Frolicking through Cyberspace

Sharing the Love

2012-02-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

Wow. This was our second weekend having the cafe & gallery open and it was hoppin'! I was so tired on Saturday that I fell asleep around 7pm! I have to say, this new venture makes me even happier that I have the fabulous Karen Grencik working to sell my books. I have to use my spare minutes to write! I did find the time to share some love over at Kai Strand's blog for Share the Love month. I talk about my friend/librarian and how she has gently pushed me into being a more outgoing author. I mean, it's not everyone that will get you up infront of a group of librarians while a well known book reviewer flips through the pages of your book for you! Anyhow, if you want to read about my library adventures, or even learn how you can help push an introverted author in the outgoing direction, head on over and check out my post at Strands of Thought.

A café, an interview, and a review. Oh my!

2012-01-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week! My husband and I have just wrapped up the Grand Opening weekend of our café & gallery. I have an in-depth interview up at GotInterview.com. And Julie Hedlund chose Bedtime Monster for her Perfect Picture Book Friday post. People even said all sorts of nice things about my book, which made my breaks during my extra-super busy day on Friday, so much more fun! I even have 115 followers now here on my blog and 100 likes on my Facebook page. *waves* It's all so exciting! Phew. I'm going to go take a nap before our music jam starts in a couple of hours. Hope you had a fun week too!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Kirchoff/Wohlberg Literary Agency

2012-01-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

Kirchoff/Wohlberg is another one of those slightly mysterious agencies that are hard to find information on, but I find them quite interesting. This listing has certainly put my internet search skills to the test! Kirchoff/Wohlberg seems to be an agency/book packager. As you will see on their website they provide solutions to publishers and have numerous published projects, many of which I recognize from my library. Be sure to peruse their project list and click on the samples to see the portfolios. It is quite informative.

If your writing tends toward the educational/leveled reader type of books, Kirchoff/Wolhber might be a good agency to try. They do represent a number of authors. (I love Lois Ehlert's books!) On their website, Morris A. Kirchoff is listed as President and Ronald Zollshan as Vice President. I was hard pressed to find any information on them. I do know that Agent Liza Pulitzer-Voges worked at Kirchoff/Wohlberg for 25 years, and she has quite an accomplished list at her Eden Street agency.

Mr. Zollshan is the person to whom you are asked to send your submission. Submissions from unpublished and established writers are welcomed.

Kirchoff/Wohlberg represents: Kari Winters & Bonnie Grubman.

If you have any experience with Kirchoff/Wohlberg I'd certainly love to hear about it!

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

A Quacky National Buy a Book About a Duck Day Reading

2012-01-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

I love my ducks. Whenever I go outside they greet me with their jovial quacking. They sound like they're laughing. It makes me smile every time. Since it's National Buy a Book About a Duck Day I thought it would be a great way to celebrate by reading our ducks a book! We got Henry Goes West by Robert Quakenbush. (Ducks love books by Robert Quackenbush!) Here we are reading:

The ducks seemed to enjoy it and the sheep thought the book was quite tasty. My husband quacked up that I would go and read a book to a couple of ducks. But he knows that that's just the sort of wacky thing I like to do. So, what are your favorite duck books? Robert Quackenbush has been a favorite of mine ever since I discovered Henry's Important Date when I was a kid. Now my kids--and my ducks--love his books too.

A Change in Perspective

2012-01-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me the other night when I was awakened by a loud banging and found five officers of the law on my front doorstep. My life has changed. It's not just that a bunch of cops will show up in the middle of the night doing an investigation on a call. (It's likely that that would never happen at my other house, usually no one can even find it.) My teenage daughter pointed out that she never imagined that she'd ever see me talking on the phone while making dinner. (There's no phone service at our other house so it's impossible! She has seen me tweet while cooking though. Yay for satellite internet!) We have people stopping by all the time too. Old friends, new friends. It's fun to have people actually come over, although I do tend to feel like I have to get dressed every morning when I get up now.

I have really been enjoying being able to call my family and friends whenever I feel like it. And they can actually call me! I have learned that being nice to telemarketers just gets you more telemarketing. You know what I really love? Having a washer and dryer. This is a big deal for someone who has been going to the laundromat for 16 years. (We also had to snowmobile our in and out in winter. Or hand wash. I don't miss that.) And there's the sauna, and the private office. They aren't too bad either.

So it may sound strange that I sort of miss it. The quiet. The solitude. I mean, it's probably as close as you can get to the best of both worlds here. There's space, and peace, and beauty and modern conveniences, and civilization. I do still live in rural America, in a ghost town even! A guy from the big city stopped by the other day. He definitely thought that this was the boonies, until I told him about where I used to live. He looked shocked. Hee hee.

How is this affecting my writing? I think it's good. I certainly have gotten a fresh perspective on a lot of things. People. Interactions. Sharing. Privacy. Patience. Forgiveness. Letting things go. Being cautious. Setting boundaries. These may sound like negative things but they're not. Taking over an inn comes with a lot of responsibility. It's basically a big house that many people are attached to. And for good reason, it's a fabulous place to be. I'm definitely feeling a little more attached to it than I had wanted to be. And soon we'll be opening our house to the public. The dream of the cafe and gallery is quickly becoming a reality. I am going to be meeting all sorts of people and doing all sorts of new things so I'm certain I'll have lots to write about. Hopefully I'll figure out how to be better at time management so I can get it all done.

Sometimes a change in perspective is good for writing. I know, I am doing an extreme change here, but finding little ways to find the new in life can be good for the notebook. Here's to looking at things with a fresh eye.

Big Plans!

2012-01-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

I guess I must be feeling the end of the year as a deadline this year or maybe I'm just trying to distract myself while the publishing industry is sort of closed during the holidays. Whatever the reason, in the past few days I have seriously been getting stuff done! I finished a long overdue interview and sent it to my oh so patient interviewer, I got brand new picture book manuscript all polished up and sent out to my fabulous critique partner, and, thanks to my daughter's nudging, I have a nice new author page on Goodreads. I also started a Picture Book Authors! list in my sidebar. Plus I joined Julie Hedlund's 12 x 12 in 2012.

I've also got some ambitious (or maybe crazy) plans for 2012. Things in my life are more different than they ever have been. This is the first time I've ever started the year with a fabulous agent on my side, I'm living on a new mountain, and I have Big plans, big plans I say! (Yes, that is a quote.)

Now, it wouldn't really be fair of me to tell you I have big plans and not let you in on any of them. But they feel so secret. I mean, what if I fail? What if I can't make any of my big plans come to fruition? *sigh

Well, one thing I do know is that my husband and I will be opening a breakfast cafe here at our mountain inn very soon. He's been cooking up all sorts of great stuff and I have been eating it! It's a tough job but somebody has to do it. Seriously, this cafe is going to be a lot of work but it's something my husband has always wanted to do so it's really cool to think that we're finally going to do it.

I will admit that I have this wild idea that, since we have an inn, I could host writing retreats here. But we live sort of out of the way (I think this might be an understatement) so I'm still at that in between place where I'm not sure if people would come. There's a lot of planning involved, but I'm at least going to get it all figured out and see if it might be viable. I do know that it would be great fun.

So there, I spilled some of my plans. Others are just not as big, like plans for the blog. I want to start up The Unread again. I do have at least one great interview set up! And some things, like selling books, are just really out of my control, at least once I've done my best to write a great story. So I will work on my big plans while I wait, and maybe I'll even come up with some more--although I'm note sure if I can handle any more plans than I already have!

So, do you have any big plans for 2012? I'd love to hear them. I promise, I won't call you crazy.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown, Ltd

2011-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ginger Knowlton is an agent with over twenty years of experience. She is the Executive Vice President of Curtis Brown Ltd who represents many great authors for children, including picture book authors! You can read a bit about Ginger Knowlton on her page on the Curtis Brown Ltd website. I saw Ms. Knowlton speak at a SCBWI conference and she seemed smart, kind, and genuine. And she really knew her stuff when it came to children's books! Here are some links for further research so you can decide whether Ginger Knowlton might be a good match for you and your writing:

There's a December 2011 SCBWI Pre-Conference interview with Ginger Knowlton on Cuppa Jolie. You can check out the 2012 Annual SCBWI Winter Conference Faculty list at the SCBWI website.

You can find an older (2006) yet still relevant interview with Ginger on K.L. Going's website.

You can see the Curtis Brown Ltd. listing in Children's Writers and Illustrators Market online. (That doesn't seem right, yet there it is.)

You can read a list of Ginger Knowlton's leading clients on her Publishers Marketplace Listing. There's a fun post where Ginger interviews her client, Cynthea Letitch Smith at Cynsations and Debbi Ridpath Ohi has a fun post: 10 Reason Why My Agent (Ginger Knowlton) Rocks.

There's a nice roundup of information about Ginger Knowlton on Literay Rambles.

Ginger Knowlton represents Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, Greg and Cynthea Letitch Smith, and J. Patrick Lewis, among others.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Waiting. Ack!

2011-12-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

As I sit here waiting for my photos to upload so I can show you all the new place I am living—they are taking forever to upload—I have started to think about patience. Obviously, it’s something we need in life in general. But when you’re a writer you have to be more patient that a pregnant African Elephant (they’re pregnant for an average of 660 days, in case you were wondering). Now I’m not saying that you need to wait two years on submissions, although I have actually received a couple of rejections two and even three years after I sent in a manuscript!

The thing is, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen or heard someone say it’s been a month, or two, or even three, should I status query? Or worse, I status queried and didn’t hear back, well forget them. Ack!

First of all, most places that you query will have a response time listed somewhere. Whatever that response time is, I find it’s best to just forget about it for as long as you can. Why? Because you don’t want to go crazy with anticipation, that’s why! Of course, you probably won’t be able to forget because you studied the market and chose to send your precious manuscript to this particular agent/editor/publisher for a reason, right? So, take that response time and add a few months to it. The horror! But people in publishing are busy! They have stacks and stacks and stacks of words to read. A person can only do so much so fast. What I like to do is wait until I can barely stand it. (Funny how this usually coincides with the listed response time) and then wait at least another two months before I status query. Yes, I said two months. Maybe even three. Why? To give the person the time to read my manuscript without the added knowledge that I have been bugging them to do so.

Actually, I have gotten pretty good at forgetting (I like to think it’s a skill, not old age creeping up on me) and have found that status querying doesn’t usually matter. I do hear back on submissions eventually. I know there is that rare occasion when something has been lost or forgotten. So, if it makes you feel better and you have waited for what feels like an excruciatingly long amount of time past the stated response time, send a short status query. But be aware that you might not hear back on that either. Policies change. All in all, no response = no. And boy, can those places with a no response policy make the wait easier, because getting a response is a great surprise!

In case you’re wondering, when you have an agent the response times do get shorter, usually. And the responses are often times specific and helpful. But there is still waiting!

Well, my picture still won’t load so I’m going to go do something else for a while. Guess I’ll have to make you wait to see it.

Do you have a personal policy on waiting to hear back on submissions? I'd love to hear what it is.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Susan Hawk, The Bent Agency

2011-11-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

For this month's addition to The Mosnter List of Picture Book agents I've chosen to feature Susan Hawk of The Bent Agency. As with many agents that represent picture books, there isn't a ton of information on what she is looking for with regards to picture books, but according to Susan's submission guidelines she represents "authors who write for children of all ages, babies to teenage" and that combined with the fact that she is part of a great agency sounds to me like a great opportunity for any children's book writer!

Susan introduced herself on Jenny Bent's blog: Bent On Books and she has recently stated her own blog, Susan Says.

There is a great interview with Susan on Mother. Write. Repeat.

Susan talks about marketing at Market My Words. She states that, "it's important for authors to have some sort of online presence." (If you don't have any online presence and are getting ready to query, this is certainly something you want to consider getting together in my opinion!)

At Writing and Illustrating, Kathleen Temean posted some tips from a First Pages session that Susan participated in.

It doesn't look like she tweets much, but you can find Susan Hawk on Twitter @susanhawk.

I could not find any picture book authors that Susan represents. It certainly doesn't mean that she hasn't made any picture book sales. If and when I do find some information on picture book sales, I will add them to this post.

Best of luck on your agent querying!

**Holiday note: Susan has closed to queries for a mid-winter house cleaning, but will reopen again in the new year around mid-January. Watch her blog for details.**

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Life

2011-11-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

This past month has been a crazy adventure. My family moved from one mountain to another. Of course, all the moving took place during one snow-stormy week. Funny how things happen like that. We moved into an inn to care take it. It's a beautiful place but the previous occupant had left it quite a mess. My husband and I have been cleaning it for the past two weeks! It's now back to being clean and beautiful so, of course, we had the family over for Thanksgiving and tonight we've invited some friends over for a music party. (There are lots of musicians around these parts it seems.)

I've been trying to do a bit of writing, but the inn really had to take priority for a while. Starting tomorrow I'm hoping to get back to my normal writing life. I've even quit my accounting job and am going to get back to doing things I love to do--especially writing. It doesn't hurt that I've even have had some good writing things happen amongst all my daily chaos. Makes me know that writing is what I need to focus on.

Anyhow, just wanted to check in and let you all know that this month's Monster List of Picture Book Agents post will be a little late. Hopefully I'll have it up tomorrow. I have the post partially done, but the party starts in about a half an hour and I should at least brush my hair. Don't want to become known as the crazy writer around here. At least not too quickly.

I Write Like I Pack

2011-11-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I live on a mountain. It's pretty secluded, especially in winter. We have to maintain about two miles of road. It's not your average straight, flat road either. There's a couple super steep parts, a little dam, and lots of twists and turns. But really, that's not so bad. It's the wind--it makes it really hard to keep the road open so we usually end up snowmobiling, or skiing, or just plain walking, which can be really fun and sometimes not so fun when it's freezing cold and the snow is tearing into your face like little shards of glass and you have kids and groceries to bring safely home from your car you've parked miles away. It also makes you write run on sentences. So, this year my husband and I decided that it would make life easier (and maybe my writing would improve) if we moved for the winter to somewhere that the roads are plowed by someone other than ourselves. Brilliant, aren't we?

I've been packing for the past couple of days. I'm not very good at it. I wander from room to room and look at stuff. I stand around and think things like, do I need to bring this jar of loose change? It is money. Everyone needs money. Every once in a while I put something in a box, and after a ridiculous amount of rounds I am happy and even relieved to find that a box is finally packed and ready to be added to the huge stack of boxes my family has packed. (Amazingly quickly, by the way.)

I realized that this is how I write picture books too. I wander from story to story. Stare at them a lot. Read them over and over. Add some words. Wonder if I need them. Let them sit on the page for a while. Come back and look at them again. Take some words back out. Put in more new ones. I do this over and over until eventually I'm happy and even relieved to find that I have an actual story. Sure, there may still be stuff I don't need or stuff I should add. But it has really shaped up and is ready to move somewhere new--like my critique partners inbox.

Now, for my family's sake we should all hope that I am faster with the packing than the writing. Unfortunately I'm starting to wonder. I'm hoping I'll at least have some stories figured out by the time winter is over. If I don't they'll wait patiently for me to come back to them. So will my jar of change.

Haven't Had an Idea for Picture Book Idea Month Yet? It's Okay!

2011-11-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

As all of you fellow PiBoIdMo'ers know, yesterday was the day to come up with your first picture book idea. (Don't know what PiBoIdMo is? Click here to learn about Tara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month.) My entire day zipped by. It was a busy one (as I'm sure days are for most of us.) I got the kids ready for school, went to work, ran errands, did the laundry, cleaned up around the house, did some work on the new business I'm launching, made the bed, then finally--laid down! Phew. Still, I couldn't rest. I hadn't come up with a single picture book idea all day! Worse yet, I'd barely even had time to think about anything having to do with picture books or writing.

I told myself it was okay, a person can only do so much in a day. I gave up on the idea of having an idea and started reading a nonfiction book, which is what I tend to do when I'm not writing. But I couldn't concentrate. I'm a writer and I felt like I had to write! So I flipped through my notebook and read over a bunch of my old ideas and partially written stories. Man, there are SO MANY stories I need to finish! (These things take time!) I fooled around with a couple. Then I started composing this little blog post here in my head about how it's okay to not have an idea, when out of nowhere I came up with a new idea! I was definitely not even trying. And maybe that's where it's at. It's hard to pressure creativity.

