That would be excellent

         




I've been a very bad blogger this year, mainly because of this, of course. But G's treatments are now done, and we're working toward getting our life back to our "new normal." But first, we're moving apartments this week and packing is exhausting!

As always happens, while packing I've been finding forgotten things, like this letter Grace had sent me back when we were both seniors in high school. I had brought this with me from my parents' house in California a while back because I wanted to quote some of the letter in a talk I was giving, I think.

In it, we talked about boys, of course. I had asked her to send me a boyfriend, so she sent me this guy:

Cute, huh? She named him Roger.

And here are a few snippets from the letter:

"I'm going to illustrate children's books, y'know. That would be so cool. One day when we're all grown up, you'll see in a book store: Illustrated by Grace P. Lin. That would be excellent."

and:

"I wish I could show you my portfolio. Then you could tell me if you think I'm talented. Or then you could lie to me and tell me you think I'm the bestest artist in the world and of course I will make it into RISD."

I wonder if Grace has the letter I wrote back to her. But I'm sure I said something like:

I think you're talented, Grace! You are the bestest artist in the world, you will make it into RISD, and you will become a famous children's book author and illustrator.

See, I can predict the future!

**edited to add**
For those of you who don't know the story of how Grace and I met, you can read more about it here.

An epiphany

         




At the end of 2012, I talked about burn out. Well, I started this year feeling re-energized (although very busy, still!), and part of the reason for my reinvigoration was that I had a small epiphany. (I may actually have had this epiphany on epiphany...)

What I realized is that during my busiest work times, when I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything I have to do, what I always wish for is the ability to stop time. (You know, like Evie from Out of This World!) What I don't wish is to be able to just sweep the work off my desk. This served as a reminder to me of how much I love my work, every part of it. (well, almost.) I actually want to do all the work. Of course, this hasn't taken away the fact that I don't always have time to do it all as quickly as I would like, but it did help me put things in perspective.

As with many (most?) of us, work-life balance is an on-going issue, and probably will be for most of my life. I don't have the solution, but in addition to some of my new year's resolutions (which are more about making boundaries between work and life, not how to handle workload), I do have some strategies to tackle workload issues this year.

I recently attended a management training that evaluated my personality in terms of leadership. One of the many insights I gained was into how I deal with high-pressure situations. During busy, high-stress times, there is one part of my personality that tends to gets disorganized, and another side of my personality that tries to do even more, take more onto my plate. Not a great combination, and I have to say, very true to my nature.

I've already known this about myself, but it was a good reminder. So I need to get back into the habit of saying "no" more, or at the very least, not volunteering up my time so easily. And I need to stay more organized--I have a few newish tools that I'm trying out, including workflowy.com, which was introduced to me by an agent.

We'll see how it goes!

Regardless, I know it's going to be a great year.

***

I'm heading to Seattle for ALA Midwinter on Friday. If you'll be there, come by the Little, Brown booth to say hi! I'll also be speaking on a CBC Diversity panel on Sunday, January 27, from 3-4. Hope you can make it!

Happy New Year!

         




This is my first post of the New Year, and as usual, I've made a bunch of new New Year's Resolutions. I wasn't as successful as keeping my resolutions from 2012 as I have been in the past, but I'll let myself off the hook. 2013 is a brand-new year!

Here are some of my resolutions for this year:

-No spending money on internet shopping, unless for a gift, a necessity, or for work. (For some reason, this is a controversial goal for a lot of people. I'm not opposed to internet shopping in general--this is just me, but I find I spend too much time and money buying things I don't really need.)

-No candy (I fell off the wagon big time the second half of last year. So I thought I'd revive this one.)

-Have at least one weekend day where I work less than two hours (unless I'm at a conference)

-Don't stay at the office past 9 pm, and if I do stay till 9, only once a week.

-Have at least one unscheduled night a week.

-Do at least one good deed each month

-Throw out or give away at least 150 items (not including trash)

What are some of your resolutions, if you make them?

Back from NCTE/ALAN

         




Happy Thanksgiving, all! I'm still technically on vacation until tomorrow, and I must say, I'm still recovering from being in Las Vegas for the NCTE conference and ALAN workshop for almost a week. It was a bit surreal to be in Vegas and working--I'll just say that I hadn't left the MGM Grand where the conference was held the whole time--I tried to venture out for a run, but must have gone out the wrong exit, because I kept running into construction and dead-ends, so turned around and ran back to the fitness center. Indoors. Ah, well.

