Introducing Judy Cooper, Our Newest Judge!

From Lynne Marie: I am over-the-moon excited to welcome my nearest and dearest friend, RYS Guru and In-Box Coordinator Extraordinaire Judy Cooper as a Rate Your Story Judge. Judy’s hard work and professionalism has paid off in her debut book to be published in early 2026. And here's Judy...

What did you love about being a child? How did you draw upon this for your book?

I loved the freedom I had as a child. It was a time when parents didn’t direct their children’s activities. We were free to just be kids with no agendas or pressures to ‘change the world’.  I am amazed now how we lived just one block off of Lake Erie, but my parents never worried about me drowning. My best friend, Nancy and I would spend endless hours roaming about the neighborhood, heading down to the beach, biking to the Number Seven School playground, joining in on kickball games in the street and in the winter, skating on the flooded baseball field. I think all that freedom gave me the time and experience to grow my imagination. 

What brought you to children’s books? 

Giving birth to three beautiful children first brought me to children’s books. I had accumulated quite a library of board and picture books for them. My oldest daughter and I still reminisce about our favorite children’s books. She laughingly says that whenever I brought home a Berenstain Bears book, she wasn’t sure if it was a treat or just mom trying to teach her one more lesson. (Note Click on the link above to get the Values and Virtues treasury for just 99 cents!)

But I actually started writing stories in picture book form when I designed and implemented an arts enrichment program for children in grades PreK – 4th.  The writing was more in the line of concept books that taught art theory and history on a very simple, kid-relatable level.

What do you love about children’s books?

I love the artistry of picture books…the marriage between text and art. I also love how so much can be said in so few words. And I love the challenge of writing in this difficult genre.  Mem Fox summed up the demands of our craft perfectly in this quote, “Writing a picture book is like writing 'War and Peace' in Haiku.”

I didn’t own many picture books as a child, and my parents never took me to the library. But whenever I happened to come across a picture book at someone’s home, it always felt magical. My favorites were Madeline and The Velveteen Rabbit. And on my sixth birthday, my sister, who was 15 years older than me, gave me a hardcover picture book called The Wish Tree. I treasured that book for years.

Share a little bit about your most recently published book. How long was its path to publication? What did you learn from this experience? What is your favorite thing about this book? 

Oh, boy. Was the path ever long. My first draft was written some time in 2019. And after many, many revisions, the book is tentatively scheduled for publication in March 2026. So…seven years! Unfortunately, I’m not able to give specific details about the book until we’re closer to the publication date. 

I definitely learned the power of persistence and the need for humility when receiving feedback and critiques.

I have a coffee mug with a reminder saying on it - “I write. Therefore, I rewrite.” 

Even after I received the book deal, there were still numerous revisions requests from my editor. 

If I had to pick just one favorite thing about this book, I think it would be when my editor said she could see this book being a classic on their list. Since my publishing house has been around for about 100 years, that could promise to give a long life to my book. 

Share a little bit about how you drew upon your interests or experience to research / write it.  

The inspiration for this book came about when I read a line in a Christian author’s book that said, “God didn’t say oops when you were born.” But it was a number of years after reading the quote that I had an idea of what to do with it for a picture book.

What was the revision process for this book like? What did you learn? 

The final manuscript bears little resemblance to the first draft. In fact, the whole ‘oops’ idea is completely gone. Just a fraction of the original language remains. 

I learned the value of doing First Pages with Lynne Marie. And then trying what she suggested.  Her advice changed the direction of the original manuscript, which eventually led to a publishing contract.   

What does a story need to make it a favorite for you?

Heart and humor are always winners in a picture book for me. I also adore well written picture book biographies. 

Share a story that you love and why. 

For fiction, I love Lynne Marie’s The Star in the Christmas Play. It overflows with heart. And in my opinion, it is a perfect picture book. It hits all the right elements.

For humor, anything written by Becky Scharnhorst. She is one of my long-time critique partners and is positively a master at humor.

For picture book biographies, Just Being Dali  and The Fire of Stars. They are both brilliant in their approach!

For read aloud-ability, I Don’t Like Koala and Moldilocks and the Three Scares. I’ve read them both aloud to groups of 4th graders. It was so fun for the students…and me. 

What is a common issue you see in the manuscripts you critique?

I am in a unique position having been the RYS Inbox Coordinator for the past three years. I’ve read A LOT of manuscripts while assigning them to the judges for feedback. One issue I’ve seen quite a bit are manuscripts having adult sensibilities in the language, character choice or storyline. Also, many times it feels like the writer did not take into account how the story would sound read aloud. Another issue I see are manuscripts that do not hook the reader in the first spread or two that would entice one to keep reading. 

Please share a Submission Tip with our Members. 

READ, READ, READ  and follow Submission Guidelines. We have had many instances of members that do not follow the RYS guidelines. I hate to think that someone might have missed out on a book deal because they did not properly follow the Submission Guidelines of a publishing house or agent.

Another tip is to email yourself first with a submission before sending it out to an agent or editor. That way you can see how your cover letter or query looks in the email. Plus, it gives you one more opportunity to proofread it before you send it out. I have caught many an error or need for language change by doing this.

Please share a Revision Tip for our Members. 

Be open to feedback. Try everything, even if you don’t think it will work. When revising, just work one page spread at a time. That way you give the language your full attention without actually overwhelming yourself. 

Name subjects you would like to read about. 

I enjoy well crafted, subtle humor, picture book biographies, anything art related or Christian faith based. 

Name subjects you would not like to read about.

I don’t have a well-trained ear for meter. So, I wouldn’t be good for feedback on rhyme. I’m also not a fan of agenda driven books. And full confession, math and science make my brain hurt. (ha, ha)

Share something you wish we had asked you about but didn’t! And answer the question. How do you deal with rejection?

Rejection is the name of the game in our industry. I often think of the submission process akin to paying bills. You just do it, record it and then forget about it. I live a faith centered life, so I love this quote from Beatrix Potter …“Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.”  I also heard a noted author once say, “You don’t choose writing. Writing chooses you. So make your peace with that.”  We have to make peace with the rejections along with the successes.

Share a fun fact about YOU! 

When I was 10 years old, I got to sit in J. Edgar Hoover’s desk chair at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC.  (My brother was one of Hoover’s private secretaries.)

Bio: Judy Cooper recently signed a contract with a major publisher for her debut picture book and is a FL-SCBWI Rising Kite Award recipient. Judy has designed and implemented a PreK-4th grade arts enrichment curriculum. She is a docent, specializing in tours for fourth grade students at a Smithsonian affiliate art museum in Lakeland, Florida. Her short story, The Candy Monster, was featured in a Make-A-Wish Foundation anthology publication entitled Quinn's Monsters. 

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