Karen Sandler

Tag: SCBWI

  • #LA12SCBWI – Day 3

    A day that started great, including a killer chocolate mousse for lunch dessert, then got a little weird on the way home (an accident that trapped me and hundreds of other motorists for an hour on Highway 99). The conference part of things was fab, though. I took notes at the agent panel and the social networking workshop. Because of our 7 hour drive home (which turned into 8 due to the accident), my son and I left during the awards lunch. But here’s what I did see:

    Alongside moderator Lin Oliver (LO), far left, our agent panel included (l to r), Jill Corcoran (JC) from the Herman Agency, Deborah Warren (DW) from East West Literary Agency, Linda Pratt (LP) from Warnick & Pratt, and Josh Adams (JA) from Adams Literary. They all gave out submission information (which can be found on their website), and an overview of what they represent. The intros were followed by a Q&A period where Lin asked the questions. Refer to the agents’ initials to figure out who’s answering.

    • LO – What path would you recommend for unpublished authors?
    • JA – Be passionate, dedicate yourself to your craft, work on your voice, attend conferences, read a lot, know your audience, tell your story
    • LP – Realize your drive to create, then step into the business of publishing, learn how to query, who might be a good match for you, finish the book! If you get stuck on selling one project, move on to the next project
    • JA – Submit when you’re ready. Don’t be in such a hurry. Really do your homework, wait until you’re really ready. It needs to be highly polished. Do have a literary agent. Find a voice in an agent who will be an advocate for you
    • LP – find your own process, trust your voice
    • JC – Advice from when she did product marketing: to sell-through, you need to have a fabulous idea. Some folks don’t even read books. Come up with five concepts that you love and figure out the best one, look at the comp (comparable) books to make sure yours is different so you can say these are the comp books and this is how mine is different
    • LO – Comment on what you consider to be the strengths of the marketplace and where opportunities are for published & unpublished authors
    • JC – Re: dystopian, editors have so many, those books could compete with one another within the same house. But if yours is different, it could be marketed differently. Take your book with an overdone theme and change the setting/trope. (she jokingly said, Add a cyclops!)
    • LO – you can get rejected just because there’s no place for a book in a publisher’s list
    • JA – no call for cyclops books (in response to Jill). They look for timeless stories, want original voices, not derivative. The question isn’t can we sell it, but do we love it. If we love it, we will find a way. PB (picture books) have been a challenge but still there have been a lot coming out. Need character-driven PB. In MG & YA (middle grade and young adult), you need both literary & high concept, something beyond the stock characters.
    • DW – regarding chasing trends, when you sell your novel, you’ll work on it with an editor 6 mos-year, then the publisher needs 14 mos for marketing. Which means the trend will have passed.
    • JA – write the best book you can
    • DW – Be aware of the digital space, creating content for it, publishers are particularly interested in author/illustrators
    • LO – How is what’s expected of a creative person different now than before
    • JA – so many more demands, authors can’t just sit and write, need to be plugged in on social media, promote, go to school visits, esp. for series fiction, some authors are shy, but they have to find a way to promote their books
    • JC – you have to be marketing and writing. Writing comes first. Some authors are writing 2 books a year.
    • LP – Your sales track, Bookscan has only 70-75% of the total sales (some agents felt it was a much smaller percentage), but everybody looks at it, you have to be more pragmatic about that first book
    • JA – Publishing houses aren’t being as patient with a first book. When they speak to an author they love, they want to know what the author is interested in writing next.
    • LP – She has recently been in the position where a client did okay with first two tween books, went to another house for a third (completely different) book
    • JA – It’s sometimes easier to be a debut, tough for an author who has modest sales. You need to have realistic expectations
    • LO – It goes back to being marketers for our book, some mid-list authors being asked to publish a new book under a pseudonym
    • JC – Jill had a problem with the above (publishing under a pseudonym), but the author didn’t have that issue. She just considered it a professional choice.
    • LO – what are common mistakes that you see people doing, pitfalls to be avoided (e.g., writing a book, then sitting back on their laurels)
    • DW – There’s a strategy, an agent can help, placing your second book is just as important as your first book. Illustrators—there’s been a focus on finding any job rather than the one that’s best for your career
    • JC – Illustrators need to make career decisions, even authors will do write-for-hire and not get their own books done
    • JA – you need to be professional, worst thing a client can do is close possibilities by doing things that impact your career
    • JC –  There have been people she didn’t take on as clients, they were not behaving well online, e.g., they were dissing editors. Untag yourself from incriminating photos. Why do we have to say everything we feel online?
    • LO – Is this the highest and best use of your time — we should be earning money
    • JA – historically the advance was living expenses for the year you work. Yes you can expect $ but don’t do it for the money.

