|
THESE TIPS BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO YOU BY OUR SPONSORS.
PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR CONFERENCE LISTINGS BELOW.
Planning to attend a writing conference? Read these five tips to ensure an experience you’ll savor long after you’ve left the hotel lobby.
1. Choose sessions you find interesting
It’s no secret you need to know how to write a sparkling query, but you’re intrigued to find out how journaling can release your creative muse. Go for the muse. Hundreds of websites will be waiting at home to tell you how to write a query letter. Whenever you attend a lecture or reading, you never know what you’ll take away. That’s the beauty of being open to whatever information the speaker decides to bring.
2. Resist taking copious notes.
You’ll retain more when you are focused on listening, not rushing to take down every word leaving the speaker’s mouth. If your type-A personality insists, jot down inspiring bullet points you can hang above your desk. If you waste time taking a ton of notes, more likely you’ll miss the most important things being said and lose an opportunity to engage in the moment.
3. Mingle.
Walk around and talk with people between sessions. Find out what other writers are working on and get inspired by their imagination. During mea
I’m weighing in here. I like dashes.
M-dashes vs. Parentheses
Q: My friend’s professor says that using dashes to set off something to be emphasized is no longer appropriate. Instead, you should use parentheses to set off words. Is this true?
—Mike D.
A: Dashes and parentheses play similar roles in sentences, but it’s actually the latter that’s unfashionable—dashes are all the rage.
Parentheses can set off a theme that disrupts the discourse of the sentence, but reference tools like The Associated Press Stylebook suggest minimal use. They appear jarring, and many news sources don’t use them, so material between the curves may be misinterpreted by the reader. While dashes can usually serve as an excellent substitute, in some instances, parentheses are the only effective means: Our battle with management made the front page of The Parhump Valley (Nev.) Times.
Dashes are used to denote an abrupt change in thought or an emphatic pause in a sentence. It’s a great style technique. Scooter bought a bicycle—a green 10-speed—to ride to and from work every morning.
They can also be used to dis-play a list typically set off by commas. We filled our bag with the dentist’s tools—drill, hand-held mirror, something resembling a tiny pickaxe, a few free toothbrushes—and scrambled back out, falling to the ground below.
Don’t hesitate to use a great punctuation device like the dash—it can add style and depth to your writing.
     
Jill Corcoran Books @jillcorcoran.blogspot.com
 Thank you all for the fantastic queries and manuscript pages. So many of you are great writers and it is often a matter of chemistry between me and a manuscript that determines if I will ask for a full and/or offer representation–yes, it is a bit like dating, isn’t it. I have to love a manuscript to represent you and your work. As a writer, I know how lousy it is to not get closure, to never hear back from an editor or agent. However, I find the simple act of replying, even with a form decline, multiplied by the amount of queries I receive, is taking time away from my my clients and my family. Hopefully, knowing if I am interested or not within 1 MONTH will compensate for my lack of response.
I look forward to reading your work so keep on querying!
UPDATED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Email Queries Only. NO snail mail.
Please email your query plus the first 10 pages of your manuscript pasted into the body of your email to [email protected]
I ONLY represent Chapter Book, Middle Grade & Young Adult authors.
Ronnie represents Picture Book author/illustrators and illustrators.
I no longer send form declines. If you do not receive an email response to your query + 10 pages within a month, I am sorry but I am not the right agent for your work.
     
Writing and Illustrating
| Book Title TipsPosted: 03 Mar 2010 09:08 PM PST |
 Yesterday, I was talking with Laurie Wallmark and she said her publisher wanted her to change the title of her book that is being published next year. I gave her some suggestions, most of which she hadthought of already. So as luck would have it, today I ran across a post by Literary Agent, Rachelle Gardner from Word Serve Literary on her Rants and Ramblings blog discussing this exact subject.
One of the questions I always ask an author is, “Was that the title you started with?” I can’t remember anyone telling me, “Yes,” yet. Titles – they are so important and yet, so hard to get right. Anyway, I thought I would pass on Rachelle’s tips and give you the link to her blog, since she has lots of other good stuff you could use. Here’s Rachelle’s 9 excellent tips.
1. Know the genre of your book, and identify what kind of feeling or tone you want to convey with the title. Write it down. This is important, as I’ve seen humorous books with dead-serious titles, contemporary books whose titles say “historical romance,” novels that sound like self-help books… you get the picture. Be clear on what your title needs to instantly communicate. Now you are ready to start brainstorming.
2. Find twenty books on Amazon that are in the same genre as yours and whose titles you like. Write down their titles. Try to get a feel for what works with your genre. What do you like about the titles? What don’t you like? Then put the list away for awhile.
To find out the other tips offered by Rachelle Garner, go to http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/
   
