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I am shuffling my blogging schedule around a little this year. With my new job and a desire to have this next novel’s first draft finished by June, I shall be reducing my posts to twice a week. Tuesdays will … Continue reading →

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The room filling up to hear Emma Dryden (right) talk with Rana DiOrio (center) and Alison Weiss (left)

Legendary editor Emma Dryden is the founder of drydenbks, a premier children’s editorial and publishing consultancy firm. Calling herself a "big advocate of exploring your publishing options," she introduces Rana DiOrio, the publisher of Little Pickle Press and Alison Weiss, an editor at Sky Pony Press.

Some highlights of the session

On success,

Alison cites a fascinating perception difference: If a book is expected to sell 100,000 copies but only sells 20,000 copies, versus a book that's expected to sell 10,000 copies and sells 20,000. Both books sold the same number of copies, but the perception of success is completely different.

Emma asks Alison and Rana what arguments they'd use to convince an author whose work might be being considered by both their small press and a major house.

For Alison, the benefits of a smaller house include:

• The degree of accessibility. Being able to reach and talk to almost anyone at the small press, versus how at big houses you often don't even know who's touching your book.

• She cautions how at a big house, if you're very very lucky, your book is chosen as the big book they're going to feature and push. But, sometimes (most of the time) your book won't be chosen. A book can sort of get lost... At a smaller house, it's a lot easier to stand out and shine.

• Smaller presses have "a lot more room for experimentation."


For Rana, the argument for Little Pickle starts with:

• "Together, the author and Little Pickle become parents of your child, your work. It's that important. The success of your book is so important to us." She describes it as "intimate."

• Rana cites the process being much more collaborative than at a major house. For example, picture book authors get to weigh in on who the illustrator is, and get input on the art direction. "It's an amazing process and you're being a participant."

• "We work much more quickly." A picture book can happen in a year. (Versus three years at a big press.)

• Opportunity to serve a social mission - not just Little Pickle's, but yours. (They have a lot of cross-marketing relationships.)

• Flexibility in business models, where contracted relationships can look more like joint ventures. She sites one of her authors whose deal was no advance and 30% of revenue, versus a traditional publishing deal of an advance with a royalty rate of between 5-7%.


Additionally, both Alison and Rana describe the acquisitions process at their small presses. They discuss marketing, trade shows, publicity and marketing, their business models (advances, royalties, profit sharing versus revenue sharing) and so much more.

The last ten minutes of the session Emma opens the floor to questions from the attendees (some of whom didn't get a chair and are sitting on the floor and standing against the back wall!)

Visit their websites at these links to find out more about Little Pickle Press and Sky Pony Press.

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Emma D. Dryden is a children’s editorial & publishing consultant with drydenbks LLC, a company she established 5 years ago today, after 25 years as a publisher and editor with major publishing houses. I had the privilege of working with … Continue reading →

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In 2009 Rana DiOrio founded San Francisco-based Little Pickle Press, a 21st century publisher of high quality, high impact media for children.

Most of you know how I love reading journey stories, so when I noticed Emma Dryen’s great interview today with Rana on her blog, I thought you might like to read it too. It also made me want to check out Little Pickle Press. The first thing that impressed me was the quality of their website and books, so if they were to publish your book, you would not have to worry about placing your baby in their hands. I knew they were a small press publisher, but I thought they were only interested in picture books. I was wrong. They are open to receiving manuscripts all the way up to YA. And they are open to non-agented writers.

I am so glad I took the time to read Emma’s interview and visit Little Pickle Press because I would not be able to share the Submission Guidelines below and the opportunity to find a good home for your books.

If you’re going to aim high, you need the right launch pad. Does your goal involve writing the next great children’s book or YA novel? Little Pickle Press wants to know about it, and we’re working with Submittable to make it even easier to share your best ideas with us.

Step 1: Write!
We can’t read your mind, so get those fabulous ideas written down. Bear in mind that while there are scores of topics to choose from, the mission statement of Little Pickle Press is your best guide to the sort of manuscripts that we’re seeking. These include (in no particular order and not exclusively):

• Altruism (and other anti-narcissism, anti-entitlement themes)
• Dare To Be Different
• Tolerance/Acceptance
• Non-traditional family structures
• Choices: It’s Not All Black And White; Most of Life is Gray
• Anti-Princess Themes
• Strong, female protagonists
• Creativity—the importance of it, fostering it, etc.
• Divergent (vs. Convergent) Thinking
• Systems Thinking
• Self-Sufficiency/Taking Care of Yourself and Your Community/Planting the Seeds of Being a Locavore
• Water as a precious, global resource
• Creativity: the importance of it, fostering it, etc.
• Forgiveness
• Gratitude
• What is a conscience? How do we foster it? Use it?
• Leadership and/or Entrepreneurship

We’re growing with our readers, so don’t think you have to create a picture book if you have a novel rattling around in your brain. We’re seeking picture books for 5 to 8 year olds, chapter books for 9 to 12 year olds, and middle grade novels for 10 to 14 year olds. In addition, we’re now accepting manuscripts in the young adult novel category for readers ages 15 and up. We are open to the literary vehicle employed to convey the story—fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, creative nonfiction, etc.

Step 2: Get it ready!
Okay, so you’ve written your book. You’ve shared it with friends, family, and that neighbor down the street who’s known for disliking pretty much everything. They all agree that your book is the best thing since sliced bread. Now what?
Now you or your agent can send it to us! We’ve got a few uniformity guidelines to keep all submissions easy to read, and here they are:

• As an MS Word document
• Double-spaced
• With Times New Roman font 12-pt
• With your suggested title and name at the top as well as a word count
• With pages numbered
• Without illustrations

Relatively painless, wouldn’t you say? That’s because we’ve been saving the hard part for last. Everybody has a creative spark, and following instructions is a snap. Now for the really tough step.

Step 3: Send it in!
Sending your carefully-wrought manuscript off to a real, live publishing company is one of the most exciting and stressful things that you can do. But don’t worry. We don’t bite. Follow the submissions link, take a deep breath, and click!

Step 4: Sit back, but don’t relax just yet.
We have lots of manuscripts to consider, so it will take up to 8  weeks before we get back to you. While you’re waiting, why not see what other great story ideas you’ve got? Children need and deserve books. Whether it’s an imaginative tale that encourages creativity, or an engaging story that fosters responsibility and social awareness, Little Pickle Press seeks to offer the very best in children’s literature. Will you help us?

Hope this information helps push you closer to finding a home for your book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Middle Grade Novels, opportunity, picture books, Places to Submit, publishers, Young Adult Novel Tagged: Emma D Dryden, Little Pickle Press, Rana DiOrio, submission guidelines

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Kids books are a fantastic mechanism to start the discussion with young readers on what is mindfulness and ways to incorporate it into lives.

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