Actually, the Story of the Magic Beans has nothing to do with Jack And The Beanstalk or with any kind
of fairy tale. It’s about real life and
how magical things can happen with perseverance, dedication and the help of a
person named Joyce Sweeney.
Joyce Sweeney is the author of fourteen novels for young adults and one chapbook of poetry. Her first novel, Center Line, won the First Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding Young Adult Novel. Many of her books appear on the American Library Association's Best Books List and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. Her novel Shadow won the Nevada State Reading Award in 1997. Her novel Players was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Sports Book and by Working Mother magazine as a Top Ten for Tweens. Her novel, Headlock (Holt 2006), won a Silver Medal in the 2006 Florida Book Awards and was chosen by the American Library Association as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Joyce Sweeney is the author of fourteen novels for young adults and one chapbook of poetry. Her first novel, Center Line, won the First Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding Young Adult Novel. Many of her books appear on the American Library Association's Best Books List and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. Her novel Shadow won the Nevada State Reading Award in 1997. Her novel Players was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Sports Book and by Working Mother magazine as a Top Ten for Tweens. Her novel, Headlock (Holt 2006), won a Silver Medal in the 2006 Florida Book Awards and was chosen by the American Library Association as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Her first chapbook
of poems, IMPERMANENCE, was published in 2008 by Finishing Line Press. She has had numerous poems, short stories,
articles and interviews published; and her play, FIRST PAGE CRTIQUES was produced in 2011.
Joyce is also a writing teacher and mentor to
aspiring authors both locally and nationwide. She critiques manuscripts and conducts classes
and seminars throughout the state of Florida. She has recently launched a
series of online courses: Sweeney Writing Coach. So far, 49 of her students and
clients have gone on to secure traditional publishing contracts.
In 2011, Joyce and
a coalition of South Florida playwrights, directors and actors formed The
Playgroup LLC, which produces original works by local playwrights. The Playgroup currently presents two
productions a year; one program of short plays and one full length play.
Joyce lives in
Coral Springs with her husband, Jay and cat, Nitro.
Joyce has the reputation of helping writers become published. To date she has been instrumental in helping over fifty writers, including me, polish their manuscripts to a level that attracted an agent or publisher. With each success, she gives the author a ‘magic bean’.
Why a magic bean? I asked Joyce this very same question.
Here is what she said.
The Story of the Magic Beans
In 1994, I decided to start an ongoing writer’s
workshop. I realized from teaching five- week workshops, that writers tended to
lose momentum the minute the class was over.
So I thought if we brought together a group of hand chosen, talented,
motivated writers and they could act as almost a support group as well as a
critique group, we might get someone published.
In fact that was my goal. To get one student published in my
lifetime.
By 1996, we had our first published student,
Noreen Wald. Her book was non fiction, a memoir about her life as a game show
contestant and she went on to be a successful writer of cozy mysteries under
the pen name Nora Charles. By 1997, two
more students in the class secured publishing contracts and by 1998, there were
four more.
I realized, we needed some kind of trophy or
award for these people because happily, our group had found a real formula for
success. One of the students had gone to
Costa Rica and brought back some lovely seed pods from the Guanacaste tree. She
planned to use the pods for an art project but when she broke one open, there
were eleven perfect little seeds inside, brown with a black dot in the center.
We knew we had our token. One of the
students in the class, Sherri Winston, christened them ‘magic beans’.
That year we had a mass ceremony for the seven
students already published. Because of
my personal shamanic leanings, we added a rattle to the ceremony, which evolved
into a sort of bridal bouquet. The bean
recipient chooses another student who is very deserving, to shake the rattle at
their ceremony. It’s like passing the
baton of good luck.
We used up two seed pods for the first twenty
magic bean ceremonies. Then we had to
wait for someone else to go to Costa Rica and get another twenty. We now know that if anyone goes to Central
American, they have to pick up some magic beans.
My first goal was one. Then ten. Then twenty. Then fifty.
I passed the fifty mark this year and now I have no limits on how many
magic beans I will give out. As long as
people want to work to earn them, I will keep giving them out.
My groups have changed and evolved from in
person to online. I work with students
in a variety of ways, teaching, hand-holding, advising. With every student I get published, I learn a
new lesson about the process, and the power of our group grows. Mostly, I know my job is what it was
originally: to stay with the writers and encourage them. The process, when done right, takes a long
time and involves a lot of rejection and encouragement. But I know if people will stay with me for as
long as it takes, I can get them there.
