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After a dozen years working in publishing in New York City, Kate moved to Colorado and formed kt literary in early 2008, where she concentrates on middle grade and young adult fiction. Bringing to bear the experience of being part of a large agency, she enjoys all aspects of working with her authors, offering hands-on experience, personal service, and a surfeit of optimism. Her clients include Maureen Johnson, Ellen Booraem, Stephanie Perkins, Carrie Harris, Trish Doller, and Matthew Cody, among other exciting and acclaimed authors. Kate is a graduate of the University of Delaware’s Honors Program, a former cast member of the New York Renaissance Faire, and an avid collector of shoes, bags, children, and dogs. Her interests cover a broad range including contemporary drama, urban fantasy and magical realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. She is an active member of the SCBWI and AAR.

 

There’s so much talk about the best way to query an agent. What gets your attention when a query pops up in your inbox? What makes one query stand out more than another? In that vein, what does it take for you to request a partial or full manuscript?

For the most part, I'm looking for something ineffable. I want a strong hook, or a story that I haven't seen before, or a character concept that catches my attention, or a voice that screams "read me!" And despite the fact that there is so much information about how to hook an agent, you'd be surprised the number of queries that reach me that get it wrong—wrong genre, wrong pitch, wrong material—at least for me. So when you get that right, when an author has done their research and can show me that they're querying me for a reason, that stands out. As my awesome stepdaughter's math teacher would say, "Show your work." You can get points for it.

When a query has that special something, and the pages included show a strong writing ability, then I'll ask for a partial—the first five chapters, usually—and a full synopsis. I know that many of my agent colleagues are switching over to asking for a full manuscript right away, but I like keeping that second step in there. I like checking in with an author five chapters in to a manuscript to say "I love this, can you send me the whole thing?" It also keeps it fresh for me—if I don't feel like I'm waiting on pins and needles to get that full manuscript after requesting it, if I can't wait to dive back into it, maybe it's not for me after all, no matter how good the first five chapters are.

 

Do you share queries if something isn’t quite right for you but might be right for the agency?

Not exactly, but we do share and discuss material at the partial or full stage. Sometimes it's to ask for a second opinion on something we're not sure is right, sometimes it's to seek corroboration of a gut feeling that yes, it really is that special. Though we all represent YA and MG, manuscripts may speak to us all differently, and I feel like handing over a query to Renee or Sara with a "This isn't for me, but maybe you would like it?" doesn't start an author off on the best footing. We advise authors to research the three of us, pick the agent you think would be best for your project, and if we say no, please feel free to resubmit to another, one at a time.

 

When you take on an author, what is your process? (Do you give editorial notes? Work with them on a submission list?)

I consider myself a sort of "big picture" editorial agent. I'm more concerned with the story beats and characters—does this work as written, could it be better if you cut this or moved that—than I am with themes and line edits. So the notes that I may give are things that I can cover in a couple of pages of an editorial letter, or a long phone conversation riffing with the author on ideas. Once we have a revised manuscript that we're happy with, I'll put together a submission list and share it with the author for their feedback—is there someone they met at a conference that asked about it, an author they love whose editor they'd like to send it to— and we'll revise accordingly. Then I call the editors, pitch the manuscript and follow up with an email with the submission and a covering letter. As we get responses, I can either share them with the author entirely, or just pass on a "yes" or "no", as they prefer. 

 

Can you describe the auction process? What are the pros and cons of submitting to publishers in this manner?

I don't consider an auction part of the submission process. Not exactly. 90% of the time, I submit material multiply, as we advise authors to do when they're querying. An auction happens when multiple editors from that submission pool come back to me with interest in making an offer. Then we may set a date for opening bids, or notify the other interested publishers once the first bid comes in, and continue until we have an offer that the author and I are happy to accept, from the partner we feel would be the best one to guide the book to publication. It's not always about money. I've cut off auctions when I had publishers still interested in going higher, because we knew we'd already received the offer we liked from the editor we wanted to work with.

With multiple editors reading, we might also accept a pre-empt, if that first offer comes in and it's a strong enough combination of money, marketing, package, and editorial connection to tell the other editors, "No thanks, we already got what we were looking for."

And then there's that other 10% (maybe less), when I might feel like a certain editor would just be the perfect one for the project, and I send it to only them. In which case, I'll ask for a response within a certain time frame (usually two or three weeks), after which, if we don't come to terms, I'd go out wide. The thing is, you never know if the editor you might not think of in the first blush of a submission list wouldn't be the perfect partner unless you try.

 

What are the most important "gets" for you during the negotiation process? Are there deal killers? 

The most important "get", I think, is that the editor "gets" the project. That they understand the story the author is trying to tell, and wants to help them polish the manuscript into the jewel they both know it can be. World rights, World English, North American—I can make an argument for or against all of them. I'm always going to reserve dramatic and commercial rights for the author in an initial negotiation, but if a publisher can make a strong argument why they should get them, they might change my mind. Maybe. For the most part though, since I came to agenting from foreign rights, I want to hold onto translation, and I want my partners in Hollywood to shop the material for film and tv.

Nowadays, the trickiest part of a contract negotiation may be the competing works clause, especially as many authors are becoming hybrids, publishing both traditionally and on their own. It's also very important to clarify when you're dealing with an author with multiple traditional publishers, maybe in different age ranges or genres. While a conversation about these clauses may not kill a deal, they can certainly delay it.

 

Ideally, what hooks you in when you’re reading a manuscript and makes you say, “I have to represent this author”?

It changes, but right now, I'm looking in my query pile for a diverse voice telling the story only they can tell. I never knew I wanted a lyrical middle grade novel in verse about a Chinese girl born with a deformity, hiding with her adoptive mother (Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen) until I read it. Same with a multicultural, kick-ass, feminist sci-fi space adventure novel like Salvage or Sound by Alexandra Duncan. I want something that's so good, I have to stop reading it to tell others about the awesome thing I'm reading. Send me that!

 

 

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By Bonnie Bader

 

Ah, summer vacation is almost upon us. For some that means sweltering subway rides, baking in the hot sun, and pumping up the AC. For others summer it is a time to travel. And for those with children, summer is time to take the kids to beaches, parks, and pools, where they can zip down the slides with nary a care—no more school, no more homework for a few months!

            But wait—there is another slide that parents and caregivers have to be wary of—the summer slide in reading achievement. It is estimated that the average student will lose up to one month of reading instruction over summer break. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, learning gaps of two-thirds of 9^th grade students studied in Baltimore can be traced back to those days in elementary school when summer vacation meant all play and never cracking open a book.

            Enter the summer reading list. Summer reading programs actually date back to the 1890s, and began as a way to encourage school children (especially those who lived in urban areas and not needed to work on the farm) to visit the library and read during their summer breaks. Today, over 95% of libraries have summer reading programs to help prevent the summer reading slide.

            Teachers, too, give students summer reading lists, however, much of this “required” reading is dreaded by students. Why? Because this reading is forced—the student does not get much choice on what to read. These books are assigned. These books are homework. And after all, it is summer!

            On the other hand, many librarians cull lists that have more book choices. Kids are more drawn to the libraries’ lists, because the kids are in control—they can pick what they want to read. And research has shown that kids who enrolled in library-run summer reading programs return to school not only having not lost any reading skills, but as more interested and engaged readers.

