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By: Kathy Temean,
on 10/1/2014
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I receive so many questions about what to do when you do not get a reply to what you submitted. I think we all will be interested in this article written by Elizabeth Law about how to handle the situation.
5 WAYS TO FOLLOW UP WITH AN EDITOR OR AGENT AND WHEN TO DO IT :
Waiting for a reply can seem like watching the tumbleweeds roll…
#1. Maybe an editor said something encouraging to you at a conference, and, as requested, you sent them your manuscript. Since then it has been radio silence. Here’s what you can do. After 10-12 weeks, follow up with an email, reminding him or her, “we met at XXX, you said you’d like to take a look at my story about XXX, and because 10-12 weeks have passed, I wanted to follow up. Here is my manuscript again, thank you very much for your time and consideration.” That’s right, attach the manuscript, don’t have the editor go hunting for your email from 10 weeks ago. This way they can click and start reading. If you haven’t heard back in another month, move on.
Mandy and Bernadette knew it in Sunday in the Park with George: you’ve got to Move On.
(In this case, move on means submit to the next person on your list, and don’t expect ever to hear back from the original publishing house. You don’t need to officially withdraw the manuscript. If by some miracle the first editor later says he or she is interested in your book, and you haven’t yet sold it, then great. But meanwhile you’ve taken your career into your own hands.)<img Mandy and Bernadette knew it in Sunday in the Park with George: you’ve got to Move On.”
Mandy and Bernadette knew it in Sunday in the Park with George: you’ve got to Move On.
#2. Regrettably, in this era, silence is the new no. Many literary agents have realized they don’t have the time to reply to every query they receive, so they’ve enacted a policy of “if you don’t hear from us in ___ weeks, assume we’ve passed.”
Here’s what to do when you’ve queried and agent and the allotted time to hear back has passed: MOVE ON.
Waiting for just the right literary agent or editor to say yes to you is like being in 7th grade and waiting for just the right boy, the one you know is perfect and you will spend the rest of your life with, to ask you out. You are much, much better off moving on to the guy standing right next to him in the lunch line.
This is also a good rule for a publishing house accepting unsolicited manuscripts, and for editors or publishers who are accepting submissions for a certain period after a conference. If you don’t hear back from them after 12-16 weeks, assume it’s a no and move on.
#3. You have signed with a literary agent, but they aren’t getting back to you. Maybe they don’t return your calls, maybe they don’t answer your emails. Everyone slips up now and again, of course, and that’s not what I’m talking about. Have you left a few messages in a row for your agent, either by email or phone, and not gotten a reply? Has that happened several times? End the relationship. The LAST thing you want is an agent who doesn’t return your calls or emails. The publishing process is frustratingly slow and thorny and fraught with all sorts of issues. Your agent is your champion; he or she goes into battle for you. You do not want to be in that battle not knowing when your weaponry is going to show up. Send an email and say you’re terminating the relationship. Do it now.
(And don’t be scared. Most agents are excellent. But I get asked about this every few months, so I’m including it.)
#4. An editor tells you he is taking your manuscript to an acquisitions meeting, then you don’t hear anything further. Follow up, by phone or email, remembering the rule, “always be polite and to the point.” Say “You said you were bringing my book to the committee, has there been a response?” I know, I know, who wants to send that email and hasten the chance of hearing “I’m afraid the committee passed?” But it’s better to hear “no” and move on. It’s also possible your editor needs to be prodded to get that book onto the meeting agenda. You just don’t know. You need to follow up.
Nota bene: ALWAYS be nice. Never lose your cool and yell at an editor, even by email, even when he deserves it. First, you never know the full story—I got screamed at, really screamed at, once when it was my boss causing the delay, but what could I do but take the heat? And second, venting is what you have friends for. The editor is disorganized, doesn’t value your time, has kept you hanging, repeatedly breaks her word about when she’s going to reply… all true. Still, be professional, courteous, and polite. For one thing, when a writer is nice and understanding, we, the editors, only feel more guilty and determined to treat you well and to finally get you an answer. Secondly, one day you may need that person you just reamed out. He may be sitting in the audience at sales conference, and be able to tell a rep “Oh, I know that author, so talented.” Or you may end up sitting next to that editor on a panel at a conference, who knows? Don’t burn bridges. Act professionally and then go out for drinks with your BFF and get it all off your chest.
