Winter Wonderland: Original Snow Poems & Pictures

As Grace wrote in her post yesterday—it’s a winter wonderland here! I thought I’d post some of my original snow poems and pictures that I took yesterday.


A SNOW QUATRAIN

Snow dropped by…
and here am I
catching flakes
of falling sky!

SNOW HAIKU

After the blizzard
snowmen are sprouting up
like winter wildflowers

Like stars shaken from
The sky, snowflakes whirling down
In white galaxies

A snowman shadow
paints himself in blue upon
a cold white canvas

WINTER BALLET

It’s white snow,
Bright snow,
Soft-as-feathers light snow…
Tiny ballerinas there
Pirouetting through the air
With their shiny crystal shoes
In their winter dance debuts.

UNTITLED

(I have written many different versions of this poem over the years. I'm not sure I've got it right yet.)

Snow whispered down so soft and light
I didn't hear it come last night.
A white coat covers everything--
The porch, the walk, my tire swing.

My yard looks like a polar bear
Wrapped up in her creamy hair...
All snuggled warm inside her skin
That will not let the winter in.

WINTER WHITE
(Inspired by Joyce Sidman's Red Sings from Treetops.)

Winter White
whirls in the wind,
waltzes down from clouds,
alights with feathered feet.
It pillows the ground,
muffling the sound of footsteps
on the walk.
Winter White
wraps the rhododendron
in a fluffy shawl,
lays a feathered quilt
over the frozen pond.
Winter White
etches windowpanes with frosty fingertips.
It whispers through icy lips,
sounds like a ghost
shivering in cold blue shadows.

You can read more of my color poems here.

********************

At Wild Rose Reader, I have Jack Attack: An Original Fairy Tale Poem.

Laura Salas has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Writing the World for Kids.

gathering snow

It's a winter wonderland here in New England and I love it. For traveling and all practical things it is a pain, but the sheer beauty of it is breathtaking.

I guess one of the reasons that I like it is because I've always kind of seen it similar to the writing process. Tiny snowflakes falling everywhere are like the ideas and experiences all around you. And when it comes time to write, you gather the snow and build.

So to me, it seems fitting that the snow is falling now because presently I am in the "gathering snow" phase of my work. Right now I am just trying to experience things that may inspire something in my writing later. Like seeing Cirque Du Soleil's Dralion:

And visiting the Peabody Essex Museum's exhibit on the Forbidden City's Treasures:
Next on my list is a Shen Yun Performance and then the Met's Special Exhibit on Chinese Art (though I have to figure out when I can get down to NYC). I don't know how exactly any these things will help with my work but if they do, I hope they help me create something beautiful.

avoiding the pressure

I was just scanning through the posts when I came across mine, and thought, "I didn't write that!" I got a little weirded out. Then I realized that it was the me in a time machine, going way back to 2006! Can you believe that? 5 years ago! Damn. Time is flying by and I'm aging rapidly. Or something like that. But anyway, if you look a few posts down you will see one about me talking about a bunch of different things, but on the list is what I would do if I won the Caldecott. I haven't had that Caldecott thought in a long, long time. Does that mean that I'm not a dreamer anymore? I don't know. I still dream, but not about that one. I have other dreams.

I just want to give a shout out to all of the youngins out there: don't put too much pressure on yourself! Do what you do best. Don't think about that top award. Chances are (and I don't say this to get you down or make you depressed) you won't win it. Yes, someone has to win it, but statistically speaking, you won't win. And yes, in my post way back in 2006 I said that I didn't expect to win and I really didn't but there was still that little glimmer of something. I don't know what. But you know what? Things come along when you don't expect them to. I got what I wanted for the most part. I have been recommended by the NYT, I've had my starred reviews, my ALA whatever it's called (I'm sorry, I really can't remember - brain drain), and so on. My point is that I think when you just DO then it will come. When you PUSH it might not. You might bomb. Or you might stress too much and end up DISAPPOINTED. I was just talking about this with my mom. I was talking about my latest book and the author's note and how much trouble I was having and she asked me why I was adding so much stuff and making it sound so boring to the ordinary person. I explained that I wanted to win a certain award and to do that I thought I should change the way I make books. I said "Well, the nonfiction books that win awards put more of this and that in and my books are very simple and..." She said that I was being ridiculous. She said if I wrote books for that purpose then I'll sound false. And you know what? She's right. So I started over. I'm never going to try go do that again. I promise! So what if I never win that award. And this year I didn't even realize when the award day had popped up... and I didn't care! I'm proud of what I've accomplished. I need to be happy with that.