2 Comments on Writing and Illustrating. Kathy Temean’s blog., last added: 3/4/2010
 Me at Work My guest interview today is with the delightful Rebecca Janni and we’ll be talking about her new picture book, Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse.
Peg: Welcome Becky. It’s so nice to talk with you again. Thanks for taking time away from your busy schedule to chat with my readers.
Becky: Hi Peg. Thank you for the privilege of this interview — and for always encouraging writers to “write on!”
Peg: Did you always know that you wanted to write? I read something about you as a young girl and a novel about a pigtailed girl and her horse. Was she an older version of Nellie Sue the main character in your picture book Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse?
Becky: Yes — always! When I was seven years-old, I set out to write a novel about a girl and her horse — but she was no relation to Nellie Sue and the manuscript is long gone.
Peg: You and I share a passion for writing picture books. But you also write other genres.
Becky: Short stories, poetry, grocery lists. I dabbled in journalism for a little while, and I’ve had some fun freelance gigs. I would still love to write a novel someday . . .
Peg: There will be time for that.
Peg: Every writer’s journey is different. What led you to your writing journey? Were your parents and family supportive of your earlier writings? Was there a teacher somewhere along the time that cheered you on?
Becky: I have amazing parents, and they supported just about anything I wanted to try — except, my dad did tell me that pursuing my fortune in an Alaskan fishery was a bad idea.
Peg: I think I’d probably have to agree with him on that one. Lol.
Becky: They applauded everything I wrote, though my mother is a meticulous proofreader. She’s still catching the typos on my website! She’s a huge help. My teachers were more balanced, giving encouraging but honest feedback on writing projects. They kept me going and growing. In recent years, I’ve discovered the limitless support of local writing groups and SCBWI. And my husband — he’s a gem. He always told me I would be published someday, but I thought he was just teasing me about the production our Christmas letters have become.
Peg: I think it might be a safe thing to say that many authors were first readers. As a child or young adult did you have a favorite author or two?
Becky: Or ten? I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder and Beverly Cleary.
4 Comments on Rebecca Janni’s Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse., last added: 3/1/2010
Words to avoid and cut
Was, Were, Is, Be, Been, Had, Have, Very, Just, That,
Really, All, Almost, Now, Somehow, Even, Felt,
Something, Thing, It, There, Seemed, And, As
Of, Like, Realized (Avoid overuse), Started (Avoid overuse)
Began (Avoid overuse), He/She (Avoid starting a lot of sentences with these)
     
This is a great email that I subscribe to: Writing and Illustrating
| Tilbury House PublisherPosted: 18 Feb 2010 09:04 PM PST |
Sometimes in our quest to get publish we forget about the smaller publishers out their accepting unsolicited manuscripts and unagented manuscripts. Tilbury House is one of those small publishers. You can go to: http://tilburyhouse.com/books-childrens.htm to look at the books they have published. It looks like they do picture books, biographies, and young middle grade stories with a strong educational focus. See below:
Children’s Books
They are primarily interested in children’s picture books (for ages 7-12) that:
Deal with issues of cultural diversity (global), nature, or the environment (they don’t publish “general” children’s books about animals, fables, or fantasy).
Appeal to children and parents and offer enough learning content so thatyour book will also appeal to the educational market.
Will sell to the national (not just regional) market
Offer possibilities for developing a separate teacher’s guide (written by an educator) that will expand the focus of the book, offer additional information, and suggest learning activities and approaches.
Be sure to check out Kathy Temean’s site and finish reading her post on Tilbury Press.
     
I am always reading and love to share what I read. Check out Mandy Hubbard’s wordpress site @ http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/
Here is a sample of what you’ll find there.
New post] Query Week Wrap-up
|
Query Week Wrap-up
Hi All! I hope this Query Week has been helpful! I know that querying can be thrilling, scary, tiring, gratifying, exciting…. and sometimes all of that all at once. As a writer, I’ve been there, and I know how you feel.
As an agent, it’s also many of those emotions, and more. To wrap things up, I thought I’d give you insight as to how I approach the inbox every day– what I think as I read queries, what will make you stand out, etc.
First off, when it comes to queries, I always start with the oldest ones first. I approach them with nothing but hope— will this be the query that makes me sit up and take notice? Many writers see agents as mean ‘ol gate keepers that only want writers who have huge credentials or the most amazing high concept book known to man.
Not true! Some of the queries that just plain blow me away seem rather anassuming at first–but the writing is just plain good. That’s all I’m looking for. Really good writing! Everyone has a fair shake at it.
     
Be sure to sign up for this newsletter and check out the great articles.
The Prosperous Writer, Issue Six — February 2010
Passion is like fuel + fire–it flares up and burns quickly. And what we writers more often need is a nice, slow, steady burn, more like a wood-burning stove that is going to get you through the winter.
     
