Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

Kidlitionary

October 4, 2012 in Children's Books | Tags: Humor, Kidlitionary | 27 comments

We who work in children’s literature speak a language all our own. No, I’m not talking about “simultaneous submissions” or “stet”. You’ll see what I mean when you read the Kidlitionary!

Blubbergasted
When you cannot believe someone has never read a Judy Blume book.

Barnett Storming
Publishing a dozen best-selling, critically-acclaimed books within a ridiculously short time frame.

Caldecutt (or Caldenott)
Being snubbed for a Caldecott honor.

Carpe Read’em
Seize the books.

Dahlings
Fans of Roald Dahl, particularly those of the female persuasion.

Karma
When good things come to you after reading a Karma Wilson book.

Kate Plus Eight
When Kate DiCamillo appears on Betsy Bird’s blog.

Lichtenhold
The hug a child gives to a picture book they love. Most commonly witnessed with books by Tom Lichtenheld.

Meter Maids
Rhyming geniuses who fix meter problems, most notably Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tiffany Strelitz Haber.

Motown
Northampton, Massachusetts, home to Mo Willems.

Raiders of the Last ARC
Book bloggers and eBay sellers who grab the last BEA or ALA ARCs before librarians can.

Revisionist History
The multiple Word docs that exist for one picture book manuscript.

Rexipe
When you have all the ingredients to create a stellar picture book. “Way to be like Adam! You’ve got the Rexipe.”

Santatigans
1. Jocularity and mayhem caused by reading a Dan Santat book.
2. Fans of Dan Santat.
3. Jocularity and mayhem perpetrated by Dan Santat.

Selznicked
When someone is not acknowledged for his or her contribution. “They didn’t thank you. Man, you were Selznicked!” (Origin: 2012 Oscars.)

Shel Shocked
The despair and horror you feel after taking a terrible author head shot.

Swagger
The feeling of superiority while scoring awesome SWAG from your favorite author.

Wiesner
The wisdom that accompanies creating a wordless picture book spread. “You’d be Wiesner to leave the text out.”

Zka Syndrome
Confusing Jon Scieszka with Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Relax; this is a curable condition. Related affliction: confusing Peter Brown with Peter Reynolds (but it doesn’t have as cool a name).

Got an entry for the Kidlitionary? Please leave it in the comments!

Art Notes in Picture Book Manuscripts: The Grid Format Solution

October 3, 2012 in Children's Writing, Picture Books, Publishing, Writing for Children | Tags: art notes, illustration notes, Submissions | 44 comments

“Don’t use art notes,” is what you may hear as a new writer.

It’s not that editors don’t like art notes. It’s just that many new writers want to dictate illustrations that do not require direction.

For instance, you shouldn’t pick what your character looks like. Red hair, blue shirt, green sneakers, pigtails, etc. are not for you to decide. The editor of Mary Ann Hoberman’s THE SEVEN SILLY EATERS thought the characters should be animals, like crocodiles. Marla Frazee, the illustrator, thought they should be people, and she was right. She even made the mother a cello player, which was not in the text, but it added a delightful layer to the mother’s personality. The options were wide open—the author never described the characters’ appearance.

The exception to this rule is when your character’s appearance is crucial to the story, like FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY. Although the title pretty much says it all, right?

You must trust that your editor and illustrator have ideas for what your scenes should look like. Better ideas than you. Leave the art direction to them (and the art director). Writing that the house has a front porch, or that the cat is calico, or that the car is yellow is all unnecessary. Again, unless that car needs to be yellow for your story to work.

But you will no doubt read picture books with subversive text—where the character is doing completely opposite what the words say. Or books with text so spare, the action comes thru only in illustration. These are times when your text requires art notes. SCREAMS for them.

But if you have an art-heavy manuscript, where much of the story relies upon the illustrations, how do you submit it? Putting the art notes in [brackets and italics] is typically the way to go. However, too many art notes can interrupt the flow of the story. It gets difficult to read and comprehend.

So what do you do?

Maybe…submit your manuscript in grid format.

What?! But Tara, I’ve NEVER heard of this before.

