This year because I'm attending the PCCWW conference later this month, I decided to limit my attendance at the SCBWI summer conference to Saturday. It was fantastic, as always. The speakers were inspiring, and I had time to meet up with friends and acquaintances I haven't seen in awhile. Here is a quick sampling of what I attended, and what I learned from them:
9:00am – 10:00am
Melinda Long, Eve Bunting,
Kadir Nelson, Arthur Levine
Creating An Extraordinary Picture Book
Arthur Levine moderated the panel.
Kadir Nelson never sits down and says, “Today I’m going to write an extraordinary picture book!” Instead, after he writes it he asks “Was this worth saying?”
Nelson went on to say that for him an extraordinary picture book has a personal viewpoint as well as an universal one. When he was working on the book about Harriett Tubman, his personal connection was that she reminded him of his grandmother.
Eve Bunting says if something jolts her with feelings of sadness or shame or some other strong emotion—that’s the book she wants to write.
Melinda Long says a picture book is a collaboration between many people. A strong illustrator won’t simply draw pictures that captures the text verbatim, he or she will add to story and make it deeper.
10:00am – 11:00am
Karen Cushman
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
“I wrote because I couldn’t dance.”
Her background was quite interesting. She was always writing and had ideas for novels but didn’t pursue it until she was in her 50’s. She received two master degrees and taught college for ten years prior to writing her first book.
When she decided to write her first novel she decided to research how other authors wrote. What she discovered is that much of the advice is contradictory. One person might say “Write what you know.” While another writer says the exact opposite.
Her advice is to find the way you work best and do it. Don’t be controlled by conventional wisdom.
She spent some time going against much of the conventional wisdom of the day:
Butt in Chair/Write Every day
She doesn’t write every day. When she does write she often does for long periods. But then she feels a need to retreat from writing for a bit.
Don’t Edit during the First Draft
She edits as she writes the first draft. She begins each day by going back and editing/polishing the previous chapters.
Write What You Know
Cushman says, “Write what you want to know. The book you always wanted to read.”
Her Advice:
1. Show Up.
2. Separate your working life from the rest of your life.
3. Slow down. Let ideas grow.
4. Get started. (Prompts, write a title, something to get you going)
5. Keep showing up.
6. Keep submitting, but most of all keep writing.
11:15am – 12:15pm
Workshop
Jen Rofé & Jamie Weiss Chilton
Two Agents Report on Market Trends
Jamie and Jen are agents at the fabulous
Andrea Brown Literary Agency (yes, I’m a tad biased since Jamie represents me, but I still believe it to be true).
Jamie and Jen made it clear that a writer should never write to market trends, but should instead write what’s in her or his heart. That being said, it’s still interesting and important to keep up with what editors are currently looking for.
Another disclaimer, is that in some cases they find they hear contradictory information. For example, a few editors told Andrea that historical fiction is dead while other editors told Jen that historical fiction was having a comeback! I think the safe assumption here is that different houses will often have differing viewpoints on what the next big thing will be.
Jen and Jamie encouraged writers and illustrators to join Publisher’s Marketplace to read about the new deals. This shows what’s selling right now, and is a better guide than scanning the new releases section at the bookstore (those deals are at least a year old).
Here are some observations they have from trips to New York and calling on editors to find out where the market is and what types of work they are looking for:
Houses are operating with reduced list sizes. This means that some books are being pushed back, and so fewer books are being acquired.
Picture Books: [Bev note: I didn’t take too many notes here as this isn’t my primary interest.] Editors are looking for the next Fancy Nancy. A picture book with multiple points of interest. They are still selling picture books, but it’s more competitive than it was before.
Easy Readers: Houses tend to generate internally with licensed characters. Almost impossible to break into this area right now.
Middle Grade: Jen stated that middle grade novels often have “a moment of awakening” for the main character. A time when he or she realizes that the world is different than they imagined. Editors are asking for more boy MG including action, gross out, unique, and quirky novels (don’t mimic Captain Underpants). They are also seeing a trend of light paranormal (for instance, Scholastic in the past added Candy Apple that focuses on sweet middle grade books. Now they’ve created a new Poison Apple for light paranormal middle grade). Editors also want fun girl stories with light romance (emphasis on light—if it gets to be too much then it’s YA).
Young Adult: This is the most flexible genre. There are absolutely no limits. Editors are looking for good stories with unique approaches. Stories should be about independence, sexuality, family-friendship issues—in essence, the issues that teens deal with every day. Jamie and Jen are still seeing an appeal for High Concept novels (books that can be summed up in one sentence). Also books that have multiple hooks (a paranormal historical romance, for instance) are being purchased. Jamie is looking for the literary yet also commercial novel. Paranormal is starting to change, not sought after as much as before. Some houses are still clamoring for it while others don’t want to read any. Some houses are seeking the super edgy (Simon Pulse) while others still want the very clean, sweet, gentle books. Writing needs to be outstanding to stand out from the rest. On the supernatural end they are hearing editors ask for books with angels, mermaids, and dragons. But they emphasized that every writer should write the book that interests them. Vampire books regardless of the market will always find a place in publishing as long as it is a unique take on the genre.
Regardless of the market, write what you’re passionate about.
They addressed an audience member’s question on the status of Historical Fiction. Jamie and Jen felt straight historical fiction is still not selling well. Editors seem to be looking for historical novels with multiple hooks (for instance, curriculum tie-ins and a fantasy bent—such as Libba Bray’s novels). They also said that you need to have a compelling reason why you’ve made it historical, and it needs to be relatable to kids today.
Graphic novels are still selling though not as quickly as before. Editors now realize it isn’t as easy to place or create than they thought. But they are still making sales in this area.
