A Milestones Met Interview
Please share your exciting news (agent signing, book sale, etc.)!
My debut picture book, Sonia and the Super-Duper Disaster, in which a girl uses coping skills to manage ADHD and anxiety while whipping up a super surprise for her Mom, was recently announced. It will be illustrated by Kelly Kennedy, and published by Free Spirit Publishing in Summer of 2024.
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?
If my debut comes out in 2024 as scheduled, it will have been 7 years from first draft to publication. I started seriously pursuing my dream of becoming an author in late 2016. I hit the ground running, joining the SCBWI, then 12×12. I was convinced that if I worked hard enough, I could be published within three years. So I attended every class and meeting I could find, wrote, revised, sought out critique partners, read tons of picture books, joined twitter, started a blog, applied for mentorships, and participated in pitch parties. I spent every spare moment working on my craft or querying. I had a few close calls in 2019 (champagne passes, R&R’s, etc.), which was encouraging. Then the pandemic hit and everything turned upside down. Life was suddenly exhausting. I felt demoralized when I saw people using the pandemic to get extra writing and querying done. I was having trouble doing ANYthing. I kept writing and querying, but at a snails pace. I kept having close calls, but as the years passed they started to feel more like a cruel tease than a promising sign. I joined Courage to Create in Fall of 2022, hoping it would help me recapture my creative passion and joy. And it did. The personal coaching sessions were particularly helpful in encouraging me to keep going. In October of 2022 I participated in a Twitter pitch party on a whim (something I hadn’t done in quite some time). I got a like from an editor and submitted to her with extremely low expectations, and by January of 2023, I had a contract in hand!
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?
I think that the same CTC beliefs that sustain us through that long journey to our first book sale will sustain us through whatever comes afterwards. I see now that it’s an up and down journey that never becomes easy, and there is no finish line.
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?
Writing feeds my soul. I write because I have something to say, and saying it in writing makes me happy. It also helps me process, learn, and grow. I love touching people with my words. In particular, I hope to help children who have ADHD and anxiety like me, by writing about my own experiences with honesty and compassion.
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?
Yes, my lowest point was the couple of years from the start of the pandemic to the book offer in December 2022. I joined CTC in Fall of 2022 because I was really struggling and on the verge of giving up. The biggest thing I got out of Courage to Create was permission to feel all the feelings, encouragement to keep going, and a huge dose of self-compassion. CTC helped me accept that it takes the time it takes, and that passes are not a reflection on my worth or talent. It helped me focus on my goals knowing the milestones will come. But most importantly, Bethany and the rest of the CTC community helped me believe in myself and keep going when I was feeling on the verge of giving up.
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?
I never would have guessed that my debut picture book would come out of an un-agented deal with a small press, through a Twitter pitch party. In fact, I had very low expectations for that event, having pitched multiple times in the past with only a couple of likes that led nowhere. My take away is that you never know where your next “yes” is going to come from. You have to accept that it will take hundreds of tries and hundreds of no’s to find that right connection with the right editor at the right time. But if you don’t try, it will never happen. So keep trying. Keep putting yourself out there. And keep believing in yourself.
What is your favorite Courage to Create Belief?
Ambition is the NATURAL IMPULSE to share our gifts. Don’t make yourself guilty for having it. Or not owning it.
Rachel Funez is an Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) who was born in the U.S., spent most of her childhood living in Latin America, and is now an Attorney raising multicultural children with her Honduran American husband in Peru. As a neurodivergent writer with ADHD and anxiety, many of Rachel’s books celebrate children with special brains or address social-emotional topics with humor and heart. When Rachel isn’t writing or working, she enjoys walking her Bearded Collie, playing board games with her family, dancing like nobody’s watching, and rainy afternoons with a hot beverage and a good book.
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