Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
So far, what’s the most fun you’ve ever had working on a book? Why?
I know that many authors suffer from the "my newest baby is my favorite baby" syndrome. Certainly, that defines my state of mind at the moment.
From beginning to end, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book provided more happiness and excitement for me than any book I have worked on.
The moment Lauren Wohl of Roaring Brook Press suggested the title, I felt a chill running down my spine. She had just summed up in one phrase the work of my lifetime.
Early in my career, I started asking anyone I met (at cocktail parties, dinners, even in cabs and elevators) about the books they read as a child. A universal ice breaker, this question often elicited smiles and fond memories.
However, for my "new baby," I talked to people that I would not ordinarily meet -- about 110 leaders of society in a variety of fields such as science, arts, politics, sports, or journalism.
To them I posed a more serious question: “What children’s book changed your life in a profound way?”
What these icons read as children shaped them as adults – in amazing ways. Some recalled a character with fondness; some became attracted to a location or country because of a book. Some have remembered a single line from a book for decades. Many chose careers because of a children’s book. Many found a personal, social, or political philosophy that has sustained them for decades.
What was the most important thing you learned in your research?
Not only do those who write children’s books affect young people, but those who put books in children’s hands have just as much influence. Most of my contributors link a particular book to the person who shared it with them.
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book is, in fact, dedicated to those who find daily inspiration on Cynsations: "For my colleagues: the women and men who have created, published, taught about, promoted and championed children’s books over the years. They have made it possible for our children to find the right book at the right time."
What has been the highlight of your professional career and how do you define success?
I've always felt that my best moment professionally is the one I am living--right here, right now. Success, for me or any other writer, lies in perseverance, in staying the course.
So I am thrilled to be headed out on book tour to talk about the importance of children’s books and the many ways in which books shape young readers.
Thank you for letting me “natter on” about the new baby.
Cynsational Notes
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
Preparing for The Call by Tabitha Olson at Writer Musings. Peek: "The Call, with an offer of representation. Sometimes agents will send an email ahead of time, asking to schedule a phone call, and others will just call out of the blue. I experienced both, and my planning-oriented brain much preferred the scheduled phone call. Because you just can’t get your brain oriented properly for a spontaneous phone call."
When Characters Take Over by Brian Yansky from Brian's Blog. Peek: "Maybe it is just finding the place, the altered state, which allows you to access that part of the brain that makes intuitive leaps. Or maybe you’re connecting to a higher power, any higher power." Read a Cynsations interview with Brian.
Marvelous Marketer: Kaylan Adair (Assoc. Editor at Candlewick Press) from Shelli at Market My Words. Peek: "If an author has an online presence that I feel is lacking (maybe they have a blog they only update every few months) or inappropriate (perhaps the content of their website or blog isn't appropriate for their book audience), I'll discuss ways in which they can more effectively or appropriately manage their online presence."
An Interview with Elizabeth O. Dulemba by Greg Pincus at The Happy Accident. Peek: "When I discovered iPhone Picture Book Apps, I thought it was a fantastic new way to share stories and could be a nice complement to physical books." Read a Cynsations guest post on marketing by Elizabeth.
WBBT: Writing with Jacqueline Kelly by Vivian from HipWriterMama. Peek: "Callie is a combination of me and my mother. We both hate to cook, sew, and do any kind of housework. It must be genetic. I also need to add that my mother is very funny, and not at all like the mother in the novel." Read a Cynsations interview with Jacqueline.
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!: How to Heighten Suspense from Gail Carson Levine. Peek: "Separation from the problem. Suppose your main character, Lucy, has an enemy, and suppose Lucy has to go on a class wilderness week. What is the enemy doing while she's away? What’s going to greet her on her return?" Source: Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Read a Cynsations interview with Gail. Eight Hanukkah Books: One for Each Day by Bianca Schulze from The Children's Book Review. Note: picture book recommendations. The Irrepressible Writer from Carol Grannick. Peek: "We all have to face negativity in our lives, but I love helping other writers use the time they have in the most productive ways they’re able, without feeling dragged down because of unnecessary and irrational negativity."
The Big Read: an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts to restore reading to the center of American culture by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, and an extensive website providing comprehensive information on authors and their works. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: literary organizations, libraries, and community organizations across the country. Deadline: Feb. 2, 2010. Source: PEN Weekly NewsBlast.
Writing Cliches by Carrie Jones from Through the Tollbooth. Peek: "It happens to all of us. It stalks us until our brains and fingers are weak and then it sneaks its way onto our pages, taunting us, daring us to notice, and so often we, poor overworked writers that we are? We are oblivious." Note: the first post in a week-long series. Read a Cynsations interview with Carrie.
Interview with Suzanna Hermans of Oblong Books & Music from Juliette Dominguez at The Enchanted Inkpot. Peek: "When I was first starting out, I was terrified when people would ask me for recommendations - it puts you on the spot and what if you can't think of anything to recommend? Once I learned to have confidence in myself and my opinions, I became much more comfortable with it. Now I love giving recommendations."
Fellow faculty included agent Michael Stearns of Upstart Crow Literary Agency and editors Stacy Cantor of Walker, Nick Eliopulos of Random House, Alisha Niehaus of Dial, and Yolanda LeRoy of Charlesbridge. Read a Cynsations interview with Yolanda.
Here's Stacy again! Take note, Austinites! Stacy will be joining us for the upcoming Austin SCBWI conference in January. Register now before it sells out!
Over Chicago deep dish pizza at Uno's Chicago Grill, Greg chats with Michael and Alisha. Don't miss Greg's report on the conference.
More Personally
Howdy to Ms. Deignan's Dover Street School second graders and Ms. Craft's eighth graders! Thank you for your questions about Jingle Dancer (Morrow, 2000) and Eternal (Candlewick, 2009), respectively! It was lovely corresponding with you!
Congratulations to my alma mater, The University of Michigan Law School! According to Law Quadrangle, The William W. Cook Legal Research Library "was selected as one of the top 100 buildings, bridges, monuments, and memorials in a recent American Institute of Architects' public poll--ahead of Radio City Music Hall, Penn Station, and Fenway Park." Pictured above is the Reading Room.
Cynsational Giveaways
In celebration of the Winter Blog Blast Tour, I'm offering a signed copy of any of my books (winner's choice) to one of the folks who thoughtfully comments at my WBBT interview and then emails me to let me know (so I have your contact information). Deadline: midnight CST Nov. 22. See: WBBT: Writing the True with Cynthia Leitich Smith: an interview by Vivian Lee Mahoney at HipWriterMama. Note: Check out my deep thoughts on my publishing background, writing across formats, Native youth literature, writing cross-culturally, girl power & Gothics, true love, and a myriad of other topics. Thanks to readergirlz for the shout out!
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "Soap Soap Soap Jabón Jabón Jabón" and/or "My Father's House" and/or "Operation Redwood" and/or "Immortal" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message me with the name in the header; I'll contact you if you win). Deadline: midnight CST Nov. 30.
Note: this link was incorrectly attributed on Nov. 16 to Carol's fellow blog team member Julie Larios. It has been corrected at all three Cynsations URLs. My apologies for the error.
Winnie Finn is crazy about earthworms and knows everything about them. When spring arrives in Quincy County, all she can think about is the county fair coming up. This year, she would like nothing more than to win a prize for her worms so that she might buy a shiny new wagon for transporting them around. Trouble is, there’s no prize at the fair for worms...
Bright, energetic illustrations accompany this jaunty tale about a young girl’s creativity that will inspire readers of all interests— but especially those with a love for something wiggly. School Library Journal said: "Winnie’s spunky, good-natured heart anchors a gentle and entertaining read." Kirkus Reviews said: "Hoyt's sprightly cartoons add just the right amount of humorous action to Winnie’s worm-farming tasks, while Winnie's winning personality allows readers to learn a bit about the positive aspects of worm composting. An author's note includes directions for creating a worm farm and sources."
2010 Houston-SCBWI Conference is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2010, at the Merrell Center in Katy. Registration is now open. The faculty includes author Cynthia Leitich Smith, assistant editor Ruta Rimas of Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, creative director Patrick Collins of Henry Holt, senior editor Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster, senior editor Lisa Ann Sandell of Scholastic, and agent Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.
From Jacqueline Houtman, author of The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Front Street, 2010)
Artists, authors, business owners...
Please consider donating an item or service to sell in an auction to benefit Bridget Zinn [see right, click for blog] and Barrett Dowell.
Bridget is a 32-year-old YA writer and librarian who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March. She and Barrett, who have been together since they were teenagers, were married in the hospital just minutes before she went into surgery to remove a large tumor on her colon. She is now undergoing expensive treatment to shrink--and we hope obliterate--additional tumors.
The treatment seems to be working, but much of it is not covered by her health insurance. Bridget and Barrett's friends and family are rallying to help them pay the bills so that they can focus on Bridget's health. You can learn more about Bridget at her blog, www.bridgetzinn.com/blog.
Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, we (a group of Bridget's friends) will hold an online silent auction on the website www.32auctions.com (not yet active), with all proceeds going to Bridget and Barrett to cover their expenses.
Here's what it means to donate an item or service to the auction:
- You are donating the item to this auction, all proceeds of which will be given to Bridget Zinn. This is not a tax-deductible donation.
- You must provide an item title, description of up to 400 words, and starting bid for the online auction. You may also choose to provide a subtitle, fair market value, reserve price (amount that must be reached in bidding for the item to be sold), up to two photos/images, and website address for further information about you or about the item. All of this should be emailed to cailin.oconnor (at) gmail.com no later than Nov. 25.
- You may choose how you want to get the item to the winning bidder:
(1) Keep the item until the auction ends, and mail it to the winning bidder (or contact the winner to arrange pick-up/delivery if feasible). We will contact you with the winner's contact information when payment has been received, and ask that you put the item in the mail to the winning bidder within 3 business days.
(2) Give your donated item to one of the auction organizers, who will get it to the winning bidder. This is a good option if you will not be available in the middle of December when the auction ends. If you are giving your item to an auction organizer, please indicate that (and who) when you send in your item description.
How did you come to devote your professional life to literature for young readers?
I attended graduate school in the late 1970s to become an academic historian, but I quickly realized I didn't enjoy academic writing, and I spent more time in the library talking to friends than conducting research.
So I quit and became a high school history teacher in the New York City public schools. I loved teaching at the high school level and getting to know the kids and their stories, discussing books and movies with them, and thinking up creative ways of teaching history.
History, taught well, can feel like living inside a novel. And listening to my students gave me ideas for my own writing.
My first young adult novel, Hiding Places (Square One Publishers, 1987), about a teenage runaway in New York came from one of my students who told me how he was going to run away to live with his sister. But the sister didn't know about his plans, and I suspected that she wasn't in a position to take him in, which became the premise of the novel.
Hiding Places was published after I left New York City to live in Wisconsin, where my husband had found a job. But I returned often to the city to conduct writing workshops.
My interest in multicultural children's literature grew out of my original teaching in New York and the successful workshops I led after the publication of Hiding Places.
As I moved from writing young adult books to becoming a critic of both young adult and children's books, I had the support and guidance of Ginny Moore Kruse and K.T. Horning from the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where I received my master's degree in library and information studies.
Ellen LiBretto, then the YA Coordinator at the Queens Library and the sponsor of many of my workshops, asked me to write a chapter for the third edition of her reference book The Hi/Lo Handbook (R.R. Bowker, 1990).
Could you tell us a bit about the history of the journal? Its mission?
Brenda Mitchell-Powell, the onetime editor of Small Press magazine and Multicultural Librarian, founded MultiCultural Review in 1991 to publish articles and reviews on aspects of diversity in the United States and around the world.