            Taking a cue from librarians, SCBWI is developing the first ever Summer Reading lists. These lists will be assembled by region (the same regions as used for the Crystal Kites), and organized by grade level – K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 and genre. Only books by PAL members (books whose publishers are on SCBWI’s list of approved publishers) will be included on the lists. Not only will these lists offer lots of choice, but the kids will be reading books by local authors – all books will denote the author and/or illustrator’s place of residence. The lists will be marketed to national associations, such as ALA and ILA, local libraries and independent bookstores, teachers, parents, and more!

            The SCBWI reading lists will include diverse choices from diverse authors, giving the idea of summer reading a whole new look and feel. The ultimate goal of this program is not only to give our PAL members more exposure, but to instill the love of books and reading in children, so they become life-long readers.

           

       

 

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The Creative Promise of a New Year

By Lin Oliver

 

 

I've never before set specific goals–meaning, Dates By Which to Get a Piece Done–but I thought I might give it a go for this coming year.  If it's helpful, I'll try this again–but I have to say, I don't think it will be.  I'll probably resent the deadline, and get moody about possible failure, and finally throw the whole business out and let things get done as I've always let them get done:  when they are ready.  In the end, deadlines are not as important as giving a project the space it needs, nor are they more important than being kind enough to the writer.  Maybe the goal should be simply to live well, without guilt and frustration.

 

—Gary Schmidt  

 

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Jennifer Rofé is a senior agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency where she represents picture books through young adult. Middle grade is her soft spot and she's open to all genres in this category, especially the tender, hilarious, or zany. She is always looking for fresh and distinct voices; stories that simultaneously tug at her heartstrings and make her laugh out loud; "adorkable" heroes; and big, developed worlds. In picture books, she enjoys character-driven projects and smart, exceptional writing. Jennifer also represents illustrators and author/illustrators. Some of Jennifer's clients include Meg Medina, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Crystal Allen, Barry Wolverton, Eliza Wheeler, and Mike Boldt.

 

What in a query letter catches your eye and makes you request a manuscript?

First and foremost, a query letter that is professional always catches my eye—you might be surprised to know that I (and my colleagues) receive many query letters that aren’t professional. What do I mean by professional? Your query letter includes a proper greeting, a concise and clear description of the work, and a brief and relevant bio. Writers and illustrators should consider the query letter a cover letter for a job application, or even a first job interview. What will make an employer take notice… and what won’t? A big component to being professional is following the agency submission guidelines (if you don’t, I delete). Finally, a query catches my eye when it’s clear that the writer or illustrator is prepared—she has done research about me, my list, and the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

 

Beyond that, much of the process is subjective—do I connect with the illustration style or writing? Does the story pique my interest? The summaries on jacket covers (or on bookstore websites) are a good guide for writing the kind of summary you use in a query. When you read a jacket cover, what makes you want to start the first chapter?

 

Once you’ve read a manuscript that you really gravitate towards, what makes you offer representation? How long of a process is that?

It’s exciting for an agent when they want to offer representation to a writer or illustrator. It’s thrilling, really. For me to reach that point, I have to love the story and the writing, and I also have to believe that I can sell the project. For illustration, it’s about falling in love with the art and having the vision for how the art works in the children’s market. From there, I will have a conversation or two with the author or illustrator and see if we connect. In this conversation, I gauge how knowledgeable a writer or illustrator is of the publishing industry and if her expectations of the industry are reasonable and realistic. Also, I try to determine if we have a similar vision for the specific manuscript or illustration style. I also always ask if the author or illustrator is willing to revise. If someone is hesitant to go through the process with me, then how can I trust that they will be open to the process with an editor?  So it’s really not enough that I love your story, I also have to connect with the creator in some way and trust that we can develop a strong working relationship.

 

In terms of how long of a process that is, there is no exact time to share. It depends on how busy an agent is and how open they are at the time to finding new clients. In some cases, an author or illustrator can secure an agent very quickly, especially when more than one agent is interested in the work. Other times, there might be radio silence, and then several weeks later, an agent comes across your query and deeply connects with your work. For me, once I get the conversation going with the author or illustrator, I can know within a conversation whether or not I want, must, work with the creator.

 

When you represent an author or illustrator, what role do you play in their career both long and short term?

Your agent is like your GPS system—where are you trying to go and how can we get you there? In the short term, an agent opens publishing doors that are typically closed—agents get your work in front of editors and your art in front of art directors. The long term is more advanced and nuanced, of course, but in a nutshell, it’s about career planning. Some of the matters we discuss include: What is the right next idea for the client to pursue? Which idea is aligned with their artistic perspective or other books, or which idea will lead them down a new path? Should an illustrator accept an offered job or is this not the style of book she wants to be focusing on? Should the illustrator pursue a new style she is developing? Do we need to find a client a new editor or a different publisher to help him move in a new or better direction?  Again, where does the client want to go, and how can we lead him there?

 

What advice would you give authors and illustrators as they go through the submission process? 

First and foremost, do your research on agents. Pick a handful, maybe up to ten, that you think would be a good fit for you and your work, and submit accordingly. If you get no bites during that time, then revisit your query and your opening pages. Do they require revision? When you’re ready, submit to the next batch of agents. If there are still no bites, then revisit your materials again. Keep in mind that agents are busy, and the more established ones are likely to have full and active lists and don’t necessarily have the room for more clients. This is a reason to keep in mind newer agents at reputable agencies — they are looking for clients. Attending SCBWI conferences is also an excellent way to make a personal connection with an agent. Consider conferences if feasible. Secondly, be as patient as you can and as kind to yourself as you can be during this process (even if that means a social media hiatus). Submitting can be a taxing and rattling time. And finally, keep pushing forward and honing your craft. It might not be the first manuscript that lands you an agent—it might be the third or fourth or seventh—so keep working. 

 

Three things an author or illustrator should do when querying you?

1. *Follow the agency’s submission guidelines.* I can’t stress this enough.

2. Personalize your query letter. Make it clear that you’re querying me for a reason— you’re familiar with my interests and list, you saw me speak at a conference, you’re fond of the authors and illustrators the Andrea Brown Literary Agency represents, etc.

3. Be professional and confident (even if you don’t feel this way). There’s no need to mention that this is your first submission or query letter ever, that you’re brand new at this and aren’t entirely sure what you’re doing. Would you walk into a job interview and tell your interviewer that this is your first one ever and boy are you nervous! When you’re prepared, you get to be confident, even if on the inside you’re shakin’ in your boots.

 

If you have a manuscript you think might be a fit for Jennifer, all SCBWI members can query her during the month of December at [email protected]. Please follow the Andrea Brown Literary Agency submission guidelines. You can follow her on Twitter @JenRofe

 

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By Martha Brockenbrough

 

People are always on the lookout for the silver bullet of social media: that one foolproof thing that effectively promotes a book. There isn’t one, and the fact is, you’re far more likely to shoot yourself on the foot than strike it lucky. Unfortunately, 2015 has been the year of the gaffe, the pile-on, the career-toasting debate. High-profile writers such as John Green, Andrew Smith, and Meg Rosoff have found themselves in the social media red zone, and it’s been awful.