All this is said because I want to send out a little support to those of you who see people posting that they are doing great or have 26 ideas or whatever fabulous picture book idea happening and perhaps feel a little bad. It's great, don't get me wrong. But it's also okay to not have had an idea yet. Sometimes we are just tired, or trying too hard, or just plain and simple haven't had an idea! Some days are like that. Some weeks are even like that.

Tara does have lots of great guest posts coming up to get our creative juices flowing which will definitely help! I really like Karma Wilson's reminder to ask the magic question, What if? It's the same I've heard from other writers including Gordon Korman when I saw him speak to a group of students recently. These are authors with many, many books to their credit. What if? does seem to be a magic question for writers. I'm certainly going to give it a try.

Hang in there my writing friends. The ideas will come, one way or another!

Do I Really Need More Ideas?

2011-10-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Picture book ideas. I have a lot of them. In notebooks, on napkins, on teeny weeny scraps of paper. Do I really need more of them?!

For the first time ever since I had my kids, I've been working a regular old nine to five job. It's been four months and I have to say, I now have mad respect for writers who have families and full time jobs. I mean, knowing it must be hard and actually doing it and feeling how hard it is are two different things. I've had book ideas, sure, but I have been terrible about writing them down! And I certainly haven't had as many ideas as usual with my focus being pulled in an entirely different direction. Numbers! I work in an accounting department. My chat status since I started? wORkiNg WiTh nuMbERs. PleASe SeND hElp!

I'm looking to this year's Picture Book Idea Month to give me a kick in the butt and get me back in the right direction--carrying that notebook and writing things down, and allowing myself to revel in work that is wholly important to me despite having to focus on other things as well. You never know what little nugget of an idea may turn into a great picture book. So, do I really need more ideas? Yes. Yes I do.

Don't know what Picture Book Idea Month is? Wanna join in? Check out Tara Lazar's blog.

Oh, and you see that super cuter banner for Picture Book Idea Month up there? That was created by Bonnie Adamson, illustrator of Bedtime Monster. How cool is that!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management

2011-10-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the Rodeen Literary Management website and you might start drooling. What a great bio! What a fabulous list of clients!(Although from my research I suspect it may not have been updated lately. He just may be too busy selling books! I don't subscribe to Publisher's Marketplace but from my search results it looks like he's still making sales.)

Like many agents that will take on picture book authors, information on Paul Rodeen is a little tough to find. But there definitely seems to be enough to help decide whether or not he may be the right agent for what you write.

Mr. Rodeen has a shelf of books by his clients on Shelfari.

There are five things Paul Rodeen looks for when reading submissions in a short post at the Chinook Update.

You can find a couple of interesting tidbits from Dori Butler's conference notes on her livejournal page. Yes, it's an old post but the way he judges a picture book is pretty tried and true.

In an agent profile on page 4 of The Acorn, Mr. Rodeen states that rhyming verse is nearly impossible for him to sell. So if you're a rhymer, he's probably not your guy.

You can find submission guidelines on the Rodeen Literary Management contact page.

Paul Rodeen represents: Stephen Shaskan and Aaron Reynolds.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Only One Published Book? Aaack!

2011-10-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are asked to do a library visit but only have one published picture book that takes mere minutes to read? First, you panic. Ha ha. Kidding.

Mostly.

After you stop kicking yourself for immediately saying yes and wondering what you were thinking, a good idea would be to go and talk to a librarian. Maybe even a librarian at the library you are going to visit. Why? Librarians know their audience when it comes to storytimes and they just might have some ideas for you.

I went and talked to one of North Central Regional Library's great librarians and regional supervisor, Sharon. She was so enthusiastic about me visiting that she didn't even see me having only one published books as a problem. Her brilliant solution? "Read some picture books from childhood that inspired you." Viola! Easy solution! Now why didn't I think of that?

I took Sharon's idea and ran with it. To go along with my reading of Bedtime Monster I chose two of my favorite monster books from childhood, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and There's a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer. Those two books along with a little talk about being an author then a craft, and my program lasted over an hour. Happy kids, parents, and librarians. I definitely call that a success.

Now, I could have been a sport and read two more recently released picture books. Maybe even books written by friends. I actually had a couple in mind and suggested it. The thinking here? It was my time to shine as the author of a new book. Reading classics helped me have a little something special juxtaposed to these great books.

Well, it seemed to work out. Nobody asked my why I didn't write those other books instead of mine. Not even close. They applauded me. People told me they loved my book. Huh. A girl could actually get used to this.

A Little News...

2011-10-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

I've already announced that I'm represented by Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary, but now it is official online. I am on the Red Fox Literary website's author page! I've always wanted to be on an agent's web page. Hee hee! Although I am a tad horrified at the largeness of my photo. But if you place your cursor just right, and you have the little finger icon like I do, it looks like...well, I'll let you figure it out yourself. I know, I'm silly, but so is my bio. Now you have a small glimpse of what my family has to put up with.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Jennifer Mattson of Andrea Brown Literary Agency

2011-09-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Trying to pull up information on agents that represent picture books has me thinking, it can be difficult to find enough information on an agent to tell whether or not they may be a good match for you and your writing. But, you have to do the best you can with what you find and take a chance. That's my submission philosophy anyway.

This month's addition to the Monster List of Picture Book Agents is Jennifer Mattson, one of the agents at the great Andrea Brown Literary Agency. There is not a ton of information on her but I did find tidbits about Jennifer's preferences in a few posts online.

You can find Jennifer Mattson's agent profile on the Andrea Brown Agents page. You can also see some representative deals.

There is a must read interview with Jennifer on Guide to Literary Agents: Agent Advice.

Janet Tuttle blogged about a workshop she went to that Jennifer gave. She talks a bit about picture books.

Jennifer did an auction critique. Her bio talks a little about what she loves in picture books.

You can find out how to submit to Jennifer Mattson on the Andrea Brown Literary Agency submission page. Note that the Andrea Brown Agency wants to see a full picture book manuscript and that no response in 6-8 weeks means that they are not interested. Jennifer is but one of the agents at Andrea Brown that represents picture books so take a good look at all of the agent bios on the agency website and choose wisely.

Jennifer Mattson represents Kim Norman.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Fun With Rejections!

2011-09-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Rejections—trees really shouldn’t be wasted on such horrible news. That bad writing juju needs to be recycled into something good. Yes, there’s the wallpaper option, but that’s so depressing. Why not use them for fun?

How can a rejection letter be fun?

Use them as a dartboard. “Sorry it’s not right for us,” is worth zip.
Put all your rejection letters in a binder so you can show your family and friends that yes, you actually do work. Watch the looks of dismay and confusion on their faces as you show off your personal rejections.
Make a happy-faced mask to hide those bad feelings rejection brings.
Rip them up and jump in them. Who needs leaves!
Cut out the words in your rejection letters and rearrange them into acceptances: Your manuscript is right for us. Sorry you are not accepting submission requests at this time. Best of luck with your publisher.
Decoupage something for a successful friend that needs to be reminded of what it feels like to not get what she wants.
Light a bonfire. Roast some marshmallows and make s’mores. Your family will be begging you to get more rejections.
Stuff a pillow —or a mattress —or a friend’s mouth (see #6).
Make paper maché bookends to hold up others’ books that have been published. Every time you grab a book you’ll be reminded that successful authors have been rejected too.
Seal those form rejects in envelopes and mail them to others at random. If everyone knew how bluntly writers are rejected they might sympathize with us a little more.

If you can’t bear to do any of these things, put those rejection letters in a suitcase and take them on vacation. They’ll feel much better in paradise.

Resources for Picture Book Writers

2011-09-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give all of my picture book writing friends a heads up. Susan Uhlig has put together a great list of resources for picture book writers. From Getting Started to Layouts and Standards to Revising. She even gave the Monster List of Picture Book Agents a heads up. But shameless self promotion aside, this is a great list! I plan to dive right in and study up. I don't think I can ever learn enough about writing picture books!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

2011-08-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Kathleen Rushall is a newer agent who is still building her list, always a good opportunity for a writer looking to find an agent. But first, of course, you must figure out if she would be a good match for you.

You can read Kathleen's agent bio at the Marsal Lyon Literary Website where it states she "is open to unique, quirky picture books."

She talks a little bit about what types of picture books she is looking for in an interview at YA Fusion.

If you take a look at Kathleen's AgentQuery listing (she sent in the info herself) it's good to note that, "She looks for strong voices & characterizations, and is interested in multi-cultural stories."

In an older interview at Love YA from when Kathleen was with Waterside Productions, she gives some interesting, and still relevant, answers to how and why she became an agent and what kinds of books she likes.

Query letter info is one of the good things you will find in an interview with Kathleen at Deana Barnhart's blog.

Kathleen is scheduled to speak at the Central California Writer's Conference in April 2012, and I found her bio to be informative.

At QueryTracker a few picture book writers have left some priceless nuggests of pb rejection info.

You can find Kathleen Rushall on Twitter @katrushall

Marsal Lyon Literary accepts electronic queries and hard copy submissions. Check out their submission guidelines.

I could not find any actual picture book authors that Kathleen represents, but I do know that she really likes Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan. How do I know? I read it on twitter. Join in if you haven't already!

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Running into Kidlit Peeps, Right Here On My Mountain

2011-08-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

You may already know this, but I live on a secluded mountain in the state of Washington. Needless to say, I don't get the opportunity to hang around with many writers, let alone kidlit writers. And I certainly doubt I will ever run into any agents or editors around here...or will I?

Well, maybe not in person, but that's why there's Twitter. Maybe you're on it already so you know what I'm talking about. But if you're not, I suggest you give it a try. I've learned a lot about different agents and what they're looking for. I've gotten to ask editors questions. I've even been asked to submit something to a publisher! But best of all, I get to "hang out" with writers. Now that may sound silly, but it's true. I can just turn on Twitter and there are writers right here at 3500 feet, chatting it up. I've made some good friends on Twitter too. That's not something I ever even considered when I reluctantly joined.

So, if you haven't tried Twitter, as you can see, there are lots of good reasons why you should. Don't know who to follow? Well, Twitter gives the capability to create lists, and as a professional list maker I just have to list everyone! Here are some of my lists that are good starting points for children's book writers and illustrators:

Kidlit writers: https://twitter.com/#!/heatherayris/kidlit-writers
(These people have taught me that kidlit writers are AMAZING!)

Illustrators: https://twitter.com/#!/heatherayris/illustrators(They all have rad avatars, because ILLUSTRATORS ARE COOL LIKE THAT.)

Kidlit agents: https://twitter.com/#!/heatherayris/kidlit-agents
(Some agents are so sharing and helpful on Twitter it is ridiculous. OF COURSE I MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY. They do #askagent chats for crying out loud! Just because they want to!)

Publishers: https://twitter.com/#!/heatherayris/publishers
(I try to keep this to publishers who do children's books, but a few adult only publishers may have snuck in there.)

You can follow an entire list if you like. Or you can go through the list and follow individuals. I would recommend that because chances are high that they will follow you back and then you can have a conversation. And that's what it's all about.

If you need some help just ask me. You can find me @heatherayris

A Celebratory Critique Week Giveaway!

2011-07-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

Since I've signed with Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary, I'm in the mood to celebrate! It seems like the perfect time to do a critique week giveaway!

Okay, this may sound strange to some of you, but I love writing query and cover letters. They're an art form in themselves. I love figuring out my hook, contemplating why I am sending someone a manuscript, and perfecting the pitch. I've written and critiqued many a letter, and I've had some good results with letters of my own. Here's my cover letter for Bedtime Monster:

Dear Ms. Jeffers:

What kid wants to go to bed? Paul doesn't. When it's time for bed he turns into a real monster. But his parents understand, Dad used to be a little monster too--and he has the tail to prove it.

My picture book manuscript, Bedtime Monster, is an over-the-top story of a common occurrence--the bedtime tantrum. When Paul doesn't want to go to bed, his feelings become so monstrous that he physically changes into a monster. Paul's metamorphosis provides ample opportunity for artistic interpretation.

My chapter reader, Chocolate! A Library Adventure, is scheduled to be released this fall from Country Messenger Press. I am a librarian and member of SCBWI.

You will find Bedtime Monster attached. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Heather Burnell

Simple? Yes. Did I stress over it? Of course! These letters can take a lot of work to get just right, at least for me!

What is the difference between a query and a cover letter? Not much in my opinion. You cover the basics of hook, storyline, why you are asking them to read the manuscript, and who you are in both. In a query you're asking permission to send the story, in a cover letter you've sent it along with the letter. Slight differences in wording but nothing to stress over!

So, this critique week giveaway is for a query/cover letter! Here are a few guidelines:

Your letter should be one page or less--which is standard.
Any genre--yes, even my friends who write adult novels can participate!
Entries are open up through Friday August 5th, 7 p.m., PST.
I will do a draw Friday evening and announce the winner in the comment section of this post.
Please leave me a way to contact you whether it is through your blog link, twitter, etc., or be sure to check back so I don't have to chase you down.
The winner should email mail me the letter by Saturday, August 6th.
I will finish the critique as soon as I possibly can, hopefully on Sunday.

Extras are fun, so one extra entry for each. (Please let me know in your comment):

follow my blog
become a fan of my Facebook page
Tweet (just use @heatherayris in your tweet & I'll see it.)
Post my contest on your blog
Share in some other way and let me know :)

To enter, just leave a comment on this post!

*disclaimer--I am not a picture book editor or agent, but I have done a lot of critiques! I will point out the things in your letter I see that can be improved and will give you an honest critique. I can promise nothing more than that.

My Big News!

2011-07-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

As you may have figured by my lack of posting, my life has been a little hectic lately. Of course, just because it's hectic doesn't mean it's bad. There's just a lot going on! And I have news...I have an agent! I'm now represented by the fabulous Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary! YAY!!!!!!

I fell in love with the idea of Red Fox Literary as soon as I discovered them via the Hen and Ink website. (Hen and Ink is Red Fox Literary's foreign rights representative. Bonus!) I saw Abigail Samoun speak at the SCBWI Western Washington conference a few years back, and was so impressed with her. Her knowledge of picture books was amazing. I figured if Abigail chose Karen to go into business with she must be great. I have to say, it was a pretty good assumption.

Karen was giving me great advice and working hard for me before we'd even signed the contract. She is so very nice, and does all the things I was hoping an agent would do for me. It doesn't feel to shabby to have an agent gush over how much she loves my book either. Karen offered me representation based on a picture book manuscript I sent her, which makes me so happy because picture books are what I really love to write. So, take heart picture book writers, it can happen!

That's my big news! I'm so happy to finally be able to share it!

This is Just a Test

2011-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

My life seems to be experiencing a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.

I have so many things going on right now, I just can't seem to keep up! Of course, family comes first. Then writing. Those two responsibilities are demanding all of my time and attention right now. Plus the baby goat keeps escaping and jumping on the car! And our bees keep swarming and we have to chase the swarms down and capture them! And, well, you get the picture. I just keep telling myself that having so many demands on my time is only a test. (Insert annoying Emergency Broadcast System noise here!)

So, I'm going to have to postpone my Monster List post for now. I do have some news to share with you all soon so...

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake--and I Love Betty Bunny!

2011-07-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Stella recommended a book she'd heard about at the SCBWI New Jersey conference. She said it was hilarious. So, of course, I had to check it out. I was not disappointed. BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE is laugh out loud funny!

Michael B. Kaplan wrote some amazing lines in this book. From beginning to end, I have laughed every time I've read BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE. And I've read it quite a few times. In the beginning Betty Bunny doesn't even know what chocolate cake is. The way she refuses the cake then falls in love with it is quite entertaining. When she announces her love of cake, her brothers and sisters have the greatest comebacks. Every scene in the book has some little joke in it that is bound to entertain.

One thing I definitely noticed about this story, besides it being so funny, is that each character in this book is well rounded and has their own personality. There's a lot going on in such a short amount of text. Stéphane Jorisch's illustrations are playful and add just the right touch of comedy. With the sweet story and fabulous use of humor, there's at least one agent who would love to find a picture book like it.

