Shannon Brescher Shea: Growing Sustainable Together

GROWING SUSTAINABLE TOGETHER:
PRACTICAL RESOURCES FOR RAISING KIND,
ENGAGED, RESILIENT CHILDREN
Shannon Brescher Shea
North Atlantic Books; June 16, 2020; $16.95
ISBN-10: 1623174716; ISBN-13: 9781623174712

Shea reports:

I dreamed I would publish a book since I was a kid. I never expected it to happen through Twitter.

Growing Sustainable Together started when I fell in love with manatees at age 10.

Fast forward 20 years. When I became a mom, I struggled to balance my love for environmental action with my desire to spend as much time as possible with my kids. When I talked to other environmentalist moms, almost none reported the same dilemma. I wondered, “What did they have that I didn’t?” My first book proposal, a set of profiles of “green moms,” revolved around that question. When I received a rejection that said, “Nice idea, but no one is going to buy it,” I realized I was the only one asking this question!

Sitting in my basement, I had a lightbulb moment. What if there was no conflict between being an environmentalist and a good parent? Propelled by the idea that environmental activities could help you raise your kids to be good people, I put together a new proposal.

In the midst of shopping my book to agents, I posted a summary to Twitter as part of Pitch Madness https://pitchwars.org/pitmad/, which I had heard about through the Twitter writing community. In this quarterly event, editors and agents invite you to send them your proposal or manuscript by liking a tweet describing your book.

Much to my surprise, an editor liked one of my tweets! In a few weeks, I had an offer. There was a catch: I had to write the book in six months or less. The publisher needed to fill its Summer 2020 catalogue quickly.

Thankfully, I had already compiled much the research in preparation for my proposal. My advice to aspiring authors: work through most of your book's structural and thematic issues while writing your proposal.

While chucking my first proposal was frustrating, I’m glad I did. Moving beyond my personal insecurities resulted not only in a book deal, but a book I hope will prove useful to parents who want to raise kids to be sustainable world citizens.

Contact info:

• Shannon Shea, 518-859-4230; shannonbshea@gmail.com, https://welleatyouupweloveyouso.com, @storiteller
• Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/625190/growing-sustainable-together-by-shannon-brescher-shea/
• Publicist: Julia Sadowski, 510 549-4270 x 21, jsadowski@northatlanticbooks.com

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