When to Start Submitting? The Argument for Waiting Until You Have the Very Best Work to Submit

An unpublished writer's greatest fear is not getting published. But not many people think ahead beyond getting their name in print. If all you want is to have one book out there, that works. but if you want a career, you have to think ahead.

I'm not scared of not getting published. What terrifies me is getting published and having average sales, because then rather than being an unknown, "take a chance on me" (thank you ABBA) writer, you are a known quantity in children's publishing - the dreaded mid-list author with average sales. And that appears to be an even tougher sell. Yes, if your first book is your best book, and it is amazing and it sells, then you have the pressure of the sophomore book, and keeping up with or topping your previous book. But even best seller pros deal with that (witness Dan Brown's latest book in 2009, and the hype and criticism around any of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight sequels), and I'd rather have the opportunity to stress and panic and sweat over a sequel or a second title than no opportunity at all, which is what sometimes happens to mid-listers with average sales.

So, I obsess over what work I'd want to have published first, because it will be THE make it or break it book. A colleague recently told me that I should just get something out there to get submitting, but I hope to get practice with more rejection and submitting by doing less make-or-break pieces in magazines, etc., all the while working on my WIPS to figure which is best and has the best chance of being sold and bought. You only get one chance to be a debut author- what work will you put forward?

Editors and Agents Galore

Registration is open for the SCBWI Western Washington Spring Conference 2010, and it is full of seasoned pros to learn from! Check it out: Jordan Brown, Lisa Graff, Elizabeth Law, Lynne Polvino, Michael Bourret, Sara Crowe, Edward Necarsulmer IV and Paul Rodeen.

Work for Hire, or How to Get Work in Children's Books Quicker

A fellow member of ASWAAGS (critique group for writers in the children's market) was recently awarded his first work for hire contract for a non-fiction book aimed at kids. We were all thrilled and hounded the poor guy as we all waited on pins and needles after he submitted his audition piece, until the editor finally gave him a green light saying he was their choice. You go, Hollywood!! "Hollywood", by the way, is his critique group call sign. WHAT?!! You don't have a call sign? Go to your critique group and demand one! Bonus points if you get a name including the words "Mega", "Mondo", or "Gigantor" combined with any part of the body. No, not that one, or those either- we are, after all, writing for the children's market.

So, back to my point. Everyone says that you have a better chance to get something going in the children's market if you do non-fiction, or something for a packager. And now we have seen first hand that "they" are right.

Work for hire can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. Good in that you get published, it happens relatively quickly, you get paid relatively quickly (and well), and there is less competition than traditional fiction routes. Bad in that everything happens quicker. You have to produce material quickly for tight deadlines (Hi, It's Saturday and I'm informing you that you got the contract, and we need the twelve chapters outlined by Tuesday morning!), and the packager or publisher usually holds the copyright. Good in that it pays decently and may lead to more paid work in the future. Bad in that you may not even get your name on the book, and it takes time away from your own projects. Good in that if you position it right, you may get more material in print to support your writing platform. Did I mention that it usually pays pretty well? Oh yeah, and the PAY is good. No more writing for free.

The best thing about a writer pal getting a contract is that you can see the process up close. I was so inspired that I went and immediately updated my writing resume and started searching for markets. It may be a great match for you, depending on your goals. Just imagine- you could change your critique group call sign to "Giganto-arm" from lifting all those hefty paychecks...

What to do When Your WIP Has No Zip?

If you have decent writing skills and spend enough time in writing conferences, attending SCBWI meetings and going to retreats or classes, AND you write with some frequency, I honestly think you will develop some competence in terms of technical excution. You'll know to show, not tell, and you have beginnings, middles and ends, and characters that act on their own and solve their own problems.

What you may not have is a spark, a flame, a roaring fire of "wow!" that makes your work-in-progress irresistable and special. And you need that. To get an editor's interest, to capture the attention of an agent plowing through hundreds of submissions, you gotta have SOMEthing that gives your work that extra edge. That thing that editors and agents describe as "I'll know it when I see it."

Some of this will come from a great plot or a high concept and some of this will come from your voice-both the narrative voice and the voice of your characters.

