My New Book News!
I’m very excited to announce I’ll have a new middle-grade novel (ages 9-14) coming out within a year or two (release date still to be determined). Roller Boy is about Mateo Garcia, a young city boy who wants desperately to be good at something —something that will take him from that skinny little kid with the big hair to someone who matters. Stacked against him are an inhibiting disease (celiac), a dwindling lifelong friendship (no way can Jason find out Mateo is whirling around in girly skates—anybody halfway to cool would be hanging at a skate park, on boards or blades), and the strong reservations of his mother who feels he should be spending his time studying, not skating. Despite these conflicts, Mateo keeps his sense of humor and channels his innermost strength into an incredible ride on roller skates that just might take him all the way to regionals.
After his baseball dreams fall through, 13-year-old MATEO finds his true purpose at the roller-skating rink while dodging bullies, avoiding gluten, and falling for Roller City’s star skater.
For those of you who aren’t up on publishing techniques or want to know about a rather new publisher, this is how it sometimes works. The company who published my first two books for the same audience is scaling back (hey, all busy publishers deserve some rest), so just to mention, even though they did a great job with my other books, they have never read any of Roller Boy. 
After I finished writing and rewriting and polishing my manuscript (with the help of critique groups and workshops–thanks all!) I scoured through publisher profiles, studied their past books, and if they seemed a good match, I carefully followed their submission guidelines. Using this method, I sent sample chapters to several new publishers. Fitzroy Books (part of Regal House) quickly responded (which means in a week or two, which is very fast in the publishing world) and asked to see the full manuscript. I had just almost sold it to another company, so after that initial disappointment it was a great relief to have someone else interested in the same book so soon. 
Within two months they told me of their desire to issue a contract. We emailed back and forth over the next week or so as I very cautiously looked over the contract, comparing it to others and making sure all was good. It was! Regal House is completely traditional (no hidden fees) and offers generous royalties all the while continuously updating and improving their goals in publishing quality books. I like their covers and the editorial/marketing team looks promising, too. For you writers out there, they are closed to submissions right now (due to an overwhelming amount of them) but they will open again on October 1st.
My announcement bio and picture is already up on the Regal House website. You can check it out here. Thanks for listening to my story. Writing and submitting a manuscript often takes years and it can feel akin to winning the lottery when an offer finally does arrive. 🙂
Edited to add in a clickable button for anyone who would like to purchase Roller Boy:
Thank you!
- Posted in: Books ♦ Publishing ♦ Writing
- Tagged: book contract, Fitzroy Books, middle-grade novel, Regal House Publishing, Roller Boy, roller skating
Marcia Strykowski 
Wow, Marcia ! Fantastic news- it sounds like a very interesting story you have written. I am impressed with how well you have navigated getting your book contract. Brava!
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Thanks, Colleen. Great to hear you find it an interesting story idea!
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The book sounds perfect for that age group, Marcia, and what a quick turnaround with landing a new publisher. You rock! 😀 Best of luck with all the work ahead!
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Thanks, Diana. I appreciate your support and encouragement!
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Congrats! This is so exciting! Can’t wait to read.
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Thanks so much, Venessa!
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It is very encouraging to read a post like this Marcia. Congratulations.
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Good to hear you enjoyed the post, thanks!
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How exciting! Congratulations! I loved your bio, and the photo is lovely. I was glad to read about the process, too, and happy things went quicker than you thought they would.
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Thanks for your kind words, Anne. 🙂
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Really wonderful news Marcia, I’m thrilled and delighted for you. Congratulations!
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Thanks so much, Barbara!
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Congratulations!
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Thank you, Anabel!
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Woo-hoo! Congrats on your news, that’s fantastic!
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Thanks very much, Leandra!
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Here’s another CONGRATULATIONS for you, Marcia! You share so much book love in these parts, and I’m thrilled for your good news! Hooray for ROLLER BOY!!!
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I love your enthusiasm, Tracy, thank you! 🙂
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Congratulations, my friend! I can’t wait to read about your new hero.
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Thank you very much, Louise. I appreciate your interest and hope to see you soon!
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Fantastic news Marcia! Congrats on your new book and thank you for sharing your insights! Looking forward to reading the whole story!
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Thank you, Ali. I can’t wait to see the final book, too!
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Congratulations to you, Marcia. Thank you for generously sharing about this publisher and for offering tips on negotiating the world of publishing. I can’t wait to read Roller Boy!
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Of course I meant ‘navigating!’
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Ha, I didn’t even notice. 🙂
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Thanks, Joyce! I appreciate your comments!
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Congratulations, Marcia! And thanks for filling us in on the interesting path that a book takes to publication. May Roller Boy be your best book yet!
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Wouldn’t that be great!? Thanks, Michelle!
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Wonderful!! Enjoy the feeling, you hit the jackpot!! Clare
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Yes, the jackpot, good way to look at it. Thanks, Clare!
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Wow ! Marcia, what amazing news !!! I am so happy for you. You must be extremely excited and proud. The time and effort put into writing…..definitely deserves a good end result 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your story…and Roller Boy sounds like it is going to be such a good read. Congratulations. 🙂
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It does feel good to have all the hard work pay off once in a while. 🙂 Thank you, Lynne!