    I had to leave the agent panel early, so I’m afraid I might have missed some good stuff on money.

    After the agent panel, in my morning workshop, Greg Fishbone (Galaxy Games), Jay Asher (13 Reasons Why), and Greg Neri (Yummy, Ghetto Cowboy) shared secrets of social networking in The Class of 2K7. “The Class of” was a concept developed for debut authors to team up for promotional purposes. In the case of 2K7, these were authors whose first book came out in 2007. Others have carried on the concept, each group branding themselves uniquely.

    I didn’t always note who said what, but here are some rough notes:

    • Social networking before the book comes out improves pre-sales (Jay)
    • We can’t all be John Green
    • You can’t do every social networking opportunity
    • Branding is important (various messages for the 2k debut authors)
    • Some of the power is not just social networking with the outside world, but with your group such as SCBWI
    • Do group tours
    • After that year experience (with Class of 2K7), how would they grow as individuals
    • Talking about online presence, how do you use your website
    • Greg N’s is a one-stop shop
    • Jay has a blog on Blogger rather than a website, uses tabs to offer additional info
    • Greg Fishbone has multiple sites
    • You need to control the Google search as much as you can so people can get the information about who you are before someone else pigeonholes you
    • When you craft your answer to interviews, craft them carefully
    • In interviews, Jay gives one answer that isn’t really true (e.g., 13 Reasons Why pop-up book)
    • You may need to change your image (from penguins to SF in Greg Fishbone’s case). His Galaxy Games site is space oriented
    • Watch your image, but really be yourself, the Internet is forever
    • Be aware of your online presence, of how people perceive you
    • How you talk about your books online can sound like you’re bragging, or being pushy
    • Publisher wanted Jay to every day do something to promote, but he wasn’t comfortable with what the publisher wanted him to do. So he tweaked it to be more comfortable with the suggestion.
    • Don’t be afraid to try something new
    • Differences between marketing YA and MG: YA you can go directly to the reader, but MG there are usually gatekeepers like teachers and librarians

  • #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!

  • #LA11SCBWI – The Wisdom of Agents – Panel Discussion

    My final agent-related #LA11SCBWI post is a report from the agent panel that featured Tracey Adams of Adams Literary, Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary, Marcia Wernick of Wernick & Pratt Agency, Tina Wexler of ICM, and moderator Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

    The agents started with an introduction of themselves where we learned that Adams Literary represents the gamut from picture book through young adult, Wernick & Pratt is celebrating their 6-month anniversary as an agency and are looking to grow, and ICM is one of the oldest literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London. The most intriguing factoid was not discovering that Barry Goldblatt Literary has been in existence for 11 years (and like Adams they rep everything from PB through YA) but that Barry is married to YA author Libba Bray.

    The first question posed by Brenda was whether with the advent of e-books and increased ease of self-publishing the role of literary agencies was shrinking or growing.

    Tracey feels the agent’s role is not changing, that they’re looking for new ways to get their clients’ work out there. Barry said it’s really nothing new, just the way it’s done is new. These new avenues don’t change how professional publishing works. Marcia agreed, yes the digital world offers opportunity, but digital is more supportive of the print book (e.g. a game app attached to PB) rather than replacing it. Digital doesn’t change the way stories are out there. The agent is still an author’s advocate and business advisor. Tina said that independently published/e-books are something to watch. She quoted Amanda Hocking as saying that with digital it’s easier to just get a book out there, but to have a career and get people reading your work, it’s very hard. Agents are partners more than just to do the sale, they’re supportive in all stages of the publishing process.

    Brenda then asked, Is there a genre or age-group category that’s drying up/thriving.

    Barry said no, there are always ups and downs in publishing. He just wants a great book and will find a home even if the market “isn’t buying that.”

    Marcia said there’s always a market for well-crafted, strong, original books. She gave as an example Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! which sold in a “dead” PB market after many rejections. More books are challenged to do well, but the ones doing well are doing really well. One market that’s more challenged is the non-fiction market because it’s more geared toward schools/libraries which have had a decrease in funding. But you can succeed in any genre.

    Tracey said that an author asks “Can my agent sell this?” while the agent asks “Do I love this?” If they love it, they’ll find a home for it. The PB market has been challenging, but we’ll never see its demise. For now, YA is the hot topic.

