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cheyanne sammons has been a textile designer in the fashion industry for over 6 years, but has now decided to venture out on her own. cheyanne loves quirky vintage prints and interesting color combinations. she has also started selling some of her designs on spoonflower and you can see her shop online here.

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designer greta songe has teamed up with marcus fabrics. these designs are a part of their recently launched studio 37 fabric collection for modern quilting. marcus fabrics have been typically a company known for their reproduction fabrics. so, this more modern take is a newer venture that greta is thrilled to be a part of.

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Pinterest, the social networking site that lets users “pin” images to a virtual cork board, has launched a new iPad app and a new Android app, as well as updated its iPhone app, the company said a blog post .

AppNewser has more: “The company previously had an iPhone app, but this has been updated based on user feedback to include a 2 column layout. The newly launched Android app has been optimized to fit the varying Android devices and is available in Google Play and in the Amazon App Store. Pinterest said that the iPad app may have the best experience of all. The blog continues: ‘The app offers users new ways to engage with pins, whether swiping the screen to resume browsing after viewing a board, or using the embedded browser to see what others are pinning from their favorite sites.’”

To help writers and readers use the social network, we’ve put together a number of lists of literary Pinterest pages. Check out our Pinterest Boards for Book Lovers list, our Pinterest Tips for Writers post, and our list of 10 Pinterest Boards for eBook Fans.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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“…She cries tears in a bottle she keeps in her boot.”
– From Jordan Crane’s Keep Our Secrets (To Be Read in a Whisper),
a 2012 McMullens’ title

(Click to enlarge)

Last Thursday at Kirkus, I chatted with Brian McMullen, who created the McMullens children’s book imprint over at McSweeney’s, now in its second year. Brian serves as Art Director and imprint editor and is the namesake for the imprint. That link is here, if you missed it and are interested.

Today, I follow-up, as always, with some art. This time I’ve got some illustrations from a handful of McMullens titles’, both from this year and last.

Enjoy. (more…)

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by Ernest Hogan

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With school starting, most peoples schedules fill up, and its harder to spend time together as a family.  Take advantage of the last few long summer nights, and have a movie night with your kids.  Spread out some blankets.  Pop some pop corn.  And settle in with a film that can be enjoyed by a wide audience.

A great movie to check out for family night is the Lorax.

Synopsis -The imaginative world of Dr. Seuss comes to life like never before in this visually spectacular adventure from the creators of Despicable Me! Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real live Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. As he embarks on his journey, Ted discovers the incredible story of the Lorax, a grumpy but charming creature who speaks for the trees.
 
To Buy - The Lorax was released on Aug. 7th, and is available for purchase by digital download, DVD, and 2 and 3 disc Blu-Ray Combo packs.  You can get the Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Combo Pack (Two Discs: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) on sale on Amazon for just $24.96 today.

Bonus Features of the Blu-Ray Combo packs Include -

• MINI MOVIES

• Serenade -- Two Bar-ba-loots -- one love shy and the other suave and confident -- battle for the heart of their would-be sweetheart with the help of a colorful cast of characters, including the Humming-Fish and Swomme-Swans.
• Wagon-Ho—Two Bar-ba-loots take The Once-ler’s wagon on a ride they won’t soon forget.
• Forces of Nature—Determined to scare The Once-ler out of Truffula Valley, The Lorax decides to create the illusion of ominous forces of nature.

• MAKING OF THE MINI MOVIES—Go behind the scenes at Illumination Mac Guff to see the joys and challenges of continuing the characters’ stories in the dynamic format of the mini movie.
• DELETED SCENE
• SEUSS TO SCREEN—A fascinating look into the translation of Seuss’ iconic style from book into the big feature film canvas.
• SEUSS IT UP!— A great tutorial on how to draw the Lorax, a Humming-Fish and a Bar-ba-loot in the unique Seuss style.
• TRUFFULA RUN—The player moves left and right to avoid obstacles while attempting to pick up berries with modes for easy, medium and hard.  As difficulty increases, the player will have more obstacles to avoid. 
• “LET IT GROW” SING ALONG— Karaoke-style sing along to the end credit version of Let It Grow.
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-DIRECTORS CHRIS RENAUD & KYLE BALDA
• ONCE-LER’S WAGON— While the Once-ler is away peddling his wares, the curious forest creatures have fun with his belongings.  Users can select an item for the creatures to mimic or play with and then watch the adorable antics of all the forest friends.

I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post. By entering this giveaway you agree to my giveaway/disclosure guidelines

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Today is the release of the remarkably beautiful cover of Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno. Now before we just to that breathtaking cover, allow me to share more about the book.

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What does he see? You'll have to find out in a couple months... The illustration is finished but it's not published yet. I don't usually post before- I think at least  -.-

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Tracey Adams co-founded Adams Literary in 2004 with her husband Josh Adams, after nearly a decade with literary agencies Writers House and McIntosh & Otis, where Tracey was the head of the children’s department. Prior to becoming an agent, she worked in the marketing and editorial departments of Greenwillow Books and Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Adams Literary exclusively represents children’s authors and artists.  Their commitment to their clients and the industry is impressive. Josh says, “Our role is championing our clients. We live and die by our authors. It’s not just a nine to five job. We are committed.” 