I will continue to make books that I think (hope) kids will love. I will do the very best that I can and will push myself to find new subjects and improve, learn and grow on my own terms. I'm not going to add in this or that so that I can win an award or make my book seem more appealing to a librarian on a committee. I'm ashamed that I was even going to attempt it. That's all I can do. And for all you new people out there (and more experienced) don't fall pray to what I have. You will be a fool if you do.

meghan

Tradition and 2011

When Alvina’s entry last week mentioned the tradition of BRG’s to post their New Year’s resolutions, it got me thinking about tradition.

Every New Year’s Day since that day in 1995, I have placed a new, daily Disney calendar on my nightstand and ripped off the cover so January 1st showed. Why my mother decided I needed or wanted a Disney calendar for Hanukkah at 16 years old, I can’t say. I also can’t explain why it became clear that she should buy me another the following year. In 1996, the calendar came with me to overnight camp and that summer while she was becoming my best friend, my co-counselor and I would turn the page together at midnight. Starting that summer, the calendar became a sort of horoscope; it was always easy to start the day with the image of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, but when Queen Maleficent greeted me, I approached the day with trepidation. Through the years the calendars have followed me…to college, to my first apartment, to New York.

(Please still take me seriously as a professional literary agent)

In December, my mother called and said she had bad news, “Rebecc, I can’t find the Disney calendar. “ Still on the phone, we went online together and confirmed—there is not a 2011 daily Disney calendar. Now I know that so many have faced much greater losses. Still, without a choice, a tradition that I’ve maintained for half my life ended.

When I was at my mother’s house between Christmas and New Year’s she had the local news on TV (for some reason she still doesn’t believe me that the Daily Show provides more news that he local NBC). There was a “man on the street” segment in which people were asked what their New Year’s resolutions were. One woman exclaimed, “If I tell you it won’t come true!” and the newscaster responded, “No! That’s a wish!”

It was a funny moment, but it also made me think. While it’s pretty obvious, I had what my 2010 gift bestower, Oprah, would call “an ah-ha moment.” A wish is hoped for and beyond one’s control. (I realize Alvina and Grace also mentioned this in their 2011 posts, but I needed to realize it for myself and in my own way). A resolution is an achievable goal that can only be reached by the efforts of the list maker herself. So here are my resolutions…*

1. By the end of each business day, respond or have my assistant respond to every email or call from a client, a publisher’s office, or within Writers House.

Now it may seem a given that I would do this, but days are quickly filled with the most urgent matters and on projects that were already on the calendar for the day. At times, the emails I receive between the time I leave the office and enter the next morning could fill my entire day. My goal is not to answer every inquiry posed to me daily, because it would be impossible. I will respond and give a realistic timeline for when their email or call will be addressed or who I need to be in touch with to provide a complete response.

2. To have bi-monthly meetings with my assistant dedicated to discussion of submissions and queries from potential clients.

3. Be more consistent about announcing clients’ achievements on Twitter and Facebook.

4. Check in more (whether over lunch, drinks, or just by picking up the phone) with editors and other agents to see what is new, talk about the industry, or to pick their brains about something instead of just calling when there is a particular matter regarding one of my clients that needs to be discussed.

5. Be a better Book Club hostess. I started an industry book club in 2005 that meets monthly at Writers House. I love having to opportunity to read published middle grade and YA books with other adults who read and love these books. However, in 2010, we most definitely did not meet 12 times…and that is admittedly my fault. I will make sure our record is better in 2011.

6. Check in with clients who don’t call or email as often to provide the opportunity for discussion about what has happened since we last spoke and get updates on how their writing or art is going even if I know that they are making progress and are sure to deliver on time.