The first issue debuted in spring 1992. Originally, the quarterly journal was published by the Greenwood Publishing Group--a publisher, primarily, of reference books. In 2002, Greenwood decided to concentrate on its core mission and sold MCR to the Goldman Group in Tampa, which publishes both consumer magazines and professional journals.
The mission of MCR, which is on all our letterhead, is "dedicated to a better understanding of ethnic, racial, and religious diversity." Over the years, we've expanded that mission to include sexual orientation and persons with disabilities/differently-abled to the extent that there is a culture surrounding different abilities, such as Deaf culture.
Who is the intended audience?
MCR is a professional journal for educators and librarians from early childhood to college. Our articles are written to be accessible to practitioners as well as scholars.
What led to your becoming Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review?
After finishing Our Family, Our Friends, Our World, I became a reviewer of children's and young adult books for MultiCultural Review under Brenda Mitchell-Powell. When she stepped down as Editor-in-Chief at the end of 1994, the folks at Greenwood asked me if I was interested in taking over the editorial position.
What do you love about it and why?
I love working with all of the journal's feature writers and reviewers. I learn so much from them. I also enjoy shaping each issue, finding common themes, and working with authors to make their articles the best that they can be.
Rather than waiting for articles to come to me, I go out and find interesting things that are happening. I attend conferences, read blogs, and am always on the lookout for new perspectives on current and controversial issues.
What do you wish you could change about it and why?
I wish I could have more staff. I'm constantly behind in my work, and my office is a nightmare with piles of books I have to send out and papers I have to process and file.
Also, I work alone, and it would be fun to have someone else in the office, though it may mean both of us get less work done.
Why is there a need for a journal specifically focused on multicultural books?
Librarians and educators need a source devoted exclusively to diversity issues, with expert reviews and articles that cover books and other materials from mainstream publishers, independent publishers, and even those who have self-published.
Due to the historical marginalization of diverse cultures, major publishers were slow to present their stories and too often published inaccurate and stereotyped books written by outsiders.
Until the 1990s few authors of color were able to find mainstream publishers, and many broke into the industry by self-publishing--the late E. Lynn Harris being the best-known example.
MultiCultural Review considers all titles submitted for review on an equal footing, whether they're published by a large house, a small house, a university press, or self-published.
We're one of the few trade journals that will consider self-published books, and while we only review self-published books that we recommend, we review more than a dozen each year. It's part of our mission to cover diverse groups and all perspectives within them.
How do you select the books to be reviewed in the magazine?
First, publishers have to send me review copies of the books. And the books have to fit into the scope of the journal. They have to address some aspect of ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural diversity. In the case of religious books, they can't have an exclusively theological focus but rather should address life as a member of that faith tradition, or the interaction of multiple faith traditions.
MultiCultural Review reviews both adult and children's books. About a third of our reviews are of children's and young adult books, though more than half of our feature articles address some aspect of children's/young adult literature and/or teaching at the K-12 level.
With the adult books, we look for books that appeal to a general readership rather than those that address a narrow specialty--the exception being theoretical and practical guides to multicultural education and multicultural librarianship.
All of the review copies come to the editorial office, and I assign them to reviewers.
Occasionally, a reviewer will contact me to review a given book, and if I haven't already assigned the book, I usually let him or her do it. Some publishers don't send me review copies, which is very frustrating and unfair, especially to authors of color, who still have a tough time finding acceptance in the marketplace and risk getting dropped if their books don't sell well.
How do you select your reviewers? What credentials are necessary, preferred?
Most of our reviewers are educators-K-12 teachers, college professors, and graduate students--and librarians who specialize in the grade level and subject area. We also have many authors. In all, about 200 people have volunteered to review for MultiCultural Review.
We prefer that our reviewers are members of the group themselves or have a strong academic background in the history and culture of the group they cover. Many of our reviewers serve on awards committees related to the group or subject area, such as the ALA Coretta Scott King Book Awards committee.
What opportunities exist for writers to contribute to MultiCultural Review? Could you offer examples of articles for study?
We publish three-to-five feature articles per issue, and about half the issues focus on specific themes. Many of our articles are regular features, such as Isabel Schon's roundup of recommended books in Spanish for children and teenagers, or commissioned pieces.
However, about half of our articles are unsolicited or developed from queries. Recent articles that illustrate the variety of what we publish are Jane Mahar's interview with Tonya Bolden in the fall 2009 issue, Sandhya Nankani's excellent bibliographic essay on historical YA novels about India and the Indian Diaspora in the summer 2009 issue, and an annotated bibliography on picture books depicting biracial/multiracial heritage, forthcoming in our winter 2009 issue.
More globally, what are the most significant changes you've seen in multicultural children's-YA book publishing over the course of your career, and why do they matter?
There are many more opportunities for writers of color and writers of all backgrounds depicting diverse experiences. Although the situation isn't perfect, it's far better than in 1965, when Nancy Larrick published her groundbreaking essay “The All-White World of Children's Books.”
Awards like the Coretta Scott King and the Pura Belpré have launched the careers of African-American and Latino authors respectively. It's important to have these awards, which recognize outstanding books by authors of color, because it provides important name recognition that can move an author from the margins to the center.
In fact, when the Pura Belpré Award debuted in 1996, many of the winners were published by small ethnic publishers; since then, those and other winners have received the support of mainstream houses.
These changes matter because for young people of color multicultural literature serves as a mirror, reflecting their heritage, experiences, and achievements. Books honor their struggles--past and present, present role models, and encourage the development of new voices.
For those who have grown up with a sense of privilege, multicultural books offer crucial perspectives--essential for the development of empathy and critical thinking, as well as the capacity to live in a global world where white, English-speaking people are the minority.
Although there have been many gains over the years, the struggle continues. Today publishers and booksellers are fighting over a market that seems to be shrinking and changing in unpredictable ways (the rise of e-books being the most notable example), and thus sales to the largest possible audience and name recognition are increasingly crucial.
If multicultural books are seen as a niche market, many of the authors and titles will once again be relegated to smaller ethnic publishers and even university presses, which are starting to move into children's books.
If that is the case, activism on behalf of multicultural literature may move to the level of reviewers and book buyers (both individual and institutional) to give equal consideration to independently published books in what will become--as it already has in the recording industry--a highly fragmented marketplace.
Since its inception, MultiCultural Review has taken this approach, and I've been heartened by the critical reception my own novel, Gringolandia (Curbstone Press, 2009), has received, as well as the reception of Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (Cinco Puntos Press, 2004; HarperCollins, 2006) and Marge Pellegrino's new middle grade novel about a family of Mayan refugees in 1980s Guatemala, Journey of Dreams (Frances Lincoln, 2009).
In addition to editing the journal, you're also a writer in your own right. What advice do you have for fellow writers who're trying to craft a cross-cultural topic/character/story?
Immerse yourself in the culture about which you write. Along with researching the culture through works of nonfiction and fiction, you should spend time with people from that culture. They should be your friends, and you should listen to their stories and observe carefully the details of their lives.
Then, before you send your cross-cultural writing out into the world, people from that culture should read it, and if they make suggestions-including “don't!”-you need to listen to those suggestions. This is even more critical if the experiences you seek to depict are painful ones.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I'd like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to write about MultiCultural Review and to let your readers know about this important journal. I'm fortunate to have a job I love and where I feel I can make an impact.
Last year I wrote an essay on my website/blog about the role of thirty years of multicultural education in making possible the election of the first biracial President of the United States. Even so, there's much more work to be done to guarantee every person in this country the same opportunity while embracing our diverse backgrounds and all that makes us unique.
How do you psyche yourself up to write and to keep writing?
I set a reward before I start writing and will allow myself that reward only if I finish the quota for the day.
Normally that entails surfing the Net or writing a nice long e-mail to a friend; stuff that usually makes me feel extremely guilty if I have written nothing on any given day!
I’m very strict with myself. No quota=no reward.
On the other hand, when I finish the word count for the day and go a little over, that itself is a huge reward. I’m then compelled do it all over again the next day, just to feel that same sense of relief and accomplishment.
What is the one craft book that you refer to again and again? Why?
The former because it has the most practical (and amusing) advice I have ever read and the latter because it sums up all those common grammatical and other stylistic errors, succinctly.
However, no book can compare to the interaction with a mentor, especially one who is quite accomplished! I want to mention two stellar mentors I worked with last year and the one memorable piece of advice they gave me.
First, Tim Wynne-Jones. The first time I heard him quote Annie Dillard from The Writing Life (Harper, 1989), I thought it was lovely. I found it on Google, stored it someplace and forgot about it.
When I started working with him on a manuscript almost a year later, he again reminded me of it in reference to my plot. I still did not get it.
Only when I finished the course, put the manuscript away and looked at it again after a few months that I really and truly understood, what he was trying to say. Here’s the quote:
"One of the few things I have learned about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now...."
[Cyn Note: the quote continues gloriously, but its length exceeds fair use; get a copy of the book and read it for yourself.]
I worked with Uma on the sequel to The Third Eye (Dundrun, 2007) titled The Silver Anklet (Dundrun, 2009). In the letter accompanying the very first packet, she asked me if I wanted to get off the ride. The critiques would be really tough; was I up to it?
I was, and they were tough…but it was one of the best learning experiences of my life.
Of all the advice she gave me, this bit I will never forget:
When in doubt, go deep instead of wide.
There is so much depth in that simple sentence. Another ball I must remember to keep in the air during the juggling act of writing.
Now when I rewrite, I look for opportunities to deepen a character rather than introduce another one that does little. It works, and the story is so much stronger.
Advice from a book or a mentor is just that: advice, until you internalize it, until the writing becomes instinctive, like riding a bike. I'm still practicing but find that I have to write fewer drafts with each successive novel.
When and where do you write? Why does that time and space work for you?
I’m an early bird and do most of my writing from 6.30 am to about 8.30 am. These couple of hours are enough to complete my daily quota of 1,500 words. On weekends, I push myself to about 2,000 words a day.
In the summer, I write in my basement. Sometimes I'll put on instrumental music and sometimes I write in silence. In winter, I'm normally in front of the fireplace looking out at my snow-covered backyard trying to pummel a story into existence.
I love the fact that on a good day, I’m done with my word-count, my homework, first thing in the morning, and then I have the rest of the day free to do other things! It’s also reassuring to know that if I'm behind on the word count for any reason, I have the rest of the day to catch up.
So far, what has been the highlight of your professional career? Why?
The day I stood in front of a crowd of 30,00 screaming kids at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto and accepted the Silver Birch Fiction Award for my debut novel. 250,000 students participated in this Forest of Reading program across Ontario. It is a moment I have relived often, especially on the days when the words don't come easily.
This award is special because it was voted as best book by the very audience I was writing for. I couldn't have asked for a better start to my writing career.
Writing this first book was hard; it took four years, countless rejections and more than my body weight in chocolate. I came very, very close to giving up. Now of course I'm glad I didn't.
In your own words, could you tell us about your latest book?
The following is the back-copy for The Silver Anklet:
What if the only way to get rid of your worst enemy was to sacrifice your brother? When hyenas snatch Tara's brother, Suraj, and two other children from the local fair in Morni, Tara and her newfound companions decide to rescue them on their own. Tara soon discovers that Zarku, her nemesis with the third eye, is back and intent on revenge.
A deadly game of hide and seek ensues, and Tara and her companions must work together to survive. But it is soon clear that Zarku is only after Tara; the others are dispensable.
Should Tara risk the lives of her friends? Or can she once again defeat Zarku and save her brother, armed only with belief in herself and a silver anklet?
This book once again draws on the theme of believing in yourself, of the strength within if only you can trust yourself.
To me, this also applies to the process of writing. Each novel is a new journey, a new adventure, and at the start I'm so afraid that I won’t be up to the task. I've just finished writing the third novel in this trilogy and started out with that same sense of unease and doubt looming over me. But by breaking down the task to a daily word count, I have a workable (and #$%*!) first draft. I’m happy.