Despite the surreal nature of Vegas, it was a great conference as usual, mainly because it was a nice opportunity to hang out with authors, teachers, and fellow publishing folk. I didn't take as many pictures as I normally do, but here are some random moments:

Sara Zarr signing

Stacking the booth with giveaways

Most awesome poster ever: NIGHTTIME NINJA by Barbara DaCosta and Ed Young

panel with Cat Patrick (Forgotten, Revived, and the upcoming The Originals)

Awesome pins for Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Our fearless leader, School & Library Marketing Director Victoria Stapleton (who wears sunglasses at night) with author Matthew Quick (Sorta Like a Rock Star; Boy21; and the upcoming Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock)

Books for our ALAN dinner: I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga and ADAPTATION by Malinda Lo

Barry Lyga was a trouper and came to Vegas despite breaking his foot in four places. We rented him this smooth ride.

We hosted at various times authors Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Jewell Parker Rhodes (Ninth Ward and the upcoming Sugar), Julie Anne Peters (This is Our Prom [now deal with it]), Libba Bray (The Diviners), Gail Carriger (Etiquette & Espionage), Cat Patrick (The Originals), Matthew Quick (Boy21), Sara Zarr (The Lucy Variations), Barry Lyga (I Hunt Killers), Malinda Lo (Adaptation), and Sherman Alexie (who was sponsored at the show by his adult publisher, Grove, to promote Blasphemy).

Lots of good food and conversation was had by all.

***

And just for fun, in case you missed it:

The Dudes of YA: A "Lit-Erotic" Photo Spread by Sean Beaudoin. Pure genius and hilarity.

Sean is brilliant (and yes, I work with him--Going Nowhere Faster, Fade to Blue, You Killed Wesley Payne, and the upcoming Wise Young Fool), and was inspired to put this piece together by a rather innocent blog post by Cat Patrick highlighting (some of the) dudes of YA. 

Hurricane Sandy--how to help

         

fallen trees in Prospect Park after Hurricane Sandy

I spent much of last week glued to the news on TV and online as horrific images of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy swept in. I was lucky to be in a part of Brooklyn that never lost electricity, and amazingly, I never lost internet or cable, either. But many of my friends and colleagues were hit hard--some are still without power, which is getting more and more problematic as the temperature drops.

The Hachette Book Group offices were closed on Monday and Tuesday, and had skeleton crews the rest of the week--as most of the public transportation was down all week, it was difficult for many to make it in. I made it in Wednesday and Friday, but had over two-hour commutes each way--and half the time ended up walking the 6 miles--on Wednesday night I walked home with two colleagues through pitch-black lower Manhattan and then over the Manhattan Bridge:

a dark street in the East Village

one generator-powered light on the Lower East Side

On the Manhattan Bridge--we finally reached light halfway across--this is looking back on the Manhattan-side darkness.

On Friday morning I chose to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge--it was a gorgeous day, at least.

Lower Manhattan was much less ominous in the daylight, but it was oddly deserted--police on some intersections, a few walkers here and there, some cars, but for the most part, it was empty. No traffic lights were working, no stores or restaurants were open. I had bought a breakfast sandwich in Brooklyn, and several people asked me where I got it when I started eating it while walking in Manhattan. "Sorry...I bought this in Brooklyn!" I told them.

Power was finally returned to most of Manhattan Friday night, by midnight. Some subways started running from Brooklyn to Manhattan soon thereafter. I'm hoping my commute this morning will be fairly normal, but we'll see--there are a lot of subway lines still down, so the ones working will no doubt be more crowded. But I can put up with a long, crowded commute. I know I am very, very lucky.

There are so many people in the area who are still in need, still without power, or water, or heat, many without homes. Some have lost their lives, or their loved ones.

There are many ways to help, but the quickest is to text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donate other amounts at their website here.

If you're in the New York area, check out the Occupy Sandy website for how to volunteer and/or donate.

There's also a great online Kidlit Cares: Superstorm Sandy Relief Effort going on right now at author Kate Messner's website here. You can bid on anything from manuscript critiques by editors, agents, and authors; to Skype visits; to a three-day writing retreat. I'm planning on donating something--if anyone has any suggestions, please leave them in the comments (I could do a manuscript critique, but maybe there's something else, short of a book contract, that people might find more valuable?).

Stay safe, everyone.

