The Pressure of the Idea

In the past few weeks I have done a lot of things. I've weeded acres of garlic. I've thinned apple trees. Planted a garden. Run in a race and took first place. (It was a small race... very small. Don't be too impressed.) I've gone on long, lingering bike rides, been to the lake and had a run in with some leeches, read books in the sun. I've filled out a long, confusing application to get our farms certified organic. I've agreed to buy a rundown cabin. I've helped an art client get her social media up and running. I even dug out an old young adult novel I wrote a couple of years ago and started revisions.

One thing I haven't done? Come up with a new picture book idea. Why? Well, I like to think that my brain has been too busy doing all of these other things. On the one hand it bugs me. Why haven't I had an idea? I'm always full of ideas. On the other hand I wonder why I think I need a new idea. I have a bajillion in the filing cabinet, and many more lying around here and there. Really, I need more? Well, yeah. Of course I do! You never know when one will be great.

I do think that sometimes we picture book writers can put a lot of pressure on the idea and forget that the follow through is just as important. And honestly, for me, sometimes my ideas just need to sit a while until I figure them out. I recently finally finished a book whose concept I came up with at least a couple of years ago. I adored the concept but couldn't make it work. When I pulled the manuscript out a couple of months ago I finally figured out how the story needed to play out. It's nothing like what I had come up with at first save one major (and crazy!) plot detail. It's such a better story now and I believe it's ready to face the world.

So, I need to not worry. I know more picture book ideas will come eventually. They always do. I have plenty of other things to work on. And maybe with some focus I could even finish that YA. Now wouldn't that be something.

Patience, Grasshopper.

You know when you write a story and are really excited about it and you can't wait to finish it up so you can get it out into the world and see what happens? Well, that's me. A lot. But especially with the manuscript I've been working on lately. I want it to be done. NOW. But I know better.

I know that if I let my story sit I will come back with fresh eyes and be able to pick out things that don't work well enough. I know that if I wait I will come up with new and better plot twists, characterization, dialogue, and all that other stuff a manuscript needs to go the distance. I know that if I send my manuscript to my critique partner she will point out all sorts of things and make great suggestions on how to improve them. I know that if I just let my brain mull things over my story will get better. And it has.

Do I want to finish this manuscript and send it to my agent to see what she thinks? You bet. But I want to send her my work when it's at its best. I want it to be as ready as it can be. I want her to fall in love with it the way I love it. And to do that I must be patient. No matter how hard it is.

I'm getting close. At least in my opinion. But I'm trying to hold out a bit longer. One thing I found that has made the waiting easier? I'm working on perfecting the pitch. Maybe I'll go work on it some more now before I get too tempted to send the manuscript off.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Scott Treimel, S©ott Treimel NY

Update 11/7/2013 -  Scott Treimel has closed to unsolicited submissions but will still be accepting submissions from conference attendees and through references. You can find out all the details by reading the new Submission Policies page.

My last post featured author Ame Dyckman and her debut picture book, BOY + BOT. Ame is represented by Scott Treimel so there's no time like now to feature Scott on the monster list! Ame had two more books forthcoming. I can see why she refers to Scott as "super agent"!

At SCBWI Hawaii, they have a bit of what Scott said regarding craft, how he agents, and what he wants to see in a query. It's from 2005 but relevant. (There are two separate paragraphs. Scroll down.)

There is a nice list of Scott's sales at AgentQuery.

You can see Scott's amazing resume at Linkedin.

Board books through teen novels is listed under genres at Publisher's Marketplace.

Diary of a Children's Book Writer has some interesting notes from the SCBWI NJ 2009 conference.

You can see some response times at the Querytracker website.

You can learn a ton on the S©ott Treimel NY website. There is of course, an about us page and submission guidelines (be sure to use their submission form if you decide to submit). There's also a blog you won't want to miss. There is an offer to "try to answer any and all your STNY-specific or industry-related questions" in the sidebar. What a great opportunity!

You can also find Scott on Twitter.

Scott also represents: Barbara Joose, Maribeth Boelts, and Ellen A. Kelley.

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!

A First Grade Interview with Ame Dyckman & Dan Yaccarino, creators of BOY + BOT!

BOY + BOT is the story of a boy and a robot who become friends. It is created by one fabulous duo, Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino.

