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An exciting breakout session focusing on fantasy with editor Arianne Lewin. Ari is an executive editor at GP Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.
After giving a quick overview of the different types of fantasy--Magical Realism, YA Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy and Dark Fantasy among others--Ari talked about trends and how authors shouldn't write to them. By the time a book catches on with consumers, it might be too late to start. If you do, it has to be a passion. As an editor she wants an experience, so tell a great story.
Ari then passed out some first pages for the attendees to look over and discuss. She also shared some of the specific types of books she's looking for.
Arianne Lewin is a Senior Editor at Disney Hyperion. She edits an eclectic list, that emphasizes YA novels and fantasy. She’s currently looking for new voices in all genres.
In acquisitions, she sends the pitch to all the departments. They will rarely take on a book that sales is not behind.
Part of the offer is based on sales projections and possible marketing plans. Sometimes Hyperion will buy books that they feel can win awards because it helps the overall list and also attracts other authors.
Placement is everything in sales. So when a book is to be acquired, they must envision where it will live on the shelf. Arianne also let us in on some secrets about the books that are face-out or on endcaps and tables in the bookstore.
Rachel Vail has written over 30 books for kids through teens. She has one of the best opening 2 lines ever in her book "Gorgeous:"
"I sold my cell phone to the devil. In my own defense, it had been a really crappy day."
She's also the author of "Justin Case: School, Drool and Other Daily Disasters!"
That starts out like this:
September 1, Tuesday
Okay, yes. I'm worried
Already.
I can't help it.
As Lin Oliver is saying in her introduction, Rachel is
"Queen of the novel for kids"
Rachel thinks a good book is more than just a story well told, at it's best, for middle graders, it should be suffused with humor and heart.
If I want a character to feel head exploding jealousy... she remembers how she felt when she was a child. The mix of emotions.
She challeneged the room to remember a book that really moved you when you read it as a child.
She shared the story of reading "Of Mice and Men," and how deeply it affected her - and how later it became a theme of her own books -
What does love require of us?What an interesting challenge to see if the books of our childhoods that split our heads apart had themes that still resonate for us, through time and into our own narrative flows.
Adolescence is so fraut: We are faced with adult feelings and no adult perspective. As an adult, we see someone hot and go - he's hot. As a 7th grader, we see someone hot and the brand new feeling knocks you down.
Unlike some other luckier species, we have no cocoon to hide in - we're going through these changes of adolescence in what feels like full view of the entire world!
"Life or death moments are a dime a dozen in seventh grade."
Two more great moments from Ari's session:
She spoke about how starting your fantasy story at the pivotal moment can feel abrupt.
To give a good example of how to start out your story and world build deftly, she read the opening of "Singing My Sister Down," one of the short stories from "Black Juice" the Printz Honor book by Margo Lanagan.
After she read it, she closed the book, nodded, and said:
"Find any way around exposition - just let it happen."
Ari also recommended amazing fantasy author
Holly Black's website as an excellent resource for writers.
It was a great session!
--Posted by Lee Wind
A problem that happens with new fantasy writers is that they get so caught up in
the world that they've created that they forget it has to be a story that's
personal to your main character - after all, it's their world, they
won't gaze about in wonder at it.
--Posted by Lee Wind
Ari Lewin is an Editor at Disney/Hyperion
She's edited a lot of fantasy books, picture books, chapter books, and the bulk of what she does is fantasy - which is in it's "Golden Age." In fact, 4 out of 5 of the books on her fall list are fantasy. So, she knows of what she speaks!
She's starting out defining the different kinds of fantasy:
there's high fantasy: swords, magic, dragons, midaevil, low technology
like Tamora Pierce's books
steampunk: alternate histories (often victorian england) often perfected technologies that we've abandoned
i.e., Levianthan by Scott Westerfield
Urban Fantasy (set in city) like Holly Black's modern fairy tales
Paranormal Romance:
lots of bestsellers
Blue Bloods by Melissa DeLaCruz and that book, you know... Twilight
Distopian Fantasy:
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Then some that are hard to classify:
Percy Jackson?
everyone's reading fantasy that was meant for all age levels.
Now she's going into tips about writing fantasy and world building... oooh, some of these are great. Like this:
1. You make up your own rules
2. Have them make sense
3. Follow them consistently
4. You can never change the rules
--Posted by Lee Wind
Lin: What did you see today?
