"Small With Big Dreams" at SCBWI-C 2019 Conference

On a spur of the moment I decided to attend a panel discussion with Lisa Kline, Robin Kirk, and Katie Pryle; I was glad that I did! Lisa and Robin are both authors who have been published by Blue Crow Publishing, a traditional small press which Katie co-founded with Lauren Faulkenberry.

Katie Pryal, Lisa Kline, Robin Kirk

LISA KLINE

My blog readers are no strangers to Lisa's work. I was privileged to host her cover reveal of her most recent book, One Week of You, wrote about Summer of the Wolves, and blogged about her first book, Eleanor Hill.

Lisa has published ten books with publishers of varying sizes including Carus Publishing, Delacorte Press, Zondervan, and now Blue Crow. Her books have been both agented and non-agented. She submitted to Blue Crow without an agent and was impressed with their prompt response; an offer of publication followed within weeks of her requested revisions. This was very different than the long wait she had sometimes experienced with the larger publishing houses. 

Lisa said she has enjoyed her personal connection with Katie and Lauren. "Publishers who are writers know what it’s like to write and publish a book. Katie and Lauren’s comments inspired me to make my book better.” 

Lisa acknowledged that when your book is with a smaller publisher it may be more challenging to get reviews. Although all the publishers have given her marketing assistance and submitted her books for awards, the downside of a large publisher is that after six months the publisher sometimes must turn to the next book they need to promote. 

Blue Crow continues to promote One Week of You on their site and at conferences. In addition, they promote whatever she does. Lisa finds that she has to do a good deal of her own marketing, but all authors in today’s publishing atmosphere must market. Lisa received a larger royalty than most publishers offer, but not an advance. 

ROBIN KIRK

Robin Kirk's debut novel The Bond, is a young adult post-apocalyptic story that is much different than the nonfiction titles she has previously published. 

In her presentation, Robin recommended researching all publishing options. Her nonfiction books have been published by Duke University Press, The University of Massachusetts Press, and others. She suggested I consider contacting the Charlotte Historical Society as a potential publisher for HALF-TRUTHS.

She discussed the pros and cons of hybrid publishing which often demands a large investment of time and money. Robin recommended reading what Lyn Miller-Lachmann had to say on the topic if you are interested in pursuing it. Forming a co-op with other authors who publish similar books is another option. Here is an article by Jane Friedman on that. Authors can create a website, form imprints, share resources and even purchase ISBN numbers this way. Here is a link to Jane Friedman's popular chart on different publishing paths. 

Robin also recommended joining the Authors Guild as well as a Facebook group in your writing genre. Finally, she also recommended Zotero, which is a free online bibliography manager that is awesome. Thanks to Robin, my next WIP already has a budding bibliography!

KATIE PRYAL

Katie Rose Guest Pryal is the co-publisher of Blue Crow Publishing. Here were some of her observations:

• She has yet to hear positive experience about hybrid publishing by which she means publishers that require you to pay to get your book published while also requiring you to surrender your rights. On the other hand, she strongly supports self-publishing and author co-op groups.
• Traditional publishing thrives on keeping authors in the dark. She and Lauren founded Blue Crow with the intention of being transparent, honest, and available to their authors. (Check out their mission statement.)
• Blue Crow receives unagented submissions and publishes about five books a year. 
• Referral via one of their authors is the best way to connect with her. 
• The landscape of trade reviews is changing. It is hard for small presses to get picked up by the trades. At the same time, however, book bloggers are becoming more and more important, even more important than trade reviews, when it comes to marketing a book to a wide audience. 

That final note was music to my ears! It reminded me of my experience at Highlights Summer Camp in 2016 when assistant editor, Cherie Matthews, announced that Carol Baldwin's blog was one that she followed--without knowing I was in the audience! Both times I felt validated--all my blogging work is paying off!

Speaking of small with big dreams, I think my friend's son was the smallest attendee at the fall conference. He has been "reading" for months! 