Here’s my favourite quote and something I strive to live by:
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." --Les Brown
Here's a video of Mahtab at the Forest of Reading Festival, talking about her award-winning debut novel.
Cynsational Notes
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
WBBT: Writing the True with Cynthia Leitich Smith: an interview by Vivian at HipWriterMama. Note: Check out my deep thoughts on my publishing background, writing across formats, Native youth literature, writing cross-culturally, girl power & Gothics, true love, and a myriad of other topics.
Peek: "I’m always vaguely flabbergasted by folks who begin as fantasists because the burden is so much higher. You have to succeed at all of the same elements as you do in realistic fiction and, at the same time, craft a resonant, integral, and internally consistent fantasy element."
In celebration of the Winter Blog Blast Tour, I'm offering a signed copy of any of my books (winner's choice) to one of the folks who thoughtfully comments at my WBBT interview and then emails me to let me know (so I have your contact information). Deadline: midnight CST Nov. 22.
Aaron: I love bugs and I love mysteries, so this seemed to be a great smash-up of those two ideas.
What challenges did this graphic novel present?
Aaron: For me, the biggest challenge has not been with this book, or even the second (Joey Fly #2 is finished, and Neil is in the process of illustrating it now). It’s been deciding where I want to take these characters from here. Developing a series is tricky, because I want each book to stand alone, yet to mesh and gel with where the characters have been before.
Neil: For me, this was the biggest project I’ve ever been involved in by a long shot. The most I had ever done before this was some four-page comics and a thesis in school that involved about twenty pieces.
Making sure to keep the character design consistent throughout was a tedious process, too. To really polish a character, it can take hundreds and hundreds of drawings, because you need to work out all the aspects of that character that aren’t working.
So I tried to draw Sammy and Joey as much as I could before I started the pages.
How does writing and illustrating a graphic novel differ from writing and illustrating, say, a prose piece or traditional illustrated chapter book with black-and-white interiors?
Aaron: The writing is much different because I don’t write a manuscript like I would for a picture book. I write a script. Like, for a play or a movie. It looks like this:
Caption: And I was about to dig into a day-old corned leaf on rye, extra mayo…
Sammy: You gonna eat that?
Joey: Slow down, dustbuster. I haven’t even started yet.
Sammy: Just asking.(A shadow blocks our view)
Caption: …when a shadow fell across the table.
Shadow: You are Mr. Fly?
Caption: The shadow was eight-legged and fuzz-covered.
Caption: It had the stench of death…or maybe it was the week-old aphids on the all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s so hard to tell the difference sometimes. That’s a sneak peek from Joey Fly 2: Big Hairy Drama. I write the whole book like that, including stage directions and details about the action along the way. Then I break the scenes into panels, the way I think each shot makes sense for the telling of the story…like this:
Panel Joey: Slow down, dustbuster. I haven’t even started yet.Sammy: Just asking.
Panel (a shadow blocks our view) Caption: …when a shadow fell across the table.
Shadow: You are Mr. Fly?
So, the writing is much different than a picture book. The genre gives you much more room to stretch out and tell the story, much like a writer of novels must feel. But I get a better chance to develop a vision for the end product, because I know I’ll have picture telling the story too. So I can also include stage directions, character descriptions, descriptions of action sequences that come about through the story…stuff the reader will never see, but which guide the illustrator. It’s much more like writing a movie.
Neil: With spot illustration in prose, I get to select an important part of the story, and put a broad visual take on it. In a graphic novel, it’s important to the story to get everything across while pacing it well.
[Here's an interior from Joey Fly, Private Eye; used with permission.]
What advice you have for other authors/illustrators on the creative front?
Aaron: For my unpublished friends, I would say: Persistence is everything.
I got over 250 rejection letters (on different manuscripts, not all on the same story!) before I landed my first deal. And, even now, I still get them (371 to date, and counting). Got one last week, in fact (though, these days, my agent gets them instead of me!).
Rejection isn’t this horrible thing that you hope doesn’t happen, it is the way to publication. The path to successful publication is paved with rejection…I firmly believe that.
Neil: Know going into it that getting a book deal or a piece in a magazine can take a very, very long time. The first couple years might produce absolutely nothing except more personal pieces and free work, and the next couple years might still be spotty, and the next couple years after that might be grunt work, then some real work might come in, but maybe not!
If you love it, and it’s really what you want to do, then just enjoy going through the ringer.
What were the challenges of placing this project?
Aaron: Well, it wasn’t accepted by Henry Holt as-is. It was originally a short novel. But the editor saw it as a graphic novel, and I liked that idea since I had worked on graphic novels before on my series Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja (Capstone) (lots of bugs in my book, I’m realizing). So, I had to re-write the whole book as a graphic novel.
Sometimes you are asked to do a lot of work before you even have a deal, so you have to make sure you really like the new idea before committing all the time on something that could just as easily end up a rejection.
For me, this was a no-brainer. Joey Fly was meant to be a graphic novel, and as soon as my editor suggested it, I knew it was right.
Neil: Henry Holt just knew we’d be a good fit for this project, and I couldn’t be happier!
How did you two get connected?
Aaron: Like most book arrangements, it was through the publisher. I never met, spoke, or even e-mailed to Neil until after the book was released.
In fact, when I first saw Neil’s illustrations…I was not in love with them. I had my doubts about whether a main character who has no mouth and no pupils in his eyeballs could sustain a whole graphic novel. Thankfully, my editor p’shawed my objections and went ahead with Neil anyway.
I’m so glad she did! I can’t imagine Joey any other way…Neil’s handle on the characters and the world he’s created for them is so spot on! You learn to trust the process, your editor, and these other gifted artists that you get thrown into the mix with. It’s a cool thing.
How are you going about connecting the final book to kids and gatekeepers like educators, parents, and teachers?
Aaron: I love being with kids and hearing from them and getting their reactions. So I do as many school visits as I can. Visiting librarians and teachers, either at conferences or on blogs like this are also great chances to connect folks to the book.
I’m thrilled to see the embrace that librarians are giving graphic novels these days as a vital and valuable genre. To see libraries opening up whole sections for this exciting visual book medium is very exciting.
Neil: I’ve been traveling all over place getting the word out about Joey Fly, from small book stores in Connecticut to libraries in Hawaii. I love getting kids to draw Joey and Sammy, and then creating their own bug characters for Bug City!
What can your fans can expect from you next? Aaron: More Joey Fly is on the way! I also have a mock-horror picture book coming out called Evil Carrots about a bunny who thinks he’s being stalked by sinister root vegetables.
Neil: Well, my first picture book just came out in time for Halloween, called Do NOT Build a Frankenstein! (Greenwillow, 2009), and I’m currently hard at work on Joey Fly 2, which I’ll be wrapping up soon!
What do you love most about your creative life? Why?
What I love most about writing is that wonderful alchemy that turns words on a page into complete worlds, places that become so real we can smell the trees and hear the voices.
I especially like it when a character jumps right off the page and says or does something that takes me, the writer, by surprise. This is the part of writing that most excites me.
Like our readers, we writers learn things through our own writing, things we may not have come to otherwise.
When teaching writing courses, I like to quote poet William Stafford who said, "A writer is not so much someone who has something to say as he is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought if he had not started to say them."
The fact that writing is a journey, not a destination, is what keeps me writing, I think. Even as writers, we often don't understand certain things about our books and their relationship to our lives until long after we've written them.
In On Writing by Stephen King (Scribner, 2000), King remembers writing The Tommyknockers (Putnam, 1987) as he struggled with addiction. It's a story about alien creatures who get into peoples' heads giving them energy and superficial intelligence in exchange for their souls.
"It was the best metaphor for drugs and alcohol my tired overstressed mind could come up with," King realizes in retrospect.
I like that. I like the fact that our work takes on a life of its own and makes commentary on our world--and the world or our readers—in ways of which we, in our conscious ramblings, are sometimes only dimly aware, if we are aware of it at all. This is very powerful and ultimately quite hopeful, I think.
We tend to get so caught up in the insecurity of writing as a business, that we lose sight of the bigger picture. It's important to find joy in the process, learning the lessons it has to offer.
And to speak for a moment specifically about writing for children and young adults, I have to say that part of the reason I love writing for this audience is because I remember, vividly, my own experience as a young reader, spending days gloriously lost in books, an experience that gets harder and harder to replicate as I become older, more care-ridden and more craft conscious.
I remember being told, repeatedly, "get your nose out of that book!" The implication was that I was so busy reading I was missing life, when in fact reading, for me, was life—heightened life, life condensed into its essential elements.
It's taken me over fifty years, in fact, to understand the deep reaching effects that certain childhood books have had on who I am and what I believe. To be one of the ones writing for this audience is, quite simply, an incredible honor.
So far, what has been the highlight of your professional career? Why?
In thinking about this, I have to say the highlight of my career has been the apprenticeship I served as a student at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I don't say this to make a plug for VCFA, but only to acknowledge that working with the caliber of people I worked with at Vermont has been, and will likely remain, the highlight of my career.
Writing is a lonely business. Before you publish, it feels like a guilty secret, and even after you publish, it's still a very private thing, a thing "normal" people sometimes just don't get. Now I'm part of a writing community that spans the world, and the feeling of connection this gives is critical for me.
In my graduation speech at VCFA, I quoted Kurt Vonnegut, who said once that, "every human endeavor is about the search for family." Finding a writing family is crucial work for a writer and finding the right family is, indeed, one of the highlights of one's career.
As a young public radio reporter in 1983, I covered an award ceremony for the Alaskan Women's Commission in which an elderly Inupiaq woman, Sadie Neakok, was being recognized for serving her community as a magistrate for many years. "The support of my townspeople," she said, "that was the most important thing."
I remember this quote vividly all these years later, because I recognize the impulse. The town gets bigger and bigger but that support continues to be the most important thing.
In your own words, could you tell us about your latest book?
Blessing's Bead (Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009) grew from another interview I did as a radio reporter.
I was covering a meeting of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in 1986. ICC represents the Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia, and 1986 was the first year the Russian Inuit had been allowed to attend.
An elderly Yupik woman I interviewed remembered how, when she was a small child, the Russian Inuit had visited her village annually. Some of the people of the village had married Siberian Inuit and gone to live in Russia. By the time I interviewed her, there were families that had been separated for nearly 40 years.
This woman left me with an image I never forgot: the image of old women, standing on the western shores of an arctic island, gazing towards Russia with tears in their eyes. This image became the impetus for Blessing’s Bead, which is a novel told in two parts.
The first part tells of two sisters, separated by marriage. The year is 1917, the eve of great influenza pandemic and the narrator is the younger sister.
The second part of the book is narrated by the Nutaaq's great granddaughter Blessing, whose life is in the midst of upheaval. The year is 1986.
Simply put, Blessing's Bead is story is about the healing power of family and culture.
What can your fans look forward to next?
I have just finished a novel told in linked stories and many voices about the Alaskan boarding school experience entitled, My Name is Not Easy. I'm also working on a novel entitled No Word for Goodbye, which employs what might be labeled as the techniques of magical realism.
In my mind, though, it’s a novel that uses traditional Inupiaq beliefs, which are still very real, to tell a contemporary story that has mythic elements. The main character is a biracial boy who is dealing with issues very familiar to me as the mother of seven biracial children.
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
The demographics in America have changed, especially in my corner of the world. Atlanta now hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the nation, and I love it. I am surrounded daily by different languages, foods, and customs. Of course, one of the most prevalent languages in my area is Spanish. Which is why I wanted to learn it.
I had a background in French, but it’s not something I can use every day. I was about to turn 40 (a time to realize goals) and a big fan of Jack Tales, when Raven Tree Press (specialists in bilingual picture books) approached me to illustrate an adaptation of “Jack and the Beanstalk”: Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante(written by Keith Polette).
