MicroBookTweet: RATS SAW GOD by Rob Thomas

Finished/loved YA story RATS SAW GOD by Veronica Mars creator @robthomas. Laugh-out-loud funny, smart, honest, irreverent.

— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) May 28, 2013

Shop Indie Bookstores

Click on my "microbooktweet" tag to browse some of my other micro-length book reviews and tweets.

Interview with Literary Agent Emily Keyes of L. Perkins Agency (and my 25,000th follower!)

Thanks so much to Emily Keyes, the 25,000th person to follow me on Twitter. Emily is a literary agent at L. Perkins Agency, and kindly agreed to answer a few questions for Inkygirl readers about her work and what she's looking for.

Q. How did you come to work at L. Perkins Agency?

Lori Perkins, the founder of the agency, used to teach at the NYU and I was a student at the NYU Publishing Program. She was looking for interns and I worked for her briefly, going through slush, but she kept in touch with me when I was working other places.

So when my job at Simon & Schuster ended, she said I could come work for her which was huge for me because I was really worried about what I was going to do, and because I had always been very interested in the agent-side of the business. In addition to building up my own list, I do the contracts and foreign rights for the agency.

Q. Are you open to submissions? If so, what kinds of books are you looking for? What are you NOT looking?

Yes, I am open to submissions. I'm looking for all kinds of things. I still feel like I'm really building my list. I'd really like to see some middle grade novels from your readers. I get a lot of teen books but not as many younger readers. I'm not looking for picture books right now though. I love them so much, but I worry about my grasp on the market. Maybe one day. I'm also not looking for erotica. I get a lot of erotica submissions which is awkward.

(Note from Debbie: Emily does not currently represent illustrators.)

Q. You mention you're especially looking for middle grade novels. Any specific types/genres you're looking for? e.g. fantasy vs contemporary, etc. Any examples of MG novels you especially like?

I love a lot of types of middle grade. I wouldn't say no to fantasy, but I'm leaning toward contemporary these days. Or science fiction. I think there are a lot of MG fantasy books out there already, so the bar is set very high. My favorite MG growing up was probably MATILDA and I can't wait to see the musical. I recently read ZEBRA FOREST and enjoyed that quite a bit. And THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN made me cry a lot (I have a thing about baby elephants, in that I love them). 

Q. How should writers submit material to you?

Authors can send their query and the first five pages of their manuscript (pasted into the body of the email) to emily at lperkinsagency dot com.

Q. Who are some of your clients? Any new or upcoming projects you'd like to mention?

My client Sara V. Olds has a book called MY LIFE AS A LUMBERJACK coming out on May 30th. Definitely check it out if you're interested in a fun summer read. Some of my clients are Kit Forbes (who used to write adult romance novels under the pen name Barbara Sheridan, her first YA is coming out next year), Kenneth G. Bennett (who self-published his middle grade series and we recently sold the film rights, that's exciting), Amy Zhang (who wrote a piece for CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: INSPIRATION FOR WRITERS that came out May 21) and Dale Lucas (whose YA science fiction story recently appeared in the FUTUREDAZE anthology). I also have some exciting things that are going to be announced soon that I'm dying to talk about but can't.

At the Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Co.

Q. What advice do you have for aspiring children's/YA book writers?

Read a lot. Your followers probably don't need to be told this, but I see a lot of submissions from people who don't actually read kidlit. They just think, "Hey JK Rowling made more money than the Queen! It's easy!" I find that very insulting. Writing for kids is so much fun, but it's also a lot of work. I think the shorter the book, the more each word matters, so the degree of difficulty actually goes up.

Q. Where can people find out more about you online?

I have so many online accounts. I tweet almost every day at @esc_key. I also have a blog  and a tumblr. Those are the three I use professionally. I'm still trying to figure out what to post where. But I do like interacting with people, especially readers.

Q. Anything else you'd like Inkygirl readers to know?

I used to moderate a blog about Sweet Valley High called 1bruce1. I debated mentioning it in the above question, but it's not professional (at all!). I haven't had much, if any, time to devote to it recently. I guess it says something about me that I work on young adult books all day and then, for fun in my free time, I read more.