Tracey says, “We have a family atmosphere.”

Tracey Adams, Josh Adams, and their associate agent Ququinlan Lee are the team that makes up Adams Literary.  They spoke at the New School Writing Children’s Program had a  Forum on How Agents Work.  Andrew Winters was kind enough to share a little bit of what came out of that forum:

Speaking about their agency name, Tracey said, “Our names are on the line. We want it to stand for something. We take seriously what we do.”

They also emphasized their commitment to being cutting edge and savvy in their ability to communicate their passion for these authors and their books. Josh said, “We were the first agency with a client list on our Web site. Now some others do too.”

Their client list includes not just the names of their artists and authors, but also showcases their biographies and lists their published works, whether or not those works are represented by Adams Literary. Tracey advises that before anyone submits to them, they should do their research. She said, “Know our authors. It impresses us.”

Despite the downturn in the economy, the Adams philosophy has remained the same. They look for strong work and try to find the right house for it. When the Adams receive a manuscript, the first question they ask is, “Do we love this?” Then they ask, “How will we sell this?”

“If I’m reading a manuscript and it makes me laugh, cry, or dream, I’ll take you on as a client,” Tracey said. “It really has to get into my head. I love voice, and a beautiful story.” Referring to Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti, Tracey said, “The language is beautiful. It made me laugh out loud.”

Josh added that they look for “something we connect with emotionally. We like fun reads too. We believe in young readers. People don’t give young readers enough credit. They’re smart and they get things. Don’t be heavy handed; don’t talk down to your audience.”

What characteristics do they look for in an author? Quinlan said, “Good reviser, creative, not trendy, smart and knows children are smart.”

“We look for people we can connect to and relate to and work well with,” Josh said. “We work together as a team,” he said, referring to his clients. “We try to get a sense of what a person would be like to work with.”

ADVICE fOR WRITERS

Aspiring authors must be able to encapsulate a book into its premise. “Be succinct. I have to describe it easily to an editor,” Josh said.

Josh spoke of an interesting example. There was one editor who did not like science fiction, but Josh offered a manuscript with a small “sci-fi twist” and she loved it.

The Adams Literary agents are intimately familiar with what their editors are looking for in

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Talleres de Poesia is a group of writers and volunteers who organize an annual poetry festival in El Salvador. This year is our 3rd year and we are asking for support from our friends and family. Our goal is bring 4 bi-lingual children's book authors to El Salvador where they offer poetry readings and writing workshops to approximately 800 children from all corners of the country. We also include 4 Salvadoran authors in the festival. It is a 3-day event held at the National Library in San Salvador. We work with 2 non-profit organizations in El Salvador that coordinate bringing the children to the library on buses from all over the countryside. Last years event was a great success, with media coverage and many children in attendance.Our committee fund raises to provide the following:

(800) Tote bags for all the children in attendance
(800) books, pencils, bookmarks to include in tote bag
(800) lunches and refreshments for the children airfare for participating authors decorations for the festival: banners, balloons, mascots

We thank you for the opportunity to share our event with everyone and will truly appreciate the financial support for this wonderful project. Please take a minute to visit our active website and make a contribution to this wonderful event. Together and with poetry we can make a change in the lives of the Salvadoran children.

http://www.active.com/donate/poetryfestival

Bring bi-lingual Children's Books authors from the US to San Salvador for 3 days of workshops/festival for children from rural schools.

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At the end of June I attended the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) panel event Young Adult Literature: Still Thriving. The event was moderated by IWOSC member Gary Young, and featured panelists: Jen Jones Donatelli (Team Cheer Series), Ann Stampler (Where It Began), Amy Goldman Koss (The Girls, Poison Ivy, Side Effects), Lauren Strasnick (Nothing Like You, Her and Me and You), and Jen Rofe (Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who represents children’s literature and is also Lauren Strasnick’s agent.)

The following are my notes from the event:

Moderator Question: According to the LA Times, the average teen watches two hours of TV per night and reads only seven minutes per day. Why then is teen literature so popular?

• The adults are reading it!
• “The average person has only one testicle…so it’s probably the same average.”

Moderator Question: Why do you think adults are reading YA?

• The quality has gone up and lots of adults are reading YA. It’s just good literature.
• Coming of age stories now bridge both late teen to early twenties, which it didn’t before.
• YA is more story focused. Adult books tend to meander.
• There’s a lot of great experimentation happening in YA and that’s exciting for both reader and writer.

Moderator Question: Who Do You Write For? Yourself? Your Reader?

• Lauren writes for herself. She doesn’t have a teen in mind.
• Others write with the audience in mind.
• You have to be honest to a kid and his/her world. You can’t write what you want a kid to be.

Moderator Question: What do you think about Harry Potter and its influence on the Market?

• One author said it was irrelevant.
• Jen Rofe jumped in to say that it is essential! That the market is what it is today because of Harry Potter and Twilight, etc. These books created a new readership and pays for other children’s books to be published. You don’t have to like these books. But you should respect their influence.

Some comments about the publishing industry:

• Target used to pick books for their shelves based on the covers. They wanted books that matched the color schemes of the displays they were creating.
• Scholastic has a branch that reviews books for their book clubs. This is how you get into a book club. You want to get into the club! Your sales will increase.