I took intense Spanish lessons at the Latin American Association for two years in preparation for the release of Paco (I couldn’t have a bilingual book and not speak Spanish!), and the bilingual picture book industry moved high on my radar. Happily, the book did so well, Raven Tree wanted more work from me. This time as the author too, for Soap, soap, soap ~ Jabón, jabón, jabón.
Writing a bilingual picture book is similar to all-English with a few new requirements thrown in. With Raven Tree’s books, the Spanish is embedded in the text so the reader can decipher the meaning of words through context--that can create an interesting puzzle to write.
The Spanish term and its English translation can’t be too far away from each other or the association loses its relevance. For instance, in Soap, soap, soap, the opening line is “...his mamá...handed him some money. ‘Here’s some dinero...'” Hence, “dinero” means “money.”
Repetition also helps so the reader has more than one chance to absorb the new vocabulary. In Soap, soap soap, the line “Soap, soap, soap! Jabón, jabón, jabón!” is repeated throughout the text (and is lots of fun with an audience). By the end of the book, the reader surely won’t forget that “jabón” (pronounced “habon”) means “soap”!
Because of my Spanish lessons, I was able to write most of the bilingual version of Soap, soap, soap on my own (it also comes in all-English), but Raven Tree works with a translation company to make sure everything is correct (or to translate for authors who don’t speak Spanish). We didn’t have to make many changes, but there were some amusing hurdles. There are phrases we use in English which simply don’t translate, and visa versa. Those had to go. And there were some terms that had several options. For instance, the ditch that Hugo jumps over in Soap, soap, soap is called “la zanja.” It also could have been “el arroyo,” but “la zanja” was more specific. Of course, I have to pronounce it correctly when reading aloud, or ‘la zan-ha’ ends up sounding like “lasagna”!
Marketing a bilingual book is a bit different as well. Obviously there are regions of our country where the books will be more popular, like mine.
I’ve had the pleasure of occasionally speaking to all-Hispanic audiences - that’s a treat. I’m not fluent, but I have received amazingly warm reactions to my attempts to speak Spanish. In fact, I’ve often felt flat-out adopted by the Hispanic people I’ve dealt with and their extensive families!
Because, whereas my typical audiences will often be made up of one or two parents with their children, an Hispanic audience will more likely be made up of the entire family--parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, you name it. And they often all participate in the activities I hand out.
The first time I gave out my bilingual word find puzzle (sopa de palabras) to an all-Hispanic audience, I looked up to see adults who, I knew, didn’t speak much English, working out my puzzle right along with the kids. It had become a literacy tool! I about cried with joy.
The head of the Alliance Theatre’s Teaching Artist’s program flipped over Soap, soap, soap after seeing a galley at a recent SCBWI conference. Turned out she’d been scouring bilingual picture books for ones with repetition and embedded Spanish, for the very reasons I mentioned above, and there just weren’t that many to choose from. Soap, soap, soap is now one of the main titles in their programming this year. I’m thrilled!
The need for bilingual picture books is so strong right now, publishers and book buyers alike are scrambling to meet the demand. And it’s not just for Hispanic audiences. I’ve signed books for parents who are raising their children to be bilingual--giving them a strong advantage in our changing society. And because of the educational element of bilingual picture books, they tend to scale up and be used by older children, even adults, trying to learn English. Ironically, they are also being used by Spanish speakers who can’t write in Spanish.
Many publishing houses also now have bilingual or Hispanic imprints to meet this need, but I particularly like Raven Tree’s approach. They especially like folk tales because a familiar story or structure can give a reader something to embrace and offer one less thing to stumble over when trying to learn a new language.
Even the economy hasn’t been able to squelch the momentum for bilingual books. The top Spanish-Language book guide (for English speakers), Críticas, recently folded . . . for about three months. The public outcry was so fierce, I’m happy to say it is back and one of the main resources for teachers, librarians, and book buyers to use when trying to find new bilingual or Spanish titles.
For me, writing (and illustrating) bilingual picture books has opened a new world with rewards I never could have imagined. It is a distinct honor to share some of my favorite stories with a new audience, but better yet, I feel I’ve been embraced by a group of people I have come to adore.
Cynsational Notes
Hispanic? Latino? Or What? Notes from the newsroom on grammar, usage and style. From Philip B. Corbett of The New York Times. Peek: "While both 'Latino' and 'Hispanic' are generally acceptable, some people have a strong preference. We should respect those preferences as much as possible in referring to individuals and groups; reporters and editors should routinely ask."
Welcome to the 12 days of Christmas in Texas! Ready to greet you are 9 leapin' lizards, 8 grazin' longhorns, 7 bass a-swimmin', 6 flags a-flyin'... and much more from the Lone Star State.
José is so excited about his cousin Ashley's visit with him in Texas that he gives her one of these VERY unusual gifts on each of the twelve days of Christmas, and Ashley writes lively letters home to tell her mom and dad all about her trip. Lucky readers are in for a wild Christmas countdown!
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Texas" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message me with the name in the header; I'll contact you if you win).
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "Soap Soap Soap Jabón Jabón Jabón" and/or "My Father's House" and/or "Operation Redwood" and/or "Immortal" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message me with the name in the header; I'll contact you if you win). Deadline: midnight CST Nov. 30.
"Hands-on activities, games, and crafts introduce children to the diversity of Native American cultures and teach them about the people, experiences, and events that have helped shape America, past and present.
"Nine geographical areas cover a variety of communities like the Mohawk in the Northeast, Ojibway in the Midwest, Shoshone in the Great Basin, Apache in the Southwest, Yupik in Alaska, and Native Hawaiians, among others. Lives of historical and contemporary notable individuals like Chief Joseph and Maria Tallchief are featured, and the book is packed with a variety of topics like first encounters with Europeans, Indian removal, Mohawk sky walkers, and Navajo code talkers.
"Readers travel Native America through activities that highlight the arts, games, food, clothing, and unique celebrations, language, and life ways of various nations. Kids can make Haudensaunee corn husk dolls, play Washoe stone jacks, design Inupiat sun goggles, or create a Hawaiian Ma’o-hauhele bag. A time line, glossary, and recommendations for Web sites, books, movies, and museums round out this multicultural guide."
Congratulations to author-illustrator Annette Simon for signing with literary agent Brenda Bowen and to Brenda for signing Annette!
The Writing Life by Sherryl Clark at Books and Writing. Peek: "You are on a journey that will never end as long as writing is your life. You will stumble, even fall. You will find others on the same journey at different times who will help you up. You will carry on with scabbed knees because the scars will also help make you a better writer." Source: Kristi Holl at Writer's First Aid.
Q&A with Bobbi Katz from Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Peek: "We talk about what makes poetry different than prose: rhythm, frequent use of rhyme, and most important (and usually without using the formal terms) poetic devices such as metaphor, simile, and personification. We usually write collaborative list poems."
How To Write About...(Pick a Place or People) by Uma Krishnaswami from Writing with a Broken Tusk. Peek: "Look at any of half a dozen YA novels set in South Asia and you might conclude that all the girls in the region are trying desperately to flee oppressive marriage or widowhood or sexual exploitation. You will feel pity for them and more, you will be grateful that you are not in their place. The thing is, you can't see people as fully human if all you can feel for them is pity." Read a Cynsations interview with Uma.
Interview with Sara Zarr by Tabitha Olson from Writer Musings. Peek: "Finding publishing success doesn't solve the basic problem: how do I translate an imaginative vision into language?"
Filipino Books for Children: Old and New Favorites by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz from papertigers. Peek: "Although these books were originally meant for Filipino children, the universality of their themes and the English text (not always available in Philippine publications) allow them to be enjoyed by English-speaking children anywhere in the world."
The Movement You Need Is On Your Shoulder by Christine Deriso at Crowe's Nest. Peek: "Think hard enough, rearrange your words enough, bolster your vocabulary enough, be willing to start from scratch enough, and you’ll eventually complete such an exacting writing task by feeling not that you’ve created something new, but that you’ve plucked an existing, exquisite star right out of the heavens. I love that feeling."
Kid/YA Books About Forgiveness from Mitali Perkins at Mitali's Fire Escape. Peek: "As the year comes to a close, I want to compile a list of novels published in 2009 for children and teenagers that illuminate the difficult task of restorative justice and forgiveness. Any suggestions?" Read a Cynsations interview with Mitali.
The Writers' League of Texas welcomes new staff members Jan Baumer, Bethany Hegedus, and Kate Meehan. Note: "Established in 1981, the Writers' League of Texas is a nonprofit professional organization whose primary purpose is to provide a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers, to help members improve and market their writing skills, and to promote the interests of writers and the writing community. With approximately 1,500 members nationwide, we are composed of published and unpublished writers as well as those who recognize the written word as art and simply love to read." Note: see cute pics of the WLT staff below!
2009 Cybils Nominees: Fantasy/Science Fiction compiled by Sheila Ruth from Wands and Worlds. Note: a first-rate reading list for speculative fiction fans; I'm honored to see Eternal (Candlewick, 2009) in such amazing company.
Children's and YA Books With Contemporary Native Themes from Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources. An annotated bibliography. Peek: "...we need to open our hearts to excellent stories that reflect contemporary Native American Indian experiences, and I hope to see more of them published in the years to come."
An Interview with Alisa Libby by Pam B. Cole from ALAN Online. Peek: "Her first YA novel, The Blood Confession, is based on the life of Countess Bathory, a Hungarian countess who murdered young virgins and bathed in their blood, hoping their blood would preserve her youth. Her second YA novel, The King’s Rose, is a historical account of the life of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII."
Marvelous Marketer: Author Alyson Noel: an interview by Shelli at Market My Words. Peek: "...with books getting such a short shelf life these days, the best way to ensure yours books maintain their space is to keep ‘em coming, to build up a nice backlist for your readers to explore and for bookstores to reorder with each new release."
Book Giveaway and Guest Teaching Author Interview with Carolyn Marsden by JoAnn Early Macken from Teaching Authors: Six Children's Authors Who Also Teach Writing. Peek: "The most common problem is being too abstract or general in the writing. I address this by pressing for details. For example, if the student is writing about a flower, I ask what kind of flower? If it's a daisy, I ask what color? If it's a white daisy, I keep inquiring..." Giveaway deadline: 11 p.m. Nov. 14.
Congratulations to new Brown Bookshelf board members Olugbemiosola Rhuday-Perkovich, author of middle grade debut, Eighth-grade Superzero (Arthur A. Levine, 2010), and Tameka F. Brown, author of Around Our Way (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010)!
Interview with YA author Jo Knowles from Debbi Michiko Florence. Peek: "Everyone has a story and it’s so rarely the one we assume before we get to know them. I think this is why I love books so much. They make us realize that people are rarely who they seem at first glance. None of us can be put into simple categories." Read Cynsations interviews with Jo and Debbie.
Spellbinders: "Three Young Adult Authors Publish a Monthly Newsletter for Teachers and Librarians to help create lifelong readers. Interviews, curriculum ideas, new book buzz, literacy in the community, and lots more!" November issue includes Kimberley Griffiths Little's peek at books that have attracted Printz Award Buzz. Note: subscribe to the Spellbinders mailing list.
Guest Post by Literary Agent Wendy Schmalz from Children's Author David L. Harrison. Peek: "For my entire career in publishing people have been predicting the death of books. First it was CD ROMS (Boy was everyone wrong about that one!). Now people predict e-books as the beginning of the end. I think it’s the beginning of an expansion of reading, especially for older middle grade and YA novels." Note: Learn more about Wendy from Publishers Marketplace.
