MARCH 19TH, 2025, FEATURE INTERVIEW WITH FUNNY CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR BRITTANY POMALES, CONDUCTED BY CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITER, BLOGGER, AND FORMER LIBRARIAN CHELSEA DICICCO

In today’s Feature Interview, I’m talking with children’s book author Brittany Pomales. We’ll be sharing funny stories and delving into the key ingredients for mastering humor in picture books. What makes a funny manuscript stand out in a crowded marketplace? And how can you make readers laugh out loud while also weaving in other hooks and themes? We’ll explore the answers!

But before we do… here are a few things to know about feature interviews.

THE SCOOP: WHAT ARE FEATURE INTERVIEWS & WHO ARE THEY FOR?

Feature Interviews are a free resource for writers and illustrators at every stage of the publishing journey.

Every month, I collaborate with industry professionals—authors, illustrators, editors, and agents— many of whom were or currently are also educators and librarians, to discuss all things publishing.

What can these interviews offer YOU?

These interviews give readers an up-close and personal look at the world of publishing from an array of different perspectives on every side of the desk and offer insight into tips, resources, and advice on how to:

• stay current with market trends
• hook an agent or editor
• find writing community & other resources
• discover workshops, contests, and other events
• figure out which path of publication is right for you
• know if your agent is a good match

And more!

AND… if that’s not enough, every guest offers at least one giveaway prize—sometimes more. This means you have multiple opportunities to win prizes every month! *If you’re interested in entering the giveaway, scroll to the bottom of the interview for instructions.*

Not that we’ve shared a little about what’s in store… it’s time to jump into our interview!

Brittany, we’re thrilled to have you here. Really and truly. First thing first- where can we find you on a map? Doesn’t have to be the exact location- just a ballpark.

Absolutely a pleasure to be on your blog, Chelsea! You can find me in the very dry, very hot state of Arizona. Send water.

How long have you been writing, and when did your love for writing first begin?

I don’t recall the early years but I vividly remember entering a writing contest in the sixth grade and being offended by the certificate of participation. I was sure I was going to win. I didn’t even get an honorable mention. In hindsight, it wasn’t a great story. Don’t tell younger me I said that. 

Have you always been a big reader? And what are some of the books/authors that have been most influential to you as a writer?

A mega-reader. As a child, my local newspaper interviewed a few kids at the local library and I took it as my soapbox to complain about how the next book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series was always checked out. It changed nothing. You would think they would have purchased some extra copies. 

-That’s too funny! I love the picture.

Speaking of books… As you stated in your application for the feature interview lineup, “There are a lot of women writers in kidlit community who feel disheartened when trying to publish funny books. Humor is so subjective!” And I think everyone who has ever dabbled in writing (and querying/submitting) humor manuscripts can wholeheartedly agree. So tell us… what’s the secret sauce to writing funny books? 

I watch a lot of Gordon Ramsey and the secret to a good sauce involves quality ingredients but also a layering of flavor. And it is easy to underestimate the impact of the proper amount of salt and acidity. The same applies to writing funny books. Like knowing how far to take a joke. With picture books, it’s easy to leave a scene too early or not drive deep enough in a scene to keep your word count down. But nine out of ten times—a statistic I just made up—there is an opportunity to up the humor by adding that extra beat.

Okay, so now, you have a hilarious concept. Seriously, everyone’s laughing about it. Now what? Let’s talk about the process of making manuscripts shine. What tips would you give to a writer who’s looking to conquer their craft?

Writing funny looks easy, but it is far from it. That’s why I created Kidlit Haha Week, a week-long dive into writing and illustrating funny books for children from April 1st – April 5th. Every day, you’ll find a new blog post written by a funny author, editor, or illustrator on my website Brittanypomales.com that dives into the nitty-gritty of writing funny. For FREE! 

My best tip would be to join us. No pressure to attend live. Read along whenever you can. This is its second year. The goal is to eventually have an archive of content funny writers can use whenever they need it.

-Such a fantastic resource for humor writers! Thank you for sharing!

“Writing funny looks easy, but it is far from it. That’s why I created Kidlit Haha Week, a week-long dive into writing and illustrating funny books for children.” – Brittany Pomales

What helped you to master your craft of humor? Explain.

I watched a lot of Abbott and Costello with my dad as a kid. This helped me learn to think funny. And I Love Lucy is my true north when it comes to humor. But what helped me most to apply that to my writing was my mentorship with Dev Petty through Pbchat. She helped me achieve the layered flavor of humor—if I may continue the metaphor—in my manuscripts. 