#5: Perhaps your book is under contract,
but your editor isn’t getting back to you with editorial notes, or with anything else. You want to revise, you have another book you need to work on, and you need to know what’s going on. But although you’ve emailed the editor three times to ask about the book’s schedule, you hear nothing. If you have an agent, easy, just tell the agent and he or she will deal with it. (Unless the agent doesn’t return your calls, in which case, see #2). But if you don’t have an agent, and you aren’t hearing back from your editor? Email their boss. Yup. Email the publisher, remembering to be professional and concise, saying “
I haven’t had an answer to my questions about the book’s schedule and I’m getting worried that my revision might conflict with another project; of course I understand how busy my editor is, but I wonder if you have information for me?” The publisher then forwards it to the editor who deals with it immediately.
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Elizabeth Law 
A number of weeks ago, I was asked to take a photograph of my TBR pile. And so I did, joining many other authors in this wonderful photo diary
posted today on Mom.me. I can proudly report that I've read a number of the books pictured in my stack since snapping the picture. I must also report that I recently took nearly 60 new hardcovers to my local library for donation and my house is more book stuffed than ever.
I'll never get ahead.
You probably never will either, because there are so many great books to be read. And if you're looking for even more temptations, then I recommend two book-savvy bloggers to you.
First, meet Anmiryam Budner, who kind of sort of blew me away last Saturday at Main Point Books with her deep knowledge of authors and stories. There we stood, in that lovely space, pointing to this book, that book, this one. She'd read them all. I'd read enough of them to talk at length. She gave me room to complain about the unfair review of
Stacey D'Erasmo's Wonderland in the
New York Times Book Review, and anyone who lets me do that is golden. That woman knows this business, and she talks about it and the books she loves here, on
My Overstuffed Shelves.Second, here is Elizabeth Law, a children's publishing giant now in the business of book editing and ushering. For
her first blog post ever she wrote about ten books she loves and why. Fascinating insights, with more—on word count, editorial letters, and publishing magic—to come. She's a fresh new voice on the book blogging scene, and so we welcome her in.
and I like the look of this page. Thank you, Elizabeth Law, for sending the copy my way.
By:
Beth Kephart ,
on 12/9/2011
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I've never been to Brazil, but I have longed to go. For the time being,
You Are My Only is going in my stead, thanks to the good work of Amy Rennert and the Jenny Meyer Literary Agency, Inc. Brazilian-Portuguese rights to the book have been sold to Novo Conceito.
You Are My Only also, as many of you know, went into a third U.S. printing this week. For that enormous bit of good fortune, I have the world of generous bloggers and independent booksellers (and of course Darcy Jacobs, of
Family Circle) to thank. Thanks today especially to Serena Agusto-Cox, who placed
You Are My Only on the D.C. Literature Examiner gift book buying guide. Check out the
entire list for some spectacular recommendations from a very fine reader.
I thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, I do.
Many thanks, too, to Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA, for being the bearer of good news.
I'm off to teach at Agnes Irwin today, while back in New York City, the book bloggers have gathered in force. A few days ago, as those of you who followed the Armchair BEA know, I had the chance to talk to Florinda while Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA videotaped our conversation. I re-post the video here, in celebration of the book bloggers I have come to know and love.
Yesterday, as I wrote below, I had the great privilege of interviewing Florinda for the
Armchair BEA event that is going on all this week long. My great thanks to Chris, Tif, The 1st Daughter, Chrisbookrama, Michelle, Amy, Pam, Emily, and Florinda herself, the organizers of this runaway-hit of a program, for also making room for
You Are My Only, which is due out in October, and for facilitating a giveaway of a signed book and poster. There will not be many such giveaways with this book, and so I encourage those who might be interested to head on over and
listen to what Florinda has to say about being a book blogger (and what I have to say about my love of and great appreciation for bloggers).
Please note that I donned my
Undercover stance with this interview, hiding, for the most part, behind my humidity unstraightened hair. This was not intentional, but I'm going to pretend that it is. I write fiction, after all. Or I do, at least some of the time, when I'm not teaching students how best to tell the truth.
Thanks to Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA for the great camera work.
By:
Beth Kephart ,
on 5/26/2011
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I left the house at 5 AM yesterday, and walked, in the breaking dark, toward the train. The carnival lights from the Devon Horse Show grounds were shining just for me.
I arrived early to the Javits Center and
took a walk first within the silence, then among the onslaught of crowds. Soon I was at the Egmont USA booth, interviewing the wonderful
Rob Guzman, part of the Egmont USA marketing team. (Later in the day I had the privilege of interviewing Egmont USA's
Alison Weiss.)