A question I tried to answer by reading the book to various children is, do they get the humor? Some of it seems more for the adults reading to the kids. We can see the way kids act and the caricature rings so true. I mean, I crack up when I read it, while my little one laughs at some of the jokes. Before reading the book my guy did not know what a handful was, even though he is one. But he knows now. Nothing wrong with learning a new word (and that you're a handful). For sure different jokes tickled different kids' funny bones. It's kind of like what you see in movies like CARS and THE INCREDIBLES. Jokes for the adults as well as the kids. I like that it's a picture book that will appeal to adult readers. Any way we can encourage adults to read to kids is a good thing!

BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE is written by Michael B. Kaplan, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, and published by Dial Books for Young Readers.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents -- Jennifer Unter, The Unter Agency

2011-06-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

There isn't a lot of information on Jennifer Unter and The Unter Agency that I can find online. But from the few picture book writers that she does represent it seems that Jennifer Unter is an agent picture book writers should consider.

There's a great, recent interview with Jennifer Unter at Mother. Write. (Repeat.)

Her New Agent Alert on Guide to Literary Agents from January 2010 tells a little bit about Jennifer's background.

There's an informative interview with Jennifer from when she was VP of RLR Associates Literary Division at Absolute Write.

The Unter Agency website has a bit of information about the agency and a submission form.

Jennifer Unter represents Sue Fliess and Barbara Bottner.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Things that take time...

2011-06-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sometime last fall, my husband and I decided that we should start doing some farming, so we planted some garlic...

The garlic is growing well so far.

Then we got some alpacas. They are happy out in their pasture.

Next we decided we should keep some bees. We had to have them down in town for a while because it was so cold and snowy up here on the mountain for so long, but they're home now. It's nice to sit and listen to the buzz of the bees.

Then we got three lambs. They were so tiny they could ride in the back of the car.

We plowed up some field. The whole family got in on it. Don't worry, the tractor goes like two miles an hour.

We even managed to get a herd of goats--sorry, they wouldn't pose for me.

So now we've got wheat planted.

And oats.

The lambs are getting big....

So there is a lot going on around here while we wait for things to grow. (I didn't even get a photo of my garden!) But I'm patient--I'm a writer after all. Plus I have lots of new inspirations all around. I just need to wander outside and sit in the grass. I hope that you take the time to find some summer inspiration too. I'd love to hear about what you find!

MY DAD, MY HERO by Ethan Long

2011-05-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

Dads can be heroes... but maybe not in the superhero type of way. In MY DAD, MY HERO, Ethan Long shows us the ways one boy's dad is like a superhero. Not!

So dad has his own way of leaping tall buildings, his super strength is lacking, and shooting webs out of his wrists is pretty impossible. Why is dad still super and why is he a hero? Well, he might be able to see through walls, but the real reasons are the ones all kids can identify with.

The illustrations in MY DAD, MY HERO are funny! And they're done in a style that makes them jump off the page which adds to the comic feel of the story. It's a fun read for Father's Day--or anytime. Reading this one definitely makes me want to check out Ethan Long's other books! And I love ZE FRONK!!!

Pimpin' my Peep!

2011-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Bay Area, tomorrow you must drop everything and get yourself to Walnut Creek to see the stupendously amazing Mike Jung! He's going to talk about how to not be a pinhead. He will also have some stuff about building an online presence before a book deal. Okay, that's mostly what it's about. Probably. But maybe not. I hear there is going to be heckling, and heckling by proxy, so who cares what it's about right? Anyway, Mike's debut novel, GEEKS, GIRLS & SECRET IDENTITIES, is under contract with Arthur A. Levine Books and he already has a multitude of adoring fans so no matter what genre you write in Mike will have some great advice to share.

Mike will stun the world with his awesomeness from 2-4pm at:

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
1924 Trinity Avenue
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

*If you do go, I am in dire need of a proxy confetti thrower!!! Just bring a big bag of confetti and shower Mike with it at inappropriate times. Heckling with tiny pieces of paper! You could write tiny notes to Mike on it too--okay maybe that's pushing it. See Mike's blog for proxy and event details!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Lit

2011-05-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Casey McCormick has done a great Agent Spotlight on Stephen Fraser at Literary Rambles that encompasses most of the great stuff you can find about Stephen Fraser online, but I wanted to add Mr. Fraser to the Monster List since he represents picture books and sounds like a great agent to work with. I found a few recent and interesting posts that you also won't want to miss.

There's a current, in depth interview with Mr. Fraser at Humor Me. I would highly recommend reading it if you're interested in querying Mr. Fraser. He says he adores picture books!

Stephanie Theban shared some conference notes at Stories. Read 'em. Write'em.

There's also a good interview at Joyce Shor Johnson's blog.

You can find submission guidelines for Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

I Wrote a Book, Now What? (#2) --Market Research

2011-05-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

I did post #1 in I Wrote a Book, Now What? about critiques and revising. But, if you're looking to get published there's a lot more to it than that. You've got to learn about the market, what it wants, and how to approach it.

There are some really good books on writing for children (and writing in general) and reading a stack or two of them will open your eyes to a lot of things. If you aren't sure where to get started I recommend The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold Underdown. He's really knowledgeable about the children's publishing industry and his book covers all the basics. Harold's website is a great place to learn too.

Cynthea Liu has a crash course for writers at her site writingforchildrenandteens.com.

And I would definitely recommend you join Verla Kay's Blue Board. It's a great place to learn, keep up to date, and "hang out" with writers.

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators offers lots of opportunities for learning about writing and the market. They have conferences and a monthly magazine plus lots on online info on how to go about all sorts of things that children's writers need to know. You can find them at http://www.scbwi.org.

Get educated on what the market is publishing by reading tons of newer books in the genre you are writing. Learn how to approach the market (Harold Underdown's book covers this nicely.) Learn the standard way to format a manuscript (Cynthea Liu's site will show you how.) Little steps like these will help you make a good presentation when you're ready to submit a manuscript.

Okay, so maybe all of this talk of research sounds dry. Lucky for us children's book writers, research is fun! For my research today I read a bunch of TumbleBooks at my library's website. I could do that type of research all day!

More I Wrote a Book, Now What? to come...

My First Critique Week Giveaway!

2011-05-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to do this for a while so I'm just going to go for it--Critique Week. I'm going to give away a picture book critique! Come all my fellow picture book writers and enter!

(As a side note, I've been thinking of how I can have a giveaway that includes all of my writer friends and all of the many genres they write in. So, the next giveaway will be for a query critique. When? When I have time, of course! I'll let you know around the net.)

As for this week's contest, here are a few guidelines:

Up to 1000 words (but 700 or less is preferable, just like for most publishers)
No rhyming (it's not my cup of tea a.k.a. I'm not good at it)
Fiction or nonfiction is okay
The winner should email me the manuscript within 3 days
I will finish the critique as soon as I possibly can, but I cannot foresee my future from day to day so be a little patient with me

Just put a comment on this post to enter. Entries are open up through May 16th. I'll announce the winner in the comment section of this post on Tuesday, May 17. Extras are fun, so one extra entry for each. (Please let me know in your comment):

follow my blog
tweet
facebook
blog
share it some other way--maybe there are social networking sites I don't even know about...maybe. :)

*disclaimer--I am not a picture book editor or agent, but I have done a lot of critiques! I will point out the things in your manuscript I see that can be improved and will give you an honest critique. I can promise nothing more than that.

Bee Books!

2011-05-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

Since my family is keeping bees the kids and I have, of course, been reading picture books about bees. You can learn a lot about bees from picture books! Here are a few of our favorites:

THE BEEMAN is about a boy and his grandfather who keeps bees. It's a really great introduction to beekeeping as it goes through the entire process from the smoker used to calm the bees to the different types of bees in the hive to the honey on the table. There's also a great nonfiction section at the end.

BUSY BUZZY BEE is interesting because it shows closeup photos of the inside of a hive and how the grubs grow into bees. My kids liked being able to see all the details so closely.

ARE YOU A BEE? does a nice job of showing how bees grow and live in the hive as well as how they collect pollen and what they do with it. The illustrations are really nice and it's a good read aloud.

As with all MAGIC SCHOOL BUS books, there is tons of fun stuff to read in INSIDE A BEEHIVE!

Check out one or all of these books and you're sure to know a little more about the world of bees, even if you're a grownup.

Beekeeping!

2011-05-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

This winter my family decided that we wanted to keep bees. The world needs bees and they are disappearing at alarming rates due to pesticides and such. It's really quite scary to think about a world without bees. I don't even want to think about it, really. But I read about it because we started the project like we start most projects--by checking out lots of books and reading up!

We studied and ordered supplies and built hives from some blueprints that we found. The kids painted the hives and helped put together the honey frames. They were especially excited. Then we waited for the spring shipment of bees to arrive from California. It was a long wait, especially for the excited people in the family.

Another beekeeper in our area picked up the bees and drove them five hours to meet us. We met at the park and exchanged packages. The thing is, they'd already stopped and set their bees up, and a few had "gotten away" and were clinging onto the outside of the boxes. We had to drive eight long miles with them inside our car. We were a little worried, but needn't have been. The bees were totally mellow. They just wanted to stick together, and I have to admit, I felt kind of sad for the few that got left behind at the park. They no longer had a hive. My poor little pets!

The bees came in this box. There are about 3,000 of them in there I'm told. I'm not going to count though.

We set up the hives at an orchard in the valley since it's still so cold and flowerless up on our mountain. I find it amazing that the hives can be so close together yet the bees will only go to their own hive. Should be fun bringing the hives home in a month or so when it warms up. They're already reproducing. That means over 6,000 bees in the car. Eep!

It was a little bit scary when the cage was opened up. That's a whole lot of bees!

The queen is kept separate in a little teeny cage. She has to be removed first. Check out the man, no gloves or anything. Before the queen's cage can be placed in the hive a little cork has to be taken out and be replaced with a marshmallow so the bees can eat it and release the queen. With the first queen the cork was really tight and accidentally went inside the cage. It could have crushed the queen, but she escaped--onto my husbands hand! Amazingly, he removed the cork from the cage, got the queen back into the dinky hole (without being stung) and stuffed the marshmallow in. I still can scarcely believe that fantastic feat!

The rest did not want to come out of the cage, silly bees! They actually had to be shaken and they plopped out in big clumps. We didn't even use smoke to calm them. I think they were tired out from their trip!

While the bees settled down into their hives my husband actually scooped some clumps of stragglers off the ground with his bare hand and put them on their hive. Why? He didn't want them to get left behind. And he's brave--very, very brave. After about fifteen minutes the bees had burrowed down into the frames so we put the lids on, filled their feeders with sugar water, and talked about how the workers look so different from the drones and how amazing it was that no one got stung and how long it would take before they would make honey; cool beekeeping stuff like that.

If you didn't notice, I'm not in any of the pictures. Like I said, I'm the helper and, well, there just wasn't much to help with. I guess pictures are helpful and hey, I was working! I mean, there's got to be a picture book story in here somewhere.

This was our favorite book that we found on beekeeping.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Kendra Marcus, Bookstop Literary

2011-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Kendra Marcus is an agent who knows picture books! She's the founder of Bookstop Literary and she represents some amazing authors. There is lots of information about Ms. Marcus online so you can decide whether or not she might be the agent for you.

There is a great interview with Kendra Marcus at Cynsations where Kendra tells the story of how she decided to be an agent and open her own agency. She also talks about what she looks for in a picture book. In an interview at SCBWI Bologna Ms. Marcus talks about what qualities she thinks it takes to make a successful picture book.

Corey Rosen Schwartz, whose books The Three Ninja Pigs and Goldi Rocks are forthcoming from Putnam, is represented by Kenrda Marcus. You can read her How I Got My Agent post at Julie Hedlund's blog, Write Up My Life. You can also read the story of how Kristyn Crow came to be represented by Kendra Marcus at the Guide to Literary Agents blog.

D.L. King put together some interesting notes from a lecture Kendra Marcus gave at SCBWI Spokane. There's also a few good points from Kendra on Paul Greci's blog.

I really enjoyed this podcast at Just One More Book!! It was fun to hear straight from Kendra Marcus herself.

BookStop Literary has a Facebook page as well as a page at Publishers Marketplace.

Kendra Marcus accepts both mail and email submissions. You can learn more by reading Bookstop Literary's submission guidelines. Also be sure to check out the information page which gives a few tips on what Ms. Marcus is looking for.

Kendra Marcus represents:
Pam Muñoz Ryan

Megan McDonald

& Rebecca O'Connell

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Book Signing!

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

I did a book signing over the weekend. It's actually the first straight book signing I've done for Bedtime Monster. My two other events have been library presentations, so people come expecting a book. This signing was at a Spring Bazaar that promotes women in business. I suspect that no one's ever seen an author signing books at one of those in my little town. But, it was actually pretty fun.

The day started out with me winning the prize for being the last participant to register. My being last is really no surprise, but I've never gotten a prize for being a procrastinator. Now that's more like it. Awesome!

Someone from the city got my book for her kids and told me that she'd actually heard about my book! From where she couldn't remember, but I was just excited to know that someone who didn't know me had heard about Bedtime Monster and remembered it! (I know, little things can get me overly excited.)

There was a lady who was so happy to meet me. She is certain that I am going to be famous. She hugged me AND GAVE ME A PIE! Blueberry!!!

My favorite part...a little boy of around two years old was walking by my table, hand in hand with his grandma. She was looking straight ahead, headed somewhere else, but when he saw Bedtime Monster, he ran his hand across it, and let out a squeal of delight. Grandma stopped and bought him the book (grandmas are awesome like that) and I got to meet the sweetest little boy who is going to be reading Bedtime Monster over and over from the looks of things.

So, all in all, I sold some books, made some friends, and had a good time. Not too bad for a Saturday morning!

My Favorite Picture Books

2011-04-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I'm featured on Sergio Ruzzier's blog today! I love Sergio's books. I can so relate with AMANDINA and I love, love, love THE ROOM OF WONDERS.

Sergio asked me if I would share my list of favorite picture books with him. Of course, I said yes! It was hard to narrow it down, but I got the list down to ten I really love. If you want to check out my list you can see it on Sergio's blog.

I'd love to check out some of your favorite picture books if you want to share them with me in the comments. I'm always up for new favorites!

Manuscript and Query/Cover Letter Critque up for Bid

2011-04-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

The Children's Authors and Illustrators for Japan auction was organized by children's book author, Greg R. Fishbone, to benefit the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. There are lots of great items up for bid from signed books to school visits to artwork.

Today my picture book manuscript and query/cover letter critique is up for bid. I should have added to my description that rhyming really isn't my thing although, like many before me, I have tried my hand at it a few times. I have done a ton of critiquing (and writing!) of both picture books and query and cover letters, have gotten a lot of good feedback on many a manuscript and *gasp* even sold a picture book! If you're interested you can check out my auction item at #kidlit4japan. The auction ends April 7, 2011 at 10 a.m. EDT.

Need a New Story Idea? Play with Puppets!

2011-03-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on writing the other day when I was spending time with my little guy. We were busy playing. We got out the puppets. Then he sat back and said, "okay Mom, go."

"But I don't know any stories right now," I said. It was early and I am not a morning person. (Read, I have absolutely no meaningful thoughts until at least 10 a.m.) But, when your little person is waiting for you to tell them a story and you have all these cute little characters like red monkeys, fairies with rainbow hair, blue and lime dragons, and a crazy orange guy with fuzzy hair to choose from...you tend to get ideas.

So I put on a little puppet show. "Do another one!" he said. (I guess I did okay, but I had a pretty lenient audience.) I did another. And another. And another. You know what? I was starting to get ideas. Lots of ideas. Some even worthy of fleshing out in a manuscript.

I got out a notepad and jotted some notes. I put on lots and lots of puppet plays. I had fun, my little guy was happy, and I guess I was working too. Can't beat that!

If you're looking for a way to come up with some new ideas try playing with some puppets. You never know what you'll come up with! It helps to have a little person around to put on a show for, but kids love puppet shows so I suspect that you'll be able to find someone to appreciate your puppetry if you look around.

Warning: Playing with puppets can cause the user to act extremely silly! Use without caution.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Liza Pulitzer-Voges, Eden Street

2011-03-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Liza Pulitzer-Voges represents a lot of amazing authors. She worked at Kirchoff Wohlberg for 25 years before starting her own agency, Eden Street.

It was hard to find much current information on Ms. Voges, but there is one recent interview at Mother.Write. (Repeat.) which is a must read.

She has a page at AgentQuery with a little submission information.

You can see some response statistics on Querytracker. It looks like Eden Street does not always respond to submissions, but don't let that stop you. Ms. Voges' agency is top notch.

The Eden Street website is great. It lists authors, news, and submission guidelines. Note that along with the submission guidelines that although there is an email address listed, Ms. Voges requests submissions via postal mail.

Liza Pulitzer-Voges represents some well published clients such as:

Alyssa Satin Capucilli

There is a full list on clients on the Eden Street website.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Writing on TV

2011-03-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I watched it--Celebrity Apprentice. The episode where the celebrities have to write a picture book and one team wins and gets their book published. As I watched I could hear my writer friend's eyes rolling, even from way up here on my mountain. Yup, writers know that writing a good picture book isn't as easy as it looks by any means.

But if you think about it, with all the reality shows that are on TV it is rare to see any that involve writing because watching someone write is, well, boring. So there's the conundrum. Do we want to see writing on TV? I'm not sure. But if they are going to show people writing on TV the picture book is the logical choice because it is short and visual. I know, I know. Now everyone is going to think writing a picture book is easy. They are going to think every one can do it. Slush piles are going to grow even bigger. The last remaining houses open to submissions are going to close and go agented only.

I actually did wonder if the closing of submissions by Marshall Cavendish the week or so prior to the airing of Celebrity Apprentice had anything to do with the foreseen numbers of submissions they might get from being on national TV and judging and therefore approving(to the untrained eye) picture books that were literally written overnight.

So was it a good thing or a bad thing? I did like seeing a children's book editor and an illustrator on TV. I did like seeing picture books being featured and talked about. I guess it's just like everything else. You gotta take the good with the bad. Now wouldn't it be fun to see some real picture book authors compete to win a publication deal. What? No? Nobody would care because we're not famous? Oh. Okay. We'll just keep writing books for kids anyway, because that's what we do. And we're not afraid to work hard to get it right.

Emus

2011-03-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

So, I just read a post by the awesome Mike Jung at the Emu's Debut blog. I was awed by his deep thoughts on success, his caring for writers, and amazed that the same quote by Marianne Williamson I go back to from time to time resonated with him too:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I also laughed about his thoughts on our interview. He had high hopes and aspirations. I would expect nothing less from him! So yeah, after reading all these deep and touching thoughts I remembered a story...about um...an emu.

You see, when my husband and I moved to Washington state we took care of a farm on a one lane “highway” which was more of a long winding two-lane forested road through a bunch of farmhouses. There wasn't a lot of traffic besides the occasional car and logging trucks, all of which drove too fast in my opinion. It was winter, the road was covered in ice and snow, shouldn't people slow down a little?

Anyhow, we were out feeding the goats and chickens. We looked up to the road, and there in the middle of winter, running down the icy road was an EMU! Incase you don't know, emus--the animal type, not the debut author type--do not naturally belong in Washington state. It ran back and forth past the barn for quite a while slipping on the ice and freaking out. No one came looking for it, so we decided we'd better catch the poor thing.

'Our' Emu.

The thing is, emus are not that easy to catch. My husband, being the wild man he is, got his lasso and ran after the giant bird. He tried to lasso it while I kept it from running off into the forest. Once he got that lasso over the bird's head it was a wild and crazy ride. Of course, it tried to run. He sort of tackled it, but the bird was tough. And it fought back. Emus have really powerful legs and sharp claws. Very sharp. It kicked. It sliced! Right through my husband's sweatshirt like it was nothing. It tried to gut him! Luckily he was wearing lots of layers since it was so cold out. And, being the feisty animal lovers that we are, we wrangled that ungracious emu down to the farm and built it a nice little place to stay. It took all winter to find the person he belonged too, but they were really happy to have him back. And we were sorta glad to have him gone. Emus--at least the animal type--are not at all cuddly.

So, that's my emu story. Not nearly as touching as Mike's, but emu-y in it's own way.

Oh my gosh! I love this book cover!

Bedtime Monster is an App!

2011-03-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

I found out today that Bedtime Monster is available as an iphone app! How cool is that? I don't have an iphone or an ipad but I'm going to have to find a way to check it out. What are the chances I'm going to find a mountain person with an iphone? If you want to check it out, you can find it here. I'd love to hear what you think!

Agent Profile - Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

2011-02-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

Andrea Brown Literary Agency is one of the best agencies representing children's books, so if you're on the agent hunt I'm sure you've heard of them and Jennifer Laughran. She's all over the internet so there's lots of information to help you decide whether or not she might be the right agent for you.

Jennifer has an outstanding blog with lots of great advice and where she sometimes answers questions from writers; Jennifer Represents.

You can find her on Twitter where she hangs out a lot, so if you're not on Twitter consider giving it a try! She also has a Facebook page where she talks about clients and writing and such.

This is a really helpful link for picture book writers: Jennifer did a guest post of her list of favorite picture books on Sergio Ruzzier's blog.

There's an interview with her about how to get your children's book published at The Book Doctors.

I found an interesting quote from Jennifer on an Absolute Write Forum page. You have to scroll about half way down to see it and I can't link directly to it so I'll post it here, "...But yeah, it is hard to sell picture books. Not "nearly impossible", just hard. It is probably even harder to get an AGENT if you are a debut author with only picture books. It would probably be a good idea to "diversify your portfolio." <--Yup, bad news, but we picture book writers know it's tough already, don't we!

Andrea Brown Literary Agency has a great website with a How to Submit page. Be sure to read the tips and submission advice pages too. You can find Jennifer Laughran on their Agent bio page. Scroll down to find her.

Jennifer Laughran represents:
Kate Messner
and Daniel Pinkwater

What a Surprise!

2011-02-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

I woke up to find a nice review of Bedtime Monster in my inbox! It was a nice warm fuzzy feeling on such a cold, snowy Winter's day. (We got around two feet of snow overnight.) The review is by a librarian too, so it feels extra special. I love librarians!
You can check out the review if you like at Waking Brain Cells.

Brownie the Groundhog and the February Fox

2011-02-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox is not a story about Groundhog Day, although the date it briefly mentioned. Really, it's a story about waiting. Brownie Groundhog is waiting for Spring. February Fox is waiting for a meal. He wants to eat Brownie Groundhog, but she's too tricky for him. Every time he's ready to eat her, Brownie tells him it's not time and gives him a job to do. Brownie is such a trickster and the fox so gullible, kids will get a kick out of it. And we all can relate to having to wait for something we want. The illustrations make this book feel like a nice Winter's day where a groundhog could definitely become friends with a hungry fox. It's a fun book to read while you're waiting for Spring!

Brownie the Groundhog and the February Fox is written by Susan Blackaby, illustrated by Carmen Segovia, and published by Sterling Publishing.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - John Schuster, The Literary Group International

2011-02-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

The Literary Group International is a big agency that represents some children's authors, although I don't hear a lot of talk about them in the online kidlit world. You can read their submission guidelines on their website. What it doesn't tell you there is that John Schuster is their Acquisitions Editor.You can find his information at Querytracker. Yes, this agency is big and mysterious. You don't find a whole lot of kidlit information on a search so you have to dig deep! I can tell you from experience that John Schuster knows his stuff. John is also an author.

The Literary Group International represents Laura Vaccaro Seeger. (I love Dog and Bear!)

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio

2011-02-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio represents some great picture book authors. There is an interview at Cynsations where Ms. Stimola states: "...in a weak picture book market, most being acquired these days are spare of language, character-driven, and have commercial appeal."

On Linkedin Rosemary Stimola also lists that she is a Publishing Consultant.

The Stimola Literary Studio website has information on Rosemary Stimola and her authors. You can also find some submission guidelines there. You can find the Stimola Literary Studio addresses at Querytracker.

Ms. Stimola represents picture books writers such as:
Lola Schaefer

Dianna Hutts Aston

and Michelle Meadows

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Erzsi Deàk, Hen & Ink

2011-02-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hen & Ink is a new agency, and President and Founder Ezrsi Deàk represents picture books. She is building her client list so this is a great opportunity.

Ms. Deàk is looking for sparely written picture books that will be read over and over again. She is open to single page queries. You can find Hen & Ink's submission guidelines at the Hen & Ink website

You can learn more at Erzsi Deàk's website

You can also find Ms. Deàk On Twitter

There's an in depth interview with Erzsi Deàk, the writer, at Cynsations where she talks about her participation in SCBWI and her writing (including picture books).

She lists Pitschi by Hans Fischer as a favorite picture book.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

UPDATE 5/9/2011: Cynsations has a fabulous interview with Erzsi.

Cynthia also links to A Chat with a Cool Chick - Erzsi Deak, founder of Hen and Ink at Melissa Buron's blog.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents

2011-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

I've done the research and let me tell ya, as a writer of picture books it can take a lot of time to figure out who represents picture book authors and who doesn't. I've been thinking about it a lot. I have a list and I don't think it would hurt to share it, so I've decided to create a Monster List of Picture Book Agents! I'll do a post for each agents and link it to the Monster List of Picture Book Agents page. This month I'm going to work on the list and add more agents when I can, but my main posts will be on the 20th of each month. The first two posts are going up today!

Here come the big,mean dust bunny! by Jan Thomas

2011-02-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

I never would have guessed that one of my favorite bedtime reads would be about dust bunnies. They're cute, they're funny, and they rhyme all the time--except for Bob, he has a little trouble with that. The four sweet little dust bunnies put up with the big, mean dust bunny's bullying until they finally find a way to win him over.

The sparsely worded story packs in plenty of kid-friendly humor, but what makes this book extra special is the illustrations. Jan Thomas' use of the page along with the bold colors makes you feel like you're right there with the characters(especially when you're cuddled with your little one holding the book up close). The varied sizes of the text made my little guy excited about the different words and got him actually wanting to try to read them. No small feat for a kid that has an aversion to anything he suspects to be learning.

If you're looking for a fun bedtime or storytime read for the very young this is a book you should check out.

Here comes the big, mean dust bunny! is written and illustrated by Jan Thomas.

Ski Trip

2011-02-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Since it's winter I've been doing alot of cross country skiing around the mountain and I thought I'd give you a little ski tour:

So, I ski off from the house. You can just make out the roof there by the top left corner. My dog likes to come with me.

Then I come to the crossing. You may notice that there aren't any plowed roads here. (My car is actually parked a mile from my house.) This is where the snowmobiles, horses, skiiers, and walkers cross.

I like to ski over to the pond. It's under that snow somewhere.

I usually hit the valley from the top of the hill past the pond. It's a good ski down.

I like to ski through the trees. There's a slight slope and it's pretty.

When I come home it's a nice view from the kitchen window while I drink hot cocoa and write.

CBAY Books

2011-01-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick heads-up for my picture book writing friends. CBAY Books is accepting picture book submissions through January 31st. They're looking for fantasy and science fiction. You can read their guidelines HERE. They haven't published any picture books as of yet, but in this soft picture book market it's great to see a new publisher branching out. Good luck if you submit!

Auction for Queensland

2011-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it. I don't really pay attention to the news because it always seems to be too sad and depressing. I'm almost always surprised to hear when something terrible is happening. I can't help but wish I could do something about it. Usually I just end up worrying about the people and the animals and wishing there was something I could do to help them when there really isn't anything I can do.

When my #pblitchat and Twitter friend Katrina Germein emailed me talking about the floods that were devastating her home state of Queensland, Australia I was shocked. There was even an inland tsunami. I didn't even know there could be such a thing.

Katrina was asking for donations for a writer's auction for Queensland. It's a little thing I can actually do to help, so of course, I did. I donated a picture book manuscript and query critique that is up for bid. You can see it here to bid on it or link up and spread the word.

There are so many great items offered at the auction including mentorships and one on one workshops. Many can be done in person if you feel like taking a trip to Australia. (Wouldn't that be amazing?) Many are also offered over the phone, for those of us who can't make the trip to the cafe to meet. Check out Authors for Queensland and you'll see all the great offerings that are up for bid.

So it's a new year, eh?

2011-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

Wowie, I made it through the year of the release of my first picture book. It sure takes a lot of time and energy to release one little picture book, and I'm no marketing maniac either. But here's the thing that everyone seems to ask me, "When is your next book coming out?"

Well, it sucks because I don't have a next book coming out--yet. I thought I did for a while. There is a companion book to BEDTIME MONSTER. My publisher was holding it, then they got bought out and the new publisher decided they weren't buying anymore books for the time being. Well bummer.

I tend to blame myself, of course. I know the picture book market is soft, but I'm not much of a subber. And even though I only sent BEDTIME MONSTER to three publishers, got two requests, and of course, one sale, I would never expect it to always be that way.

So, in October I decided I'd better put in a real effort. Really start subbing things--to publishers. Yes, I'd love to have an agent someday but an agent isn't going to publish my book and I only get so much energy to dedicate to submissions so I have to choose. I've been plugging along, getting things out, little by little. Then came the holidays and the new year. The story goes that subs go way up in the new year. To me it seems silly, but I guess I'm not much of a believer in New Year's resolutions.

Here's the deal though, I don't want my manuscripts to be seen as some resolution sub that was haphazardly sent because of some date passing by. They are certainly not. I thought about stopping subbing for a while, but I'm working. Should I stop because my manuscript might be looked upon unfavorably because of the time it was sent? I've pondered this and decided it's silly. I have to get things done when I can get them done, and maybe someday if I'm lucky I'll have an agent to help me do it. But for now I have a few stories sitting in slushpiles somewhere, some with a sent date around January 1st even, waiting in line to be read. Maybe it was the wrong decision. Perhaps I'll never know, but what I do know is that I'm never going to sell another book if I don't actually send stories out to publishers.

So, my answer to, "when is your next book coming out?" I'm working on it.

Launch Party or Strapping on my Tail like a Big Girl

2010-12-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Waiting for a launch party to happen is a funny thing, especially if you work at the place the party is going to be at. Flyers with my picture on them were hung on the bulletin boards and there was a stack of handouts on the desk right next to me. It was a little weird to have pictures of myself hanging around the library, but it was entertaining. I lost count of how many people looked back and forth, back and forth, from me to the flyers, me to the flyers. Then I would hear them whisper to one another, "Is that her?"
"Nah."
"No, I think it is."
"I don't think so. Maybe."
Finally they'd ask, "Hey, is this you?"
I'd smile and say yes, and they would usually have a look of surprise or amazement. I mean, famous authors don't have real jobs, right? (Yes, some people even use that crazy 'F' word. Famous. To which I have to laugh.)

Anyway, I know I could have just piped up and said "That's me!" When I saw them looking, but it's so much more entertaining to see people try to figure out whether it was really me or not.

After a few weeks of flyer entertainment, the day of the party finally came. We made monster cupcakes. The head librarian came back from her vacation early just to be there and to make them with my kids. Isn't that sweet?!

Cute & tasty!

When the time came for me to get up in front of everyone, I thought I was ready, but I did get a little nervous. There were about forty people there and some of them were grownups! I was a big girl, though. I put on my tail and got up there.

I couldn't believe so many people showed up just to see me. Some of them I knew, but many of them I didn't. So, I started off by talking about how much I love books. I told them about how I love books so much that I write them. I told them that that's why I started working at the library, so I could be around more books.

Then I told them all sorts of things about Bedtime Monster. I talked about how long I'd been waiting for the book to come out. I showed them the original cover(they all agreed that Bonnie's cover was much better.) I talked about Bonnie and how she is the illustrator. Then we read the book. It went great! The kids stayed interested the whole time, and I didn't die because a bunch of grownups were watching me. Victory!

Then we all went and partied down. We made monsters out of some monster parts I'd made, did monster origami, put on monster tattoos, and ate popcorn and cupcakes. We even had live music provided by my husband and this crazy guy wearing a tattoo on his head.

Every party needs a crazy guy who lets the kids put tattoos on his head.

I got to sign some books too! A few people stopped in just to buy my books. I was amazed! Yup, this is where I sat and signed them.

Now, you may wonder why I'm not sitting here, and why I don't have a bunch of great pictures of all the fun stuff we did. Well, I have a little boy who loves to take pictures. He's really quite good at it. He wanted to be the photographer. With all the book stuff I've had going on my kids have really been learning a lot about writing and business and I think it's great for them to participate so, of course, I said yes. I went over things with him beforehand. I know, at the event I should have told him, "here take a picture of this, take a picture of that," but I ended up being a lot busier than I imagined. I mean, it was like I was the host to forty people and the guest of honor. My little guy did take a lot of pictures, he just kinda forgot that I needed them to be of things I could actually use. Oh well, he had fun.

I had another library presentation the next week, but it wasn't such a big production. The crowd was a lot smaller, but the intimacy was nice. I really got to talk to people. And the funny thing was, I wasn't even nervous. I feel ready to strap on my tail and do my next three library presentations in the spring!

New

2010-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

I've been dying to tell you all about my library visits. Unfortunately my computer has not been cooperating. It took a while to figure out the problem, but my husband finally figured out that the hard drive was broken. The new one took FOR-EV-ER to get here. It had a nice little week's vacation in Florida on it's way. (Yes, that almost makes me jealous. It's been freezing around here lately!)

What was on the old hard drive that broke? Well, everything, but most importantly, my writing. No, like a big dork, I did not have it backed up. I do have lots of hard copies. I have a lot of typing to do. I did lose some current drafts but I'm okay with that. Drafts are always changing and I'm taking the opportunity to make things better as I go. Am I happy that I will be re-typing the 120 handwritten pages of my YA novel? Not really. I'm still holding out hope that I have it on a memory stick around here somewhere.

There's something exciting about having a squeaky clean computer though. I feel so organized. The draft I put up of a manuscript will be the only one. I am going to make sure I don't junk it up with different drafts with poorly thought out titles such as (Manuscript name) current or new or use this one. Brilliant huh? Well no more of that. This time I'm going to keep it clean. I'm going to find a way to keep my writing more organized. Starting now.

A Review! (and stuff)

2010-11-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Booklist reviewed Bedtime Monster, and it's a nice one. Yay! It's my first review so I'm excited! You can read it at booklistonline.com if you're interested.

Fun things have been happening with my little book and me lately. Yesterday eight copies of Bedtime Monster arrived at the library while I was working and I got to check them in. I put one on the shelf and one in a bedtime display to go along with my release party tomorrow. I've got my tail and monster tattoos ready to go. I have a create-a-monster craft all together. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my monster origami craft finished up. It's been a little tricky getting the dotted folding lines in just the right place. I also got a nice write up in the local paper with a big photo of my book cover and a little photo of me. Just the way I like it. Ha! Tomorrow is definitely going to test the depths of my outgoingness. I'll be sure to tell you how it all goes.

Weeding

2010-11-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of weeding at the library lately--pulling books off the shelves and packing them up to send to the library system's distribution center. I thought it would be hard for me to take any books off the shelves, especially in the children's section. Funny enough, that was the easiest place for me to pull books from. I know that section best and have read most all of the books in it(don't be too impressed, my library isn't that big). I definitely have opinions on which books are great and which aren't. I know which books are checked out a lot and which ones sit. I was a little sad about having to get rid of some oldies but goodies that were worn, but I have a feeling there are newer copies in the library system I can order in if I want to. So yeah, it was kind of fun weeding the children's section. It's definitely going to be easier for the kids to pull out books, the shelves were getting a little tight. And now I can order in a bunch of new books and freshen things up. Of course, I'll have to read them too!

I had thought that weeding the adult fiction would be easy. I was so wrong. I don't know a whole lot about those books. I know the popular authors like Catherine Coulter and Danielle Steele because I check their books in and out constantly, but I felt squeamish about pulling anything off the shelf lest someone want to check it out. I really don't know what has been sitting unread. So, I went the easy route and pulled books that looked worn. Then if an author had a slew of books on the shelves I pulled some of those. If a book was number 2 or 3 in a series and the first book wasn't there, I pulled them.

That system seemed to work pretty good until I got to the large print books. They all looked new! I noticed that I was pulling a lot of romance and westerns at first, so I started reading back copy and tried to make guesses on what people might want to check out. Large prints are so popular that I'm sure lots more will be flowing back in so I tried not to worry.

As I boxed up a heaping table full of books today I realized that it doesn't matter how popular an author you are, how famous, or how great your book is, sometimes it's going to get pulled off the shelf because there isn't enough room. I know I'll be happy to share a spot on the shelf at all. I hear that my library's copies of Bedtime Monster will be arriving on Thursday. I wonder whose books they'll be sitting next to on the shelf.

The Unread - Interview with Paul Greci

2010-10-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Paul Greci is a supercool guy. I met him through Twitter when I started talking about random mountain stuff like baking potatoes in the woodstove and skiing to my car to go to town. Paul is sympathetic to my strange mountain lifestyle, he lives in Alaska where things aren't always easy, but he loves the outdoors and where better to experience it! Just wait until you read about his bicycle riding. Now that's dedication! Paul is also a great supporter of writers, sharing his knowledge and expertise when needed. He's certainly helped me before. Paul is a full-time writer of Young Adult novels and is represented by Jennifer De Chiara. He's my next victim on The Unread...

You were a teacher for fifteen years. What sorts of things did you learn from the kids that made you decide to start writing?

I taught English in an alternative school for at-risk teens. I discovered YA fiction while searching for books that my reluctant reader students would actually read, and I fell in love with the genre.

My students were also reluctant writers so we started writing scenes using characters from the novels we were reading. I figured if the characters were already developed my students may have less resistance to writing. Plus, I wanted to make it fun.

So, we’d all write these scenes and then read them out loud. I’m the kind of teacher that participates in the things I assign so I wrote, too. And, I loved it.

(See, I told you he was supercool.)

What types of stories do you write?

So far I’ve written wilderness survival stories, and edgy school stories that have a touch of humor. I have five WIPs. A couple of those I might end up mining for parts, but for now they are intact.

How did you get your agent?

I met my agent at a fund-raiser for starving artists. No, wait. That was a dream I had.

Actually, I sent Jennifer a query letter.

But really, how I got my agent is that I kept rewriting my novel. It took six weeks to write the first draft, then about a year and a half to revise it to get it into querying shape.

(That is a great example of how important revising is!)

Why did you choose to go with Jennifer De Chiara for representation?

I chose to sign with Jennifer because out of the five agents who offered representation I felt like she best understood my writing. She made it clear that she wanted to represent me and not just the one book of mine she’d read. She has a really great reputation, she’s a talented editor, and she doesn’t give up. She totally believes in people going after their dreams. And, she’s fun to work with.

(Five offers! Your book must be awesome!)

How has having an agent changed your writing life?

Having an agent has changed my writing life in a couple of ways: I run ideas by Jennifer before starting a new project. And, I think I’m more motivated to write well. I mean, here’s this amazing person who has offered to work with me on building a writing career. I want to give her the best writing I can. I feel totally fortunate to be in partnership with her.

What do you think is the hardest part about writing? What’s the easiest?

The hardest and easiest parts of writing change for me. When I don’t have an idea for a new story, coming up with an idea feels like the hardest part. When my wrist and thumb rebel from too much keyboard time, or my neck turns to cement, or my eyes ache, the physical act of writing feels the hardest. It constantly changes.

Do you think living in the wilds of Alaska gives you a different point of view than most people? Does this make its way into your writing?

Living in Alaska definitely makes its way into my writing. Two of my five WIPs are set in Alaska. All of my mistakes and misjudgments and close calls in the wilderness are good fodder for stories.

(Well now, that makes me wonder about these wilderness survival stories even more! Eek!)

You have a spot for your computer on your treadmill, how the heck did you come up with this awesome contraption?

My treadmill desk was inspired by pain.

After I left my teaching job to write full-time, my body started rebelling against the countless hours of sitting.

I used to ride my bike to and from work year-round, even when the temperatures dipped to forty below. And, I’d participate in gym class three times a week. Over the years I injured my shoulder playing dodge-ball, cracked a rib playing touch football, pulled various leg muscles, jammed my fingers… the list of injuries goes on. But staying at home and writing was pretty brutal.

A physical therapist suggested a treadmill desk. I had a treadmill because I’m kind of an exercise addict, so I took a piece of plywood and cut a pattern with a jigsaw so it would slide right on. I was pretty amazed that it fit as well as it did. Usually things I build don’t really come out the way I think they should and this actually did.

I spend about half of my writing time walking very slowly and typing. The other half I’m often slouched in a glider-rocking chair by the wood stove with my laptop, basically cancelling out all the good-posture-points I’ve earned. I figure as long as I don’t have a negative balance I’ll do okay.

Can you run and type at the same time?

That sounds like a pretty scary combination of activities. Although I don’t have a cell phone, I’m guessing it’d be like texting while driving, and there’s a law against that.

(Hee hee. I imagined that the faster you ran the faster you could type, whipping up stories at great speed like some writing superhero! Okay, enough of my fantasies, back to Paul's interview.)

What are you working on now?

I just finished a first draft of a YA adventure story set in a post-oil era, global-warming-affected Alaska. It’s still what I’d call realistic fiction even though it is set a tiny bit into the future.

How far would you go to get your book published?

You know, although I definitely obsess about having a book going on submission, I try to tell myself to remember what I do and don’t have control over. I have control over my writing, not how other people respond to it.

So, how far would I go? I think I’ll just keep on writing regardless of whether I get published, but hopefully my writing will continue to improve if I keep pushing myself, and an editor will fall in love with one of my books.

(Well, you should get major points for riding your bike in forty below temperatures, imho.)

If you could live in any book, which one would it be and why?

I never know how to answer this question. But today, I think I’d choose Tuck Everlasting. To be able to travel through time with your family sounds pretty cool. There was something about the combination of magic and realism that sucked me in to the story. Mostly, I read realistic fiction but Tuck Everlasting has stayed with me for years and years and years.

(What? You've had to answer this question before? Maybe I need a new end-of-interview question. And yup, I would have probably drank the water too. It would be so hard to resist!)

Thanks for having me here today, Heather. This was fun!

Thank you, Paul! I was so glad to finally get to ask you some nosy, in depth writing questions! :-)

You can find out lots more about Paul and his Alaskan adventures at his blog: Northwriter. You can also follow Paul on Twitter. He's very nice to talk to.

I Wrote a Book, Now What? (#1) -- Critiques and Revising

2010-10-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I've been getting this question a lot lately and I totally understand. It can seem overwhelming to find your way into a huge industry like publishing. Lucky for us, there is more information out there on publishing than ever. I'm going to do a series of posts answering this question and I'm going to start with something basic--revising.

You may have a great story, but it will get even better with revision. Put it away for a little while until you can get a fresh perspective. I find three months to be helpful. It's okay, you can work on writing something else while you're waiting! You could also go read a bunch of books in the genre you're writing. What? You're doing that already? Good. It's always fun, and when you read tons in your genre it can help you see what works in a story and what doesn't.

When you're ready pull that story out and revise it again (I know I'm ready when I can't stop thinking about the story!), as many times as it takes. Put it away again for a little while if you need to, but when you feel like you can't see anything else that needs to be changed you're ready for the next step, getting critiqued. There are many ways to do this, but the best method I've found is to trade with other writers in the same genre, or at least those that understand the genre. (I know, picture books are kind of a specialty, so I find this point especially important for what I write.) There are lots of ways to find critique partners if you don't have any: writer's chatrooms, local and national organizations, the library...I found my critique group on Verla Kay's Blue Board.

Once you've gotten your critiques, revise accordingly. I know, this can be difficult and the critique/revision process can happen more than once, but it's good to have an open mind and not take offense to anything anyone says. You are all there to help each other. (Yes I know there can be the occasional 'bad critique partner' but I think they are the exception to the rule.) Just keep in mind that it's your story. You don't have to use all of the suggestions. I do take all comments into consideration, and really take notice if more than one person points out a particular spot.

When your critiques and revisions are all done and you cannot see how in the world you can make the story any better it is time to a.) go to a conference and/or workshop and get a professional opinion from an agent or editor. No, this is not a requirement, but it can be pretty eye opening to hear what a professional in the business has to say about a manuscript. OR b.) start querying, which involves writing a query letter(and a synopsis for those of you who write longer books), studying the market(if you haven't already), and submitting to agents and/or editors. I'll do some posts on those topics soon.

Write on people!

Go to: I Wrote a Book, Now What? post #2 -- Market Research

Speaking Spanglish--Why I Chose to Write a Bilingual Picture Book, guest post by Suzanne Santillan

2010-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Santillan's bilingual picture book GRANDMA'S PEAR TREE/EL PERAL DE ABUELA was published by Raven Tree Press this spring. It's a cute story with beautifully sweet illustrations by Atilio Pernisco. Her book has just been nominated for the California Book Award and a Cybil! Since Suzanne is a fellow Raven Tree Press author I've been lucky enough to get to talk with her a bit and she was nice enough to stop by today to tell us about how she came to write GRANDMA'S PEAR TREE...

When I was young, my father thought it was important for his children to speak Spanish. Growing up in Southern California, I can see why he thought this would be a good thing. I remember sitting at our favorite Mexican restaurant while dad taught us the Spanish words for spoon, fork, chips, etc… This information would help me later in life when I became a manager at a restaurant and I was required to communicate with some of the employees. Thanks to my dad I was able to state such valuable phrases as; “No lechuga in the sink” or “Clean the baño, por favor.” Yes, I had truly mastered speaking “Spanglish.”

Years later, I was grateful when I was easily able to speak with my mother-in-law who lapses from English to Spanish in the blink of an eye. I would find myself translating her “Spanglish” for my husband and my children nearly every conversation. I began to see the wisdom of teaching my children basic Spanish vocabulary, if only so that they could understand their grandmother just a little bit better.

Taking inspiration from real life, I wrote a simple story about a boy who gets his ball stuck up in a tree and has to find a way to get it back down and added a few twists and turns. The end result was a humorous story that taught 16 Spanish words and the phrase “Aye Caramba!”

It is my hope that this story will help children in the future so that when they have to communicate they can say in true “Spanglish” style; “Throw el gato into the tree” or “Use la escoba to get your things down.”

You can find out more about Suzanne and her book, GRANDMA'S PEAR TREE, at her website suzannesantillan.com and at her blog, Writing on the Sidewalk. You can also find her on Twitter @suesantillan.

Picture Book Idea Month is Coming!

2010-10-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

In 2009 I participated in Picture Book Idea Month and I learned a lot. I'm excited because it's almost time for Picture Book Idea Month 2010! You can learn more about Picture Book Idea Month at Tara Lazar's blog, and don't forget to pick up this year's monstery badge by James Burks. It's so cute!

Who's in?

New Things

2010-10-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

It seems that with the release of Bedtime Monster lots of new things have come along. Of course, having a book release is all new to me. I've been doing interviews and writing press releases about myself. I've written press releases before, but talking about myself is a bit different than talking about the next library event. I'm planning a book release party. I'm even getting ready to do a small library tour.

But it hasn't only been book things that have been happening, it just seems like having my book released created some sort of waterfall effect of new things. I've learned how to drive a tractor because my husband I are trying our hand at garlic farming. We planted fifty pounds of garlic. We're creating business plans. We're thinking ahead. Hopefully the garlic will grow!

I've become a line judge at volleyball games at school. Now this may not sound like a big deal, but I am not known for my powers of concentration. My mind tends to wander off into thoughts of stories and fantasy worlds if I am doing something boring like watching a line, but I have prevailed! I can concentrate when I have to and make important line calls under pressure. Don't want to disappoint the kids with a bad call.

I went on a job search. I made a resume and everything(never had a need for one before.) There isn't a lot of places to work in my small town but I managed to find one place. I had a real job interview--only the third one in my entire life, then worked in an office. I haven't done that since I moved away from the city and became a mountain girl. There wasn't even a window. The horror! Lucky for me I'm on call. I can live with that.

And just the other day I got a revision request on an article. I don't write much non-fiction for adults so this is exciting. I hope I can change the focus of the article to their satisfaction. I'd better get to work. I'd like to add having an article published to my list of new things someday.

You Sick of Me Yet?