Two Picture Book Workshops at SCBWI-C

Most of my faithful blog readers know that I've been working on a novel for many years. What you might not know is that novel started as a picture book. Although that is another story, I continue to love picture books.

Recently, I've reviewed a number of nonfiction picture books  including some biographies. It appears to be a growing (perhaps limitless) trend in children's books. As I wrote HALF-TRUTHS I came across two historical figures that became mentor figures to Lillie and Kate. As I mentioned here, they each could be an inspirational subject for a picture book. 

With that in mind, I attended two workshops on picture books at the SCBWI-Carolinas conference. Here are some of my takeaways:

Tara Luebbe

Picture Book Workshop #1

Tara Luebbe spoke on "Mining Nonfiction for Fiction Picture Books." Each of her books, written with her sister, Becky Cattie, started with a real fact. Although this isn't exactly what I have in mind to write, her workshop was informative and inspirational.  

Tara brainstorms as many unusual facts as she can find and then digs deeper. She tries to marry different ideas together and thinks, "What can I add to make this marketable and kid-friendly?" She researches to make sure that the idea hasn't been taken, does more research into the subject, and even finds jokes related to the topic. Her wide range of picture books are a testimony that this process works!

She mentioned submitting back matter with your manuscript and to use art notes as needed, particularly for action. "Don't overuse them. If the script doesn't make sense without them, then it's okay."

Picture Book Workshop #2

The second picture book workshop I attended (there were others, these were the ones I selected) was, "Bringing Your Voice to Nonfiction" with Lina Maslo and Alice Ratterree. Lina is the author illustrator of Free as a Bird and an upcoming biography Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia. Alice has illustrated several books but focused on Dangerous Jane, the biography of Jane Addams. 

Lina Maslo

Alice Ratterree

Lina and Alice stressed that the person you are writing about inspires you. And as you write, remember to:

#1 Discover! Learn something new! Play!

#2 Cross pollinate as you write. Draw from other areas of your life. 

#3 Always ask yourself,  "Who am I creating for?"

All three of these points resonated with me. It is easy to lose the sense of play and discovery when we're writing so I appreciated the reminder. 

I   Writers are also encouraged to consider the character's natural environment, his or her time period, and the city, town or village where your character lives. Nonfiction biographers must constantly consider what influenced their character. I was particularly interested in how Alice demonstrated that the color palette she used in Dangerous Jane reflected the colors in Jane's life.

Speaking of nonfiction, here's one more slide from Vicki Selvaggio's intensive:

She told me, "This varies for picture books as you usually don't need a proposal for a nonfiction picture book. This information applies mainly for middle grade and young adult books." Depending on the topic of book, Vicki always determines what to send in her proposal based on the publisher's submission guidelines and the type of nonfiction project. 

Is there a nonfiction picture book in your future? If so, I hope these tips will help you on your journey. Keep me posted on your progress--we can compare notes along the way!

Next Up: Small With Big Dreams

Analyzing the Successes of the Past and Present for Creating Unique Stories of the Future: Intensive Workshop with Vicki Selvaggio

Congratulations to Carrie Schmidt and Becky Scharnhorst who each won a copy of When We Were Alone from last weeks blog. 

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Two weeks ago I attended the fall SCBWI-Carolinas conference. In the next few posts I'll share some of my highlights with you.

First up was the writing intensive with Vicki Selvaggio on Friday morning.

Vicki is a knowledgable, passionate, and accessible agent with Storm Literacy Agency. She poured herself into her presentation! Here are some of the points she made:

• She loves seeing potential in other people’s writing and encouraging writers not to give up.

• At the same time, writers need to delve deeper to make their stories stand out from other books in the marketplace. Additionally, writers must add layers so that children [and teens] emotionally connect with every aspect of a story.

• If you have an idea for a series, remember your book has to be able to stand alone. If you are a debut author, a publisher might want to base a series on how the first book is received.  Or, sometimes the publisher loves the series premise and an offer is made. Word it as “Series potential" in your query and be prepared to pitch other books. Those other ideas don't necessarily need to be completed, but the writer should have an idea of how to pitch what the next (or next two) book(s) will cover. (Realize that these practices vary from agent to agent.)

