Meet Our May Guest Guru Sarah Hovorka

rateyourstoryweb
Apr 26
4 min read

Updated: May 8

We are very excited to feature our May Guest Guru (Sarah Hovorka) who brings a wealth of knowledge and information as a multi-published picture book author to us. She will give a rating and feedback to four lucky Rate Your Story Members this month. All Members need to do is request her from Judy, our in-box coordinator (when they submit to RateYourStory@gmail.com), and if there are available spots and your manuscript seems like a good fit, you will receive this benefit.

And here's Sarah!

Q: What did you love about being a child?

A: I loved how easy it was to be imaginative with friends as a child.

Q: What brought you to children’s books?

A: I can’t say anything brought me to children’s books. I just never stopped reading them since I was a child.

Q: What do you love about children’s books?

A: Children’s books tend to focus on relationships in a less melodramatic way (accounting for age). Even when there are problems between characters, they tend to try to resolve them in a straightforward way.

Q: Share a little bit about your most recently-published book. How long was its path to publication? What did you learn from this experience? What is your favorite thing about this book?

A: If I remember correctly, it took around two years from first draft to publication of Camouflage Mom. It luckily fell into the right hands at Cardinal Rule Press pretty quickly. I learned that it really does depend on who sees it at the right time. My favorite thing about this book is how the main character shows her confusing feelings without trying to fix or explain them; it’s okay to feel what you feel.

Q: Share a little bit about another book you wrote and how you drew upon your interests or experience to research / write it.

A: The book I wrote right before Camouflage Mom was Unicycle Dad. Though they were published by different presses, the two are similar in structure and focus. They both draw on my own childhood experiences with each of my parents; I thought about the thing that stands out the most to me about each of them and wrote about that.

Q: What do you love about the genre of books you write in (please be specific)?

A: Picture books have a lot of flexibility in terms of how you write. I love that I can add things that are only meant to be silly, or I can write poetically and add lots of onomatopoeia or rhyme. Picture books are fun for writers who like to experiment with squishing different styles or formats together.

Q: What does a story need to make it a favorite for you?

A: An interesting or new take on a topic or an interesting or new way of expression. I enjoy when authors try something different or make a point that goes against the grain.

SAME LOVE, DIFFERENT HUG by Sarah Hovorka, Art by Abbey Bryant

Q: Share a story that you love and why.

A: I love The Giver by Lois Lowry because the story is so uniquely, narrowly focused on one experience that gradually grows to show the overall point or theme of the story. That’s something that is difficult to do and not very common among dystopian children’s books.

Q: What is a common issue you see in the manuscripts you critique?

A: A common issue is the author losing sight of what the main plot or driving force of the story is and to make sure that thread is followed all the way through every step of the story, even when the story twists and turns.

Q: Please share a Submission Tip with our Members.

A: Practice writing pitches in the voice of your manuscript, at least partly. Give them a taste for the feel of your story, not just the content.

HATTIE HATES HUGS by Sarah Hovorka, Art by Heather Brockman Lee

Q: Please share a Revision Tip for our Members.

A: Keep a cheat sheet of your own personal common mistakes or areas of weakness, then check for those specifically. I use the word ‘just’ way too much, so I do a search for that word to evaluate whether I truly want it there.

Q: Name subjects you would like to read about.

A: Materials science (how exactly do we get from raw minerals to a CPU, for example), the role of handicrafts in the family and community structure, lullabies from around the world, kids starting modern-style businesses for fun, seasonal books that go beyond nature and food, underwater science fiction, time travel past to present or present to past, new dystopian themes, new survival fiction themes

Q: Name subjects you would not like to read about.

A: terrorism, abuse, or similar topics for primarily shock and awe value

Q: Share something you wish we had asked you about, but didn’t!

A: How do you get out of a writing funk or slump? I feel like I need to force myself to address that at the moment.

Q: Share a fun fact about YOU!

A: I appreciate when things don’t quite match.

BIO: Sarah Hovorka is the author of Camouflage Mom; Unicycle Dad; Same Love, Different Hug; and Hattie Hates Hugs; as well as novels and short stories for children and adults. In addition to writing, Sarah homeschools her three children and spends her free time reading and playing video and board games. You can find out more about her, her books, and follow her blog at www.SarahHovorka.com or connect with her on: