Dispatch #60: The Spiritual in The Writing Life

by Lupe Fernandez

The Contemplation
The contemplation of a autumnal leaf. Brown, crispy, damp. Hold it up to the sun and the dried capillaries that once pulsed solar kisses of electric fluid. I may need that detail to provide insight into a character, or merely to show off my skills.

The Why?
The why does a flying teen feels unworthy of love? Why does a jovial ten year old skeleton boy frighten the humans of his world? Why does a high school slacker post a humiliating viral video? Why does evil exist? It’s not enough to say, “The Devil Made Me Do It.” I have to know why. Causation. Motivations. Psychology. Emotional trauma. Behavioral conditioning.

The Calling
I write to tell stories. But what do I gain? Freshly printed pages. Words smell of hot toner ink. Edits scrawled in red pen. Years of rewrites. No money. No prestige. A pauper’s life. One among thousands who want to publish. Maybe I’m not good. I wasn’t born with a story in my head. I’m no literary prodigy. I thought about giving up. Of course, would I do instead? Questions ripen. My nose wrinkles at the goal like fruit left too long in a bowl.


I have colleagues who have their own stories, their own reasons for writing between the rush of children, the stomp of jobs and the heartbeat of time.

The Message
What do I want to say? I see a cumulus cloud, ringed by sun gold, dark underside, brilliant white trim, drifting across the sky. My cheeks are cold. White vapor spouts from chapped lips. I witness the Hand of God moving across the Earth.* How do I translate this sublime vision into a story?

The Comfort
When my stomach roils, when my mouth is dry, when the bottom of my stomach drops out through my feet, when I can’t nothing can be done, I sit at the computer and type. Alone. Just click, click of keystrokes to comfort me by. Nouns. Verbs. Conjunctions. Adjectives. Order out of chaos. There are rules to follow. What does the protagonist want? What obstacles confront the protagonist? What are the consequences to the protagonist if the goal isn’t achieved? How does the story end? More questions than answers. Plenty of thick and thin books to read for guidance. Schools of authors to fish for advice. Fellow acolytes to compare and contrast.

I am alone and in good company.

The Pilgrimage
Where do I go to pay homage to great writers, and not so great ones? I confess I've never visited the homes of Gabriel Marquez Garcia, Ray Bradbury or Eduardo Galeano. I did live in Los Angeles for thirty odd years. Plenty of renowned writers began their careers in that city. I currently reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to past, present and future authors of note.

Perhaps, my temples are books stores. Browsing the aisles, pulling a book off the shelf, thumbing through the crisp pages, smelling the paper. Or any public library. Rows upon rows of aisles, my fingers touching a rough spine, then the smooth plastic cover of the adjacent book. A musty scent. Central heating in winter. Cool air in the summer. I read author names known and unknown. Subjects popular and arcane.

The Doubt
Always.


*I also see condensed water vapor in motion due to differentials in air temperature and pressure, a confluence of cold and warm fronts influenced by the Coriolis Effect, and rejoice at the hard-earned knowledge gained by scientists of yore.

Happy Thanksgiving

 by Susan J Berger

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

I wish you a day of remembering the good things in your life. A day free from worrying about all the things that may be making you fearful about your future. About our future.

I plan to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, go see Fantastic Beasts and maybe top off the evening with pumpkin pie and Miracle on 34th Street.

I will not be watching the news.

 

There are so many thanksgiving books for children to choose from, Here are a few. You will note I've decided to emphasize turkeys. That word has been coming up a lot in my head.

I am grateful for so many things. My children and grandchildren, the rain currently falling outside my warm and safe house, the turkey reposing in my refrigerator, the current book I'm reading and the pile of books waiting for me to read. And for the books I will be adding to my TBR pile, some of them not yet published.

I am grateful for family and friends and laughter. For the wonderful acting jobs I've had this year and the ones yet to come.

I could go on for a long time.

I am truly grateful for indoor plumbing and warm blankets and a comfy armchair. For the glass of wine I plan to have when I finish this post. And for the washing machine in which I am about to immerse my laundry.

I am grateful for the times I manage to sit down at the computer and get words on paper. I am REALLY grateful for my computer. If I had to hand-write this stuff, it would never see the light of day. And I am so grateful for my critique groups.

 

I emailed Hilde and Lupe and asked for three things they were grateful for. I didn't want t o overwhelm them. Hilde replied. My health. My husband. My kids.

And my dog, Buddy.

Lupe replied My wife. My step-daughters. My cats.

Right at this moment, what are you grateful for?

PS if you have a favorite Thanksgiving book, please mention that in comments too. I have grandchildren to collect for.

 

 

 

Submission and reviewing sources.

By Susan J Berger
I have three sets of links for you:

Submitting

 Manuscript Wishlist http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/  This is a great place to find what agents and editors are looking for. Also be sure and visit  their twitter regularly. Search the hash tag #MSWL
@ManuscriptWList

Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre host Literary Rambles which is a treasure trove of agent interviews. You can sort the agents by the type of books they represent.