I brought this great book to school, along with a giant BOT, to share with some of my friends in first grade. And thanks to my nice friend Ame Dyckman, the kids got to interview the author and illustrator of a book, which was very exciting!

                            


First I told the kids about BOY + BOT's illustrator and showed them a selection of books Dan has illustrated and written, along with some of the stuff he's done for television. Television is impressive, of course, but the kids really ooohed and ahhed over all of the books that Dan has done. Pretty cool.

Then I told the kids about Ame and showed them her photo. Did they love her hat with ears? Affirmative. Did they love that she has pink hair? They certainly got excited about it! Did they think it was cool that she wrote a book and they got to ask her questions? Absolutely. And they were even more amazed when I showed them on the globe that Ame (and Dan too) live all the way across the United States far away from us here in Washington.

I think we got a lot of learning done just by talking. We talked about what authors and illustrators do. How they can work anywhere. How they work together along with the publisher. What a publisher is. We even got some geography in there. And we hadn't even started the book yet! But when we did there was lots of wiggling, giggling, and excitement!

After the applause died down, and we talked about misunderstanding and friendship(which is what BOY + BOT is all about), we did some creating of our own and made Bot inspired robots! The kids really got into it and enjoyed coming up with their own robot designs. Some even made baby bots to accompany their big bots. How cool is that! And, of course, the kids came up with questions they wanted to ask Ame and Dan. They wrote them on the giant Bot!

Here is Mrs. VanWoert's first grade reading class' interview:


How did you decide what Boy + Bot were going to look like? –Skyler

Dan: I just drew what my favorite robot would look like.


How long did it take to figure out what Bot was going to look like? -Laurelii

Dan: A few days.


How did you color the pictures? –Katelyn

Dan: I used a special paint called gouache (pronounced "gwash").


What did you use to make the illustrations? –Dakota

Dan: A paint called gouache on watercolor paper.


Dan, were you good at drawing when you were seven? –Reagan

Dan: Not as good as I am now, but I drew every day, so I got better.


How did you learn to draw? –Victor

Dan: By drawing every day.


Why is Bot red? –Katey

Dan: I like red. All robots should be red.


Why do you choose to illustrate other authors books as well as your own? -Heather (Okay, I couldn't resist asking Dan and Ame each a question as well.)

Dan: It's fun.


What is your favorite color? –Kayla

Dan: All of them.

Ame: My favorite color is blue, like the sky. (And often, my hair!)



What does Boy + Bot = ? -Jasper

Ame: Best friends forever!


I like your book. Why did Bot go swimming? –Kyra

Ame: Thanks Kyra! I like you name. Why did Bot go swimming? It was hot. (Don't worry. Bot is waterproof!)


How did you think of the story? –Kylar

Ame: I love robots. And I love friendship stories. I thought, "I'll write a robot friendship story!" And once, when I rolled down a hill, I got poked by a rock. So, I wrote that in, too.


Do Boy + Bot have names? –Jasper

Ame: Bot's real name is Bot. Boy hasn't told me what his name is yet.


Does the inventor have any other inventions? –Elijah

Ame: Lots! Right now, the Inventor is working on an automatic swinging hammock. (He's been a little dizzy lately.)


Does Bot have to work for the inventor or does he just get to play? –David

Ame: Bot has chores. When his chores are done, he gets to play. Watt (the little light bulb robot) is the Inventor's helper. This makes Watt happy.


You did an Unread interview with me way back in 2009! Now that you are a published author, how have things changed for you? -Heather

Ame: Now I get to write my name in a book and not get in trouble. But what do I love best? When kids and grandparents and teachers let me know they like Boy + Bot. That's the greatest thing ever!

And mine and Ame's definite favorite question:
Did it take more than one day to make the book? -Joey

Dan: Yes, it took me about three months to make the paintings.

Ame: And Joey, if you count the whole entire process (from the day I finished the 1st draft of the text for BOY + BOT to the day it went on sale), it was about 1,225 days! Do I hope you like our book? Affirmative!

*You may have noticed a lack of kids in the photos of this post! That is because there are rules and there was no time to deal with permission slips and all that. I do have permission to show one kid, who happens to be my personal helper on all things first grade related.

Swarm Capturing is Fun!

So, we were driving back from feeding our bees at our farm in town. Enjoying that we had an actual day off. The first in ages! We've closed the restaurant for a while. No one had soccer practice. It was sunny and warm and lovely.