In impromptu fashion (under Rob's raised eyebrow) I began signing books right there at the Egmont booth, flashing my
spanking-new bookmarks whenever I could. It wasn't long before I was in the presence of Florinda, a beautiful book blogger and a member of the
Armchair BEA team. We had a conversation, Florinda and I, and, thanks to Elizabeth Law, our dialogue was captured for all of time on film. Check the Armchair BEA blog later today to see what Florinda and I had to say.
Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA was my guide throughout the morning; in the rush of my signing,
Florinda of The 3Rs took our photograph. Soon, were we joined by some beautiful people—librarians, teachers, readers, parents, and blogger friends. There I am with Kathy of
BermudaOnion (I finally met her and she's as lovely as I knew she would be) and
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By:
Shutta Crum,
on 5/19/2011
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My friend, Cynthia Leitich Smith, has posted a fun interview with Publisher Elizabeth Law of Egmont and author Allen Zadoff. And Elizabeth has been kind enough to offer a critique of part of a manuscript! This is a wonderful chance for someone to get some thoughtful criticism back from a respected professional in the field. So head on over to Cyn’s site at her Cynsations Blog and check it out! What have you got to lose?
Happy Writing!
Shutta
Uma Krishnaswami, author of THE GRAND PLAN TO FIX EVERYTHING (Atheneum 2011), has an essay on gender in the world of children's books -- including some of my own views -- over at the
Women Doing Literary Things blog.
Also, take a look at the interview Cyn posted yesterday of
Elizabeth Law and Allen Zadoff. Of particular note are extensive discussions of revising a manuscript and selecting a cover with boy appeal.
Also, Elizabeth Law is giving away a 30 page manuscript critique. Go
check it out!
By:
Beth Kephart ,
on 4/27/2011
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All right, so: This isn't really
Book Expo America. But I like the photograph, so I place it here, and while I'm at it, I invite you to join me at the real and actual BEA, Javits Center, New York City, on Wednesday, May 25th, where I'm privileged to be appearing at two events:
YOU ARE MY ONLY Book Signing: 10 AM (author autographing area)
AUTHOR TEA: 3 PM
Perhaps our paths will cross? I can't promise you a Googer's Cake or Thing. But I can promise you conversation, and maybe the Famous Elizabeth Law will walk by and sing a tune in your direction, or maybe Egmont USA's Katie Halata or Greg Ferguson or Mary Albi or Doug Pocock or Rob Guzman will lay down some ink for you. Or maybe Nico Medina will at last wear a costume on my behalf.
A girl can dream.
Big thanks to Florinda. She knows what for.
I made my way up from a client meeting on Wall Street to Park Avenue yesterday, where the always-wonderful Egmont USA troupe welcomed me in, bling and all. You throw your arms around these people when you see them. You talk travels, sun, book jackets, dreams, classes taught and classes taken, Mickey Mouse, impersonations, architecture, radical movie flops, the delicate matter of the comma. You go home feeling warmed, alive, like books still matter, after all. That's Lawsy and me, in the final picture, aligning our bedazzling silver trim.
a Dangerous Neighbors e-book. Available come January 4, 2011, she says, wherever e-books are sold.
We love our Lawsy.
We are grateful, still, and nonetheless, for books and lamps to read by.
I am very happy, on this day, to be able to announce that I have sold my thirteenth book and my sixth YA novel to Laura Geringer Books/Egmont USA. I've posted fragments from this book on this blog over the past few years. I've written the story—about the irrevocable ways that an unthinkable kidnapping affects the lives of two young women—until it was alive and right, until it became a story pierced through with light. I am entirely grateful to my agent, Amy Rennert; my editor, Laura Geringer; and Egmont USA's own Elizabeth Law for giving me this opportunity. I cannot wait to share this novel with you.
I have had a glass and a half of wine, and I am myself, my emotions near the surface. No, my emotions are the surface. They are the unhidden, unbidden me.
Lately my father has been leaving things at my house—old publications featuring stories of mine (
Risk and Insurance magazine, let's say, where I was the Benefits columnist, a job I could do in the middle of the night so I could be a mom in the daytime). Sometimes I look into my father's packages right away and sometimes I forget, and only today did I find this photo (I took it myself, 21 years ago) of my mother, my father, and my three-month-old son.
Oh, how the passing of time breaks your heart. Relentlessly.
For this same boy, this night, texted me from a Phillies game, where he'd gone with a friend. "It's such a beautiful night," he wrote. "And we have such great seats." Why does something like that make me cry? Why does a phone call, thirty seconds later, from Elizabeth Law make me cry harder? "
Dangerous Neighbors launches tomorrow," she says, after we chat about a million other things. "And I want you to know that we at Egmont are proud of this book."