 

Part of the frenzy—which started with content in books, comments to a newspaper, and a reply to a detractor’s Tumblr post—is due to the fame of these writers. But another part is the nature of the beast. Social media is a terrible place for complex, nuanced discussions. Twitter is especially bad, because character count is limited and angry tweets pile up like astonishingly fast. For controversial stuff, Facebook and Tumblr are better, as long you take the same care you’d use in a face-to-face discussion.

 

What’s more, as social media has evolved into a sometimes-rude marketplace of ideas, it has diminished as a marketplace for stuff, and probably for the best. No one wants thinly veiled book ads, spammy direct messages, or repetitive self-promotion. No one wants to be friended by anyone on Facebook only to receive an immediate request to “like” their author or illustrator page.

 

What does work? Cultivating relationships the same way you do in real life: Be interesting, be interested, be useful, be positive.Be smart, too. It’s not just readers you’re reaching out to. It’s booksellers, teachers, librarians, bloggers, and other people who connect to many people at once. Think of these as your power connections. Over the years, key ones can put your books into a lot of young readers’ hands.

 

Some effective things to do:

- Establish a clear, concise identity. Mention your work and your website in your profile, and use your book cover or a good photo. Make it easy for people to know who you are and what you do.

- Be useful.I’ve created common core-focused guides for two of my books, and I share these both on social media and on my website so teachers can easily use my books to support classroom work. Offer Skype visits of varying lengths to round this out.

- Be visual. Use a service like picmonkey.com to turn favorite book quotes (from your work the work of others) into graphics. Did a reader make fan art for your book? Share it and praise that talented soul.

- Be interesting—and be interested. Talk with other writers and with your power connectors about books you’re loving, your pets, or even fascinating articles you’ve read. Make yourself a source of support and cheer, and people will be glad to cheer you on when it’s time.

 

Martha Brockenbrough’s latest young adult novel, The Game of Love And Death, was a finalist for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015, and an American Library Association Booklist Top 10 YA Romance. She is on SCBWI’s Team Blog, is the founder of National Grammar Day, is the former editor of MSN.com, and has been a media strategist for fifteen years. More at www.marthabrockenbrough.com. 

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Lilly Malcom is the Executive Art Director and Associate Publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. As an art director, she has had the privilege to work with many talented illustrators, among them David Small, Jon Agee, Jerry Pinkney, Judy Schachner, Tao Nyeu, Zachariah O’Hora, Erin EitterKono and Jen Corace to name a few. Lily enjoys working with longtime professionals as well as first time illustrators. She is always on the lookout for unique memorable characters and stories with a strong visual narrative.

 

When an illustrator has more than one style, do you like seeing them in one portfolio or does that throw you off?

 

I’m fine with multiple styles as long as they are executed well. But it’s not something you have to have in your portfolio. It’s better to master one style and keep working at it. That said, if you are excellent at realistic painterly work as well as a loose free line—then go for it! We’re looking for all sorts of styles and if I stumble upon something unexpected, that’s great.

 

But really the focus should be on making your portfolio strong and captivating. You need about 15 or so pieces that are compelling and geared towards children’s publishing. Sometimes you only have one chance to show your work, so it must be your best. If your strength is animals, then start with those pieces and move on later to people. Be sure to show characters with expressive faces, engaged in different activities. Show that you understand settings, moods and that you’re capable of continuity between scenes. 

 

And if you have a favorite character you’ve created, definitely put that in too. We’ve created books based on one image that we’ve loved and have asked for a story to be created around them. Also, I like sketches when they are included. It shows how artists handle their line and you get to see a bit of their process. This can always go online if you don’t want to put it in your portfolio. 

 

Do you ever ask illustrators you are considering for a project to do samples before hiring them? If so, do you pay for those samples or are they done for free?

 

At Dial we usually don’t ask for samples. If we’ve gotten in touch with you, it’s because we love your work and think you can create a wonderful world for the characters in the manuscript. We’ve already looked at a bunch of your art and have confidence that you will do a terrific job. That said, on the rare occasion we do ask for a sample, I feel we should pay you for your efforts. If you get the project, then the advance would cover it, and if we go with someone else then we can pay a small fee. Sometimes an agent or illustrator will offer to do a free sample. And in that case, we see if that’s the right thing to do for that project. 

 

Do you like receiving postcards from illustrators you’ve never met? If so, how often do you think one illustrator should send out new postcards?

 

I love receiving postcards. I get tons of samples every day and postcards allow me to flip through quickly and sort. If I’m interested to see more, I will go to your site. Remember to print work on both sides of your postcards and make your contact info easy to find. And in terms of how often people should send samples out? You could send out a big blast once a year and then follow up with smaller targeted mailings once or twice more. 

 

When you are looking at illustrators online, what is the best way to grab your attention and make you look at more of their work? 

 

This is a little intangible but I’m looking for something unique. I’m not looking for someone to reinvent the wheel and create a whole new style using toothpicks. I’m just looking for someone who can infuse life and heart into the characters and the world around them. It can be as simple as how they work the eyebrows or the bits and pieces around the character that tell you something about them. It’s the artist’s job to illustrate the full story. The story beyond the words. It’s a big thing and a hard thing to do well. I’m looking for hints that you can take a text and make it your own. 

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Save Every Note with Evernote

by Anne M. Leone

 

            I’m the most disorganized person I know. But this special talent has forced me to learn a few tricks. For example, if I don’t write a detailed grocery list, that impulse buy rustic loaf will only be found weeks later, molded to the bottom of a reusable bag. So with my first foray into historical fiction, I envisioned dozens of sources, stacks of musty books, sticky notes sticking every which way, and piles of nearly indistinguishable note cards. I knew I needed a system.

            Cue Evernote. Everyone in the writing community seems to be talking about it; last year in the SCBWI Bulletin, Natalie Dias Lorenzi’s “Keeping Your Facts Straight in Fiction” mentioned several useful online apps for organizing research, including Evernote. This past summer, a conversation popped up on SCBWI’s Blueboard about using Evernote for writing on the go, as well as collating agent research, story ideas, and just about everything else. Intrigued by the idea of a digital platform that could organize my entire life, I began to investigate. Whitson Gordon’s Lifehacker article, “I’ve Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here’s Why It’s Actually Amazing” suggested, “The more you add, the more useful Evernote becomes.” I took his advice, downloaded Evernote, and haven’t stopped adding to it since. I promise I don’t work for

 

Evernote, nor have they offered to subsidize my writing career. But for this disorganized person, Evernote has been exactly the system I needed.

            So what is Evernote?

            Evernote is a free online app. It can be accessed via the web or downloaded to most any phone, tablet, or computer. It allows you to generate notes, which can be sorted into notebooks, and collections of notebooks. For example, my latest work in progress is about two girls, one African and one European, who trade in their current lives to become pirates. I collected all of my research about female pirates on one note, pirate philosophies onto a different note, cannon use onto a third. But all of these notes are stored in a single notebook called “Research: Pirates” which is part of a notebook collection called “Pirate Book.”

            Picture it:

            Evernote isn’t just text based. I can snap a picture of a graph in a library book, or take a photo of a historic wharf. These pictorial notes can be added to my Evernote collections directly from my phone’s photo app.