Sue Ganz Schmidt recommended this website to me Authors Publish.com It's free and she says sometimes they send you very useful information. I subscribed last night and got some very useful links. http://www.authorspublish.com/the-top-20-publishers-for-new-authors/

Reviewing

I got a request for a list I previously posted about: getting reviews. I had been researching the sites for Picture Book reviewers, but these sites also review Middle Grade and YA

I want to add Middle Grade Mania, which had a list of bloggers who review Middle grade.



Here is a list of reviewers I wanted to contact:

The Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/get_rev.htm Reviewing print books/CDs/DVDs is always free of charge. They charge a 50.00 Reader Fee for eBooks
I now have my books, so I will be sending one.

The Picture Book Reviews
https://thepicturebookreview.com/review-policy-disclosures/

If you’d like to contact me, please send me an email at:thepicturebookreview@gmail.com.

Review Policy: Hello! As of January 1, 2015:  I happily accept picture books for review.  If we love the book, I’ll write a review about it.   I accept physical copies only — ARCs, galleys, etc. are fine — it just needs to be something I can sit down and read with my family.Thank you so much for thinking of me.  I’m flattered that you’d like your book reviewed on my site. Also, good luck with your book!  Picture book authors and illustrators

I will be contacting her. 

Readers Favorites.Com

https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm  All reviews are free. They post on their Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You CAN pay for more stuff. I didn't want to. I submitted an ARC PDF for review on 9/25. The review was up 4 days later.

KidReads.com

Here's what their contact page says:

I am an author, publisher or publicity agent and I would like my book to be reviewed on Kidsreads.com. What do I do?
To submit a book for review on Kidsreads.com, please send it to:
The Book Report Network
250 West 57th Street
Suite 1228
New York, NY 10107
Although we cannot guarantee a review, we consider every book that comes into our office. Due to the volume of submissions that we receive, we cannot contact authors or publishers on the status of a book for review. Typically books are reviewed within 3 months of publication. We suggest you sign up for our newsletter, which will list the content that we are promoting.
Please note that at this time we do not review eBooks, POD Books and other self-published titles as we only offer books that are available with wide distribution offline as well as online.

Places I will not submit:

Kirkus Book reviews. HUGELY expensive. If your publisher is paying. Great.

The Children's Book Review

 $195 for a review. No thanks. They do have a place where you can giveaway a copy of your book. When I checked it out, they wanted me to pay them 65.00 for the privilege of giving away a book/

 Places to check out:

 Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

This is a collection of websites that TTLG has found interesting and/or useful. Because sites change so fast we cannot vouch for their content. If you have any comments or suggestions about this list please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be adding to these lists regularly so please keep checking this page for new doorways into the world of children's literature.

I have not checked them all out yet. Some are no longer active.  Some seem not to be reviewing sites at all.

Marketing

Planning your marketing campaign. Click the link for an amazing spreadsheet to help you plan marketing.
Incredible 15 tab excel spreadsheet for marketing Andrea Loney graciously shared this with me.
Start with the "About Tab" They sheet was authored by Jenny Blake and it's amazingly thorough, and perhaps more than you want. I would strongly suggest reading it. .
Jenny says Feeling Generous?
1) If you get value from this spreadsheet, please consider making a donation. I will be very grateful...we all know that authors only see royalty checks once in a blue moon (if ever)!
2) Spread the word -- please feel free to share this spreadsheet with your other author friends!
There is a link on the spreadsheet to where to send a donation.
Happy Writing.

Waiting for a Book Release

by Susan J Berger

I am so lucky. I have two picture books coming out. That's a wonderful feeling. But the wait for their actual publication can seem forever. The timing varies so much.

Mom, is There a Santa Claus had a long journey. I think I wrote the original in 2004. After many trips to the critique group, I sent it to Jennifer James at The Los Angeles Times in 2009 

I was unsure anyone would publish a story asking  if  Santa Claus was real. Those of us who cherish Santa Claus do everything in their power to keep Santa alive. But  one day most children ask the question.

Jennifer expressed an interest and asked me to cut it to 600 words. I did so and it was scheduled for publication. Then Jennifer James left and so did the column.

In 2014, I sent it to Lynda Burch at Guardian Angel Publishing. Lynda asked for changes. I made them and I signed a contract with GAP in June 2014. I knew there would be a wait because the awesome illustrator, K.C. Snider always has a huge list of books to illustrate. I got the cover picture from K.C. in July of this year.

 

I love the picture. And I'm more excited than ever to see the finished book which has  a planned debut day for the end of September.  Twenty seven months is really not a long wait. It just seems like it.

 

My other picture book  Log on Log is still in the pipeline at Beach Lane Books. I signed that contract in September 2011.  I spoke to Andrea Welsh at Conference this year. She said she would get back with me after talking to the illustrator. I have an illustrator? Happy dance!

