This past weekend was the Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC. I had no official duties (unlike last year), but as always when I'm in town, I enjoy attending the VIP Cocktail party, and then the Kidlit Drink Night after party (hosted by Fuse #8). The main problem with these events is that there are just too many people to talk to everyone I would have liked to.
I do remember a time as a younger editor where I didn't know as many people as I do now, when I found it harder to mingle. And I also imagine these events can be intimidating to attend as an author or illustrator. So, I thought I'd give some tips on how to mingle at publishing events. I know most of these tips are pretty standard, and to give full disclosure, I don't actually abide by all of these, but here goes:
1) The best "pick-up line" is to simply say "hello" and introduce yourself. Honestly, everyone at these type of events should be there to mingle, and even if they're not, they at least expect others to introduce themselves. If you recognize someone, whether an author or editor or Twitter friend, go up to him/her and say hi. Then again, if they look like they're deep in conversation with someone else, wait until they're not as engaged to approach them.
2) Have a goal/agenda for the event. Maybe there's an author, illustrator, agent, art director, or editor, etc. you've always wanted to meet and know will be there. Make your goal to meet that person. Maybe you're shy: make your goal to introduce yourself to at least one stranger. Maybe your goal is to get at least two business cards, and/or give your card to at least three people. Turn it into a game!
3) Don't be afraid to ask for help. I'm totally happy to introduce people to each other. I wish people would ask me more to introduce them to others. In generally, I think people like to feel helpful.
4) Don't get drunk. It's fine to have a little liquid courage in you, but remember that this is a professional event. Nobody wants to be around someone who is sloppy. Don't embarrass yourself.(Okay, not that I've never gotten drunk at a publishing event myself...)
5) Have some conversation topics prepared. Maybe it's a current event, or asking what people are reading, or what they think of the award winners, etc.
6) Don't be afraid to introduce yourself again, or ask someone to remind you of their name. I go to so many different conferences and events. I may remember faces, but not usually names. And I never expect people to remember me. So don't worry about offending people you know you've met but can't remember. And it's always helpful to people to reintroduce yourself to remind them of who you are.
7) If you're introverted and/or shy, don't worry--I'd say at least 75% of the people in publishing are, too!
8) And finally, not to be cliche, but: Have Fun! These events are FUN! You're in a room of people who love books as much as you do. What's not fun about that?
As for the rest of the conference, I was following the action on Twitter over the weekend while I finished up an edit. There are also great interviews and wrap-ups of the different talks on the official blog here.
By: Linda S. Wingerter,
on 1/11/2010
Blog: Blue Rose Girls (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: publishing, mail, alvina, how I, Add a tag
Yes, I do have a problem keeping up with email (as I've mentioned here), but I seem to have an even tougher time keeping up with snail mail. Our business, including submissions (in fact, especially including submissions), is handled more and more via email, and so I increasingly pay more attention to email and less to snail mail. In fact, I get irritated when agents send submissions, especially novels, as hard copies. They should know better by now!
At work, I have a bin labeled "mail" in my office where I dump all my mail, and last year I've realized that at times mail has stayed there unopened for over three months at a time, until I make time to sit down and open and sort through it all.
This is how I go through my mail: I sit down with the bin, open an envelope, scan the letter. If it's an unsolicited query or manuscript, I put it back in the envelope and scrawl "slush" on the envelope and put it in a pile. This pile is ultimately handled by our receptionist who send back form letters saying we don't accept unsolicited submissions or queries. If it's a solicited manuscript, I put in a different "log in" pile for my assistant. If it's a solicited query, I read it quickly, decide if I want to review it or not, and then write "Query yes" or "query no" on it and add it to the pile for my assistant. If I receive art samples, and I like the art, it goes into a pile for filing. If I don't like the art, it goes into the recycling bin (sorry, illustrators!).