Comic Con and Symphony Space

           




Happy Fall, all! We've had relatively gorgeous Fall weather in NY, aside from one wintry day, and some gloomy rain. This past weeekend looked like this:

Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY

There are always book-related events going on in NYC, but lately there seem to have been more than usual. Last weekend was New York ComicCon. I hadn't been in about three years, and I was shocked at how big and crowded it's become--much closer to what San Diego Comic Con is like, I was told. I was speaking on a panel, so I got a pass that looked like this:

I joked on Twitter that this is what I looked like after thirty minutes at ComicCon.

I spoke on the Kids/YA Publishers Spotlight panel--basically, ten different publishers buzzed about recent and upcoming Middle Grade and Young Adult books. This was the room my panel was in--it was a packed house! And the best part was that it was filled with fans of books. In fact, the audience would clap enthusiastically when the slide showed a book or author they were excited about, and not just the "big" books. That was pretty cool.

Here was the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers booth:

I had wanted to walk around a bit after my panel, but it was so crowded and overwhelming I couldn't take it. One of the best things about Comic Con, though, is that the majority of the attendees went all out in terms of their costumes. I didn't take any pictures, but there are plenty online, including here, here, and here. So many little kids were dressed up, too.

***

Speaking of costumes, yesterday I went to the Symphony Space for a costume party/Book Release Special Event for The Diviners. It featured a conversation (aka hilarious banter) between authors Maureen Johnson and Libba Bray, a reading from the book by actress Ella Rae Peck (Gossip Girl), and a performance by Dandy Wellington and his Band. Everyone was decked out in their 20s garb (Maureen wore satin pajamas, a la the character Theta in the book), and a grand old time was had. Maureen and Libba talked about their mutual love of serial killers, how the house in The Diviners was inspired by the house built by H.H. Holmes (of The Devil in the White City fame), and how The Diviners was inspired by Libba wanting to write about post-9/11 America--she found many similarities and parallels with 1920s America. Oh, and we also determined that there is no such thing as a sherpa farm (Libba had meant to say "llama farm").

(pardon the odd lighting of the photo) Ella reading with Maureen and Libba listening on stage.

At one point during the Q&A, Maureen and Libba ended up as puddles on the floor. I don't actually recall why they did this...

Dandy Wellington and his Band.

the artists! Don't they look ab-so-tute-ly sharp?

book signing with a fan in costume.

Here's a little snippet of the musical performance:
Libba is doing another booksigning this Thursday at Books of Wonder--it's a Teen Fantasy event with six other YA authors from 6-8 pm. Come on out! I'll be there.

Wednesday night I'll be back at Symphony Space for an event with Lemony Snicket--his new book, Who Could That Be at This Hour? comes out tomorrow--it's a new four-book series, a prequel to The Series of Unfortunate Events. Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) will be sitting down with author Sarah Vowell of This American Life fame.

If you're in the NY area, I hope to see you at one or both of these events!

Speaking of Daniel Handler, check out this hilarious interview:
He is a funny, funny man.

I must say, going to all of these events reminded me that I really like going to readings and other book events. I really should try to go to more that aren't books I've worked on. Have any of you gone to any literary events of note recently? Any upcoming ones you'd recommend?

"Agents and publishers aren't knocking on my door"

I spoke at the SCBWI Michigan Fall conference in Detroit this past Friday and Saturday--it was a wonderfully-organized and attended conference, and as I got to attend with my fellow speakers Libba Bray and Barry Goldblatt, it was a lot of fun. Libba and I both ran workshops on Friday afternoon while Barry did critiques, and then on Saturday we talked separately on various topics (mine was about what defines a good children's book). Then we did a few panels together, including a 1st-pages panel, and a Q&A.
 
For another panel, we talked about the history of The Diviners, "from concept to cover" and it was a trip relieving the whole process. Libba talked about her inspiration for the books, Barry spoke about choosing which editors and publishers to submit it to, and I talked about how as a publisher we rallied together to get the project. We talked about the editing process, too--and I laughed remembering a misunderstanding Libba and I had early on. I had wanted to make sure she was okay with our new policy of copyediting electronically, and she looked at me dismayed, and then said very hesitantly: "But...how will nuance be taken into account?" There was a pause, and some more back-and-forth, and I finally realized she thought we had computers (or robots, perhaps?) copyedit our manuscript. I had to assure her that we still had live people who were talented copyeditors--but that now, instead of copyediting on paper, they did the copyedits using Track Changes in a Word document.