            Clip it:

            Evernote also stores websites as notes. This is incredibly useful, not only for research, but for keeping a running bibliography. Whenever I search for a book in my library’s digital catalog, I instantly clip that record into a notebook called “Bibliography.” I also keep a reading list of similar or inspirational novels, researchers I might contact, and museums I could visit. My website notes can be annotated, highlighted, or trimmed to show only the exact information I need.

            Find it fast:

            All this information is not only on a single screen at my fingertips. I have also eliminated thumbing through note cards, wondering if I made up that slave ship captain named Samuel Pain, or if I wrote his name on a pink sticky or a white notecard. Every word in every note can be searched, important keywords added as tags.

            Save it:

            As my research accumulated in Evernote, panic began to set in. What would happen if my browser crashed, or my computer died? Thankfully, nothing. Evernote backs itself up to the cloud, and the downloadable version can be backed up traditionally, in case I do something like accidentally delete a note.

            Sync it:

            It doesn’t matter how I access Evernote: it’s available to me whenever and wherever I am. Additionally, as long as an internet connection is available, anything I enter will be synced. That means I can do research from home, add notes at the library, brainstorm title ideas at a coffee shop, and snap a picture on the wharf, and all my tech devices will have my information up to date, stored and accessible.

            Evernote for everything:

            Evernote is so easy to use and convenient, I’ve started organizing recipes, research for this article, submission ideas, and lots more. It also offers a reminder feature for to-do lists, a presentation mode, and a share and chat feature. Every month, Evernote Basic gives me 60 MB of space for new uploads, so I haven’t yet needed to upgrade. But the Plus and Premium Services include additional storage space and features.

            Evernote for you?

            I realize I’m a complete convert, but Evernote might not be for everybody. In her article on saving research, Natalie Dias Lorenzi suggested a few other programs, including Diigo, Pearltrees, and Livebinders.

            Wherever you end up, I encourage you to dive in. It’s fun to be organized!

 

When she’s not knee-deep in historical fiction, Anne Leone writes contemporary middle grade. You can find out more about her and her writing at www.critically-yours.blogspot.com.

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On December 1, the SCBWI will throw its first ever Book Launch Party.  Three launch parties will follow in 2016—Spring, Fall and Holiday.  Our Book Launch Parties will provide a special forum for SCBWI members to publicize, promote and sell their new books. For a $25 fee, you can purchase a page, design and individualize it yourself, populate it with photos, videos, reviews and even a contest. Your page will put forward what you’d like viewers to know about your book. Every launch page will feature a BUY button where viewers can connect to Amazon, Indie Bound or your website to buy the book.

Creating this Book Launch Party initiative is a radical step for SCBWI, an authors’ and illustrators’ organization. But we felt the time had come to do it. The children’s book marketplace is full of high-quality first-rate books that never achieve the success they deserve. The SCBWI will now include in our mission statement the goal of helping our members increase recognition and sales of their work. Our community needs to come together to help creators have their work discovered and find a way into the hands of readers.

Even though marketing dollars for children’s books have always been modest, publicity and marketing were the responsibility of the publisher.  Well, those were the good old days and they’re gone. Today, we are expected to have a social media presence and platform. We are busy blogging, tweeting, instagramming, skyping school visits, forming marketing coalitions with colleagues, conducting real and virtual tours—an endless variety of tasks to make our books known.

Publishers still do what they can, but often their marketing budgets lean to high profile authors, high concept books or lead titles that are pre-destined for success.  If your book isn’t one of those, you have to be The Little Engine That Could.  That goes double for independently published authors or those published by a small or regional press.  Sustaining a career in children’s books requires marketing know-how, gumption, and commitment to the process.  That’s a tall order, and hard to accomplish on your own.

Enter the SCBWI Book Launch Parties. We have created a space where ALL our members can launch their books.  You design the page, make it your own, and fill it with personality. On December 1, it goes up on our busy SCBWI website. Our job is to drive traffic to the site.  We will contact bookstores, libraries, community and parent groups, newspapers, bloggers, and trade associations.  We will advertise on Facebook and other media platforms. Our goal is to make SCBWI’s Book Launch Parties a destination for buyers to discover new books—to discover YOUR book.

It is said that “A rising tide lifts all boats.”  By banding together for our Book Launch Parties, we all benefit. Every book, whether it be from a best-selling author or a brand new illustrator, gets its own page.  There is power in community, and together, we can turn a ripple into a wave.

I hope that if you’ve had a book published in 2015, you will create a Book Launch Party page. (LOG IN to scbwi.org and click MY BOOK LAUNCH PARTY on your profile page.)  If you have a book coming out in the spring, sign up for the Spring Book Launch Party as soon as it’s available.

If you don’t have a book coming out, then come and visit the parties.  Don’t worry, we’ll send you an invitation soon.  Look for it!  And come visit again and again.  Buy books.  Support your community!  Remember, we need to be the rising tide that floats ALL our books.   All books matter.

 

Lin Oliver is an author and Executive Director of the SCBWI.  She and her partner, Henry Winkler, will be launching two books in the December 1 Holiday Book Launch Party.

 

 

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Billie Bloebaum from A Children's Place in Portland, Oregon, tells us what's on the shelves.

 

What trends do you notice in children’s book sales? What are the current hot reads?

Original graphic novel content is continuing to gain steam. There are a lot of interesting stories being told in this format and the books themselves appear to fit nicely into that space between early chapter books and meatier middle grade fare. And, as the readers get older, there are graphic novels with more challenging content. We do especially well with graphic novels aimed at a female readership. I think this is at least in part because there are series like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Timmy Failure and Nate the Great that are marketed to boys, but, with the exception of The Dork Diaries, there isn't much similar that's marketed to girls. And it's not that girls can't and don't read those series, but Greg Heffley isn't going to face the same experiences as a ten-year-old girl. Having women like Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson and Dana Simpson creating graphic novels that speak to these girls and reflect their lives and experiences is huge. Honestly, if Ms. Telgemeier were to ever do an event at our store, she would be greeted like a rock star by her adoring fans.

What the current hot reads are depends a lot on what we've read recently and are enthusiastically handselling. For me, that means Martha Brockenbrough's The Game of Love and Death, which I think is just amazing and beautiful and I could gush over it for days. And I am Princess X is a really well-done blend of realistic teen thriller and graphic novel, so it appeals to a wide demographic. On the picture book side, I'm enamored of The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose. It's one of those books that is so cleverly done—Ms. Rose sets up props in her back yard and waits for the squirrels to come interact with them and then takes pictures and creates stories around those pictures—that all I really have to do is put it in someone's hands and it all but sells itself.

 

​How do you choose what books to order? Do you use a publishing rep?