The L. Perkins Agency www.lperkinsagency.com

esckeyes.blogspot.com

Twitter: @esc_key

TWEETABLE:

Mistakes by new kidlit writers: 1. Thinking it's easy 2. Not reading it. - Lit agent @esc_key http://bit.ly/18bL1Zm (Tweet this)

-----------------------------

For more interviews, see the Inkygirl Interview Archive.

Book-Buying Poll Results: Content is king, whether a book is self-published or not

I had originally intended for this to be a quickie poll in my series of Informal Surveys/Polls About Writing, Reading and Publishing but realized that for a topic like this, there is no such thing as a quickie poll. The topic is clearly a pretty sensitive subject, and some people automatically assumed that I was out to discredit books that had been self-published. Yikes.

For the record, I have bought self-published books. Some were very good (like Cheryl Rainfield's YA novel, Parallel Visions, and Galleycat recently listed some top children's books by indie authors) and some were not so good. I am going to be self-publishing a compilation of my writer comics (my agent at Curtis Brown is helping me with this).

I know there are many out there who sneer at those who self-publish, but I am not one of them. As I said, there are some very excellent self-published books. But there are also many, many bad self-published books. Overcoming that stigma will be a challenge for indie authors until there are easier and better-known ways to separate the good from the bad. 

The "Us vs. them" hostility (on both sides of the equation) frustrates me. It's not productive, it sparks flamewars, it only widens the gap between those  publishing with traditional houses and those who go the indie route. The truth is that more writers are starting to experiment with doing both. It's a choice.

And whether you choose to go indie or traditional with any particular book, your focus should always be on quality content. There are many good resources online to help; please feel free to post suggestions below. NOTE: I will not tolerate flamewars in the comments section so if you post a hostile or abusive message, whether pro- or anti- indie publishing, I WILL REMOVE IT/NOT APPROVE IT FOR POSTING.

But on to the poll results....

I knew when I posted the poll that the results would probably skew toward those who already had an interest in self-publishing (whether positive or negative). However, I was mainly curious about the people who bought a book they knew was self-published (and DIDN'T know the author/illustrator), and why they did so....I figured the results would give some useful info about book discovery, and that info could help indie authors.

However, some pointed out that some self-published books out there that don't LOOK self-published, so how would people KNOW if they had bought a self-published book? Also, some pointed out my poll answer choices didn't cover the scenario where a traditionally published author decided to go the self-publishing route. I'm sure there were many other situations that my limited yes/no type of choices didn't cover.

With the above in mind, here are the results of my poll:

141 people participated in the poll and of these, 78% said they had bought a self-published book. 

Of those who bought a self-published book, 42.5% said they made the purchase because they knew the author and/or illustrator, and wanted to support them.

I was mainly interested in the remaining 57.5%, who had bought a book but weren't familiar with the author and/or illustrator, or said that knowing the author and/or illustrator was not a factor in their purchase decision. 

Of these purchases:

67.7% were digital, 27.7% were print and 3.1% were digital AND print. One person wasn't sure.

The most interesting part of the results, at least for me, were the reasons that people bought these books. Here are some of the reasons:

37.5% -- Word-of-mouth recommendations

31.3 % -- A review

20.4% -- The book was $2.99 or less.

10.9% -- The cover.

9.4% -- The book was free, so they figured they had nothing to lose.

Other reasons listed in the open-ended comments section, from most popular:

Liked the sample excerpt.

Non-fiction book about a unique topic.

Fan of the author. Author had traditionally published in the past but had decided to self-publish a new book or a sequel to a traditionally published series.

Story description or blurb intrigued them.

Amazon suggestion based on other books they had bought.

Fan of the author's blog.

Met the author in person or saw their presentation at a convention/in-store event.

Book recommended by publication or blog.

Book was subject of a controversy.

SUMMARY:

By far, most of the people who commented said that their book purchase decision was made because they liked the sample excerpt. 