I have a picture book that has some good points, and has all the questions answered (What are the stakes for the main character? Is there conflict? etc.), but it just feels...blah. Have I done so much techincal editing that I've lost that voice?

Have you had this issue?

Switching from PC to Mac

"Macs are for creative people. PC's are for business people." What do you do if you are a creative business person?

I've recently purchased a Mac laptop for my creative business needs, but I have not spent any quality time with a Mac since 1994. No really- it's all been Unix terminals and PC's since then. I'm totally comfy in computer world, but when I got the Mac, I felt like an idiot. I may be able to create my own databases complete with crosswalk tables and knowing just enough SQL to get me by, but it took me a few HOURS of playing with my Mac to figure out how to resize the windows. And the "multiple fingers do multiple things on the track pad" thing totally throws me. I gotta get a mouse...

But really, the biggest problem is trying to figure out which software to load. Some decisions are easy- Scrivener for drafting novels, non-fiction and larger projects, and Quickbooks for accounting, billing and reporting, and when it somes to graphics, I'll cough up the dough for the Adobe and Quark stuff. But Office for the Mac is missing Access, and I do like to do my own databases. Or should I do the Bootcamp thing and divvy-up the hard drive so I can run Windows programs on the Mac, like Office for PC's and ACT- a client tracking program? And what about that Open Office thing? Anyone ever use it?

If you run a small business off a Mac, please share your successes and failures with software with the rest of us! Please? With an apple on top?

Where You Work

I'm currently trying to create just the right place to write or illustrate. Nothing beats eyeballing the work spaces of others for inspiration. Here are few of my current favorite sources:

The Guardian, a newspaper in the U.K., posts writer's rooms and creative work spaces here.

SCBWI locally has also encouraged members to share photos of studios, offices and the like here.

Another place for ideas is Flickr. Several groups on that site focus solely on posting pictures of work spaces. Try Craft Rooms , Art Studio, Art Studio Makeover, Work Spaces, Creative Spaces, and Creative Places/Creative Spaces.

If you are a fan of "inspiration boards" for your art or writing, check out this group on flickr.

Character Inspiration, Part 6 Fruits, Plates and Dishes

For those creating manga, Japanese fashion rebel characters, or even just creatively dressed children for picture books, the book Fruits is sure to give you a visual feast. It's full of Harajuku street fashion, and even spawned a sequel: Fresh Fruits. Both are bound versions of what you can find from FRUiTS magazine, which now has a website you can browse for free inspiration: http://www.fruits-mg.com/xnew/j/index.html.

The website also includes photos from the same publisher's Street magazine, another street fashion photo mag, and it has a wider diversity of people and styles from all around. This is not to be confused with the book Street: The Nylon Book of Global Style from the editors of Nylon magazine. If you are looking for hipsters, rebels and fashion forward people from around the world's major cities, you can find them in Nylon's book-Parisian ingenues, edgy New Yorkers and other creatively garbed folks from around the world grace these pages, and most of them fit squarely into YA range.

For a totally different view of humanity, try Plates and Dishes. It's a photo book of dishes and the waitstaff of 70 roadside diners throughout North America. I look at the people in this book and think some of them would make great haggard mothers, or kindly remote second cousins a protagonist is sent to live with.

No matter what your angle, photobooks can provide lots of character inspiration. Check 'em out!

Character Inspiration, Part 5

Of course, a list of sources of photos of people for character inspiration would not be complete without National Geographic. For a much tidier and far easier to search source than the "keeping of piles of old issues" method, use the on-line galleries on the National Geographic website: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photogalleries/people-culture/

And hey, if you are using setting as character, there are bound to be good photos of it here, too!

Character Inspiration, Part 4

Are you writing a middle-grade or young adult story with female protagonists dealing with self-esteem issues? For an intriguing source of real girls talking about beauty and self-esteem, look at Dove's campaign for Real Beauty at http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/ . The Reality Diaries they posted two years ago were great (gone now, what a shame), featuring compelling video from young adults that was both heartbreaking and inspiring. The current campaign leans towards the younger set. For provoking thought on the beauty and self-esteem subject, watch the videos "Evolution" and "Onslaught" http://www.dove.us/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=7049579]/. "Evolution" TOTALLY makes me think of Scott Westerfield's "Pretties" series. Scary.