Moderator Question: How much swearing and edgy content can be in YA books?

• If you want to be in a book club then you should curb your swearing. Librarians also don’t like swearing.
• Cursing can be unnecessary. Check and see if you really need it.
• Kids are grappling with big issues today: sex, drug, etc.  If it is part of your character’s world then keep it.
• Drug use (in most YA books) comes with consequences. It isn’t there unless it’s a big part of the story.
• Powerlessness is a gigantic part of kids lives.

Moderator Question: What actually constitutes a YA book (for those unfamiliar with the market)?

• YA books have protagonists that are 15 to 17 years old.
• They are written from the point of view of the teen.
• There are Adult books out there with teen protagonists, like The Lovely Bones, but they aren’t YA because the story isn’t just about teens or it is written from the POV of an adult looking at a teen, or back on his/her life.
• YA books tend to be around 75,000 words.  But stay under 100,000 words. (Lauren’s books, however, are short. They tend to be around 30-40 thousand words.

Moderator Question: How do you see e-publishing and self-publishing affecting the YA market?

• Self publishing and e-books haven’t taken off in the kids market like it has in the adult market.
• If you want to self publish then you need to sell LOTS of books for a major publisher to take notice. Lots of books is 10,000 copies or more!
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a self-published book that sold around 20-50 thousand copies, and that’s why it was picked up.
• There is a community of people who exist to help you publish the best book you can (editors, marketers, etc.). You miss out on this community by self-publishing your book.
• However, publishers don’t do as much marketing for you anymore. So if you are willing to market, market, market your own book. Then maybe self-publishing is a good route.
• Any book needs good editing! If you are self publishing don’t forget how important editing is.
• Self-publishing means less time writing.

Moderator Question: If you have a book-series idea, should you write multiple books?

• No. Put everything into that first book! You want that one to sell. Then you will see about the possibility of more.
• Leave holes in the first book that could grow into other books.

Moderator Question: Jen Rofe, what are you looking for in terms of clients?

• She primarily represents middle grade and picture books.
• She only has 4 or 5 YA clients, and really does a limited amount of YA.
• She has a low threshold for teen angst.

Moderator Question: How successful do you think book trailers are?

• They can help. It depends on the quality, etc.
• Lauren said she made one, but she’s not sure it actually helped in book sales. (Ingrid’s Side note: I may only be one person, but I personally bought Lauren’s book because I saw the book trailer). Check it out for yourself: Nothing Like You Book Trailer
• Check out the book trailer for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer it’s fantastic.

Moderator Question: What is your opinion on self-promotion and contacting your audience through the internet?

• Jen Rofe is big on her authors self-promoting their work.
• Try and connect with bloggers. This is a great way to get press. In fact, think about having teens create a blog–tour for you. (There are groups of teen bloggers who do this).
• Some of the authors on the panel really like blogging and using the internet. It’s a great way to connect with their audience and fans. But you have to make a personal connection with them.
• One author made a twitter account for their protagonist.
• Check out the author Melissa Walker – she has amazing self-promotion.
• Beware of being inauthentic. No one like someone who is always always always promoting. Be a real human being online!
• Reach out to High School newspapers and see about doing an interview. This is a great way to promote directly to the source!
• There is a difference between promotion and commotion.
• You only get a certain number of ARC’s (advance reader copies) to promote with. So think about who you send them to.

Panelist Bios:

JENNIFER ROFÉ, ANDREA BROWN LITERARY AGENCY. As a literary agent, Jennifer handles children’s fiction projects, from picture books to young adult. Middle grade is her soft spot; she’s open to all genres in this category, especially the tender or hilarious. For YA, Jennifer is drawn to contemporary works, dramatic or funny romance, and urban fantasy/light sci-fi. For picture books, early readers, and chapter books, she’s interested in character-driven projects and smart, exceptional writing. Jennifer’s clients include Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Barry Wolverton, Nick James, Samantha Vamos, Meg Medina, and Crystal Allen. Jennifer is co-author of the picture book Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch.

LAUREN STRASNICK is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts MFA Writing Program. Her debut novel, Nothing Like You (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2009), was an RWA RITA award finalist in two categories, Best First Book and YA Romance. Her second novel, Her and Me and You (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2010), was an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Then You Were Gone (Simon Pulse/S&S), Lauren’s third book, will be out in January 2013.

AMY GOLDMAN KOSS Amy teaches writing and has written 14 teen novels including The Girls, Poison Ivy, Side Effects, and The Not-So-Great Depression, as well as a few picture books and many LA Times Op-Ed pieces. She lives in Glendale, California, with her pets, family, and phobias, where she can usually be found hunched over, scowling at the computer.

ANN STAMPLER This March saw the release of Ann Redisch Stampler’s fifth picture book, The Wooden Sword (Albert Whitman, 2012), and her debut young adult novel, Where It Began (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse, 2012), a story set in contemporary Los Angeles. Her picture books, primarily Eastern European folk tales, have been Sydney Taylor honor and notable books, a National Jewish Book Award finalist and winner, an Aesop Accolade winner, Bank Street Best books, and PJ Library selections.  Ann’s next YA novel will be published by Simon Pulse in the summer of 2013, and her new PB by Kar-Ben in the spring. Ann has two adult children, and writes in the Hollywood Hills, where she lives with her husband and their dog.