7. Make sure clients 2011 needs are met. As an agent, especially one who represents so many picture book clients, it’s easy to live two or more years ahead (I have already sold books on schedule for 2014). While keeping a close eye on selling books for the future, I can always do more to attend to the books published this year and the promotion that goes along with those books.



There are a couple more resolutions (8 &9), but I am going to discuss them in greater detail in a post to come.

10. And though it may seem vague, my big resolution is to look carefully at my work- related traditions. There are many that are in place because they serve my clients and me well. I certainly am not going to rid myself of those simply for the sake of change. However, I resolve to challenge my own traditions when they can be improved upon or should be ended (to save time, open my mind in some way, allow for new connections to be made, etc).

Of course, all my resolutions for 2011 are not business related, and I won’t enumerate them here, but I do want to touch on them. I would guess many of you readers have personal as well as professional resolutions for the New Year and they can definitely effect each other, no? Anyway…

I was part of the beginning of BRG resolution-making in December of 2008.


If you notice, there is silverware carefully placed over some of my resolutions, theoretically so that BRG readers wouldn’t see them. However, the real reason was probably that I didn’t want everyone to see goals that I might not really expect myself to achieve. They were resolutions not wishes. They were in my control, not left up to chance. They wouldn’t be easy and would require change. So, in terms of personal resolutions, I resolve not to keep with tradition, to not have the need to put those resolutions on my list in 2012.

I could tell you what my wishes are for 2011 too…but if I told you, they wouldn’t come true!

p.s. It seems to be a new tradition of mine to write blogs that are one week late. I will write about the ALA awards next week, but can’t end this entry without saying how proud I am of my client David Ezra Stein who received a Caldecott Honor for his picture book, INTERRUPTING CHICKEN, and our Grace who received a Geisel Honor for LING & TING: Not Exactly the Same!

*I have decided that action taken to meet these resolutions did not begin on the stroke of midnight January 1st, but the day this blog posted. My resolutions. My rules.

Rebecca Sherman is a fabulous agent with over 9 years of experience at Writer's House. Her clients include Lunch Lady author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka, the Scott O'Dell Award Winner Matt Phelan, Caldecott Honor Illustrator Brian Pinkney, recent Caldecott Honor Illustrator David Ezra Stein and Blue Rose Girls Anna Alter and Grace Lin. You can follow Rebecca on twitter @rebeccagent.

Ling & Ting Receives 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award!

I listened to the ALA Youth Media Awards podcast earlier today. I was SOOOOOO happy when I heard that Grace had won a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for her first early reader—Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same!. Grace is way too modest to make the announcement on Blue Rose Girls—so I decided to do it myself. I’m one of Grace’s biggest fans and admirers.

From ALA: Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book “Bink and Gollie,” written by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile is the 2011 Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.

Two Geisel Honor Books were named: “Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!” written and illustrated by Grace Lin and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.; and “We Are in a Book!” written and illustrated by Mo Willems and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Congratulations, Grace!!!

Other Awards and Starred Reviews for Ling & Ting
•Junior Library Guild Selection
•starred Booklist review
•starred Kirkus review
•starred Horn Book review
•starred School Library Journal review
•NY Times Sunday Book Review
•2010 Kirkus Best Children's Books
•2010 Booklist Editor's Choice
•PW's Best of Books of 2010

Ling & Ting Book Trailer


Ling & Ting Paper Dolls

Ling & Ting Educator’s Guide

look how pretty Alvina looks!

of course, I'm biased and think she looks nicer here:

from the BRG archive: success and the road to publication

It’s my turn to post and just as suspected, I can’t come up with a thing to say. Certainly nothing insightful like the previous posts by the wonderful and talented others. I’m going to take this opportunity to throw some random thoughts and questions your way. Consider this sort of a free association.