I know, me neither. But my agent just submitted a manuscript like this. I was skeptical at first, but then I realized the grid was the best no-nonsense way to present the text with the illustrative mayhem. Yes, this book has MAYHEM. And FRACAS and PANDEMONIUM, too.

Here’s what the grid looks like in manuscript format:

The header includes your name, contact details and a word count.

Then the title (in caps) and your byline.

There is a general art note at top which introduces the story idea. Moreover, it states the art notes are “intended as a guideline.” Again, as an author, you cannot rule over all that is picture in picture books.

Next comes the grid. On the left is the story text, on the right appears “rough art direction.” Notice we said “rough” because they are only suggestions for the editor to understand the story. Remember that the illustrator may create something even better, funnier, more poignant. Remember the CELLO.

The grid continues for as long as it takes to tell your story. Typically one or two more manuscript pages.

Please note this isn’t a standard way to submit, it only serves as an example of what one author and her agent did. It’s like the photos on the front of frozen food boxes that say “serving suggestion”.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I suddenly became very hungry.

PiBoIdMo 2012 Guest Bloggers and Mascot

October 1, 2012 in PiBoIdMo 2012, Picture Books | Tags: Doodle | 49 comments

I know you’ll probably say, “Tara, you had me at Peter Brown…”, but you will no doubt flip at the entire spectacular line-up of authors, illustrators, editors and other kidlit professionals I’ve secured for this November’s Picture Book Idea Month, affectionately known as PiBoIdMo ’round these parts.

PiBoIdMo challenges picture book writers to create 30 new story ideas in 30 days. Read the full scoop here.

Plus, we have an adorable mascot this year: Doodle! She’s the doggie pal of artist-couple Peter Harren and Kayla Skogh (who are equally adorable), and she’ll be making several cameos throughout the month of November!

PiBoIdMo will kick-off on October 24th with registration plus a guest post from…

…YOU?!

That’s right! One lucky former PiBoIdMo participant will win a guest blogging spot to write about how past events have inspired you, what you’ve done to gear up for the event, and how you sort through that fat file of ideas to pick ones to pursue.

To be eligible:

Blog about PiBoIdMo and what it means to you.
Link back to this blog post.
Leave a comment on this blog post telling me you’ve done so.
Complete all of the above by October 15th.

I will read all your entries and pick the blogger who most exemplifies the spirit of this annual event.

And now, without further ado, here are your PiBoIdMo guest bloggers!

Peter Brown
James Burks
Priscilla Burris
Dianne de Las Casas
Kelly DiPucchio
Amy Dixon
Kate Dopirak
Ame Dyckman
Donna W. Earhardt
Marcus Ewert
Deborah Freedman
Tiffany Strelitz Haber
Peter Harren
Charise Mericle Harper
Julie Hedlund
Leeza Hernandez
Carter Higgins
Ward Jenkins
Mike Jung
Ella Kennen
Diane Kredensor
Emma Ledbetter, Assistant Editor, Atheneum
Kelly Light
Deb Lund
Tracy Marchini
Wendy Martin
Diana Murray
Laura Murray
Debbie Ohi
Carol Rasco, CEO of RIF
Aaron Reynolds
Laura Sassi
Liz Garton Scanlon
Corey Rosen Schwartz
Kayla Skogh
Tammi Sauer
Mr. Schu, School Librarian & Kidlit Book Blogger
Melissa Sweet
Will Terry
Audrey Vernick
Robert Weinstock
Tamson Weston, Editor & Consultant
Timothy Young

And while you’re waiting for registration to begin on October 24th, why not join our PiBoIdMo Facebook group? Connect with other participants and picture book professionals, chat about the event and other writerly topics.

Stay tuned for more PiBoIdMo announcements in the coming days!

Winners of ROBOT ZOMBIE FRANKENSTEIN! and OH NUTS!

September 30, 2012 in Picture Books | Tags: Annette Simon, OH NUTS!, Robot Zombie Frankenstein, Tammi Sauer, winners | 6 comments

Two books with exclamation points in the title!

So now we have two winners whom I hope will have exclamation points burst over their heads!