Allyn: I didn't ask to buy anything today. I did ask everyone who sat at my table to send me something, but that thing might not be the thing we talked about today. Everyone should go home and think about that.
Ari: I got a lot out of being in a critique group and hearing the comments of the writers who brought up things I didn't think of. It just goes to show that every editor is going to thing a little differently about your work.
Lin: What advice would you offer writers on using the comments they got today?
Wendy: Go home and think about the comments you got today and decide what resonates with you. If you're consistently getting the same feedback, those may be the things you should concentrate on.
Ari: There's always a lot of negotiating between and editor and a writer. Think about the comments you got and if you don't think they'll work for your story, think of another way to solve them.
--POSTED BY ALICE
Lin Oliver is moderating the post-intensives panel on what to do post-critique.
Panelists include:
- Allyn Johnston, Beach Lane Books
- Wendy Loggia, Random House
- Ari Lewin, Hyperion
Stay tuned...
--POSTED BY ALICE
ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 2
Some highlights from Disney/Hyperion Senior Ed. ARI LEWIN'S lecture (Part 2)
-- Picture books - keep 'em short! Doesn't do original board books (too expensive to produce)
-- "Things I do not buy: I don't love a lot of historical fiction UNLESS the voice is so so good that blow me away. Examples of historical fiction that are exceptions include A Northern Light and The Book Thief."
-- "I personally have a tough time with quiet or slow-moving plots. Quiet, I don't do. I don't do a lot of problem novels unless the voice is really fresh."
-- Editorial meetings are like "a really cool book club" where everyone reads the submission and discuss it in a "frank and honest" way and how it might do in acquisitions, publicity, and marketing before making a final decision. If editorial director approves, then they move to acquisitions.
-- Acquisitions meeting: She says people "dread" this because it's so important for editors who love a book and really want it to be published. What she does before she submits to acquisitions committee (they meet once a week): "I really have to come up with a sales handle. I have to write the flap copy and make it sound so exciting and compelling, just like something they would absolutely want... often times, I will massage what the story actually is because I know how I will edit/revise it. They will understand the direction I will take it in."
-- She also does an acquisitions form that has a one or two line sentence "sales handle," like "This is Men In Black meets Boarding School" for the marketing department. She went on to discuss the other aspects of how books are acquired, which include a profit loss statement etc.
-- Earn out formula: Retail price of your book, $16.95 times the royalty (10%) times the number of copies gives you how much money the book earned, minus the reserves."
She does an Q&A now with the standing room only hall of conference goers. Again, a very informative nuts & bolts panel about the editor's point of view.
Posted by Paula Yoo
ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 1
Some highlights from Disney/Hyperion Senior Ed. ARI LEWIN'S lecture (part 1)
-- They accept electronic submissions because of recycling/environment (Disney ordered Sony Readers for the editors)
-- Does a lot of traditional editor stuff - network, schmooze with editors, reads their client submissions on the subway and at home
-- "I don't read the cover letters the agents send me. I want to see the WRITING. The pitch can be awesome but the writing or story might not be. I trust the writing more than the pitch."
-- "What I'm looking for: I don't know any editor who would really say 'I'm looking for fantasy only.' We all want the same thing - good, compelling, engaging stories and they can come from unexpected genres you've never worked for. So oftentimes you know it when you see it."
-- "My No. 1 thing is VOICE. I'm looking for a voice that's fresh and original and believeable. I want the character to feel real and not like anyone else I've read before. It can't be generic."
-- No stereotypes wanted in voice and characteristics of the character. Dialogue should be realistic "If your two teen girls sound alike, I sort of sniff that out."
-- Recommends E. Lockhart's "The Boyfriend List" as an example of realistic girl teen dialogue.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
Posted by Paula Yoo
Editors Panel: "Success Stories: Four Editors Distill the Secrets of a Successful Book:
Focus on: ARI LEWIN, Senior Editor of Disney/Hyperion
Ari Lewin discussed the popular and award-winning stand alone fantasy series, "THE HEIR CHRONICLES" by author Cinda Williams Chima. The first book was a contemporary fantasy set in real world Ohio called THE WARRIOR HEIR. Ari discussed how the book did not have a huge marketing campaign - there was no big book tour. It was "just your basic big publishing house campaign" in which they gave out bookmarks and galleys at various conferences and bookstores.