Last Sunday, the day before I was to go back to work after the holiday break, I decided to go into the office to sort through my mail so the bin would be empty when I started the new work year. The pile was threatening to spill over. Yes, this is partially my fault--if I just opened and dealt with the mail I received each day, or even each week, it would be more manageable. But dealing with a pile of several months worth of mail, something became extremely clear: I get way more unsolicited submissions and queries than I should. In fact, I should receive zero--as a company, we only accept agented or requested/referred submissions. Instead, I receive on average one or two a day. I would say a good 75% of the mail I receive are unsolicited queries and submissions. And this irritates me to no end.
Our submissions policy is stated very clearly on our website:
I don't know if people ignore this rule out of ignorance, or in hopes that we'll take a look at their query or submission anyway. And, okay, yes--very very rarely, if you catch me in a good mood, I might scan the submission (especially if it's a book dummy with illustrations), but I don't actually remember an example where I've then actually ended up considering the submission--it still gets returned as slush. And I can say with 100% certainty that I've never ended up acquiring a submission that was initially sent to me as slush. So, STOP TRYING. You're wasting your time, my time, my assistant's time, our receptionist time, and you're also wasting money and paper, and making it harder for people who are following the rules to have my undivided attention. Stop it. Seriously.
Publishers in the Hachette Book Group (including Grand Central Publishing, Business Plus, FaithWords, Center Street, Mystery, Orbit, Little, Brown and Company, Back Bay Books, Bulfinch, Springboard Press, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) are not able to consider unsolicited manuscript submissions and unsolicited queries. Many major publishers have a similar policy. Unsolicited manuscripts, submissions and queries will not be answered and the publisher will have the right to destroy any unsolicited material or mail without returning to the sender.
Sigh. Remember when you loved getting mail? Remember a time when mail was something other than bills and credit card offers and catalogs an
By: Linda S. Wingerter,
on 4/27/2009
Blog: Blue Rose Girls (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: alvina, how I, publishing, books alvina has edited, Add a tag
In my previous post about my reaction to Jellicoe Road, I touched a little on the way I read submissions, mainly that I generally decide about novels based on the first 30-50 pages. I thought that I'd expand on this and talk more about how I read submissions and the way I decide if a book is something I'm interested in taking on, or something to decline.
Another editor I know got some flack for saying at a conference that editors (or, at least, her specifically) read submissions looking for a reason to say no. When I heard this, my first instinct was to say what an agent at the same conference said: that she reads looking for a reason to say yes. But honestly, the truth is a combination of both.
It's just not possible to publish every submission we get. Knowing this, it's true--I'm looking for reasons to reject most manuscripts. Some possible reasons? (feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of these)
-not well written
-too slight
-too quiet
-forced rhyme, off rhythm (for picture books, mainly)
-too similar to something already on our list
-too similar to too many books already in the market
-forced/inauthentic dialogue
-too didactic
-melodramatic
-cliche
-slow pacing
-too niche in appeal
and of course I could go on...
However, I'd be lying to say I'm not always hoping for that surprise--that I'll fall in love with a submission. And sometimes I'll fall in love with something despite it being something on the above list. It really IS like falling in love--I can fall in love with something, flaws and all. When I'm reading something that I'm really loving, my heartbeat will speed up. My mind will start racing, thinking about what I need to do to ensure that I get that manuscript. I'll imagine pitching the book at our editorial meeting, and then at our acquisitions meeting. I'll think about how I would edit the book, even what the cover would look like. I picture it winning the Newbery, making the NY Times bestseller list. In other words, I'll imagine us married with children during the middle our first date.
Generally, when I read a manuscript, it's either/or. Either I find a reason to say no, or else I fall in love with it. But the tough decisions happen when a manuscript falls somewhere in between. Agents, and perhaps authors who submit on their own, may be familiar with that rejection that takes an especially long time to come, where an editor apologizes and says that she was "mulling it over." This is what happens when I read a manuscript and can't immediately say no, but don't completely fall in love with it either. When this happens, I may put it aside to revisit later. And sometimes when that happens, I don't think about it again, and therefore usually will end up declining it. Sometimes when this happens, I keep thinking about it, which it generally a good sign that I don't want to let it go. And sometimes I'm completely on the fence, and then will either ask my assistant to read it, and/or I'll bring it to our editorial meeting to get some second reads.
