I've been sitting here trying to write a blog post for I'm not sure how long. I've started half a dozen and none of them seem quite right. There's too much going on. Too many topics I could write about. So here I am telling you about none of them.
This happens with my writing too. I have so many stories; so many manuscripts I want to get finished that I suddenly get into a holding pattern wondering which one to work on next. A friend of mine who is a disciplined and prolific writer of adult fiction told me to work on whichever is pulling at me the strongest. She was surprised when I told her they all were. Maybe it's like that for picture book writers, I don't know. I do have some non-pb projects that pull at me as well (although maybe not as strongly. Okay, that MG is really wanting to be finished too. Aaaarrrggghhhhhh!!!)
Anyhow, I'll flip thought my notebook, working on each story little by little until all of a sudden I'm writing and writing and...viola, I have a finished draft to type up and start revising!
Tell me, tell me, how do you work? Lots of stories at once or one at a time? How do you choose?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Monster List of Picture Book Agents -- Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary Inc.
It's tough to find much online information about Jennie Dunham although she's been a literary agent since 1992. You can read about Jennie's experience in her bio at the Dunham Literary website. You can also learn a lot about how her agency, Dunham Literary Inc., works on the Terms and Services page.
I did find an interview with Jennie at K.L. Going's Writer's Resource Page. (Click on "Agent, Author, or Editor Interview" on the right hand side of the page and it will take you right to the interview.)
You can also read the Dunham Literary listing in the 2013 Children's Writers and Illustrators Market.
Jennie accepts query letters only via both email and snail mail. Check out the Dunham Literary submission guidelines. If you get a request be sure to take a look at the Requested Submissions page.
Jennie represents Jody Feldman, Juliet Bond, Robert Sabuda, and Matthew Reinhart. She also represents Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty books.
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 did find an interview with Jennie at K.L. Going's Writer's Resource Page. (Click on "Agent, Author, or Editor Interview" on the right hand side of the page and it will take you right to the interview.)
You can also read the Dunham Literary listing in the 2013 Children's Writers and Illustrators Market.
Jennie accepts query letters only via both email and snail mail. Check out the Dunham Literary submission guidelines. If you get a request be sure to take a look at the Requested Submissions page.
Jennie represents Jody Feldman, Juliet Bond, Robert Sabuda, and Matthew Reinhart. She also represents Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty books.
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!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Natasha Yim Teaches Us How to Read... in Public!
READ IN PUBLIC? WHO ME?
By Natasha Yim
Recently, I presented my new book Sacajawea of the Shoshone (Goosebottom Books, 2012) at the Sonoma County Book Festival. I even dressed as Sacajawea for the occasion. My stomach churned uncontrollably. I kept telling myself: “Get a grip! You’ve done this before. You know her story. Why are you so nervous?”
When I had my first reading and signing at a book store for my first picture book, Otto’s Rainy Day (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2000), I was petrified! I had to ask my brother-in-law to read the book! School visits were even more terrifying. Speaking in front of 50, 100, 150 kids? Forget it. I avoided doing school visits for the longest time. I’ve come a long way. I’ve done quite a few public speaking engagements now and managed to have fun at most of them. And even though I can read my own books and get to the stage without stumbling, the nervousness never goes away.
So, here are a few tips about public speaking I’ve learned on my way to the podium. They may not make you a great orator, but it’ll help you manage your sweaty palms, hammering heart, and the urge to throw up all over your audience.
1. The only way to get a handle on your fear of public speaking is to just DO IT. Over...and over...and over again. The more you do, the less terrifying it becomes (note I’m not saying you won’t be terrified, I’m saying you’ll be less terrified).
2. Don’t think sales or marketing. Yes, you’re putting yourself out there and forcing yourself into this misery called public speaking because, in part, you’re promoting your book. But ultimately, what you’ll get the most joy and satisfaction from is connecting with your audience.
3. Use visuals. Power Point...best invention, ever! Actually, I have an Apple computer, so I use Keynotes which is more intuitive than Power Point, but you can include fun graphics and pictures, make them move across the page, shimmer or sparkle. Kids love the little airplane icon that flies across the map of the world from South East Asia to California when I talk about my childhood and journey to the US. You can enlarge the pages you’re reading from so they can see the illustrations better. And it takes the focus off of you as the speaker. When and if Power Point isn’t feasible, copy, blow up and laminate images, illustrations and graphics that relate to your book. Tip: pictures of pets are always a great hit.