• Your manuscript must appeal to the Eye: How does it look? Is there creativity in opening paragraphs? Is there adequate white space?  Sentences that are the same length sometimes have the tendency to sound the same. Make sure there are variations in the length of  your sentences. It's not good if something looks the same and sounds the same. To the Ear: How something sounds makes a difference. To the Hand: How does the manuscript make someone feel? A book must emotionally connect with the reader. 

• A manuscript must have 3 C’s: clarity, consistency, and a cohesive feeling. 

BEGINNINGS

The opening page must include a sense of frustration
and what the character wants.

TRANSITIONS

• Think of transitions like the reader is moving through a house freely. If transitions aren’t smooth, the reader will have to stop and open doors. Consider too, how you're ending your chapters. Are you transitioning your readers into the next chapter in a smooth way, while keeping them engaged? 

ENDINGS

The story has ended, but the journey for your character has just begun.
What will happen next?

DIALOGUE

• What is not said can have greater impact than what is said. The same goes for purposeful miscommunication.

• Dialogue should move the story forward. If there’s no change after the dialogue, it isn’t doing its job.

• Incorporate dialogue with subtext. Possibly characters disagree about one thing, but really are talking about something else.

MEMORABLE LINES FROM VICKI:

• In life, nothing comes easy. Without the battle, the win isn’t as gratifying. The same is true in stories. If you give your main character what s/he wants before s/he struggled for it, the story won’t be gratifying for your readers. 

• ASK YOURSELF: Why am I writing this? Who cares? 

• Your job is to make your reader care. 

• Consider rejections as the fuel to success. 

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Remember in the beginning of this post I mentioned that Vicki was accessible? When I told her that I wanted to pitch HALF-TRUTHS to her, she made sure to fit me into her busy schedule. She listened, asked questions, and encouraged me to submit to her. 

No doubt about it. Vicki Selvaggio is on my top 10 list of agents!

Next Up: Tips on Non-Fiction. 

When We Were Alone: A Review and a Giveaway

Every once in awhile you run across a picture book that informs readers in a beautifully, albeit sad manner. When We Were Alone by David Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett is one of those books.

The book is accessible to young readers and also speaks powerfully to adults. Featuring a story within a story, the book opens with a Nósisim (my grandchild), asking her Nókom (her grandmother) about things that are different about her. The girl notices that her grandmother wears colorful clothes "like she dresses in rainbows," that she wears her hair in a long braid, speaks in Cree, and spends time with her family.   

With every answer,  Nókom tells a short story about how when she was young she was sent to a school far from home. For example, at the school, the girls had to wear clothes that "weren't colorful at all. We all mixed together like storm clouds."  Nókom says, "They wanted us all to be like everybody else." So now, her grandmother loves to wear colorful clothes. 

When Nósisim asks why her grandmother wears her hair in a long braid, she explains that they cut all the girls hair and "Our strands of hair mixed together like blades of dead grass."

"But sometimes when we were alone, we would pick the blades from the ground. We would braid them into the short hair they had given us, and we would have long hair again."

With lovely rhythm and repetition, Nókom explains how whenever something was taken from them, she and her friends would come together "when they were alone" and find a way to remember their home, their language, and their people. 

Educators, you will find an excellent classroom resource here for K-3rd grade. This would be a great book to use on Indigenous Peoples' Day is October 14th.

David Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation) and Julie Flett  (Cree-Metis) are significant contributors to Native Nations literature and artwork. Joyce Hostetter and I are giving away this book, courtesy of Portage & Main Press, through our Native Nations issue of Talking Story to be published on October 9. Leave a comment (alone with your email address if you are new to my blog) and I'll enter your name. If you leave a comment through the newsletter, I'll enter your name twice. Giveaway ends October 14.

Write2Ignite 2019 Wrap-Up

Congratulations to Susan Rice who won Invisible Lizard in Love and Connie Saunders who won Back Roads, Country Toads from last week's blog.

