My agent for children's books in the USA is the Laura Rennert of the marvellous Andrea Brown Literary. This year the head of the agency Andrea is celebrating a milestone birthday, and the other agents had the idea to commission a piece of original artwork from one of the agency's illustrators to be framed and presented as a gift from the staff.
Guess which artist they chose?
I painted Andrea and the staff in front of a cabin of Big Sur Lodge, where the agency holds it's annual Writing Workshops, a location that has deep significance and is full of memories for the agency.
The painting, which measures 43 x 37cm, was presented to Andrea on her birthday.... last night!
Many happy returns Andrea!
My daughter, Andrea Brown produced this book trailer for
Animalogy: Animal Analogies and I think she did a great job. The author, Marianne Berkes is one of my favorite writers today so I was excited to be teamed up with her for this book. Marianne's a retired teacher and librarian who has turned her love of nature and teaching into writing. She uses rhyming analogies about animals to give kids a different way to see how animals are related. . . bat is to flit as eagle is to soar; dog is to bark as lion is to roar. Comparisons include sounds, physical adaptations, behaviors, animals classes and are so fun, readers learn without even realizing it. Animals are to nature, as
Animalogy is to fun!
Thanks for taking a look.
Cathy
There were so many awesome queries it was hard for Mary Kole to narrow it down to one. WE have 2 winners and a few Honorable mentions. Mary Kole gave some feedback on each one in blue. (wasn't that sweet!)
There were many entries that went over 140 characters some even up to 200 characters!
To both winners - email me so I can put you in touch with Mary on your query critique!
If there is nugget you take away from this - whether chosen or not - it is this: I cannot stress how important it is to FOLLOW THE RULES when querying agents. Sometimes it can be the difference between a rejection or a request! They go through hundreds of queries a week and have to look for ways to say no. DON'T GIVE THEM A REASON to reject you just because you are going to fast or don't pay attention to the details/instructions!
WINNER 1: Blogger Wendy
Title: Burying Elsie
Genre: Contemporary YA
As Elsie dives into drugs, sex & even hardcore shows, goody-goody Shawna must decide if helping her BFF is worth risking all she believes.
Mary said: "I love the character conflict implied by this query and the high stakes. The title tells me that it might not work out for the best, but I’m really curious to see how the downward spiral plays out."
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WINNER 2: Blogger Rachael Harrie
Title: From The Other Side
Genre: YA Paranormal
Misfit Verity is murdered by the boy she loves and awakens with strange powers, uncontrollable rages, and an unquenchable desire for revenge
Mary said: "This query kicks ass. It has punch and voice, which is really hard to do in 140 characters. This sounds like something I might really like."
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Honorable Mentions!
Blogger Amanda J.
Title: The Sandman's Apprentice
Genre: MG paranormal
To save her kidnapped bro
Mary Kole's Agent Pitch Contest starts this Fri am at 9EST and ends Sun am at 9 EST. Winner gets a query critique from Mary. Come back Friday at 9 am EST for more deets on how to enter!
Hint - get your 140 character pitch ready!
Now, here is Mary Kole:
Hi Mary, tell us about yourself. How did you get into agenting?
I had been writing YA for about two years, got an agent, and went out on submission. When my manuscript didn't sell, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the business and see things from the "other side of the desk." I'm never really satisfied with what I know and always want to keep learning. I started reading for an adult agency, then started reading and giving editorial manuscript feedback for my now-colleagues at Andrea Brown. It was the first time I really felt completely at home doing in a job, and I've been an official agent with ABLit since August 2009.
As an agent, what would you say is the state of YA today? What are you seeing too much of? What aren't you seeing enough of?
YA is changing, I think. Paranormal is still strong with readers, but editors, who are MY primary customers, are clamoring for really unique paranormal, fantasy, and dystopian, as well as contemporary and realistic stories. I see way too many derivative manuscripts -- girl, sixteen, discovers she has powers (through a diary, book, dream, vision, amulet, ghost, etc.), right as the hottest guy she's ever seen inexplicably transfers into her class...and provides a key to her powers and her destiny. Yawn. I've read it hundreds of times. There are more interesting stories out there and I challenge YA writers to find them.
You are building a great resource/site – Kidlit? How did this come about and what is your goal?
Since you can only query one agent at Andrea Brown at a time, I wanted to differentiate myself and attract submissions. I have eight amazing colleagues and I'm the newest agent, so I wanted to stand out and get my name out there, right from the beginning. But aside from that, I also come from a writing background and really enjoy teaching. This way, I reach out to potential clients, provide valuable content for writers (see more on this, below), and talk about the publishing business and the writing craft -- all of my favorite things to do, wrapped up in one blog!
What is a queryfail for you? What is a query success for you?
The least successful queries fail to make me care about the character and story. Other, smaller failures, involve queries that are too long, opening with a rhetorical question or making hyperbolic claims ("This is the next TWILIGHT!"). Here's a formula for a successful query, from my
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Oh nice job - great sounds and warm ending.
Congrats to your daughter on the booktrailer-making skills.