JEN JONES DONATELLI is an author and journalist based in Los Angeles. To date, she has authored more than 50 middle-grade non-fiction books for tweens and teens for publishers including Enslow Publishing and Capstone Press. In addition, her fiction series Team Cheer is being released in trade paperback this July, with four more books to follow later this year. Along with writing books, Jen is also a seasoned freelance writer and regularly contributes to print and online publications including LA Confidential, Natural Health, San Francisco, Variety, MSN, E!Online, Thrillist and many more.

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At the end of June I attended the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) panel event Young Adult Literature: Still Thriving. The event was moderated by IWOSC member Gary Young, and featured panelists: Jen Jones Donatelli (Team Cheer Series), Ann Stampler (Where It Began), Amy Goldman Koss (The Girls, Poison Ivy, Side Effects), Lauren Strasnick (Nothing Like You, Her and Me and You), and Jen Rofe (Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who represents children’s literature and is also Lauren Strasnick’s agent.)

The following are my notes from the event:

Moderator Question: According to the LA Times, the average teen watches two hours of TV per night and reads only seven minutes per day. Why then is teen literature so popular?

• The adults are reading it!
• “The average person has only one testicle…so it’s probably the same average.”

Moderator Question: Why do you think adults are reading YA?

• The quality has gone up and lots of adults are reading YA. It’s just good literature.
• Coming of age stories now bridge both late teen to early twenties, which it didn’t before.
• YA is more story focused. Adult books tend to meander.
• There’s a lot of great experimentation happening in YA and that’s exciting for both reader and writer.

Moderator Question: Who Do You Write For? Yourself? Your Reader?

• Lauren writes for herself. She doesn’t have a teen in mind.
• Others write with the audience in mind.
• You have to be honest to a kid and his/her world. You can’t write what you want a kid to be.

Moderator Question: What do you think about Harry Potter and its influence on the Market?

• One author said it was irrelevant.
• Jen Rofe jumped in to say that it is essential! That the market is what it is today because of Harry Potter and Twilight, etc. These books created a new readership and pays for other children’s books to be published. You don’t have to like these books. But you should respect their influence.

Some comments about the publishing industry:

• Target used to pick books for their shelves based on the covers. They wanted books that matched the color schemes of the displays they were creating.
• Scholastic has a branch that reviews books for their book clubs. This is how you get into a book club. You want to get into the club! Your sales will increase.

Moderator Question: How much swearing and edgy content can be in YA books?

• If you want to be in a book club then you should curb your swearing. Librarians also don’t like swearing.
• Cursing can be unnecessary. Check and see if you really need it.
• Kids are grappling with big issues today: sex, drug, etc.  If it is part of your character’s world then keep it.
• Drug use (in most YA books) comes with consequences. It isn’t there unless it’s a big part of the story.
• Powerlessness is a gigantic part of kids lives.

Moderator Question: What actually constitutes a YA book (for those unfamiliar with the market)?

• YA books have protagonists that are 15 to 17 years old.
• They are written from the point of view of the teen.
• There are Adult books out there with teen protagonists, like The Lovely Bones, but they aren’t YA because the story isn’t just about teens or it is written from the POV of an adult looking at a teen, or back on his/her life.
• YA books tend to be around 75,000 words.  But stay under 100,000 words. (Lauren’s books, however, are short. They tend to be around 30-40 thousand words.

Moderator Question: How do you see e-publishing and self-publishing affecting the YA market?

• Self publishing and e-books haven’t taken off in the kids market like it has in the adult market.
• If you want to self publish then you need to sell LOTS of books for a major publisher to take notice. Lots of books is 10,000 copies or more!
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a self-published book that sold around 20-50 thousand copies, and that’s why it was picked up.
• There is a community of people who exist to help you publish the best book you can (editors, marketers, etc.). You miss out on this community by self-publishing your book.
• However, publishers don’t do as much marketing for you anymore. So if you are willing to market, market, market your own book. Then maybe self-publishing is a good route.
• Any book needs good editing! If you are self publishing don’t forget how important editing is.
• Self-publishing means less time writing.

Moderator Question: If you have a book-series idea, should you write multiple books?

• No. Put everything into that first book! You want that one to sell. Then you will see about the possibility of more.
• Leave holes in the first book that could grow into other books.

Moderator Question: Jen Rofe, what are you looking for in terms of clients?

• She primarily represents middle grade and picture books.
• She only has 4 or 5 YA clients, and really does a limited amount of YA.
• She has a low threshold for teen angst.

Moderator Question: How successful do you think book trailers are?

• They can help. It depends on the quality, etc.
• Lauren said she made one, but she’s not sure it actually helped in book sales. (Ingrid’s Side note: I may only be one person, but I personally bought Lauren’s book because I saw the book trailer). Check it out for yourself: Nothing Like You Book Trailer
• Check out the book trailer for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer it’s fantastic.

Moderator Question: What is your opinion on self-promotion and contacting your audience through the internet?

