This is it…the missing blog. I know you’ve been wondering how it all ends. Let me see if I can get you there.
As Jane Yolen would say, it all starts with BIC (Butt in Chair). What is everyone waiting for? The Agent Panel Discussion of course.
ASK THE AGENTS: 3 AGENTS ANALYZE THE MARKET
LO-Lin Oliver (Moderator)
GN-George Nicholson, Sterling and Lord Literistic
RS-Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio
TW-Tina Wexler, ICM
The session started with everyone telling a little bit about themselves, their agency etc…
Due to unfortunate technical difficulties, George Nicholson was very difficult to hear for his opening remarks.
RS-You should have come to the conclusion that an agent is an important thing to have.
-Things in publishing are moving at lightening speed.
-The area of sub-rights is changing drastically.
-Stimola Literary Agency is a boutique agency (home office/flexible hours/virtual staff)
-Publishers are in a "land grab" because no one knows what is coming down the road.
TW-Agreed with the earlier comments, but added a reminder…All of us are here because we love books. We (agents) don’t have a job without all of you.
LO-How would you characterize the current climate?
RS-Its challenging, but that is what makes it exciting.
-Write a kick ass story and then let the professionals help with the rest of the process.
GN-Mediocre and ordinary simply will not sell
-Remember that this business is subject to personal taste.
TW-Be mindful of the market but understand that what you see now was bought 1+ years ago.
-Be passionate and smart.
-Know who your competition is.
LO-Do you believe in trends?
RS-I SET TRENDS!!!!!! (She reps Suzanne Collins author of the HUNGER GAMES. This gives her HUGE bragging rights LOL!)
-After the Hunger Games, all the Dystopian/Futuristic subs she is receiving seem familiar.
GN-Suggests reading adult books also, to know what is going on in children’s fiction.
TW-The manuscripts that she’s sold in the current market had one thing in common, the authors all had interests in other areas. It informs their writing. Your outside passions make your writing better.
LO-Are you willing to look at writers who have not yet been published?
TW-75% of my clients were unpublished when I took them on.
RS-Nothing more exciting that finding a new fabulous voice out there.
-Everyone you bring in is deserving of a portion of my time. So I have to ask myself…."Can I do this?" That is why I am selective.
-Publishers are being selective too, but that may not be a bad thing.
My thoughts? That last line is both frustrating and reassuring at the same time. I can live with the idea that the best get published and it motivates me to keep working harder to be one of the best. I know its not an easy venture but won’t it feel sweeter when you’ve had to work that hard? We can always use some extra guidance and the next speaker has rolled out the yellow brick road for us.
Now its our job to have enough brains, courage and heart to make the journey.
Yes, yes, yes! It is none other than Jane Yolen with a keynote speech titled I STILL LOVE BOOKS.
*Too many of us want to be famous millionaires instead of being writers (whole room hangs head in shame). Trying to win the big prize is like looking for fairy dust. All YOU can count on is the joy of discovery, the process.
*Why do authors network?
-To avoid a lot of mistakes.
-To keep current of the who, what, when, and where in children’s publishing.
-You will make good friends on your own level and above.
Look around you right now…you may be sitting to the next award winner or best seller, if you’re not one yourself.
Remember, when you do make it…we can’t pay back what we’ve gotten, but we can pay it forward.
Being part of SCBWI gives you knowledge to help protect you from being disenfranchised and screwed…or at least it helps you understand why you were.
JANE’S 20 WRITING POINTS
1. Eschew the exclamation point. Use your words to paint the emotion instead.
2. Go easy on adverbs.
3. Don’t let your characters float on the page…anchor them with action.
4. Have fun writing.
5. BIC-Butt in Chair
HOP-Heart on the Page
P no F- Passion not Fashion
6. Don’t write what you are allergic to.
7. No one expects everything to have a happy ending. Don’t be afraid of a different ending, of hard choices.
8. Fall through the words into the story. Sometimes simply simple is the best.
9. Not everything should be simple.
10. You need to find the right word. One word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightening.
11. Call me Ishmal. Its not the opening line itself, but how it carries the DNA for the whole book.
12. Exercise the writing muscle. Work on your craft every day.
13. Every writer/artist is either nurtured or a nurturer…few claim to be both.
14. You NEED an editor. Our words are like wayward children-they need tough love. Learn to love the revision process.
15. Money flows towards the author, not away from the author.
16. Too many writers ignore landscape to their peril. Learn to see, then hear.
17. Read what you’ve written aloud-it gives you an unusual perspective.
18. Writer’s Block…its all in your mind. Turn to a different writing project.
19. There are actually projects you will never complete.
20. Write small while waiting to prepare for a larger project.
After hearing Jane, everyone wanted to crawl into a quiet corner with their over-excited thoughts and begin writing. We might have if there weren’t so many wonderful author’s signing books.
Lin Oliver signs some HANK ZIPZER and DANIEL FUNK books for the boys and the Fishkill Elementary PARP Program.
Does Jim Benton remind you a little of Happy Bunny?
Me and *SQUEE* Libba Bray, the 2010 Michael Printz award winner and fantabulous author of GOING BOVINE!
The amazing and inspirational Jacqueline Woodson. All I can say is that if she’s written it, we should be reading it.
Francesco Sedita and Paul Zelinsky autograph some books for some very special readers of the Fishkill Elementary PARP Program.
Linda, Jodi and I hanging out with Jane Yolen. WOW! (Sorry Jane…had to use that exclamation point.)
Last but not least, Peter Sis and I had a good laugh together. I spent some time telling him how (while living Germany) I went to visit Poland and The Czech Republic. In fact, I was the first person in my immediate family to visit either place. Unfortunately, on the trip I encountered a mean stomach virus and made a spectacle of myself in numerous public places. (By spectacle I mean that I suddenly lost all control over the contents of my stomach) Peter’s response was…"That was you?"
As we both had a good laugh, he happened to glance at my name tag and see that I was from Fishkill. I wasn’t sure why he was laughing so hard, but it turns out that he once stopped in Fishkill so that his daughter "could make a spectacle of herself." Who knew? We decided to call a truce. :o)
Its time to close the book on another wonderful NY SCBWI Conference. I’ll be attending the Eastern PA Poconos Conference in April so until then…its back to our regularly scheduled programing.
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