Character Inspiration, Part 3

For a truly inspiring young adult character, go here: http://tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com/ to see the ever interesting Tavi Gevinson. She's thirteen and she blogs about fashion- even skipping school to go to NYC Fashion Week!!! Someone, please, write a book about a character like her- I wanna read it, and I'm too lazy to write it. How cool is she? If you're thinking she's a Gossip Girl wannabe, think again- she is 100% unique, and not what you expect. For a taste of her unbelievable realness check out her dance video on 10/9/09 to ABBA.

Character Inspiration, Part 2

People of Wal Mart. Looking for a freaky neighbor/crazy science teacher/carny to interact with your character? Look no further. This is no celebration of individual fashion, it's a "satirical social commentary of the extraordinary sights found at America’s favorite store". Random stealth photos taken of patrons of the mass merchandising giant end-up here. Hysterically funny, revolting, horrifying - you can't tear your eyes away. As you might imagine, this site is not for those who are easily offended.

Character Inspiration, Part 1

We all know that reality is the best place to find characters for fiction, but what to do as a writer when you spend most of your day sitting at home glued to a computer? When your only human contact in a day may consist of "do you want fries with that?" and "sign here, please", you can spot your protagonist, villain or other supporting characters in photo blogs on the web. I will post some interesting resources in this next series of posts starting with:

The Sartorialist I am an armchair fashionista - like many a football fan, I partake from the sidelines having neither the physical attributes nor the stamina (or bank account) to actually participate. The Sartorialist, a fashion photo blog meant to "showcase the wonderful and varied sartorial tastes of real people", fills my fashion cravings with photos of real people, gives me vague hopes of fashion redemption, and provides interesting people to turn into characters. Yes, many of the people are young, pretty, thin adults (many make me think of Scott Westerfield's character, Tally). But there are also those who are older, have intriguing faces or are even (gasp!) pleasingly plump. They may not be kids, but with every person I look at, I wonder what they do for a living, why they wear what they wear, and how they would relate to a child. As of August 2009, Scott Schuman (he who IS the blog) had a book published, so you can thumb though and have a copy for your writing reference shelf.

Elana Roth Wrap Up

I frequently say (more like ALWAYS say) that this is a business of opinion. Seems like we as writers often forget this. Do you love every book that has ever been published? Do you read every genre? Of course not, and editors and agents are people like us, and therefore, no different. They have opinions and preferences, likes and dislikes.

This was readily apparent in Elana's "Be An Agent for a Day" presentation. She took twenty real query letters she has received (identifying info. removed), including some from authors whose books she decided to rep and sold and she gave us fifteen minutes (!!) to read them and pick six we would follow-up on. This technique was borrowed from Nathan Bransford by her own admission, and it was an eye-opener.

Once you've read through an agent's eyes for even only fifteen minutes, you get how sometimes arbitrary the selection process is. In our group of twenty some odd participants, we were all over the board in terms of opinion, and were also surprised at what Elana revealed to be letters that caused her to request more samples.

For me, this was both depressing and hopeful. Sometimes a submission may be the sixth or sixteenth or six hundredth "whatever you think makes your story unique" story that the agent has seen, and she's just plain tired of them. Or maybe she's just plain tired- you know how things all seem uninteresting when all you want to do is sleep? Yikes! Yet sometimes, despite the query letter having a high degree of suckiness, some little thing tickles an agent into requesting more info. Woo-hoo!

My point is, this is a subjective business. This may work in your favor or not. Get used to it, get rejection, get over it and try again.

NaNo Hamlet

It's that time of year! National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) will be here in less than 30 days, and any interested writer needs to decide in that time to do or not to do.

A writer friend feels the way that I do-the "years participated" section of a NaNoWriMo profile looks neat and tidy if there is a pattern-consecutive years, every other year, two years on, one year off... Of course, this means I have to do the first or the last, as I have now completed it two years in a row. It's silly, but there it is.

I can't decide.