• Jen Rofe is big on her authors self-promoting their work.
• Try and connect with bloggers. This is a great way to get press. In fact, think about having teens create a blog–tour for you. (There are groups of teen bloggers who do this).
• Some of the authors on the panel really like blogging and using the internet. It’s a great way to connect with their audience and fans. But you have to make a personal connection with them.
• One author made a twitter account for their protagonist.
• Check out the author Melissa Walker – she has amazing self-promotion.
• Beware of being inauthentic. No one like someone who is always always always promoting. Be a real human being online!
• Reach out to High School newspapers and see about doing an interview. This is a great way to promote directly to the source!
• There is a difference between promotion and commotion.
• You only get a certain number of ARC’s (advance reader copies) to promote with. So think about who you send them to.

Panelist Bios:

JENNIFER ROFÉ, ANDREA BROWN LITERARY AGENCY. As a literary agent, Jennifer handles children’s fiction projects, from picture books to young adult. Middle grade is her soft spot; she’s open to all genres in this category, especially the tender or hilarious. For YA, Jennifer is drawn to contemporary works, dramatic or funny romance, and urban fantasy/light sci-fi. For picture books, early readers, and chapter books, she’s interested in character-driven projects and smart, exceptional writing. Jennifer’s clients include Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Barry Wolverton, Nick James, Samantha Vamos, Meg Medina, and Crystal Allen. Jennifer is co-author of the picture book Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch.

LAUREN STRASNICK is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts MFA Writing Program. Her debut novel, Nothing Like You (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2009), was an RWA RITA award finalist in two categories, Best First Book and YA Romance. Her second novel, Her and Me and You (Simon Pulse/S&S, 2010), was an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Then You Were Gone (Simon Pulse/S&S), Lauren’s third book, will be out in January 2013.

AMY GOLDMAN KOSS Amy teaches writing and has written 14 teen novels including The Girls, Poison Ivy, Side Effects, and The Not-So-Great Depression, as well as a few picture books and many LA Times Op-Ed pieces. She lives in Glendale, California, with her pets, family, and phobias, where she can usually be found hunched over, scowling at the computer.

ANN STAMPLER This March saw the release of Ann Redisch Stampler’s fifth picture book, The Wooden Sword (Albert Whitman, 2012), and her debut young adult novel, Where It Began (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse, 2012), a story set in contemporary Los Angeles. Her picture books, primarily Eastern European folk tales, have been Sydney Taylor honor and notable books, a National Jewish Book Award finalist and winner, an Aesop Accolade winner, Bank Street Best books, and PJ Library selections.  Ann’s next YA novel will be published by Simon Pulse in the summer of 2013, and her new PB by Kar-Ben in the spring. Ann has two adult children, and writes in the Hollywood Hills, where she lives with her husband and their dog.

JEN JONES DONATELLI is an author and journalist based in Los Angeles. To date, she has authored more than 50 middle-grade non-fiction books for tweens and teens for publishers including Enslow Publishing and Capstone Press. In addition, her fiction series Team Cheer is being released in trade paperback this July, with four more books to follow later this year. Along with writing books, Jen is also a seasoned freelance writer and regularly contributes to print and online publications including LA Confidential, Natural Health, San Francisco, Variety, MSN, E!Online, Thrillist and many more.

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The author of the query featured in Face-Lift 1052 has submitted a revised version, which you'll find in the comments there, awaiting your reaction.

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We have our future planned out, but as they say, life has a way of happening to us while we were making other plans.  Just when we think we have it all figured out, our experiences have a way of surprising us. In library school we all visualized what the future would hold, but reality may have taught us some new lessons.  What do you wish you learned when you started library school that you know now as a professional librarian?  For me, life as a children’s librarian (and now as a branch manager) has provided me with at least three major life lessons, and I’m sure the future will only bring more.

Change Your Perspective    

When I began my first position as Youth Services Manager, I viewed children’s services as a department within the greater library system.  In my mind, it was a critical part within library services, but it was separate and distinct from other departments. Now years,  experiences, and a position later, I see youth services connected to each and every aspect of serving the public.   I now understand how the influx of patrons attending children’s programming directly ties into circulation figures and our adult computer usage.  Customers who visit the library first for assistance with their library accounts or their reference needs also often visit children’s services before they walk out the door.   Opportunities for cross-training and collaboration with other departments helped me realize that while it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an entire library system to raise a young reader.  Has your work experience changed how you view the role of youth services within your library system? 

Criticize with Control

As children’s librarians and supervisors, we’re taught that evaluation is a central component of our professional work.  I’ve been blessed to see staff give and receive constructive feedback that will only improve the final product or work performance.  Unfortunately in our society, it’s a lot easier to tear something (or someone) apart than to provide constructive feedback that will actually improve whatever it is that we’re evaluating.   If there is no thought to individual merit but simply a laundry list of criticisms, it is clear there’s a lack of critical thinking instead of constructive intent. Criticize with purpose, but most importantly, know when to stop. 