4. Go with the flow. Sometimes, you’ll appear at an event and you’ll have one person in the audience or none at all, or the bookstore owner didn’t order enough books (or as the case may be—any books). I’ve turned book events into one-on-one chats (hey, she took the time to come), or signed free bookmarks for the attendees who didn’t want or couldn’t afford to buy the book. Make your time worthwhile, no matter how small.
5. Have a sense of humor. A friend of mine presented her book for ages 9 - 13 at an event where most of the kids who came were barely in pre-school, and the Q & A segment went something like this: “When is the skater lady going to be here?” (Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi was also scheduled to read her children’s book that day). You never know, those embarrassing moments could be the start of a new book! At any rate, they’ll make great stories to tell your grandkids...or your writer friends...who then put it in a blog post...
Connect with Natasha on her website: www.natashayim.com
Her blog: www.writerslife2.blogspot.com (You can find the next stops on her blog tour in the sidebar.)
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/natashayim
Facebook: www.facebook.com/natashayim.author
and check out the fan pages for Sacajawea of the Shoshone and Cixi, The Dragon Empress.
And if you're in the bay area, Goosebottom Books will be launching Sacajawea of the Shoshone and 2 other fall releases (Njinga, The Warrior Queen, and Horrible Hauntings) at Reach and Teach bookstore, San Mateo, on Oct. 27, 4 pm. Come join us for a Halloween-themed book party with scary treats, a scariest reading contest (the audience gets to pick the scariest reader), book readings and enter the best Sacajawea look-alike contest. More details on Natasha's blog to come.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Garlic and Exoskeletons
Yes, I realize I have been a bit absent as of late. You see, on top of apple harvest (my first one ever as an orchardist), it is also garlic planting time. Wanna know how much garlic the man and I are planting? I don't even want to think about it but I'll tell you--approximately 500 pounds. And he keeps talking about buying more. Zoinks!
Now, garlic planting is kind of nice. You get to be outside in the sun and soft dirt. There is the Diatomaceous Earth. It's basically fossilized remains of algae. You can eat it, but it has silica in it so you should not breathe it. We wear bandanas over our faces. Yay, we look like garlic planting bandits, which is fine as long as it's not too hot. What Diatomaceous Earth does is dehydrate bugs' exoskeletons. It also seems to dry out skin. Yeehaw! I'm really gonna look like a sundried cowboy if I'm not careful!
I do keep thinking about how nice it will be next spring when all the garlic is growing and how it will be great to work for ourselves and actually make a living, assuming all goes well of course. I also like that there's really nothing else I have to do in that moment when I'm planting garlic. I'm just planting. And talking with my husband for an extended period of quiet time, which I really don't get to do often enough these days.
It doesn't take long to slip from garlic planting serenity to the regular rush of life when the alarm goes off and it's time to rush down to school and get the kids, coach the soccer team, do the laundry, cook the dinner, get the kids to bed. Time has been going so quick lately. Here I am at almost two in the morning just finally caught up on emails! But life is good. And I have lots of time to think up stories. Mine is the notebook with all the dirt smudges on it.
Now, garlic planting is kind of nice. You get to be outside in the sun and soft dirt. There is the Diatomaceous Earth. It's basically fossilized remains of algae. You can eat it, but it has silica in it so you should not breathe it. We wear bandanas over our faces. Yay, we look like garlic planting bandits, which is fine as long as it's not too hot. What Diatomaceous Earth does is dehydrate bugs' exoskeletons. It also seems to dry out skin. Yeehaw! I'm really gonna look like a sundried cowboy if I'm not careful!
I do keep thinking about how nice it will be next spring when all the garlic is growing and how it will be great to work for ourselves and actually make a living, assuming all goes well of course. I also like that there's really nothing else I have to do in that moment when I'm planting garlic. I'm just planting. And talking with my husband for an extended period of quiet time, which I really don't get to do often enough these days.
It doesn't take long to slip from garlic planting serenity to the regular rush of life when the alarm goes off and it's time to rush down to school and get the kids, coach the soccer team, do the laundry, cook the dinner, get the kids to bed. Time has been going so quick lately. Here I am at almost two in the morning just finally caught up on emails! But life is good. And I have lots of time to think up stories. Mine is the notebook with all the dirt smudges on it.
