SCBWI Florida Workshop Part VII- Questions, Answers, & Gold Nuggets

This is my final post from the 2015 Florida SCBWI young adult workshop with Erica Rand Silverman, an agent with Sterling Lord Literistic, and Jacquelyn Mitchard, author and editor-in-chief at Merit Press. Click here for Part I  (Why Write Young Adult); Part II (Querying); Part III (Pitches); Part IV (Marketing Yourself and Your Work); Part V (Building a Lasting Career), and Part VI (Finding a YA Voice).

As promised, this post is a compendium of Jacquelyn's and Erica's answers to questions and other nuggets of writerly wisdom. 

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Who is your ideal client? 

• Someone who is hopeful, competent, committed to their story, and wish to make it the best possible book. Someone who is flexible and takes suggestions in a spirit of generosity and is not defensive.  
• Sometimes this can be tested by suggesting revisions. Will this potential client take my suggestions? This works both ways though--the client has to be happy with the suggestions also.
• Clients who are also educators and/or performers.  We can package them that way, brand them. 
• Looking for clients who are engaged in the industry. When we meet and talk, we’re feeding each other information. Clients teach us too. Be confident in what you want. If my client says yes to one hundred notes—that makes me concerned. Don’t just hand your work over. 

What are some of your favorite moments?

• When a client and I both see the same aspect of a story in the revision process.
• Erika: "I love the diversity of my client list. My day is full of people with lots of different types of talents. Illustrators, nonfiction and fiction writers."
• Jacqueline: "As an editor, I love when I read a book that I want to be a part of Merit Press. As a writer, when I can see the end and am able to create a symphonic ending. Before I get the ten pages of notes of things I need to change."

What advice do you have for beginners?

• Write. Find mentors, conferences, critique groups. 
• Read all the time. Jacqueline: "You should be swimming in words." Erica: "Be an active reader, really notice the writing." 

Can you share your writing process?

• Jacqueline: "I plan and research before I write. I do more than I need. I have a large tupperware container full of folders of notes, research,  and books I've consulted. I don’t just let my characters take me places. I would never build a cathedral and then realize I don’t have the cement." 

What is your best advice to writers?

• Jacqueline: “Don’t give up! Even If you haven’t been able to get the ring on the first round. Slow and steady wins the race.”
• Erica: "Don’t give up and publish it yourself right away. Let someone else give you money for your work. Let someone else edit your work; that will give grace to it. The critical process doesn’t happen without a group effort.” 

What is the your biggest "No-No?"

• Erika: "Don’t send a query to my home.  Don’t take my suggestions and then sign with another agent or decide to self-publish."  
• Jacqueline: "Don’t take my notes and suggestions and go to another publishing house and say, 'Can you give me more money?' Don’t have a specific advance in mind."

What are your thoughts on self-publishing?

• Self-publishing is starting to wane. The cost/benefit ratio is not there. Erica: "Don't self-publish unless there’s a strategic reason for doing it." Jacqueline: "Don't make a fear-based decision."

http://www.discoverychannel.com.au/images/worlds-biggest-gold-nuggets/

NUGGETS

• If you’re going to resist the editing process, you might as well self-publish.
• The young adult market is doing well in foreign markets because adolescent issues transcend cultures.
• Agents are looking for ways to adore writers. We want writers to succeed because that’s the dream we’ve showed up for.
• Magical realism is when magical things happen in everyday life. Example: When a character touches leaves, they turn blue. It has more realism than magic and is a different genre than fantasy. Bone Gap, a new young adult book by Laura Ruby, is an example. 
• Re: boundaries in young adult literature. You set the cringe factor. Your market is also the teacher, librarian, parent who is purchasing the book. Your job is to startle people; to be bold, but not just for the sake of shock. Be creative and artful.  Just because you can create a terrific image, doesn’t mean you should. 

SCBWI Florida Workshop Part VI- Holden and Augustus: What We Mean When We Talk About Voice in YA

This is my sixth post from the 2015 Florida SCBWI young adult workshop with Erica Rand Silverman, an agent with Sterling Lord Literistic, and Jacquelyn Mitchard, author and editor-in-chief at Merit Press. Click here for Part I  (Why Write Young Adult); Part II (Querying); Part III (Pitches); Part IV (Marketing Yourself and Your Work); and Part V (Building a Lasting Career).

Jacqueline Mitchard
facilitated this part of the workshop 

    Using Augustus Waters from Fault in our Stars by John Green and Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as examples, Jacqueline Mitchard made the following points about creating voice:

• This is not the time to be restrained.
• Teenagers are dramatic. They’re over the top. Now or never. Black or white. Let them tell their stories. Speech can be overblown. Let out the drama queens!

