Submit. Then Revise and submit again.

by Susan J Berger

I think writing is easier than submitting. It's hard to send your story out knowing that there is a very good possibility you will be rejected.
Today I read a post on Literary Rambles on R&R (revise and resubmit) from the POV of agent Natalie Lokosil of The Bradford Agency and debut author Lindsey Becker. 

Lindsey writes of her journey to acceptance with her debut book. The Star Thief. Literary Rambles is always worth reading and is a great guide to agents. If you are not using it as a resource, you're missing a good bet.  I put the link to the post above.

Just in case you want to check out The Bradford Agency, here's a link to their guidelines. http://www.bradfordlit.com/submission-guidelines/

and Here's  a link to Natalie's page

http://www.bradfordlit.com/about/natalie-fischer-lakosil/

I've submitted to Sarah and Laura at The Bradford Agency. (Neither of them do picture books.) I think I would like to try Natalie.

 

Last week I got out two picture book queries - the snail mail kind.
Clarion Book, a division of Houghton Mifflin is now accepting unsolicited submission for children's books and separately for artwork.

Children’s Books:

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Clarion Books and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers are the hardcover imprints of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers Division.

Please note: Presently, only Clarion Books is accepting unsolicited submissions. HMH Books for Young Readers will not be reviewing unsolicited submissions at this time.

While we accept unsolicited and unagented submissions, we do not respond unless we are interested in publishing the work or would like to request a revision. Our time frame for a response is up to twelve weeks. We regret that we cannot respond personally to every submission, but each manuscript does receive careful consideration.

Your manuscript should be typed and submitted via mail. We do not accept submissions by e-mail or fax. Please do not send a self-addressed return envelope or postcard, as materials will not be returned. Manuscripts will be recycled if we determine that they are not a match for our publishing program.

For picture books and novels, please send the entire manuscript. For nonfiction, submit a synopsis and sample chapters.

When submitting work to any publishing house, it is useful to check your local bookstore or library to get a sense of the company’s publishing style. This research may also help you determine which HMH imprint is best for your work. Please submit exclusively to one HMH imprint.

Submissions to Clarion Books should be sent to the following address:

Clarion Books / Submissions
3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Illustration Submission Guidelines

The design department receives samples from potential illustrators of picture books and fiction book jackets for Clarion Books and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. (Illustrations that are part of a picture book dummy with text should be submitted to the editorial department per the instructions above.)

Send color copies or tear sheets; do not send original artwork or slides. Please show a limited selection of your strongest work. Illustrations that feature children or animals are helpful, but feel free to submit other subject matter. Samples will not be returned. We will contact you only if we have a potential illustration assignment.

Our mailing addresses are as follows:

Clarion Books OR Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Design Department / Art Samples
3 Park Avenue South, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
Design Department / Art Samples
125 High Street
Boston, MA 02110

I vow to do at least one submission next week. On a happier note, I have two books eligible for the Crystal Kite Awards. Two. How's that for wonderfulness?

Earthquake, 2nd Edition is a non fiction book about Earthquakes with factoids and some fun experiments. and Mom, is There a Santa Claus? is a picture book about - well the title says it all.

 If I had don't this post last week, I could have asked for votes.
Timing is everything.
SUBMIT!

 

First Lines from Crystal Kite Finalists

by Susan J. Berger

Congratulations to winners of the Crystal Kites in the fifteen SCBWI districts.

Congratulations to all the Crystal Kite Finalists.

The Crystal Kite is a rather odd award in that there are no Categories. Therefore a picture book may be competing against a young adult novel.  From the SCBWI Website: The Annual Crystal Kite Award is a peer-given award to recognize great books from 15 SCBWI regional divisions around the world.

This post covers the finalists in California and Hawaii and the West.  I was surprised to find that many of these books were available both in hardback and in Kindle form. I will be covering all the districts in future first line posts.

California, Hawaii

Words

Flow,

Tumble,

Fill the page.

They tell my story.

I promise every word is true.

Some Days you just need pie.

The creeping realization that this was a pie day began at breakfast for Gregory Korenstein Jasperton As he made his way toward food, he could hear conversation in the dining room, and while his brain told him that meant it was a day to go straight to the breakfast drawer in the kitchen, his nose smelled bacon. The nose won.

The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus

 (This one's on my Must Read list.)

Chapter one

Things (that seemed to have nothing to do with me, but did, and) that changed my life:

My destiny was decided in a second hand bookstore the day before I was born when my mother, Isabella found a book of proms. She’d been searching for a name for me, something that would set my life’s direction. She was a free spirit and poet herself, having sold a few poems to Hallmark that got made into cards. The saleslady suggested Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,  but my mother said absolutely not; did she want me to end up a star crossed lover who dies too young, for heaven’s sake?

Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

 

Russia, 1910

On the eve my beloved Ryczar was born, under a bright full moon, the north wind whistled and howled. Like a forest spirit gone mad with merriment, it ripped through the Woronzova Kennel and sprawling grounds of Count Vorontsov’s grand country estate. All night long, icy flakes of windswept snow drummed against the stable windows until the last pup was born at dawn.

Lara's Gift by Annemarie O'Brien

Winner California Hawaii Division

Whenever the wind lifted off the river, and sent the trees to dancing, I itched to fly a kite.

I’d race to the great Niagara, plumes of mist rising from plunging waters, wind licking at my face.

 A boy like me knew, just knew which day would be perfect for flying kites.

The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O'Neil, Illustrated by Terry Widener

I bought The Kite That Bridged Two Nations at the 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference and loved it.

West (Washington, Northern Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota)

Tariq

June 3, 1947

“I know you will make us proud, Tariq” Master Ahmed calls to me as I step onto the dusty sidewalk outside the school gates.

                I lift my palm to my face, fingertips to my forehead, bow, “Khuda hafiz.”

                “And may He guard you as well,” Master Ahmed replies. “Give my best to your parents.”

                “Shukriya.”

A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury

I was unable to find the first page of Bedtime in The Meadow. Here is the Goodreads Description:

It's time for the animals in the meadow to find their way back home to sleep. Butterfly rests on a cattail, dragonflies settle on leaves, and bees gather in their hive. Families of foxes, ducks, and rabbits cuddle close for slumber. The soft padded covers, rounded corners and sturdy board pages make this title a perfect fit for preschoolers!

Bedtime In The Meadow by Stephanie Shaw

1 A year the devil designed.

Portland Oregon –October 16, 1918

I stepped inside the railroad car, and three dozen pairs of eyes peered my way. Gauze masks concealed the passengers’ mouths and noses. The train smelled of my own mask’s cotton, boiling onions, and a whiff of something clammy and sour I took to be fear.

                Keep moving, I told myself.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

 

Inside the museum of truly old things, past the food court, the woolly mammoths, and the wheel exhibit, the last Dinosaur Tooth Fairy polishes her collection of fangs.

(I love this line! I must have this book!)

The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy by Martha Brockenbrough, Illustrated by Israel Sanchez

 

 

 

Winner West Division

Does a feather remember it was once a bird?

Does a book remember it was once a word?

Once Upon A Memory by Nina Laden, Illustrated by Renata Liwska

Any favorites? Did you find any Must reads? Write on!