Hello, dear readers, I hope your new year is off to a spectacular start! If you’re new to my site, I’m Heather Morris (not the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, not THAT Heather Morris, that’s another writing story for another day) and I write a little bit of everything. Fiction, nonfiction, children’s, adult, but always with a smattering of science.
And, truly, middle grade writing has stolen my heart. That’s probably because, at my core, I am still somewhere between ages 10-12. 🙂
At this time of year, our house is FULL of stats. I’m the grateful mother of three active kids – two of whom are teenagers and play sports at a high level. Our dinner table conversation is peppered with swimming times, cuts for regional swim meets, rebound percentages, and shooting stats (basketball). As someone who loves science and conducted experiments for many years, statistics are also near and dear to my heart.
So today, I took a page from Annette Whipple, another kidlit author whose website can be found here, and I’m going to attempt to summarize my first full year as a professional children’s writer…and, of course, give you some high-level statistics (I may go more in-depth later, depending on time constraints :)).
About halfway through 2023, I made the decision to leave my part-time position with a NASA contractor to devote any scraps of free time to pursuing my goal of becoming a professional writer. Since then, I’ve had to learn about all kinds of things: small business management, how I work creatively (still learning), marketing, networking, and so much more.
This post will summarize my “stats” in two main categories: writing and events.
Writing
The following writing projects are the result of years of research, writing, revision, submission, and study. Not to mention hundreds of rejections along the way. But ultimately, whether it is my original idea or a publisher’s, I love writing…especially writing for kids!
4 published books
My debut – Trunk Goes Thunk! A Woodland Tale of Opposites
Thank you to so many – friends, readers, librarians, teachers, and more – who have read, reviewed, championed, and purchased this sweet story! I couldn’t be more proud and excited to share it with more young readers in 2025 and in the years ahead.
My middle grade short story – “White Thing” in the Haunted States of America Anthology (Godwin Books/Macmillan).
This was the first ever middle grade story I wrote…way back in December 2020. It was in response to a contest sponsored by SCBWI. “White Thing” is incredibly special to me: it is based on stories my grandfather (who lived on Sand Mountain, Alabama) told me when I was a little girl.
2 Books for the Educational Market
I was hired to write these two books about specific dog breeds for a series published by Apex/North Star Editions.
4 additional books/stories under contract
1 new picture book (not yet announced) that I wrote and pitched!
2 space science books (Saturn and Uranus in a Planets of the Solar System Series)
1 adult mystery story – “The Harbert Curse” – that will be published in March 2025 in the Chicka-Chicka Boomba Anthology (Murderous Ink Press).
The Saturn and Uranus books bring my total number of write-for-hire books to 6. I absolutely LOVE writing these! Not only are they a delight to research and a great way of learning to work with editors, they also provide additional income and a solid way to learn to be creative within very narrow constraints. If you’re curious about the write-for-hire market, you may want to check out the presentation that I gave along with Heather L. Montgomery (her website here):
Jump Start: Breaking Into the Write-for-Hire Market
4+ potential books
2 picture books on submission to publishers
1 contemporary middle grade manuscript in late stages of development/editing
and…
2-3 picture book manuscripts ready to submit
Actively drafting a high-seas middle-grade adventure story (aiming for 25,000 words or less)
Multiple blog posts + My FIRST Podcast Interview!
I wrote a blog post for School Library Journal’s Mind the Middle Project. It was published in May of this year:
As part of promoting Trunk Goes Thunk!, so many kind friends invited me to talk about the story behind this nature-inspired picture book on their blogs. Check out the other interviews they’ve done as well – you’ll be sure to learn something new about publishing and writing.
August 11, 2024 – Amanda Davis, Rising Stars in KidLit Post: https://www.amandadavisart.com/risingstarsinkidlit-spotlight-series-heather-c-morris/
September 4, 2024 – Chelsea DiCicco, Chelsea’s World of Books: https://chelseasworldofbooks.com/2024/09/04/september-4th-2024-feature-interview-with-former-nasa-molecular-microbiologist-and-childrens-book-author-heather-morris-conducted-by-childrens-book-writer-blogger-and-former-librarian/
September 10, 2024 – Emily Wigster, Author Spotlight: https://emwigstersbookshelf.com/author-spotlight-interview-with-heather-morris/
September 18, 2024 – Andrew Hacket, The BackStory: https://www.andrewhacket.com/post/the-backstory-trunk-goes-thunk-a-woodland-tale-of-opposites
September 29, 2024 – Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating for Kids: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2024/09/29/book-giveaway-trunk-goes-thunk-by-heather-morris/
October 7, 2024 – Mariana Rios Ramirez: https://marianariosramirez.com/trunk-goes-thunk/
And…I was featured on Ally Castaldo’s Turning Back the Pages podcast in early October. Ally and I had the best time discussing Wanda Gag’s classic Millions of Cats!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/8-millions-of-cats/id1761588289?i=1000671545412
Events and Presentations
I absolutely LOVE connecting with readers, both in person and online, so it was a delight to participate in lots of festivals and school visits and story times in 2024!
World Read Aloud Day 2024 – I zoomed with 6 different middle school classes across the US, discussing my upcoming story “White Thing”!
Rocket City Reading Festival (March) – I enjoyed engaging with readers – young and old – and taking pre-orders for my upcoming books.
School Visits (March) – I did my first in-person school visits in March, speaking to upper elementary classes. SO FUN!
Kaigler Book Festival (April) – I served on a panel at this festival, where we discussed paths to publication.
Decatur Book Festival (June) – I served on a panel at this festival, talking about writing for kids and answering questions about paths to publication.
Mississippi Book Festival (September) – I was on a picture book panel with three other authors, talking about our newly released books, including the story behind Trunk Goes Thunk! I also go to hold my own story time for festival attendees!
Scottsboro Book Festival (November) – A great time engaging with writers and readers from a different area!
Story Times at Indie Bookstores (October – December) – I am so grateful to live near multiple, excellent indie bookstores, and all of them generously offered to have me lead story times.
If you’re interested in me presenting to your event, at a festival, or to your classroom/school, please reach out to me via my Contact Page.
Highlights
2024 marked a few milestones in my writing career! From my first author festivals to signing copies of my books, it was an indescribable feeling to hold my own stories in print (I know, I know, it sounds cliche…because it’s true! Ha!) Here are a few other MAJOR highlights from this past year.
- Signing with my agent, Kristen Terrette at Martin Literary Management!
- Engaging with younger readers – whether at story times or school visits.
- Sending my first manuscripts on submission to Big Five publishers.
- Unboxing my author copies of Trunk Goes Thunk!
- The glowing trade reviews received by Trunk Goes Thunk! and Haunted States.
I am so, so grateful for the opportunity to write for kids. What surprised you about my year?
Heather C. Morris 
Leave a comment