Archive for December 2009
You know you are challenged when the online submission forms just don’t work for you. I spent a few hours yesterday trying to get one to work for me so that I could submit to a children’s magazine. Finally I did it. Take that you challenge. Just the wonderings of a mind that is sleep deprived from someone coughing all night in one room as another in another room makes several trips to the bathroom.
Nathan Bransford’s Feed.
Posted on: December 31, 2009
This is such a hoot to me. How could anyone assume that a smart savvy person like Nathan would not figure out that they faked a personalized query? Read more @
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/
Holiday Repeat: Don’t Fake a Personalized Query
Posted: 30 Dec 2009 09:00 AM PST
I’m on quite the query kick these days, and there are no signs of stopping the quermentum. Query power! Hop on board the query train! Put your queries in the air and wave ‘em like you just don’t care! I’ll stop now.
One of the more hilarious things that people do in query letters (besides ones that are actually funny), is to try and fake me out by pretending they’ve read my client’s books. Having read these books several times each at the minimum, trust me — I know these books. I am not going to be fooled.
So when an author says they can tell how much X author appreciates my work on their behalf based on the acknowledgments in X book…. I’m going to know when I’m not actually in the acknowledgments for that book (yes, this happened).
Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
CURRENT NEEDS: “Regional, popular history, Civil War, World
War II, biography, politics, cookbooks, art, architecture,
business, self-help, Jewish, Scottish, Irish,
African-American, children’s picture books.” Pays advance
occasionally and royalties of 10%+.
Le Guin Resigns from Authors Guild over Google Deal
– Publishers Weekly, 12/23/2009 1:05:00 PM
Bestselling and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin, whose membership in the Authors Guild dates back to 1972, has resigned from the organization, citing her unhappiness with the role the Guild played in the Google Book settlement. “You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them. I can’t,” Le Guin wrote in her letter of resignation. “There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle.”
PW Announcement.
Posted on: December 30, 2009
By Lynn Andriani — Publishers Weekly, 12/17/2009 7:39:00 AM
Putnam Books for Young Readers president and publisher Nancy Paulsen is launching an eponymous imprint, Nancy Paulsen Books, with the first titles landing in 2011. Paulsen, who has led the division for 15 years, plans to publish 12 to 15 picture books, middle grade and young adult novels annually. She will continue at the helm of Putnam Books for Young Readers until the company finds a successor—a process that has already begun.
Be sure to go to their site and read the rest of the article.
I spent two hours at WalMarts doing grocery shopping and almost forgot that tonight is kidlitchat. Will work on the blog in the morning.
Good News for Me.
Posted on: December 28, 2009
I’m going to have a second writer’s article in the Institute of Children’s Literature’s newsletter. That is one article in January and another one in June which gets me an early start on accheiving one of my goals as a writer.
UPDATE: My first writers article of 2010 Wallowing in Writer’s Block is out in the ICL newsletter.
Holiday Party Writing Challenge
On Being Shy as a Writer.
Posted on: December 26, 2009
I’ve always wondered how writers who are a little shy make it in this very competitive market. I was particularly glad to hear one editor’s view on shy writers.
Here is a tweet from EgmontGal on twitter.com:
@sarahharian. Also I don’t care as an ed how shy you are. I care how good your book is. Please believe me on that. #kidlitchat.
These type of comments are the reason that you should join #kidlitchat every Tuesday night, 9 EST-6 PST. Not interested in children’s lit, be sure to check out some of the other chats that are found on twitter.com.
#Kidlitchat and Agents.
Posted on: December 26, 2009
As my regular readers know, I love the information that I get from Twitter.com’s #kidlitchat on Tuesday night. One focused on Agents and How to Get One.
RebeccAgent, BostonbookGirl, and Elana Roth were just a few of the agents who participated in the chat and offered words of wisdom to the new writer as well as the more experienced writers.
Some of my takes from the chat is that agents like
1. Writers who follow submission guidelines. They have worked hard to make it as simple as possible. It’s a red flag for some agents.
2. Writers who submit one project in a query with 1-2 brief (one line) other project ideas. The pitch must be accurate as well. Practice writing your synopsis several times to get it just right.
3. Writers who use good grammer in their submissions. It tells them that you are a professional and are serious about writing.
4. Writers whose work has a spark to incite interest in the submission. If you want others to love your book, it doesn’t hurt for you to love your book. Share your passion.
5. Writers who submit concise, tight submission. There have been query letters that are less than perfect accepted but with the competition so fierce the actual book need to be as close to ready to be published as it can be.
6. Writers that include their writing credits and a brief bio. This can include sites that you are on so they can get to know more about you. Remember they are people too and do your research. It is as important for them to do their research on you as a potential client as it is for you to do your research to make sure that the fit is a mutually good one.
7. Writers that commit no faux paus. For instance, if you go to a conference, don’t pass your manuscript under the toilet stall. It has actually happened to an Agent/Editor.
8. Writers who are patient and treat them the way they want to be treated. Everyone has different things to bring to the table. If you want someone who is willing to do some editorial task, don’t expect the agent is who is more about selling to do those tasks.
Places on the web that you can check out for details on the individual agents include their own personal sites, Preditors and Editors, AgentQuery, QueryTracker,Publishers Market Place, and Verlakay.com, as well as asking other authors for recommendations/referrals.
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