Episode #97: What do you know now that you wish you’d known before publishing a book?- with Hena Khan

Welcome back! Today on Kids As Authors, we are joined by author Hena Khan who answers this great kid question: “What do you know now that you wish you’d known before you published a book?”

TRANSCRIPTS:

Grace Lin: Hello, I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel When the Sea Turned to Silver, and the picture book A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today, I'm here with Hena Khan, the author of middle grade novels, like Amina’s Voice and More to the Story, as well as picture books, such as Like the Moon Loves the Sky, illustrated by Saffa Khan and Under My Hijab, illustrated by elite Aaliya Jaleel. The art from Under My Hijab is also featured in the picture book exhibit Asians Every Day, which you can now see online. Hi Hena.

Hena Khan: Hi Grace. How are you?

Grace Lin: Thank you so much for joining me today.

Hena Khan: Thank you for inviting me. This is so fun.

Grace Lin: Are you ready for today's kid question?

Hena Khan: Yes. Throw it at me.

Grace Lin: Okay. Today's question is from a person named Jared, and Jared asks, what do you now know that you wish you'd known before you published a book?

Hena Khan: Ooh, good question, Jared. A lot of things I wish I would have known before publishing, but I think the biggest one is that, even though you publish a book, and you've gotten to this point where you feel like I've done it, I've published, that there's still so much more to learn. And even after you're published, you keep learning more about what comes next, about the process, and that you keep improving as a writer. And one thing that I wish I had known before publishing my first picture book, my very first picture book and book that I published was called Night of the Moon, it came out many years ago now, way back in 2008, and what I wish I had known specifically about that book is that less is more sometimes. And you can use fewer words than you may think to get your story across.

Hena Khan: And especially in a picture book where, as you know Grace, the illustration does so much of the work that you really don't need to describe things in so much detail, or have a lot of extra words. And I also realized that you're going to be reading this book over and over again. So you really want to make sure that every word is essential. And, like I said, even as a published author, I went on to write more picture books and middle grade novels, and I had to stay humble and remember that I was still learning how to be a better writer, how to be a better storyteller, but I had to learn how to edit myself in different ways and take all the feedback I was getting and incorporate that into my work. And that all of that is very much part of the process of being published.

Hena Khan: Other things I wish I had known earlier was just how much waiting is involved. How slow everything can be waiting for decisions, waiting for feedback, waiting for your book to actually be printed and published and put into stores and libraries. Sometimes I think about it like being stuck on the runway. You just want to get somewhere fast and you just want to take off, but it's like waiting in a long line of planes that are in front of you and just having to be patient. So I wish I had known how much patience is really required.

Grace Lin: I definitely hear you on the waiting thing.

Hena Khan: For sure. I would say the last thing is that you can't please everybody all the time with everything you do and that's okay. And that was something that I think I was a little more sensitive in the beginning and I've learned to just appreciate all the wonderful feedback I get, and to know that there's always going to be somebody who's not a hundred percent in love with everything you do and that's perfectly okay, too.

Grace Lin: Yes, and that's a hard thing to kind of know, though, because when you make your book, it feels so... And you've worked so hard on it, it's so painful when you realize not everybody loves it.

Hena Khan: Or sees it the same way you do, right?

Grace Lin: Yeah. But it was interesting because you were talking about the waiting, and when I was asking you this question, I was thinking, oh, what do I wish I'd known before I'd published a book and definitely the waiting. And I think what I was thinking was that I remember when my very first book was published, and there was so much time in between finishing the book and when the book came out. I remember it had gotten pushed back in a whole other season. So it was usually when we finish a book and we send to the publisher, at least for me, it's about a year later that you see it as a published book. And I remember for my very first book, it was a year and a half later. So by the time it came out into a book store, it felt very anticlimactic.

Grace Lin: I remember, I didn't really do too much. I was, oh, it's a book. And not that I wasn't proud of it, but I was also like a little embarrassed. I didn't really tell anyone about it. It was a very quiet kind of opening into the world. And I just kind of saw it and I'm, oh, that's nice. And I put it on my bookshelf and that was it.

Grace Lin: And I think what I wish I had known before I published a book was what a big momentous occasion that was. I wish I had done a big celebration for that book, because you'll never have another first book again. And I was, I wish I had thrown a big party for it and had everybody come and get it, and everybody see it. I think back then I was kind of embarrassed and I didn't want to seem like I was bragging or showing off or gloating or anything like that. But now, I kind of feel like I wish I had not done that, and I wish I had celebrated. So that's why I try to celebrate all my books, now because I feel like I never gave that first book the birthday party it deserved.

Hena Khan: And that's what it is, right? It is a gigantic birthday party for a book. And I do think it's important to celebrate. And I feel you. I feel like a lot of us don't want the attention on us or the spotlight. And we feel embarrassed to say, look at me, look what I did, but you're bringing something new into the world that kids are going to connect with and treasure. And they're going to be able to go find it, and it is something you want to let people know about it and you want them to share in your joy and all your hard work, so...

Grace Lin: Yeah, because it is a big deal. It's a really big deal. We've worked so hard for it. And I feel like we all deserve to be proud of it and to yell to the stars.

Hena Khan: When I had my first book, that book I mentioned, Night of the Moon, published, my husband actually threw a big surprise party for me. And it was the very first surprise party I'd ever had. My birthday falls in the summer, so it also was very close to my 35th birthday. And it was sort of a combination book launch and surprise birthday. And I'd always grown up feeling like my work is not a big deal, it's in the summertime. Back then, we didn't really acknowledge it during school because it was a summer birthday. So it just didn't really happen. And so it was a huge success, this surprise, he completely got me. I had no idea what was happening. I walked in, I was completely confused because I thought I was attending a fundraiser and I saw all these friends at the door. But it was a beautiful way to celebrate that first book. And I feel like it was sort of the opposite, I'm sorry you didn't have that experience because ever since then, I feel like nothing will top that moment. That's sort of been the top. Everything else has anticlimactic.

Grace Lin: Wonderful. I'm so glad you had that. That is wonderful. What a great husband.

Hena Khan: Well, he thought so too. He let me know this makes up for all the years we didn't do anything for any others.

Grace Lin: Well, that's wonderful. Well, thank you so much for answering today's question and thank you so much, Jared, for asking it.

Hena Khan: Yes. Thank you.

Grace Lin: Bye.

Hena Khan: Bye.

Today’s BOOK REVIEW comes from Zeeva. Zeeva is reviewing, Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan.

Hi, I’m Zeeva, and the book I would like to talk about is Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan. This book is about a girl named Amina whose family is from India. At the beginning Amina is starting middle school, and her best friend, Soojin, invites a new person named Emily to be their friend. At first Amina is afraid of losing her best friend, but she eventually begins to like Emily, and they become good friends. In the story Amina also has to take part in a competition at her family’s local mosque, even though she has stage fright. And, with all of this going on, Amina’s Uncle is visiting from India, so she has to be on her best behavior. I liked this book because it included a lot of events and feelings that people of all cultures and ages can relate to, like having stage fright or going through challenges that a new school might bring. I think you’ll love reading Amina’s Voice.

Thank you Zeeva!

More about TODAY’S AUTHORS:

Hena Khan is an award-winning author of picture books and middle grade fiction. Her middle grade novel Amina’s Voice launched Simon & Schuster’s groundbreaking Salaam Reads imprint and was named a Best Book of 2017 by the Washington Post, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and others. The sequel, Amina’s Song, was recently released. Hena wrote the popular Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream series, and More to the Story is a novel inspired by her all-time favorite book, Little Women. Hena’s acclaimed picture books include Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets, Night of the Moon, and It’s Ramadan, Curious George. Hena began writing for children with Scholastic book clubs, publishing books for a number of popular series about spies, space and more. She went on to write several choose-your-own format books including adventures to Mars and the Amazon rainforest. But, as a mother, Hena yearned to see books that represented kids like her children and decided to write them.

Today, Hena writes full time, often highlighting aspects of her culture, faith, community, friendship and family, and she draws heavily from own experiences. She enjoys presenting to children, educators, community members and others, and being a mom to two now teenaged boys. Whenever she gets the chance, Hena travels with her family, bakes, and reads books written by her favorite children’s authors.

Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.

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