An analysis of a career in kidlit

Alan Rinzler has a blog interview up featuring Kristen Tracy and how the turned her life and studies into a thriving career:

She grew up in a tiny Mormon town in Idaho (pop 841,) she writes poetry, reads kids’ books and pretty much hates the internet.

Kristen Tracy sold her first book in 2006 to Simon and Schuster. The title was Lost It, a story about a girl losing her virginity underneath a canoe. The book is in its 7th printing.

Things snowballed after that and now she’s got deals for two series, one with Hyperion for YA readers, and another with Random House for the Middle Grade bunch (tweens.) She’s had three more books published, another will be out in June, and others are coming down the pike.

So, what set Tracy apart? How did this little-known writer break out with a one-two punch and land two multi-book contracts?

Read the rest.