We are so excited to have Betsy Snyder join us today to share information about crafting a haiku collection!

Author and illustrator Betsy Snyder made her publishing debut in 2007 after several years working as in-house artist and trend group leader at American Greetings. She has since created over twenty picture and novelty books, teaming with a diverse mix of publishers and earning recognition from groups such as the Society of Illustrators, The New York Times, Amazon Best Books lists, Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine, Indie Next List, and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Betsy’s smile-inspiring art has also been licensed for other products including games, puzzles, greeting cards, gift wrap, party goods, plush, decor, fabric and wallpaper.

From Inkling to Inked: Crafting a Haiku Collection

by Betsy Snyder

The inkling

I wasn’t a prolific poet or haiku guru—my interest in haiku came more from my artist side, sparked by a love of Japanese woodcuts and their nature-related subjects. Alongside this passion, I saw an opportunity—in researching the market, I didn’t see many, if any, haiku books meant for baby. What if I could make the art of haiku more friendly and accessible to the youngest readers?

Like most elusive book ideas (aren’t they all?), the inkling of Haiku Baby twinkled in my heart and mind for some time until I was finally called to capture it on paper. That calling was quite literally a phone call from my agent—an editor at Random House was interested in my art, in search of baby book ideas, and inquiring if I had any writing of my own to share. I said “Yes!”, panicked a little because I didn’t (yet), and got to work.

The pitch

I hadn’t quit my day job (yet), so I moonlighted, working to shape my inklings into more concrete concepts. In a few weeks, I sent my first-ever book pitches out into the universe, including the one shared below. Soon after, I received an email from my agent with the subject line “Get out the champagne!!!” Much to my surprise and delight, I had been offered a three-book contract with that inquiring (and so talented) editor, Heidi Kilgras, at Random House. Haiku Baby would be my first authored book, a mini board book collection centered around baby’s first experiences with nature.

The collection

I had an editor who shared my vision and a signed contract. But now what? In addition to honing my haiku writing (I share some haiku-specific writing advice here), I needed to find a way to string each poem together into a cohesive whole. I created an arc, ordering my poems from spring to winter, and also day to night. In the art, I gave readers a bluebird to find and follow through the scenes and seasons.

Voice was another tool that helped hold the collection together and set it apart from other haiku books. I sought word choices that felt playful, bouncy and more approachable to my young audience.

Paying homage to haiku’s Asian roots was important to me. True to haiku, I incorporated a kigo, a season word, into my poems. Each haiku was paired with a first word in English and its calligraphic kanji counterpart. In my illustrations, I adopted nuances of Japanese woodcuts into my imagery, line work, sky gradients and collage patterns.

The tabbed board book format also helped support the collection’s theme. Side tabs featured icons for each haiku and helped guide little hands through the pages. The book’s small size created a more intimate, cozy reading experience.

The companion

Nine years after Haiku Baby was published, I was asked to create its companion book, which became Haiku Night. I already had a formula and format to follow, but this theme presented some new challenges. One hiccup was that some of the kanji for the night animals and icons I was considering were two or more characters long—I had to omit the options that felt too clunky in the layout. And landing on the correct kanji wasn’t always straightforward—sometimes there were multiple kanji options for the English word, and some had negative connotations in the Asian culture. I consulted friends and experts to help me translate.

I also struggled with choosing the right little critter to follow throughout the book (like the bluebird in Haiku Baby). I liked the idea of a moth, but it didn’t feel quite right alongside some of my featured night animals (for example, wouldn’t the bats eat a moth?). Fortunately, I had an epiphany that suddenly seemed so obvious—a metamorphosis! The moth could begin as a hatching caterpillar, transform into a cocoon (hanging upside-down with the bats!), and finally emerge as a moth in the final spread. As it turned out, a moth was the perfect character to unite my night collection—I just needed to see it in a new light.

The insight

Looking back, it’s much easier to see what brings a collection together. But when I am in the midst (and sometimes muck) of writing, the answers aren’t always so clear. I was new to haiku, but I found resources along the way and learned as I went—and you can, too! So, I’ll part with some collection-writing tips and tricks I gleaned along the way that may help you craft your poetry collection.

•Find your glue

What is that special something that holds your poems together as a family? What’s at the core? This will be your ultimate barometer when curating your collection.

•Seize the opportunity.

Are there gaps in the marketplace? Can you answer a publisher’s need? Shape an opportunity into the hook for your book.

•Remember your muse.

Who is your audience? I always start and go back to this. You may have written the best poem ever, but is it right for this collection and audience?

•Start with the title

Feeling stuck with where to start? Many of my best book ideas have been sparked by a catchy and original title. Play with words, rhymes, alliteration, puns, idioms—even make up your own words! Get creative and you may find your collection. Or, maybe a subtitle would help? Motor Goose: Rhymes That Go! (by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Jef Kaminsky) is a great example of a strong title hook.

•Build an arc

Can you create more continuity by ordering your poems in a certain way, or giving your collection a beginning and end? The whole collection of When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons (by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Julie Morstad) follows a calendar through the seasons, with each poem dated as if it is a journal entry. It has a brilliant circular arc, ending with the same poem it begins with.

Or—would a recurring character, or cast of characters, help your arc? (Remember, the art can pull a lot of weight here.). All the World (by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee) has smaller arcs within a bigger arc, with families of characters woven throughout the art, and brought together at the end.

•Pay homage

Does your poetic form have roots in a certain culture? Can you make creative choices that feel authentic to your theme?

•Physical Format

If your book is for babies, toddlers or preschoolers, is there a unique format or feature that might help hold your collection together? You can include format ideas in your book pitch (or editors often have their own ideas for this).

•Challenge yourself

Are you procrastinating, or feeling overwhelmed? Create your own mini assignments and make yourself accountable! One year for National Poetry Month, I committed to writing and tweeting one haiku per day. My haiku writing improved quickly, and I ended up with extra, unused ideas in the hopper for next time. I also found it made me more observant and tuned into my everyday life.