The 2019 Write2Ignite conference is now history. Here are my highlights as well as photos and quotes from my friends who were first time attendees.  

MY HIGHLIGHTS

Besides being the Write2Ignite blogmeister, I am also the teen track co-ordinator. In other words, I get to spend time talking with teens about their stories and hearing their imaginative ideas for stories. I led three sessions and the most interactive one was "Out of this World Science Fiction and Fantasy." I put up this slide and led a discussion about the physical world, it's history, and some potential characters.

I loved hearing the teens' responses which included that this was a world where anarchists had taken over and didn't allow the citizens  to know the history of their queen. 

Time travel was thrown in as well as a prince who thought the anarchists were the bad guys, but as it turned out, they were preventing the citizens from an even worse catastrophe. And by the way...the arms were escaping from the gritty ground. I loved their use of Muscle Words!

I was also inspired by Nancy Lohr's keynote on "Truth-FULL Writing." Her encouragement that if we are Christians our world view will be communicated in our writing will stick with me. 

• "Draw from your own faith well." 
• "Don't try to write like someone else." 
• "What is your readers's felt need? Write to meet that need."
• As in life, "You can't enjoy a good ending if you skip through all the hard parts."
• "Write as salt and light."

MY FRIENDS' HIGHLIGHTS

I had the privilege of critiquing Jarm Del Boccio's WIP, SOLI'S SAVING GRACE. Having received many critiques myself, I enjoyed coming alongside her and pointing out some aspects of her manuscript that were terrific and some areas that needed strengthening. Like many writers, she was too easy on her characters; I encouraged her to make her antagonist more of a bad guy which would bring more conflict into the story.

Here she is with her debut middle grade novel, The Heart Changer.

”Write2Ignite was a boost to my writing journey in many ways. The sessions were informative, and appointments enlightening and productive. What an encouragement to chat with those walking alongside me on the road to publication! Even though our journeys are unique, they lead to the same destination: a manuscript that brings glory to God.” Jarm Del Boccio 

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Several young adults who I haven't seen in a year, attended Write2Ignite for the first time.

Charissa Garcia (our NGU intern)
and
Olivia Rollins (a fantastic teen writer!)

Charissa said,  "All of the sessions were excellent, especially the key-note sessions, and I appreciated the emphasis on the fact that because we are Christians and because we are writers, therefore we are Christian writers. There isn’t something you need to add to have the magic formula in order to make your book a “Christian” book. If you have faith in Christ, that will come out in your writing." 

Olivia said,  "I loved Write2Ignite!! I learned so much in just two days. Each of the speakers was engaging and God-centered, and I loved the variety and being able to choose which one sounded the best. A few lectures in particular made me reevaluate aspects of my own writing in a way I hadn't before. Whether you're a young aspiring author, or experienced and published, the dynamic of being immersed in other writers and getting to meet them is so enriching. Overall, I think what made the longest-lasting impression on me was how encouraged I felt, to keep writing, and to glorify the Lord in my writing. And definitely to come back next year. " 😀

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Recently Karen Wallace and I have become friends bonding over shared life experiences, writing, and our commitment to the Lord. She showed me her guided journal, ABC's of What Children Need From Their Parents and asked me to help edit the introduction. Each attendee received a copy which was a great addition to our conference bags!

Karen said, "In Linda Phillips' and Daniel Blackaby's workshops, word and picture prompts were effectively used to draw out creative writing from each attendee. This got me excited for what might be be drawn out of each person who interacts with the word prompts in the ABCs journal."

I was glad that my friends, Hadassah and Kelilah Murdock, came.