This happens when the concept is really great, but the writing isn't particularly special. Or if there's just nothing wrong with the writing or the book, but I just don't fall in love with it. Or if I know the book is something publishable, but it's about something I just can't see myself working on, or reading over and over.
Sometimes when I'm in-between, a lot will depend on the current state of our list. Are we looking for more of that particular genre, or are we too saturated? For example, we're fairly overloaded with fantasy right now, which allows us to be even more selective than usual in acquiring that genre. A fantasy novel really has to be outstanding and original for us to even consider taking it on. For picture books, when I first started almost ten years ago, it was so much easier to acquire picture books than fiction. But in the last seven or eight years, in reaction to the market, we've cut our picture book list way back, and because of that, I'm even more picky when acquiring them--I can't just like something, I need to love it.
Sometimes I'm feeling in-between when an agent tells me that he or she has either received an offer, or else they "have a lot of interest." When this happens, I'll usually just end up passing on the submission, thinking that I don't love it enough to want to compete against other publishers. Of course, if I do love a manuscript, hearing that there's other interest will spur me on to move through the process more quickly.
And yes, I'm looking for love--I do want to say yes, I just know I can't say yes to everything. But like most people, I want the happily ever after.
***
In other news, I'm so proud and excited to share the news that one of those books that I fell in love with has attained a kind of "happily ever after": The Curious Garden by Peter Brown has hit the NY Times Bestseller list at #7! It's also #7 on the Indiebound bestseller list.
Congratulations, Peter!!!
(BTW, all but one sprout in my Curious Garden pot has died. But that sprout is going strong!)
I attended a conference where YOU were the person I wanted to meet, and in spite of my shyness, you couldn't have been more gracious. That's another thing to remember, too - as long as you're not trying to shove a manuscript under the bathroom door, most people at writing conferences will treat you kindly.
Aw, well, I was excited to meet you, too, Wendy! Yes, I think it's good to remember that 99.9% of people in kidlit are NICE! BTW--great cover!
I wish I had read and followed this event before attending my first publishing event. I didn't follow ANY of these rules, except to have fun -- I did have all too much fun. I will leave it to our readers' imaginations to guess what that means and will not embarrass myself all over again by going into detail.
Anyhow, thanks. I love all these tips, especially reminding us that people are THERE to mingle so it's fine to introduce yourself (though don't interrupt conversations), have goals and make it into a game, and the reminder that 75% of people in publishing are shy.
As one very social person in town put it when I was trying to desribe the atmosphere at most writers' events:
"A party for people who hate parties," and then she made a face.
Anyhow, great post Alvina--and YOU are great at mingling!
I attended the SCBWI cocktail party on Friday for the first time, and I can't tell you enough how helpful/reassuring it is to hear your thoughts! As an assistant, it is doubly exciting and stressful to navigate those kind of situations (even for the 25% of us who are not shy).
Your advice is spot on... thanks so much!
Annie
This is great advice! I have a hard time approaching people, even though I don't consider myself shy. I think I'm always afraid they will ask me something and I will goof up the answer, stumbling over my words. Plus, I would have never thought to ask someone to introduce me to someone else. I'll take this advice with me to my writing workshop in March.
I don't know what I'm so worried about. Everyone I have met so far has been wonderful, ESPECIALLY agents and editors. (Including you, at Big Sur '07!)
I love this post, Alvina! It's great advice - I never expect anyone to remember me either! I do love when I don't expect that and then getting a warm greeting - it always feels so good.
I forget how we met, but I want to say it was through our huge pool mutual friends? It's a small industry and we all get to know one another eventually.
I *think* we met through Peter, Dan...but then again, we could also have any number of ways. You are correct, sir.