Cover Stories: Vamped by Lucienne Diver from Melissa Walker at readergirlz. Peek: "I don't know if the girl on the Vamped cover was hired specifically for this photo shoot or whether the art department used a photo from their arsenal which they modified; hard to come by natural fangs, at least in a model that actually shows up on camera!" Read a Cynsations interview with Lucienne.
Fragmented? Or Focused? by Kristi Holl at Writer's First Aid. Peek: "I need to accept the fact that (except for the lessons and critique), none of the other things will get finished today. I need to make my to-do list reflect this, and yet move each project closer to completion."
When Is a Good Time to Submit? by Kim Norman at Stone Soup. Peek: "Well, here’s good news – about December and summer, anyway. Some big sales have happened during those months, so don’t be daunted by nay sayers." Read a Cynsations interview with Kim.
Austin Scene
Local childrens-YA literature lovers gathered at Mangia Pizza on Lake Austin Boulevard last week to celebrate authors Ellen Howard, a fellow faculty member of Vermont College of Fine Arts, and Austin's latest YA author, Bethany Hegedus, who recently moved to town from New York.
Ellen makes her home in Salem, Oregon, and her latest book, The Crimson Cap (Holiday House, 2009), is a historical novel set in Texas.
Jan Baumer is the new publicity & programming manager at the Writers' League of Texas, and Bethany is the new office manager.
Cyndi Hughes is the executive director of the League.
Author-illustrator Emma J. Virjan with Greg and the BookPeople BookKids' super staffers Mandy Brooks (kids events), Meghan Dietsche Goel (kids buyer), and Topher Bradfield (YA events).
Jill Sayre is a VCFA graduate who studied with Ellen.
VCFA student Meredith Davis with writer Erin Edwards and Jessica.
More Personally
Why Cynthia Leitich Smith Is So Awesome...: a post- Spooky Cynsational October Giveaway follow-up report by winner Courtney Lewis, Director of Libraries at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in northeastern Pennsylvania from The Sassy Librarian. Peek: "The coolest cover award goes to How to Be a Vampire: A Fangs-On Guide for the Newly Undead by Amy Gray (Candlewick, 2009)--what must the publisher have gone through to make one so cool?" Notes: (1) after a day of vexing revision, it was lovely to be greeted by that post headline; (2) see two Courtney's LAB members posing with their prize; (3) Courtney also includes some lovely thoughts about Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008); (4) it's so happy-making to see great books find a loving home!
Cynthia Leitich Smith on living in a multicultural world from Tu Publishing. Note: I talk about influences, my journalism background, favorite foods and new authors, world-building, writing cross-culturally and more. Peek: "To the extent possible, step into your fictional world. Walk the streets (or their models) that your characters walk, find wardrobes for them, sketch or identify a physical model for each."
Texas Book Festival 2009 Recap from YA author Jennifer Ziegler. Terrific pics, including a peek at one of Austin's smokin' hot children's-YA writer critique groups. Peek: "It was another beautiful fall day--the gentle breezes flowed, the trees rained down leaves, and book lovers of all ages came out in droves."
2010 Houston-SCBWI Conference is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2010, at the Merrell Center in Katy. Registration is now open. The faculty includes author Cynthia Leitich Smith, assistant editor Ruta Rimas of Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, creative director Patrick Collins of Henry Holt, senior editor Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster, senior editor Lisa Ann Sandell of Scholastic, and agent Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.
The notion of professional success is a sticky-wicket. It is almost always defined by those outside of ourselves.
I prefer to focus on defining and achieving personal success, and I judge that in a few ways.
Am I reaching my intended audience? By and large.
Am I having a positive impact on the thinking of my readers? Yes.
Am I introducing reluctant readers to the joy of literature? Yes.
Do I enjoy the respect of my peers? Thankfully.
In the world's eyes, of course, the most important proof success is that I'm making a living at my chosen profession and that I have achieved a degree of acclaim in doing so. But I think anyone who steps out in faith to answer the call of her heart can consider herself on the road to success, because that is where true success begins.
Could you tell us about your writing community—your critique group or critique partner or other sources of creative support?
I belong to a unique arts fellowship called Montage. We've been together for about 22 years, so long, in fact, that we now have a second generation of members. A few children of our original members are now budding artists themselves, and have joined our circle as equals! That is very exciting.
Montage is not a writers' group, though. It is a community of artists crossing many mediums. Members include composers, filmmakers, visual artists, performing artists, columnists, essayists, poets, and children's authors. Some of us are professional, but not all.
Ours is a refreshing mix of genres and ages. That mix serves us well. In particular, it benefits me. When I ask for critique of a work in progress, I enjoy feedback from artists who are also teachers as well as artists who are students.
It's an amazing piece of luck for a young adult author to have an articulate 16-year-old in the room when she reads a chapter of her newest YA manuscript.
In addition to Montage, I have a small circle of readers I rely on to critique entire manuscripts. A few of them are members of Montage, but others are writers and literature professors outside of that group.
I cannot imagine achieving the same level of success in my manuscripts without such support! Montage, in particular, is critical to my artistic development in that it encourages members to explore mediums outside of our natural genres.
As a result, I've ventured into the realm of visual art. Whether or not I ever illustrate a book, I am enriched by art, and that cannot help but enrich my writing as well.
What can your fans look forward to next?
There are two new books I'm excited about. One is the second title in my new chapter book series, Rich: A Dyamonde Daniel Book, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (G.P. Putnam's Sons, Oct. 2009).
The second is Voices of Christmas, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Zonderkidz, Oct. 2009)--the story of the first Christmas told in the voices of those who participated in it. This book marks a first for me. It comes with an audio CD of my reading the book, along with vocal artist Craig Northcutt.
This will be a great book for family sharing, I think. At least, I hope so!
Cynsational Photos
Here's Nikki (above) with fellow author Linda Sue Park at the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles.
Nikki (right) steps out with a friend on the way to the NAACP Image Awards earlier this year.
She won for Outstanding Literary Work, Children for her biography of now-President Obama.
From the promotional copy: "Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope.
"Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn't quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.
"This is the moving story of an exceptional man, as told by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier, both winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. Barack Obama has motivated Americans to believe with him, to believe that every one of us has the power to change ourselves and change our world."
Cynsational Notes
Voices of Christmas - Nikki Grimes: a video from Zonderkidz. From the promotional copy: "New York Times Bestselling Author Nikki Grimes beautifully composes the unfolding Christmas story through the voices of those who witnessed the Messiah's birth. Listen to Joseph's struggle...Rejoice with Elizabeth and Zachariah...Worship with the magi...Hear the fear in Herod's voice...Receive the blessing of Simeon and Anna...and like the shepherds, shout for joy! Illustrated by Eric Velasquez." Note: a peek at Nikki's gorgeous new picture book.
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
Michael Hemphill: "I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, but didn't know much about the Civil War until my wife and I moved to Virginia in 1997.
"Here in Virginia, I worked as a newspaper reporter (where I met Sam) until 2000 when the first of our three daughters was born. Since, I've been a stay-at-home dad, directed a nonprofit, worked in public relations at a local university, co-owned a Civil War battlefield tour company, and now have written--er, co-written--my first children's book."
Sam Riddleburger: "I've been a weed boy, a scientist's assistant, a librarian, a prep cook, a lawnmower parts factory worker, a semi-pro juggler and a reporter. Now, I'm a newspaper columnist, a restaurant critic and a kids' book writer.
"My first book is called The Qwikpick Adventure Society (Dial, 2007). No time travel, just three friends having the smelliest and best day of their lives." Visit Sam, and read Sam's blog.
For some reason, my writing projects have tended to be more Serious (capital S) and Adult (capital A). They were also quite Unsuccessful and, quite frankly, Unenjoyable.
But then Sam and I got to talking, Stonewall came into being, and I loved every minute of the writing.
SR: When I was in the fifth and sixth grade I was a reading maniac. The stuff inside the books by people like John Christopher, Daniel Pinkwater and Helen Cresswell was just blowing my mind. That's who I want to write for--kids like me.
Could you tell us about your path to publication, any sprints or stumbles along the way?
SR: Stumbles? More like plunges and freefalls. It was hard. Incredibly hard. I was going crazy and would have given up if Michael hadn’t gotten us an agent. A great agent.
MH: The sprint was writing the first draft. We spent the first year trying to sell Stonewall directly to publishers, got some strong nibbles, but it never sold.
So we spent some weeks revising and then began sending it to agents. Thankfully, one of those agents was Caryn Wiseman with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She gave us hope in Stonewall again, and here we are.
Looking back on your apprenticeship, what was most helpful to you in developing your craft?
SR: Before writing my first book, I wrote hundreds and hundreds of news stories. You learn a lot about setting up a story, pacing, transitions and that sort of thing. And you get used to being edited.
MH: Like Sam (whose daily antics I had to endure working on the other side of the cubicle wall in the newsroom), I learned a lot from writing news stories...particularly the importance of a strong lead and tight sentences and graphs.
While at the newspaper I also took a screenwriting course at nearby Hollins University and came to appreciate the art of snappy dialogue and shifting perspectives in moving a story along.
MH: Stonewall Hinkleman is your typical 12-year-old kid who gets dragged along to all of his parents' Civil War reenactments. He hates reenactments, he hates the Civil War, and he's not too fond of his parents either. He's got a bad attitude and isn't afraid to show it...until at the reenactment of the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), he's magically transported back in time to the real battle.
Suffice it to say, he gets an attitude adjustment and comes to a better appreciation of the war. Oh yeah, and he meets a girl along the way...and his great-great-great-great uncle, who turns out not to be the coward of family lore...and an evil Confederate reenactor who has also gone back in time to help the South win.
SR: Civil War Time Travel Extravaganza!
What was your initial inspiration for writing this book?
SR: When I started, Michael already had the idea of writing about reenactors. The name popped into my head. The name brought forth the character almost instantly.
What would a kid with a name like "Stonewall Hinkleman" be like?
Sick to the gills of the Civil War, for starters.
What was the timeline between spark and publication, and what were the major events along the way?
MH: Five years from writing chapter one to the release of the book.
SR: Spark. Email x 500. Book done. Everybody happy. Book rejected. Book rejected. Book rejected. Book revised for agent. Book sold to editor. Book revised for editor. Editor quits. New editor. Book revised for new editor.
We’re talking about major revisions, too. And the book got better and better thanks to those people pushing us to make it better.
What were the challenges (literary, research, psychological, and logistical) in bringing the story to life?
MH: Having to convince Sam on a daily basis that I was right.
SR: Excuse me?
I loved the book's sense of fun, but also its sophistication. At the risk of stating the obvious, we don't see a lot of humorous boy-friendly adventure fantasies that also take the topics of real-life war and racism. What were the toughest decisions you had to make in framing the historical context?
SR: Here in Virginia, you grow up thinking that Stonewall Jackson and Turner Ashby were heroes. Grant and Sherman? Bad guys. You learn about the battles, and there's a feeling that the South should have won.
And somehow when you grow up you have to reconcile all that with the simple fact that the South was wrong as wrong can be.
We stuck Stonewall Hinkleman--and ourselves--right in the middle of all that. Anything less would have been dodging the question. But I don't feel like we answered it, either.
MH: The discussion of the Civil War in today's school goes something like this: "North good. South bad. North hated slavery. South loved slavery. North won. Hurray!"
But the story is obviously so much more complicated and rich and compelling when you explore all the "grays" instead of looking at it in black-and-white terms. Sending Stonewall back in time to the Confederate army allows for this exploration.
Giving kids a more nuanced racial and historical understanding of our past can only help them grasp the complexities of the America of today.
Could you describe your collaborative process?
SR: Ever see that "Wild Kingdom" episode where Marlin Perkins’s assistant waded into a river and wrestled a tapir?
MH: All joking aside, Stonewall would not have come to life without the equal contribution of each of us. I must credit Sam, though, for setting the tone of the book and giving Stonewall his voice.