But she said the book began winning many awards, such as the Kirkus BBYA in 2008 and the Voyas Perfect Teens 2007 list and positive reviews. Unlike other fantasy novels, Cinda's series were a collection of stand alone novels. The second book was not a sequel but a stand alone book featuring a different character. She called it a "companion piece."
Ari stressed that a series of stand alone books often have an advantage over actual series because new readers are more willing to read the latest book because there's no pressure to have read the previous books. In addition, awards committees are reluctant sometimes to give awards to books that readers need to have read the previous books in order to understand and enjoy the latest one.
Air said Cinda's real world fantasy setting was real and familiar to kids - it featured "a familiar world of a teenager with a huge secret" and that made it accessible to kids who normally did not read fantasy.
She also showed some sketches of the original cover of the first book versus the final version, and explained how the original cover was a sketch and looked too "manga" and did not fit the tone of the book (it skewed too young). She said book covers are very important when it comes to books succeeding and finding an audience.
BUT ultimately, Ari concluded that "at the end of the day, I know how hard Cinda has worked to perfect her craft and promote her work. The biggest secret to a book's success sometimes is that the book is good and the book is worthy."
Posted by Paula Yoo
By:
Alice Pope,
on 6/1/2009
Blog:
Alice's CWIM blog
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BEA YA Editors Book Buzz Panel...
I'm back in the office today after spending last week in New York attending BookExpo America. This week I'll be offering some reports on the conventions here on my blog. This is my first.
I was excited when I saw the list of BEA special events a few months ago and learned that this year there would be the first-ever BEA Young Adult Editor's Buzz panel. Past shows have featured Books Buzz panels, but never for YA. Which is crazy. Because there are some amazing YA titles out there that deserve to be buzzed just as much as any novel for grown-ups.
The YA Buzz panel allowed six editors to spend about 10 minutes talking about one title on their upcoming fall lists that they're really jazzed about. Scholastic Press/Push Editorial Director (and an author himself) David Levithan served as the master of ceremonies and introduced the editors on the panel.
Here are the editors, ready to buzz...
Left to right: Host David Levithan;
Mark Siegel, Editorial Director, First Second Books;
Ari Lewin, Senior Editor, Disney/Hyperion;
Tara Weikum, Executive Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books;
Krista Marino, Senior Editor, Delacorte Press;
Liz Szabla, Editor-in-Cheif, Feiwel & Friends;
Arthur Levine, VP & Editorial Director, Arthur A. Levine Books.
Here's a quick rundown of the books they talked about so I can help spread the buzz! (I couldn't Twitter this session because because it took place in one of the many vortexes of no-reception that exist in the Javitz Center.)- Ari: Devil's Kiss, by by Sarwat Chada. It's an adventure story focusing on Billi, the youngest and only female member of the Knights of the Templar in the present day. (Release date: September 1)
- Krista: The Maze Runner, by James Dashner. This a book that the editor says changed the way she sees her world. The opening of this distoptian novel is disorienting, and the book crosses genres, delving into adventure, mystery and sci fi. It was acquired as a stand-alone, but envisioned as a trilogy. (Relase date: October 6)
- Mark: Refresh Refresh, by Danica Novgorodoff. This is graphic novel about high school seniors in a small town coping with the fact that their fathers are off serving in the Iraq war. The editor says it's a story that not calculated but born of need, the type of book that defines the First Second line. Graphic novelists, he says, are "the new literary rock stars." (Release date: September 29)
- Liz: The Sweetheart of Prosper County, by Jill Alexander. The editor describes this smalltown Southern comic novel as "a big delicious cassarole, a give-me-goosebumps novel." It was acquired on the first five pages. (Yes, you read that correctly.) (Release date: September 1)
- Tara: Viola in Reel Life, by Adriana Trigiani. This book is the story of a girl misplaced--the main character moves from Brooklyn to a boarding school in Indiana while her film maker parents are off working. Two more Viola books are in the pipeline. (Release date: September 1)
The wonderful thing about this Editor Buzz sesssion was that chance to see editors speaking with such passion about these projects. This wasn't marketing copy, it was from the heart. It made me feel just as excited about these books as they were. (I even teared up a little when Liz Szabla talked about
Jill Alexander's debut novel.)
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Great class Ari - thank you.
Thanks for the wonderful session, Ari! You'd be my dream editor to work with.