2010-09-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have an interview up at Suzanne Santillan's blog where I talk about my writing process, procrastination, tropical paradise, and also, rollerskating. You can check it out at Writing on the Sidewalk, if you aren't too sick of me yet!

Authors Now!

2010-09-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

My Author Spotlight interview is up at Authors Now! where I answer some great questions about who might identify with Bedtime Monster and how the book can be used in the classroom. Stop by and say hi!

An Eyeball in My Garden!

2010-09-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

My friend, critique partner, and newly retired librarian, Stella Michel has been interviewed about her poetic contributions to AN EYEBALL IN MY GARDEN AND OTHER SPINE TINGLING POEMS over at author Gayle C. Krause's blog, The Storyteller's Scroll. It's a great book, just in time for sharing some Halloween spookery. Halloween books are the best! And you just have to see Stella dressed as a witch. She looks adorable!

My New Invention

2010-09-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's finally quiet around the house and I thought I'd get to work. But what to do? Should I link some stuff up on my website? Probably, I do have a book that just came out. But maybe I should revise a picture book. They're waiting! I know, I really should work on the MG that I've been thinking about all day. No, the YA! Write a query! Do some publisher research? I really need to get some manuscripts out into the world. I know! Write something new. I have some great new ideas I'm dying to flesh out. But do I really need to write something new when I have so many other manuscripts piled up and waiting for my attention? How in the world to decide? I have the solution! Writer's dice. I'm going to put each option on one side of a die and then roll and see what I win. It will be perfect for those indecisive times like, um, now.

The Road to Exhaustion

2010-09-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

BEDTIME MONSTER's release is....TODAY! Yay! Woohoo! Yippee!

What have I done to celebrate my baby being out in the world today? I go up and drove the kids to school, drove home, drove to town again,(all this driving is a big deal, it's a dusty, bumpy half an hour each way!) took my son to work with me, showed my book to my librarian friends, played at the playground, toasted my book release with donuts(that was fun!), then came home and cleaned. You may not know this, but when you have a book coming out your house can easily turn into a disaster area because you're so busy doing important things like answering interview questions and figuring out how local stores are going to get your book. What? I'm an author now, shouldn't I have a housekeeper? I thought that was part of the deal. No? Well, fine. Just. Fine.

Part 2 of my guest post on my road to publication is up on Corey Schwartz's blog. I can tell you the real end right now though, something I didn't know when I wrote that post. My road to publication has lead to exhaustion. There's so much to do! Link this, write that. It's great, but I need a nap or I just might turn into a bedtime monster myself. Now that would be ironic.

If you're looking for Bedtime Monster you can get it at Indiebound, Amazon, and Raven Tree Press, and who knows, maybe you can find it someplace else too, which I, of course, would think was very cool. Okay, I'm getting comma happy. Time to get some ZZZzzzzzzzzzz's.

It's Been a Long Road

2010-09-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a long road on my way to the publication of BEDTIME MONSTER. The book actually comes out in three days, so I guess it's safe to say that the road to publication part has finally come to an end on this project while the path of promotion seems to be something that goes on indefinitely. This hit me this summer when I saw Nina Laden at the library and she'd brought along all of her books, including the first she'd ever published, THE NIGHT I FOLLOWED THE DOG. Guess which one my little guy chose? Yup, 16 years and the book is still selling.

Corey Schwartz actually asked me a while back if I would write about my road so she could share it on her blog. I finally was able to do this since I think it's safe to say that I've officially reached the end. My story was so long that she's split the post into two parts. Since when did I get so long-winded!?! You can read part one here on Corey's blog, Thing 1 and Thing 2, if you're interested.

How Many Licks Does It Take...

2010-09-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Now that's puzzling. You know no one can ever wait and not bite the tootsie pop. I've tried. you've tried. WE'VE ALL TRIED OKAY!!! Here's what I really want to know, how many people does it take to deliver a box of books to a waiting author on a mountaintop?

UPS called and left a message (there's no phone service here) because their driver couldn't find my house. My husband got the message on the computer (that's where we get our phone messages. We can get internet but not phone. Weird, I know.) I walked up to our phone spot and called UPS. I told the lady who I was. She went and looked for the package. Another lady came on and asked me what I wanted so I told her, then she said she already knew the package wasn't there. WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE?!<--Okay, I didn't yell that or even say it, it just felt good to get that off my chest. Anyhow, she asks for directions to my house. I tell her I can't give her directions because it's too hard as there aren't any road signs and that she can just have the driver drop the package off at the library. I email my librarian. She emails me. The package arrives. She thinks about opening it because she's so excited but resists. My husband and kids pick up the package and deliver it to me. We open it. Yay!

I received my copies of Bedtime Monster two days after Bonnie Adamson did(she's the illustrator. You know that, right?) Everything seems to take longer and require more effort on a mountain. How many people did it take to get my copies of Bedtime Monster delivered? The world may never know, but it sure is exciting to finally have them!

Letting Go

2010-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

My little guy started school today and I'm sitting here worrying about him. I'm not exactly sure why. He ran right out to the playground this morning, excited to get out there and play. When the whistle blew I told him that meant he needed to go line up, so he grabbed his backpack and ran over to get in line. There was no tears. No hug. He didn't even say good bye. I think it's safe to say that he's going to be fine.

Me on the other hand, I feel a little like the poor little boy in his class that was crying and didn't want to let go of his mom. Letting go is hard, but I'm glad that my guy can be confident enough to go out and try something new without me.

I'm sitting here at the library right down the street... just in case he needs me. Hopefully I can manage to ignore my worries and get some writing done.

The Deep Dark Depths of my Writing Life

2010-08-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

My friend and critque partner Stephanie Theban asked me some tough, personal questions about my writing life on her blog: Stories. Read'em. Write'em. She really got me thinking about things I'd never even realized, like how life on the mountain has prepared me for the publishing world. I had no idea!

The Unread - Interview with Dana Carey

2010-08-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Dana Carey is an aspiring children's book writer and illustrator living in France. She's an active SCBWI member, goes to Paris for vacation, and plays badminton! I'm so happy to have met her via Twitter. I just know if we lived closer we'd totally hang out and try to kick each others butts in badminton while discussing writing and subbing and all those good things kidlit writers love to talk about. It would be awesome! She may be too far away for that, but I'm happy to have connected with her, and I couldn't resist asking her to be the next victim of The Unread so I could learn more about her...

How long have you been writing and illustrating for children? What made you decide to do so?

I started dipping my toe in around 8 years ago but I didn't have any clear goals until about 5 years ago. I've always been interested in art and books; these are constants in my life. I was a graphic designer then (after I moved to France and had a child) I began teaching English as a second language. And like so many people, while reading tons of books with my daughter, I became more and more fascinated by kids' books. So I feel like everything in my life sort of converged and here I am.

©Dana Carey

What types of stories do you like to create?

Basically, I'm up for making all kinds of picture books: character-based or concept books, serious or irreverent.

Where do you find inspiration?

Memories. I remember a lot from my childhood so I start there but the story usually turns out quite differently from the initial memory. But stories come from other sources too. For example, when I did Picture Book Idea Month I took cues from Tara Lazar and her guest bloggers; they suggested lots of things to spark ideas such as listening to music which worked for me.

Do you hope to create your own books entirely or would you like to write and illustrate for others as well?

I'd always consider every opportunity that came my way.

Do you feel you have an illustration style, or is it still developing?

Style is such a difficult question. I started out painting and that style developed very quickly and very organically. When I started illustrating my own stories I felt the need to adapt how I paint to the particular story so "having a style" that I always have to adhere to might be detrimental to the work I want to do. There's a lot said online about style and portfolios. I've spent time worrying about developing a style for kids' books and working up a general portfolio. But I've decided to concentrate on writing and making my dummy books. It's a struggle at times but I think I'm getting somewhere.

©Dana Carey

You’re an active member of SCBWI France. How has participating in SCBWI helped you?

SCBWI has helped enormously. I've learned so much there. In fact when I was "dipping my toe in" I went to a talk organized by SCBWI France at the American Library. Writer/illustrator Doug Cushman was presenting his work and I thought the whole evening, his presentation and the group was so great that I kept attending their events then signed up as a member. Now I'm the Assistant Regional Advisor. I've learned about the industry and how it works by attending events (and taking lots of notes) but volunteering has helped me to get to know the group. Contact with people who care about the same things you care about is wonderful.

What’s the best piece of knowledge you’ve learned about the children’s publishing industry so far?

That there are rules. Some that you can't ever break, some that you can't break until you've earned the privilege.

Do you belong to a critique group? How has it helped you? If you don’t: How do you do it without one?

I live in northwestern France, far from a sizable anglophone community so unfortunately face-to-face crit groups are hard to come by. I've tried online groups twice and they always fell apart; I think it's easier for people to shrug off responsibilty when they don't have to face the group. But I know there are groups out there that function very well online so I haven't given up hope. When I was in my first group, I realized how much I needed to learn so when it ended I took a one-month intensive picture book writing class with Anastasia Suen online. This helped me progress in my writing and taught me so much about the publishing industry. Now I make up for the lack of a crit group with individual reviews at SCBWI.

©Dana Carey

I’ve read about writer’s concerns with subbing overseas. Do you find that it creates obstacles when sending out submissions?

I think the industry is global so I hesitate to say there are obstacles. A lot happens in email. The only thing is sending out dummy books; if I want them back I need stamps for an SASE from the country I'm sending to. I've had interesting conversations with postal workers in England while trying to buy stamps online from outside the UK (you can't but you can buy stamps from their stamp collecting department!)

If you could live in any book, which one would it be and why?

"The Hello, Goodbye Window" by Norton Juster and Chris Raschka. I love this book and I think living with Nanna and Poppy in that big kitchen would be heaven. There's stuff in the drawers, you can color at the big table and eat oatmeal with bananas and raisins. This is one of those books where the words and the pictures stand alone and come together perfectly.

Want to hear more from Dana? You can find her at her blog, UP IN THE ATTIC LATELY, where she promises she'll be posting more come September. You can also connect with her on Twitter where she's @DanaFR.

Why I Blog

2010-08-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

I never really thought that deeply about the reasons that I blog. It's just become something that I do when I get a chance. Sally Murphy gave me the opportunity to think about why I blog and she's just posted my first online interview ever! I'm her featured blogger for Featured Blogger Friday. I mention in the interview that I used to freak out that people would read my writing. I am trying not to freak out about having an interview online. There was a time when I would have gone and hidden under a rock. Today when I saw it, my face didn't even turn red. Yes, that happens when I read things about myself online from time to time. Okay, it used to happen. A lot. I think I just may be getting to be outgoing.

What My Husband Thinks a Query Letter Should Say

2010-08-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the documents on my computer today and found this. It's the opening paragraph to a query letter that my husband wrote for me after I went to a conference. It amuses me, so I thought I'd share it. Here it is in all it's glory:

Two blondes walk into a bar. The bartender says, “what can I get you two ladies?” The first blonde looks at her companion and says “I’ll have what she’s having.” A look of desperation creeps across the second blonde's face. She says, “my name is Heather Ayris Burnell, the aforementioned blondes were just to get your attention, I actually write children’s books and would like you to represent me, as my agent. Unfortunately, I was too shy to talk to you at the SCBWI WWA conference."

Then I'm supposed to tell the agent about my book. No, I didn't use this fabulous opening paragraph so kindly written just for me. I went with my nice, normal-type query letter. I still managed to get an invitation to send more work. Go figure.

Microclimates

2010-08-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

One evening not too long ago I was home writing while my family was out fishing. A crazy-huge storm burst in. It rained so hard that I was soaked the second I walked outside. I stood in water up to my ankles in the yard. It hailed too. Bolts of lightening cracked through the sky like a giant whip.

Here I was at the top of my mountain worrying about my family, who was at the bottom of the mountain at the river. (Flash flood anyone?) It takes around 45 minutes to drive to the river even though it is only a few miles away as the crow flies. So, I'm trying not to worry. The kids are with their Dad, they're fine, I tell myself over and over. They got out of there when it started to rain.

They didn't, but they're perfectly fine. Why? Because it barely sprinkled--a couple of miles away. Microclimates. Harsh weather right here on top of the mountain. Warm and pleasant at the bottom.

Of course, as pretty much everything in life, it makes me think of publishing. (No, I'm not obsessed or anything.) There are tons of publishing houses. They all publish books. From off in the distance they look a lot alike. Seems the weather should be about the same, they're all close enough. Right? No way!

Even if two publishers publish the same kind of book, say picture books, they may be looking for completely different types of stories. Don't send your edgy story with human characters to a publisher who only does stories about animals. Find a publisher who likes edgy picture books. Don't send your 250 word story to a publisher who wants picture books that come in around 1000 words. (Yes, there are still some of those out there.) No matter what type of book you are writing, you need to do research on who to send your manuscript to. It may be raining literary young adult novels at the top of one mountain while it sprinkles educational non-fiction for grades 4-12 at another.

How do you do this? You're on the internet right now, aren't you? Find the websites of the publishers who interest you. Look at the books on their list. Read about the company. Find their submission guidelines and go over them. Find books similar to yours. Look up those publishers. Research, research, research. Then send out your well-targeted manuscript and hope for that storm of good news to roll in!

Just Keep Trying

2010-07-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

I got home from work at the library the other day and found my husband outside trying to bend a bumper with his bare hands so he could get the crosspiece back into place. He's restoring a '67 Volkswagen Bus and had taken apart the bumper to paint it. Yes, I'm sure he could have gone and purchased the correct tools, but bother! He wanted to get it done right that moment. Well, right now turned into an hour or so of pulling and tugging and pushing. And who got talked into helping? Me, of course.

After helping him for what seemed like forever (I have a short attention span for things that involve trying to force pieces of metal into places they don't want to go) I said something about how it wasn't going to work. But he was determined. He knew what needed to be done. He knew he could do it. "We just needed to keep trying," he insisted. So we kept pushing and pulling and bending, and all of a sudden we got it, and it fell into place so easily and (seemingly) quickly.

It was a simple yet brilliant reminder for writing life. Write, revise, repeat. Query. Submit. Know what needs to be done. Work hard to gain the knowledge. You can do this. Just keep trying. All of a sudden things will fall into place.

Publisher's Weekly!

2010-07-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! BEDTIME MONSTER got a mention in Publisher's Weekly's Silly Salutations of the Season. The category: Most Monstrous use of "Scared Straight" techniques. I am happy to share the category with MONSTERS EAT WHINY CHILDREN by Bruce Eric Kaplan. Sounds like a fun book(unless you're one of the whiny children maybe?) I am definitely going to have to check it out and I'm adding it to my monster book list.

Here's a link to the article. The monster category is at the end. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/43868-silly-salutations-of-the-season.html

Yippee!!!

Two Sales and Two Agents

2010-07-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

No, they're not my sales or agents, but I couldn't be more excited! Three of the great people that let me interview them for The Unread have news. Big news!

Ame Dyckman was my first Unread interviewee who had an agent. She is also the first one who sold a book! Her debut picture book BOY AND BOT will be released spring 2012 from Alfred A. Knopf & Crown BFYR. I can't wait to see it!

The bold and powerful ruler of #mikesempire, the great Mike Jung has signed with a fabulous agent, (I'm sure his mind control powers had nothing to do with it) Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. I will not be surprised if we hear of his first book sale very soon. He has also started a most excellent blog. Righteous!

Not only did Tara Lazar obtain an agent. (also Ammi-Joan. Wait, that makes it one agent, two people. Just ignore my post title.) Tara's debut picture book, THE MONSTORE is coming Summer 2012 from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. A monster book! I am so excited!

Hip hip hooray! Three cheers for three fabulous kidlit writers!

I know, I haven't posted any Unread interviews in a while, but take heart, I have a new one lined up and we'll get it done as soon as we can take a break from our summer fun. See, she's hanging out in Paris. Me, well, I've been spending a lot of time at the lake. Glamorous, I know. There haven't been too many dead fish on the shore lately, and the lake weed is pretty much collecting in one corner now, so there's lots free space for swimming while I contemplate who will be the next victim of...The Unread.

It's On!

2010-07-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

The wind on the mountain has finally died down enough to set up the badminton net. If you've been reading my blog for a while you know what that means--THE BADMINTON CHALLENGE!