My first question is––if you are a writer, what would you do if you won the Newbery? If you are an illustrator, what about the Caldecott? I’m afraid, sadly, that I’m the type of person who can never truly enjoy things for what they are. This is a conversation I posted on my personal blog––

What would I do if I became successful?
On Monday, while at work, a coworker asked what I would do if I ever won the Caldecott.
"Yeah, like that would happened," I said.
She said "You'd pass out, wouldn't you?"
I said "I would never win. It's like winning the lottery. It's not gonna happen."
"But you'd pass out."
"No, I wouldn't."
"Yes, you would."
"No, that wouldn't happen. This is a silly conversation."
"You'd pass out. I would."
"IF that happened, and I got the phone call, then I'd think someone was prank calling me. I'd tell the caller they were mean and that it's not cool to do something like that. Tricking people is not nice"
"Well, once you realized that it was for real, you'd pass out."
I thought for a moment. "No, I'd worry about giving a speech. I'd worry about what I was supposed to wear. I'd worry that I wouldn't be able to get up early enough to make it onto the Today Show."

My second random thought is I guess more of a complaint––I can’t stand that 3 out of the 4 publishers I’ve worked with want the cover before any interiors. Obviously you want the cover to reflect the book as a whole… but how can you do that if you don’t know what the rest of the book will look like! This is a constant problem. It is also a problem when you’re not quite sure what you want your characters to look like and keep changing your mind. Okay, the “you” in this rant is obviously a fill in for “me.” If there are others out there who feel the same way, speak up! It’s time we illustrators take a stand!

Here’s another random thought––I often forget how large my desire and desperation was to be published. At the tender age of 22, fresh out of RISD, ALL I wanted was to be published! I didn’t care if I was successful or had money or anything else. That was my one goal. I remember when I got the “phone call.” Actually, it was a phone message. I had just moved to NYC and was not mature enough to leave normal voice mail messages. Instead, I did accents. One week it sounded like a southern belle lived in the little Williamsburg ghetto-style apartment while the next week one could swear it was someone from Englad. Confusing? Yes. Funny? I thought so! I think my editor-to-be called back three times before leaving a very discombobulated message. She said something like “Um…I don’t know... um... I don't know if I have the right phone number… this is…um…I’m looking for Meghan McCarthy. This is so-and-so from Viking Children’s Books and I’m calling with good news…” I remember leaping out of the shower with no towel on (feel free to imagine whatever you’d like there!) and jumping up and down. I knew what this meant! I took a moment…more like 15 min…to collect myself, then called my mom and a few friends…THEN called the editor back. After I got the official offer I thought I would be set for life! I told my friend “I’m going to be an author and I will never have to worry about money or holding down a crappy job again!” Okay, I was WRONG WRONG WRONG but that’s the way the story goes.

What was your first offer like? Editors––what’s it like from the other end? Let me and all of us know!

I have now rambled on for a VERY long time. It’s funny how “nothing to say” turns into a LOT to say.

Farewell,
Meghan
(soon I will come up with my own amazing tagline! Or perhaps you can help me decide what it shall me. Yes, that will be grand)

Originally published Aug. 6, 2006

Well begun is half done

Usually, I have a long list of resolutions and accomplish very few of them. Last year, though, I did achieve the main thing -- earn enough money to live on without worrying. That is harder to do if you're a freelancer than I ever thought it would be when I left my last real job: writing about finance for the Fidelity Web site.

Me doing this was always fairly ridiculous -- though I really loved the group I worked with, especially the designers (we were called the "Creative Group" by the rest of the company and had our own litttle clubhouse). But every time I wrote an article, I'd have to look up words in Barron's or some such -- a blue book that defines financial terms like "put" and "call." Each time, I'd vow to remember what they meant, but it was so foreign to me that I never could.

Now that my income for the next 6 months at least is assured, achieving other goals feels within my control. It may be uphill work



but I'll make it. I've whittled my goals down to three -- though each has specifics (how to do it, milestones, subgoals).

GET MY ENERGY BACK
*chakra chanting and yoga, bouncing (I got a mini-trampoline: bouncing on it is really good for your lymph system), vigorous exercise--walk, swim, ski, ride a horse or bicycle every day.
*stick with the Fat Flush diet -- this means planning out meals and having good vegetables around and even, for busy days, cooked and waiting to be eaten...and NOT having things like chocolate, nuts, and wine in the house
*take vitamins, drink water every day
*no sugar
*in bed by 10pm -- NO STAYING UP ALL NIGHT reading or, worse, watching addictive series from Netflix (most of the old Masterpiece Theatres are there for instant download! Very tempting), or worst of all, worrying.