  Greg Pincus waited eight years with Arthur Levine his delightful mid-grade book The 14 Fibs of Gregory K.  His sequel to 14 Fibs is coming out much quicker. The Homework Strike will be out January 3, 2017

 

 Andrea J.Loney had a different journey. Her delightful book, Bunny Bear will be out on December 2016. I know that both Greg and I were in the group at the Westside Schmooze which critiqued Bunny Bear in April 2014.  She had 17 rejections.  Her agent, Jill Corcoran sold the book Sept 4, 2015 and it will be out December 2016.

 

Her first book, Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee, which won the 2014 Lee and Low New Voices award in 2014 won't be out till 2017.

In end, the length of the journey doesn't matter. The joy of the journey does.

I got a lovely rejection from Melissa Manlove at Chronicle Books for Nat the Rat and Fat Cat. I need to send that one out again. Tasha the Magnificent has been on an agent's desk for two months. The miracle is that the agent asked for the full. Tasha has had thirty-five rejections so far.

Two questions: If you are published, how long did you wait between contract and publication?

If you are on the submission circuit, how many times have you submitted your ms?

Write on!

Almost forgot! If you are a local author, Burbank Public Library is doing a Local Author event on Saturday, October 14th at the Buena Vista Branch Library. Here's a link to the Event Page and Application form. http://www.burbank.lib.ca.us/news/calling-all-local-authors

 



Editing Your Book.

by Guest poster, Editor Char Chaffin

Char Chaffin is an editor at Soul Mate Publishing. This is a list she sends her authors: I removed the few things that applied only to romance authors. (Surely none of you wrote a sentence where someone captures someone else's lips.) I hope you find them as helpful as I did. Happy writing.



Items to look for:


Before you send your manuscript on for editing, check the following:

1. Correctly formatted ellipses. Use the three-dot ellipse only, each dot separated by a space, and then a space between words.  
Example: I need . . . I want.
If the ellipse is used at the end of dialogue, it looks like this:

“But I . . .”

2. EM dashes: they’re easy to do incorrectly. When you use a dash in your text, it’s a double dash that has no spaces either before your word or after it. When you type in the next word, you create the EM dash.

Example: This is correct: She cried—sobbed—screamed.

                 This is incorrect: She cried – sobbed – screamed.


3. Repeat words: check how many times you use the following words: (Note from Susan: when using MS word's find feature, put a space before and after the word you're are hunting for. i.e. space as space That will remove any erroneous results.)
as
that
was
little
bit 
then
looked
saw
watched
large
but
small
up
down
over
under
just
really
truly
These words are usually way overused and you can clean out a lot of them. Especially the directional words up, down, over, under. If you have a character preparing to sit, you don’t have to say ‘sat down.’ Nor do you need ‘stood up.’ The directional is always a given.

Also avoid: ‘off of.’ It’s either one or the other but never both. Use ‘toward,’ not ‘towards.’ Also, it’s ‘backward,’ not ‘backwards.’ ‘Afterward,’ not ‘afterwards.’ Same with ‘upward,’ downward’ and ‘anyway.’ No ‘s’ on the end of any of them.

Avoid ‘basically,’ ‘literally.’ They’re irritating and unnecessary.

Avoid placing text in caps. If you want to emphasize something, italicize it. When you use caps, readers think you’re shouting at them.

Go easy on the !!!!!!!! More than five in an entire manuscript is more than enough.

4. Don’t rhyme. If you have rhyming words in the same sentence, get rid of one of them.
For example: She had a ball at the St. Louis Mall. Not acceptable. (Naturally this doesn't apply if you are writing a rhyming PB)
5. Go easy on dialog tags. Most of the time you don’t need them at all.

Example: “I’ll get you a drink,” Donna said, walking across the room and opening the fridge. That’s a dialog tag you don’t need. Instead, do this: Donna walked across the room toward the fridge. “I’ll get you a drink.” If you have two or more characters of the same gender in a scene, depending on how you word your dialogue, you may need to use tags to indicate who is speaking or showing action.

Most Important: Keep your action active! This might sound redundant but there are verbs that drag you down. Biggest drag: anytime you put the word “was” in front of a verb that ends in “ing” you immediately slow down the action. Sometimes you can’t avoid it, but most of the time, do your best to stay away.

Example: John was thinking about it. Better to say this: John thought about it. Unless you absolutely have to keep them in the moment, such as ‘was looking,’ ‘was going,’ etc., keep your action moving forward and avoid the ‘was/ing’ combo.

STAY ACTIVE. It’s not hard to do. Be cognizant of those weaker verbs and avoid them. You can always find a synonym. An example of common weaker verbs: watched, saw, looked, stepped, moved, liked, knew, walked.

Remember: punctuation ALWAYS goes between quote marks, not after, whether single or double. “Away we go!” “Use your head, Clyde.” Single quotes look like this: ‘Saturday Night is live.’ However, if you abbreviate or shorten, the quote goes before: “I’m just sayin’.”

Your readers are smart and most read with a visual eye. You don’t have to describe in detail for them to get the idea. It’s better to say, ‘She rose from the bed and pulled a shirt from the dresser,’ than to say, ‘she sat on the edge of the bed, then stood, and then she walked across the room toward the dresser, where she pulled open the third drawer, pulled out a shirt, and then slipped it over her head.’ I have read that overload of description before, and can guarantee the author would lose me right after ‘sat on the edge of the bed.’

Also, your visual readers will picture what you tell them in more literal terms than you would think. If you say, ‘The plane ride was so bumpy, John’s guts dropped to the floor,’ then I, the reader, will probably visualize poor John’s disembowelment by way of turbulence. J Instead, saying, ‘Turbulence and a bouncy plane ride made for one hellish bout of nausea for John,’ will garner sympathy for John plus a trace of humor because most of your readers can immediately empathize with the hellish bout of nausea. So be careful when you stage action, and always read it aloud as if you’re a reader. If you visualize anything weird or unintentional as you are reading aloud, you might want to rethink your action staging.

Thank you, Char, for giving me this post. Happy editing!

Readying the Query or Pitch for Conference

This is a reprint of a post from last year. But I just finished doing a group pitching session with my RWA critique group. We vetted each other's pitches for Conference. Querying/Pitching doesn't have to be a lonely business. Help each other out, friends. Three is an ideal number.

I am bad at sending out queries. It’s a lot of work and I am never sure I’m saying the right thing. Last week Pen and Ink met to force ourselves into the query process. I respectfully suggest you try this with your own critique group.

Hilde set up a long table to accommodate our laptops.



I’d sent an Excel spreadsheet of the Darcy Pattison lists for the top 20 agents for Picture Books, Mid Grade and YA that Greg Pincus mentioned on the SCBWI ListServ, so we could each research beforehand who we wanted to query.
(Yes, you can email me at penink04@gmail and I will send you the list.)



Lupe Skyped in. Victoria Kroll, our junior Pen and Inker, attended the meeting to study our process. She’ll be doing her own post.

Goal: To get out at least two queries each before the end of the meeting.
The first order of business was to vet each other’s query letters to make them shiny. To make sure that our writing voice was reflected in our query voice.
And we did. Hilde's and my query letters were immeasurably improved. I'll let you judge for yourselves.
I want to say how indebted I am to Hilde and Lupe for improving my letters. I now have two base query letters for Tasha (long and short, in case they ask for synopsis.) I know that between the three of us, Hilde’s letter now reflects her style and voice. Hilde now has a base query which can be adapted to suit any agent.

We changed two words of Lupe’s letter. He already had a standout letter that reflected the voice of his main character.


Here is his final letter.
7/5/2015
Jordan Brown
Walden Pond Press
17 New England Executive Park, Ste. 305
Burlington, MA 01803

Dear Mr. Brown,

“…deep and thoughtful feedback and willingness to go to the mat for his authors…” states Laura Ruby in her novel Bone Gap about you, Mr. Brown. That’s the kind of editor I want.
In I WAS A TEENAGE LAWYER, [YA-62K] a contemporary comedy, Roger Herrera finds a porn video that may or may not feature Masha Rulin, the girl in his Media Studies class who rocks his world. He uploads the video onto his high school's website for a second opinion. And a third. And a four thousandth. When the video goes viral, the Student Council uses a mock court to try Masha for violating the school's moral code. Roger feels shitty and nominates himself as Masha’s defense counsel. His divorced parents are lawyers. He’ll wipe the floor with those attorney wannabes.

Roger soon finds out he knows squat about legal proceedings and botches Masha's defense. Everybody, including himself, thinks he's a loser. His mother sentences him to a summer internship at her law firm. When the firm capitalizes on the notoriety of Masha's case by holding its own mock trial, Roger gets a second chance.

This time he exposes a perv attorney hiding documents that can help Masha’s case. But Even if Roger wins with off-beat, innovative arguments, he still has a problem. Should Roger tell Masha he's the guy who got her into trouble? Or keep his mouth shut and get the girl?

My work experience at a law firm and attendance at student mock trials inspired me to write I WAS A TEENAGE LAWYER. I belong SCBWI and I am a founding member of the SCBWI listed blog, Pen and Ink at http://thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com

I look forward to discussing my manuscript with you.

Sincerely,
Lupe Fernandez

This is a snail mail letter. It sounds like Lupe and the description of I WAS A TEENAGE LAWYER gives a flavor of Roger's character.