Something like that, or close to that.
Elizabeth Law, calling me.
Dangerous Neighbors, a book I care about more than I'm willing to admit, launching tomorrow.
My son, texting me from a Phillies game, where a soft rain is falling.
I am happy. I am whole.Look. Life is full of a thousand oddities and more regrets. It is the why not me and the why me and the indignity and the shame. It is also a son and a book and a father, redistributing memories. What does it mean to launch a book about a city you love? What does it mean?
It means your heart is full. It means right now is the right right now.
It comes full circle, at one point—the reading and research one does, the teaching one loves, the books one writes.
Dangerous Neighbors may be my twelfth book, but it is the first book for which I've ever created a teacher's guide. The behind-the-scenes history of the Centennial can be found in these pages. So can the irreducible Mrs. Gillespie and perhaps my favorite Philadelphian of all, George Childs. But mostly this teacher's guide offers a range of classroom exercises—from team projects to personal essays to broad discussions about community, innovation, media, even classified ads. I hope that this guide opens doors for both teachers and students who recognize that the past—its lessons, its influences, its legacies—is alive in the right now.
The guide can be found
here.
Thanks to Egmont USA's Elizabeth Law, Mary Albi, Katie Halata, Nico Medina, Greg Ferguson, and Rob Guzman, who cheered this guide on, and made it better. Thank you to Stacey Swigart for paying close attention. Thank you to the original William for teaching me a dash of In Design. And thanks to Elizabeth Mosier, for saying,
Why don't you....
I could tell the story of this day, but I won't. I will only say that after a journey up the road and back, and up the road again and back, and then onto the train and into the city and back, I came home to two boxes of books. Those books. My books. My twelfth:
Dangerous Neighbors.
You tire, perhaps, of me singing the praises of Egmont USA. Let me do it one more time, at least.
Dangerous Neighbors is an unusual historical novel, with crossover possibilities and 1876 Philadelphia at its heart. It is a book—perhaps I should start here—that Laura Geringer and Egmont USA chose to believe in. They
chose. Subsequently they delivered unto it (the book) and me (its maker) the most gorgeous cover a writer could ever hope for. They secured a copy editor who cared about Philadelphia and history and who asked me spot-on questions in an attempt to get the story right. They sent me on my way not just to the BEA, but to ALA (treating me like part of their family at each venue), and they have now secured for me a wonderful spot on an upcoming ALAN panel. They sent library copies of the book my way; in twelve books, I've never seen a library copy. People are talking about
Dangerous Neighbors because of Egmont USA (and Winsome Media's Amy Riley and Nicole Bonia). Not only that, but Egmont's publicists talk to me:
They pick up the phone and they talk to me.A writer cannot know the next next. A writer dreams; some dreams are answered. The journey that
Dangerous Neighbors has taken with Laura Geringer and Egmont USA represents a pressing, percolating dream, answered. No matter what happens from here on out, I am a lucky one.
Thank you, Doug Pocock, Elizabeth Law, Greg Ferguson, Mary Albi, Rob Guzman, Alison Weiss, Nico Medina, Katie Halata, Beth Garcia (by way of Goodman Media), Neil Swaab (cover designer), Kathryn Hinds (freelance copy editor) and, of course Laura Geringer, where this book's published life began. I remain in awe of all you have done. One hears so much about what is wrong with publishing. Egmont USA represents the right.
This photo, taken by Tiff Emerick and passed on to me by Holly Cupala, makes me happy. I had the privilege of sitting with Elizabeth Law through much of the YALSA coffee klatch at the ALA. This is proof that it wasn't a dream.
My friend, hipwritermama, just informed me, the un-twitterer (but I might get there, I might still) of this photo floating around, hot off the Elizabeth Law press. So. That's Elizabeth Law (queen of all things, but especially of Egmont USA) behind the camera; Laura Geringer, fantastic-fabulous editor to the left of the frame;
Virgin Territory author James Lecesne, holding up his number 33 for the YALSA coffee klatch, and me, with my un-matching jewelry, being held up by James (in all ways).
Wherever Elizabeth goes, we interesting people follow.....
I knew that BEA was extraordinary for many reasons; I felt something tremble in the air. I didn't, however, expect to see
Dangerous Neighbors listed in
this PW article noting the show's "biggest" children's books by category. Thanks to all of you who contributed to that buzz, who stood in line for that end-of-day signing, and who made me feel at home.
