Welcome to the Back Matter Break Down! If you are interested in back matter in picture books, you have come to the right place. Today’s interview with Darcie Naslund is full of great behind the scenes info about she put together the back matter for her debut picture book. And don’t forget to read to the end for the giveaway! So much good stuff here, so let’s dive in!
Book: My Mom is NOT a Superhero!
Author: Darcie Naslund
Illustrator: Dania El Khatib
Publisher / Year: DC Canada Education Publishing, 2024
Topics: Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Illness, Mothers, Superheroes
Blurb: A little girl whose mother has Multiple Sclerosis discovers that some superheroes are fighting invisible battles. With the help of her cat and some X-ray glasses, she learns just how strong her mom is and how she can help her.
What is your manuscript word count? What is your back matter word count?
The manuscript I submitted was about 460 words, not including my illustration notes, which were around 100 words. Looking back now, I realize I didn’t need that many, but at the time, I thought they were necessary to explain the symptoms clearly as villains.
The back matter is about 500 words. It focuses on child readers or creating an adult-child conversation about Multiple Sclerosis and invisible illness.
At what phase of the drafting/revising/publishing process did you decide your book needed back matter?
My first draft wasn’t a story at all. It was more like a well-written advertisement for MS. It was loaded with descriptions and not exciting for kid readers. The first draft was written on its own without back matter. The author’s note came next, as it was a suggestion from my critique group. They may have suggested back matter, but I can’t remember. What I do remember is that I was very stuck in my way with this manuscript. I would take some pieces of advice on the line level but refused to accept any whole-picture type of advice.
It wasn’t until I received some brutally honest, whole-picture feedback that I realized I needed to make a change. After my daughter’s endless questions about my worsening MS, I had an epiphany. I needed to find a way to make the invisible visible. That’s where the X-ray glasses came in. I rewrote the entire manuscript, cut the descriptions, and turned them into back matter.
Did you need to do any research for the back matter?
Having MS gave me first-hand experience explaining it to children. That being said, I still did a lot of research and connected with the MS Society of Canada. They sent me a few resources for having conversations with children. I also collected resources from other MS organizations around the world.
The organization of the back matter was very important to me. I didn’t want it to be overwhelming for kids if they wanted to learn more. I checked out dozens of picture books with back matter from the library to compare and eventually decided on a plan.
How did you come up with the activities that kids can do to understand MS symptoms?
When I was looking for resources for families, I came across several activity books for kids. Some of them included crossword puzzles, questions and stories. They helped parents explain MS to young children. That’s when I realized the problem— explaining alone doesn’t always lead to understanding. As the old saying goes,
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I understand.”
I needed to put the readers in the shoes of someone with MS to even begin to understand. The analogies that I came up with were things I would say all the time to my family. “I feel like something is pulling my arms down.” Or “My legs feel like they are made of cement.” I have had times when I thought my glasses were dirty or smudged, but it was just my MS. I took all of my experiences and my little descriptions and included them in the backmatter. Even now that the book is published, I want to add or change something about the backmatter. For example, in the back matter, I suggest using ankle weights or socks full of sand to weigh your legs down. Now, I realize that wearing very big, heavy boots creates a similar effect. Although I can’t make that change now, I will still include it in my activities and book events.
What did the first draft of the back matter look like?
The first draft didn’t look much different in regards to the organization. It had the symptoms list and the “Try This” section. I also had a “How to Fight MS” section that I later took out. It did, however, have a completely different analogy for MS. Finding the right analogy was probably the most difficult part of writing the back matter. I tried many different analogies— a computer and wire, a rough hiking trail, and even mail delivery. The computer analogy was what I submitted to DC Canada Education Publishing. It was later changed and explained using water flowing through a garden hose. This idea came from the wonderful team at DC Canada Education Publishing.
*Before
*After
Dania El Khatib took my words and created back matter that was not only engaging but accessible. It is everything I dreamed it would be.
Tell us about the back matter revision process. Why did changes occur? What changes and revisions came about after working with the editor/agent?
The back matter was probably the most difficult part of the revision process with my editor. We went back and forth several times, creating every analogy we could to explain what MS is in a clear, accessible way. I have always described MS as if my brain was a computer and my nerves were wires connecting to the rest of the body. Although this analogy felt most accurate with some MS symptoms, we decided that it was not the safest route to go, as we did not want children thinking that it was okay to play with electrical wires.
I created several more analogies, and so did my editor. When we reviewed them together, we finally concluded that the garden hose analogy would be best. It was clear and did not create a potential risk like the previous version.
My editor mentioned that she was very excited to have received the manuscript with back matter already created. It made her job much easier. She was also the one who thought to include the engaging questions for the readers.
What was the most challenging part of the process of the back matter publishing process?
As I mentioned in the previous question, the most difficult part was creating a clear, concise analogy for what MS is. It was also the beginning of the back matter and set the tone for the rest of the information. This was the most important, difficult and tedious part of the process.
Is your back matter aimed at kid readers or adults? What do you hope readers will take away after reading your back matter content?
I would say the back matter is aimed mostly at kid readers. I also wanted it to create conversations between the children and an adult reader. My goal for the back matter was not only to explain what Multiple Sclerosis or MS is but to put them in the shoes and help readers understand. I also wanted readers to understand that many challenges and conditions are invisible, but it does not mean that they do not exist. There are superheroes fighting invisible battles all around us. With a little bit of kindness and understanding, even they can be superheroes.
Reflecting on this process, what have you learned? What tips (if any) can you offer picture book writers for writing back matter?
My first piece of advice is to decide what your goal is for your back matter. Once you have your goal, start by studying other picture books (both fiction and nonfiction). I like to use them as a blueprint for organizing my information. I didn’t use one specific book as a guide, but pieces from several books. Studying what was already out there was very helpful to me.
Are there resources or comp titles you can share that would be helpful for writers wanting to learn more about back matter?
To be honest, I don’t have any resources for this. I studied many different books with back matter, both fiction and non-fiction, as these tended to be very different. The idea of blueprinting came from one of author Ebony Lynn Mudd’s writing courses. I found her courses very useful and would recommend them to all picture book writers.
Thank you, Darcie! You’ve given us some great tips on how to plan for our back matter!
Please support Darcie! Find her website and all of her links on Linktr.ee: Darcie Naslund Linktr.ee
Purchase My Mom is NOT a Superhero!:
DC Canada Education Publishing
Now for a giveaway! Darcie has generously offered to give one lucky person a full manuscript critique that includes backmatter! To enter: leave one comment on this blog post by May 21, 2024 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. You may earn 1 bonus entry if you also comment on the Twitter/X post about this blog to let me know you commented here. (Please remember to check back on this blog post and Twitter/X to see if you are selected as a winner!)
Thank you for reading!
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Judy Campbell-Smith 