On one hand, I'm a firm believer in Anne Lamott and Stephen King's "sh#tty first draft" theory of writing, and NaNoWriMo is a great way to unload those burdensome ideas that clog up my brain.

On the other, I don't have a particular story in mind this year-a first. And once I start NaNoWriMo, I must finish it.

Do I face a blank page without any ideas on November 1st, or do I take a year off?

Thoughts?

Elana Roth, Literary Agent

I promised information on Elana Roth, and here are the links to get you started until I can write a post about hearing her speak at SCBWI Western WA events this week.


Profile on agent query: http://agentquery.com/agent.aspx?agentid=1027

Her own blog: http://elanaroth.com/

Caren Johnson Literary Agency blog: http://www.johnsonliterary.com/blog

Insider info from one of her local clients, David Patneaude on the SCBWI Western WA blog: http://chinookupdate.blogspot.com/2009/08/getting-to-know-elana-roth-and-david.html

Q&A on Joelle Anthony's blog March 26, 2008: http://joelleanthony.com/uncategorized/qa-with-elana-roth/

Interview on Alice's CWIM blog January 26, 2009: http://cwim.blogspot.com/2009/01/agent-interview-elana-roth.html#links

Follow her on Twitter.com: http://twitter.com/elanaroth

And if you are really nosy with time on your hands:

Check out her pottery: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7348580
Her photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elanaroth/

The Queen of England Judges a Book by the Cover

At the bookstore, the Queen of England (see profile on the right for explanation), who is picture-book age, determined that she wanted a particular book to come home with her. A young adult book.

I was so worried about appropriateness of content after noting the trendy cover art, that I didn't even read the title. I offered her ANY picture book she wanted. Nope. When I asked her what she wanted, she said it must be blue, it must have pink hearts on it. And it must have swirly letters. This, of course, was what the YA book looked like.

I went back to eyeball it, and the heavens parted and angels sang, for lo, it was Fifteen by Beverly Cleary. A book I remember from my pre-teen years as being pretty tame, and especially so when compared with some of the edgier works that grace the YA shelves these days. It came home with us- I figure she can read it later when age appropriate.

But what sticks with me is that this was a good reminder about how people select books. Despite what we all want to think- that the hook we work so hard to craft in that first sentence will grab a reader-much of book sales rely on capturing a reader's attention before they even read a word. Covers are generally not transparent, so something other than your words has to convince a person to pick-up the book first.

You put a lot of thought into what goes between the covers, but someone else is going to create what goes on the outside to entice a reader. A lot is conveyed in cover art, and it is usually designed to appeal to the book's target audience. Ever notice how genre book covers have certain similarities? Don't believe me? Go check- wander those aisles and examine color and font and cover art. All those visual cues lead up to what a person will initially think your book might be about. Can you guess what yours should (or might) look like, based on what you see?

I love how some trends show-up on so many books, you have to wonder how any one of those books stands out. I'm sure there is a good dose of circadian mimicry- one look worked, so other books in that genre that come along should try and grab the same attention.

I also find horror stories about covers interesting. We've all heard about the book with a character of one race, showing a different race on the cover, or a different physical look (she's supposed to have long red hair, not short blond!) or a cover that screams romance when the story inside is really more sci-fi/fantasy.

Check out book cover websites and blogs for information on cover art and book design, and ponder what your book's look might be:

Children's and YA covers and book design on Jacket Whys , Jacket Knack, Mishaps and Adventures, Apple and the Egg

The NY Times Book Design Review

And a last thought: Reader customizable covers? What would you put on the cover of classics? Look at My Penguin!

Literally Light a Fire to Finish Your Work in Progress?

Much like lovers in love with the idea of being in love, some writers (a LOT of the ones I know, OK, fine, me, too, sometimes) appear to be not in love with writing, but in love with being a writer with writer angst. When we gather, whining commences about characters not doing what we set out to do, or having writer's block, or being uninspired. It's just a rite of passage- apparently, you are officially labeled a "real" writer when you have writerly issues. And you discuss them loudly with other writers.