    Brenda then posed a follow-up question: You’ve sold 4 books for a client and you don’t love next book, what do you do?

    Tina said she’d give feedback, have that hard conversation. She’d tell the author, I don’t want to stand in the way, but I don’t think this is the next step in your career. Marcia said that in that situation, she will ask another agent or occasionally an editor (the one who’s currently publishing the author) to get a second opinion.

    Brenda then asked, when you go out with a manuscript for a debut author, what makes you sure you can sell it?

    Barry said it’s the excitement he feels. He loves to make a first sale for an author. Marcia added that just as it’s a passion for the author to create, it’s an agent’s passion to get the book out there and sold. An agent feels a certain entitlement on behalf of their client. For Tracey, she’ll be reading and get excited and can’t wait to show it to a particular editor. She’ll have a submission list in her head as she’s reading.

    Brenda asked for those who represent PBs, how to you find illustrators?

    Marcia, the only agent who answered this, said through referrals and commented that she needs to see character development in a portfolio. She needs to see that character development through the scenes. She also mentioned that she has met (illustrator) clients at conferences.

    Brenda asked how much editorial work do you do?

    Tracey answered that she and Josh (husband and partner) see themselves as the stagers (like in real estate) of the manuscript. They get it ready in its best form to submit. They do respect the role of the editor, and know they’re the one who’s doing the actual editing. She reiterated that they’re getting it ready to submit, not ready to print. Sometimes a manuscript comes in that’s ready to go, and her preference is to take something on that’s already at that stage.

    There was a side discussion about voice, Tracey said it’s an immediately eye-catching element. Barry said it’s hard to define voice but we know it when we see it. At a writer’s workshop once, he had everyone bring a sample of what they thought was great voice. It was enlightening because whatever it was, they knew it when they heard it. Marcia said it’s distinct, you can envision the character through voice.

    Brenda then asked that fatal question—what happens if you can’t sell something?

    Barry noted that his agency has a 98% sell-through rate (i.e., they sell 98% of what they represent). He’s had manuscripts that were submitted to 22 publishers before they made a sale. Some things are unsalable, and you have to have that conversation with a client. But great writing will always find a home. Marcia added that it’s important that while the agent is trying to sell an author’s current book, the author is working on their next project. You have to look at the career path long-term, not just one project.

    Next question posed by Brenda: I’m multi-published, how do I get to the next level?

    Tina turned the question back on itself when she said, your writing has to get to the next level, what are you doing to get there on the page?

    Next: My sales are fine but not great. Should change my name with my next release?

    The agents didn’t answer that question specifically, but instead discussed the issue of authors comparing themselves to one another. Tracey said everyone’s on their own path and a giant deal for a first book isn’t the norm. Marcia commented that you do yourself a disservice comparing yourself on to others on Publishers Marketplace. Barry noted that you might see big deals on PM, but they don’t say what happens after that (i.e., how well a book with a huge deal ultimately does, that author’s future career). Brenda added that data in PM can be misleading, and it’s very superficial.

    Then Brenda said, you have a magic wand. If you could fix any one thing in the publishing business, what would it be?

    Marcia’s wish was that there’d be standard royalties and sub-rights rates. Tracey would end publishing by committee. She feels the publisher should trust the editor, that’s why they hired a great editor. Tina asked for a higher royalty for e-books, and wants more bookstores to come back (don’t we all). Barry said we should end the practice of paying authors their royalties semi-annually (i.e., they should be paid more frequently).

    Next, the ever eternal question: How to submit. All four indicated they are taking electronic submissions only.

    Tracey said Adams Literary takes all submissions via the form on www.adamsliterary.com. They’ll want to see the full manuscript.

    Marcia said submissions are done online at www.wernickpratt.com. Check the submission guidelines there.

    Tina said the ICM site is changing, for now submit to twexler@icmtalent.com, with the first 5 pages in the body of the e-mail.

    Barry said go to www.bgliterary.com and follow the guidelines.

    Lightning round: What do you not want to see ever again? Vampires, screenplays, bad writing.

    What do you think is the next hot trend? Thrillers, suspense, science fiction, and horror.

    What’s your pet peeve? Getting things you don’t represent, hostility, too long winded, Dear Sir (when the agent is a woman)

    What do you want to see on your desk tomorrow? In order, the agents said, Something brilliant, ditto, award winner & best seller, all of the above.