SR: And I must credit Michael with actually knowing something about the Civil War.
What advice do you have for writers of historical fantasy?
MH: It's tough to strike the right balance between remaining historically accurate to an event while at the same time feeling free to shape the event to your own plot designs. You don't want to get bogged down with all the historical details, but I know I wanted our readers to know which moment--or which character--was indeed historically authentic.
What special considerations must be taken into account with a time-travel story?
MH: What we did not want was the novel to be a "Back to the Future" meets the Civil War.
SR: Yes, we fought hard to get away from "Back to the Future," which is a masterpiece, after all.
The tough thing about time travel is that if a character could really travel through time at will, they could solve all their problems too easily. So you have to make rules to keep them from doing that.
The problem is you, the author, are stuck following those rules, too. Which can be very hard at revision time. There were times when I started to think things were hopeless.
What do you hope young readers will take away from the story?
MH: That the Civil War remains the most important event in American history and still informs the events of today--all the way to the White House.
SR: There are all sorts of morals you can draw from the book -- most notably that war affects real people, real individuals--but honestly, I just hope kids find it to be a wild ride of a story. We sure worked hard to make it one.
Other than your own, what's your favorite children's/tween novel of 2009 and why?
What do you do when you're not reading or writing?
MH: Nonprofit work in my community. Raising kids.
SR: Lately I’ve been trying to build robots again.
What can your fans look forward to next?
MH: Hopefully the next installment of Stonewall Hinkleman. The Battle Bull Run/Manassas occurred on July 21, 1861. The war ended in April 1865. There's a lot more to cover.
SR: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Amulet, 2010).
Is there anything you'd like to add?
SR: I'd like to point out that having a co-author is an amazing experience. Things happen in the book that neither of you ever would have come up with on your own. I recommend it!
Learn about Alan Cumyn. So far, what's the most fun you've ever had working on a book? Why?
I have to say that working on this latest book, Dear Sylvia (Groundwood, 2008)(excerpt), was the most fun.
I often struggle to find the right voice for a particular project, and when I do a sequel (or, in this case, the third of a trilogy) I'm highly conscious of having to be as or more original than the original(s).
The Secret Life of Owen Skye (Groundwood, 2002) I wrote for my girls when they were young, and the natural voice for those linked stories was a hybrid adult/kid third-person narration--they are told in the spirit of a father exaggerating slightly about a loved but distant past.
After Sylvia (Groundwood, 2004) uses the same voice, but it is more of a classic novel in form and story arc.
In Dear Sylvia, Owen is writing letters to his true love, Sylvia Tull, who has moved way, and it felt awkward to be describing the letters in the old narrative voice.
Once I let Owen's direct voice take over, in the letters, the book began to write itself.
Like me at that age, Owen is no boy-genius writer. His spelling is especially idiosyncratic--trooley atroshus--so much so that my agent balked when she tried to read the first draft.
Oh, how I remember the pain and sweat of early boyhood attempts to read and write! Owen's letters get more elaborate as he progresses as a writer, but throughout it's the same fierce, funny, achingly honest heart that was so joyful to tap into.
How have you come to thrive in such a competitive, unpredictable industry?
It comes back to first principles for me, which revolve around love of story. I grew up immersed in stories, I've always turned to stories when trying to figure out this bewildering life, and I expect I will always write or make stories no matter whether I get paid to do it or not.
I've been an athlete longer than I've been a writer--though never a professional--and I know about competition in sports. The rules are defined and agreed upon, score is often scrupulously kept, there is usually a winner and a loser, but afterward you go out for a beer and talk about other things.
In this sense art is not competitive--it carries the same or greater call to excellence, but it's much freer. Any attempt to make it competitive--by giving awards, by counting and comparing sales or advance dollars--is artificial and probably hurts the art.
Who's the better artist, Shakespeare or Mozart? Who cares? Enjoy, ponder, grapple with their works. The question is absurd.
So I "thrive" by not defeating myself. I don't rely on sales entirely for my income. I apply for grants, I teach, I live simply. My kids' education is not wagered on me getting a big advance.
I don't pre-sell a book--I write it for the love of writing it, because it's the book I really want to read that hasn't been created yet. I try to be true to the characters and the problems they're faced with.
When and if the book gets published I do my best to share it with the world, but with the understanding that a large part of reviews, awards, sales, fame will be beyond my control.
Usually soon enough some other story is pulling me back to my desk. I need to write it down so I'll know what happens...
In the video below, Alan reads from Deer/Dear Sylvia. Note: "Featuring Kimba Gifford as Owen Skye. Directed by Jasmine Murray-Bergquist."
Cynsational Notes
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
I’m in the thick of marketing my newest picture book (and first as author-illustrator)--Soap, soap, soap (Raven Tree, 2009), and I keep getting emails from friends asking how I market, especially online.
To me, marketing is a two-phase process. There’s general marketing (getting my name out there), and then there’s specific marketing (of a particular title).
It’s like building a snowball. When I got into this business eight years ago, my career (AKA snowball) was the size of a pea. But I was willing to put in the work, and had time to make it grow. Hence began my general marketing...
In these economic times, publishers have become interested in creators who already have a platform--a public profile, persona or following. It takes time to build this up, but the Internet has made it easier, so I’ve been working on my platform since before I was published.
I thought of my name as a brand. Dulemba.com became synonymous with Nike or Google - yup. It was my website domain (where I show my portfolio, bio, etc.) and my blog title.
To create consistent blog content, at first I participated in IllustrationFriday.com, which forced me to post once a week. (Writers have groups like Non-fiction Monday and Poetry Friday.)
I think of them as ongoing parties. I can pop in and say "hi" whenever I want, but the more often I do, the more likely people are to remember me. The support I found was invaluable, and my snowball grew to the size of a kumquat.
Somewhere in there I got published, spoke at some schools, did some book signings and panels. And I went to tons of conferences, but they can get expensive. I found the secret to off-setting fees was to volunteer. It’s more work, but volunteering coincides with discounts and better networking. Heck, my position as Illustrator Coordinator for the SCBWI Southern Breeze region earned me a scholarship to the 2009 summer [national] conference in LA!
In summary, my general marketing plan is give back as much as possible. Within reason. I donate one free school visit a year to a needy school, submit illustrations and articles for the SCBWI Bulletin, support friends during their events, and give away free coloring pages every week on my blog. And while it may not sound like much, the articles position me as an expert and people really do appreciate the support and giveaways.
In fact, my “Coloring Page Tuesdays” has become one of my best marketing tools. I create them for teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents to share with their kids (my demographic) - and they can sign up to receive the coloring pages in their in-box each week (I use YourMailingListProvider.com, but ConstantContact is good too). I now have over 1,000 subscribers and receive over 40,000 hits to my website each month (I can follow through StatCounter.com). These are people who have already expressed interest in me or my creations.
My snowball grew to the size of a basketball, and things started getting exciting.
In this business, your demographic changes as your career grows. When I started out, I was trying to reach an agent or publisher. Once published, I needed to reach people who buy and sell my books--sales reps, booksellers, librarians, parents and community leaders. These are my front line, people who make things happen for me.
The nice thing about snowballs is, when they get big enough, they can roll on their own. As word spread about me, my books, and everything I do, my stats jumped exponentially. People are talking about me (dang do my ears itch) and it’s no longer just me pushing that snowball - groovy!
So, now I have this great support system and I’m applying it to my specific marketing for Soap, soap, soap! I have a Blog Book Tour with interviews and giveaways (most of the bloggers I asked to host me said "yes"). I have a web radio interview and will talk up Soap, soap, soap like crazy through my e-newsletter and Coloring Page Tuesday alerts. I joined the Association of Booksellers for Children and the kidlitosphere where I have gotten to know booksellers and book reviewers, and I’m sending out personal emails to them in which I include links to view my book trailer and an e-galley of Soap, soap, soap online (an experiment).
For those who want review copies, I forward requests to my publisher (we’ve become quite the marketing team). And I promote literacy through online groups and activities - because to sell books, we need to create readers! (Ironically, I volunteered for a literacy organization shortly after college--I’ve come full circle.)
In fact, except for four festivals this fall and a few speaking engagements, most of my promotion for Soap, soap, soap will be online. But that doesn’t mean it’s not personal. Over the years, I’ve created good contacts with people all over the country via the Internet. Because it all comes down to relationships these days, and those don’t happen overnight.
The biggest impact the Internet has had on advertising is you can’t blast people with non-personalized ads anymore. You must establish a following of people who appreciate you and believe in you. I do that by keeping in touch, remaining accessible, and celebrating other people’s successes--just as I hope they’ll support mine and help get the word out about my books.
Of course, in the end, there’s no point in marketing yourself if you have nothing to sell. So, I need to get back to writing and illustrating...
From the promotional copy of Soap Soap Soap Jabón Jabón Jabón:
Hugo's mamá sends him to the store to buy soap. Of course, Hugo takes the long way there which gets him into loads of trouble and plenty of mud. With all his adventures, he keeps forgetting what he’s supposed to buy at the store. But through each mishap he's somehow reminded he needs soap, soap, soap ~ jabón, jabón, jabón! Hugo ends up a muddy mess, but he finally prevails. He buys the soap and returns home only to discover that his mamá plans to use the soap on him!
Soap takes the classic Appalachian Jack Tale and gives it a modern twist. The story now takes place in a small rural town with a sweet little troublemaker named Hugo. The artwork is drawn with graphite and rendered digitally using bright, happy colors reminiscent of this playful tale.
From the promotional copy of My Father's House:
"Oh my father, thank you,
"for all your many mansions. . . ."
From woodland halls to painted desert walls, from mountain porches wrapped in snow to rain forest attics catching clouds, this exquisitely beautiful poetic tribute to Earth’s creator is grand in its gratitude and sure of the love found throughout the natural world.
Filled with award-winning artist Raul Colón’s jewel-toned illustrations, My Father’s House imparts a refreshing and uplifting message that is necessary today more than ever. This is a book both to give and to treasure for years to come.
From the promotional copy of Operation Redwood:
Waking up alone in an abandoned office, Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail message meant for his high-powered uncle:
Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk!
With that, Operation Redwood is set in motion as Julian discovers his Uncle Sibley's plan to log an ancient redwood grove in Northern California. Will there be "consequences" when Sibley discovers Julian's been tampering with his e-mail? Can Julian find out more about Robin, the intriguing girl who sent the message? Can he escape math camp for the summer and help save Big Tree Grove? Is Operation Redwood doomed to failure . . . or is there hope?
Read a PDF excerpt which highlights my short story, "Haunted Love." The story is set in the same universe as Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007, 2008) and Eternal (Candlewick, 2009) and features new characters.
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "Soap Soap Soap Jabón Jabón Jabón" and/or "My Father's House" and/or "Operation Redwood" and/or "Immortal" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message me with the name in the header; I'll contact you if you win). Deadline: midnight CST Nov. 30.
George Littlechild's This Land Is My Land (Children's Book Press, 1993): a recommendation by Debbie Reese at American Indians in Children's Literature. Peek: "...he provides teachers with the opportunity to teach children that Native peoples in the U.S. and Canada were and are members of nations."
What Not to Do With Rejection by Tabitha Olson from Writer Musings: A place to ponder books, as well as how the words get on the page. Peek: "There is nothing wrong with having a personal reaction to a rejection. You just need to keep it personal and private."
Let's Get Sensual by Tami Lewis Brown at Through the Tollbooth. Peek: "This week we'll explore sensory detail beyond the basics. How does the right sensory detail build voice? What effects can you create by describing smell, taste, touch, sound and the old standby what your point of view character sees? Do different readers perceive sensory detail differently? How do you avoid sensory overload?" Note: first in a week-long series of posts.