When writing humor, how do you balance the funny with other hooks and themes? If you have any examples of other books that you think do this well, we’d love to hear them!

Sometimes a story idea is really just a joke. And when trying to add layers hooks and themes can feel forced. I think the best way to achieve balance is to try and plot out your joke and hook/theme before sitting down to write. I know. I’m a pantser. But it will help make sure there really is more to the story to avoid it feeling one note and it will save you time later down the road.

Hornswoggled!: A Wacky Words Whodunit, written by Josh Crute and illustrated by Jenn Harney, is a great example of balancing humor with the hook of using wacky words. The wordplay is so integral to the story that nothing feels gimmicky or forced. That was a challenge I had when writing IT STARTED WITH A P since I heavily use words that begin with the letter P throughout.

-I love the book recommendation! And such great advice!

Were there any resources that you remember being super valuable in your writing journey? It could be a group/organization/contest/etc. We’re all ears! (Corny, I know.)

PBChat, which is no longer, was by far the most valuable resource for me. Justin Colon hosted weekly chats that ultimately turned into a three month mentorship. He ran them both for free for several years. 

The chats started just as I began to learn the craft. It helped me find community and provided me with information faster than I could figure out what I needed to ask. And I absorbed it all. Or at least tried, too. Then, in its third year of the mentorship program, I was selected as a mentee. 

Although readers can no longer benefit from PBChat, in its absence, the PB Rising Stars mentorship was formed, so there are still free resources out there.

-Yes! PB Rising Stars is another great resource for sure!!

Okay, we’ve found our support system of other writers/groups/critique partners, we’ve mastered our craft of writing funny, and we have a killer concept and several great hooks. Now the question is, how do we get an agent/editor to love this book as much as we and our critique group does?!

There is nothing you can do to make someone love your book. Although, wouldn’t it be nice? It can be the funniest fart book ever written, but if someone doesn’t like potty humor, it will never land. The goal becomes to find the person who does love potty humor and can appreciate your funny fart book. And the best way to do this is to search high and low. Submit, submit again, and then submit some more. Which is frustrating and exhausting. So take a break, vent to your critique group, and then hit submit, yup, again.

-The perfect advice. YES!!!

“There is nothing you can do to make someone love your book. The goal becomes to find the person who can appreciate your book. And the best way to do this is to search high and low. Submit, submit again, and then submit some more.” – Brittany Pomales

Can you talk to us a little bit about your querying/submission journey and how you ended up with your current agent and book deal? We’d love to hear the behind-the-scenes!

I was in the trenches for about five years before connecting with Stefanie. Like most of us, I jumped in too soon. But after a few years of hard work, I was a part of both the Pbchat showcase and PBparty showcase but ultimately found my agent through cold querying. 

I queried Beth at Ladderbird because she represented a writer I knew. I was notified through Query Tracker that she forwarded my submission to Stefanie. I didn’t know much about her, so I did some googling. Her manuscript wishlist didn’t mention humor at all, so I wasn’t sure whether to get my hopes up. But Beth had to know something I didn’t if she forwarded her something that wasn’t on her MSWL. 

Stefanie asked to read more, then we set up the call, and her offer came shortly after. I signed with Stefanie in July of 2022 as only a picture book writer. I know it can get discouraging when a lot of agents ask for author-illustrators or a writer who writes for multiple audiences but it does still happen! 

We did a final polish on IT STARTED WITH A P. It had already been edited so much. And we went out with it in September. We had an offer by the end of October. And though that book sold quickly—about seven weeks—nothing else in my career has moved that fast. 

-Wow! This is so great. I love hearing how agent/author matches are made.

What are some of the challenges you’ve had to face on your publishing journey, and how have you been able to combat them?

The unknown is so hard for me. I excelled at school because there were syllabi and ways to measure how you were doing. In corporate jobs, there are benchmarks to meet for raises and promotions. Pursuing publication is like reading tea leaves. You try your best to interpret what’s in front of you, but you have no idea. Throwing spaghetti at the wall, as most of us say. 

As a strategist—it’s my personality type—it is so tough for me not to know. So, I focus on the small areas where I can strategize. Like creating sublists with my agent or deciding on how many books to send out on sub each year. 

For writers who may be passionate about writing funny books for kids and who may have been querying to no avail for a number of months, or even years, with no bites, what words of comfort and/or advice would you like to share with them?

Hearing no so often makes you wonder if you’re good enough. You are! If you’re going crazy. A little bit. And whether it’s all worth it. Maybe. 

