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By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/29/2010
Many thanks to our conference coordinators: Susan Eaddy, Genetta Adair (SCBWI-Midsouth's RA) and Sharon Cameron. Thank you for giving us a fabulous conference ladies!
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/29/2010
Conference Faculty & Conference Coordinators with Donated Books
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/26/2010
A HUGE congrats goes out to all of the winners!
Picture book category:
Honorable Mention:
Jersey Girls by Suzanne Johnson
Hamster Hair by Kristi Valiant
Eleanor's Best by Amanda Driscoll
Winner:
Darwin, the Modern Dinosaur by Jessica Young
Middle Grade Category:
Ready...Or Not by Gretchen Kelley
The Spiritualists by Allison Foster
Winner:
The Doors of Whim by Tiffany Russell
Young Adult Category:
Honorable Mention:
Rise of the Archeteens by David Jarvis
Some Secrets Bleed by Courtney Stevens
The Edge by Teresa Lockhart
Winner: Wish Granter by Rae Ann Parker
Illustrator category:
Honorable Mention:
Kristi Valiant
Amanda Driscoll
Winner:
Cheryl Mendenhall for The Traveler and the Dragon: A Voyage with Marco Polo
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/26/2010
FACULTY PANEL
Tracy Barrett, Diane Muldrow, Lionel Bender, Linda Pratt, Peter Clifton, Kelly Sonnack, Ellen Hopkins, Ruta Rimas, Patti Ann Harris
From Rae Ann: Memorable quotes
Some memorable quotes:
“Be true to your style” – Art Director Patti Ann Harris speaking to illustrators
“Plunge into the next project.” – author Ellen Hopkins
“Don’t become a professional student of the industry. Write.” – agent Linda Pratt
From Bethany: Answers
What are the common things that can speed up or slow down the publishing journey?
Patti Ann Harris - Be comfortable with who you are and your interests and style.
Ruta Rimas – Be creative professionals.
Ellen Hopkins- Jump into the next project.
Peter Clifton- have fun…
Kelly Sonnack- Find a way to hook publishers/readers. Follow your heart, but make it relevant.
Linda Pratt- be flexible. Find different formats, spend time writing rather than becoming a professional student of the industry
Lionel Bender- Understand how the industry works. Don’t underestimate the amount of time needed to write/research etc.
Diane Muldrow – Do your homework.
Tracy Barrett – decide what works for you and what doesn’t.
What if you disagree with your critique…Critiques are subjective, but the faculty know the industry and are well read. Don’t discount author critiques—some people are disappointed when they get an author rather than an agent or editor. Possibly have it critiqued by another professional and look for consistency in the comments. Consider the niche of the faculty member who gives your critique. Put the manuscript away for awhile and then reconsider it.
From Amanda:
What are some examples of ways you can market directly to teens?
Ellen Hopkins: More and more publishers are creating more of a YA/Teen outreach. It is a network, so I am tied into all the major publishers. Friends who are authors promote for me and vice versa. On twitter, you don’t have to be friends with everyone that follows you. Reach teens through twitter and they may blog about it, etc. As much as you can, answer the messages that come to you from kids. You have to care because they are your readers. I do school visits—to keep in contact with kids and how they’re talking, what they’re thinking about, and let them see you are a real person.
Ruta Rimas: Melissa Marr does a terrific job of networking with her audience. John Green has a massive following of teen readers he has tapped into. Harper has developed a website called InkPop.com. It gets our authors interacting with our teen audience and writers.
When is present tense appropriate and is it being overdone these days?
Tracy Barrett: Sign up for the listserv for a longer answer to this question.
Ellen Hopkins: Present tense is when you need a sense of immediacy—it’s an unfolding experience.
Kelly Sonnack: It’s your decision. Commit to it and decide what works.
Would you ever ask for chapter two instead of chapter one since first chapters are often weak?
Ruta Rimas: No. If it’s not indicative of the quality of writing, then maybe you aren’t starting in the right place. If the first chapter isn’t strong, why would I want to continue reading?
Linda Pr
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/26/2010
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/26/2010
Ruta Rimas, editor at HarperCollins Balzer + Bray imprint presented a hands-on workshop on developing a character from scratch.
Look at your characters & ask questions like:
Who is your character? How does your character react to certain situations?
Write a scene where they do the exact opposite.
