Shellie also found that a Nanny with a Masters was a rare and desirable thing and worked with many wonderful families. She enjoyed watching the children grow and develop. She appreciated the freedom from bureaucracy. And she loved telling them stories.
In 2003, the family she worked for moved to Atlanta, GA, and Shellie went with them. She had more time on her hands, and found herself writing down many of the stories she told the children. She began playing around with the idea of seeking a publisher. But she was unsure of exactly how to proceed. She started reading books about children’s publishing and editing her work. After Shellie moved back to Nashville, her mother suggested a writer’s conference she had seen advertised in the paper. So in 2005, Shellie went to her very first writer’s workshop.
It was a mentoring workshop, where attendees had the opportunity to have their work critiqued by professional editors. Shellie had the honor of working with Holly Miller, an editor for the Saturday Evening Post, and published author with many books to her credit. Holly gave Shellie wonderful support for her writing and suggested that she enter writing contests to help her “break in” to the profession.
In the summer of 2007, a friend sent Shellie information about the Cheerios Spoonful of Stories Contest. It seemed a little too good to be true. The Grand prize winner would have their story distributed by Cheerios, and the opportunity to be published by Simon and Schuster. Shellie worked on several different pieces that she had already written, and even worked on a few new pieces.
But nothing seemed right.
On the very last day of the contest she had almost given up hope of entering when inspiration hit. She was washing the family dog with the youngest child, who was three at the time. The young girl started singing “Dog Wash, Dog Wash,” as they scrubbed away.
It struck Shellie that if the child was having that much fun with the words, maybe other children would too. While Shellie fed the girl her lunch, she started writing the first rough draft of The Great Dog Wash. She continued to work throughout the afternoon, and got it entered in the contest a few hours before the deadline.
In December, 2007, she received a call that changed everything. She was informed that she had won the first Spoonfuls of Stories Contest, and that Simon and Schuster wanted to publish my story.
They paired her with an award winning illustrator, Robert Neubecker, who brought the words to life in such a wonderfully fun way.
The whole experience, from babbling her excited words of thanks to a roomful of people in Minnesota, to the launch of the hardback July 7, has been fantastic for Shellie. Cheerios has given her more exposure than she had ever expected. And the people at Simon and Schuster have been incredibly patient with her many, many questions.
It has been a dream come true for Shellie, and she hopes there is more to come. She is currently putting the final touches on another picture book and working on a Young Adult novel. She is looking forward to whatever the future may hold.
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Shellie, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, and congratulations on the publication of your first book, The Great Dog Wash (Simon & Schuster)! Please tell us a bit about the journey you have taken from idea to publication, and of the major events along the way.
The idea for this book came on the very last day of the contest! I had heard about the Cheerios contest about two months before, but I didn’t have anything that I thought fit the contest instructions. But I am not someone who gives up easily, so even on the last day, I was still thinking about what I might enter.
That particular day, I was asked to wash the dog. The youngest child in the family, Elizabeth, was my helper. She was three at the time. While we were lathering Fluffy, the family dog, Elizabeth started singing “Dog Wash, Dog Wash.” I thought that if she was having that much fun with the words, maybe there was a story in them.
While I fixed her lunch, I started working on the story. After I put Elizabeth down for her afternoon nap, I re-worked and edited the story. I wound up getting the story submitted that afternoon, just a few hours before the deadline.
About three months later, I got a call from the team at Cheerios saying that my story had been selected to win their contest. If that wasn’t great enough, Simon and Schuster wanted to offer me a contract to publish the book. They chose Robert Neubecker, an award-winning illustrator, a caliber of artist that a first time author usually just doesn’t get a chance to work with.
I have loved watching the process of seeing the words I wrote in the kitchen come to life in a book that others can enjoy.
As a nanny, you must stay very busy! Do you find time to write every day?
I do not get a chance to write every day, but I do work on stories every day.
As a nanny, I work with children. I see what they do, and think. I watch them struggle, and succeed and make mistakes and pick themselves back up. We talk about what they hope and what they do and what they imagine. And sometimes, we talk about story ideas. They tell me honestly whether they would like to read this story or that one.
And sometimes, they write stories for themselves.
But lots of days, I switch my computer on after dinner and write until about 11:00 or 12:00. I usually get up between 5:00 and 5:30 so that I can exercise before I go to work. So I need at least five to six hours of sleep!
What do the children you nanny for think of The Great Dog Wash?
The children are very excited. I dedicated the book to Elizabeth and Fluffy, the family dog, since they inspired me to write the book in the first place. So Elizabeth calls it “her book.” The boys, who are ten, eleven and thirteen, are a little too old for picture books. But they’re proud of me, and have gotten to be in some photo shoots. They want me to write for older kids, especially boys!
Are there any particular books or author that helped to inspire your early love for telling stories?
I loved Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman. In fact, Green Eggs and Ham was the very first book that I read all by myself! I also loved fairy tales and ghost stories. I remember scaring my little sister by reading to her under the covers with a flashlight. I had a copy of A Midsummer’s Night Dream that was retold for children, and I remember reading that book until it was worn out.
But I also really like biographies. I read a series called Childhood of Famous Americans. I really loved reading about all different kinds of people before they were famous.
There are some books that I love for the illustrations as much as the words. I think I have every one of Maurice Sendak’s books. And, last year, a dream came true when I got to meet Tomie dePaola!
Do you keep a writing journal? If so, what might we find in it?
I keep an idea journal. It lives next to my bed, and whenever I get an idea for a story I write it down in the book. The title is at the top of the page with a very short description on the rest of the page. There is one page per story. I am almost halfway through the journal. I have ideas for picture books and novels, but almost all of them are stories for kids.
What’s up next for you?
I have an agent who is helping me put the finishing touches on a couple of pieces. I would love to write both picture books and chapter books. I have another rhyming picture book about pets. This time it mentions a little girl named “Lizzie” and her hopes for her pets. I’m also working on a novel about a sixteen year old that spends her summer in Europe. I love to write about the South. I wasn’t born in Tennessee, but I have lived here since I was twelve, so I know what it’s like to grow up down here.