Hilde’s first query was to Dystel and Goderich. Obviously a query is dictated by what the agent we are sending to asks for.Their Criteria from their website:

We like our unsolicited queries to be concise, well-written and well-proofed, and as devoid of gimmicks as possible. Tell us who you are (past writing credits or celebrity status is helpful to know about but not mandatory), what your project is (a summary paragraph is good), and whether you have submitted this project to the entire publishing community already.
In order to get your foot in the door remember that appearances count. We don’t like our names misspelled. We don’t like a lot of typos in general. We don’t like generic “Dear Agent” letters, but we don’t like overly chummy greetings, either. Photographs generally don’t help—unless you’re George Clooney. Plain and simple works best for us. Don’t try to convince us that you’ve written the next Atonement… we’ve heard that one before. Let your project speak for itself.


Hilde’s original query (Specially note the description of her book.) Spacing had been changed because of length.
Dear Ms. Goderich:
I have been a member of SCBWI since 2006. Prior to pursuing a writing career, I was a professional actor and producer. I ran the entertainment network of Florida State alumni called The Florida Project. As president, I provided many opportunities for actors and writers to be showcased, often giving them a positive push in their respective careers.
I produced the award-winning world premiere production of WAITING, by Lisa Soland, which was published by Samuel French in 2004, and then again by Best Women Playwrights in 2007.
To support my writing habit, I teach Spanish in a dual language program in Glendale. I started The Franklin Players at our school and love bringing the gift of theatre to elementary school.
My most recent, work-in-progress involves a collaboration with my husband in raising our dynamic duo who are almost 10.
My usual writing day consists of laundry, dishes, grading papers, and some type of sports practice. One child will look over my shoulder, the other will take the tape dispenser and my 60-pound dog will lay at my feet thinking he’s a small, hand-held puppy.
During any given day, a constant sea of friends will drop in to play basketball, print something, borrow cupcake liners, crash in the garage, or do laundry. I do my best writing between the hours of midnight and 2am.
Thank goodness for spell check.
I have a happy, but noisy home in Burbank
I’m currently working on my debut novel, Wet Foot, Dry Foot.

My novel takes place during the summer of 1980.
In Cuba, thousands clamber onto ramshackle fishing boats in the Port of Mariel, praying they can make it ninety miles north, to the United States. Elsa, a rebellious 16-year-old, doesn’t care about any of that – until she gets thrown out of her prestigious Communist high school in Havana and is forced to leave the country with her father.
In Hialeah, Florida, fifteen-year-old Estrella – or Star, as she prefers to be called – is searching for freedom of a different sort: she’s trying to get out of the shadow of her overbearing Cuban mother, while attempting to escape incessant harassment about her body.
When Elsa winds up at Star’s high school, Star instantly dislikes this “Marielita,” whom everyone equates with Star, while Elsa can’t understand Star’s priorities. Forced to get to know each other, they’re dismayed to learn that they have very much in common – including that they each have fragments of a secret that may unravel their entire lives.

Wet Foot. Dry Foot has been submitted to a few select agents at the request of the agent through SCBWI events. I submitted to Marietta Zacker, Allyn Johnston and Jen Rofé and my novel was in various stages of evolution.
Most recently, I sent it to Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literacy. They requested more pages after my initial query, but after several months of waiting, also ultimately passed on the project.
What all 3 rejections have in common was that they all agreed that my voices were gold, unique, and strong. They agreed that this story should be published. And in Marietta’s case, who’s also Cuban, she felt that I told the story of her people and shared with me that if she was a writer, this would be the story she would write.
Why didn’t they accept my MS? They said the story didn’t quite connect with them, plot problems over voice. I sought the help of Elizabeth Law, after she left Egmont Publishing, and we figured out the core problem.
I then rewrote it and submitted to SCBWI’s Work in Progress Award this passed November.
I believe it’s a compelling story, one that hasn’t been told, and from a perspective that is original and deep. I hope you will consider it.

Hilde’s final query

Dear Ms. Goderich:

Does being an alien on Star Trek shows give me celebrity status? No? Well then . . .

My name is Hilde García. I came to this country in 1969 at the age of two from Cuba. I grew up in Miami and attended Florida State University. Prior to pursuing a writing career, I was a professional actor and producer in New York and LA. Currently, I'm a member of SCBWI and one of the co-creators of the SCBWI listed blog, The Pen and Ink: http://thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com.

To support my writing habit, I teach 6th grade Spanish in a dual-language immersion language school in Glendale, California where I also started an after school theatre program.

My debut novel, Wet Foot, Dry Foot, complete at 95K, takes place in Cuba and Florida during the summer of 1980.

Sixteen-year-old Elsa cares more about kissing her boyfriend than the crumbling political situation in Cuba. Until the regime’s paranoia slaps her in the face. Thrown out of her prestigious communist high school in Havana for treason, she and her father are forced to leave the country, joining thousands of others who clamber onto ramshackle fishing boats at the Port of Mariel, praying they can make the 90-mile journey to the United States. How will she survive without her friends, without her country?