I was out of the house by 4:30 AM, and the day unfurled at lightening speed (save for the trains, which were both on the rather too late and slow side). In the first photo: The Egmont lunch for authors, booksellers, and librarians, held on the upper floor of a garment-district art gallery. In the second: Egmont Publisher Elizabeth Law, the remarkable James Lecesne (about whom I will soon be writing far more), Laura Geringer (who edits both James and me), and yours truly (in pink, because who else would wear pink on an 18 hour day spent among crowds and on trains?).
A huge thank you to all of you who stood in that line for the end-of-day, end-of-convention signing— I looked up, and there you were, and I won't forget the gift of your patience and enthusiasm. Thank you to all of those who found me and stopped to say hello. Thank you to the impeccable and beautiful Mandy King (I will always be grateful for our time together, and for all that led up to it). Thank you to Amy Rennert and Louise (you know why). A lasting thank you to the Egmont team—Elizabeth Law, Doug Pocock, Mary Albi, Rub Guzman, Regina Griffin, Greg Ferguson, Nico Medina, and Alison Weiss—who put together such a show, and who have welcomed me to the family in ways that I have never been welcomed before. (Nico, please note that I am thanking you despite your refusal to wear 19th century garb in support of my 19th century book.) Thank you, Laura, for being there throughout.
I came home to see my boys (a midnight rendezvous) and to attend to corporate work. I'm back on that train in a few hours, to join book bloggers at a convention and to speak about author/blogger relationships.
The horses are down the street; I'll sneak into their world early Saturday.
Photo "Random House" by ChangeinCareer
It’s three weeks post-SCBWI Nationals, I’m still feeling buzzed by the Morning-Afters. I haven’t quite yet moved all the way back into my life. It is rare an hour goes by that I don’t have some flashback to a speaker or workshop, or even one of Lin Oliver’s fastbreaking witticims.
One of the sessions that has packed a punch for me was Elizabeth Law’s PROtrack session entitled “How to Broaden Your Audience, Navigate Different Houses and Other Thorny Questions.” Elizabeth Law is the VP and Publisher of Egmont Books USA launching its first USA list this Fall. Egmont, based in Copenhagen, celebrated its 130th birthday recently and it a non-profit publishing company with supports children’s charities. (Anyone else out there want to drop everything and go get a job at Egmont?? I'll drive.)
I took very few notes from this session because Elizabeth was blowing my mind with her answers to said “thorny questions”. I can’t recall if we ever got around to the “broadening” or “navigating” part of her presentation. We were derailed on an issue that many of us appeared to have trouble with—fear of bothering our editors, otherwise known as Editusphobitus. The assumption behind this phobia is that all editors are busier than God Herself, and we shouldn’t interrupt them in their Very Important Work. Unlike our own work, which is leisurely and less important-- merely creating the books that they are very busy with.
We were all shocked by the number of us that were caught up in this mind game. It isn't just me? Elizabeth heartily encouraged us to get over it, and recognize that our editors (and agents!) are our business partners.
Business partners? Wow. That really hit me. Not demigods? She said she welcomed hearing from her authors, as it gave her a needed break from the left-brained side of her work. She reminded us that editors do have modern technology at their disposal, and can easily let their calls go to voice mail and ignore their email/TM/Twitter, if they don’t want to be disturbed. Oh! Right.
I’ve been chewing over my own reticence and reluctance in this matter. It has a eerily familiar feel to it. In the five or so years that I’ve worked with my editor, I can’t think of a time when I have ever spontaneously called her, unless we had a phone date set up. I’d be just as likely to pick up the phone and call Michele Obama or Oprah, or Stephanie Meyer.
Would I have liked to talk with her? Yeah. There have been a number of times when I’ve been perplexed by an editorial direction, and I bulldogged my way through it. Even though she has continued to extend herself to me in the most gracious way possible over the years. Or, I've contacted her on email because calling just seemed so hard. Though, I would have loved to do some of the kind of brainstorming that doesn't translate well on email.
The eerily familiar piece? While I know that there are some funny, perceived inequities in the author/editor relationship supported by the historic language of the process, e.g. submit, reject, solicit, acquire, rights for sale, work as slush, payment in royalties-- I don’t think that is the whole story. This isn’t the first time I’ve been actively practicing avoidance with someone. In fact, it is the once dance that I have completely mastered. Heck, I’m ready for Dancing with the Stars! Any other agile and accomplished avoiders out there want to be my partner?