Friday, September 7, 2012
How Diana Murray got Her Agent, plus an interview with Brianne Johnson of Writers House
Not too long ago I featured Brianne Johnson of Writers House on my Monster List of Picture Book Agents. That led me to talking to Diana Murray, a fabulous picture book author who is represented by Brianne. Today I am happy to have Diana here to share with us how she signed with her agent. (I can't help but love hearing about her kicking the cyber-street to the curb!) Diana and Brianne were also kind enough to do a little question and answer for us! First, here's Diana's post:
How I Got My Agent
At first, I wasn’t even sure I wanted an agent. For one thing, I had always heard that getting an agent for picture books if you weren’t a) already published, b) also writing novels, and/or c) also an illustrator, was pretty much impossible. On top of that, I wrote exclusively in rhyme. Seemed like a sure recipe for rejection, according to the word on the cyber-street. In addition, I’d read about many agented writers who seemed unhappy or frustrated. Why bother? I figured I might as well continue subbing to publishers on my own. But then...
December 22
I read about Brianne Johnson on Verla Kay’s blueboards and headed over to the Writers House website to investigate further. It was like reading a personal ad and thinking, “Hey! I like long walks on the beach too!” I immediately felt in my gut that it might be a good match. Also, I felt particularly excited about the prospect of working with a go-getter junior agent at a big house. Seemed like a great opportunity. I decided to sub immediately, even though it was just days away from Christmas.
January 17
After a few weeks, I was excited to see an email from Brianne in my inbox. I did a double-take to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. It was true! Brianne said she really liked my manuscript and was getting some reads from colleagues. In the meantime, she wanted to see if I had any other work. Luckily, I had written lots of other picture book manuscripts over the years. But how to choose? I based my decision mostly on the feedback I had received during various SCBWI events, and on reactions from my own critique group. I chose to send her five. One manuscript was similar to the first one she liked (it was character-driven, wacky, had plenty of conflict, and was in the range of 500-700 words). Three of the manuscripts were much shorter, younger, and simpler. And the last manuscript was a humorous poetry collection.
I reset my email program to check for new mail “every 1 minute”. And I waited...
Feb 6
Twenty days later, I received a response! But before opening it, I had to go make a sandwich. I couldn’t face this news on an empty stomach, especially since no matter the outcome, there would probably be some cabernet involved.
When I finally opened that email, I read that Brianne liked my writing and wanted to speak with me!
Feb 7
On the phone, Brianne immediately made me feel comfortable and we had a great conversation. That was another good sign that we could work well together. She was enthusiastic and complimentary, but didn’t promise me the moon. Brianne was clear that rhyming picture books were a tough sell in the current market, and I didn’t disagree. By that night, I was signing a contract with her. Within a few months, she sold one picture book to Roaring Brook Press and then another (in a two-book deal) to Katherine Tegen Books.
Take that, cyber-street!
And now I’ve changed my mind about agents. It’s true that they’re not an absolute necessity when you write picture books. But when you find the right agent for you, it can make all the difference in your career.
Here are a few answers from Brianne Johnson at Writers House:
What kinds of picture book manuscripts tend to catch your eye?
Funny ones! I love clever, character-driven, LOL-funny manuscripts that leave a lot of room for art, feature somewhat offbeat protagonists, and hold up to repeat readings. In that sense, Diana and I are a truly great match (that, and our shared love of long walks on the beach). When I first read her work I could really see them as picture books, and her sense of humor is amazing. Absolutely no one can read NED THE KNITTING PIRATE or GRIMELDA without literally laughing out loud… I’ve read them both about a million times and LOL every time. You’ll see!
What are some common mistakes you see in query letters for picture books?
Not including the manuscript pasted below the letter! You’d be surprised how many queries I get that leave off the MS itself and just include the pitch. To be honest, with picture book queries, I skim over the letter quickly—paying attention mostly to the intro (big points for a personalized letter) and the bio, particularly if there’s previous publishing experience listed—and skip down to let the manuscript speak for itself. If the manuscript is really great I’ll go back and read the letter more carefully.
Are there certain picture book topics you’re particularly tired of seeing in your submissions pile?
Personally, I’m probably not the best fit for super-oozy-sweet, I-love-you-my-baby-muffin kind of manuscripts. I mean, I’ll always take a look, but I tend to gravitate toward somewhat edgier, funnier stories. Who knows, though? My query scouting style is largely instinct-based and very subjective. Try me! If I love it, I love it.
For those who write both picture books and novels, what do you recommend they query with first?
Probably the novel, although it’s worth mentioning in the letter that you have a picture book text or two up your sleeve.
-----
Diana Murray is the author of forthcoming picture books, NED THE KNITTING PIRATE: A SALTY YARN (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan, 2014) and GRIMELDA, THE VERY MESSY WITCH (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2014). Diana was awarded the 2010 SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant and has many poems published and forthcoming in magazines including Spider, Highlights for Children, and Highlights High Five, as well as the And the Crowd Goes Wild! sports-themed poetry anthology. Diana lives in New York City with her husband, two children, and a goldfish named Pickle. You can find Diana on her website, www.dianamurray.com and on Twitter.