The winner of ROBOT ZOMBIE FRANKENSTEIN! is:

Brianna Soloski!

The winner of OH NUTS! is:

Maria Johnson!

Ladies, look out for an email from me.

And tomorrow everyone’s a winner because I’m announcing the guest-blogging line up for November’s PiBoIdMo! Exclamation point palooza!!!!

A Cautionary Tale for Readers and Authors: When Book Signings Go Bad!

September 29, 2012 in Children's Books, Picture Books, Publishing | Tags: author appearances, author signings, Book Promotion, book signings, free books, free events | 16 comments

Remember my video about the nightmare book signing?

Well, bad signings make frequent appearances in author circles.

Recently a friend set up a table at a “free” outdoor event for parents and toddlers. She thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase her picture book and sell some copies.

No one approached her all morning. She was getting very discouraged.

Finally, a woman who had been manning another table walked up. “I’d like one for my son,” she said. “His name is [very unusual name].”

My friend picked up her pen, personalized the book to the woman’s son, wrote a special note, and autographed it. “That will be $15, please.”

The woman stared. “Oh, I thought it was free.”

My friend was taken aback. “Free? This is a picture book from [Big 6 Publisher].”

“But everyone here is giving away free stuff,” the woman said.

My friend then felt bad. SHE FELT BAD?! “Well, since you didn’t know, I will let you have it at cost. I paid $10 for it.”

“Never mind,” the woman said. “I don’t want it.” And she turned back to her table.

My friend was near tears. She hadn’t sold a single book and now she was stuck with one signed to “Jakellen.” What were the odds that another “Jakellen” would come to a future book signing? About a Jakellen-to-one!

This serves as a cautionary tale for both readers and authors.

Authors do not get their own books for free.

They are offered a very limited quantity upon publication, usually somewhere between 5 and 15 copies, most of which they use for promotional purposes. The rest they have to pay for themselves, typically at 30-40% off the retail price. Sometimes they do better purchasing from Amazon and not the publisher-direct! Free books are very rare.

And remember, that author has worked years to publish that book. And authors do not get paid while they are writing it. A lot has been sacrificed to get that book onto shelves. So please don’t expect a book for free. And don’t walk away from a book that has already been personalized. That author has now lost whatever they paid for the book, and the royalty they earned doesn’t even cover 10% of it.

While tempting, it may not be the best idea to do signings at advertised “free” events. People arrive with the expectation that they’ll never have to dip into their wallets. (And considering the economy, that’s the kind of feeling they want to experience often!) They are not in the mood to buy, and therefore may avoid you, even if what you’re selling looks good. They have not arrived with the mindset (or the money) to make a purchase.

And finally, it may be proper to let the reader know the price before you sign a book. Or else you might get stuck with a lot of “Jakellen” copies. And frankly, “Jakellen” isn’t even on the Social Security Administration’s List of Top 1000 Names. FOR ANY YEAR.

But who knows, maybe like “Splash” I’ve inadvertently begun a Madison-like name craze?!

My friend may be Jakellen-sellin’ after all!

Book and pen photo courtesy of Flickr user Jain Basil Aliyah.

Ryan Gosling’s Newest Book Pick

September 27, 2012 in Picture Books | Tags: Corey Rosen Schwartz, Dan Santat, Ryan Gosling, Three Ninja Pigs | 15 comments

Yes, it’s finally here!

Congratulations to my great friend, picture book champion and critique partner, Corey Rosen Schwartz. And a round of applause for Dan Santat, whom I knew would be the perfect illustrator for this story.

My rating? Five stars, of course. (And I’m not just saying that. It’s a rollicking good read! Just ask the NY Times.)

Order your copy today!

IndieBound
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Special thanks to illustrator Kayla Skogh for the Photoshop help! (Check out her illustrative work, she’s amazing!)

Billy Bush Interviews the Stars of Tammi Sauer’s OH NUTS! (plus a giveaway)

September 24, 2012 in Author Interview, Picture Books | Tags: Dan Krall, Giveaway, OH NUTS!, Tammi Sauer | 36 comments

OMG! I’m having a fangirl moment. Somebody fan me and feed me chocolate. (No, not YOU. Get Ryan Gosling.) Because not only is the brilliantly prolific author Tammi Sauer here, but she brought along the stars of her newest picture book, OH NUTS!