​Ordering is based on a lot of factors, but experience–and the instinct born of that experience–is probably the greatest. My co-worker Kira and I do the bulk of the frontlist ordering and, between us, we have nearly thirty years of bookstore experience. And, yes, we meet with publisher reps every season. They provide us with a lot of good information that can help us decide to bring in a book we might otherwise have passed on or vice versa. The bottom line, though, is "Can we sell it?" There have been books we've loved that we don't bring in because we know that we don't have the customers for them. And there are always those books that one or both of us don't care for that we know we have to carry because we know they're going to be asked for by name.​

 

What would you like to see more of from authors/illustrators in terms of community involvement?​

​I think one of the most important things authors and illustrators can do is to partner with local schools to offer…well, whatever they can. Teach an art class. Volunteer to read to kids or to help tutor reading classes. And partner with your local bookstore to do non-traditional events. Offer to do a story time or lead a book group or something outside of the traditional reading-and-signing. And, for goodness' sake–SHOP LOCAL. In the time leading up to publication, get to know your local bookstore as a customer. Then, as publication date gets closer, be in contact with them to verify that they'll have your books in stock (chances are, if you're a customer, they recognized your name in the catalog and ordered your book automatically) and offer to sign them. And then, when the book is on the shelves, send your friends and family and random strangers​ to that bookstore to make their purchases.​ You can bet if you create a relationship with your local booksellers, they'll be one of the best advance teams you could hope to have.

 

How do you handle author/illustrator visits? Can authors/illustrators contact you directly?

As a small, children's-only bookstore, we  don't have a huge events program. We do a lot of story time visits with picture book authors. Traditional reading-and-signing -style events are more rare, mostly because our space is so very small, but we do them as often as we can. It's fine for authors to contact us directly—especially if they're local​—don't be pushy. Sometimes, we have to say "no" and it's nothing personal. And, if you're contacting us about doing an event for a book you published through Amazon, please be aware that we're automatically going to say "no" and we'll also be offended that you even asked. 

 

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller/manager/librarian?

​My favorite part of this job is that moment when you put a book into someone's hands knowing that you've just played matchmaker for the perfect book/reader couple. And when that reader comes back and thanks you and asks you for further recommendations? That's just such a rush. I can't think of a better feeling.

 

Personal book recommendation?

​ Just one? Not going to happen.

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough because it still makes me feel all warm and nostalgic just thinking about it.​ Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee because it's a great adventure story with a pair of non-traditional female protagonists, especially for a Western. (One is Chinese-American and the other is an escaped slave.) Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen because it's a sweet picture book about friendship featuring a yeti and a very lost little bird and the illustrations are just charming. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki​ which, yes, is an adult title, but two years after reading it, it's still stuck in my head and I still love handselling it.

 

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On December 1, the SCBWI will throw its first ever Book Launch Party.  The following year, three launch parties will follow—Spring, Fall and Holiday.  Our Book Launch Parties will provide a special forum for SCBWI members to publicize, promote and sell their new books.  For a nominal fee, you can purchase a page, design and individualize it yourself, populate it with photos, videos, reviews and even a contest.  Your page will put forward what you’d like viewers to know about your book.

The children’s book marketplace is full of high-quality first-rate books that never achieve the success they deserve. We’re planning to offer a remedy to that. Every launch page will feature a BUY button where viewers can connect to Amazon, Indie Bound or the author’s website to buy the book.

Creating this Book Launch Party initiative is a radical step for SCBWI, an authors’ and illustrators’ organization. But we felt the time had come to do it. The SCBWI will now include in our mission statement the goal of helping our members increase recognition and sales of their work. It’s no longer enough to help people get published. Our community needs to come together to help creators have their work discovered and find a way into the hands of readers.

Once upon a time, as so many children’s stories begin, sales, publicity and marketing were the responsibility of the publisher.  Well, those were the good old days and they’re gone. We are expected to have a social media presence and platform. We are busy blogging, tweeting, instagramming, skyping school visits, forming marketing coalitions with colleagues, conducting real and virtual tours—-an endless variety of tasks to create a place for our books.

Publishers still do what they can. The truth is, though, that marketing dollars are modest for most children’s book departments, and often we see those dollars go to high profile authors, high concept books or lead titles that are pre-destined for success.  If your book isn’t one of those, you have to be The Little Engine That Could.  That goes double for independently published authors or those published by a small or regional press.  Sustaining a career in children’s books requires marketing know-how, gumption, expertise and commitment to the process.  That’s a tall order, and hard to accomplish on your own.

Enter the SCBWI Book Launch Parties.  We have created a space where ALL our members can launch their books.  You design the page, make it your own, fill it with personality. On December 1, it goes up on our collective site.  The SCBWI will do everything in our power to drive traffic to the site for every book listed there.  We will contact bookstores, libraries, community and parent groups, newspapers, bloggers, and trade associations.  We will advertise on Facebook and other media platforms.  It is our sole goal for SCBWI’s Book Launch Parties to become a destination for buyers to discover new books—to discover YOUR book.

It is said that “A rising tide lifts all boats.”  By banding together for our Book Launch Parties, we all benefit.  Every book, whether it be from a best-selling author or a brand new illustrator, gets its own page.  There is power in community, and together, we can turn a ripple into a wave.

I hope that if you’ve had a book published in 2015, you will create a Book Launch Party page. (LOG IN to scbwi.org and click BOOK MY LAUNCH PARTY on your profile page.)  If you have a book coming out in the Spring, sign up for the April Book Launch Party as soon as it’s available.

If you don’t have a book coming out, then come and visit the parties.  Don’t worry—we’ll send you an invitation soon.  Look for it!  And come again and again.  Buy books.  Support your community!  Remember, we need to be the rising tide that floats our books.   All books matter.

 

Lin Oliver is an author and Executive Director of the SCBWI.  She and her partner, Henry Winkler, will be launching two books in the December Book Launch Party.

 

 

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SCBWI Exclusive with Beverly Horowitz, VP & Publisher of Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

 

Horowitz began her career in the editorial department of Little, Brown and has held positions as publicity/promotion director at Bradbury Press and Academic Marketing and School and Library marketing director at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Beverly has never stopped being an editor. She works with Judy Blume, Louis Sachar, E. Lockhart, Laura Hillenbrand, Caroline B. Cooney, Wes Moore, and many other beloved and debut authors. Throughout her career, she has been an advocate of First Amendment rights and has fought against censorship.

 

Over the course of your illustrious career, what are the most significant changes you’ve seen from a business perspective in the field of children’s book publishing?

The health of the book industry is actually better than people think. It’s interesting and happy news that brick-and-mortar bookshops are still alive and well. The other thing that is noteworthy is that big-box stores such as Target and Walmart have kept their book departments; some have even turned over more shelf space to books for teens and kids. There’s no denying that these stores focus on bestsellers, but still, kids are getting books and developing the reading habit. It’s wonderful that the general public has better access to books.

The narrative has been that ebooks are surging, and once-loved physical books are disappearing. But the plot has twisted sharply. The fact is, kids are reading more and they love physical books. Ebooks are easy to carry once you own a device, and they’ve augmented the market of readers, but the physical book still holds an important place.

The children’s book and YA book editors and authors and illustrators have finally gained greater respect from others in the industry and beyond. We always deserved the respect, but the profitability of our books has tipped the scales.

Nonfiction is not only for school projects or required book reports. There is terrifically entertaining as well as educational nonfiction for girls and boys.

 

One big issue the publishing industry faces might very well be its biggest opportunity: People who don’t read. How is publishing trying to bring people back to books?

If you think about the people who don’t read, they usually fall into one of these groups:

Those who actually have trouble decoding words so that reading isn’t easy or appealing and therefore they don’t want to do it. We need to teach all kids to be able to read. Imagine the misery and shame of not being able to read.