Never Say Never

The third lesson I’ve learned is to be open to opportunities, no matter how unusual they may seem.  I’m sure we’ve all known former classmates who were so confident in their specific career path when they were library school students, but their professional work has veered into a concentration they never expected.  Being well-rounded is necessary, not only in library school but to make us more marketable in an uncertain job market.  Being well-rounded is a necessity to thrive in our current library positions in the here and now as workloads change and responsibilities shift.  I’ve learned to embrace those work assignments that initially appear outside my comfort zone.  It’s those challenging (and rewarding) projects t

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       They've announced that Jury nominates 20 novels for longlist for the German Book Prize 2012.
       They selected the twenty from 162 titles; disappointingly, they, like the Man Booker Prize, do not reveal what the 162 submitted and called-in titles were. (Note also that they managed to consider more than 10 per cent more titles than the Man Booker Prize judges did for their (admittedly longer) longlist.....)
       There are quite a few familiar names here -- but the big story is undoubtably the stunning success of Suhrkamp: with five titles they make up a quarter of the longlist. (This, yet again, makes the case against publisher-submissions (and limited ones at that): just like with the Man Booker, publishers were limited to two submissions apiece for the German Book Prize -- meaning Suhrkamp had at least three called-in titles in the mix.)
       And while Suhrkamp did exceptionally well, major literary publishers Rowohlt (one title) and S.Fischer (shut out) did shamefully poorly.

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       Xinhua reports that Chinese sci-fi eyes world market, as:

The editor who has brought more than 200 foreign science fiction novels to China has decided to introduce the most popular Chinese-language sci-fi trilogy of the last three decades to English readers.

Yao Haijun, deputy director of Science Fiction World (SFW), the world's most popular science fiction periodical in terms of circulation, signed a contract to make award-winning author Liu Cixin's [刘慈欣] Three Body [三体] trilogy the first full-length sci-fi work to be translated for an overseas audience, marking a giant leap for the Chinese sci-fi industry.

       The plan is that:

the three-part saga will be translated into English within six months and jointly published in both print and digital forms by China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation Ltd. and SFW.

       I've never seen any CEPI&EC Ltd. publications, but I hope they send me a copy .....
       As to the likely/possible success, they're realistic in understanding:

"Whether Americans can understand Chinese sci-fi remains a big question. America is still the center of the world's sci-fi writing, and we are actually trying to walk from the edge to the center," Liu said.

       Far too little genre-fiction of this sort os published from many languages, so it would be great to see this.

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       A new issue of Asia Literary Review is (partially) available online.

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FEATURED ALUMNI: Me, Angélica Huertas, and Christopher Weigel.

INVITATION (front & back)

PROGRAM (tri-old, double sided)

ALUMNI POSTERS

The more I dabble in design, the more respect I have for it. Yes, anyone can assemble a simple document in Microsoft Word and have it serve its purpose in communicating information. But when something is designed,  it becomes more powerful---it inherently takes on life as a considered thing and is imbued with a greater sense of importance. When something looks professional, our subconscious tells us that it is looking at something worthy of respect. Designing something is a visual way of saying "I care about this, thus this is something worth caring about." 

Design has the power to transform basic communication into an aesthetically pleasing experience, crafted with the specific intent to impact your subconscious. Yes, I want to make things that look nice, but most importantly I see it as the designer's privilege to make something out of what could otherwise be nothing. Branding an event is creating an event. Design gives life and personality to whatever it is applied to. It's magical to me that colors, fonts/type, and other visual cues can come together not only to communicate necessary information clearly, but to provide an experience for the psyche itself. What would a Happy Meal be without the package? Just a tiny hamburger and a cheap toy that no one wants.

I hope to be able to work with Maria again for other needs the ASF may have, whether it's a future reception or something else. Working at the Gamm Theatre has been strengthening and broadening my skills and I'd welcome the opportunity to freelance design more often.

Ta-ta for now!

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       In The UB Post B.Khash-Erdene offers a very slight overview of Mongolian Literature.

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       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Wajdi al-Ahdal's A Land without Jasmine.
       There's not much Yemeni literature available in translation, but al-Ahdal looks well worth following; this is the only work of his available in English, but his قوارب جبلية has been translated into a number of other languages and I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him.

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The 2012 call for Cybils judges has gone out! So exciting!

I applied, for (no surprise) Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy! I have done it a few years now (because sometimes people who've done it before are useful), and would be very happy and honored if I were to be chosen again.

And I urge you to apply in mg sff too. YA sff gets more applicants, but their books aren't as fun. And they are longer. And there are more of them. (Which almost makes me want to apply in YA, just for the challenge of it....)

There is a lot of reading (maybe 150 books will be nominated in mg sff, based on past years), but you don't actually HAVE to read them all, and you've probably read quite a few of them already. And there are lots more you want to read anyway...It is also the best way I know of to make blogging friends.

So go for it. And let me know if you have any questions about what it's like!

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Okay, so we’re closing up the conference! What an amazing two days it’s been. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to meet new critique partners. Get your query critiqued, or your first 250 words, or your first 5 pages. Hopefully, you’ve read or heard or found one gem among all the vlogs, blogs, live events, and Q&A’s.

In case you missed anything, here’s how today went. Prizes at the bottom!

