard it through CtC programming. That was *so* reassuring as I lived (and continue to live) right through it — all the WAITING and WAITING and WAITING. OF IT ALL. Having a community who understands that, who talks about it, who can laugh about it, and who knows tactics to deal with it is really valuable.
As we celebrate your milestone reached, what thoughts can you share with other writers who may doubt they will reach their first or next milestone?
You will!! You will!! If you are here, I think we know you mean business and you are putting the good work in. From there — It takes the time it takes. Oh! How many times have I repeated that as my daily mantra?? But it’s true. I really, truly believe that. You’ve got this! xoxo
What is your favorite Courage to Create Belief?
It takes THE TIME IT TAKES.
Kerry Ferguson writes stories for kids and their families for the page and for the stage. A professor, poet, playwright, and picture-book author, she lives in Spartanburg, SC with her fun and funny family of humans, dogs, and rabbits. She is repped by Sara Crowe of Sara Crowe Literary Agency. In addition to her ongoing book projects, she was recently commissioned by The South Carolina Children’s Theatre (Greenville, SC) to write an original play for thier youngest audiences. The result of that partnership is D is for Dance Party! An Alphabet Play, which will premiere there in January/February 2023.
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