WRITE, TRYING MY HARDEST
*start at 7.30 every morning
*finish a chapter a week -- it doesn't have to be perfect, but it does have to be Good Enough, with THINGS HAPPENING, not just conversation and descriptions.....



DON'T WAIT
*wear cute clothes and look nice (as Grace said, what am I saving them for?) every day.
*see the people I love MUCH more often
*go ski-ing, take riding lessons
(*go to England)
*feel grateful for what I have NOW -- stop living in the future

"Happy is he, and he alone,
the man who can call today his own.
He who looking back can say,
Tomorrow do your worst for I have lived today!"

Underlying attittude: COMMIT/DO THINGS WHOLEHEARTEDLY OR NOT AT ALL
--this is a little harder to explain, but I'll try. It means: when I'm working, really work. When I'm relaxing,really relax. When I'm having fun, revel in it, enjoy it -- don't ruin it by thinking I should be working. Minimize activities that are neither work nor play; just being HONEST can make things one or the other. For example, if I'm writing email to friends, admit that it's Just for Fun, don't pretend I'm writing!

Similarly, eliminate activities that I don't really enjoy but find myself doing out of habit or boredom or indecision or lack of energy. Asking myself,
"Is this productive? Is this fun? If not -- do I have to do it?"
If the answer to all three is no, don't do it. Well....there are SOME things that are niether productive nor fun that you do have to do, but not that many. Some can be skipped, some can be off-loaded onto others-- and the ones I have to do, I will do quickly, and without procrastinating.

Procrastinating just prolongs the energy spent on something -- or, more poetically,
"Procrastination is the thief of time."
So, just do the boring things and get them over with -- and NOT first thing in the morning. Save the times with the best energy for the most important activities.

I'm happy to report that eight days into the new year, I'm on my way! I already have more energy, have lost a little weight, and am making progress on my novel.

I love new years and new starts. We used to sing this at school in, I think, second grade (imagine a bouncy tune and seven year olds singing it while the teacher played the piano):

"JANUARY DAYS ARE SHORT!
JANUARY NIGHTS ARE LONG!
A HAPPY NEW YEAR HAS JUST BEGUN
SO SING THIS JANUARY SONG."

I do.

my video in B&W

Not All Princes Are Cut from the Same Cloth: An Original Fairy Tale Poem

A few weeks ago I posted Fairy for Hire, an original poem from my unpublished collection Excerpts from the Fairy Tale Files. Today, I have another poem from the same collection.

NOT ALL PRINCES ARE CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH

“Yoohoo, Rapunzel! It’s your prince
With a gallon of Supreme Crème Rinse…
A gift for you, my lady fair,
To bring out highlights in you hair.
Oh hark! Rapunzel, listen, dear.
There’s something urgent you must hear.
I cannot climb your golden braid.
I’ve vertigo and I’m afraid
Of falling from the tower top—
At least a fifty-five-foot drop!
I just might break my royal bones.”

Rapunzel, in the tower, groans.
“Alas, I’ll live here all my life.
How will I marry? Be your wife?
You’re just a chicken! How did I
Get stuck with such a coward? WHY?
Sleeping Beauty’s prince is brave,
Prevails through hazards just to save
His dozing damsel in distress.
YOU give me crème rinse? I’m depressed.
Now show some gumption or I’ll be
A prisoner for eternity.
Unless you free me from this jail,
No one will write our fairy tale.”

***************

At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original fairy tale letter poem titled My Dear Little Red.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Live. Love. Explore! this week.

And as for 2011 goals...

I don't have any. When you get sick, as I am, you realize that there's no point in having goals because you never know what's going to happen to you. All I can do is take one day at a time. ONE DAY. That is all. I don't even want to see beyond a week. I used to be a workaholic and in a lot of ways I miss that. I had a lot of drive. I hope to get that back when I get things under control but I don't think I can ever have large goals again. I had a dream last night and my grandmother was in it. She died when I was a teenager. She was going to my funeral. I really miss her a lot. I'm not saying I'm going to die. All I'm saying is that goals would only make my situation worse. I feel like I can be a better person each day without them. I go to the gym regularly, I try to get my protein in, I try to update my website and be creative... and I'm getting myself out there. I feel that that's enough.

this and that

I'm STILL working on my author's note. Wah. Really. Wah. I hope it will be done soon. After that i need to move on quickly to my next project with S&S. It's about how the current flag got all its stars. It sounds boring but I promise it's not!