Second-most common reason: because the book offered them content they couldn't easily get elsewhere...in nonfiction, this involved a niche topic. In fiction, it was because an author they liked was offering more of his or her writing.

So in the end, people don't really care whether a book is self-published or not. What matters: quality content.

 -------------

Also see my other Inkygirl Surveys and Polls about reading, writing and publishing.

Interview with Celia Lee, Assistant Editor At Cartwheel Books (Scholastic), open to unagented submissions from Inkygirl readers for limited time

  *** PLEASE NOTE THAT SUBMISSION WINDOW HAS NOW CLOSED. Response time (only those who included an SASE will receive a reply) is expected to be approximately 6 months. ***

Celia Lee is an assistant editor at Cartwheel Books, Scholastic’s 0-5 imprint. When she’s not reading, she’s talking about reading. And when she’s not talking about reading, she’s thinking about reading. You can follow her on Twitter @VitellusD.

How did you come to work at Scholastic?

So I had been going to grad school (for Publishing) and doing various editorial internships for a few publishers in the city for about a year, when a wonderful, kind, generous classmate of mine told me she was leaving her current Scholastic Book Clubs job for a new position in the company.

This was HUGE news for me, because Scholastic was the first publisher I ever knew about, due in part to the Book Clubs flyers I poured over when I was in elementary school. So being the enterprising individual that I am, I applied and interviewed for the job…which I didn’t get (but a very good friend of mine got it instead, which is a whole other story!).

Luckily for me, the kind classmate heard about another opening in the Book Clubs division and passed along my resume. Et voila! I got the job, worked for a few years for the wonderful Book Clubs, and then moved over to my current position with Scholastic’s Cartwheel imprint. I guess I’m a Scholastic gal through-and-through.

What is your typical work day like?

Mornings are usually the calmest part of the day. That’s when I can write a few emails, organize our imprint’s various internal charts and grids, catch up on the latest children’s book reviews/announcements, look at production passes, and review and respond to submissions. Afternoons are a little busier, because that’s when most of our meetings happen—with production and planning, or editorial and design, or even with our Book Clubs and Book Fairs. But I also squeeze out more emails and work on submissions in-between meetings. So essentially my day consists of writing, whether it be emails, proposals, or copy; reading, either emails, manuscripts, or proofs; and meetings, with anybody and everybody!

What's the best part about your job?

Working with so many talented authors, illustrators, designers, and editors!

What's the most challenging part about your job?

Working with so many talented authors, illustrators, designers, and editors! Seriously, all of these guys are so creative and inspiring—they really challenge me to be the best that I can be. It’s great…and it’s hard work!

Is Scholastic open to unagented submissions from writers and illustrators? If so, could you please give us more details?

Scholastic’s current policy is that we are not accepting unagented submissions. However, our Cartwheel imprint is opening up a 2-month window starting today, where we will review unagented submissions. 

*******NOTE FROM DEBBIE* - Submission window is now CLOSED, so I've removed the contact info. Unagented submissions are no longer being accepted and will not receive a response. Thanks to Celia for allowing Inkygirl readers the opportunity! **********

Note from Debbie: I asked Celia if she'd be the person who would be reviewing submissions and what kind of submissions was she especially looking for/not looking for, plus if she was open to submissions from illustrators who are NOT writers. Celia says that she'll be the primary reviewer though other editors may also take a look. From Celia:  

"In terms of what we’re on the lookout for: holiday; tried-and-true subjects like transportation, community, or new experiences; interesting novelty formats; and new ways of addressing core concepts. Things that we’re not looking for are nonfiction, anything older than 1st Grade, and “love” books. And we can certainly take a look at illustrators who aren’t writers! They can send a postcard with their url to their portfolio."

What advice do you have for aspiring children's book writers and illustrators? 

Really explore the book market out there. Go to your local bookstore or a Barnes and Noble and see the kind of books that they display. Then go to stores that have a book section—your Targets, your Walmarts, even your Gaps and Anthropologies. An understanding of what booksellers of all kinds are selling out in the world is invaluable, and can really help you market your stories to publishers.