Marvelous Marketer: Wendy Loggia (Delacorte/RHCB) from Shelli at Market My Words. Peek: "Like most editors, the voice is what immediately hooks me. A fast-paced plot doesn’t hurt, either. Think women’s fiction—for teens, a la Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot. Would like a great paranormal..."
Book Review: Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Susan Carpenter from the Los Angeles Times. Peek: "The A-list writers are at the top of their game in this young-adult short story collection of all things nerdy." Note: Geektastic (Little, Brown) is edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci and includes my short story "The Wrath of Dawn," co-authored by Greg Leitich Smith.
Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Taeeun Yoo from Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Peek: "...it’s called Only a Witch Can Fly (published by Feiwel & Friends in August), and it’s by the prolific and talented Alison McGhee. The illustrations were done by Taeeun Yoo, who has illustrated enough picture books to count on one hand, but whose work I very much like."
Fixing a Stalled Career by Jessica at BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency. Peek: "Earning out your advance only matters to the publisher who paid the advance. What others are going to be interested in is your sales track record." Note: the agency specializes in "adult" literature, and you can't always transfer wisdom from adult to youth publishing, but this post offers global publishing insights that may prove helpful.
The Good Books: Writing Religion for Young Adults by Micol Ostow from Jewish Book Council. Peek: "The best reviews I’ve read have talked about the book taking Judaism and relating it to teens in a contemporary way, as opposed to the canon of didacticism that permeates classic Jewish kid-lit." Read a Cynsations interview with Micol.
Mongoose Madness Classroom Contest from Bruce Hale. Peek: "You can win a virtual author visit (via Skype) with author Bruce Hale, or a classroom set of the Chet Gecko mysteries, or a paperback Chet Gecko mystery for everyone in your class." Deadline: midnight Nov. 13. See details. Read a Cynsations interview with Bruce.
Haven Giveaway from Beverly Patt at the Class of 2k9. Deadline: Nov. 9. From the promotional copy: "With his Christmas wish for an ATV dashed, Rudy Morris isn’t sure how he fits into his family anymore. Latonya Dennis just wants a family to fit into. Their paths cross on Christmas Day, when Latonya ends up as the annual orphan at the Morris household. But Latonya doesn’t disappear from their lives the day after Christmas like the other orphans have. She pulls Rudy and his best friend, Stark, into a scheme to fix up a rusty, old ATV and use it to help her run away from her group home, The Haven. Rudy reluctantly agrees but as the day draws near, his own feelings for her get in the way. What’s a getaway driver to do?" Read a Cynsations interview with Beverly. Featured Blogger: Jacket Knack's Julie Larios...from Alice's CWIM Blog. Peek: "Julie Larios maintains Jacket Knack along with co-blogger Carol Brendler (a writer with an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts). The pair offer weekly posts focusing on children's books cover art." Read a Cynsations interview with Julie.
Storysleuths: "Writers Allyson Valentine Schrier and Meg Lippert read like writers, investigating award-winning children's literature for clues about how to improve their own writing." Note: new in the kidlitosphere!
A World in Your Backyard: Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me by Jennifer M. Brown from School Library Journal. Peek: "I think that life gets much more complicated at 12. At that age I did have friends who were boys. But what I found was—not so much confusion about whether we were boyfriend and girlfriend or just regular friends—for me, 12 was the age at which things started to change, whether I wanted them to or not." Source: April Henry.
Mean Girls in YA Lit: a multi-voice discussion at Chasing Ray. From contributor Margo Rabb: "As an adult, it's usually fairly easy to brush off criticisms and avoid people who you don't get along with. As a teen, the tiniest comment from an insensitive girl or boy can send you into a tailspin, and you may remember it for the rest of your life."
Stories from Candor: Episode One: Poised: a podcast from author Pam Bachorz to tie into Candor (Egmont, 2009). In this new series of audio podcasts, listen to the secret diary of Campbell Banks as he builds Candor, Florida. In this episode, Campbell discusses last-minute preparations for the first people to move into Candor, including how he'll prepare his own family for moving from Chicago. He also shares details on how he'll brainwash his town's new residents. Note: so far six total podcast episodes have been released. Read a Cynsations interview with Pam.
Anneographies from author Anne Bustard. Highlights picture book biographies for children, each posted on the subject's birthday. Those with unknown birthdays are spliced in throughout the year. Read a Cynsations interview with Anne. Screening Room
The Multicultural Minute: Food from Renee Ting at Shen's Books. Includes a list of multicultural picture books. See bibliography. Note: I've read several of these titles, and they're well grounded in the depicted cultures.
More Personally
Please note that I'm on revision deadline and wait on sending all non-essential messages until further notice--thanks!
Guest Post: Cynthia Leitich Smith from readergirlz. Peek: "how should I weigh the need to convey a contemporary setting with the risk of dating the book too quickly?" See also Little Willow at Slayground on Getting Dated or Not.
"Going with Your Gut:" a presentation by Liz Garton Scanlon at 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at the monthly Austin SCBWI meeting at BookPeople. Peek: "We practice our craft. We study the field. We dot our i’s and cross our t’s. But it’s intuition that guides great art, and sometimes in the course of our careful study and practiced efforts, we ignore our own personal muse at the expense of our best work. Let’s talk about paying attention to the most important voice of all."
2010 Houston-SCBWI Conference is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2010, at the Merrell Center in Katy. Registration is now open. The faculty includes author Cynthia Leitich Smith, assistant editor Ruta Rimas of Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, creative director Patrick Collins of Henry Holt, senior editor Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster, senior editor Lisa Ann Sandell of Scholastic, and agent Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.
For a daydreamer, there's no better work. I get to be a mental traveler, chair-bound maybe but always on the move, always exploring, discovering, uncovering, collecting, picking characters' psychological and emotional locks.
I'm also crazy about--can't get enough of--historical research, immersing myself in other times and places.
Finally, as a writer, I have an excuse to be alone when I need to be. In our uber-connected world, people think you're nuts (or at least antisocial) when you not only enjoy but require solitude. By its nature, our work lets you retreat and recharge on a regular basis. The time away, the mental travel, makes me a better person, parent, and friend, and lets me be more present when I'm present.
So far, what's the most fun you've ever had working on a book? Why?
Every book has its joys and challenges, but for sheer fun, I'd say my recent picture book with poet Avis Harley, a collection of acrostic poems that I photo-illustrated.
It let me indulge so many creative loves in one project. I think of myself as a writer first and foremost, but I'm also an editor/anthologist and photographer. Maybe because I wear different hats, my favorite part of the process has become, over the years, collaboration itself.
By day I'm an editor at Candlewick, where I work with phenomenal authors and illustrators, but I also collaborate with an amazing team of editors, designers, and art directors.
I've learned nearly everything I know about the creative process from these people, and to work in an unfamiliar area (Acrostics was my first full-on outing as an "illustrator") under their care was a gift.
Likewise to be entrusted with another author's words, to turn my visual eye to Avis's wry and clever poems. My editor even invited me to write a photographer's note, so the writer-me got to participate.
But the most exciting thing was the trip itself, the chance to train my lens on the wild creatures of Namibia. Animals are a huge part of my life and my thinking. They're my favorite photographic subjects and show up--alive or dead, as in The Ghosts of Kerfol (Candlewick, 2008), literally or metaphorically--in almost every book I write.
And while I love my creative work more than I can say, there's a part of me that's always wondered what it would be like to trek around photographing orangutans for "National Geographic" or to do fieldwork like my childhood idols Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.
With Acrostics, I was able to step over into that "parallel" life while still keeping the other foot firmly planted in this one.
Cynsational Notes
Take a peek at some "outtakes" from African Acrostics, courtesy of Deborah, used with permission. Do not copy.
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
Lisa is on the faculty of the 2010 Houston-SCBWI Conference, scheduled for Feb. 20, 2010, at the Merrell Center in Katy. Other faculty members include: Ruta Rimas of Balzar & Bray; Patrick Collins of Henry Holt; Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster; literary agent Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.; Nancy Feresten of National Geographic; and author Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't.
Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.
In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman.
The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams...
What were you like as a young reader, and how did that influence the book that you’re debuting this year?
Not surprisingly, I devoured books as a child. I was a bookish little girl--so much so that my parents eventually gave up trying to stop me from reading at the dinner table and just let me bring a book to sit next to me or in my lap at all times. (That habit has stuck – I honestly feel a little ill at ease if I'm eating without something to read)
As for my reading tastes, I was pretty much an omnivore; fiction, biography, back of the cereal box...it didn't much matter.
That being said, I am not at all surprised that my muse delivered the seeds for Dreaming Anastasia into my brain as a somewhat cross genre fantasy/romance/alternate history/grrl power-ish reverse fairy tale.
It is no surprise that I grew up wanting my female heroes strong and funny and willing to do what it takes to get the job done.
And okay, I know this question doesn't really ask this, but I also have to say that the potent combination of all of those works added to the more recent cultural influence of The Almighty Whedonverse absolutely assured that I would create a first novel that has many powerful female characters, including but not limited to an ordinary high school junior, a not-so-dead princess, and even Baba Yaga, the legendary Russian folklore witch.
As a fantasy writer, going in, did you have a sense of how events/themes in your novel might parallel or speak to events/issues in our real world? Or did this evolve over the course of many drafts?
I think any novel evolves over the course of its drafts. Or at least this one did!
Thematically, I think that once I'd created my protagonist Anne--because it was her voice that actually came to me first--I knew that at the very least I'd be writing the classic journey tale.
Girl thinks her life is ordinary; handsome stranger tells her "nope, not so much ordinary." More crazy power with ensuing wackiness. Girl embarks on mission to save someone, and stuff happens that she never quite expected.
That was probably always my plan in one form or another--that I would take this girl and throw fantastic obstacles at her and a really hot guy and all sorts of other stuff and see how she reacts. But beyond that, a couple of things really did evolve in unexpected ways for me.
One was that once you resolve to write a story about the possibility of changing history, you realize that to some degree you're writing a form of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818, 1831). That is--just because you might be able to do something (build your own man; stop a seventeen-year-old girl from being murdered)--doesn't necessarily mean you should. And the slippery moral slope that results from the attempt has this huge ripple effect.
So suddenly, I had a story that wasn't just playful "what if." It was darker and more serious and more thoughtful.
And certainly that is something very universal, whether we're talking about bio-ethical issues such as stem-cell usage or transplants or cloning, or more fanciful stuff like what if Anastasia really wasn't quite so dead.
The other theme that evolved as I began to weave in Russian folkloric elements was this amazing duality of my characters. Particularly the witch Baba Yaga, both in classic storytelling and in Dreaming Anastasia, is a character who is very hard to pin down.
As Anne's friend Tess actually asks somewhere in the middle of the story, "Is she a good witch or a bad witch?" Honestly, she's a little of both, which is about all I'll give away.
Again, I think that has very universal application. We live in complicated times. Lots of gray areas. And I loved that I was able to play with that in many, many ways during the course of the story, both with my good guys and my villains.
Cynsational Notes
The New Voices Series is a celebration of debut authors of 2009. First-timers may also be featured in more traditional author interviews over the course of the year.
According to the official website, "The first festival took place at the Capitol in November 1996; the festival has quickly evolved into one of the premier literary events in the country, annually hosting over 200 Texas and nationally known authors."
It was an honor to participate as a featured author for Eternal (Candlewick, 2009)!
At the opening of the event, the novel is displayed on a signing table with Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007), Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001), and Jingle Dancer (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000)--all of which were featured titles at previous Texas Book Festivals.
Thank you to TBF literary director Clay Smith, panel escort Breanna, moderator April Lurie, the festival volunteers, everyone who came to my session and/or signing, and the Austin area Barnes & Noble booksellers for their efforts in conjunction with the book sale! Special thanks to the Austin children's-YA writing community for its enthusiasm and support!
