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Having Their Say – Blogging About Children’s Literature

Several months ago I joined four amazing women and children’s literature bloggers in putting together a panel for the SCBWI Summer Conference. Over the course of the months I got to know these women that I knew peripherally from the kidlit blog world and my respect for them grew immensely. They are absolutely devoted and care deeply about children’s literature.

For each of them, blogging about children’s literature is a labor of love. I became ill right before the panel and had to sit it out from the sidelines at home but I felt completely part of it from beginning to end and I was there in spirit. I’ve been hearing great things about the panel and wanted to share what we put together for readers at both AmoXcalli and La Bloga. Before getting to the Quicktime video of our presentation, I’d like to take a little time to introduce my fellow panelists as well as the SCBWI.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, formed in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles based writers for children, is the only international organization to offer a variety of services to people who write, illustrate, or share a vital interest in children’s literature. The SCBWI acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people. There are currently more than 19,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regions, making it the largest children's writing organization in the world.

Introducing The Panelists (and shamelessly stealing from their blogs)

Allie Costa (aka Little Willow) @ Bildungsroman slayground.livejournal.com
I strive to make my blog a valuable resource for readers of all ages. For kids, teens, parents, librarians, booksellers, librarians, teachers, and other adults. For published authors and hopeful authors alike, including kids who want to be writers. For anyone who notes the importance of literacy and communication. For everyone who loves a good story.

Here's the "definition" of my blog's name:

Bildungsroman: A novel which traces the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character from (usually) childhood to maturity. (Wikipedia)

Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character. (dictionary.com)

Bildungsroman: A novel idea; the story of a girl.

My blog features book reviews, exclusive author interviews, booklists, and more. Though Bildungsroman has an emphasis on teen fiction, I also feature plenty of juvenile fiction and classics. I'll discuss contemporary adult fiction and non-fiction on occasion.

Tanita Davis & Sarah Stevenson @ Finding Wonderland and Readers’ Rants: writingya.blogspot.com, readersrants.blogspot.com

Do you love young adult literature as much as we do? Then welcome to our humble treehouse: a sanctuary and not-so-secret hideout for fans and writers of YA lit. News, advice, links, and fun stuff, straight from the keyboards of our always-intrepid, sometimes-torpid reporting staff. Come on in!

Also, check out our companion blog, ReadingYA: Readers' Rants, for ongoing reviews of YA books - from graphics to romance to science fiction and fantasy; old favorites to brand-new bestsellers to hidden treasures.

Kelly Herold @ Big A, little a kidslitinformation.blogspot.com

I only post reviews of books I like. I do maintain a list of books that "did not click with me," but don't post it. If you're concerned with my objectivity, send me an e-mail.





If you want to see the presentation in full size click here. You'll have to sign up for a viewing account with SlideAware, the fantabulous plug in that made this presentation work in Blogger after me being up for two days straight trying to embed it - but hey, it's a great presentation and worth signing up.

The following is a list of links to the panelists news and views on what happened after the panel.



http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-did-and-who-we-saw-part-ii.html


http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-did-and-who-we-saw-part-i.html

http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-said-about-you-ii.html

http://slayground.livejournal.com/

http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/search/label/SCBWI




Gina Marysol Ruiz @ AmoxCalli ginasblogging.blogspot.com (kinda a panelist in spirit anyway) and you all know enough about me.

Having Their Say – Blogging About Children’s Literature

Several months ago I joined four amazing women and children’s literature bloggers in putting together a panel for the SCBWI Summer Conference. Over the course of the months I got to know these women that I knew peripherally from the kidlit blog world and my respect for them grew immensely. They are absolutely devoted and care deeply about children’s literature.

For each of them, blogging about children’s literature is a labor of love. I became ill right before the panel and had to sit it out from the sidelines at home but I felt completely part of it from beginning to end and I was there in spirit. I’ve been hearing great things about the panel and wanted to share what we put together for readers at both AmoXcalli and La Bloga. Before getting to the Quicktime video of our presentation, I’d like to take a little time to introduce my fellow panelists as well as the SCBWI.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, formed in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles based writers for children, is the only international organization to offer a variety of services to people who write, illustrate, or share a vital interest in children’s literature. The SCBWI acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people. There are currently more than 19,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regions, making it the largest children's writing organization in the world.
Introducing The Panelists (and shamelessly stealing from their blogs)

Allie Costa (aka Little Willow) @ Bildungsroman slayground.livejournal.com
I strive to make my blog a valuable resource for readers of all ages. For kids, teens, parents, librarians, booksellers, librarians, teachers, and other adults. For published authors and hopeful authors alike, including kids who want to be writers. For anyone who notes the importance of literacy and communication. For everyone who loves a good story.