The attendees were passionate, friendly, and engaged, and a lot of great questions were asked, and stimulating discussions were had. However, I do want to discuss one encounter I had with an attendee that has left me feeling a bit perplexed. I hate to pick on one slightly negative encounter, when the whole conference was wonderful, but it's been sticking in my brain, so I thought I'd blog about it. My memory of the exact exchange and the order of what was said is a little fuzzy, but it went something like this.

It was after the conference had finished Saturday evening. I had just fetched my suitcase from the hotel storage and was heading to the bathroom to change into travel clothes, when I woman stopped me to ask a question. I wasn't in too much of a rush, so was happy to chat for a minute. She told me that the question she had submitted for our Q&A panel hadn't been read, so I told her to go ahead and ask me.

"With most publishing houses not accepting unagented manuscripts, what are authors supposed to do?"

"Well, you need to get an agent first." I told her that even authors who had "made it" without an agent generally went back to get agents in recent years, because in today's market, it's generally considered important/a necessity. "The problem is, it's not that easy to get an agent." I said it's still possible to get published without an agent--and by attending conferences and meeting editors, that was one way to do it. We chatted a little more about how the industry had changed with eBooks and self publishing, and then she said something like, "I guess there are more agents now, with editors losing their jobs and becoming agents." and I said, "Yes, for whatever reason, there are more agents now than there used to be." At this point, I realized I needed to get going in order to meet the woman giving me a ride to the airport, and I think she realized this, so we started saying our niceties (thank you and goodbye), but then she said something to the effect of: "Well, I guess I just won't get published."

I was a little surprised by her defeatist tone, and I wanted to be as encouraging as possible, so I said, "Oh, don't say that, don't give up."

"The problem is, agents and publishers aren't knocking on my door."

I didn't have a response for this, and we were already walking away from each other, so I just continued on my way. But later I replayed the conversation and marveled at the woman's attitude. It was as if she felt she was somehow entitled to be published, that it shouldn't be so hard.

I don't know the woman's background--perhaps she'd been coming to conferences for years and was just speaking from extreme frustration. Or maybe it was her first conference, and she was disappointed by what she had learned. But I'm really not sure what that woman wanted me to say. That it should be easy? Did she want me to somehow feel guilted into publishing her? That I'd say, without having read anything she'd written, that I'd publish her book?

It's a tough, competitive business, for sure. It's not easy to get published, nor do I think it should be. It can be heart-breaking, frustrating, and soul sucking, and not everyone is going to make it--in fact, very few people are going to be successful in this industry. But this business can also be joyful, inspiring, and full of supportive, collaborative people. And generally, that's the type of people who attend these conferences. So, give up if you want, if it's not worth it to you, but if you want it enough, then work hard, learn all you can, and try to enjoy the journey. Write from your heart, and surround yourself with supportive, positive people. You may make it, or you may not. It takes a lot of luck and timing to be published, a lot of things that aren't in your control. But it most certainly takes not giving up.

I'll leave you all with the same way I ended my talk at the conference. This is from Stephen King's On Writing: 

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy….you can, you will, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.
             Drink and be filled up.”

the elusive work-life balance

          



Earlier this summer, I read this article in the Atlantic and it really struck a nerve. It was written by a Princeton professor who served a two-year stint in a high government job with the State Department, and was about how women still couldn't truly "have it all" in terms of achieving both professional success and success as a mother raising kids. It's an excellent, thought-provoking piece about how far we've come, and yet how much farther we need to go. Here's one section that really struck me:

After the speech I gave in New York, I went to dinner with a group of 30-somethings. I sat across from two vibrant women, one of whom worked at the UN and the other at a big New York law firm. As nearly always happens in these situations, they soon began asking me about work-life balance. When I told them I was writing this article, the lawyer said, “I look for role models and can’t find any.” She said the women in her firm who had become partners and taken on management positions had made tremendous sacrifices, “many of which they don’t even seem to realize … They take two years off when their kids are young but then work like crazy to get back on track professionally, which means that they see their kids when they are toddlers but not teenagers, or really barely at all.” Her friend nodded, mentioning the top professional women she knew, all of whom essentially relied on round-the-clock nannies. Both were very clear that they did not want that life, but could not figure out how to combine professional success and satisfaction with a real commitment to family.

The timing of this article coincided with one of my colleagues announcing that she was leaving her job to spend more time with her family. It especially hit home because, like the author of the article, this colleague has older children--for whatever reason, I always associated a parent needing to be at home more with having younger children, but duh, older kids need their parents around, too, sometimes more than babies do--and they can actually articulate that need.