In Hialeah, Florida, fifteen-year-old Estrella, or Star, as she prefers to be called, would love to have a boyfriend, if she could escape the ever vigilant Warden of Rancho Sanchez- her mother. Her mother's crippling sadness has imprisoned Star's soul and clouded her happiness. How can she pursue the American Dream when her mother won’t even let her watch Dallas?

When Elsa enrolls at Star’s high school, she and Star become instant enemies, but neither is sure why. Star can’t understand how the other students equate this “marielita,” with her. Is it just because they have the same body type? Elsa doesn't understand why she needs Star to tutor her when she had been one of the smartest students at her school in Cuba.

They gradually learn that they have very much in common including fragments of a secret they share that may unravel their entire lives.

Wet Foot. Dry Foot has been submitted to a few select agents through requests received at SCBWI events. I've submitted to Marietta Zacker, Allyn Johnston, and Jen Rofé during various stages of my novel’s evolution. Most recently, I sent it to Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literacy. She requested more pages, but after several months of waiting, she ultimately passed on the manuscript.

Why didn’t they accept my MS? They said the story didn’t quite resonate with them due to plot issues. I sought the help of Elizabeth Law as a freelance editor after she left Egmont Publishing. We were able to figure out the core problem with the plot and now, I believe it’s a compelling story; one that hasn’t been told, and from a perspective that is original and deep.

I hope you will consider it. Thank you for taking the time to read it.
All my best,
Hilde García
(contact information followed name.)

Better, Yes?

My original letter for Adams Literary. They have a submission form and want a note, and the entire MS.

Dear Josh, Tracy and Samantha,
I was all set to query you re picture book representation, till I read you only want author/illustrators. Allyn Johnston told me when she bought Log on Log that my illustrations suck. I have to agree with her. On the plus side, she told me I was a genius with rhyme.
Instead I’m submitting a mid-grade multi-cultural novel, Tasha, the Magnificent, complete at 29,200 words.
What do you do when your parents don’t love each other anymore?

Street smart, sassy, Tasha buries her pain in stories. Izzy withdraws into herself, terrified of change. When they friend each other, everything changes.
On her way to her first sleepover at Izzy’s, Tasha sees a statue of a smiling sun in Gramercy Park. She’s convinced it’s a wish granting statue. All they have to do is touch it. Problem? You can’t get in or out of Gramercy Park without a key.
Tasha and Izzy have big wishes. Tasha wants to be famous so that her estranged father will want to see her. Izzy wants her parents undivorced. When their Karate teacher, Master Lee insists the make peace with their arch enemy, Jose Alvarez, they find he has a big wish too. He wants his sister Carmina to speak. Jose becomes their ally in the search for a way to get into Gramercy Park, even though he isn't sure he believes in magic.
They find a way in. Jose’s sister Carmina touches the statue and she speaks for the first time since her mother died. When Izzy’s father says he is coming for Thanksgiving, Izzy’s convinced her wish that her parents will get back together is coming true.
Tasha, scared that Izzy will move back to California goes back to the statue to wish away Izzy’s wish. Everything starts going wrong. Jose is sick. Tasha and Izzy’s friendship explodes.. Somehow Tasha has to find a way to make things right again.

I am a member of SCBWI and RWA. My picture book, Log On Log, is under contract with Beach Lane books. (I consider it my Great American Novel. It’s sixty five words long.)

I have three published picture books with Guardian Angel Publishing. I’ve a few more to query. My debut romance novel, Time and Forever, written as Susan B. James, is a 2015 Golden Quill finalist for Best First Book and a 2015 RONE Award finalist for Best Time Travel Novel. I’m revising my second adult romance. I have a first draft of my third.

Per your guidelines, I’ve attached the ms. I do think you would have liked Nat the Rat and Fat Cat, my mafia picture book complete at 170 words. and Fair Claire, a medieval fairy tale complete at 314 words. If only I could draw!

Blessings
Susan

My Final letter

Dear Josh, Tracy, and Samantha:

What do you do when your parents don’t love each other anymore? Street smart, sassy, Tasha buries her pain in stories. Izzy withdraws into herself, terrified of change. But when they friend each other, they find magic.
Real magic.
Tasha and Izzy have big wishes. Tasha wants to be famous so that her estranged father will want to see her. Izzy wants her parents undivorced. When their Karate teacher, Master Lee insists the make peace with their arch enemy, Jose Alvarez, they find he has a big wish too. He wants his sister Carmina to speak. 
Together, they find a way into Gramercy Park because they are convinced that the statue in that park has magic and will help their wishes come true.
Tasha, the Magnificent, complete at 29k words is a mid-grade multi-cultural novel.

I am a member of SCBWI and RWA.
My Great American Novel, Log On Log, complete at 65 words, is under contract with Beach Lane Books. (Nat the Rat and Fat Cat, my Mafia picture book, complete at 170 words and Fair Claire, a medieval fairy tale, complete at 314 words would be worthy of submission to your agency if only I could draw!)