Tessa Emily Hall, Kelilah Murdock, Hadassah Murdock

"Writing is not my forte. Yet as I went to the sessions and spoke with some of the accomplished authors and felt my interest being kindled; I was inspired to give higher priority to learning more about the art of writing.  After a long summer of complacency, I feel motivated to dive back into my school writing projects and sharpen my skills. I am already planning to go again next year and highly recommend this workshop to anyone who has or who needs to cultivate an interest in all things paper." Hadassah Murdock

"Here are some of the many things that I enjoyed about W2I:

• The presenters and speakers showed a genuine interest in the attendees, answering questions and taking time to talk personally about writing and story crafting with us.
• There was a broad range of speakers (authors of many genres, editors and agents) and themes.  From the nuts and bolts of word crafting to the imaginative scope of world building, there was something useful and interesting for everyone, regardless of ability or level of involvement." Kelilah Murdock 

Unable to attend this year? Mark your calendar for 2020!

Three Just-for-Fun Picture Books: Reviews and Giveaways

Congratulations to  Keturah Lamb who won my ARC of Maybe He Just Likes You from last week's blog.

We're back to picture books today and I have some fun ones for you to try to win for a child, grandchild, or student in your class. Thanks to Sleeping Bear Press, I seem to have an endless supply to review and pass along!

REVIEWS

Experiment #256  by Marty Kelley, is a cleverly written and illustrated STEAM-focused book for the youngest reader. The funny story of how Ian builds a jet pack for his dog, Wilbur, and all the things that go wrong is told through the illustrations, making this a book that pre-readers can figure out from the pictures. Minimal text is written in the form of Ian's notes about the experiment.

On the first few pages Ian builds the jet pack but wonders why he has leftover parts. 

NOTES:
Leftover parts were definitely the brakes.
Adding the turbo blaster was probably a mistake.
Lisa is not happy. 

Outside, Ian and Wilbur run into more trouble.

NOTES:
Garden fence need some repairs.
Wilbur got tangled up in the undies that Mrs. Marino was hanging on the line.
Mrs. Marino is not happy. 

In the end Ian designs Experiment #257, a Snack Blaster that blasts out dog treats. Wilbur is hugely happy...but their neighbor, Mrs. Marino is not. You'll have to get the book to see why!

By the way, the Front Matter is very clever. Kelley has small vignettes showing twelve of Ian's previous experiments...and disasters. 

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Back Roads, Country Toads is not the first book by author Devin Scillian and illustrator Tim Bowers. I was drawn into this book by the first lines, "On a warm spring morning, Hank and Buckaroo were sitting in their favorite drainpipe near Cooper's General Store. They were licking up the last few sips of a bottle of strawberry soda and they were as happy as two country toads could be."  

The adventure starts when Hank and Buckaroo overhear two men talking about fly fishing. They assume that the men are going fishing for flies...what else could it mean?

When they get to the fishing spot, Emmitt, a friendly raccoon, overhears their delight:

"It's going to be a fly cafeteria!" yelped Buckaroo.
"Oh yeah, said Hank. "A down-home,
big-time fly barbecue!

After Bukaroo almost gets hooked by a fake fly, the toads are disappointed to discover that fishermen use fake flies for lures. But Hank turns the tables by using Emmitt's stolen fish as a lure for a fly dinner. 

"Yahoo!" yelled Buckaroo. Their tongues
darted through the air, snapping up fly after fly,
and the two toads reeled them in by the dozens.

In the end, "... two very plump, very happy country toads waddled back to town for a strawberry soda and an afternoon nap." 

"Toadally" sounds good, doesn't it?

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Invisible Lizard in Love follows chameleon Napoleon's first book, Invisible Lizard  in which he sorrows over not having any friends (after all--he's a chameleon, so who sees him?). In this second book, written by Kurt Cyrus and illustrated by Andy Atkins, Napoleon's new-found friends desert him when they find love. He's alone again!

Napoleon sulks and then scratches his initial inside a heart on a tree. When the branch snaps, 

Moss and bark rained from the sky.
Fern grounds fluttered by.
A warty lumpstool fell onto
the far end of the branch.
Napoleon held on.

Napoleon realizes that the only thing which is keeping the limb balanced is the "big warty lumpstool" who turns out to be a girl chameleon aptly named (who else?) -- Josephine.  