So the storm was crazy here in NYC. Now plowed streets. No garbage pick-up. Lots of slushing through the snow and getting your pants and shoes wet.

If you know about the crazy stories of birds falling from the sky you'll find my video interesting:

http://www.meghan-mccarthy.com/the_birds.html

While I was at my parents house all of these birds gathered. More than we'd ever seen before. It was crazy! Maybe there really is something happening with birds. I caught it with my ipod--what a great little device!

So I don't have anything special to talk about. I'm all over the place with this and that. I just have a lot of different things do deal with and I feel kind of nuts. For example: I got a speeding ticket and they couldn't print the thing out so they said they'd put it in the mail. Well the ticket took a month to come. I paid it. But apparently I paid it too late (not my fault - it's because it took a month for them to put the thing in the mail!) so now I'm going to lose my license if I don't pay a much bigger fine unless I answer a letter - but I only had a week to answer it and because of the holidays it didn't come in time! Everything is just crazy. And meanwhile I'm supposed to get the author's note done and be PAINTING a new book! PAINTING! i haven't even done the sketches!

LIFE JUST GETS IN THE WAY. It's not like going to work and then coming home. Freelance life is different.

meghan

It's not an easy reader!

I was honored to be this month's guest blogger for TeachingBooks.net! Here's a snippet:

I admit I gave a little sigh of relief when I saw that my publisher classified my book Ling & Ting (Little Brown, 2010) as an early reader. So many times titles for this level are referred to as easy readers. I know I am biased, but to me there is nothing easy about a successful book for beginning readers...read the rest at the Teaching Books blog

Catching You Up on My 2010…all in one post.

Between my last day of 2010 in the office and today, I was busy hopping from New York to Chicago to L.A. to Chicago to New York (why? tradition. I’ll talk more about that in my next post). All those time zones and I lost track of days and missed my last post of 2010. If you’ll indulge me, I am going to hold off on my resolutions post until next week and provide my overview of 2010 in agenting today instead. I will do my best to leave out events already covered by the other BRGers.

January

Sometime in early January, I was sitting in my apartment when my cell phone rang in the a.m. When I looked down to see that the caller was Matt Phelan, I was puzzled. Had I slept through a week or two? Was an ALA committee overly ambitious this year? Wasn’t I supposed to be in Boston for this moment?

I wasn’t delirious. He was calling to tell me that THE STORM IN THE BARN won the 2010 Scott O’Dell Award. (Click here: http://readroger.hbook.com/2010/07/2010-scott-odell-award.html to read the magnificent speech Scott O’Dell’s widow, Elizabeth Hall, gave when presenting Matt with the award in June).

Then there was the morning of January 18^th. I had a yet undiagnosed sinus infection and had powered my way through the weekend of ALA midwinter with tea and tissues. I spent the night before watching the Golden Globes with my cousin who attends Boston University and my friend Angie (who happens to be a wonderful librarian. Check out her twitter feed @deweydecimator) and ate a full bag of Stacy’s pita chips out of nerves (not for Jeff Bridges who was sure to win Best Actor…for the awards to be announced the next morning). I woke up early and no call. I took the phone into the hotel bathroom while I showered and no call. I got into a cab with Angie and two other librarians as it snowed and headed to the convention center and no call. It was not until I was heading up the escalator toward the room where the announcement was to be made that my cell phone rang. It was Grace, and she told me this would be happening…

Proud Editor and Agent

I was in the convention center and supposed to keep my composure so that no one would guess who any recipients were before the announcement was made. I got to the top of the escalator did a happy dance, hugged Angie, and ran to the corner to call my mom. Nope, not suspicious at all.

Later that month, I found out that WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON would be a New York Times Bestseller.

*Other January highlights—winter getaway in the Hamptons with 10 of my closest friends, As You Like It at BAM.

*Low points—I had back to back sinus infections. No fun.

*Great reads in January—Loving Frank by Nancy Horan and Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

In the Hamptons, celebrating Megan’s birthday. As a Midwesterner, I had never experienced Carvel’s Fudgie the Whale cake before!

