Editor Spotlight - Frances Gilbert

When I started working on the sequel to One Little Squiggle, I was planning to keep the creative team the same: Sarah Fabiny as editor, Polina Gortman as illustrator, and Lauren Gallegos as book designer. Since I wanted the two books to have a consistent and cohesive look and feel, it only made sense to keep the same team. Plus, we were a great team- we all worked very well together!

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans. While Illustrator Polina Gortman and Book Designer Lauren Gallegos enthusiastically agreed to help create the second book, Many Little Squiggles, Sarah Fabiny wasn't available to help edit this story. Bummer! Sarah and I have worked together to edit all of my previous books, and we've built a really solid writer-editor relationship over the last five years. Starting over with someone new was a scary proposition...especially in the middle of a picture book series.

Luckily, I knew where to turn to find another fantastic editor: Reedsy.com. I've said this before, but Reedsy's publishing marketplace has so many editors to choose from, and they all have great track records in the publishing industry. I've had nothing but success connecting with publishing professionals via Reedsy in the past (that's where I met Sarah!), so I was confident that I could find the right editor for this story. Once again, Reedsy didn't disappoint!

There, I connected with Frances Gilbert, a children's editorial director at a "big five" publisher (with 31 years of picture book experience) and author of ten published picture books. Impressive to say the least! Here's a little more background info on Frances:

About Frances Gilbert

Frances Gilbert, VP, Editor-in-Chief, Doubleday Books for Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books

Frances started her career in children’s books when she was still a child, working in the children’s department of her town library throughout high school. After graduating from university with an M.A. in English, Frances’s first job in publishing was as a Book Club Editor at Scholastic Canada in Toronto. She moved to New York in 2000 to set up a children’s editorial division at Sterling Publishing, where she stayed till 2012. Frances then moved to Random House Children’s Books, where she is VP, Editor-in-Chief of Doubleday Books for Young Readers. Titles she has acquired and edited include the New York Times bestseller The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain, Philip Stead, and Erin Stead; I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty and Mike Boldt; the Happy Hair series by Mechal Renee Roe; Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro and Tatjana Mai-Wyss; and Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer and Dave Mottram.

In addition to editing children’s books, Frances also writes them. She is the author of the picture books Can You Hug a Forest?, Go, Girls, Go!, Too Much Slime!, and I Will Always Be Your Bunny and the Step Into Reading titles I Love Pink!, I Love My Tutu!, I Love My Grandma!, I Love Cake!, and I Love My Teacher!

Follow Frances on Twitter at @GoGirlsGoBooks, where she posts about children’s writing and editing.

Although I was nervous to work with a new editor, it was an absolute pleasure working with Frances to edit Many Little Squiggles. The transition was seamless, and the editing process was very smooth. Frances had many positive comments about the story, and she offered helpful and constructive feedback to improve certain sections of the text. I trusted her judgment, valued her feedback, and thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration. I would gladly work with her again and hope to do so on future books. Welcome to the team, Frances! 🙌

So, where does that leave Sarah Fabiny? Well, if her availability allows, I would definitely work with her again, too. So, instead of having just one talented professional editor on my team, I guess I have two talented professional editors on my team, and I would be honored to work with either one on future stories. That's a win in my book! 😉

With the manuscript for Many Little Squiggles finalized, it's time to let Illustrator Polina Gortman bring it to life. Exciting stuff!!! To meet Polina and see examples of her artwork, read my Illustrator Spotlight blog. You can also view a sample of the artwork she created for One Little Squiggle here or learn more about Many Little Squiggles here. Now, let's illustrate this book! 👍