People who haven’t found a book, author, or genre they like and respond to so they feel lost and don’t know how or why they should spend time reading. How do we get better word of mouth about selecting and finding great books?

People who think reading is “non-active” and somehow don’t realize how entertaining a book is. What a splendid way to use your imagination and enter new worlds and see relationships and choices made. We need to make reading cool, a cool thing to do.

The books that have been turned into films are known beyond the reader marketplace—these titles become part of pop culture—and then nonreaders want to read what’s being talked about. We need to get the idea of talking about books out as a good way to have a conversation.

 

What trends are you seeing now?

By the time we identify a trend, it’s almost over! I prefer to start a trend, but that often happens by chance. The most important thing is not to copycat what’s working already, but to change it or elevate it. The contemporary novel about real-life issues seems to be working now, but those books have always been around. Often the trend has to do with packaging—the visual makes a great deal of impact. Indeed, what goes around comes around. From coloring books for older kids, teens, and adults, to nonfiction that is easy to read and full of facts, to exploration of complex problems in fiction—as well as friendship and family and all the daily life issues kids and teens face, depending on who is naming the trend—some of the same bubble up after maybe five years or a decade and become recognized again.

 

What final words of wisdom can you impart to new authors?

I believe that pace, characterization, and structure are the basics. I love a well written novel. Imagine that the actions of characters on a page—not actually real people—can make you laugh or cry and care about what happens to them!  Even inventive ideas need work. Think, revise and never lose sight of the fact that an author is asking a person to stop doing whatever he or she is doing to join and spend time with the book the author has written. That’s a huge “ask,” so be sure your book truly delivers in an honest and entertaining way. Writers should also be readers. For me it is a joy and responsibility to spot talent and help a writer.  I say be optimistic as well as realistic because the creative process is so mysterious.

 

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I get this question a lot, and my answer is always the same: Throw a party! You got a book deal! If you have aims to illustrate, keep working on your art and use the contacts you establish through your manuscript deal to try to get more feedback and perhaps an opportunity to show other people in-house your work. Conversely, if you are so tied to your text that you can’t fathom anyone else illustrating it, then perhaps you’re too close to your work for the commercial market. Making a children’s book is a huge collaboration, and there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, so you’ve got to be ready to hear feedback from any number of people, which means not being too precious with your work. IF you’re open to it, all those voices help push you to be an even better writer, illustrator, and ARTIST than you already are!

 

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Dreamwork is the practice of regularly recording and reflecting on one’s dream in a conscious and applied manner with the intention to learn from the wisdom of dreams. It is not an easy task. In fact, it is probably one of the most challenging projects a person could take on, and yet, possibly one of the most rewarding.

Freud said dreams were “the royal road to the Unconscious.” Connecting to dreams is a direct method to connect to the Unconscious, the deepest part of you. So if you want to really get to know yourself through and through, doing dreamwork is one of the best ways to do it.

By committing to dreamwork, you are giving permission to the Unconscious to inform your waking life, bringing new and often challenging insights into a consciousness that is often protected from this greater reality by a tough Ego that wants to be safe, secure and in control. Often, the interests of Ego and the interests of Unconscious are at odds. This means:

• You may experience conflicting values in situations where your ego has learned to adapt, appease, turn a blind eye or, conversely, be overly critical and your Unconscious is suggesting a bolder, risky or more loving response.
• You may be presented with information about a situation you would rather not know. Dreams often can see the bigger picture and give information you do not pick up in waking consciousness or they may portend events in the future that may be hard to accept.
• Dreams may show you how powerful you can be if you forgo your fears and act on your dreams. Dreams may show you doing things in dreamtime you are frightened to do in your waking life—but in dreamtime accomplish with ease, grace and sometimes with the help of angelic beings. This is why the phrase “If you can dream it, you can do it” is so true. It’s like the holographic prototype model has already been tested in dreamtime, proving to you it can work.

By committing to dreamwork, then, you are committing yourself to be open to another level of awareness that calls you to move beyond the constraints of Ego limitations and into a world of limitless possibilities. What can be more exciting than that?

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About two weeks ago a long-time friend, Gwen Plano, invited me to join her on a Blog Tour. I thought it would be an interesting way for us to tell about our books and encourage others to do the same. Gwen has just published what I would call a spiritual memoir, Letting Go into Perfect Love. I suggest you visit her blog and check out this profoundly moving book.

For the Blog Tour I was asked to answer four questions, which for me were ones I often address when people ask me about my books.

The Four Questions:

1) What Am I Working On? I am currently writing the sequel to a book published last year called Dead Men Do Tell Tales, a teen mystery novel that pits the intuitive and informed dreamwork talents of a teenager, Ashlynn Acosta, against the traditional gumshoe methods of her detective father. This book’s working title is Too Much of a Good Thing, and has our teenage sleuth entering her first romance amid the throes of a complex theft and murder brought on by hoarding. Her single dad is in the throes of a first romance since his wife passed away several years before. Again, father and daughter find they have much in common as they each must trust intuition in their own ways to navigate the shoals of romance and crime.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? My mystery stories are different from most in that the protagonist uses tried and true dreamwork and intuitive meditation methods learned from a dream mentor to help solve a crime. As a result the reader gets a thrilling, fast paced mystery with the added benefit of learning about developing inner skills. A Reader’s Guide in the back gives detailed explanations of the how-to’s.

A couple of reviewers have called my book something like “a New Age Nancy Drew,” a good teen mystery with the added enticements appealing to the current fascination with dreams and deeper intuitive understanding.

3) How does my writing process work? I usually resist sitting down to write but when I do, the floodgates open and I just let it flow. I often can’t type fast enough as the ideas start gushing. Eventually I reach a block and then take a break. New ideas emerge when resting, meditating or driving.

Why do I write what I do?

I write because I have a message that I am passionate about: how to access inner wisdom through dreams and meditation. I write all sorts of things for different age groups, based on their various needs for different forms of intuitive insight. Usually, I find it very easy to write because I write about things that energize me such as creative problem solving through dreamwork and the creative process itself.

It is my pleasure to introduce two very interesting and accomplished women who will continue the Blog Tour:

Diane Brandon has been an Integrative Intuitive Counselor, Intuition Expert and Teacher, Corporate Consultant, Author, and Speaker since 1992. She brings other modalities into her work, including Dream Interpretation, Individualized Guided Meditation, Regression, Natural Process Healing, and Customized Exercises and Affirmations.

She’s the author of Intuition for Beginners – Easy Ways to Awaken Your Natural Abilities and Invisible Blueprints (one of only two books on intuition that Ananda Village, based upon the precepts of Yogananda recommends), as well as several articles, and a contributing author to The Long Way Around – How 34 Women Found the Lives They Love and Speaking Out. Her next book, Dream Interpretation for Beginners, will be published in Winter 2015. Diane was the host of “Naturally Vibrant Living” on Web Talk Radio and Blog Talk Radio and “Vibrantly Green with Diane Brandon” on Ecology.com. She also has Meditation CDs available, including “A Journey Within Meditation,“ “Natural Process Healing,” and “Brainstorm in the Boardroom with Great Leaders,” as well as exercises for intuitive development.

Diane has appeared extensively on radio shows throughout the country, having been interviewed on dreams and intuition.

Her two websites are www.dianebrandon.com and www.dianebrandon.net. She may be contacted at [email protected].