So here it is in a very public way. I do not need more ideas or story starters. I've never had writer's block. My writing problem (ahem) is finishing my own works when I have no deadline or monetary compulsion to do so. I meet or come in early on deadlines given by clients and editors, but on my own projects, not so much. Books and sources for revising works abound, but I have been looking for resources (free ones) with suggestions on how to finish a work in progress first draft, in my current case, one of my novel manuscripts. Thought I'd share some links with you.

To start you off, an amusing quiz from Writer's Digest:
http://www.writersdigest.com/article/?p_ArticleId=5126

Useful tidbits and help from children's author Holly Lisle:
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc2-3.html

Anne Lamott's shi##y first draft method does not work for children's author Linda Sue Park- see what does in this transcript on Verla Kay's website:
http://www.verlakay.com/Pages/139FinishingANovel.html

If all else fails, burn your house down. Author Timothy Hallinan's thoughts and useful information- he was moved to finish things when his house burned down with his WIP and backups in it:
http://www.timothyhallinan.com/writers.php

And if you need someone to tell it like it is, try author Kristy Kiernan's blogpost:
http://kristykiernan.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-finishing-your-novel.html

Insert Ad Here

The Seattle Times ran a piece yesterday from columnist Danny Westneat discussing the fact that three technologists from Amazon filed last month for a patent for technology that embeds ads in e-books. Check it out at : http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2009584124_danny02.html

If you really want to read it, check out the application here at the Patent Office: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20090171750&OS=20090171750&RS=20090171750

Geordi Brings the Smackdown! or Near Death Experience + Years of Kid Lit Experience = "The Rainbow F#@%ing Fish!"

We frequently hear about how children's book editors dislike books with agendas or outright "lessons to teach". They aren't the only ones.

LeVar Burton, the host of the Reading Rainbow television show on PBS (or depending on your age and TV-viewing preferences, Geordi from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Kunta Kinte from Roots, or even that guy from The $10,000 Pyramid- my personal favorite-what can I say, I'm old), recently commented on books for the "worst/most overrated" children's book list on The American Scene.com . Side note: When you follow that link, be prepared for some serious ripping on various well-known pieces of kid lit with some long flaming and replies, particularly about The Giving Tree, including comments from Shel Silverstein's mom (or are they?).

Scan down to July 21st, 2:05 am, and find the comments from Mr. Burton after another commenter suggested The Rainbow Fish be added to the list, to remind yourself that there are people out there who read kid lit and think seriously about the messages sent in a story, whether implied or openly stated.

Mr. Burton's comments are dated about a week after he was injured in a five car crash in West Los Angeles, but I'm betting that had little bearing on his passionate response. His first comment is snarkier (the one that starts with {eep!} "The rainbow f#@%ing fish!.."), his second has the same message but in a more scholarly form, and the American Library Association's advocates for intellectual freedom will be pleased to see in that second post that he wouldn't ban any books from any islands. If you think Mr. Burton's assessment is harsh, check the reviews of the book on Amazon.com. Look familiar? After at least twenty-five years of children's reading advocacy, Mr. Burton surely knows what he is talking about.

The message for us as writers? Kid's books DO send messages. What does yours say?

Fall Programming Is Set- Time to Renew or Join SCBWI Western Washington

Fall is on it's way, and with it, a whole new year of SCBWI Western Washington offerings View speakers and opportunities to have your work viewed by publishing pros here.

We'll kick-off fall with chances to meet with and learn from Elana Roth, agent with Caren Johnson Literary Agency in limited space paid sessions in addition the usual presentation. I'll post more links from the web about her in a later post.

One of the other extra opportunities is from Gergory K. Pincus, screenwriter (Little Big League and movies for ABC, NBC, the Disney Channel among other credits), poet, guy who has a middle grade novel, The 14 Fabulous Fibs of Gregory K. under contract with Arthur A. Levine, and man who loves social media.

His own site: http://www.thehappyaccident.net/
His blog: http://gottabook.blogspot.com/
He's a contributor on: http://guyslitwire.blogspot.com/
His profile on IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0683912/ if you want to see more film/TV credits

Should you search for him on the web, do not confuse him with endocrinologist Gregory Goodwin Pincus, the now deceased scientist to created the Pill.