Ruta’s examples of well-developed characters:
from TV:
Dexter (conflicted & complicated)
Literary Characters:
Max from Where the Wild Things Are
Frankie Landau-Banks from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Katniss from The Hunger Games
Ruta recommends Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/26/2010
What makes the 1st page a No:
Too much exposition (telling instead of showing)
Labeled for the wrong age group
Picture Book is dialogue heavy
Picture Book is list-y (tackling a list instead of an overall conflict)
Too much description in action scene slows down the pacing
What makes the 1st page a Yes:
Interesting opening line
Picture Book showing good imagination
Lots of action in opening scene
A Note on Titles: Choose a Title that doesn’t explain everything about the book.
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/25/2010
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/25/2010
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/25/2010
Focus on the big things first before moving on to small things like word choice.
“Envision your story like a path. The reader needs to stay on that path throughout the story and not get lost in the woods.”
Characters - Why should the reader care about your protagonist? We need to care in the 1st 10 pages. An exception: in a fantasy, worldbuilding may be the focus of 1st 10 pages and character comes later.
Dialogue - Kelly suggests read through your manuscript reading only one character’s voice out loud. Is it consistent throughout the story?
Pacing - You need a good balance of description & detail. Use spare details in action scenes.
Language - Do you favor certain words? “Every writer has favorite words. Be aware of the words you favor. Vary sentence openers & paragraph openers.”
By: Hardygirl,
on 9/25/2010
Hi everyone! I'm at the Saturday afternoon breakout session with Patti Ann Harris, Senior Art Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Diane Muldrow, editorial director at Golden Books/Random House.
By: bethany,
on 9/25/2010
Lionel Bender – book packager
Editorial Director of Bender Richardson White (BRW), a book packager (creation/ development house) in London, England and the author of 70+ children’s illustrated non-fiction books.
Started with a Nashville appropriate metaphor- Book publishers are behind the scenes, if they were a band they'd be behind the scenes, the roadies, the producers, never with frontmen with their name in lights.
Book packaging started in London in the mid-1960s.
It started with illustrated non-fiction.
What types of Books do book packagers produce?
Illustrated non-fiction for ages 6 & up
Books for school & libraries
Most are in series.
Most of the books produced by Mr. Bender’s company are science and nature books.
It is more common to see fiction books now produced by book packagers.
Kinds of books book packagers make:
Highly illustrated – photographs or art work
Integrated images & text
Why do Book Packagers exist?
Extra staff (example: book publishers need to complete a series & need extra staff)
A subject matter expertise book packager has
30-40% of the Children's Nonfiction books that you see on shelves are produced by book packagers.
Book packagers often do not pay royalties. They rarely work with agents, they prefer to work directly with authors.
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/25/2010
Patti Ann Harris, Senior Art Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/25/2010
By: Betsy Bird,
on 9/25/2010
Patti Ann Harris addressed Breakout Session II on Saturday 25 September to a lively group of attendees. Patti Ann is the Senior Art Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and oversees the design of the picture book list and the novelty book imprint, LB-kids. She has experience working with illustrators of all levels -- from "first-time" to "seasoned."
Her presentation included sharing her experiences with Little, Brown and providing tips for keeping artwork "fresh" and interesting.
Her advice included the following:
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/25/2010
Step one: Write a damn good book and WORKSHOP IT.
On finding an agent: DO YOUR RESEARCH. Write a good pitch letter and WORKSHOP IT. FOLLOW directions.
Don’t give up!
Formalizing representation: Sometimes, authors must do REVISIONS before an offer of representation. An agent needs to know you can have a good working relationship.
Phone call with an agent: ask questions! Now is a good time to start. Make a list of questions you will ask your agent in the future.
The agent will submit to agents using a pitch letter.
When there is interest from an editor, it will go to an editorial and acquisitions board to be approved by the editor's colleagues.
Then, the editor may offer. Several different things can happen at this point depending on the type of offer. Sometimes this can lead to an auction if there are multiple editors interested.
Negotiating/signing the contract: this is when the agent/author decides what rights to keep (i.e. film, electronic, etc).
If you sell your book, you will begin working with an editor. You will receive an editorial letter that will explain the revision and will explain the vision the editor has for your book. Then, you will work on revisions. A lot. And then a lot more. And then maybe a little more.
After the book sale, the agent steps back a bit, but will be involved if necessary--for example, with a title change, the cover, design, etc.
You won't be sent on book tours! For pre-publication, consider promotional ideas: websites, blogs (and blog tours), school visits, author photos, etc.
