Process Talk: Rachel Smoka-Richardson on Cinderelliot: A Scrumptious Fairytale
Welcome, Rachel Smoka-Richardson, my former student and current teaching assistant in the VCFA Picture Book Intensive. I remember that even back then, Rachel was interested in quirky characters with big vision, so I’m delighted to celebrate the publication of Cinderelliot, scrumptiously co-written by Rachel with Mark Ceilley.
Cinderelliot by Mark Ceilley and Rachel Smoka-Richardson
*** Illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ***
Cinderelliot by Mark Ceilley and Rachel Smoka-Richardson *** Illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ***
I asked Rachel to tell me more about this collaboration. Here’s what she wrote:
In July 2018, Mark emailed me to ask if I would look at a new picture book draft that he wrote inspired by the picture book Prince & Knight. His manuscript, originally titled Cinderfella, was a fractured fairy tale of the classic Cinderella story, except now Cinderella was a man falling in love with a prince, and the ball switched to a skills competition. Mark was concerned that his manuscript was too long and wanted help trimming the word count.
In mid-August I wrote to Mark with edits for the first page of text, while also admitting my concern that I was injecting too much of my own voice in the edits. However, I adored the story and asked Mark if he would consider co-writing the manuscript. To my delight, he agreed!
Over the next year we passed drafts back and forth over email. In the meantime, I signed with Dawn Frederick of Red Sofa Literary. In September 2019 Dawn agreed to represent the manuscript—now called Cinderelliot—and sent it out on submission after we signed an author collaborator agreement.
We received the best holiday news in December 2019 when Dawn shared that Julie Matysik at Running Press Kids wanted to acquire the manuscript. Stephanie Laberis joined the team as the illustrator and we continued working through February 2021, when the book went to print.
Photo credit: Caroline Yang
The largest overall change we made in the story was the switch from the skills competition to the baking competition. Mark worked with Rob Sanders (who recently wrote Two Grooms on a Cake: The Story of America’s First Gay Wedding), who provided two critiques of Cinderelliot. His invaluable feedback helped shape the manuscript into something that charmed our editor. After Running Press Kids bought the manuscript, Julie requested minimal text changes.
In the first draft, Cinderelliot lived with his stepmother and two stepsisters. To streamline the story, the stepmother was removed (don’t be afraid to kill your darlings!) and for a fresh take on the story, the two stepsisters evolved into a stepbrother and stepsister.
In addition, we received a critique at a local SCBWI conference; the editor’s only concern was that the only woman character in the manuscript was mean. Our solution was to give Prince Samuel two moms—they are not mentioned in the text, but our amazing illustrator added them to the gorgeous spreads. Stephanie also honored our one illustrator note of pushing beyond the stereotypical idea of what royalty looked like—and she created a brilliant and diverse cast of characters.
The one character that stayed constant throughout the drafts was Ludwig, the fairy godfather. Though some of his dialogue was punched up through the revisions, his name, purpose, and general jovial attitude never changed.
What this book taught me was the importance of patience and collaboration! When Cinderelliot enters the world on May 3, 2022, nearly four years will have passed since Mark sent that original email. There are a lot of “hurry up and wait moments” in publishing and the key is to not get impatient and focus instead on the exciting publication day.
Collaborating with another writer can be inspiring and challenging. You learn how to celebrate each other’s good ideas, to choose your battles, and to give constructive feedback. Cinderelliot would have been a much different book—and not as good—if either of us had written it on our own.