Kathy Temean’s suggestions for dealing with rejections. Kathy’s site is a great resource for writers. Be sure and check out the rest of the article.
http://kathytemean.wordpress.com
Excerpt:
Yesterday, I listed Agent Janet Reid’s honest numbers on the amount of manuscripts she rejected in the last six months of 2009. Today, I realized that viewing those numbers could be a real bummer for you. It would be easy to get depressed and want to give up, especially, if you were one of those she rejected. Heck, even if you weren’t, I’m sure you are sending out submissions and I know how hard it is to open up a letter and read, “You have written a very good book, but it isn’t right for me.”
Jerry Spinelli says he could have wallpapered his whole house with his rejections.
Not me, I threw all of them away, when I was in one of those rejection blues mood.
So what do we do? How do we stay positive and focused and not end up yelling into the phone like the woman in the picture? Here is what I came up with:
- Use the Susan O’Keeffe method. In case you don’t know Susan, she is a very successful author. One day she shared what she tells herself. “I may not be the best writer in the world, but I know I am going to be the most persistent writer in the world.” These are words that have really paid off for her. I think they could pay off for you, too.
- You make it happen. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Make a plan to work on the weaknesses or decide how to work around them. Then use the Susan O’Keeffe method and keep submitting.
     
 These are some of Nina's reasons for writing for children. She's a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. This is the Part Two of the Nina Johnson interview. Part Three is appearing tomorrow.
Peg: I’ll bet there are lots of women who would like a husband as supportive of them as yours is of you.
Nina: My husband said to me one day, “ Nina, you have spent these last years helping me get my company on it’s feet, now I want you to do what you have always wanted to do.” I asked him what that might be since I had no idea what I always wanted to do. He said, “You want to write children’s books!”
I was completely surprised and said, “I do? How do you know that, since I don’t even know what I want to do?”
He told me that it was obvious to him since I had spent so much time making stories out of our everyday experiences and that I had told so many to our grandchildren.
Even though I had not thought of it that way, I could see that he had a point. When he allowed me to turn over my job at the company to an employee, I suddenly felt free to write. I spent hours putting the stories that had always been in my head down on paper. I was overflowing with stories of all kinds. It was like the damn had broken and I was pouring out my heart and soul. I woke up at night to write. I stopped in the middle of making dinner to write. I even got a recorder so I could get my story ideas down as I was driving.
Peg: Those are great tips for beginning writers.
Nina: I emptied the back half of my walk in closet and made a writing space for me! My husband assembled a desk in there and added electricity and an Internet connection. I asked him not to add a phone line so as no to interfere with my writing.
I will always be grateful to my wonderful, thoughtful and observant husband for helping me to find my way to what I truly needed to do.
Peg: We share a love of picture book writing but have you done books in other genres?
Nina: I am writing a middle grade sci-fi right now. It is very different than picture books in that you have the luxury of writing more words to get the story across. However, it is more complicated as well.
I’m just learning about writing and all that goes into it so it will be very interesting as time goes by how this experience will ultimately compare to writing picture books.
Peg: You told me that you are a story teller, but what type, genre, was your first written piece?
Nina: The stories that really made my husband realize my desire was the Grandfather Clock stories that I tell my grandchildren. They are interactive stories in that my grandchildren often contribute to and change the path of the story as we go along.
I guess the first story that I wrote was Marshall Muskrat about the muskrat in our pond on our property. The most wonderful experience of my life was reading “Marshall Muskrat’s Easter Surprise” to my gr
There has been a lot of talk recently about finding an agent. This might be just what someone is looking for. Be sure to check out the rest of the article’s question at:
The Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.
|
|
<!– Members Only Login End –>
 Home |
About the AAR › |
Search for an agent › |
|
0 Comments on Something for Those Researching an Agent. as of 1/1/1900
 Apparently, I am on the right track with my social networking process. This article by Harold Underdown cites Charlesbridge’s Donna Spurlock on social media networking potential. Be sure to check out the site and read the rest of this informative look at social media and how a writer can use it to promote their books.
http://www.underdown.org/social-networking.htm 
While preparing for the SCBWI professional retreat, “Thriving in a Changing Industry: Cyber-Promotion Tools for Authors and Illustrators,” I emailed my friend Donna Spurlock, who works in the marketing department at Charlesbridge. I wanted to confirm my general sense that although things have changed from the days when authors and illustrators were just expected to do school visits and answer letters, publishers don’t want people to spend all their time marketing. Here’s what she said, which is so interesting I am quoting it in full:
“You are right, expectations are a bit higher for authors to get out and about and do something themselves. Obviously, we (CB specifically, but publishers in general) are active in social networking as much as possible, promoting the company and each season of books and getting into as much nitty-gritty about specific books and personalities as we can, but the authors and illustrators really need to take the ball and run.
     