Amazing Quote of the Session: "Patience is a virtue you really need to have in this business. Books take 18 months from contract to publication at the MINIMUM."
By: bethany,
on 9/25/2010
Ellen Hopkins writes great poetry. But when it comes down to it, it isn't the poetry that resonates and in some cases haunts readers. It's the characters.
She often reads for critiques and for blurbs and a common weakness she sees is character motivation.
Ellen says, "If you make the reader stop to ask WHY the character is doing whatever they are doing, then you've lost them!" She explains how to create and understand complex characters who do things that make sense.
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/25/2010
Ruta Rimas is an assistant editor at Balzer and Bray, an imprint of Harpercollins.
Ruta’s workshops are INTERACTIVE. She asks, “What makes a book great to you?” and gives the attendees time to answer the question. This is one of the really cool sessions that the attendees can directly apply to their own writing.
RECOMMENDED READING MATERIAL: READING LIKE A WRITER BY FRANCINE PROSE, MANIAC MAGEE, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, THE BOOK THIEF, HOW I LIVE NOW, ETC.
Rimas encourages looking at your writing word by word. She presents a word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of great books and our own manuscripts.
Rimas also discusses the difficult concept that is voice.
Fabulous Quote of the Session: "Voice is one of those very complicated, often misunderstood topics. You can practice at it, but it's one of those things that has to come from you. You can't just fill in a form and all of a sudden you have voice in your character."
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/25/2010
Linda Pratt (agent with Sheldon Fogelman Agency) talked about voice.
Voice in children’s books (and any book) is the key thing that agents, editors, & readers look for.
Voice is something that is developed. Most artists & most authors are not self-taught. Writers must be readers first. Writers great with voice must be good listeners.
Linda says, “Voice is the personality and the whole life history of a character when they speak.”
Look at who the character is and the language they use. Word choice and sentence structure can tell the reader a lot about the character.
Some exercises Linda recommends for honing your voice include:
*Eavesdrop on conversations.
*Read for pleasure, then re-read later. Study the work.
*Read your work aloud.
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/25/2010
By: Rae Ann Parker,
on 9/25/2010
Genetta Adair, SCBWI Midsouth Regional Advisor welcomed everyone to the conference.
The 2010 SCBWI Midsouth conference is a sellout! There are 120 writers/illustrators here from 14 states and we have one faculty member from London (Lionel Bender).
By: bethany,
on 9/25/2010
Breakfast was delicious! Company has been fabulous! I bought way too many books (Merry Christmas to my kiddos!) and now we're eagerly awaiting the keynote by Ellen Hopkins! Love the Midsouth conference!
By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/24/2010
Watch this space for photos from the dessert and book signing. Slight technical difficulties are preventing immediate upload, but rest assured--they'll be here!
By: bethany,
on 9/21/2010
So, I hate to admit it, but I never went to book signings before I was an author. Not because I don't like books, they've always been among my most treasured possessions, and not because I don't like authors...I guess it was just one of those things I never thought to do...I didn't know people who went to book signings. My mom never took me to one. Yes, I loved to go to book stores, but I didn't know what I would say to a real life author.
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By: Amanda Morgan,
on 9/21/2010
Kelly Sonnack is a literary agent with the Andrea Brown Literary agency in LA. She has sold books like 2009 Golden Kite Winner Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins and Candace Ryan's Ribbit Rabbit.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions, Kelly! :)
Can you give us a sneak preview of what you'll be discussing at the conference?
Sure! I’ll be giving two presentations. They are called, “The Secrets to Revising” and “Demystifying the Publishing Process, from Cradle to Grave.”
What is your favorite part of being a literary agent?
Celebrating the success of my clients. There’s nothing better than that phone call when I can share good news about an offer, an award, or other exciting news.
What's the number one thing you look for in a potential author?
A unique, takes-your-breath-away, have-to-have-it kind of story and writing.
What is your favorite book and why?
This is THE most impossible question in the world to answer. It’s like asking a Mom to pick her favorite kid. I think I could name my top three IF you gave me subgenres. But, one I continue to come back to again and again is A WRINKLE IN TIME. It was a cornerstone book for me in my development and I just love the themes, characters, and ideas it shares.
How do you know when you want to sign a new project?
When I can’t get the writing and story out of my head.
Thanks again, Kelly! We appreciate you stopping by!
Not to sound like a total noob here, but what are "the Blue boards"?
Here's a link!
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php