Asking yourself these questions occasionally is normal but if you’re asking them almost daily please take a break. I assure you publishing will still be here if and when you’re ready. 

Let’s talk marketing! Writing a funny picture book that sells. How have you been able to incorporate marketing into your publishing journey as a debut picture book author?

The best part of a long journey is being able to watch those who are ahead of you. Why reinvent the wheel right? 

Everything from website designs to blog tours. I watched what other funny authors did to promote their books. What did I like? What didn’t I like? As both an author and a reader. 

This allowed me to get into the mindset of marketing my book and break it down into bite-sized chunks. Which made it far feel less scary when my time finally came. 

-Such a great attitude! And smart idea. Learning from others is so helpful!

What are a few key things you’ve been able to do to help promote/market your book?

This is going to sound obvious, but talk about the book. That includes sending cold emails to bookstores/bloggers/podcasters/bookstagrammers. Which feels scary but I’ve heard ‘no’ so many times throughout this journey that, honestly, a few more wouldn’t hurt. And you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many people say yes. 

They say trial and error and experience make the best teachers. With that in mind, what are some things you’ve learned along the way?

I learned what kind of writer I am, along with my strengths and weaknesses. I wish it didn’t take so long—about fifteen years. Most of that time was figuring out I wasn’t a novelist. All the years I tried, I didn’t finish one novel. After I figured out I was better suited for short-form, it still took me years to land on funny picture books. 

Speaking of learning along the way. If you could go back in time, what’s something you wish you had known about publishing sooner? And why?

The business of it. I’m still learning since I am just debuting, but I feel like I would have handled my early years a little differently had I known. But I mean, we all jump into it a little naively. We just want to share our stories with the world, but there is so much more to it. 

Okay, now we’ve reached the book portion. Tell us about your book! What’s it about? What was its inspiration? And what do you hope readers will get from reading it?

On the night before his birthday, King Liam has a dream that his birthday will be ruined. But upon waking, he can’t remember what ruins it except that it started with the letter p. Naturally, in a mad dash effort to stop this pesky P, he orders Cedric, his royal advisor, to rid the palace of Ps. 

The idea began with the phrase ‘The Land of Nothing’. It led me to question how a land that once had many somethings would end up as a land with nothing. Underneath all the humor, it became a story about letting anxious thoughts ruin your day. Something I’ve personally struggled with. 

Mostly, I hope readers—young and old—can laugh at the outlandish measures King Liam takes in his effort to save his birthday. For those who need it, I hope they resonate with the message that all that worrying didn’t help King Liam in the slightest.

Speaking of readers… what has the reaction been from readers?

I wondered how the younger readers in the 4 – 8-year-old range would react to it. I use some pretty big words. (perplexed, preposterous, etc.) But it seems the younger kids love hearing all the p words, and the older kids enjoy trying to figure out what the problematic p is. And, of course, readers of all ages love the illustrations. 

Have you been able to do any author events? If so, when/where? And pics, please!

Not yet, but soon! I have a book launch scheduled at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, April 12t,h and I cannot wait. In addition to a storytime, kids will be able to decorate their own crowns. I even have a six-foot inflatable letter P. 

What have the highlights of your author journey been so far?

Every step of making the book. From the first sketches to physically hold the book. They have all been ‘is this real’ moments for me. 

Next up on the highlight reel is seeing children enjoy it. Eventually, by my own children—who are a bit too young at the present. 

What’s one piece of wisdom that you’d like to share with other creators?

Publishing is a bit like the comedy TV show Whose Line is it Anyway, where everything is made up, and the points don’t matter. 

Thank you so much for joining us today, Brittany.

But that’s not all…

We have one more item on the agenda.

And that is THE GIVEAWAY PRIZE.

GIVEAWAY

For the month of March, Brittany is offering 1 winner a choice of a humor PB critique (prose or rhyming, up to 750 WORDS) OR a signed copy of IT STARTED WITH A P (US Only.)

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

• Leave a comment on this post! That’s it.

And if you haven’t already, like this post and subscribe to the blog and/or newsletter!

Want extra entries? Share and tag this blog post on X @chellysbooks or Instagram @chelseasworldofbooks, and I’ll add your additional entry to the giveaway pool.

DEADLINE TO ENTER: last day of the month (March 2025) at midnight CST.

FAQ:

What if I was already subscribed to the blog? Does that mean I won’t qualify for the Prize Giveaway? Not at all! If you subscribed before this month, all you’ll need to do is LIKE this Feature Interview and leave your COMMENT below this post within the deadline (the current month/year entry was posted).

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