I know I've shared here that in my lifetime I've been afraid of Santa Claus and my own grandmother, but I've also avoided a host of others that were important to me... teachers, bosses, people I've had crushes on, and my college advisor (that was such a bad idea). Needless to say, this has caused problems, and more than a few misunderstandings. Now I'm doing the same thing with my editor. Why? I know better. It's because I'm shy, which seems like such a funny thing to still be saying at this decade in my life. It's as true now as it was when I was three and hiding in the closet. Not all introverts are shy-- I just happen to be both. But because I have to live and work in the world, when I need to, I can behave as if I'm not. Some days, though, it is like walking over hot coals in a pair of Crocs. Safer to stay in the shadows and corners.
Marketing and promotion begin even before we sell a book. It begins when we choose this profession, and type Chapter One on a blank page, or pick up a paintbrush. It continues when we attend a conference, a book-signing, a critique group. Yes, New York is overwhelming, and its inhabitants seem so very sophisticated and glamorous. And busy. I suspect some of them might be just like us-- introverts that worry about interrupting writers and artists in their Very Important Work. It always comes back to the advice that we give here time and time again. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. New York is huge. My editor is not. Nor is yours. She or he is just one person in a giant building making books for kids. They're a lot like us.
If you're not talking to your editor or agent and bookseller and you need to, or you're not following up on a query that's nearly geriatric, let's borrow from the collective strength of the tribe here. We owe it to our work to make sure we get the input and attention we need for success. As introverts, one of our most important self-care skills is knowing where and when to invest the finite energy we have for engagement. New York and the members of our current or future publishing team is THE place. Elizabeth, thanks for the wake-up call!
Dare me to call my editor this week? Double dare me, and I just might. (Just so you'll know, I'm going to need a lot of dares to do this.)
:-)
Mary Hershey
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Thanks to all of you that have signed on as followers here at Shrinking Violets. One of the benefits of being a "follower" is that you can finally be eligible to win our frequent prizes without having to make comments. We appreciate that some of you just won't ever want to do that, and that is perfectly okay with us. But we hate for you to miss out on the prizes!
And, yes, we are back on Twitter and hope you'll come by and say hi! @ShrinkngViolets
Lastly, a number of you sent me your book launch information, and I'll be posting that in the sidebar each month. I think we have a couple of you with September books ready to be heralded so stay tuned. Appreciate all the info. Keep it coming!
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By:
Alice Pope,
on 8/12/2009
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My SCBWI Summer Conference Tweets Transcript (#SCBWI09)...Stealing an idea from
Lee Wind (who says in Hollywood, it's referred to as "liberating" an idea), I've collected all the tweets I posted from the time I left the house for the
SCBWI Summer Conference until I got home--when I wasn't blogging, I was tweeting. (I may have corrected a few misspellings and boo-boos.)
Click here to find all the #SCBWI09 posts and see what everyone at the event was saying.- The last thing I want to do first thing in the morning: clean up cat barf. Guess what I just did?
- My (awesome) brother just picked me up for the airport. I know, I'm surprised as you are that I got up this early.
- Worst CVG security line ever! Walked straight on to my (exit row) seat when I got to the gate.
- A guy in the back of my plane had a seizure. First time I've been on flight where they paged for a doc. Nice delay in CVG. Just left LAX!
- Why are LA cabs always uncomfortably hot?
- The cabbie has hockey playing curious George hanging from his rear view mirror which makes me like him better. Wish he would get off phone
- At faculty dinner sitting with @EllenHopkinsYA, @Suzanne_Young, David Diaz and others. The bartenders make fab cosmos.
- David Diaz kicked our butts at Hannah Montana Uno #SCBWI09
Ahh. King size hotel bed. Goodnight, tweeps. Lots of tweets and blogging tomorrow! #SCBWI09- #scbwi09 SCBWI TEAM BLOG @PaulaYoo; @leewind; @cuppajolie; @jeaimetem; @suzanne_young #followfriday
- Breakfast with Team Blog in The Breeze. Everyone is playing with devices. We start conference coverage in an hour. #SCBWI09
- Just went last in the faculty word parade. My word: blog! #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie has the room laughing. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie can go seamlessly from tragedy to comedy. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie has perhaps the best story ever about how books helped him get through childhood. #SCBWI09
- Sherman Alexie: "I'm rich but I still have class issues." #SCBWI09
- Sherman just dropped a very appropriate F-bomb. #SCBWI09
- Sherman: "The book is safe. The book is where I can hide." #SCBWI09
- Sherman: "It's easy to hand a book to a kid that's about that kid." The challenge is to engage a kid in a book that isn't. #SCBWI09
- It's super cold in the conference ballroom but David Wiesner's beautiful images will warm me up. #SCBWI09
- David Wiesner is showing clips from The Shining in relation to his process. Makes sense in person. #SCBWI09
- David Wiesner loves him some movies. Now he's discussing 2001: A Space Odyssey. #SCBWI09
- But really, is it any surprise movies inspire Wienser? Look at his books if you're not sure. #SCBWI09
- Lobby court restaurant is trying to starve me and make me late.