I don't have kids, but I do want to eventually. And as I was preparing to get married this summer, I've also been trying to reevaluate my work-life balance (something that I seem to ALWAYS be doing). I think I'm better at drawing lines now--in fact, when an agent asked if an author could deliver a manuscript the day before my wedding, I told him "that's fine, but I won't be editing it!" and life went on (and instead the author delivered early and I edited it two weeks before my wedding). I also managed to not check work email while away at my wedding and honeymoon (well, except once...). I'm working on not checking work emails when I'm not in the office. Sometimes it's the small things that matter.

This elusive "work-life balance" is a constant theme--I know we've all talked about it several times on this blog already over the years. We all struggle with it, from entry-level assistants to directors, from writers and illustrators who also have day jobs, to full-time freelancers, whether we have kids or families or not.

Publishing is a great industry to be in, and children's books especially is dominated by women, including many working mothers. Many are able to work at home a day or two a week, and many companies (including mine) offer flex time if you need to adjust your work hours for reasons, including child care. As someone who does want to raise a family, I feel lucky to be in this industry, but it still isn't easy.

I work long hours in the office (on average, I work from 9 am till 8 pm unless I have plans after work) and there's still plenty more to do--there's always more to do. I've gotten better about not feeling guilty about not working more, mainly because I know I can't work more than I do and stay sane, and I know the people I work with need me to stay sane. But the thing is, this is a business built on passion, and we want to honor that. I know that each book means any or all of the following to the authors and illustrators: it's your livelihood. It's your art. It's how you want to be remembered after you're gone. It's your heart and soul poured out on paper. It's your life's work. It's your name on the cover. (is it something else? Let me know!)


I know for freelancers the work/life lines can be even harder to draw--when you don't have a physical office to leave, how do you end the work day? Do you refrain from working weekends? Do you force yourself to take vacations? Do you only work in the mornings/afternoons/evenings?

One editor I know told me that she's willing to work late at the office during the week, but refuses to work on the weekends. An agent recently told me that she starts work late, gives herself a break for a few hours around dinnertime, and then works again at night. Saturdays are her days off, but she works on Sunday. Last year I decided that I wouldn't work at the office past 9 pm. Lately, I've been trying to draw the line at 7:30 or 8. And I give myself at least one weekend day off.

I do think it's important for us to keep drawing lines. So, what lines do you all draw? I'd love to hear any techniques that work for you.

Back to Blog

After a busy summer, us Blue Rose Girls are committed to posting regularly again. While students and teachers are going Back to School, think of it us as going "Back to Blog"! Thanks to everyone for your patience--if you have any suggestions for future posts or questions about publishing, writing, illustration, or children's books that you'd like to hear our take on, please leave them in the comments.

So, what's been going on with me besides this? Work-wise, that is...

Way back in June (gosh, has it really been that long since I've posted?) I attended the ALA Annual Convention in Anaheim.

I had a book I edited become a #1 New York Times bestseller with The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer--the first #1 for me! Not a bad wedding gift--I found out while on my honeymoon, on a wine-tasting trip. Cheers!

My 13-year anniversary of working at Little, Brown was on August 16. Lucky 13! It's been an amazing run--here's hoping the next 13 years are just as eventful.

Speaking of, I got a fancy new title at work: Executive Editorial Director.

We're gearing up for the publication of Libba Bray's new book The Diviners. Check out the amazingly creepy trailer:


Over at the CBC Diversity blog, we hosted another "It's Complicated" conversation, this one about book covers, and featuring posts by an Art Director, a Sales Director, a former Book Buyer, a bookseller, and an author. Check it out, and participate in the discussion!

I've been busy working on Chris Colfer's new novel Struck By Lightning, pubbing this November. Check out the cover here. I've also been working on Holly Black's new novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, due out next Fall, as well as other books on my Fall 2013 list: a new Ling & Ting by Grace Lin, a new picture book by Peter Brown, a picture book with Bryan Collier, and a picture book with Mordicai Gerstein. After having only having one picture book on my list published this year (Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta and Ed Young), it feels quite wonderful to be diving into multiple picture books again!

Speaking of Nighttime Ninja, it's already received two starred reviews. The Diviners and Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky have already racked up three starred reviews each! I'm hoping the stars will keep coming...

I think that sums up my summer pretty well work-wise...more next week! Happy almost Fall, everyone.