Here's a peek at the festivities!
Author Jessica Lee Anderson, author-illustrator Don Tate, and author April Lurie at the children's author reception at TBF literary director Clay Smith's house. Jessica's Border Crossing (Milkweed, 2009) was a featured book at the festival. Thanks again to April for the terrific job she did the next day, moderating my panel!
Author Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Benjamin's Last Night I Sang to the Monster (Cinco Puntos) was a featured book. Note: I'm a huge fan of many of the TBF authors, but, as a fan girl, it was a particular delight to meet Benjamin.
My co-panelists Dina and Daniel Nayeri. Dina and Daniel's Another Faust (Candlewick) was a featured book. The Nayeris are a sister-brother team, debut authors, and highly recommended as speakers and all-around cool people.
The Debut: Sibling Authors, Daniel and Dina Nayeri by Rocco Staino from School Library Journal. Peek: "...the debut novel from the brother-and-sister writing team of Daniel and Dina Nayeri, is a retelling of the Faustian tale in which bargains are made with the Devil."
Highlight of my signing--spooky nails by YA reader Brittany! The book is Immortal: Love Stories with Bite, edited by P.C. Cast (BenBella, 2009), which includes my short story "Haunted Love." Note: P.C. also was a featured author at the festival.
Afterward, Daniel, Dina, April, and Greg at The Driskill.
Co-panelists and YA authors Jessica, Libba Bray, and Sara Zarr. Libba's Going Bovine and Sara's Once Was Lost (Little, Brown) were both featured books. Note: see information on Jessica's book above.
Mission accomplished, it's time to hit the town with Varian Johnson, April, Sara, Greg, Erin, Anita, Jessica, and her husband. (I'm walking behind, chatting with Emily from BookPeople, our red-hottest young voice on the YA scene).
Anita, Sara, Varian, and Emily at the Roaring Fork.
Texas Book Festival: a report with photos from Greg Leitich Smith. Peek: "Jane Smiley approached, and I blurted, 'Hi! I love Moo (Knopf, 1995)!' Jacqueline Kelly also expressed admiration for that book, although much more serenely." Note: that would be Greg's fan-boy moment.
A Weekend of Fabulous Fs: a report with photos from Jo Whittemore. Peek: "Of course, the Austin writing community showed up to cheer and heckle as needed." Note: happy belated birthday, Jo!
A more novel approach: Texas Book Festival's focus on fiction reflects Austin's writing community. By Jeff Salamon from The Austin American-Statesman. Peek: "The sense of fraternity that has long marked Austin's music scene now seems to have infected the literary community, whose members show up in droves for each others' events." Note: thanks to Jeff for all of his efforts as book editor at the Statesman; congratulations to him on his new job at Texas Monthly!
Non-writer/illustrator significant others are not named out of respect for their privacy (and in case they're playing hooky from their day jobs to cheer on their honeys).
Could you tell us about your writing community--your critique group or critique partner or other sources of creative support?
I am truly blessed to have landed in South Florida where there is an extremely active and supportive children's writing community.
It's an especially rich community for young adult writers because we are lucky enough to have YA author and professional mentor, Joyce Sweeney, to run local writing classes, workshops, and critique groups.
In the eight years I've been working with her, she not only nursed me through innumerable writing crises and kept believing in my writing even when I had serious doubts, she's also become one of my dearest friends. Her generous spirit has helped many writers achieve their dream of being published.
At the 2009 SCBWI Miami conference, I was on a First Books panel, and all three of us mentioned Joyce's help in our speeches. After my first few classes with Joyce, I told my husband, "When I grow up, I want to be Joyce Sweeney."
Our SCBWI chapter [Florida SCBWI] is very active in bringing amazing speakers to Miami and Orlando twice per year, and a lot of the networking that comes out of those conferences builds lasting support between writers.
One of our local SCBWI's missions is to get every writer in a writing group, and I've certainly taken advantage of the groups, both SCBWI and private, within driving distance of me. I'm currently in four, one of which I run, and although my attendance is not always regular lately, I am appreciative of the feedback and guidance I've received over the years.
In addition to my local community, I have a writing check-in partner who lives in New York. We set daily goals for ourselves and then cheer each other on as we attain them. It's been a very successful strategy for both of us.
For me, first drafts are about quantity, not quality, so the check-in keeps me moving forward when I might otherwise get bogged down in doubt and procrastination.
Of course, the online communities are also filled with helpful and supportive folks from all levels of the business, so I've never had a question about the publishing world that wasn't answered within a few hours! I'm not sure I would've have stuck with it long enough to ever get a book published if I hadn't had my writing friends to keep me motivated.
What do you love most about being an author? Why?
What I love most about being an author is when I surprise myself. I think that's why I like first drafts the best. I'm never sure exactly what's going to happen until it does, and there's no better feeling that cracking myself up or making myself cry.
I also really, really enjoyed my first book signing. The bookstore was packed with people from all the different aspects of my life--writing friends, work colleagues, current and former students and their families, my family--and I just couldn't believe how many people came out to support me.
The bookstore had a "Fancy White Trash" costume contest, and it was hysterical to see what people wore. I had my boa, of course!
After my talk, I was constantly surrounded by a bouncing contingent of second graders. One of my students wrote to the paper about proud she was of me, and they printed it in the letters-to-the-editor section. I felt like such a super star!
Cynsational Notes
The Craft, Career & Cheer series features conversations with children's-YA book creators about positive aspects of their creative and professional lives.
Waking up alone in an abandoned office, Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail message meant for his high-powered uncle:
Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk!!!
With that, Operation Redwood is set in motion as Julian discovers his Uncle Sibley's plan to log an ancient redwood grove in Northern California.
Will there be "consequences" when Sibley discovers Julian's been tampering with his e-mail? Can Julian find out more about Robin, the intriguing girl who sent the message? Can he escape math camp for the summer and help save Big Tree Grove? Is Operation Redwood doomed to failure...or is there hope?
What were you like as a young reader, and how did that influence the book that you're debuting this year?
Like many writers, I was a voracious reader from an early age.
While Operation Redwood is a contemporary book, with e-mails and cell phones, there is an innocence to the children--and a kind of good-natured camaraderie--that I associate with my childhood reading.
Also, many of these books have a rather romantic view of the wholesomeness of nature, which I seem to have incorporated into my own worldview and into Operation Redwood.
All of these involve children having to make their way in the wilds--of New York City or more remote places. Like these children, Julian, the protagonist of Operation Redwood, is independent and resourceful and is forced to navigate a complicated world with little or no adult help.
As someone who's the primary caregiver of children, how do you manage to also carve out time to write and build a publishing career? What advice do you have for other writers trying to do the same?
I wrote Operation Redwood in the afternoon while my youngest child (then three) was napping, or late at night when all three of my children were asleep.
The downside of writing with young children is that they are so demanding of your time and energy.
There are a number of perks as well, though. Having children gives you an awful lot of opportunities to study how kids talk and interact at close quarters. The relationship between the main character in Operation Redwood--a 12-year-old San Francisco boy--and his best friend, for example, was very much influenced by my son and his friends: their loyalty, energy, humor, and constant jostling for position. So take notes (at least mentally).
Another perk is that you have a built-in audience for your first draft! Writing typically has more flexible hours than most jobs. You can work from home and most deadlines are fairly extended, so that's helpful for parents.
Once children are in preschool or elementary school, you have a little more time, though I sometimes find I miss the focus that was required to complete Operation Redwood during such compressed time periods.
Cynsational Notes
The New Voices Series is a celebration of debut authors of 2009. First-timers may also be featured in more traditional author interviews over the course of the year.
There are humans at the bottom of the garden, and a glimpse inside their forbidden House convinces the fierce young faery hunter known as Knife that they have knowledge that could help her dying people.
But if the human world has so much to offer, why is the faery Queen determined to keep her people away from it? Is there a connection between the House and the faeries' loss of magic? And why is Knife so drawn to the young Paul McCormick — that strangest of creatures, a human male?
What inspired you to choose the particular point of view – first, second, third (or some alternating combination) featured in your novel? What considerations came into play?
I've made many changes to Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter over the years, but I always knew it had to be written in the third person– I never even bothered trying anything else.
I think first person can be great and I'm not afraid to write it, but for this book it would have been all wrong: Knife is not a chatty character, she's not emotionally self-aware, and since she's a faery, her perspective on the world is so different from the reader's that a first-person narrative would be confusing or even incomprehensible.
Knife is also a very physical character and gets involved in a lot of action scenes where there isn't time for her to think about what's happening, let alone describe it. So it was good to be able to pull back a little when necessary and use the third-person "camera," so to speak.
But at the same time, I didn't want readers to get too distant from Knife. I wanted them to see the world through Knife's eyes, identify with her, and follow her steps as she tries to solve the book's central mystery.
And I especially wanted readers to imagine how certain aspects of human life we take for granted--not just our technology, but our creativity, and the way we relate to each other--might appear startling and amazing to a faery who'd never encountered those things before.
So in order to do that, I had to immerse the reader in Knife's point of view and never leave it, even once I had other significant characters on the scene. Which meant using a very strictly limited third person POV--no omniscience, no head-hopping, no shortcuts. It's all Knife, all the time.
As a fantasy writer, how did you go about building your world?
I knew from the beginning that my story was going to take place in the real, modern world and not on some invented planet or magical fairyland, so in a way that made things simpler.
But I still had a lot to figure out about how to make the very isolated society in which the faeries live seem plausible. Since the faeries in my book have lost nearly all their magic and can no longer cast spells at will, they can't just conjure up food and clothing--they have to forage and hunt for everything. And since they are small faeries, it's only natural that they'd be at constant risk from predators.
So I had to do a lot of research about plants and herbs, pioneer methods for making soap and candles and tanning hides, what kind of weapons you could make if you didn't have metal...and also the habits of carnivorous birds and animals who could pose a threat to the faeries if they weren't careful.
I also had to think about ways in which the faery world might be different from the human one, not only in terms of technology but in terms of social interaction.
A lot of faery folklore implies that the faeries are lacking in some way, that the beauties of faeryland are an illusion and that if you look at the faeries themselves you may find them hollow inside. And that made me think about ways in which my faeries might also be "hollow" in terms of lacking emotional awareness and connection to each other, and how that would affect the way they relate on a day-to-day basis.
Once I'd figured out that they bargained for everything (faeries in folklore are also said to be fond of bargaining) and really had no concept of friendship or family, it helped me a lot in defining the differences between the human and faery worlds and also gave the developing relationship between Knife and Paul more impact.
None of this was easy. It took me many years and a lot of savvy editorial criticism to make my imagined faery society internally consistent and logistically plausible. But I learned a lot from the process, and I'm glad I went through it. Especially now that I'm hearing readers tell me the world-building's one of their favorite aspects of the book.
Cynsational Notes
The New Voices Series is a celebration of debut authors of 2009. First-timers may also be featured in more traditional author interviews over the course of the year.
An hour-long live chat with Marlene is scheduled for Nov. 24, beginning at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.
From the promotional copy of Sweetgrass Basket:
In prose poetry and alternating voices, Marlene Carvell weaves a heartbreakingly beautiful story based on the real-life experiences of Native American children.
Mattie and Sarah are two Mohawk sisters who are sent to an off-reservation school after the death of their mother. Subject to intimidation and corporal punishment, with little hope of contact with their father, the girls are taught menial tasks to prepare them for life as domestics.
How Mattie and Sarah protect their culture, memories of their family life, and their love for each other makes for a powerful, unforgettable historical novel.
Anita Silvey's latest book is Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book: Life Lessons from Notable People from All Walks of Life (Roaring Brook, 2009).
Not only do those who write children’s books affect young people, but those who put books in children’s hands have just as much influence. Most of my contributors link a particular book to the person who shared it with them.