Yes, it's all very fascinating that I, a total non-sports type person who randomly trips over her own feet, played badminton in high school. Not only that, but I managed to smash my way to being the top player on the team often enough. (Yes, smash, that is a badminton term. Get with it people!)

This badminton challenge is between me and my husband. We play however many games we can fit into the summer. And last year *gasp* he won. Horrifying, I know. It's funny, when I play, my super secret competitive nature busts out and I play to win. But apparently that wasn't enough this year. Oh no. You know what he said? You aren't going to beat me ever again now that you're middle-aged.

Middle-aged? MIDDLE-AGED! Can you believe it? The nerve of that guy. Just because he's ever so slightly younger. I am so not even close to middle-aged. It wasn't too long ago that I actually got carded. So there.

Yeah, he knows how to get me going, and you know what? I kicked his patootie. That's right. Power to the old people baby!

WriteOnCon!

2010-07-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Incase you haven't heard, there's a free conference for kidlit writers coming up in August! That's right, FREE. WriteOnCon is getting together a bunch of great writing professionals(check out the agents and editors page!) and hosting a conference... online. No travel or conference expenses, and you don't even have to change out of your jammies. I just registered. How about you?

Launch Party Prep

2010-06-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for my book launch party. I know it's happening at the library. I know I'm going to read my book and have food and drinks. I want to have monster masks for the kids to make or maybe have a monster art show where kids make their own monsters from random art supplies and they hang them up and get a ribbon that says "monstrously good".

I, of course, have to find a place to get such ribbons. And that's where my trouble begins. I have all these ideas but I scarcely know where to start. I want some really cool monster print pajamas and a big green tail to wear to my launch party, but where do I find such things? I see some monster attire for kids, but I think I'm going to need some specialty stuff. After all, I could be touring some more libraries in these jammies! I wish I was more crafty and could sew myself some pajamas and a tail. The closest shopping mecca is hours from here and I doubt there are the kind of monstery things I need. I know--there's online, obviously. But I don't seem to be finding what I need. Guess I'd better get to work.

At least I know that I'm going to be making a monster cake. I'm certainly looking forward to that! Maybe I should go practice making one now.

Reading Practice

2010-06-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've decided that since my book is coming out soon, I'd better practice reading to kids. I mean, I know how to read to kids, I do it every day. But reading to large groups is different. There are more eyes that need to see the pictures, more mouths asking questions, more wiggling bodies, more minds to keep entertained.

Every year I help behind the scenes with the Summer Reading Program at the library, but this year I'm stepping it up. This year I'm doing the reading. I've done two readings so far to around 40 kids and 20 adults each time. I was surprised by the volume I was able to raise my reading voice to so that everyone could hear. I did not die when I got up in front of everybody. Actually, I wasn't even nervous. Pretty good for a girl who would rather not get a dipolma than take the required public speaking class. I'm still a little befuddled on what to do when all the kids want to talk at once. And what to do when the parents are louder than the kids, making it hard to hear the story. But, I'll get the hang of it.(Advice is welcome!)

So now, I've been asked to write a proposal for a library tour. I'm going to have to think of lots of fun things to do. It's one thing for people to be coming to the Summer Reading Program for the program. It's a whole other thing for people to be coming to see me. Hopefully I can figure out a library tour that will be a monstrously good time for all and build on the confidence I've attained from my summer's worth of reading practice.

Galleys!

2010-06-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

After waiting all day and thinking they weren't coming, they're here! I have my galleys for Bedtime Monster!

Our brave and trusty UPS man actually brought them to my house. It was our very first UPS delivery here. Usually we pick up our packages in town at the local mailing place. But the UPS man told me to just have stuff shipped to my house. They'll deliver anywhere, even on dirt roads with no street signs where their trucks scrape through the trees.

So, he braved the mud and delivered, and it was even after five when I seriously thought he had given up on finding me.

I was out walking the dog when the big brown truck popped up over the top of my driveway (it's really steep). I got to ride in the truck to my house. *Bonus* Ha ha. My son loved going into the UPS truck when he was about three. Every time we'd see it he'd go talk to the UPS man and get to go in and stomp around the back of the truck.

But I digress. My proofs are here!
I know I look serious:

But inside I feel like this:

(Yes, that's flower confetti.)

Just Make it a Classic

2010-06-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

When you buy something do you hope it will last forever? I do. The new lawn mower. The expensive car. Even the shoes I love.

Not much stays as beautiful as it was when it was new. It wears out and breaks down. But a picture book, that's something different. If you can manage to write a classic it will be fresh and new to every generation that reads it. People will come back to it to read it to their kids and grandkids, give it as gifts, share it with friends.

Just write a classic. Is that too much to ask? Sure, but as writers it's something we strive for. No harm in aiming high.

Bedtime Monster News!

2010-05-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Raven Tree Press has put up the media kit and activity sheets for Bedtime Monster! There's an interview with me in which I give too much information--does everyone really need to know that I write in bed? What was I thinking! The activity sheets include a game of Hang Monster and a super cute coloring sheet from the book, which is illustrated by Bonnie Adamson. Exciting stuff. I feel so official now. If you want to check them out you can download them at the Raven Tree Press website.

Obviously

2010-05-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been a bad blogger lately. Truth be told, John Lechner held up this blog last month and if it wasn't for him there wouldn't have been much of anything going on. I had big plans for when John was here. I was going to post all sorts of things about writing and querying and such, but sometimes life gets in the way.

So here I am, half way into the month of May and I've got nothing. No new Illustrator of the Month, no Unread interview lined up. Apparantly I need a break. I've been hesitant to say anything here because, what if I suddenly want to post something? Maybe I'll post this and then become super blogger woman(okay, that's highly doubtful.) I have lots of things to catch up on, in my writing life and in my regular life, and I suppose I need to focus on that. I've been paying for webhosting for at least 6 months now and have yet to create a website, and most importantly(as far as writing goes) I want to make a big push to get my material out into the towering slush piles gracing editor's and agent's desks. I mean, I'm not going to sell a thing if I don't get anything out there!

So yeah, I'll still be around, posting sometimes, twittering too much, and maybe facebooking every so often. I think I'm going to let the interviews go for a couple months until I can get back into the swing of things, or for as long as I can stand it. I love asking writers and illustrators about what they do!

Tips On Writing & Drawing Comics for Kids

2010-05-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

I've been stoked to feature John Lechner as my Illustrator of the Month for April. John is a fabulous illustrator, writer, animator, and designer with tons of experience and expertise. To wrap up his frolic on my blog, John is sharing some tips on writing and drawing comics for kids, something he knows a lot about. John has two comic style books for kids published by Candlewick Press, Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest, and Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril. He also posts an ongoing Sticky Burr web comic, which is lots of fun.

Tips On Writing & Drawing Comics for Kids
by John Lechner

All comic artists have their own ways of working and theories about comics. I'm going to share some of my own thoughts and ideas, drawn from my own experience.

To write successfully for children, you need to apply all the rules of good writing, but even more so. The same applies to comics. When you write and draw comics for children, you need to strive for the most clear, well-scripted, well-paced and dynamic story you can create. I don't mean that comics for kids should be constrained or conventional, only that they should be good.

Comics and picture books have a lot in common, they both use words and pictures to tell a story, and the words and pictures usually share the load. The main difference is that in comics, the story is depicted in real time -- that is, the time it takes to read one page is roughly the time it would take for the scene to actually occur. The drama plays out in front of you like a movie or play. This requires many images, so the page is divided up into panels which are read in sequence; hence the term "sequential art".

Because of this unique quality, not all stories lend themselves to comics, just as not all stories make good picture books, or poems, or films. It helps if the story is not too wordy and has some “visual drama” -- that is, scenes that are especially dramatic when you see them played out in front of you. A comic about people having conversations is harder to pull off, though these can work well for older readers if the dialog is good. For younger children, visual action and humor that take advantage of the "real time" nature of comics can be very effective. (For instance, showing cause and effect, or a progression of events.)

Speech balloons are another key ingredient of comics. They don't merely show what is being said, they control the flow and pacing of a page as well. Their placement is just as important (if not more) than that of the images and panels on the page. When reading a page of comics, the eyes should be able to follow a simple and logical path from one balloon to another. If the order is difficult to decipher, it slows down the reader and brings them out of the story. When drawing your comic pages, if you find that your word balloons don't follow a logical path, you may need to change the artwork. And if you find you have so many words that you don't have room for the characters, you may need to trim.

So what distinguishes a comic for kids, as opposed to a comic for older teens or adults? Partly content, and partly simplicity of form and layout, just as a picture book or early reader uses well-spaced text and easy-to-follow pages. Believe it or not, simplicity is even harder to achieve with comics, because you have to convey so much information visually, and perhaps this is why comics for young readers are so hard to pull off.

And just as traditional books often bend the rules and make readers stretch, so can comics as long as you don’t lose your reader in the process. Every word, panel and line should contribute towards telling the story, there’s no room for anything superfluous in comics. It’s an amazing and versatile medium that I’m still learning about myself, and hope to be exploring for a long time to come.

A huge THANK YOU to John for taking the time to share his work here throughout the month. You can read more from John at his Illustrator of the Month interview and read his post on Creating a World in a Picture Book. Plus, you can learn all sorts of things about John and his work at his website http://www.johnlechner.com/
I'm certain we'll be seeing lots of great things from John. I can't wait.

The Road

2010-04-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

When you live on a dirt road, you tend to drive slowly. Dirt isn't the best surface and when there's only room for one car on the road half the time it's good to be careful. I can't even tell you how many times I've come around a corner and about had my heart jump out of my chest because there's a big 'ole car heading straight for me on my side of the road. Today I came across this big grader. The county grades the road twice a year. Once in spring and once right before hunting season so the hunters will have a nice smooth driving experience while they're pointing their shotguns out their car windows. (Okay, I don't like hunting season if you can't tell. They should at least go walk to hunt for their kill. I mean, come on. I think car hunting is illegal anyway, but I digress.)

When they grade the road they basically scrape off the top of the road and then smooth it back on. Sounds silly, and it kind of is, but it definitely takes out the washboardy bumps and makes my neck a little less sore for a while. It takes about a week for the road grading to be completed in which time I have to drive the hump.

Being a one and a half lane road there isn't always enough room for the car to fit on the side of the dirt hump the grader makes. It's lovely when the pile in the middle is so high that it scrapes against the bottom of the car. It gets really exciting when there's a boulder. And so go the days on the mountain. Pretty exciting, huh.

A Different Way to Dummy a Picture Book

2010-04-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

When writing a picture book it's good to dummy it up to see if there are enough unique scenes and good page turns. I've done it lots of times, torn a bunch of pieces of paper up into squares, stapled them together into a little book, cut and pasted my words onto the pages. It's fun and informative, but can time more time than I have, so I've come up with a different way to "dummy" my books.

Needing to write down a story real quick one day, and having ideas of where I wanted the art and page turns to be, I decided to get a few pieces of blank paper. I drew 32 squares. Number one by itself, number two and three together, and so on until the last page, 32, as a single square.(This is because 32 pages is the standard for picture books and the first and last page generally stand alone.) Then I wrote my story in the boxes.

Yes, I had to write small, but it fit just fine. I used pencil so I could move text around. I drew little sketches of the artwork I saw in my mind. No, I would not send it out with artwork, I'm not that good. But I can see the possibilities. I can see my words as a book, as a whole, on just a couple of pages. I can see where the writing and imagery are good and where the story needs to be improved.

It's nothing fancy, but it works. If you have even less time(as seems to happen periodically in life!), you can number your words according to page number. But I think this works better, and really doesn't take any extra time. Drawing the squares and doodles gives you something to do while you think.

If you have a different sort of way to dummy picture books I'd love to hear about it!

Creating a world in a picture book

2010-04-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

by John Lechner

How does an illustrator create a world? There are many ways to do this, and every illustrator has their own individual tricks and techniques. Here are a few of the methods I use to create a world in my picture books.

1. Establishing Shot
This is a term often used in filmmaking, but pertains to books as well, and helps create context for your story. In my book A Froggy Fable, the setting and the frog's place in it was very important to the story, so I wanted to establish it early. You don't always need to do this at the beginning of the book, as long as it comes at a point when it's important to the story in order to give continuity to the world.

2. Time of Day/Year
When does your story take place? A specific time of day or season of the year can really help make a world come together. My book The Clever Stick takes place in the springtime. My first Sticky Burr book takes place in the summer and the second one in the autumn, and I tried to draw each scene accordingly.

3. Different Perspectives
Different viewpoints – high/low/near/far – not only add variety to scenes, but allow the viewer to see more of your world, and can heighten the drama. Looking down from above, up from below, or from the viewpoint of your main character, can completely change the flavor of your story. But don't go crazy, try to use perspective where it helps the story.

4. Atmosphere
By atmosphere I mean both the physical and the psychological one – are you depicting a happy scene or a scary one? Giving the viewer an emotional reaction to a scene draws them in and makes them a part of it. In this image from Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril, I used a limited palette and jagged lines to enhance the mood.

5. Continuity
It's important to make your world and your characters look consistent from page to page. But consistency of style is often even more important than consistency of character. If the overall style of your drawings is consistent from page to page, your world will feel like it all fits together. Style is not easy to develop, and is best when it comes naturally. I find when I focus on the story and climb inside of it, the style follows on its own.

Those are just some of the ways an illustrator can create a tangible and believable world in a picture book. Can you think of others? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

You can learn more about author/illustrator John Lechner at his Illustrator of the Month interview and on his website www.johnlechner.com

Unpredictable

2010-04-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Life is unpredictable. Yes, we all know that but I've really been experiencing it lately. The sheer amount of weird things happening in my life is bordering on comical. And really, when life seems bad what can you do but laugh and be thankful that things aren't worse?

Sometimes such random things can happen. Things you would never dream of and certainly not expect or watch out for. It, of course, makes me think of writing. In good books unexpected and seemingly random things can happen, but they work in the context of the story to help the character grow. And we're never done growing. There's always more stories to tell.

If things can get worse, they certainly can get better. Here's to positivity! And perhaps a few good book ideas.

Illustrator of the Month--John Lechner

2010-04-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

This month I'm celebrating John Lechner! He's here today to share some insights about being an author/illustrator, and he knows what he's talking about. John is a multitalented illustrator, author, animator, designer, puppeteer, and musician. He has four books to his credit so far, A FROGGY FABLE, THE CLEVER STICK, STICKY BURR: ADVENTURES IN BURRWOOD FOREST, and STICKY BURR: THE PRICKLY PERIL all published by Candlewick Press, as well as loads of great interactive material. Currently John is the art director at Peter H. Reynolds' children's media company, Fablevision. I'm very happy to feature John as April's Illustrator of the Month.

I assume people with great artistic talent always had it. Were you always good at drawing, even as a kid? When did you know you wanted to create children’s books?

I’ve always loved to draw, and I was always encouraged as a child. I wrote and illustrated my first book in first grade, about explorers who fall into the ocean and escape from a whale. I always loved books and wanted to be an illustrator like those I admired (Maurice Sendak, N.C. Wyeth, Bill Peet, Arthur Rackham.) I studied art and creative writing in college, but didn’t really find my voice until much later.

How did you develop your illustration style?

It just developed naturally over the years, it’s an odd mixture of naturalistic watercolors and simple line drawings. As I became more busy through the years, I drew faster and that helped to free up my style. I think it also comes from the things you draw, and since my stories often involve animals or nature, that also influences my style. I don’t like drawing buildings, I’m more at home in the forest.

When both writing and illustrating a book, which comes first for you, the story or the art?

The words usually come first. I might draw a quick sketch to set the scene in my mind, but I usually write out the story as it comes into my head. When I get a story idea, I don’t think about whether it might be a book, I just write the story and see where it goes. Some ideas don’t go anywhere, but sometimes they end up better than you thought. If I think a story has potential, I might create a web version to try it out. That’s how A Froggy Fable and The Clever Stick got started.

When submitting a book as the author/illustrator, do you complete the illustrations before submitting or do you submit a dummy?

I usually submit a rough sketch dummy along with the typed manuscript. A picture book typically evolves a lot from the time it is accepted until the time you do the final illustrations. The publisher will want to consult with you on the text, the size of the book, the number of pages, and the layout. So illustrating the entire book beforehand is not practical.

