Dear Editor:

In the past I’ve explained in Children’s Book Insider why many publishers are now closed to unsolicited submissions, and why it often takes several months to get a form rejection from those who aren’t. I’ve pointed out that writers are largely responsible for these situations, because they’ve used the convenience of computers and the Internet to submit to every publisher imaginable, without first researching whether it was even an appropriate market for their work. I’ve also suggested that if every writer carefully target every submission, the slush piles you editors have to wade through will shrink, and each writer will be competing against far fewer manuscripts from other aspiring authors.

It’s really a no-brainer.

Part of the reason I regularly cover this topic is because I have great respect for the job editors do. You spend many, many hours on administrative duties outside of the time you get to work with authors. You can take a manuscript with promise and coach the author into turning it into a literary work of art. And you don’t even get your name on the book.

The author/editor relationship is a symbiotic one, and now I’m asking for help from your end.

Having reminded writers how important market research is in the submission process, I’d like to point out that it’s not always easy to tell children’s book publishers apart these days, especially as more houses merge into huge book-publishing machines. It seems the big companies are all publishing the same types of books. Can you understand how it’s tempting for writers to simply submit to all of them? So, when you speak about the identity of your particular house or imprint, it would help if you could be specific. Please don’t give us generalities, such as, “We publish thought-provoking books.” That really doesn’t offer any direction. Or, “We seek timeless fiction that will entrance children.” Well, so does every children’s fiction publisher. Or at least one hopes.

If you can’t articulate exactly what you like, please tell us what you hate. No more rhyming, talking frog-who-can’t-jump-but-discovers-his-special-talent stories? Gotcha. Then any writer who reads that and still submits such a story (or similar tale featuring another animal who’s supposed to jump but can’t) deserves to be rejected.

Please frequently update your web sites with current guidelines. If your guidelines change too often for the web site to keep up, please make it easy for authors to call and find out current practices. Some publishers put their guidelines on voicemail recordings, which works well and doesn’t bother the receptionist or your assistant.

I understand that postal regulations force you to hand-deliver larger manuscripts at the post office, and you can’t waste time standing in line to return rejected submissions. I’m also aware of the time and staff hours it takes to print out rejection letters, seal the envelopes, and send them to the mailroom. But is it really fair to tell authors it will take at least six months to read their submission, and then contact them only if you’re interested in publishing their work? If a publisher requests exclusive submissions, but won’t send the author a rejection letter, how long should an author wait before submitting elsewhere? Suppose the first publisher is simply running behind, and is actually still considering the manuscript. If the author submits to another house in a few months, it’s no longer an exclusive submission. Will this create bad feelings if the first editor ultimately offers the author a contract? If the second publisher also requires exclusive submissions, now the author has to contact that editor and say, “Sorry, someone bought this out from under you.” Will the author be blackballed at that publishing house in the future?

Authors have agreed to invest in the paper, printer ink, and postage of mailing their manuscripts, because most publishers don’t accept electronic submissions. Couldn’t the publisher invest in an intern or assistant to spend, say, two or three hours a week sending mass form rejection emails so authors know what’s happened to their manuscript? It’s unsettling to send your life’s work into the world and never know what comes of it.

That said, I’d like to thank those of you who attend conferences and explain to eager, passionate writers what you’re looking for, even if it means you’ll get a load of submissions soon after. Thank you for sending personal rejections to those who have promise, even if it means you have to type out a letter and put it in an envelope. Your efforts make a huge difference in the lives of aspiring authors. And, hopefully, they also help match you up with writers whose work you love and can’t wait to publish.

Sincerely,

Laura Backes

P.S. to Agents: A special thank-you to all the agents out there who tirelessly present at writing conferences, maintain helpful blogs, and continue to read submissions from new authors. I personally appreciate that most of you accept email queries, and I hope this practice streamlines your workday rather than crashing your servers under the sheer volume of emails you might be getting. Many of you are specific on your likes and dislikes, but if you’re not (saying you’re looking for “a captivating read that keeps me up until dawn”) then please consider revising your guidelines. It will only help weed out those queries you should never have gotten in the first place.

And finally, authors, treat email submissions with the same discretion you would mailing hard copy queries. Be honest about what you’ve written, and try to match it to an agent who actually is looking for that type of book. Remember, we’re all in this together.

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: the two most important qualities a successful writer can possess are passion and persistence. What, not talent or education? Well sure, talent helps, and an English degree is fine, but talent and knowledge without persistence won’t get your manuscript in front of an editor. And if you’re passionate about something, you’ll work at it a lot. The more you write, the better you’ll get.