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Oh my God, huge congratulations, dear Marcia! I’m over the moon for you. Wanting to feel like someone who matters hits personally. (Can’t think of anyone who doesn’t wish that, lol.) What a sweet, sweet victory. Enjoy it, my friend!
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Thanks so much, Claudine! Great to know you feel the premise works well as a universal theme.
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Congrats! Marcy! I admire your decisiveness and positive spirit! I am so happy for you!
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Yep, you’ve got to stay positive in this business, 🙂 thanks Agatha!
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Many many congrats!! Can’t wait to read another of your amazing books!!
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Thank you, Ashley! 🙂
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Congratulations! It sounds like a great book! 🙂
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Thanks a lot, Valerie! 🙂
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Congratulations!! This looks awesome!
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Thank you, Nancy! 🙂
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Congratulations, Marcia on your new book! I can’t wait to grab a copy, I’m sure my 10 year old son would love it! hugs hugs hugs from here.
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Oh, yes, he’ll be the perfect age for it (even a year or two from now…). Thank you, Lilly!
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This is so exciting! I’m thrilled for you, Marcia!
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Exciting for sure–thanks, Yvonne!
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Marcia, this is great news. Congratulations! Your new book sounds wonderful. I will look into your publisher. Yes, I bet it feels like winning the lottery!
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Best of luck to you, Jennie, and thanks for adding your cheers to the thread! 🙂
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My pleasure!
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Congrats! Roller Boy sounds wonderful. I enjoyed reading about the publication process.
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Thank you, Sheryl! 🙂
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Congratulations.
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Oh, thank you, James! 🙂
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What fantastic news! I am so glad for you. I really appreciate all the information. I have been considering self-publishing but I have wondered if maybe going with a smaller publishing company might not be a good option.
I am still working on my manuscript so I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am very methodical and am only able to focus on one thing at a time.
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Thanks so much, Sharon! I hear you about focusing on one thing at a time. Fun to hear you are working on a manuscript. Best of luck finishing up and then maybe sending it out, doesn’t hurt to try, although it’s nice to have other options nowadays, as well.
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Marcia, this is TREMENDOUS news! A hearty congratulations! I do know how very difficult it is to get a book published, and yours is clearly an excellent work. I just can’t tell you how excited I am for you. Now what are you working on to keep you out of trouble? 🙂
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How nice of you, thank you so much! I’m working on some shorter manuscripts at the moment, we shall see… Thanks again, I really appreciate your enthusiasm! 🙂
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Congratulations Marcia! Very exciting! I am a fan of your last two books, so I am looking forward to reading Roller Boy! It sounds like a wonderful read for the young and young at heart alike!! Your determination and hard work has paid off! Well done! 🙂
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Thanks for being such a great fan, Bette, I appreciate it!
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Marcia this is wonderful news. The story sounds delightful too. I am sure it will be a success. Take care and have a lovely week. Hugs!
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Thank you very much, Deborah. 🙂 I hope you’re having a wonderful week, as well!
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I’m impressed with your hard work paying off! Congrats!!
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Thanks, Nicole!
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Congratulations!!! Thank you for sharing your journey!!!
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Thank you, Vijaya! 🙂
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A big ‘Congrats’ to you on your new MG novel! Very exciting. Thank you for the inspiring backstory on how it came to be published. I need to hear that right now. 🙂
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Thank you very much, Lynn. I’m happy you gained inspiration and I wish you lots of luck with your projects!
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Hoooh, Boy! I mean, well done, girl! This is very happy news indeed.
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🙂 Thanks, Mirka!
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OH gosh, this IS exciting Marcia!! Glad your knew how to find the best publisher– so exciting to see how it will all play out– the cover, the release etc. Be sure to keep us all posted on how it is going! And– were you a roller skater growing up?? How did you pick that for the setting of the story?? We used to skate up and down the block all the time– but there were lots of scraped knees and no competitions! So happy for you– all the time and energy you put in to this can be shared by all of us! So exciting!
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Thank you for your enthusiastic cheers and good wishes, Rhonda! I have to admit I was never much of a skater, but my kids were involved for a while and I guess that’s where I learned more about the sport. 🙂 Enjoy your weekend!
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Wow! Congrats! Your story sounds lovely. All the best with preparing it for publishing. 🙂
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Thank you very much, Misha! 🙂
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Whoo-hoo, Marcia!!! I knew it! I can’t wait for Roller Boy’s release. Wheee!! Way to persevere. xo
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Thank you, Pierr! 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful summer break!
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How wonderful So excited for you that you found a new publisher. Yay! 🙂
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Thank you very much, Stephanie. I’m excited, too!
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Just reading your news now. Congratulations! That’s wonderful.
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Thank you, Cynthia! 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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Hey! Love this post, such respect for your blog – I would really appreciate it if you’d check out this post on my blog and lemme know what you think …
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Nice, thanks for sharing!
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Good luck.🙂
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Thank you!
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Wonderful news!! Congratulations!!
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Thank you, Meghan!
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