Thankfully I have Billy Bush helping me out (who will do as a Ryan Gosling substitute in a pinch). Billy’s qualified to interview Miss Universe contestants, so he will no doubt pose the tough questions to our guests Cutesy, Blinky and Bob. He caught them on last night’s Emmy’s Red Carpet.

Take it away, Billy.

Billy: Wow, so great to see you Cutesy, Blinky and Bob, stars of OH NUTS! Thanks for stopping to talk. You look fabulous. Tell us, who are you wearing?

Cutesy: Carolina Herrerra’s “Forest Dwellers” collection.

Blinky: Um, obviously Bob. Will someone please peel him off my back?

Bob: Wait, I was supposed to get DRESSED?

Billy: So you guys reached the pinnacle of popularity but then retreated from the limelight. What caused you to give up show business? Was the pressure just too much?

Blinky: Well, dude, we realized we had to be true to our inner chipmunk, you know?

Cutesy: Plus, all those flashing lights kind of wrecked my mascara.

Bob: Huh?

Billy: But your fans really want you to get back into the game. We heard that Alvin and his crew rejected an offer to star in “The Hunger Games IV: Acorn Atrocity”. Will you be lobbying for those roles now?

Cutesy: Our agent definitely wants us to consider it.

Blinky: Like whoa. It would be an awesome opportunity to showcase my six-pack.

Bob: I like noodles.

Billy: Do you think you’d like to branch out into other forms of entertainment? You know, become a triple-threat with a triple-threat?

Cutesy: We’ll always stick together, but we each have something special to give the world. Soon I’ll be launching my very own line of accessories called Chic Chipmunk.

Blinky: ABC wants me to be the next Bachelor.

Bob: I’m going to…wait…I forget.

Billy: How would you like to be remembered and immortalized by your fans?

Cutesy: We just want everyone to remember that chipmunks are people, too.

Blinky: I’d really like a street named after me.

Bob: I’d really like a nap. And a taco.

Billy: Oh wow, here comes Brangelina…so…SCRAM!

Cutesy: You know, we have a nickname, too. It’s “Blutesy”.

Blinky: I like it!

Bob: Hey, where’s the “Bob” in that?

Well, thanks Billy Bush, Cutesy, Blinky and Bob for the interview. And thanks for leaving behind an autographed copy of OH NUTS!

One lucky US resident will win it, just leave a comment to be entered! A winner will be randomly selected one week from today. Good luck!

And don’t forget to check out the rest of Tammi Sauer’s books. I mean, there must be a million of them now.

Robot Zombie Frankenstein! (plus a giveaway)

September 19, 2012 in Author Interview, Picture Books | Tags: Annette Simon, Giveaway, Robot Zombie Frankenstein | 47 comments

My goal on this blog is often to get writers thinking about exciting hooks for picture books.

Robots? YES!

Zombies? ERMMMFFF! (“Yes!” in zombie-talk.)

Frankenstein? AHHHGGGRRROOOOOWWWZZZ! (“You bet your sweet bippy!” in Frankenstein-talk.)

How about all THREE in one book? (Sorry, that one broke my translation tool!)

Well, Annette Simon already beat you to it!

ROBOT ZOMBIE FRANKENSTEIN is the story of two nuts-and-bolts buddies who try to one-up another. So I wanted to see how Anette one-upped a fabulous ROBOT idea to make it a triple-threat.

TL: Annette…umm…HOW?

AS: Robots and zombies may be getting some extra attention now (and for that I’m grateful!), but I think that from a kid’s perspective, they’re pretty standard characters. Like pirates, superheroes, and outer space invaders, they aren’t new subjects, just fun ones, and why not combine? My youngest, who’s now 18 and soon to graduate from high school, came to his fifth birthday party wearing a pirate hat, a tie, and a chef’s apron.