For more information on my work, go to www.sweeneywritingcoach.com.
* * * * *
So you see, everything is possible once you don't give up. I am a strong believer in dreams and how important it is in life to hold on to them... and believe.
Here is the list of writers who received a ‘magic bean’ from Joyce.
Here is the list of writers who received a ‘magic bean’ from Joyce.
Bean
#
1
Noreen
Wald- Contestant (nonfiction)
2
Joan
McIver- Shamrocks and Lace (nonfiction)
3
Joan
Mazza – Dreaming Your Real Self (nonfiction)
4
Alexandra Flinn -Breathing Underwater (YA)
5
Gloria
Rothstein- Sheep Asleep (Picture Book)
6
Sherri
Winston- Dancing with Saturn (YA)
7
Lucille
Shulklapper- What You Cannot Have (poetry)
8
Laurie
Friedman- A Big Bed for Jed (picture book)
9
Gaby Triana - Backstage Pass (YA)
10
Dorian
Cirrone – Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You (YA)
11
Crissa
Chappell- Total Constant Order (YA)
12
Heidi
Boehringer- Chasing Jordan (fiction)
13
Mel
Taylor-Murder By Deadline (mystery)
14
Brenda
Serotte- The Blue Farm (poetry)
15
Kathy
MacDonald- White Dwarves (poetry)
16
Adrienne
Sylver – Hot Diggety Dog (picture book nf)
17
Janeeen Mason- Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles (picture book)
18
Steve
Rom- Centered by a Miracle (nonfiction)
19
Debbie Fischer - Braless in Wonderland (YA)
20
Deb Sharp - Mama and the Murderer (mystery)
21
Marjetta
Geerling – Fancy White Trash (YA
22
Danielle Joseph – Shrinking Violet (YA)
23
Victoria
Allman – Sea Fare -(Memoir-cookbook)
24
Christina Gonzalez – The Red Umbrella (YA)
25
Kim
Rapier – Crossed Out (YA)
26
Laen
Ghiloni – Cecily Beaseley (PB)
27
Stacy
Davids – Two Book contract for non fiction (MG)
28
Augusta
Scattergood –Glory Be ( MG)
29
Rob
Sanders – Cowboy Christmas – (PB)
30
Joanne
Lewis – Wicked Good – (Adult Mainstream)
31
Ellyn
Laub- Imperfect Circles( Poetry)
32
Corina
Berman- My Chemical Mountain – (YA)
33
Steven Dos Santos – The Culling – (YA)
34
Nicole Lataif– Forever You: A Book About Your Soul and Body-(PB)
35
Shannon Hitchcock – The Ballad of Jessie Pearl – (MG)
36
Kathryn
Russell-Brown – Marvelous Melba – (PB)
37
Danette
Haworth – Me and Jack – Middle Grade
38
Nancy
Cavannah – This Journal Belongs to Ratchet – Middle Grade
39
Joni
Klein-Higger – Land of the Lost Socks – Children’s Musical Play
40
Madeleine
Kuderick – Sisterhood of the Broken Glass – YA Verse Novel
41
Kerry Cerra – Just A Drop of Water – Middle Grade
42
Ann Marie Meyers – Up in the Air – Middle Grade
43
Angela Padron – My Body Belongs to Me – Picture Book
44
Cristin
Bishara – Relativity – YA
45 Audrey Ades – Three
Sailors – Picture Book
46 Melody Maysonet – A Work
of Art – YA
47 Gail Shepherd – South By
Southeast – MG
48 Kristen Fulton – Flight
for Freedom – Picture Book
49 Stacie Ramey – The Pact –
YA
50 Jim Shipley – (as Dirk
Stimson) A Race Against Time -- Romance
51 Jane Ellen Freeman –
Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel, chapter book.
52 Ena Jones – Clayton Stone,
At Your Service, MG
53 Jill MacKenzie – Spin the
Sky, YA
Loved reading this. My book is titled Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel (not Joshua) as listed above. I'm pleased to be among such a great company of writers.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Ann Marie stirred good memories of Joyce Sweeney's writing class, and all the good friends and fellow authors I met through the Thursday group. Though Mama and the Murderer was the not-exactly-inspired working title of my first mystery, it became MAMA DOES TIME, thanks to brainstorming by the Thursday group. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteoops... posted the same comment twice, darned technology ;-)
DeleteHi Jane Ellen - I changed the name of your book to Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel...
ReplyDelete