Unfortunately, my husband has a really good eye...for swarms of bees. And when he sees one, he can't just pass it up. I pointed out that the swarm was in a really tall tree. Yes, of course we could get a ladder. But the branches were really skinny. It was more like a giant bush. It had danger written all over it. Alas, he has no fear.

So, we got permission from the tree owner. We borrowed a ladder, some rope, a saw, and some pruning shears from a friend who said, "heck no!" he wasn't going to come watch.

I held the ladder. It was leaned against a few rather spindly branches and the man without fear climbed up. He tied a rope around the branch with the swarm on it. Just about that time a couple of guys showed up who thought that seeing a swarm like that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn't bother to mention that we captured five of our own swarms last year. I mean, the guys were super excited. Plus now we had helpers! While my boys looked on from the comfort of the car, I held the ladder, the new helpers pulled the branch down with the rope, and the man cut the branch.

Of course at this point, one might think we had a plan. One of the guys asked just that as the branch fell and we were showered with bees. I shouted to my boys to close the car door. Twice. (They seem to take after their dad in the fear department.) Our manly helper men ran around flailing and shooing bees off themselves. My husband sat in the tree, bees swirling all around him while I held onto the ladder with all my might because he had gotten so far out on that skinny branch it looked like it was about to snap. Bees rained down on me like angry black and yellow hailstones.

I had to laugh. I mean, I can't honestly say that I wasn't a little bit afraid. It would be silly not to be when there are 30,000 or so bees that could sting if they really wanted to. But they didn't. Bees usually only sting when they have a hive to protect or when they get squished. I actually felt pretty dang calm. I must be getting used to this beekeeping thing a little bit.

I had taken some photos to show you, but as luck would have it, my phone died today. Just imagine a big buzzing ball dripping from a branch. If you do want to see a photo of a swarm, google images has lots.

And yes, I do have a couple of bee stories swirling about here somewhere. Now that it's bee season I might just have to pick them up again.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Sara Sciuto, Full Circle Literary

As promised in yesterday's Monster List of Picture Book Agents post, here is an extra agent listing. Why? Am I mad? Well, as I was gathering information on agents I actually had duelling posts and they were both so good that I couldn't wait to share them! So, today I am happy to feature Sara Sciuto.

Sara is the newest agent at Full Circle Literary and she is actively building her list. That is a great opportunity for a writer on the agent hunt! Sara states in an interview at Mother. Write. Repeat., “While I'm not specifically seeking out picture books right now, if a superbly well-written PB with a quirky or humorous narrative found its way to me I wouldn't pass it up!” So, if you have something that fits that description you may want to give her a try.

There is a great article by Sara in the Spring 2012 edition of SCBWI L.A. Kite Tales. She talks about what she likes to see in a query and states that she does not want to see picture books over 800 words, and the shorter the better. Scroll down to page 21 to read the article.

Sara introduces herself at the Full Circle Literary blog and you can read Sara’s bio at the Full Circle Literary website. Be sure to read the Submission Guidelines while you’re there!

Stacey O’Neale has an interview with Sara where she gives her opinion on social media for writers, among other things.
You can learn a lot on Sara's tumblr, Mental Slush. She has a post on her query response policy that may be of interest if you're planning to query her.

You can find Sara on Twitter @sarasciuto.

Best of luck with your agent querying!

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!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency

Since I am a slacker (Ha ha! I've hardly had a moment of rest in I don't know how long. This running a cafe and a farm, and having three kids in sports stuff is hard work.) and am late on my agent post, I'm going to give you two posts in the next two days--as long as life cooperates! First up, Michelle Humphrey of Martha Kaplan Agency:

Sherrie Petersen has a great interview with Michelle on her blog, Write About Now. Be sure to read the update at the end of the interview. Plus she has tons of great links, so go there and check them out!
You can find Michelle Humphrey on Twitter @m_humphrey.

Michelle lists the books she represents on her Linkedin page where she says, “I'm looking for young adult and middle grade fiction, picture books, and narrative non-fiction (history, pop-cultural criticism, women's studies). Please feel free to send queries to michelle@kaplanagency.net.”

There are some nice comments about Michelle and talk about her response times on Querytracker.

Michelle represents Tracy Marchini and Caroline Starr Rose.

Oh, and she is obsessed with Red Hot Chili Peppers.