- Lin Oliver is telling contest winner jokes. There are some witty peeps here. Oh--door prizes! #SCBWI09
- Editor panel going on. I love listening to editors discuss books they're passionate about. #SCBWI09
- Ari Lewin from Hyperion: bookstores love series. Stand alone connected stories, even better. # SCBWI09
- RT @gregpincus: #scbwi09 Tweetup tonight at 9 in the lobby bar area. Come say "hi" or something longer than 140 characters!
- Agent Marietta Zacker is reading the first paragraph from an unpublished novel she says "gives her shivers" every time she reads it #SCBWI09
- Marietta Zacker said she recently counted how many manuscripts her agency receives daily. Answer: 10. #SCBWI09
- Check out the secret stuff behind the book jacket of Frank Portman's latest novel, Andromeda Klein
Just rode the elevator with a guy who bathed in cologne. I can still smell it. #SCBWI09- Karen Cushman just took the stage. I love her books. #SCBWI09
- Someone's phone just rang. Karen Cushman: "Sounds like the ice cream man is here." #SCBWI09
- Cushman: Writing is like exercise. I wanted to do it, planned to do it, but never got around to doing it. Until she was in her 50s. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman quoting a poet: Write what you know. This should leave you with a lot of free time. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: I figured I could say 'shitty first drafts' since Sherman said 'f*** you' yesterday. (Big laughs.) #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: Tell the truth--the emotional truth, the truth of your passion, the truth revealed from you research. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: publication isn't the only reason to write. Let go of the outcome. #SCBWI09
- Karen Cushman: Like Flannery O'Connor, I write what I can. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black is leading an active discussion on critique groups. Blog posts soon. (No wifi in Brentwood room.) #SCBWI09
- Holly Black always wears cool shoes. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black just had the people in her session write something, swap with a partner, and tell each other what's good about it. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: "The $8000 advance I got for Crank was not life changing." #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: There were dark phases in my life. I got through them. I worked them into my writing. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins is making me cry. I wish you were all here listening to her story. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkin's Crank sold on 75 pages. #SCBWI09
- It took 2 1/2 years for Crank to hit the NY Times bestseller list. #SCBWI09
- Ellen Hopkins: Learn the rules before you break them. #SCBWI09
- Courtney Bongiolatti (S&S); "Literal hell or metaphorical? Because that would be important for the synopsis." #SCBWI09
- #SCBWI09 Conference F-Bomb Count--number of keynote speakers who have have dropped the f-bomb so far: 4. (I'll update you as f-bombs happen)
- Wendy Loggia (Delacorte) googles writers before she takes them on. So watch what you say in the blogosphere, tweeps. #SCBWI09
- Wendy Loggia: Contrary to popular belief, we do not take pleasure in crushing writers' dreams. (She's given a great session). #SCBWI09
- Our sundae came with an extra gravy boat of fudge.
Doing last minute presentation prep for my breakout session Practical Online Promotion. #SCBWI09- Holly Black: Fantasy has real stuff to say about our own world and real things to say about us. #SCBWI09
- Holly: We have to believe in the fantastical when we read it. World building is one of most difficult things for fantasy writers. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black: In many ways fantasy resembles historical fiction. #SCBWI09
- Holly Black's crazy theory: fantasy plotting is slightly different than non-fantasy plotting
- Holly Black: When I started, I wrote a lot of scenes with elves sitting around drinking coffee and experiencing ennui. #SCBWI09
- I'm talking about twitter
- Just left the Golden Kite Luncheon. Getting ready to blog Marla Frazee's session, How Your Words Inspire Me to Draw Pictures #SCBWI09
- Marla Frazee: I [illustrate] one page at a time and I do them in order. Because I'm a Capricorn. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: Egmont's profits go to children's charities. They are technically an not-for-profit publisher. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: Writers need to know what the hook is for their books. Elevator pitches aren't two minutes long. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: She thinks agents are important and advises writers to find one. "I rely on agents to weed things out for me." #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: "Winslow the Whale spouted emotions through his blow hole." (Posted because it's just as funny out of context.) #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law on social networking: Join networks, make comments, make friends, don't be embarrassed to talk about your work. #SCBWI09
- Elizabeth Law: "If anyone does introduce me to my future husband, there's a contract for you at Egmont." #SCBWI09
- @mbrockenbrough That was one excellent banana.