How I Got My Agent
At first, I wasn’t even sure I wanted an agent. For one thing, I had always heard that getting an agent for picture books if you weren’t a) already published, b) also writing novels, and/or c) also an illustrator, was pretty much impossible. On top of that, I wrote exclusively in rhyme. Seemed like a sure recipe for rejection, according to the word on the cyber-street. In addition, I’d read about many agented writers who seemed unhappy or frustrated. Why bother? I figured I might as well continue subbing to publishers on my own. But then...
December 22
I read about Brianne Johnson on Verla Kay’s blueboards and headed over to the Writers House website to investigate further. It was like reading a personal ad and thinking, “Hey! I like long walks on the beach too!” I immediately felt in my gut that it might be a good match. Also, I felt particularly excited about the prospect of working with a go-getter junior agent at a big house. Seemed like a great opportunity. I decided to sub immediately, even though it was just days away from Christmas.
January 17
After a few weeks, I was excited to see an email from Brianne in my inbox. I did a double-take to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. It was true! Brianne said she really liked my manuscript and was getting some reads from colleagues. In the meantime, she wanted to see if I had any other work. Luckily, I had written lots of other picture book manuscripts over the years. But how to choose? I based my decision mostly on the feedback I had received during various SCBWI events, and on reactions from my own critique group. I chose to send her five. One manuscript was similar to the first one she liked (it was character-driven, wacky, had plenty of conflict, and was in the range of 500-700 words). Three of the manuscripts were much shorter, younger, and simpler. And the last manuscript was a humorous poetry collection.
I reset my email program to check for new mail “every 1 minute”. And I waited...
Feb 6
Twenty days later, I received a response! But before opening it, I had to go make a sandwich. I couldn’t face this news on an empty stomach, especially since no matter the outcome, there would probably be some cabernet involved.
When I finally opened that email, I read that Brianne liked my writing and wanted to speak with me!
Feb 7
On the phone, Brianne immediately made me feel comfortable and we had a great conversation. That was another good sign that we could work well together. She was enthusiastic and complimentary, but didn’t promise me the moon. Brianne was clear that rhyming picture books were a tough sell in the current market, and I didn’t disagree. By that night, I was signing a contract with her. Within a few months, she sold one picture book to Roaring Brook Press and then another (in a two-book deal) to Katherine Tegen Books.
Take that, cyber-street!
And now I’ve changed my mind about agents. It’s true that they’re not an absolute necessity when you write picture books. But when you find the right agent for you, it can make all the difference in your career.
Here are a few answers from Brianne Johnson at Writers House:
What kinds of picture book manuscripts tend to catch your eye?
Funny ones! I love clever, character-driven, LOL-funny manuscripts that leave a lot of room for art, feature somewhat offbeat protagonists, and hold up to repeat readings. In that sense, Diana and I are a truly great match (that, and our shared love of long walks on the beach). When I first read her work I could really see them as picture books, and her sense of humor is amazing. Absolutely no one can read NED THE KNITTING PIRATE or GRIMELDA without literally laughing out loud… I’ve read them both about a million times and LOL every time. You’ll see!
What are some common mistakes you see in query letters for picture books?
Not including the manuscript pasted below the letter! You’d be surprised how many queries I get that leave off the MS itself and just include the pitch. To be honest, with picture book queries, I skim over the letter quickly—paying attention mostly to the intro (big points for a personalized letter) and the bio, particularly if there’s previous publishing experience listed—and skip down to let the manuscript speak for itself. If the manuscript is really great I’ll go back and read the letter more carefully.
Are there certain picture book topics you’re particularly tired of seeing in your submissions pile?
Personally, I’m probably not the best fit for super-oozy-sweet, I-love-you-my-baby-muffin kind of manuscripts. I mean, I’ll always take a look, but I tend to gravitate toward somewhat edgier, funnier stories. Who knows, though? My query scouting style is largely instinct-based and very subjective. Try me! If I love it, I love it.
For those who write both picture books and novels, what do you recommend they query with first?
Probably the novel, although it’s worth mentioning in the letter that you have a picture book text or two up your sleeve.