The two chameleons slowly move towards one another, afraid to disturb the balance of the precarious limb.

They kept on creeping. 

Until they meet in the middle of the branch. 

Like a chameleon itself, science and friendship lessons are hidden within the story and illustrations. 

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One of the challenges of writing a good picture book is that the adult reader and the child are both entertained. These three picture books soundly meet that challenge. 

GIVEAWAY

Leave me a comment if you would like to win Back Roads, Country Toads or Invisible Lizard in Love. (I'm saving Experiment #256 for my grandkids). Make sure you leave me your email address if you are new to my blog and which book you are interested in. Giveaway ends September 26 and is limited to the continental United States. 

Maybe He Just Likes You- A Review and ARC Giveaway

After watching Colby Sharp's YouTube  recommendation of Barbara Dee's newest book, Maybe He Just Likes You (Simon and Schuster), I knew I wanted to read it. 

As I mentioned to Ms. Dee when I connected with her on Facebook, it's a book that I both love and hate. I love it because it is written so well. I hate it because it deals so honestly with a topic-- sexual harassment--that no 7th grader should have to think about or deal with.  

REVIEW

Barbara Dee doesn't waste time. Right off the bat, the protagonist, Mila, receives unwelcome attention from Callum. He and his three friends (all basketball players) join a circle of friendship Mila and her friends created to celebrate their friend Omi's birthday. After singing "Happy Birthday" Callum continues to hug Mila. 

I wriggled my shoulders, but Callum's hand was squeezing. And I am not leaving.

Now I could feel my armpits getting damp. (p. 7)

From that uncomfortable encounter onward, Callum and his friends continue to harass Mila. Zara dismisses the incidents as the boys just being friendly and/or Mila being a baby or flirting with them. Omi fails to support Mila. Her fourth friend, Max, sees the bullying and recommends she talk to the assistant principal. But since he is also the basketball coach, Mila is reluctant to bring him into the picture. 

At the same time that Mila is experiencing increased unwanted attention and physical contact from the boys, her divorced mother loses her job and the family experiences financial stress. Mila can't confide in her mother and feels alone. Her one source of comfort--playing her trumpet--doesn't give her the normal "blue sky feeling" since Callum is in the school band and things seem to happen during practice. 

As the book progresses, Mila gets to know Samira, a Black star clarinetest, who observes the unwanted attention Mila is receiving. Here is an interchange between the two girls, beginning with Samira:

"If it was me, I wouldn't allow it."  

"You think I allowed it?" 

"I'm just saying, you don't  have to put up with stuff like that, Mila. It's just really wrong, you know?" (p. 56)

Although Mila is validated that the boys' attention is inappropriate, she misunderstands Samira's comment and is left feeling as if all this is her fault.

Mila's mother begins working out a local gym that also has classes for kids. Mila ends up in a karate class where Samira clearly knows how to handle herself. Mila thinks,

How do you get like that? 

knowing what to do, in what order. 

Not thinking. Or not-thinking. 

Not ignoring. And not running away. 

Could I ever do any of that? 

Could one of those girls ever be me? 

As hard as I tried, it was impossible to 

imagine.  (p. 105)

As Mila begins to see that she is a victim of the boys' bullying, she starts reacting--but not always in appropriate ways. Not until she disrupts the band concert and has a heart-to-heart talk with her band teacher, is Mila given words to understand her experience of sexual harassment. Becoming more adept at karate class gives her newfound confidence. In turn, this is translated into stronger thoughts about herself and more forthright communication with others.

I highly recommend Maybe He Just Likes You for both girls and boys; it would be a useful conversation starter in any classroom or family. 

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I wrote to Ms. Dee in our Facebook interchange, "I'm over 60. Wish there had been a book like this when I was that age. It would have helped."

She replied, "Totally agree. We never discussed these things and they never got solved."

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away my ARC to one fortunate reader. Leave me a comment (with your email address if you are new to my blog) by September 19 if you want to enter the giveaway. Giveaway limited to continental United States.