I have three published picture books with Guardian Angel Publishing and a fourth under contract. My debut romance novel, Time and Forever, written as Susan B. James, is a 2015 Golden Quill finalist for Best First Book and a 2015 RONE Award finalist for Best Time Travel Novel. I’m revising my second adult romance and have started my third.
Attached you will find the manuscript for Tasha. I look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings,
Susan
Susan J Berger

I do have a longer version for those agents who want a more complete synopsis. I sent that one to Rebecca Sherman at Writer's House. But Hilde and Lupe, by changing the beginning , changed everything. They also fixed my bio. Woohoo.
My goal is to get out at least seven more queries this week. I have already completed my research on three. (And yes, I still hate it, but my letter is better.)
So how about you? Are you querying?

How to get Light Years ahead in the Twitterverse

Dear Facebook, There is Someone Else . . .

By Sue Ganz-Schmitt

When my third book Planet Kindergarten was nearing launch in 2014, I was figuring out how to get a presence on Twitter.  I was an avid Facebook user but did not understand Twitter.  It was an overwhelming waterfall gushing down my feed compared to the steady easy to manage stream on Facebook.  I just didn’t get it. 140 characters what was the point?

Facebook’s algorithms frustrated me at that point. My fan page posts to my several hundred followers would get me seven impressions if that. Plus you can only post a couple of times a day on Facebook without annoying people, so without buying ads to bring loads more followers to my page, I was lonely there.  

So I jumped in and have fallen in love with Twitter as my top social media choice ever since.   I still use Facebook but primarily for my closer network of family and friends.

On Twitter, I now get about 1M+ impressions a year.  I found a place to connect to other space enthusiasts, and a place to find and curate information.  It’s not just about having content for me.  It is that I am crazy to learn more. So with every post I share, and every post I find, I am becoming more savvy to my fields of interest.  And I find I now have some pretty interesting topics for dinner conversation.  By the way, did you know that Exoplanet Gliese 436 is coated in burning ice?

Aside from paid promotions to attract followers (which I haven’t found cost effective), the price of growing your Twitter community is time.  Time to find and follow like-minded Twitter users, and time to attract followers with your consistent and appealing posts. 

 One of the things I learned right away is that you don’t want a slew of posts, one after another (which can put people off when you dominate the feed).  The other thing is that I get far more impressions for a post with an image than one without.  My favorite tool –Buffer –helps me with both of these issues. 

Whenever I visit a web page with an article and an image I want to share on Twitter – I right click my Mac’s track pad (using two fingers) and Buffer shows up in the menu.  I select Buffer, and it creates a post and let’s me pull the image in and even add additional images from the article by scrolling through them in the Buffer post window.  I can then edit the text if I choose and select which of my Twitter accounts to post it to (it works with other social media like Facebook or Instagram too).  It is so easy!

Buffer lets me share my post right away, add it to a queue, or allows me to schedule it in the future by date and time.  I pay $10.00 for the service monthly, but you can also use it for free with a limit of 10 posts per day in your queue (vs. 100).  I tend to fill my Buffer for the week on Monday (9 posts per day), and then each day, I can check in on Twitter and reply to comments, retweet others posts, and find timely new posts that I want to add to the days offerings.  It’s a great way to ensure you consistently tweet every day even when on vacation.

Using a queue saves me hours of time every day when I would otherwise get on for a few posts and get sucked into the vortex of random social media that would lure me to a sad video of an octopus coveting a teddy bear on a fishing line that gets yanked away.  As the credits would roll, I would realize another day of writing time – squandered away.  Time to pick up the kids.

My favorite tool to help me follow the users who are right for me, and to unfollow the rest is: Statusbrew.  It is a free service that lets you follow up to 50 users a day, and unfollow up to 100 a day.  You can copy another users following, or find users by key hashtags/keywords that are important to you.  You can easily see who unfollowed you, find your fans that you are not yet following, and a lot more.  While this service is free, you can opt to pay a monthly fee starting at $10 for fewer limits.

One of my own guidelines is to keep my followers equal to or at a greater number than those I follow.   If someone doesn’t follow me back, I unfollow them.  If they are an expert in a field or a newsource that I want to follow and that isn’t going to follow me back – I make and add them to a list.  I never follow spammers or marketers who follow me.  I am here to build a real community, and not just numbers.   

Here’s to finding your space on Twitter.  Find me there and I will follow you back! 

Helpful Links

Statusbrew: https://app.statusbrew.com
Buffer: https://buffer.com/

Sue Ganz-Schmitt is the author of Planet Kindergarten, and it's soon to be released sequel Planet Kindergarten - 100 Days in Orbit. She also wrote. The Princess and the Peanut and Even Superheroes get Diabetes. She is my Superhero because she showed me how to better use Twitter.