Examples of how teens talk:

“My life is over.” 

“No none is ever going to love me again.” 

“I’m a total loser.”

• Teens blurt stuff out. They make mistakes in judgment.
• They're self-centered. A girl doesn’t care if the world blows up, unless it ruins her hair. What they care about the most is themselves.  Madly self-invested.
• Teens focus small. Is she going to get what she needs to survive?
• Write in bursts. Not necessarily grammatically correct. Use syntax and rhythm to create patterns. Awkward speech mimics the natural and conversational talk of teens.
• Teens have heartbreaking passion and honesty. All their money is in the middle of the table all the time.
• The way the character perceives the world shows who he or she is. Using this information develops deep POV.
• Teens are all about self-sacrifice and loyalty. Who you are within the tribe is very important. Novelists must create a personality and moral structure. The novel will be about how the character changes and grows.

Erica Rand Silverman added: Teens have a strong sense of fairness and justice. Most of them are dedicated to learning and school. They have lots of thoughts and a lot of time to notice things.

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Personal note: Writing this blog post legitimized the fact that both of my protagonists in Half-Truths are prone to exaggeration. It also made me think about how I was the same way as a teenager--self-absorbed in my own heady thoughts! Remembering my own life experiences will help me make Lillie Harris and Kate Dinsmore more authentic.  

From: Writersdock.com

Here is a narrative exercise to help you work on the voice of your characters. Write twelve lines of dialogue in which one teen has a secret that he or she is trying to keep from the other teen. Use ONLY speech. No tags or descriptive beats allowed! Feel free to share your writing in the comments if you try this exercise.

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This series of posts concludes next week with Erica's and Jacqueline's answers to some FAQs and other miscellaneous nuggets. I'm glad that these posts have been helpful to many of you!

SCBWI Florida Workshop Part III- Share Your Perfect Pitch and Find Out How it Sells!

    This is my third blog post from the Florida SCBWI young adult workshop. Erica Rand Silverman is an agent with Sterling Lord Literistic and Jacquelyn Mitchard is a prolific author as well as an editor-in-chief at Merit Press. Click here for Part I and Part II.

Erica and Jacquelyn interwove their remarks
into a tapestry of great advice.

• Don’t over reach.  You can use the “X” meets “Y” as long as you use examples that haven’t sold million copies. If you do, use a title that is known, but not over-known.
• Don’t send a photo of yourself.
• Don't say a family member loves your manuscript. 
• Don't send with spelling or grammar errors.
• Do Be concise, simple, and straightforward. 
• Do List writing programs and classes you have attended as well as degrees and awards. Be relevant, current, and honest.
• Do “Nuggetize” your work. Erika said to ask, "What is my books' essence?" Jacquelyn said it this way: "Find the statue in the block of granite." 
• Do Try to include the character’s stakes in the pitch.
• Do reference a client's work you appreciate. 
• Do say why you are pitching to this particular agent.
• Sometimes: Writing the pitch before you write the book helps you to conceptualize it. But writing it afterwards can help too.

[My experience is that it is helpful to write a pitch at different points while working on a manuscript. Before, during, and after!]

Image courtesy of baseball-clip-art.com
http://www.baseball-clip-art.com/baseball_clipart/stock_photo_of_a_baseball_pitcher_from_the_san_diego_padres_0001-0503-1811-5741.html

After their presentation, Erika and Jacquelyn invited participants to write a pitch and read it out loud. Building on a previously-written pitch, I read the following:

Dear Erica, 

I am writing to you because I met you at the Florida 2015 SCBWI conference and heard of your interest in young adult books. The other books you represent, X and X are  Y. [Where "X" are titled of books Erica represents and "Y"  is the reason I like them.]

Against the backdrop of segregation and Southern debutante society, Half-Truths is a young adult novel about an unexpected friendship between two teen girls-- one white, the other a descendent of a slave. When they discover a family heirloom that belongs to both families, their friendship is tested and proved. In the process of confronting her prejudices and fears, each girl finds a place in the New South.

Written from alternating points-of-view, my first young adult novel is complete at 80,000 words. I am the author of two nonfiction books for adults as well as many articles and stories for adults and children. I coordinated a SCBWI critique group for over twenty years, have taught writing to both adults and teens, and presented at numerous educational, library, and writing conferences. I review books and share insights into writing at www.carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com and co-publish Talking Story, a digital newsletter which promotes literacy.
 

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Guess what?

They liked it!