- @chavelaque Thanks! And thank you for contributing. (Everyone be sure to read Cheryl's great piece on revision in the 2010 CWIM.)
- I'm having my final breakfast at The Breeze at the Century Plaza. (I recommend the oatmeal.)
- On my way to my least favorite airport LAX. (It is no CVG.)
- My cab driver's name is Igor. That's kinda cool. I've never met an Igor. (He's a very good driver.)
- Just drove past a Live Nudes place right next to Carl's Jr. I'm so not in the Nati.
- I'm standing in the line to get to the next place I will stand in line. LAX: you are living up to my expectations.
- Number of times 20-something dude in security line said 'dude' in his 5-minute phone call: 13. (I counted.) Dude. His Vegas trip ROCKED!
- I'd forgotten all about humidity until it smacked me in the face outside the airport.
- Back in the Nati and stuck in LA-style traffic. But someone's here to help.
There's a spark in the children's lit air and her name is Elizabeth Law (her title, by the way, is VP and Publisher, Egmont USA). She's being talked about and interviewed in many places and, from what I'm hearing from friends like Sherrie, Elizabeth's keynote address at SCBWI-LA was exquisite—empowering and enlightening. This is the same Elizabeth Law who stopped by, unexpectedly, to a book chat sponsored by My Friend Amy, on behalf of Nothing but Ghosts. Amy is a book blogger Elizabeth follows on Twitter. Nothing but Ghosts is a Harper title. I was typing away, trying to keep up with the chatter, when it occured to me that the Elizabeth Law whose name kept burbling up among the chat-room many was THE Elizabeth Law, of Egmont.
Imagine that.
Every single time I hear an Elizabeth Law story, I stop and remind myself how entirely lucky I am that my historical novel, Dangerous Neighbors, will be released by Egmont next fall. I don't just get to work with a phenomonal, brilliant editor—Laura Geringer—on this book. I get to work with a publisher who is out there on Twitter and Facebook and Blogs and Chatrooms, talking about books she loves, trends she sees, things she hopes for. Elizabeth Law is a galvanizer. It is peace-yielding to look ahead to this collaboration. I wish that I could have been in LA, at her keynote talk. More than that, though, I hope and believe that the daring and caring that Elizabeth brings to books will become a surge wave that works its way across an industry that desperately needs her kind of energy and faith.
Lee: Biggest mistake writers make according to ELaw is following a trend.
Paula: Oh, she's sharing some great books that she loves that came out recently. "Hunger Games." "Wintergirls."
Lee: I'm adding them to my To-Read pile right now.
Paula: She's also talking about knowing your book's hook.
Lee: You've gotta be able to hook your book.
Paula: You're rhyming, aren't you?
Lee: Thank you for noticing.
Paula: She's giving a good pitch example - not 2 minutes long, but for Egmont's "Leaving the Bellweathers," she's saying it's "The Addams Family meets Cheaper by the dozen."
Lee: That's really interesting that those aren't book references - they're TV series and movies!
Paula: Cheaper by the Dozen was originally a book. Often, using TV and movies is an effective way of getting across a high-concept idea.
Lee: And I certainly have an idea of what tone is of "Leaving the Bellweathers" from that.
Paula: Oh, now she's saying how she relies on agents to screen for her. They're weaning out a whole level of stuff before it gets to them. You know, she could go on the road doing a one-woman show.
Lee: ELaw. On Twitter. @EgmontGal. Get her while she's HOT!
Paula: And we're finishing with a huge round of applause for ELaw!
Lee: She has a motto! "No Nonsense!"
Applause...
Posted by Paula Yoo and Lee Wind
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I’ve been worrying about this lately, as a couple of agents have my manuscript but I haven’t had a word back for a while. Some other writer friends (and mentors) have advised that I email them back to politely check in. Hopefully something comes of it…
Thanks for the advice, Elizabeth.
Angela, re. following up with an agent. If their policy says “no answer means no,” then, alas, that’s the answer. But look closely at their posted policy. If they have a stated response time and have passed it, you can politely follow up, including your original submission again, because, as I said, make it easy for them. Good luck!
Great tips! Thank you for sharing. Following-up is sometimes never easy because you never like to sound too pushy.
VERY useful info, Kathy and Elizabeth! Thank you :D