by Margo Leipua’ala Sorenson

Rejection! Rejection! Rejection! Poor Little Cup—no one wanted to publish his story. *cue sobbing* Here was the pitch: “Everyone in the kitchen has a very important job to do, except for Little Cup. He desperately wants to help, but no one believes he can do anything that counts. He needs to prove he can be the biggest helper of all.”

Many of us have been on this very same writing journey of rejection, shoulders drooping, steps shuffling, head hanging down, and we do so get it. The hard truth, as many of us reluctantly recognize, publishing IS a business, and if LITTLE CUP didn’t strum anyone’s ukulele (you’ll know in a minute why this analogy), then, maybe I needed to “repurpose” and “rethink” the story to make it more marketable to an editor and an audience.

Just because we have actually written something—of course, we’re positive that it’s amazing and wonderful 😉—we often conveniently forget Ellen Kozak’s First Commandment for Writers: “Thou Shalt Not Fall In Love With Thine Own Words.”  After many rejections, we probably need to take a cold, hard look at the entire picture. Who is its market? Why would a parent or a librarian want to buy this book? What will make it stand out in a crowded market?

As my manuscript sat sadly on the shelf—known as the hard drive—just as Little Cup sat sadly on his cupboard shelf—I had to admit to myself that LITTLE CUP was probably too generic—oh, sure, it had “hilarious” puns, (“You need to chill out,” the refrigerator said, frostily.), but it was too “oatmeal,” as I used to tell my students, and not enough “jalapeño.” Because our family had lived in Hawai’i for ten years (note my Hawai’ian name, Leipua’ala, gifted to me in ancient Hawai’ian tradition), I thought it might be a different idea to switch the setting to Hawai’i, and pitch it to some local Hawai’i publishers. (Now you get the ukulele part.)

It was so much fun changing everything to local Hawai’ian references—Little Cup became Little Calabash—we have a calabash of our own, of course—Ethan turned into Keoki, and Keoki’s mom stirs guava frosting (not just boring buttercream), pours haupia pudding (no tepid tapioca), mixes mango cupcakes (definitely not plain vanilla), and chopsticks appear, too.

I was more than delighted when local publisher Island Heritage wanted to acquire it. My editor even came up with the idea of having a glossary explaining local food items, like starfruit and haupia pudding, that might be mysterious to Mainland young readers.

Now, you can find LITTLE CALABASH everywhere, not only in its Hawai’ian home, but kids on the Mainland enjoy it, too.

       

Young readers can broaden their horizons and get giggles from all the vivid, creative illustrations of talented illustrator Anneth Lagamo, who brings Little Calabash and all his kitchen friends to life. You’ll never look at a can opener in the same way, again.

If you’re struggling with a manuscript—either because you just can’t seem to finish it—or because it’s been rejected multiple times (I’m talking weight in pounds not just counting rejections 😉), you can rethink and repurpose it by: changing the setting—instead of a home, what about a factory? Or a library? Or a schoolyard? Or a garage? A forest? The ocean deep? Outer space? Instead of a regular meal, how about a birthday dinner? A picnic? Or from day to night, afternoon to morning, summer to winter…You can also consider changing the importance of your characters by switching one of your secondary characters to becoming the main character. What would happen if you changed them all into animals? Or even into inanimate objects—think what fun an illustrator could have! Maybe your narrator is not the main character—as in my picture book CALVIN GETS THE LAST WORD, in which Calvin’s dictionary is telling the story. Once we repurpose and rethink, we can bring all sorts of new angles and ideas to mind, and our story could appeal to a different reading audience or fit into a different market. When we set our imaginations free, we never know what will happen!

When you have a story that really speaks to your heart, but things aren’t happening the way you want them to, keep believing in your story, but be flexible, and try to think outside the box—let your imagination go—and repurpose and rethink. The kernel of your story is the same—(think of playwright David Mamet’s concise plot outline: “Who wants what and why? Why now? What happens if her (sic) don’t get it?”) but everything else can be dynamic and fluid. You may find yourself with a published book that will find its way into young readers’ hands, after all!

Children’s and Young Adult author Margo Sorenson is the author of thirty traditionally-published books, infamous for her hapless puns (just ask her long-suffering family). To learn more about her books, including CALVIN, featured in the NY Times, please visit: MargoSorenson.com. You can also find her on Instagram @margosorensonwriter and BlueSky @margosorenson.bsky.social.

Margo Sorenson is giving away a query critique for a manuscript for young readers.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2025 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.