They are seeing a growth in Multimedia books, but felt that writers shouldn’t try to push their book into becoming multimedia. The text needs to be excellent regardless of the marketing attached to the project. However, it’s still good for writers to be aware of the trend (such as 39 Clues).
1:30pm – 2:15pm
Ellen Hopkins
Not for the Faint of Heart:
The Climb to the Top
Ellen Hopkins’ keynote was highly inspirational. She used climbing a mountain as a metaphor for publication success. Don’t take the easy way (ride a chopper, etc). Expect it to take a lot of sweat and work.
People assume her success came easily. Actually she only received an $8,000 advance for
Crank, and it was out for two and a half years before it hit the New York Times Best Seller List.
She believes every success story is a combination of talent, perseverance, and luck.
She did freelance work in the beginning of her writing career. Then she moved to nonfiction novels (she published twenty nonfiction novels before starting
Crank).
Hopkins wrote Crank based on her daughter’s addiction to meth.
Hopkins says, “Tell the story that keeps you up at night.”
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Brenda Bowen, Sarah Davies, Stephen
Fraser, Dan Lazar, Kelly
Sonnack, Marietta Zacker
Agents Panel: The State of the Business
On the state of the market…
Brenda Bowen: There are fewer editors, and the remaining editors have heavier work loads than before. They are looking for works ready for publication from agents.
Sarah Davies: Work has to be finished/polished to be sold. She’s selling books regardless of the recession. She says to focus on craft and on creating a fresh and original premise.
Stephen Fraser: He and his agency had their best year ever. He purposely tries everyday to stay out of the recession doom gloom—he tries to remain enthusiastic and positive.
Dan Lazar: He’s still selling books, but for less money on average than before.
Kelly Sonnack (Andrea Brown Lit Agency): Children’s books are selling much better than the adult market. YA has a much bigger market than ever before (adult’s are reading YA as well as teens).
Marietta Zacker: Editors are giving more exacting feedback on what they’re looking for.
Do they edit their clients work or not?
Sarah Davies: She sees herself as an editorial agent. Every client’s work is highly edited before she goes to sell it.
Stephen Fraser: With existing clients, he’ll work with them on concepts and revising work, but he doesn’t see his primary role as an editor.
Dan Lazar: Yes, his clients goes through five or more drafts before he sends out their work.
Kelly Sonnack: Yes, she edits until the work is as good as it can be before she sends it out.
Marietta Zacker: It depends. Some need more edits than others.
Brenda Bowen: As an editor, she recognized certain agents as representing superior work. She would look forward to getting work submitted by them.
Do the agents want a career with an author or merely represent a certain book?
Brenda Bowen: Wants to work with an author long-term.
Stephen Fraser: He seems himself as a nurturer, wants a long-term relationship.
Sarah Davies: It depends on the individual. Most writers want a career, but some just focus on a particular book.
Dan Lazar: He believes working with lots of different publishing houses can be detrimental to an author’s career. Staying with a particular house can increase advances.
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Workshop
Krista Marino & Anica Rissi
Two Editors Look at the Teen Movement
Krista Marino is an editor at Delacorte Press (Random House), and Anica Rissi is an editor at Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster). Delacorte Press publishes middle grade and young adult, while Simon Pulse publishes only Young Adult.
Anica Rissi: Looking for highly commercial, some literary works.
Krista Marino: Scheduling difficulties make it difficult to drop books that focus on current events into the list. Therefore they are not buying any works like that.
Krista Marino: Random House is excellent at getting behind “Big Books.” Can also handle some small books.
Anica Rissi: Series are not selling well. She’s not looking for these right now. Every series she does buy must have a closed arc.
Krista Marino: Delacorte does not buy any open-ended series. Will buy one at a time. If the first does well, then will buy more.
Anica Rissi and Krista Marino: NO SERIES!
Teens are following authors online. They want to read about experiences-settings that are different than they know.
Anica Rissi: She is attracted to edgy, gritty novels.
Krista Marino: Fantasy grounded in reality. What if that fantastic thing happened to me? Escapism. (What if the vampire fell in love with me?)
Anica Rissi: Looking for emotional truth.
Krista Marino: Funny books aren’t selling [Anica Rissi disagrees]
Anica Rissi: Every book needs layers
Krisa Marino: A straight-up YA novel is hard to publish. It needs to be historical supernatural, etc.
Anica Rissi: She looks for several different kinds of books including: High Concept, Quirky or Dark Funny, Dark Edgy. She’s also intrigued by Faith as an Identity Issue.
Anica Rissi: She sometimes publishes a novel in paperback first, and then later was able to republish it as a hardback.
Krista Marino: She won’t publish something she doesn’t like because she has to read it at least eight times. Also, she must make everyone else at the House love it if it’s to be successful. She needs to feel enthusiasm for every project she takes on.
Anica Rissi: Mostly upper-YA published at Simon Pulse.
Krista Marino: She handles both MG and YA.
Anica Rissi: Wants all books to earn out their advances. She tries to be smart and strategic over advances. She reminds everyone that a success is a book that earns out it’s advance. She has seen other people pay way too much for a book and then it’s thought of as a failure when it doesn’t earn out. If they had simply paid half the advance it would have been seen as a success.
4:45pm – 5:30pm
Wendy Loggia
I Wanted to Love This: 7 Reasons Why
Your Manuscript Gets Declined
1. Manuscript has nice writing but no story.
2. Manuscript is too similar to books she has published.
3. I don’t know who the readers are for this.
4. Writer seems like a really difficult person to work with.
5. Can’t connect to the voice.
6. Submitting too early / too much work to do to make it publishable.
7. It won’t stand out on our list