-----
Diana Murray is the author of forthcoming picture books, NED THE KNITTING PIRATE: A SALTY YARN (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan, 2014) and GRIMELDA, THE VERY MESSY WITCH (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2014). Diana was awarded the 2010 SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant and has many poems published and forthcoming in magazines including Spider, Highlights for Children, and Highlights High Five, as well as the And the Crowd Goes Wild! sports-themed poetry anthology. Diana lives in New York City with her husband, two children, and a goldfish named Pickle. You can find Diana on her website, www.dianamurray.com and on Twitter.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Waiting for Something Amazing to Happen aka Submitting Manuscripts
Submitting a manuscript can be hard! It can be scary to put your work out there. It can also be fun! I hear from lots of writers who are afraid to take that step. If you've done all the work; writing, critiquing, revising,more critiquing, more revising, editing ad nauseam, etc., etc., etc., and there is no more that you can possibly come up with to improve your manuscript it may be time to send out some submissions!
Be brave! When I first starting subbing I had to tell myself that it was no big deal. I would never meet this person that was reading my work (unless, of course, they liked it. Eep!) I had worked hard on my manuscripts and it was time to give them a chance. I was nervous, but I managed to get some work out there this way and I learned a lot in the process.
Now that I've had a little more experience with submissions, I see it as a challenge. It's exciting to send a story I've worked so hard on out into the world and see what comes back. Yes, this writing business can be tough, but when you have a manuscript out on submission, you never know what's going to happen. You may get a form rejection, but you may get back a letter saying how much your manuscript was liked, or a revision request, or *gasp* an offer! You are never going to experience any of those things if you don't send your manuscript out in the first place. I like to think of us writers as the kid on the tricycle from my very favorite movie of all time:
So here I am, sitting and waiting for something amazing to happen. If anyone wants to join me, there's plenty of room!
Be brave! When I first starting subbing I had to tell myself that it was no big deal. I would never meet this person that was reading my work (unless, of course, they liked it. Eep!) I had worked hard on my manuscripts and it was time to give them a chance. I was nervous, but I managed to get some work out there this way and I learned a lot in the process.
Now that I've had a little more experience with submissions, I see it as a challenge. It's exciting to send a story I've worked so hard on out into the world and see what comes back. Yes, this writing business can be tough, but when you have a manuscript out on submission, you never know what's going to happen. You may get a form rejection, but you may get back a letter saying how much your manuscript was liked, or a revision request, or *gasp* an offer! You are never going to experience any of those things if you don't send your manuscript out in the first place. I like to think of us writers as the kid on the tricycle from my very favorite movie of all time:
So here I am, sitting and waiting for something amazing to happen. If anyone wants to join me, there's plenty of room!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Cutting Words in a Picture Book Manuscript
Chop chop! Word counts for picture books are tight. Every word has to count. Before you even think of submitting a manuscript to an agent or publisher, be sure every word makes the cut.
and
at
was
that
so
as/as they
suddenly
however
quite
And of course: adjectives and adverbs!
My biggest offender? The horrible! The horrifying! Just. Oh how that word seems to make it into every single one of my manuscripts.
What are your biggest offenders? I'll add them to the list!
For more on cutting your picture book manuscript read STOP! Cut Picture Book Mss by 1/3 at Darcy Pattison's blog, and Six Steps to Make Your Children's Story Sparkle by Laura Backes.
Of course, it can be hard to see what can be changed in our own work after we've looked at it for so long. If you've done your best to cut and still have a manuscript that's too long, ask a critique partner to look at it with an eye towards cutting!
- Think about what the illustrations will show. Do you really need to say that your character is sitting by a stream? (Don't be afraid to use an illustration note if you need to, but only use them if absolutely necessary!)
- Can you say with one word (better) something that you've said in two... or three... or four?
- Contractions! Going though your manuscript and changing they are to they're and I am to I'm, etc., can cut quite a few words. Of course, you don't have to contract everything contractable. Use your judgement on what sounds best in your story. Remember to watch for it is. It's it's not its!
- Check your descriptions. Can they be tightened?
- Are there sentences that can be combined?
- Can words that end in -ed be changed to -ing, omitting the pronoun?
- Don't be afraid to go even further. Can you rid the story of any scenes, characters or dialogue? If it isn't moving the story forward get rid of it!
- Try Twitter. It's really great for helping make one aware of cuttable words. When you're trying to fit a thought into so few characters you can really see what needs to go!
Here are some common word offenders to be on the lookout for:
that
so
suddenly
however
quite
And of course: adjectives and adverbs!
My biggest offender? The horrible! The horrifying! Just. Oh how that word seems to make it into every single one of my manuscripts.
What are your biggest offenders? I'll add them to the list!
Of course, it can be hard to see what can be changed in our own work after we've looked at it for so long. If you've done your best to cut and still have a manuscript that's too long, ask a critique partner to look at it with an eye towards cutting!
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