The purpose of the sketch dummy is to convey your vision of the book, and give the publisher a rough idea of how it might read. But when your book is accepted by a publisher, their designer will likely make a new dummy with suggestions for making the layout stronger, just as your editor will make suggestions for strengthening the text. There is a lot of discussion and revision before the final layouts are ready and you can start the final illustrations.

Your STICKY BURR books are part picture book, part comic book. What made you decide to go that route for these stories?

I originally envisioned the burrs as comic characters, because I wanted the stories to have a lot of action and visual humor. I started doing the Sticky Burr web comic over ten years ago, which has evolved into the current version you see today. I envisioned the books as a combination of a comic and a picture book because I wanted them to be a little different. By inserting pages of Sticky Burr’s (or Scurvy Burr’s) journal throughout the comics, it not only allowed me to elaborate on the characters and their world, but it also provided a nice break in the story, making it easier to suggest the passing of time or changing of location, which otherwise would have been harder in such a short comic. I added the map and other things to help create an entire world for these characters.

I have to ask. Why a burr?

When I was young, my brothers and sisters and I would spend a lot of time in our backyard. It had squirrels, birds, dragonflies, grasshoppers -- a bit like Burrwood Forest. We also had bushes that grew burrs on them, and we always called them sticky burrs. It wasn’t until I was an adult, and thinking back to those years, that I thought the burrs would be great characters. I started writing stories about them, and they evolved into the world you see today.

Do you think it’s easier as both the author and illustrator of a book to get your story across?

Personally, I enjoy having control over the story and illustrations, because I tend to think of them together. I visualize the images in my head as I write. Though there are also advantages to working with someone else, as they often think of ideas that you didn’t.

You also create films and interactive games. Does this take a whole different skill set or does it complement your book writing and illustration work?

Like books, films and interactive games also involve storytelling with images, but it’s really a different way of thinking. You’re thinking in real time, with real pacing. The storytelling techniques are different too. That’s why picture books that use still images from a film usually fall flat, because those images weren’t meant to stand alone, they were meant to be shown in connection with a thousand other images. So as an artist it can be challenging to shift from printed books to films and interactive stories, as you have to shift your brain into another way of thinking. But they all can inspire and influence each other.

Continuity of the looks of the character is so important. How do you achieve this page after page?

Continuity is very difficult, it takes a lot of erasing and comparing images side by side. However, you also don’t want to be too tied down to making your characters perfect, you also want them to be alive. Some of my favorite illustrators hardly have any continuity, yet they have so much life and energy in their art (Ludwig Bemelmans is a perfect example.) Continuity of style is often more important than continuity of specific characters. As long as the world you create is consistent throughout, the characters will appear more consistent.

If you use an additional illustrated story line in a book, do you decide on it purposefully or does it grow organically?

It’s different with every book, but usually it happens in the illustration stage. For instance, in Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril, there are two burrs that both want to juggle, and one of them steals the juggling balls from the other. In the final page, they are seen juggling together. This is totally unrelated to the main storyline, yet it helps reinforce the malcontent of the burrs early on, and the camaraderie they feel at the end.

What advice would you give to aspiring author/illustrators trying to break into the market today?

It’s a very crowded field, but it’s also an evolving one because of new media and markets. Networking is one of the best ways to get connected with people in the field and get seen by an editor or art director. SCBWI conferences are great, and there are so many writer conferences and comic conferences where you can meet people and learn from them. Keep an eye out for new small publishers, which are often more receptive to new authors. Don’t be afraid to try new things, such as ebooks or web comics. And never stop working and improving your art, try to work twice as hard as everyone else.

Want to tell us about what you’re working on right now?

I’m finishing up my first novel, which I hope will find its way to publication. I’m also drawing a weekly web comic about Sticky Burr and his continuing adventures. I also have a blog about art and nature called The Untended Garden, where I write about how artists and writers are influenced by nature.

I’ve also been working on an interactive story, something that combines my interest in books, animation and interactive games. It’s a story without words, where the user advances the action, following a character as he journeys through a mysterious and deserted world. Although it’s interactive, it’s still a fairly linear story, with a beginning, middle and end. I’ve always been interested in the possibilities of interactive storytelling, and trying to push the boundaries of what can be done. I hope to unveil the project this spring.

You can learn more about John and see tons of his work at his website, http://www.johnlechner.com/ And check back this month for more from John!

The Unread - Interview with Marci Dunn

2010-03-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Marci Dunn is a writer in the heart of the Bluegrass State. She's a single mom to an amazing nine year old artist. (His work is featured as her Twitter background.) She loves to travel. Her favorite city is New Orleans for its historical beauty. Her favorite moment (outside anything to do with her son) was sitting at Glacier Point, in Yosemite, looking out at Half Dome where she realized how incredibly small we really are and how beautiful the world we live in is. I met Marci on Twitter, where we tend to hang out just a little too much I dare say. I wanted to know more about her writing so I asked her to be this month's victim for the Unread.

When did you start writing and why in the world would you want to do such a thing?

I started seriously putting words on paper about four years ago and I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. It is so freeing to get the stories out of my head and stored somewhere else. You might say I have an over-active imagination.

How do you make the time to write? Don’t you have other things to do?

I write whenever I have a spare second: my son’s tutoring lessons, football practice, soccer practice, basketball practice…you get the picture. Right now I get some of my best stuff done at night after he goes to bed.

Since completing my first NaNoWriMo last November, I’ve been training myself to write at home, butt firmly planed in chair. In the past I’ve had to leave my house to write, too many distractions at home. But if NaNo taught me anything it was that I can write at home. I can block out distractions or at least learn to move through them.

What sorts of stories do you write?

I write YA Fantasy. I’ve been making up stories in my head ever since I first saw PETER PAN as a child. I love creating new worlds totally different than the normal hum drum one I live in. I guess you could say I love the escapism… it is very freeing.

Do you do much submitting?

I’ve not submitted anything yet. I hope to finish revisions on my current WIP by summer so that I can begin the submitting process. The thought of writing a query letter makes me break out in hives. Summarizing 75K words on one page is very overwhelming to me.

There’s little glory for unpublished writers. What keeps you going?

I was talking with friend about this just last night. Yes there may be little glory for most, but if I could spend the rest of my life creating my art and possibly making others happy by sharing it with them then that is all the glory I need. I make very little money now so there is big deal there.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

It is mine and mine alone. I love the fact that I create something that was not there before. I love watching my characters come to life. They seem so real to me... they are real to me. I can remember, I cried when I finished my WIP. It was as if I took the journey with them. I shared their joy, their sadness, their exhaustion. I was so happy to see them to the end of their journey.

What are your writing goals and what have you done to further them?

My first “big girl goal” was to finish my current WIP, and I have done that. I now am suffering through revisions. They are nowhere near as fun as the initial writing process, but necessary. I’ve got to get a thicker skin to handle the criticism needed to make my story better. I’m getting better… I realize it is all part of the process.

Do you have any favorite writing websites?

I would have to say Twitter is my favorite. I say this because through Twitter I am introduced to so much knowledge. I have learned so much in the last nine months about the publishing industry. There are so many helpful people.

Care to tell us a bit about what you’re working on now?

My current project is a four part YA Fantasy called the CISTINE MEDALLION. The first book is THE GREAT PROPHECY. It is a total adventure story set in my little world of Armor. Three teens run for their lives and attempt to answer the age old question of destiny vs. choice.

How far would you go to get your book published?

I’m not sure how to answer this. I know being a writer is what I’m meant to do…nothing else has ever felt this right.

(Marci! You're just supposed to say you'll eat raw fish guts or would jump off a diving board into a pool of cheese whiz or something like that. ;-)

And here’s what I really want to know, if you could live in any book which one would it be and why?

Oh I’m going to get mushy here… Pride & Prejudice. I would so be Elizabeth Bennet in a heartbeat.

You can connect with Marci on Twitter where she's MRDunn12. She also has a blog she shows little love to at marcidunn.wordpress.com But hey, writing has to come first!

Picture Perfection

2010-03-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me the other night as I opened up Otto Grows Down, illustrated by Scott Magoon and written by Michael Sussman, to read it for the hundredth time or so, that the opening illustration is perfect. The first illustration is on the endpapers so the instant you open the book, there is baby Anna, bigger than life-size, mouth wide open, wailing.

When that picture stares you in the face, you can feel it. The way Otto feels about his baby sister. She's loud and annoying and taking over everything. It sets up the book perfectly. It gets you ready to symphathize with Otto and the problem of his baby sister being born. It's picture perfection.

It's Been a While

2010-03-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, it's been a while since I blogged. So what have I been up to?

I got my submission in for the SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant. It took me a while to get my synopsis to a point where I was happy with it, but I'm glad I finally got it done. Of course, I ran out of ink and had to make the hour-and-a-half trip to go get some and I saved mailing it off until the last minute, but it got there on time and that's what matters.

I've been planning projects and ordering books for the Summer Reading Program at the library. The theme this year is Make A Splash! Read! so there are all sorts of fun water activities we can do. I really want to add in some clean water education as our town is a lake town with a huge, popular lake and lots of rivers. I also want to make little terrariums. I LOVED doing that when I was a kid. Lots to figure out still. Tomorrow I get to go to the Summer Reading Program training they have for librarians every year so I'm sure I'll come back with more great ideas.

Mud! I've been doing a lot with mud. Since the snow is melting off I've been taking my little one to squish around in the mud and float things down the streams of melting snow. It's also the time for road work. We have to drag the dirt road with this big metal beam to cut down the center and smooth out the ruts. It kicks up a lot of rocks. Someones gotta move them off the road.

I wrote up some activities for the Raven Tree Press website to go along with Bedtime Monster. My friend Terry Hunt helped me--she has great ideas! I can't wait to see them online.

I've even managed to write up a picture book I've been thinking about for-ever. I hate to ignore ideas like that, but I was trying to only work on my YA. I will have to get right back on it!

Of course, I've been doing lots of other boring stuff you don't want to hear about. I haven't forgotten about my blog. Sometimes it just has to come after everything else.

Illustrator of the Month -- Stephanie Ruble

2010-03-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Ruble (a.k.a. sruble) has been drawing and painting ever since she could hold a crayon. She's been making up stories since she learned how to talk! Now that she's a grownup she's writing a YA novel and making art for her portfolio.

I love Stephanie's artwork. It's so fun. Really, it's a perfect fit for children's books. I would love to see her illustrations brought together in a book I could read to my little ones (perhaps the skateboard riding chicken--that's got kid appeal!) So, I asked Stephanie if she'd like to frolic over and be my featured Illustrator of the Month, and I'm so happy to have her because I have questions!

Stephanie, when did you decide you wanted to become an illustrator?

I’ve always wanted to be an artist. In first grade, I used to love drawing Snoopy. In third or fourth grade, we saw a film about an artist creating a picture book, which is when I decided I wanted to be a picture book artist. I didn’t find out until many, many years later that picture book artists were called illustrators. So, it was only within the last ten years or so that I decided I wanted to be an illustrator … even if I had wanted to be one since grade school.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the title of the book in the film, but it was about the ocean. After seeing the film, I made a picture and wrote a poem, both titled, “The Fish with a Smile like a Crocodile.” I was so proud of that picture! Then my teacher stapled the poem on top of my painting, FOUR TIMES! She covered up my art and poked holes into it! (Yes, I am still upset about it. I took the staples out recently so I could scan the painting and was lucky the painting didn’t rip.)

What types of books do you hope to illustrate?

I hope to illustrate picture books (written by me or by someone else) and novels. I have a completed picture book dummy I’m sending out now. I’m working on another dummy and black and white images for my portfolio.

Do you feel you have found your illustration style, or is it still developing?

I have a very strong flat color style in my portfolio that I keep playing with so it doesn’t get static. I also have a more painterly style that’s always developing. No matter what style I use, it still looks like my art, because the drawing underneath starts the same way.

Do you have a favorite subject to draw?

Animals are my favorite subjects now. Cows were in the top spot for many years, but were recently replaced by chickens. Elephants are vying for the top spot in the future.

In high school and college, my favorite subject was people. I created lots of abstract figural paintings, mostly on large canvases. Sometimes I painted on a smaller scale or made drawings.

Have you had any artistic training?

Yes. I have a BFA in painting from Mankato State (a.k.a. MN State University, Mankato). I loved art school! I miss being able to paint on huge canvases; I just don’t have the space anymore.

Do you specialize in any one medium?

The artwork in my portfolio is digital. I still love to paint in acrylics and I do that as often as I can. Sometimes I play with watercolor, colored pencil, ink, and mixed media too.

Are there any illustrators whose work inspires you?

There are way too many to list! Here are some old favorites and some new ones too: Mark Teague, Lois Lenski, Ruth Carrol, Clare Turlay Newberry, Peter McCarty, Arthur Howard, Brian Selznick, Kazu Kibuishi, Raina Telgemeier, Lynn Johnston … and many, many more!

Do you write you stories for your illustrations as well?

I write stories for some of my illustrations, but my writing voice tends to be older. I’m writing a YA zombie novel now and have several other ideas to choose from for my next project.

How are you getting your work out there right now?

Postcards, my website, online portfolio sites, CBIG - my local illustrator’s group , conference critiques and portfolio shows, Watercolor Wednesdays , Illustration Friday, and anything else I can think of.

Do you belong to SCBWI? If so, how has being a member helped you?

Yes. SCBWI has helped me in lots of ways. The most helpful part of SCBWI for me so far has been going to conferences. I’ve learned about the business and craft of children’s books (including that picture book artists are illustrators) and had critiques that have helped me get to the next level with my art and writing.

If you could live in any book, which one would it be?

The first book that came to my mind was Harry Potter, but I’d only want to live there if I could be magical. It wouldn’t be any fun if I were a muggle.

Stephanie posts new art regularly on her blog, usually before it goes into her online portfolios. On her blog she also posts art that she did just for fun. You can learn more about her projects and see more of her art by visiting her website. http://www.sruble.com/And you should definitely check out Sheila the Zombie Cheerleader. She's super fun!
You can also find Stephanie on Twitter.

Listen up ya'll!

2010-02-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

My friend and fabulous critique partner Stephanie Theban has finally joined the cyberworld and started a blog! Stephanie is active in her local Kansas City SCBWI chapter and has learned a lot about writing for children from the many different workshops and conferences she's been to. Since she attended Bonnie Bader's Pitch-a-thon she's decided to share her skills and giveaway some crits on pitches at her newly opened Tiki Bar. Go pick your drink and enter up!

Another thing. I just discovered Weronica Janczuk's blog. There's a lot to know about her and I'm, um, supposed to be revising right now so you'll just have to hop over and check her place out. I will tell she's young and brilliant! Weronica posts all sorts of great info, especially for the YA writer, plus she's offering a query + 10 pages critique to everyone that enters. I almost feel guilty for blogging about it, she's going to be so busy.

So that's two more people to add to the list of generous kidlit writers!

School Visit?

2010-02-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

The elementary school in town is trying to set up an author visit by a big name author thanks to me and my big mouth. I pointed out she would be in the area and things kind of took off from there. This author writes books for older kids so it would be for maybe the fourth through sixth graders.

If the older kids get an author visit then the younger kids need to get one too. It's only fair. I suggested a few authors who I know live relatively close. But close isn't too close. We're kind of far away from everything around here, plus you never know if an author is going to be able to come or if the school, whose budget is around zilch, will be able to afford them.

So there I am, the local children's book author who is at the school every day dropping off my kids. The unofficial liaison between the public library and the school. The honorary committee member who was asked to come to the school staff meeting this morning to discuss author visits. And I kinda sorta said that maybe *gulp* I could someday do an assembly for the little kids.

In my defense it was early in the morning and I am know to do or say any number of fascinatingly ridiculous things in the early hours.

By some sort of coincidence there's been two links pointed out to me today via Twitter that have to do with school visits. I'm worried it may be some sort of sign. But, they're really good links! I wanted to share them with any of you that do school visits or may...someday.

There's a great blog post about what and what not to do during school visits:BookMoot: Advice for Authors on School Visits

There's also this Writers in Schools PDF created by the Primary English Teaching Association.

As for me, we shall wait and see.