Meet Author Catherine L. Osornio
Featured Picture Book: Title forthcoming
E-mail: CLOsornio@verizon.net
Blog: Catherine’s Corner

Bio: If you had asked Catherine thirty five years ago what she wanted to be when she grew up, a writer would have been towards the bottom of her list. Although she loved reading, her interests were in math, science, and cartooning. When she later realized that she didn’t want a job working on mathematical formulas all day, she went to film school where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Cinema with an emphasis on Cinematography. A writer’s strike halted much of the work in the industry, so Catherine had to look elsewhere in order to make ends meet.

Eventually she married and had four children. It wasn’t until about six years ago, while helping a friend work on her writing skills, that Catherine felt she was called to write. Her work includes devotionals for adults, stories for a children’s reading program, and nonfiction and fiction articles for children’s magazines. She recently received a contract for a nonfiction picture book which resulted from taking the Book In A Month challenge last year.

Interview:
Q: Last year was the first time you joined the Book In A Month Club. Describe the journey you took.
A: My friend suggested we write alphabet books for the challenge. Going onto amazon.com, I used their advanced search tool to find publishers who were currently producing this type of genre. I made sure to choose companies who had at least five alphabet books in their catalogs. Once I created this list, I went to the publishers’ websites to see if they were currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. My list was now narrowed to five. Based on the type of alphabet books the company produced, I narrowed the choice down to one.

During this process I had been praying for some good topics to write about. I did not make this decision until I had found my prospective publisher. I noticed they had many books on holidays, but not one for the Fourth of July. Looking through their submission guidelines, I noticed that they did not want picture books longer than 1,100 words. I bought five of their books and carefully read each one looking for patterns: How many words per letter; How was the topic covered; How did they handle difficult letters like Q and Z? I made notes of everything and used these patterns to write a rough outline.

I researched using online materials and books from both my own library and the public library. I reworked and fine-tuned my manuscript until I had a rough draft to take to my critique group. Once I got their thumbs up and worked the changes, I sent out the manuscript to the publisher. This process, including pinpointing the publisher, took one month.

Six weeks later, the Editor-in-Chief e-mailed me. She liked the idea, but wanted an historical emphasis only (I had written about celebrating the 4th as well as the historical aspect). I got to work digging up more research materials. Three months later I took my rough draft to my critique group, and then sent out the final draft to the publisher. I heard back from the Editor-in-Chief about five weeks later, letting me know they were interested in the book and were working on the contract.

The total time from starting with my idea to hearing from the Editor that they wanted the book was seven months.

Q: How were you able to manage your time to actually get your entire manuscript researched AND written in one month?
A: I dove into the project right away, trying to find a publisher that I could target. When I made my choice, I ordered several of the publisher’s books from Amazon.com and received them in about a week or so. By then I had figured out my theme and made lists of possible alphabet words. I broke the books down as described above, and then I wrote, fine tuned, and wrote some more. I also used the internet and found library books for references on the Fourth of July, the Declaration of Independence, and national traditions for Independence Day. After many rewrites I finally came up with a rough draft to take to my critique group.

Q: What first sparked your interest to write nonfiction?
A: I had enjoyed nonfiction books as a child, especially about the American Revolution and our founding fathers. I also had a natural curiosity, and when I wanted to know about something, I would flip open an encyclopedia or go to the library to look things up. Many years later when I started to write, my first published articles were devotionals for adults. I guess it was just a matter of time before it led to writing nonfiction for children. My first published nonfiction piece was about the Cedars of Lebanon.

Q: Describe the process you go through to gather your research for nonfiction articles and book manuscripts.
A: I love research. I have also been the person family and friends call for finding information, especially now that I have internet access and literally have the world of knowledge at my fingertips. When I am working on a project, I try to find as many sources as possible: books, magazines, journals, maps, documents, etc. The internet allows me to check my local libraries for available books, buy used books on Amazon.com or eBay, search the Library of Congress or the National Archives for records, and look into special collections at universities. Once I get access to the materials, I take notes making sure I list the sources and page numbers where the information was found. Once I finish researching, I gather my notes and start pulling out the facts that have three solid sources to them. If I find I don’t have enough solid sources, I either discard that point or I dig deeper to find additional information.

Q: Share one tip you’d like to give to someone joining the Book In The Month Club for the very first time.
A: Be diligent. Work on your project a little each day, even if it’s only for thirty minutes. You will be amazed how much you can accomplish. Who knows? It might land you a contract, too!