 

Sue’s website: http://www.sueganzschmitt.com

Sue on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetKBooks

 

Links From Kris. Appropriate and In Appropriate

 by Kris Kahrs

In the spirit of collaboration, the forces of good and evil here at The Pen and Ink Blog decided to split the difference and list both the appropriate and inappropriate kidlit links this week. 

The Appropriate:

Go to bed with a good book?  What if that book also kept you warm at night? The Great Eastern Hotel in the UK has a blanket designed by Tiago da Fonseca that is also a traditional bedtime story.

The Inappropriate:

Author/Illustrator, Josh Cooley has a series called the L'il Inappropriate Book line.  One of these has a Golden book of our favorite movies, The Godfather. Definitely not a bedtime read for anyone under 21. 

The Appropriate:

 

This ultra-hip library desk from the Tu Delft Architecture Bibliotheek in the Netherlands.  Every bibliophile's dream.

The Inappropriate:

Over at College Humor (and yes, the name does say it all), there are more funny, but ah, inappropriate titles for children.    

My favorite.  You can get the wallpaper here.

Enjoy this week's Appropriate and Inappropriate Links.

The Simple Ideas Behind Promotion for Writers

By guest Poster A,J, Cosmo

A.J. Cosmo is the best-selling author and illustrator of over thirty children's books. I first met him at a book sale at Encino Elementary School. I sat next to him ans was impressed by his style of presentation. The first book of his I read was The Monster That Ate My Socks. Loved it.

Check out his work at ajcosmo.com that is, if you like monsters, imagination, or heart.

I do! A.J not only has a great website, he has a free picture book for following him. I signed up to test it out and Pretty Please? Princess Polly is delightful

The Simple Ideas Behind Promotion for Writers

Everyone wants to promote, or should I say, they

need to promote. For some reason authors tend to shy away from sales. We tell people that it's about the passion, or the craft, or the love of just doing it, which is true, but it would be disingenuous to say that money isn't a factor.

So how do we sell books? Well, why do people buy books?  There are three reasons why a person purchases a book:

1. Entertainment
   The book appeals to them for the sake of passing time, making them feel better, or making them think about something new.
   
   If your book relies on entertainment alone, make sure that you understand what it is about your work that people enjoy. Be sure and ask your readers because the answer may surprise you. Once you understand that, make sure that all of your sales material points to it.
   
   
2. Information
   The book appeals to readers because it contains something they want to know or teach.
   
   This applies well to non-fiction but can also apply to fiction. Some books for children may secretly teach language and shapes while some grown-up books may take place in a historically accurate or otherwise well researched setting. Make sure that your advertising tells readers what they will gain from investing in your book.
   
   
3.  Symbolism
   The book represents more than the sum of its pages. It represents an ideal, movement, or a group of people that the reader wishes to be a part of.
   
   How many of you have gone to a speaker, loved what they said, bought their book, and then never read a single page? Don't feel guilty. You weren't buying their book, you were demonstrating your appreciation of that person and your agreement with their views.
   
   If you can score school appearances, events, or conferences to sell your books, good for you! If you can't though, you can still attach your book to a cause. Wonder by Raquel Jaramillo marvelously tied itself with the relationship between othering and bullying while Harry Potter has become synonymous with perseverance.

Hopefully your book can sell to at least two of these ideas. After all, the best textbooks are also entertaining while wonderfully written narratives can unite entire groups of people (think of John Green.) Spend some time considering how you would sell these features of your book and to whom those features would most appeal.

Basic marketing is nothing more than informing people of something they might like. Inform the right group of people in the correct way and you won't even be called a marketer. Tell the wrong people in an offensive way and you will be thrown out as a shyster.

If we turn all of this into a process you get something that looks like this:

1. Determine what you have.
2. Determine who would want it.
3. Test how best to describe what you have.
4. Find where these people gather.
5. Present what you have to them in an appropriate manner         (as dictated by the customs of the group.)

Simple, no?

Notice how I haven't once mentioned a traditional ad- that's intentional. Ads are like rain; most people ignore it, some avoid it, others get upset by it, but very few people enjoy standing in the middle of it. What you need is something more focused.

If you have a romance book, you would start your promotion by finding groups of romance readers. The more specifically the group matches your product, the better. If your book is about creating romance, you would look for an audience of lonely people to show the work to. If your book is a revolutionary love story about an oppressed minority, you could speak at a convention hosted by said minority.

What you don't do is blow $500 on shotgun Facebook ads, spam Twitter with "buy my book" tweets, or guilt trip your friends and family into making a purchase. All of that will only end in poor sales and tears.

Human beings naturally promote to each other, it's in our DNA. As a species, it's beneficial to share where delicious fruit trees are. Yet, we are also distrustful of those outside our tribe. If your brother tells you of good food, you will go at once to retrieve it, however, if a stranger tells you the exact same thing, your first thought may be of a trap.

That's why finding your audience, your tribe, is so important. Before you can find that tribe though, you first have to understand exactly what kind of fruit you have and who specifically has the taste for it.