The best passion/persistence example I’ve seen lately is Dawn Kurtagich. First, read her account of how she got her agent. Then check out her blog. Then look over her web site. Then remind yourself that this is an unpublished author.

What impresses me the most about Dawn is that she’s unapologetic about still sitting in the self-described “author-in-waiting” category. She acts like a writer. She thinks like a writer. She’s got one novel with an agent and two more in the revision stage, for heaven’s sake. She’s constantly learning. And when she does get that contract, she’ll be able to plug her marketing efforts into an established online presence.

This is one area where us old-timers can learn from the young upstarts. This is today’s publishing industry. Dawn’s not sitting around waiting to be discovered; she’s making it happen. Do you need to match her youthful energy? Maybe not entirely, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Good luck, Dawn. See you on the shelves!

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Hi! My name is Audrey, I am 13 years old and I live in California. I like to play sports, especially water polo. I sing in a choir and enjoy acting. I love reading and writing. At the moment, I’m reading Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams (and so far, it’s quite captivating), and I’m writing a novel titled The Good Girl’s Guide to Jewel Theft. But that will change, because, starting November 1st, I will be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

For my inaugural column, I chose to interview some of my friends about the aspects of YA lit they especially like.

Caroline C. (14 years old):

• People who are funny and cool (Caroline defines cool as “people who are smart, funny, and maybe a little out there.”)

• Good-looking people (Caroline really hates when the good-looking main character is in love with a “freak of the week”, and she wants at least one beautiful person in a novel, preferably more.)

• Mysteries, theft, and murders

• Sports

• Inside jokes that are funny!

• Characters like Ty from Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams and Adam from The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White—Caroline likes male characters who are “nice, smart, funny, confident, and beautiful.”

Eleri Q. (13):

• Beautiful people

• Fantasy worlds that you wish you could see

• Unique names

• Whole worlds made up of new, exciting entities and lives and laws and societies.

• Books that make you want to cry when they’re over—not necessarily because they’re insanely sad, just because you want to be in the world for a little bit longer.

• Mysteries where you have to think/predict what will happen, mysteries that aren’t obvious.

• British accents (Audrey and Caroline agree with this times 20)

• People who are intelligent/smart, and tall, because “I seem to connect with them.”

• Eleri feels really connected to the character if the character in question is super smart but then makes a stupid mistake

• Characters with a really ironic sense of humor, characters who get the humor in bad situations

• Characters who are just a teensy bit wicked!

Kailey S. (13):

• The one character who no one likes because they’re annoying or bratty or just misunderstood

• Characters who speak their minds, characters who are opinionated

• Kailey doesn’t like talking animals because they’re annoying and lame

• Ty from Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams

Alex W. (15):

• Alex likes The Hobbit (J.R. Tolkien) because there are funny characters and it’s interesting. It’s interesting because it’s fantasy but you can relate to the characters and understand why they made their decisions. He also likes this book because it’s not crazy out-there fantasy.

• He especially likes the Dragon from The Hobbit because he was tricky and smart, but also had flaws. Alex doesn’t like characters that are too perfect.

• Alex likes the Life of Pi by Yann Martel because it was kind of funny and also an adventure. Alex likes adventure stories a lot.

• Alex likes characters who are smart and funny and witty.

Audrey (Me!) (13):

• Interesting explanations of non-interesting things (I swear, The Red Blazer Girls by Michael Beils taught me how to do algebra. Now if someone does a good example on how to factor equations, I will be Set For Life.)

Characters who occasionally talk in other languages (Por ejemplo, I sometimes parle francais, y tu?)

Characters who do relatable things (believe it or not, sometimes teenagers actually have to stay home and study on Saturday nights and miss the party of the year. Pity.)

Books about art theft or jewel theft or the mafia or spies or criminals in general—except for psychopath teenage killers/druggies, they’re boring and way too depressing for me to care about.

Characters who betray other characters

• Characters like Ty (seriously, everyone loves Ty from Behind the Curtain. It’s indisputable.)

• Inside jokes! Seriously, if you’re writing for teens, and you don’t include an entertaining inside joke, I’ll be like “no.”

• In plots: at the risk of sounding cliché, the bigger the better. I like plots with some drama, some intrigue, and a bit of action.

• In characters: I happen to like characters who are unique, who aren’t perfect. I like the character named Allison who lives next door—but secretly, Allison has an alias that supposedly lives in Prague.

To close this, I would like to state what (in my opinion) is over in YA. Vampires—I hope you know that vampires are finally dead. Ditto vampire boarding school. Seriously, how many books must be written about anti-social vampires at boarding school?

Also, the name Damien/Damon/Damion/etc. for the bad-boy love interest irks me. If I read this line ever again—But when she arrives at the Academy, danger is waiting for her, in the form the darkly passionate Damien.—I think I shall die.