Related online resources:

About Scholastic Children's Books Publishing & Distribution

Also see my other Inkygirl interviews.

Comic: Bibliophile Bus Stop

MicroBookTweet: DOLL BONES by Holly Black, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

DOLL BONES

Written by Holly Black

Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster Children's (May/2013)

Finished/savored DOLL BONES. Could eat @hollyblack's prose with a spoon. Also love @wheelerstudio's creepylicious pics.

— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) May 17, 2013

Also see my other MicroBookTweets and my interview with Eliza Wheeler.

Assembling A Children's Illustrator Portfolio: Choosing The Portfolio, Images, Assembly and More

Juana Martinez-Neal, who won last year's SCBWI Summer Illustrator Portfolio Showcase, has a fantastic step-by-step post about how to put together a children's illustrator portfolio. Lots of specific tips and resource links plus visual examples from other illustrators (hey, like ME :-).

Interview with Eliza Wheeler about MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS and DOLL BONES

Photo by Adam WheelerEliza Wheeler and I met at the SCBWI Summer Conference in 2010, when both of us were chosen for the Illustration Mentorship Program. We both hit it off right away; I love Eliza's positive life outlook, enthusiasm and wry wit. Since then, we've become good friends and I fervently wish we lived closer together so could hang out more often. Geography really sucks sometimes.

The photo to the right was taken by Eliza's filmmaker/photographer husband, Adam Wheeler (who is just as cool as his lovely wife). 

It's been so exciting to watch Eliza's career take off since that SCBWI conference. Not only did she win the Overall Portfolio Showcase the year after, but her first picture book, MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), hit the New York Times Bestseller list!! Eliza has a lot of other projects already on the go, of course, but was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for Inkygirl readers.

What was your work process for MISS MAPLE SEEDS?

When I started working on the finals for MISS MAPLE, I had printed out light sketches onto the final drawing paper with my Epson printer (a step I've replaced by traditionally transferring the sketch via a light box), and I stretched and taped my paper onto 16 plywood boards. That way, I could work on all of them at the same time and build up slow washes, moving onto the next as I let layers dry. Creating finals for picture books calls for long hours, and I've found audio books to be really helpful while I work. I believe during this book I listened to The Hunger Games, and started the Harry Potter series. 

Photo by Adam Wheeler

What advice do you have for aspiring picture book writer/illustrators?

1) Be patient while you build up your body of work. Just focus on your craft, and leave the business side of storytelling for later; for when your work is REALLY good.

2) Create the kind of work that your kid self would have loved. Be your own audience, and always ask yourself "If someone else made this, would I read it? Would I put it up on my wall?". It seems obvious, but more often than not when I ask myself this question, I'm surprised to think "no".

3) Read, read, read. Whenever I'm stuck with my storytelling I read. I get new ideas or answers to existing stories when I read. And don't just read in your genre. A friend lent me Aimee Bender's adult novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and I was distracted through the entire thing because every single time I sat down to read that book, a particular story I was working on would come to me in waves. I don't know why that was, but certain books will do that, and I've learned that it's a really great thing.

Photo: Rachel Jackson

Photo: Rachel Jackson.How was your book launch party?

It was INCREDIBLE. I had so much help from my good friends on the day of the event, and it was also my first public speech. I was so nervous, but then really enjoyed telling the story of this special book. There was a large crowd, and it meant the world to see all these friends from different areas of my life come together. There were people there I hadn't seen in years! Also, my books sold out! They had something like 54 copies. We were blown away. I knew that I wanted to make it special for my debut book, but it was even better than I could have imagined. 

Congrats on MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS making it onto the New York Times Bestseller list! What was your reaction when you found out?

It was of complete and utter disbelief! I saw it mentioned on twitter late in the evening, and thought it was a mix-up. Then Nancy Paulsen emailed me the list, and I was in shock. I told my husband, but it sounded more like a question, "My book got on the New York Times bestseller list?"  We just kept saying, "what?! what?!" back and forth. And then I think we laughed a lot and continued saying "what?!". 