Dr. Jean Raffa is an author, speaker, and leader of workshops, dream groups, and study groups. Her job history includes teacher, television producer, college professor, and instructor at the Disney Institute in Orlando and The Jung Center in Winter Park, FL. She is the author of four books, a workbook, a chapter in a college text, numerous articles in professional journals, and a series of meditations and short stories for Augsburg Fortress Publisher.

Her newest book, Healing the Sacred Divide: Making Peace with Ourselves, Each Other, and the World was launched by Larson Publications, Inc. at the New York Book Fair in June of 2012. In 2013 it won the Wilbur Award, which is given by the Religion Communicators Council for excellence in communicating religious faith and values in the public arena and for encouraging understanding among faith groups on a national level.

Jean is also the author of The Bridge to Wholeness: A Feminine Alternative to the Hero Myth, and Dream Theatres of the Soul: Empowering the Feminine Through Jungian Dream Work.

Healing the Sacred Divide can be found at Amazon and Larson Publications, Inc. Ebook versions of The Bridge to Wholeness and Dream Theatres of the Soul are at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,and Diesel Ebooks

Dr. Raffa’s websites are http://jeanraffa.wordpress.com/ and www.jeanraffa.com.

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Whether one chooses to use prayers, dreams or intuitive methods as a practice to invoke the power of intuitive healing, there are eight steps the person seeking healing may do to shape his or her attitude and ability in a way that encourages receptivity to healing. The first five steps prepare and bring the practitioner to the necessary trusting, child-like intuitive heart space which is the healing center, no matter if the healing is done for oneself or for another person. The last three steps help accomplish and follow through with the mission. This means relaxing, getting out of the head and seeing with the “eyes” of the heart. Only then is one open to receive the intuitive healing information that may come in many forms such images, sounds, voices, sensations, smells, or memories.

1. Acknowledging the need for healing. Before all else, this awareness is pre-requisite. It often implies a humble acceptance that one cannot alter the condition without help, usually after many attempts have been made to heal on one’s own or through commonly accepted medical practices. This is a challenge for those of us who are used to being “in control,” and may require a relinquishing or putting aside that mindset.
2. Believing I can be healed. This step is perhaps the most difficult for those of us who haven’t developed a strong faith in things that cannot be measured or predicted. It is, however, the most important step. If I cannot believe in my healing, then I should pray or intend that I may grow in my capacity to believe it.
3. Tuning into my Ideal. This step may be done in a variety of ways. After quieting the mind and relaxing, I can imagine or “summon’ my ideal to make its presence fully felt in my mind and heart. I may see the face of a divine healer or imagine the power of healing energy. I can take this imagery work further by imagining this divine being holding me in a comforting or healing embrace or see a warm wave of energy enveloping me. The quality of my ideal will play a big part in determining the type of healing I draw to myself.
4. Initiating and intending a healing. This may be a prayer or simple intention, imagining the results as already happened. Be as specific as possible in the prayer or intention.
5. Confidently expecting a response. Know that healing in some way, shape or form, has already begun.
6. Tuning myself into the communication coming to me. Healing may take many forms, along with a message to you what is happening. I can expect anything like imagery, sounds, sensations, thoughts, smells or a memory to convey something. The trick is to be very “tuned in” as these immediate responses which are often very illusory. Sometimes it might be just a subtle feeling of peace.
7. Reflecting on and learning from the communication. I may need to ask myself what is the meaning of the information I have received. For example, if the image of an Oriental doctor doing acupuncture came, I might ask myself if I need to try acupuncture. Usually, the first association holds the clue. You can then amplify on this by asking more questions to clarify and get more information.
8. Acting on it. If you get a specific insight to take action, such as cutting down on your salt, do so.

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Game theory must be the epitome of Western faith in logic. We think that if we plug in some variables and press a button we can predict the future. Apparently, we apply it to all sorts of things: economics, war… It’s founded on our belief that if we know enough facts we’ll be in control. But do we really think that we can ever come close to factoring everything in? Isn’t it a bit like trying to predict exactly how the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Tokyo will affect the time that Mrs Morgan arrives at work in Sheffield?

And yet, perhaps those game theorists have a point. If, as quantum physicists now seem to believe, "we are one", the flap of a butterfly’s wings will affect the time that Mrs Morgan gets to work. Nothing acts in isolation. Every event, every movement, every action, every thought is affected by everything that has come before it and in turn affects everything that comes afterwards. So there is, in fact, a formula connecting Tokyo and Sheffield – and if we could plug in every variable we could calculate the outcome.

In order to predict such complex causality with any certainty, however, our equation would have to take everything into account. The result would be that it wouldn’t just predict one outcome, it would predict every outcome. It would be huge. It would be a mathematical equation that would incorporate the entire world. No - the universe! Wait a minute – this equation would be the universe. Our primitive little left brains, which like to quantify and categorize, simply aren’t sophisticated enough for this sort of maths.

Our right brains, however, would seem to be designed to compute exactly this sort of all-encompassing complexity. Not logically – but intuitively. In the creative and scientific disciplines, tiny portions of the Great Equation tend to reveal themselves in brief, bright flashes of insight, during which we shout ‘eureka!’ In fact, David Bohm, quantum physicist and author of On Creativity, believes that the intrinsic appeal of all artistic or creative endeavour is this moment of satisfaction, in which we perceive what he describes as ‘a certain oneness and totality or wholeness, constituting a kind of harmony that is felt to be beautiful’.

The truth, in other words.



Writing fiction involves exactly these sorts of flashes of insight. They’re like lightning strikes, illuminating the way. Flash by flash we find our way through the forest, and step by step the narrative unfolds. Every step must link logically – truthfully – to the one before it and the one that comes after it. One false note and the chain is broken and the mathematics goes awry.

If we try and predict a plot logically, using a pre-arranged formula – the way that game theory seems to – it tends to feel ‘wrong’. It never quite rings true in a way that makes you want to shout ‘eureka!’ What a novelist wants is for the causality of events to be so sophisticated and yet so flawlessly logical that afterwards the reader thinks, “I didn’t see that coming – but in retrospect, of-course it was inevitable.” This sort of integrity is rarely achieved by the logical mind; it has to be intuited.

So, step by step we intuit the way. We draw on all the powers of our unconscious to intuit exactly what a certain character will do and what will happen as a consequence. Intuition is about widening our perspective, holding the whole world of our novel in the periphery of our vision in order to feel the pattern.

The end result is a plot: a linked sequence of cause and effect that has an almost scientific integrity to it. The plot reveals the underlying pattern, the mathematical formula that underpins our novel’s ‘reality’. How do we know if we’ve got it right? Because it feels right. It clicks.