I’ve noticed a trend in YA lately—semi-dystopian heroic fiction. I’ve seen a lot of main characters with special powers, be it the power to fly, or the power to morph into a wolf. My opinion is this: it’s not overdone yet, but it looks like it’s heading in that direction.

Finally, I have a request. Write a normal love interest for us. Someone who isn’t all mysterious and dark and brooding. Someone who doesn’t have eyes that convey hidden depths or battle scars that form weird tattoos. Someone who doesn’t display exceedingly stalkerish traits and isn’t illogically overprotective.  Someone who isn’t named Damien.

Audrey is a Contributing Editor to Write4Kids and Children’s Book Insider: The Newsletter for Children’s Writers. She’ll be writing on middle grade and young adult literature topics about once a month. If you have questions for Audrey or topics you’d like her to cover, send an email to Laura@write4kids.com.

Recently, we took the opportunity to look back at some of the many author interviews we’ve presented over the years. What caught our eye was some of the priceless advice these authors shared with our readers.

Here are two quick — but powerful — lessons from our archives:

Judy Blume on writing from the heart (August 1990):

What happened when I first started–as in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which is the first book that was really mine–is I was just telling the stories that I knew. I knew what it was like to be in sixth grade, and to be in Margaret’s body, because that was my body. Slow growing, slow to develop….So that’s what I wrote about, because it wasn’t there for me when I was young.

I didn’t know if anyone would publish it, but it was from the heart. The only thing that works with writing is that you care so passionately about it yourself, that you make someone else care passionately about it. Books that are written to order are awful. It can’t work. Children will see through that and they won’t read it.

Barbara Seuling on common mistakes (December 1994):

The main character is a big one. So often beginning writers will use boy and girl twins as the main character, or use more than one main character, such as a pair of boys going off to have an adventure and you can’t pick out which one is the hero of the story. There should be one viewpoint to the book, and this rule hasn’t changed since children’s books first began. You can occasionally get away with it if you shift the focus to another character when you start a new chapter, but you have to do this very carefully. Point of view is another one. I always feel you should know how to use point of view so you can break the rules. There are a lot of cases where the rules of point of view are broken very successfully, such as in Charlotte’s Web. You can bend the rules but you have to be as good as E.B. White to do it.

There are two ways to approach talking animal characters. The big differentiation depends on the story. Either the animals have to truly be animals, or they are really kids that happen to look like animals. If you’re writing a story that just needs a substitute child, then you can decide if it’s a soft furry animal or a funny-looking animal. It’s funny to see a pig in children’s clothes, but they always have some pig-like characteristic, such as a large appetite. If you’re writing that kind of story, then it’s fine to have the animal act like humans.

In a book like Charlotte’s Web the animals were very true to their natures, and it was important that they were. Even Templeton the rat was not a sympathetic character. In a story where you’re getting close to the animal world, you need to keep animals as true to their natural selves as possible. What you don’t want is the animals doing animal-like things part of the time when it’s convenient to the story, but then at other times have hands or stand upright to talk to each other. That never works.

To read these — and many more — CBI interviews in their entirety, check out In Their Own Words: The Best of CBI’s Interviews.

It seems when kids turn 13, one word sums up their lives: melodrama. Emotions hover on the surface; every event is huge. Adults are idiots who don’t understand them, and their classmates are constantly watching to make sure they don’t do anything stupid (which includes wearing the wrong clothes to saying the wrong thing to listening to the wrong music). Oh. My. God. As adults on the receiving end of this hysteria, we may roll our eyes or deliberately show up at Back to School Night with wet hair, just to see our child’s response. But as authors, we can mine the drama for its flip side: humor.

Read more of Laura’s article  at EzineArticles…….

It was time for a new look — and here it is!

How do you like it?

In an ideal world, you’d be able to pitch your manuscript to an editor over a leisurely cup of coffee. But we’re forced to inhabit the real world, where you’ve got about 10 seconds to hook an editor at a children’s book publisher before she decides to continue reading or reach for her form rejection slip. And more and more, this “hook” must come in the form of a query letter.

A query is a business letter asking permission to send the project described. It is either sent without an accompanying manuscript, or with two or three sample chapters (the publisher’s guidelines will state which form the query should take). If the query letter stands alone, it’s your only chance to sell the editor on your book. Many authors hate the task of writing a query, but it’s a necessity in today’s publishing industry. Editors, overwhelmed by the sheer number of submissions they receive, need a quick way to weed out the good from the not-so-good. A well-crafted query has a better chance of leading to a well-crafted manuscript. Read more