Wednesday, August 15:
6:00 AM: Plotting with 3×5 cards by author Kimberley Griffiths Little

7:00 AM: Knowing When Your MS is Ready to Query by literary agent Lara Perkins

8:00 AM: Authors Lenore Appelhans and Phoebe North discuss Reading like a Book Blogger

9:00 AM: Being Orphaned by author Joy Preble

9:30 AM: Building Characters into Real People by author Frank Cole

10:00 AM: All Your Publishing Questions… Answered! by editors Molly O’Neill and Martha Mihalick, and literary agent Holly Root

11:00 AM: Blogging Basics by literary agent Pam van Hylckama Vlieg
–11:15 AM LIVE FORUM EVENT: Q&A about social media/blogging

12:00 PM: He Said, She Said, Creating sexual tension through dialog by author Jessica Martinez

12:30 PM: The Process of Plotting by editor Rhoda Belleza of Paper Lantern Lit and Lexa Hillyer

1:00 PM: Building Better Sentences workshop with author Gennifer Albin

2:00 PM: Live event with literary agent Sarah Davies and author Megan Miranda

3:00 PM: Differences between YA and MG (for the Writer Who Does Both) by Claire Legrand

3:30 PM: The Inside Scoop: Get Your Query Noticed by editor Leah Hultenschmidt

4:00 PM: Stacy Abrams, Heather Howland, and Alycia Tornetta of Entangled Publishing answer questions and take twitter-style pitches - FORUM EVENT

5:00 PM: The Lucky 13s “Back to Basic” Writing Tips by various PB, MG, and YA authors debuting in 2013

9:00 PM: Live Panel of Professionals — literary agents Katie Grimm and Sarah LaPolla, and editors Sara Sargent and Alison Weiss

Whew. So much awesomeness. And that’s not all! We have some great door prizes up for grabs tonight, donated by our lovely facutly members who have contributed to today’s lineup. All you need to do to enter is comment on this post!

• ARC of THE LOST GIRL (donated by Sara Sargent)
• Signed copy of FRACTURE by Megan Miranda
• FALSE MEMORY by Dan Krokos (donated by Suzie Townsend)
• ALL THESE LIVES by Sarah Wylie (donated by Suzie Townsend)
• ARC of THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY (donated by Suzie Townsend)
• ARC of VALKYRIE RISING by Ingrid Paulsen (donated by Suzie Townsend)
• ARC of NOBODY BUT US by Kristin Halbrook (donated by Suzie Townsend)
• Query critique by literary agent Suzie Townsend

We’d love it if you’d consider donating to WriteOnCon. Donations are not required to enter to win prizes, but everything you see here is done for free. The posts that are written, the prizes donated, the time spent critiquing. All of it. We love doing this conference for free, but servers and bandwidth cost money, so if you feel like you can donate, we’d greatly appreciate it.

 

 

And that’s it! Winners will be announced later this week, and you never know, we usually have plenty of material to make a closing video for you…

THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this year’s WriteOnCon the best ever!

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Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno

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Publishing takes so long because . . .

1. Because each book is individual.

The beautiful and difficult thing about publishing is that it's a one-to-one industry:  one writer connecting to one reader at a time. And because everything is individual, there are absolutely zilch solid rules in this business (beyond "Have a sense of humor" and "Don't be a jerk"). Each author is different; each manuscript is different; each editor is different; each agent is different; each publishing house is different. No matter how many books an editor and author have worked on together, each new manuscript has to be considered on its own strengths, with its own problems. 

Aesthetically terrible books get published and make a ton of money; aesthetically brilliant books win the National Book Award; other aesthetically terrible books cost their publishers piles of cash with very little return; other aesthetically brilliant books disappear completely. In adult publishing, Alice Sebold, Charles Frazier, Audrey Niffenegger and Sara Gruen (to pick four names in a very common pattern) all experienced incredible success with their first novels, leading to advances for their second novels in the multiple millions; and not one of those second novels has achieved the success of their previous books. Markus Zusak and The Book Thief ended up on Good Morning America because a smart Knopf publicist sent a copy directly to Charlie Gibson, who happened to open his own mail that day, became fascinated with the book, and took it home to read over the weekend. There's no way to guarantee that happening again, and thus it illustrates my point:  Every book is individual, and a success not easily replicable.   

(N.B. An earlier version of this post misstated the nature of the Zusak-GMA connection, which was kindly corrected by a Random House insider. This blog regrets the error.) 

2. Because editors and agents have many submissions to wade through, because . . .
2A. . . . The barriers to being a writer who submits manuscripts are extremely low.

This is not a complaint or an accusation or anything pejorative, just a factual observation:  Writing is an individual pursuit, that anyone who is literate can participate in, with extremely low technological requirements (as technological requirements go in the modern age). As a result, all you need to write and submit a manuscript is the ability to write in English, access to a computer with word-processing software, and an Internet account so you can send out the resulting manuscript. (You no longer even need a printer! Or stamps!) So a lot of people can participate in this process, and do.

2B. . . . Writers vastly outnumber editors and agents — especially when writers multiply submit.

We are also living in an unprecedented age of access to information about publishers and editors and agents, thanks to the Internet, Amazon, acknowledgment pages, writers’ discussion boards, QueryTracker, you name it. This makes it extremely easy for writers to research places to submit their work, and to send forth manuscripts accordingly to all the places they find.