TL: In your book, the robots try desperately to one-up another. This is brilliant, as you’ll often see young children doing this. I remember dance class when I was seven, a girl told the instructor she practiced for an hour every day. Then came shouts of “I practice two hours” until I finally said “well, I practice TEN hours a day”. So funny. At the time I thought I was impressing everyone, but now I realize they knew I was lying. Do you have a childhood one-upmanship experience that gave rise to the ROBOT ZOMBIE FRANKENSTEIN story?

AS: Hmm. Tara, I pinkie-promised my sister I would not divulge details. (Let’s just say I won. All the time.)

I wish I had some fantastic backstory about this book. The truth is not glamorous: Robot and Robot showed up in little snippets as I walked, cleaned my house, grocery-shopped, and waited in car pool. They crept in from the fringes while I was busy querying agents with other stories.

But I do want to share something that may be especially dear to readers of your blog. These two cartoons by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have smiled from my fridge for years. (You can tell they’re old by their colors.)

My youngest is about to head off to college, and I’m realizing I will have to find another excuse, er, reason, as to why I’m not more prolific. Or else just get my butt back in chair.

It’s still complicated.

TL: Did you give your robot characters names as you were creating them? What do you think their names really are?

AS: I did kinda play around with names. For awhile, I thought of Robot and Robot as Cy and Borg, then Cy and Henry (Henry = the measuring unit of inductance– sounds smart, huh?) or Hecto (a computer measurement for 100). My fabulous editor, Mary Lee Donovan, sometimes nicknamed them Watson and…Isaac? Asimov? Chip? I can’t remember. In story discussions, we called them Purple and Green. In the end, they each said, “I, Robot.”

I hope one day the robots get a pet; I have a fun long list of pet names.

TL: Is there anything your robots wanted to be, but they didn’t get the chance to transform themselves? Anything cut out of the final version that you wish would have remained?

AS: As far as cutting-room-floor material, here’s a spread that didn’t make it. But, should Robot and Robot one day go trick-or-treating…

Well, folks, you can one-up your friends by not only winning a SIGNED COPY of ROBOT ZOMBIE FRANKENSTEIN (which is a *perfect* Halloween read), but by also winning cool robot chest iron-ons! Impress your friends, neighbors, and local Kindergarten classes!

Just leave a comment to be entered. A winner will be randomly selected one week from today!

Annette Simon says that when she was in kindergarten, she was named Best Artist in her class. When she was in the third grade, she won her school’s Fire Prevention Week poster contest. After she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Annette earned awards as an advertising creative director. Now, she writes and draws for young readers. Simon says she could not feel more honored. Learn more about her books at AnnetteSimon.net.

A Debut Author’s Dream…? (in full color!)

September 16, 2012 in Children's Books, KidLit, The Monstore | Tags: Book Promotion, book signing, Debut Author, video | 25 comments

I fell asleep earlier and dreamt about my first book signing for THE MONSTORE. It was so glitzy and glamorous, I wanted to reenact it for you. Unfortunately, my makeup smeared onto my pillow and my hair got all matted, plus I lost my Jane Jetson mask, so these cartoon characters offered to be my cast.

But I don’t think they got it quite right. Especially that dude with the camera.

You Gotta Have NERVE

September 14, 2012 in YA Fiction | Tags: Emu's Debuts, Jeanne Ryan, Nerve, Truth or Dare, vlog | 8 comments

No, that’s not an ostrich, it’s an EMU.

See, besides this crazy blog, I also belong to EMU’s Debuts, which is even nuttier because it’s run by debut kidlit authors repped by the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Get it? Erin MUrphy?) And we’re one bizarre bunch. (C’mon, we named our blog after an Australian flightless bird. It’s worse than vegemite, mate.)

We did something today that took a lot of NERVE for the release of Jeanne Ryan’s YA debut!

We’re playing “Truth or Dare”, video style!

Check it out because I make a complete fool of myself!

(Which, ya know, is pretty easy to do.)

I call my video “Truth or Date”.

If you can, please leave a comment (I realize that’s difficult while making the cuckoo-sign) because we’re hoping to get more comments than ANOTHER BLOG who DARED us to this challenge!