Here's the "definition" of my blog's name:

Bildungsroman: A novel which traces the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character from (usually) childhood to maturity. (Wikipedia)

Bildungsroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character. (dictionary.com)

Bildungsroman: A novel idea; the story of a girl.

My blog features book reviews, exclusive author interviews, booklists, and more. Though Bildungsroman has an emphasis on teen fiction, I also feature plenty of juvenile fiction and classics. I'll discuss contemporary adult fiction and non-fiction on occasion.

Tanita Davis & Sarah Stevenson @ Finding Wonderland and Readers’ Rants: writingya.blogspot.com, readersrants.blogspot.com

Do you love young adult literature as much as we do? Then welcome to our humble treehouse: a sanctuary and not-so-secret hideout for fans and writers of YA lit. News, advice, links, and fun stuff, straight from the keyboards of our always-intrepid, sometimes-torpid reporting staff. Come on in!

Also, check out our companion blog, ReadingYA: Readers' Rants, for ongoing reviews of YA books - from graphics to romance to science fiction and fantasy; old favorites to brand-new bestsellers to hidden treasures.

Kelly Herold @ Big A, little a kidslitinformation.blogspot.com

I only post reviews of books I like. I do mainntain a list of books that "did not click with me," but don't post it. If you're concerned with my objectivity, send me an e-mail.




If you want to see the presentation in full size click here. You'll have to sign up for a viewing account with SlideAware, the fantabulous plug in that made this presentation work in Blogger after me being up for two days straight trying to embed it - but hey, it's a great presentation and worth signing up.

The following is a list of links to the panelists news and views on what happened after the panel.

http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-did-and-who-we-saw-part-ii.html


http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-did-and-who-we-saw-part-i.html

http://writingya.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-we-said-about-you-ii.html

http://slayground.livejournal.com/

http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/search/label/SCBWI




Gina Marysol Ruiz @ AmoxCalli ginasblogging.blogspot.com (kinda a panelist in spirit anyway) and you all know enough about me.

Lunch Panel: Increasing Your Revenue & Book Sales...

I paid the extra fee to attend sessions in the conference's Increasing Your Revenue & Book Sales track meant for published authors. The lunch session for this track was made up of number of panelists including Krista Marino of Delacorte, Tracey Adams of Adams Literary, Rachel Griffiths who recently moved from Arthur A. Levine Books to Scholastic Press, Julie Strauss-Gabel of Dutton, Rubin Pfeffer of Simon & Schuster, Brenda Bowen who returned to HarperCollins in June and will launch a new imprint in winter 2009, Bonnie Bader of Grosset and Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan, Allyn Johnston of Harcourt, agent Kate Schafer of Janklow & Nesbit, and Arthur Levine who has an eponymous imprint at Scholastic. It was a big panel.

I didn't feel like they gave much in the way of actionable advice in regards to actually improving ones books sales. The emphasis was more on the best way to run a career, however. Some interesting topics were covered. I'll give you a few highlights of the Q & A. Note: Assume these answers are paraphrased, not direct quotes. Some questions came from Lin Oliver, some from the audience.

Q: Is it okay to publish at multiple houses?

Levine: Consider how many books you're publishing.
Pfeffer: It's okay, but coordinate your publishing schedule.
Marino: Sometimes it's not a good idea--listen to publishers when they help you plan your career.
Adams: Use caution--make sure to leave time to write what's in your heart along with what's bringing in steady income.

Q: (From Pfeffer to panel) How realistic is it that a new writer should put all her eggs in one basket? What about editors moving:

Marino: I expect a certain loyalty. If you work with another house there's an expectation that you're not all ours--we're no longer 100% behind that author. We're basically supporting their backlist.
Bowen: If and editor leaves, your initial champion is gone. That can work to your advantage. Maybe a senior person was working on your book and a junior, more hungry editor takes over. There are pros and cons.

Q: How can an author get herself out of the midlist?

Shafer: If you publish 2-3 titles a year, they all can't be frontlist.
Levine: I hate the term midlist. It's invented by CEOs. Let go of the idea of " midlist author" and concentrate on maximizing the sales for the particular book you've written.

Q: What if we go to someone else because you pass on our book?

Marino: A pass decision is not necessarily based on marketing, but maybe on career building. Maintain open communication.
Levine: We as individuals are not going to be right all the time about a book. But we don't want your second book to not do as well as your first book. And we'll tell you if your second book, we feel, is not your best work.
Strauss-Gabel: I like to pretend it's not a human process but it is. Your agent is a very important part in this process--and agents have different philosophies when it comes to running an author's career. Know your agent's philosophy going in.

Then Brenda Bowen and Arthur Levine, just briefly, sand a duet.