I am not complaining about multiple submissions, please note; I understand why writers and agents do it, and those reasons are 100% valid. But if we think of the amount of time spent reading a query as quantity X, then one writer submitting to one agent equals a reading time of X across the whole industry. One writer submitting to six agents equals 6X across the industry. Six writers submitting to six agents each equals 36X (though note we still have just those same six agents doing six times the work) . . . and so it all grows exponentially, and crowds out the time for other things within the industry. Again, these are not complaints, just facts.

2C. . . . Reading is inherently not fast.

The very smart Jason Pinter once wrote something on Twitter like, "The average person reads 250 words per minute -- 60 pages an hour. If you give someone your 350-page manuscript, you're asking them to spend the length of a flight from New York to California with you talking to them." His point was that you should do your best to be sure that you're good company, which is true. But no matter how good the company is, it takes a lot more than just sitting down to listen to a three-minute song, or watch a 30-minute TV show. . . . I have days when I wish I could fly back and forth from New York to California to get all my reading done. 

3. Because each book has both aesthetic and economic factors that must be carefully weighed at each step in the process.

I remember once in my first year as an editorial assistant, I fell in love with a picture-book manuscript and took it in to my afternoon meeting with Arthur. “I love this manuscript,” I said. “Will you read it right now?”

“Sure, leave it with me,” he said.

“It’s not even two complete pages,” I said. “Can’t you just look at it?”

“No, I can’t,” he said patiently. “Leave it here and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Now that I’ve had manuscripts thrust at me at conferences, and been that editor facing an intern with a great manuscript in hand, I understand where he was coming from. Because each manuscript — even a two-hundred-word picture book text — presents an editor with a series of questions to be answered, to wit:

1. Is this any good in an aesthetic sense?
2. Is it of any interest in a publishing sense? 
3. Is it appropriate for our publishing house?
4. Do I like this?*
5. If it is some good aesthetically, but not perfect, what parts aren't working?
6. Can those parts be made to work?
7. Assuming yes to question #6: Are the good parts good enough, and the publishing interest strong enough, to justify the editorial time and energy in trying to make it work?
8. Assuming yes to question #7:  Is this strong enough as it is to try to acquire it? Or should I request a noncontractual revision? 
9. Is the author capable of revising it? (Some writers simply are no good at revising.) 
10. Is s/he someone we'll want to work with for the long term or just this book?
11. How much do we think the book will sell?
12. Following on #11, how much should we pay for it?
13. Assuming no to question #7:  How should this be rejected?
14. If it’s a picture book:  Who could or should illustrate it? What is Dream Illustrator's schedule like? How much would we have to pay him/her? Etc.

Sometimes those answers come very quickly:  If the answer to the first three and sometimes four questions are “no,” everything else is simple. But naming the bad parts takes time; writing a letter to the author takes time; figuring out whether the book is of publishing interest or whether, say, five other books on the same topic have just been published takes time. And of course, just plain reading the manuscript takes time!

And if I do decide I want to acquire it, there's a whole other to-do list after that (and then another one after that), which keeps coming back to evaluating the book's artistic and publishing strengths and how they can be maximized. Publishing is an extremely long-term game, and long-term games aren't fast.

* N. B. Many years ago, back when I was an assistant with time to do freelance editing, an author I was working with said, "I have the feeling you don't like my book." I realized then that I didn't care whether I liked the project, actually, because I was committed to editing it either way; I cared only whether the book worked, whether it accomplished the task it was meant to do, because then the book (and my work) would have been successful, and my personal feelings about the project were irrelevant. It's very different from my job now, where, if I'm going to put in all the time and effort that I do put in to a manuscript, and stand before my acquisitions committee, sales force, and the world and say, "You should pay attention to this," I want to feel emotionally connected to the project, and to feel like it's worthy of that attention.

4. Because each draft is a wholly new artistic work and must be considered as such.

I can't just read the two chapters or five lines that were changed from the previous draft to this; I have to consider them in the context of the whole, to see how the whole makes me feel now, and therefore whether the revision is working. (This is not so true in later stages of novels, after I've read the book six times and we're polishing moments; but it is true early on, and always true with picture books.) Then see #2C above.

5. Because what is individual is often deeply personal, and people deserve kindness. 

I love my authors, and I often know their spouses’ names, their children’s names, where they’re from, when they’re going on vacation and where. When I have bad news, I want to present it to them in the kindest and most supportive way possible. When I have good news, I want to celebrate with them in a way that feels present. I have relationships with agents, and I want to give them smart feedback on projects so they'll keep thinking I'm worth submitting to even when I say no (as I frequently must). When I read manuscripts, I'm very aware that every one is a little piece of the writer's soul there on the page for me -- like a good Horcrux -- and that if I'm turning it down, I need to do so with at least politeness. In a world that grows ever more rushed and demanding, time spent is a compliment, and I want to pay that compliment to the people who are important to me.

6. Because we're trying to make beautiful things that matter here and share them with other people who will love them too.

And that takes time, in the writing and thinking and editing and painting and copywriting and publicizing and selling and reading and telling; and that's all there is to it.

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