Sometimes people assume that writing fiction must be easier than non-fiction. They assume that because you can make it up as you go along, you can write whatever you want. But nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t just write whatever you want. You have to write exactly what would happen. No wonder writing fiction is so difficult. We are trying to predict the future.

www.heatherdyer.co.uk

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There are many exercises available to awaken intuitive abilities but this one is a favorite because it is so simple and so effective. Also, it surfaces an issue that really matters—one the participant may not even realize as a conscious issue before doing the exercise. Lastly, it facilitates a resolution or process for working with the issue that is line with the soul’s need. The exercise was developed by Henry Reed, Ph.D., Director of the Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies  and can be found at: http://intuitiveheart.com/SoulReflection/. The instructions are at http://intuitiveheart.com/SoulReflection/memory-divination-instructions.html which involve:

1. Doing the 7 minute Inspired Heart Meditation followed by the Memory Divination Exercise. Both can be downloaded as one meditation in a free mp3 file at http://intuitiveheart.com/SoulReflection/ihmemdiv.mp3
2. Processing the memory received according to the instructions. Basically, what does this memory remind you of in relation to something important in your life right now? How do you feel about this current concern? What are the challenges?
3. Going to http://intuitiveheart.com/SoulReflection/selected-important-question.html to find a random question generated. Reflect on this question in light of your memory and the processing of it. What comes to light?

For a description of my experience doing this exercise, please see the sequel post at http://wp.me/p45aiq-4N.

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As people age and the odds of getting sick and out of sorts becomes greater, it becomes increasingly important to rely on intuition salted with good common sense and a lifetime of experience to get through confusing symptoms and bad days. The odd tingling here, the unexplained headache there—not to mention feeling downright irritable or depressed—can lead one’s imagination to run wild, prompting questions like, “Is my diabetes acting up, am I having a stroke?” These events can be serious but they also might be nothing but instigators for bewildering and frightening experiences—especially if they come on a bad day when a person is lonely, or otherwise not feeling “up to it.” More questions surface, “Should I call my doctor? Can I afford another medical expense?” A whole litany of concerns pop into the mind, compounding the problem by adding to any anxiety or depression already manifesting itself.

Naturally, if a person suspects or has reason to believe a serious issue is presenting itself, a visit to the doctor would be appropriate. However, where there is reasonable doubt, a lifetime of having to solve problems requiring responses where one doesn’t have all the answers can encourage the senior to rely on intuition, common sense and previous experience. A decision to call the doctor will then be based on deep insight coming from the body itself, and can really help the doctor treat the person accordingly.

Most of us have had little motivation to develop intuition

However, most likely, we have not developed intuition for a number of reasons. For one thing, it was almost never taught in school despite the fact that most scientific advances come as a result of intuitive insight. Also, perhaps in younger days there weren’t so many “gray areas,” especially concerning health. Chances are, when we were in the full bloom of youth and health, we only dealt with issues that have ready solutions, or had a medical problem for which the doctors were able to heal or at least adequately address. The chronic conditions were a lot fewer. If we broke a leg skiing; we got a cast on our leg. If we contracted a strep throat; we were given an antibiotic to fight it. Most of us didn’t “listen” to our bodies. We took our good health for granted and lived in blissful ignorance.

So aging seems to bring, along with the gray hair, more and more gray areas in life, especially health related issues, where there are no set solutions to matters of mind, body and spirit A little more than an apple a day is needed to address the problem of an arthritic knee, and no one person has all the answers. In some cases, there simply are no answers or cures. One must somehow forge one’s own path ahead to get light and definition in the gray areas. This can be done through intuition.

Never too late to Build Intuitive Skills

Intuition is something all of us are born with, but few of us make a point to work on as we would work on building our muscles or financial portfolio. Yet like our muscles and portfolios, it’s never too late to work on our intuitive abilities as long as we are mentally competent.

At first this effort to develop intuitive skills most likely will seem completely stupid, especially if one hasn’t tried it. After all, within is where all the problems are felt—between the pounding heart, the tightened stomach and splitting headache!

Where to Start

It helps beginners to read a few good books on intuition or maybe take a class in intuition. It takes a little guidance for most adults to go from the head to the heart, a journey described as one of the longest anyone can possibly make. Like every serious undertaking, a little groundwork and the learning of a few techniques are required. And being serious about it helps. You can’t just say a few “oms” and expect to feel better. For some seniors, reading the books and applying the self-help techniques to develop intuition are quite enough and could prove very beneficial. Others will become fascinated by what they learn, and realize they possess special intuitive gifts which they may want to develop through the help of a trainer. Most will certainly become more confident in making decisions regarding the “gray areas.” The discovery of these gifts could open up a new phase of life not only for self development but for helping others.

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Luke 9 is about bringing the disciples to the mountain top, literally and figuratively, and then sending them into the world while letting them know what the cost of discipleship is all about.  In the process, a growth of intuitive insight occurs among the disciples to the point where they can see the full revealing of Jesus as He is, beyond the carpenter from Nazareth.  They can see his essential energy field in all its glory and wonder, as well as those of Moses and Elijah who set in motion the forces of spiritual tradition that led to Jesus.

A Call to Let Go

After having chosen his disciples, Jesus sends them out with little in the way of backup support to proclaim the Good News and to heal.  In a sense, it is the pulling away of the usual supports we are accustomed to for a greater good.  The call to grow one’s intuition often involves a call to let go of the things we previously relied on for support.

A Discovery of Miraculous Abundance

Early on in the call to open the third eye of understanding, the seeker becomes aware that highly developed spiritual persons can summon and bring abundance of resources and good health, defying our common perspective that the pie is only so large.  The disciples witness this so many times they begin to believe it themselves.  They begin to see that life can be lived on different terms.  There will always be enough with the grace of God.

The Recognition of God’s Presence among Us

Jesus constantly asks His disciples who they think He is, testing their depth of spiritual awareness.  When Peter answers that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus knows Peter’s eyes have been opened.  In a sense, all of us are constantly being asked the same thing.  Can we see the presence of God in our lives?  If Jesus is the God for us, can we recognize Him here among us now?  As with Peter, when we can see God even in the lowliest person, we have reached a significant point of spiritual development.

Before the disciples recognized Jesus’ true nature, the demons inside possessed people were the only ones who recognized Him.  It is much the same within ourselves, our demons torment us, and make us aware until we can recognize the divine and be healed.  Their coming to the fore is almost necessary to precede the healing call of the divine.

The Mountain Top Experience

Like Peter and the apostles, we are usually relaxed, half asleep or in a state of meditation when suddenly there is a shift of consciousness and we can see auras and energy fields.  In this state the disciples witness Jesus in splendor, along with the great spiritual leaders who preceded him.  Like us, the disciples want to capture this precious moment and make order out of it by constructing something to make it permanent.  They want to build booths to contain the wonder they have just seen just as we want to write about, paint, sing, memorialize or “churchify” our spiritual experiences.

The Need to Go Out Into the World

Jesus knows it is not only about the mountain top experience.  It is also about acting as His disciples at a time when he won’t be around, spreading the news of what they have just witnessed and doing the miraculous things He has done.  He explains what this entails: the profound insight demands an equally profound and unconditional call to action.  It is the basis for the call to action.

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I wish I had more insightful things to say. I wish that my blog was an amazing dissertation on education theory and policy. It isn't, and truth be told I don't have anything insightful to say. I have a lot of questions, fears, and haphazard possibly unsupported theories about my views on education. I know I haven't had the experience of most people, but so you might question, why blog, why do it at all. Maybe it is my liberal arts education, but a part of me feels that the questions are just as important as the answers. What questions do new teachers ask themselves in the few weeks before they are gifted 20 or so smiling faces. Here are some of my biggest questions...feel free to supply answers if you have any, or simply smile. 

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