Karen Sandler

Category: Books

  • #LA12SCBWI – Day 2

    My impressions of the second day of the annual SCBWI summer conference. Rough notes from five of the keynotes/workshops I attended.

    Karen Cushman talked about how writing rules often contradict one another, so we should either ignore rules or write our own. Let your writing surprise you, “oonch” that extra something to the surface in your manuscript. Be honest with your readers, emotionally as well as factually.

    The editors panel featured (left to right) Jordan Brown (Walden Pond Press and Balzer + Bray), Elise Howard (Algonquin), Neal Porter (Roaring Brook Press), Farrin Jacobs (HarperCollins Children’s), Tamar Brazis (Abrams), and Laura Godwin (Henry Holt), with Lin Oliver moderating. Their presentation covered voice (during which Farrin admonished us not to be “too voicey”), what the most positive attributes the editors found in their most successful authors (a unanimous vote for flexibility and professionalism), the climate for children’s books (generally positive, even regards the printed book), characteristics that make a book or story enduring (core stories/experiences, universal themes), and the one thing each editor would tell the audience they should and should not do (finish the book! and please yourself rather than following trends (but be aware of the market too)).

    Illustrator Bryan Collier gave a moving inspirational keynote about dreams being seeds for our aspirations. He described how he saw things no one else saw, how words sounded different to him. His dream took 7 years of pavement pounding to come to fruition, but his persistence paid off. He also told us about how the book Dave the Potter, a gorgeous picture book about a slave potter who made 40,000 pots in his life, came to be.

    Ruben Pfeffer’s talk, Digital You, gave us a overview of where digital is today and where it might be going. It’s certainly a trend (e-books, enhanced e-books and apps) that will continue to evolve. He presented 7 macro trends, including the explosion of the children’s/YA e-book market (an increase of 475% from Jan 2011 to Jan 2012) and the exciting (frightening to some?) reality that new technology will create new content.

    Finally, Christina Diaz Gonzalez presented her talk on writing multi-culturally. Every culture/ethnicity has insiders and outsiders. While one doesn’t have to be an insider to write a multi-cultural story, outsiders must research to be accurate. More publishers are showing interest in multi-cultural books, in large part because we are at a tipping point where more than 50% of those born in the U.S. are non-white (they’re Hispanic, Black, Asian, and other non-white ethnicities). That multi-cultural market is growing.

  • #LA12SCBWI – Day 1

    Here are my impressions of the first day of the SCBWI annual summer conference. Kind of quick and dirty.

    First, the Arthur Levine keynote in which he discussed timelessness this way: When a story captures a moment of intimacy between characters. He then related a history of books he’s published over the years, demonstrating along the way how various authors have created those timeless stories.

    A couple great quotes: “Great writers use anticipation rather than surprise.” “Think only of the wire and crossing to the end.” His description of how Philip Pullman achieved timelessness with The Golden Compass: he created his marvelous world, then put it in danger. Also, Pullman created connections between characters, between the reader and the characters, between the author and the reader.

    Next, Tony Diterlizzi’s keynote, in which he admonished us to never abandon imagination. He asked, What do you wish existed in the world? Can you create it?

    Notes from Jordan Brown from Walden Pond Press

    • Publishes strictly middle grade
    • Editorial process:
      • Likes to have two drafts to completion
      • Tells the author, Here’s what I think the book is about.
      • Figures out the most important parts of the book
      • Makes sure the book is telling that story
      • Sometimes tough to figure out when the book is done
      • Once it’s finished, time to package (marketing, design (int. & ext.))
      • Text/content, author has final say
      • But cover, paper, etc, editor/house has to have that decision
      • Marketing—people have to be aware of the book (worst thing if people don’t know about it)
      • Main focus for marketing efforts goes into social media, the most immediate way to make a connection between author and reader
      • If you don’t like social media networking, you’re not going to be good at it.
      • But it is an advantage if a writer can do it. That’s where the readers and gatekeepers (librarians & teachers) are.
      • Have almost completely stopped author websites in-house. Much more effective to work in places where readers already are.
      • What he’d like to see:
        • History that isn’t trying to teach me anything (i.e., a story set in a historical setting that doesn’t seem historical
        • Dystopia for MG
        • Sports story (or rather a book that uses sports)
        • SF for non-SF fans
        • Alternate history
        • Darkly comic contemporary religious
        • Stories that present something new to an 8-10 yo probably would self-censor.
        • It sometimes makes a book more attractive if there’s not anything else out there like it.