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun02/yolen.htm This is a great interview with one of the most prolific writers of our time. Check it out.
A Conversation With Jane Yolen by Claire E. White (Excerpt)
No, but I have seven rules:
1. Write every day
2. Write what interests you.
3. Write for the child inside of you. (Or the adult, if you are writing adult books.)
4. Write with honest emotion
5. Be careful of being facile
6. Be wary of preaching
7. Be prepared for serendipity
     
Ginny Wierhardt knows me well, though we have never met. This article by her is so about me and lots of others that I know.
Ginny’s Fiction Writing Blog
By Ginny Wiehardt, About.com Guide to Fiction Writing
No Distractions: New Year’s Resolutions Calling
Saturday January 2, 2010
So you’ve brought in the New Year, and you’ve recovered from bringing it in, and you’re ready to make good on your writing resolutions . . . but there’s a whole world of distractions out there (starting, of course, with this Web site). It’s a good day to revisit 52 Projects’ excellent “Not-to-Do List” (“Do not turn on the television. Do not clip your nails. Do not stare at your bald spot in the mirror and begin to calculate how much time your hair has left. Do not start catching up on the DVDs that have arrived from Netflix. . . . “) And then it’s really time to get offline and get to work.
     
As my regular readers know, I love the information that I get from Twitter.com’s #kidlitchat on Tuesday night. One focused on Agents and How to Get One.
RebeccAgent, BostonbookGirl, Elana Roth, were just a few of the agents who participated in the chat and offered words of wisdom to the new writer as well as the more experienced writers.
Some of my takes from the chat is that agents like
1. Writers who follow submission guidelines. They have worked hard to make it as simple as possible. It’s a red flag for some agents.
2. Writers who submit one project in a query with 1-2 brief (one line) other project ideas. The pitch must be accurate as well. Practice writing your synopsis several times to get it just right.
3. Writers who use good grammer in their submissions. It tells them that you are a professional and are serious about writing.
4. Writers whose work has a spark to incite interest in the submission. If you want others to love your book, it doesn’t hurt for you to love your book. Share your passion.
5. Writers who submit concise, tight submission. There have been query letters that are less than perfect accepted but with the competition so fierce the actual book need to be as close to ready to be published as it can be.
6. Writers that include their writing credits and a brief bio. This can include sites that you are on so they can get to know more about you. Remember they are people too and do your research. It is as important for them to do their research on you as a potential client as it is for you to do your research to make sure that the fit is a mutually good one.
7. Writers that commit no faux paus. For instance, if you go to a conference, don’t pass your manuscript under the toilet stall. It has actually happened to an Agent/Editor.
8. Writers who are patient and treat them the way they want to be treated. Everyone has different things to bring to the table. If you want someone who is willing to do some editorial task, don’t expect the agent is who is more about selling to do those tasks.
Places on the web that you can check out for details on the individual agents include their own personal sites, Preditors and Editors, AgentQuery, QueryTracker,Publishers Market Place, and Verlakay.com, as well as asking other authors for recommendations/referrals.
     
Thanks to a fellow writer on Twitter.com, I read an excellent article. Here is a little about Michael Stearns. I have no idea if he is accepting new clients or not but if you follow the link below it will help you find out the info you need.
 |
Michael Stearns is the founder of Upstart Crow Literary, and an agent specializing in children’s books. Formerly editorial director and foreign acquisitions manager for HarperCollins Children’s Books, before that he was Senior Editor, Director of Paperback Publishing for Harcourt Children’s Books. He has worked on hundreds of books for children and adults over the course of twenty years in the industry. |
http://upstartcrowliterary.com/blog/?p=921
Agenting Picture Books v. Agenting Novels: Part One of Two
Posted by Michael under On Writing
Some weeks back I was in Chicago to give a couple of talks at an SCBWI conference. While I was in fine form for much of the conference, I punted my final talk, to my chagrin. Part of the issue was an ill-advised, last-minute rejiggering of my notes and talking points into a confusing mess of arrows and write-ins (a poor idea, as it is all too easy to lose the thread of an argument while speaking); but more the issue was an inability to get my head around the topic.
     
View Next 13 Posts
| | |
Dialogue usually is a major part of your story, so making sure your dialogue works is very important. Here are some things to consider when going through that first draft.
Digg
Facebook
Twitter
It’s quite interesting stuff
Business Law Temecula
Thanks, I try to vary the resources I share but Jill has such great tips you’ll see me reference her frequently.
Peg366