Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Delia Ruiz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Delia, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?
When I first started my writing career, I went into self publishing and learned so much about how to manage a print run on my own. While I loved the experience, I also wanted to dip my feet into traditional publishing (even though it would be a bit harder to get into). I think both types of publication have their pros and cons but I wanted to focus more on my writing and selling my stories while traditional publishing took care of the rest. This meant I needed an agent and that process alone is a challenging one when it comes to querying. I’m happy to say I signed last year with a wonderful agent and the next step starts of pitching to editors. Publication is a long process but I’m so grateful many of my stories will be out in the world in the coming years.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
First of all, thank you for having me. I’m Delia Ruiz, a Latinx author born in San Antonio, Texas, grew up in the South (Alabama), and am 1st generation from Mexican immigrant parents. I stepped into the book industry back in 2021 with my first book, ROQUI’S PANDERO BEAT, followed by my board book series on dance published in 2023 titled 123 SALSA, 123 CUMBIA, and 123 MERENGUE. While I published a few years back, I have been writing since I was a little girl. Writing has always been my escape and my creativity outlet. As a published author, I work with other creatives who also write wonderful stories. Many of the stories I get to read pre-published have been shared in critique groups or swapped for a second set of eyes. I am thankful for all the critiques that help shape my work and the opportunity to offer feedback to others. As a service I offer non rhyming manuscript critiques on my website along with educator guides. I have a Masters in differentiated instruction and creating content to pair with books is a favorite activity of mine (and also comes naturally as a former teacher). I love working with creatives who share a vision to inspire children through the art of picture books.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Coming into the book industry there are A LOT of NOs before getting the sweet YES. By that I am referring to querying and then being on submission with your work when pitching to editors. I remember first hearing about querying in fall of 2021 but I didn’t know how it worked. I started taking writing workshops and getting familiar with publishing lingo. That year I also decided to step away from education and work on my writing as I handled my husband’s business. Since I had more time, my husband took over the household expenses and we agreed on a one year deadline to try to get an agent (which looking back was a bit of a crunch). I went on overdrive in spring of 2022 taking all the writing workshops from SCBWI, Highlights Foundation, and watching the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival panels. I made a query Excel and was constantly on Twitter updating my excel based on open calls and wishlist items. I started with the batch method and pitched 5 agents at a time. This allowed me to edit my work and pitch again in a few months to 5 more agents. Throughout, I participated in pitch events and attended an in person SCBWI conference in Dulles, VA where I met my now agent. At that conference I did a 1:1 critique but didn’t pitch my work because I thought she was closed (I later realized she was open to conferees). I kept querying and by April 2023 I still hadn’t heard anything. April was also my “one year deadline” before deciding what I would be doing with my life…should I leave writing? Should I go back to teaching? Should I pick up more freelance work? In May of 2023, I heard back from 1 publisher and 2 agents and ultimately signed with the one and only Sera Rivers as my agent. That year we scored three book deals (unannounced still) and we’ll hopefully be signing more book contracts this year! If you’re in the trenches, don’t give up! The query journey is long but I didn’t let the nos stop me when I started. I am now celebrating one year of being signed and can’t wait to continue sharing my stories with other readers, especially our newest family member, my son.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Storytelling has always been in my family. I remember listening to stories from my grandparents by the campfire when I lived in Mexico. When I was younger, I would also see my dad writing corridos (stories told my music). Growing up, notebooks were my prized position and even now I always first write my first drafts on paper. I don’t recall reading Latinx books as a child and it wasn’t until middle school when I read Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Today I hope children don’t have to wait years to see themselves in books. I’m happy to see the Latinx percentage increase but it’s still a working progress. As I’m raising a bilingual and bicultural child, it’s even more important that my child sees himself and both of his cultures in stories. My hope is to not only bring a smile though my stories but also affirm to myself I CAN DO THIS. I write for my parents who didn’t have the means to finish their education, I write to set an example that first gen kids are capable and resilient, but most importantly I write for younger Delia who wished to see herself on pages. I hope my stories are starting points to discusses bigger topics and a way for children to connect back to their roots and learn about other people’s cultures as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aventurasenesl.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aventuras.en.esl/
- Twitter: https://x.com/AventurasEnEsl
- Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aventuras.en.esl