Sydney: Welcome, Jackie! It’s always so much fun to spotlight our MUF members, and I’m excited to chat with you today!
Jackie: Thank you so much for chatting with me. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the Mixed-Up Files and getting to meet amazing middle grade authors as well as learn about so many great books!
Sydney: Yes, same here! 🙂
Background
To begin, can you give us a little background about yourself and your writing journey?
Jackie: Like most writers, I’ve always loved books and writing down stories. I was terribly shy and rarely showed anyone what I wrote, but it didn’t stop me from writing almost all the time, and because that simply wasn’t enough story, my twin sister and I made up our own, talking and playing through them together. I wrote several “novels,” though most of these were probably only about sixty pages long. For years, I entered library’s short story contest and never even came close to winning.
A little farther down the road, I studied stories in college, still writing as much as I could. I followed my love of words through an undergrad degree in literature and then a master’s in creative writing that took me to the University of Oxford and Japan for a time. Through that time, and with the encouragement of professors, I found the tentative confidence to start seriously sending my writing out into the world. Unfortunately, the first short story I ever sent out was accepted for publication, which set my expectations a bit too high!
Journey to Representation
Sydney: Wow, congratulations on that! And congratulations too on signing with an agent! I’d love to hear more about how that process went for you and any tips you might have for readers looking to obtain representation, based on your experiences.
Jackie: Thank you! It’s been a road about ten years long, and my story is a tale of two agents and a lot of mistakes. To start with, good academic writing has very little to do with good writing for the publishing market, and though I taught myself as much as I could, I still made a lot of blunders I didn’t recognize until later. Most of those were the result of not knowing how to move from the art of writing into the business side of writing.
For a long while, I floundered against expectations I didn’t understand, and I had a tidy pile of rejections to show for it! When agents ask why you’re the best person to write the book, they really don’t want the full story of how the idea came to you (to my eternal embarrassment, I actually did this). In a lot of ways, it felt like learning another language. So the first bit of advice I’d give for writers looking for representation is to understand that publishing really is a business. Your writing—your art—can be fabulous, but if you’re not speaking the same language as agents and editors, it’s so much harder to make a connection.
The second bit of advice I’ll share is that it’s absolutely true that no agent is better than a bad agent. After I decided to revise the first book I queried, I wrote another one, and it got so few requests I was shocked when an agent offered to represent me. I was so excited someone had chosen me and my book that I overlooked some orange and red flags early on. For a long time, I chalked up my concerns as newbie writer worries, though I often thought the worst: It’s going to happen. She’s going to wake up one morning and realize my book is terrible. And then the worst happened! My first agent dropped me right in the middle of COVID.
Though it was a painful lesson, it taught me volumes on the kind of agent I needed, especially if I was intending to make professional writing a significant part of my life. I revised and revised some more, working up the courage to try again. When I got a request from the agent who represents me now, I was prepared for more rejection. I braced for the inevitable “I didn’t love this as much as I wanted to,” but when she came back with detailed notes on what she did love and a request for a call, I reread the email about seven times to make sure that’s actually what it said.
My previous experience helped me have a much better experience on The Call, and the time I’ve been working with my current agent has been so encouraging and actually a lot of fun. We always seem to be exactly on the same page, which is a blessing and a delight. I can’t stress enough that working with an agent is a business relationship, and it’s essential you find someone who can be a great partner for you.
Writing
Sydney: Your middle grade fantasy, AUTUMNFELL, described as KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE + THE NIGHT CIRCUS, sounds really fascinating! Can you please tell us more about it?
Jackie: Thank you! Here’s a (kind of) short version: In a world of everlasting autumn, a newbie witch, her snarky cat, and a wannabe thief must work together to stop an evil witch from completing a spell that will bury everything in a deadly winter. It starts off when thirteen-year-old Applejack and her cat venture into the enchanted woods and catch a thief. To his surprise and hers, he’s stealing something far more previous than jewels and gold. The seemingly ordinary pipe and gloves he’s taken for himself are actually manifested emotions, broken pieces of heart called kyndll.
Sydney: What is your favorite genre to write and why?
Jackie: I always seem to lean towards speculative fiction, landing mostly in fantasy and a bit of sci-fi from time to time. I love how speculative fiction can draw attention to the way ordinary life actually has quite a bit of magic and wonder in it if you know how to look. I also feel like speculative is a great place to explore abstract ideas and truths.
Sydney: Are you a plotter or a pantser? Where/when do you prefer to write?
Jackie: I like to call myself a “plantser,” which is sort of between the two. I’ve learned I write a bit faster when I have a plan, but there is nothing quite like the delight of a story taking a turn you didn’t expect. I can usually write at any time, though mornings seem to be best, and I can pretty much write anywhere as long as I have my headphones on. Tea is only slightly optional.
Editorial Work
Sydney: How interesting that you also work as an editor-for-hire! Please tell us all about Ground Crew Editorial.
Jackie: Ground Crew Editorial is what my sister and I like to jokingly and accurately call our “twin-engine” venture. We both have worked as editors for about twelve years, but somewhere along the way, we thought to ourselves, Why don’t we join forces?
The two of us grew up as Air Force kids, but what a lot of people don’t know is that for high-performance planes, every hour of flight time is supported by seventeen hours of maintenance. Writing is no different. A reader can take a book cover to cover in a few hours, but they don’t see the hours of planning, writing, and revising that go into the writing itself. Ground Crew is our way of helping writers take off, whether they need help with big-picture revision with a developmental edit or final polishing through a copyedit.
We’ve been on the other side of the table when it comes to getting critique, so we work hard to make sure that the authors we work with have feedback they know how to use and are excited to implement.
Sydney: What are some projects you’ve worked on that have been especially resonant with you?
Oh, there have been so many! Getting to work with all these great writers is the best part of my job. I just celebrated the release of Ivy Ever After with one of my authors, Avalon George. Her book features a protagonist with cystic fibrosis, and the whole story mixes magic and adventure with a poignant reflection on how some dragons can’t be defeated, but there are other ways to fight and find light.
I’ve loved working with Nori Larkspur on her YA sci-fi fantasy series The Pillars of the Lyceum. These books are like love letters she’s written to her teenage self, and she carefully folds what it’s like living with anxiety into bingeable adventures. When this interview is published, Book 2 will be out in the world!
My favorite part of being an editor is getting to know the author behind the page and helping them bring their story as close to their vision for it as possible.
Sydney: How can people get in touch if they’d like to find out more about your services?
All our information is on our website (https://www.groundcreweditorial.com/), and we host a blog there as well as share free resources.
The two of us have an open inbox policy, so if you’ve got a writing or publishing question, feel free to drop us a line any time, and we’ll answer back.
And now, for the lightning round:
Coffee or tea
Absolutely tea!
Sunrise or sunset
Sunset—I’ve always been more of a night owl.
Favorite vacation spot
Anywhere with family and friends
Books that influenced you as a writer
There are so many, but here’s a quick list of some of the ones that have been with me the longest: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Favorite pizza topping
Pepperoni
Superpower
Flight
Thank you so much, Jackie!
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