Your fabulous illustrations appear in the just-released DOLL BONES by Holly Black. How did that process go?

Doll Bones was extremely fun to work on - illustrations for middle grade go a lot faster than picture-books, it's sort of less excruciating in the sense that we don't need to convey too much information with the illustrations. They add fun, mood, and flavor - there's an ease there that I love. I worked entirely with Simon and Schuster's art director, Sonia Chaghatzbanian, but Holly was sweet to send me a couple Tweets through the process to let me know she was loving the illustrations, which were thrilling messages to get.

What are you working on now?

As for new projects, I'm right in the thick of illustrations for a picture book by Mara Rockliff called The Grudge Keeper. It's a super fun story; one of those manuscripts I couldn't turn down because I wished I had written it. I'm also working on a new picture book idea with my editor Nancy Paulsen at Penguin, but can't say much about that yet. I also will be working on a brilliant middle grade novel by Kate Milford called Left Handed Fate, and I'm equally excited and nervous for that project, just because I want to do Kate's story justice with the illustrations. 

Where to find out more about Eliza and her work:

Eliza's website: http://wheelerstudio.com/

On Twitter: @WheelerStudio

Eliza Swanson-Wheeler on Facebook

TWEETABLES:

Aspiring writers/illus: Create the kind of work your kid self would have loved. @WheelerStudio http://bit.ly/YVJMuu (Tweet this)

Be patient while you build up your body of work. Focus on craft first, biz later. @WheelerStudio http://bit.ly/YVJMuu (Tweet this)

------

Also see my other Inkygirl interviews.

The Joy and Angst of Reading A Good Book

I'm in the middle of reading DOLL BONES by Holly Black, illustrated by my friend Eliza Wheeler, and enjoying it so much that I find that I'm starting to purposely slow down my reading pace so the book will last longer.

Comic originally posted on Writer Unboxed a few years ago.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Trying out Authorgraph.com to digitally sign & doodle autographs

I read about Authorgraph.com letting authors digitally sign copies of their books on Mediabistro today, and have decided to try it out. You can see a sample of how the above doodle/signature was drawn (this is what a reader would receive as well). Here is the Author FAQ from the Authorgraph.com site.

The service is free, though Authorgraph.com points out that if a reader is using Amazon's Personal Document Service, Amazon may charge a small fee. At present, the site's only income-generating model seems to be through Amazon affiliate links. 

Once you've signed your message and autograph, the reader who requested it has the option of downloading it as a PDF or AZW file, which can then be saved on devices or printed out. When printed out, the image fills an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. It would be nice if a reader had the option of a smaller size that is suitable for printing out and sticking inside the book. Savvy readers, though, will know how to shrink the image before printing.

Readers can also share their author autographs on Twitter. Here's a demo video:

Though the idea of being able to digitally sign a book is great, I can't help but be skeptical about the demand. I know that I'd far prefer a real-life ink autograph than a digital file that's been printed out...BUT Authorgraph.com's process saves the author the postage and printing costs/hassle of autographed bookplates sent by snailmail. Plus the opportunity for the reader to send a brief message to the author and then see the signature being drawn adds an extra level of personal interaction.

I'm intrigued enough that I'll be adding this to my I'M BORED Bonus Page and see how it goes.

More info about Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/

To request an Authorgraph from me about I'M BORED: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/debbieohi

Comic: Squirrel Writer Conspiracy

Sophie Blackall's 19th century style mailing promotes her new picture book

I always love hearing about interesting and unique ways (without being spammy) that children's book authors and illustrators have for promoting their work, so was intrigued by Sophie Blackall's promo effort:

From Publishers Weekly (click on image to see original article)

The package above was mailed out to about 100 chlidren's book professionals, handmade by award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall to help promote THE MIGHTY LALOUCHE, a new picture book about a Parisian postman at the turn of the 20th century, written by Matthew Olshan and illustrated by Blackall. 

What a wonderful package to receive in the mail! 

Find out what was inside each package by reading the full article in Publishers Weekly.