         

        Finally, Ruben Pfeffer on the Symbiotic Relationship of Agent and Client

        •  If an agent submits a book, you can assume it’s well-written, but it’s often still rejected
        • Sometimes with the rejection the author will get nice comments such as “didn’t connect” or “similar to something else on our list”
        • Sometimes it will connect with someone, but it will also be rejected by someone else
        • Helps if the agent has a handle on what particular pubs/editors look for
        • It’s a matchmaking process
        • It all depends on story, no matter the age level
        • Any missing elements, such as lack of knowledge of the audience, lack of creativity can kill the deal
        • He also detailed the submission process:
          • Editor
          • editors/designer/art
          • director
          • publisher
          • Acquisition Team
          • Sales
          • Marketing
          • Design
          • Rights
          • Production
          • Finance

           

  • #LA12SCBWI – The Prelude

    About an hour ago, my son and I arrived at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza for the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) big annual summer conference. The room is quite nice and very spacious. I hadn’t been here two minutes before I accidentally moved something in the mini-fridge before reading the sign that told me I would be charged for anything I moved, even if I didn’t consume it. Yikes! Called the front desk to report I really hadn’t drank a can of Red Bull.

    We’re renting an actual fridge from the hotel ($5/day) for the couple of snack/breakfast items we brought with us. I recall the breakfast scene at SCBWI being a bit of a zoo. I’m praying the organizers will have coffee on offer in the mornings like they did last year.

    Here are a few views from the hotel. The fountain on Avenue of the Stars:

     

     

     

     

    A view of Century City/Beverly Hills off to the left:

     

     

     

     

    The iconic hotel itself:

     

     

     

     

    I’ll do my best to share whatever writing wisdom I glean this week via my blog. Cheers!

  • RTW – Best Book in July

    YA Highway‘s Road Trip Wednesday asks today, What was the best book you read in July? I’ve been on a bit of a Lois McMaster Bujold kick for nearly the entire month (which means I’ve read 1 1/3 of her long, Vorkosigan science fiction sagas). I do recommend Ms. Bujold, both for her fantasy and science fiction. She writes a great story and wonderful characters.

    So, since I’ve been Bujolding up a storm, the only YA book I’ve read in July is the marvelous Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (isn’t that a great author name?). There is a Groundhog Day-like premise (the movie, not the annual tradition), but it’s done in such a fresh and, well, peculiar way, it makes for a riveting read. Its mix of present day world and British WW2 setting also contributes to this fantastic story.

    As I mentioned in my Goodreads review, my only real complaint about the book is that darn it, there’s no sequel available. It ends with more loose ends than an unraveling afghan. Only the main story line is tied up. The book is just begging for a follow up. Anyone out there know of plans for a Peculiar book two? I’d love to hear about it.

  • RTW – Doing the Groundhog Thing

    This week on YA Highway, the prompt asks, If you could be reincarnated as any fictional character, which would it be? Which made the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, pop into my mind, hence the title of my post.

    Moving on, I gave the question my usual three seconds of thought, figuring that the quickest answer to come into my mind would be the best. I did briefly consider Katniss (but for only the first second of those three), then realized everyone in the world wants to be Katniss (admit it). So I spent the next two seconds digging a little further back and came up with a character I’ve loved for years.

    I’d want to be Lessa from Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. If you haven’t read Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books, I suggest you check them out. Yes, some are better than others (the first three, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon are very worthy, as well as the more YA companion series, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums). But McCaffrey created such a great world and society that I’ve often fantasized about living on Pern with its genetically augmented dragons.

    Lessa is a pretty kick-ass character who doesn’t let anyone push her around. She doesn’t actually run around in that cheesy white outfit shown on the cover, by the way. When she’s riding her golden dragon, she wears practical riders’ leathers. But she’s a feminist’s feminist, insisting that yes, female breeding dragons can fly and they can carry a rider. They can even help fight Thread, the menace on Pern.

    So there you go. I want to be Lessa and fly around on a golden dragon. That would be my fantasy come true.