February

February 1^st marked the 50^th anniversary of the sit-in by African American college students at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina as well as the publication of SIT-IN by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney:

In the parking lot of an outlet mall in Kenosha, Wisconsin I learned that SIT-IN would become the first picture book I represented to make the New York Times Bestseller list. It was an especially wonderful week when both SIT-IN and WTMMTM were on the list.

The debut middle grade novel NOONIE’S MASTERPIECE by Lisa Railsback was published. While the publication of every book is special, there is something extra important about a debut. This one is near and dear to my heart as is BETTI ON A HIGH WIRE, Lisa’s second book on 2010 (way to start with a bang!) which published in the summer.

Read Lisa Railsback! Start with her debut!

Also Alex and Grace got married in February which allowed for this to happen:

Look Ma, I’m a cupcake!

*Other February highlights—being in Chicago for my best friend’s daughters’ first birthday and watching her eat cake for the first time.

*Low points—Avatar

*Great reads—manuscript month

March

In March, I served on faculty at the Whispering Pines SCBWI retreat. I try to speak at a couple (or small handful) of conferences a year. I also try not to stay in haunted places. One out of two’s not bad.

Newbery Honor author Cindy Lord, an illustrator whose name is escaping me, Editor Alexandra Penfold, me, Editor Connie Hsu. It is also a bit eerie that I am wearing that exact outfit as I am typing this post.

*Other March highlights—The Bank Street Book Awards

*Great reads—Chiggers by Hope Larson and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

April

In April, Matt Phelan call me at 8 at night on my cell phone on the beginning of a long weekend to tell me about a call he just had with a big producer…which I still can’t talk about because the contracts not done. Yes, I am a tease.

And another important call in April was the one I made to Jarrett J. Krosoczka. I was the one to break the news to him that his graphic novel LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE was nominated for an Eisner award! (Ah, the magic of twitter where I found a link to the nominees. Follow me @rebeccagent)

Serving Justice…Serving Lunch

*Other April highlights—Anyone Can Whistle at City Center and Sondheim 80^th birthday extravaganza (I am a sucker for Sondheim). My friends Alan and Melissa got married. I tweeted my teenage crush Johnny Galecki on his birthday and he tweeted me back.

*Low points- my wallet was stolen out of my purse in my office. A saga I wish on no one. Thank yous to all at Writers House who helped including my former assistant Ty King who slept on my loveseat that evening and especially our children’s subsidiary rights director Cecilia de la Campa my fellow wallet snatcher victim as well as NYPD detectives Garcia and Mercado.

*Great Reads—Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, Matched by Allie Condie (It helps to know her agent)

May

SCBWI take two. This time in Orange County, CA. The wonderful thing about this event (at least for me) was that it was titled as “Agents’ Day.” I wasn’t the only agent on the bill! I had the pleasure of hearing talks by Brenda Bowen of Sandford J. Greenburger, Mary Kole of Andrea Brown, and Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon and learn from them too! Plus there was an attendee that did sketches of each of us for her blog http://www.dianebrowningillustrations.com/2010/05/scbwi-orange-county-agents-day.html Take note illustrator clients!

LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE wins a Children’s Choice Book Award.

Tricia Rayburn quickly “sells out” of her ARCs of SIREN at BEA and I scored a piece of original art from my client NOONIE’S MASTERPIECE at the ABC silent auction/not a dinner.

Are you are paranormal romance reader? Then why aren’t you reading this? It was Jenny Humphrey’s favorite book of 2010. No, really. Look it up!

*Other May highlights—The SCBWI trip also allowed me to visit with some of my favorite L.A. people. I attend my 5^th Whitney Biennial. So many shows: Everyday Rapture, Behanding in Spokane (in which Christopher Walken paused to give the death stare when a cell phone went off), the opening of Metal Children by Adam Rapp. My cousin got married.

*Low point—a pain begins in my ear, many months, doctors visits, and tests later, I learn that it is not my ear but my jaw that is causing the pain.

*Great Reads—Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (see above re: Allie Condie), Smile by Raina Telgemeier and Happyface by Stephen Emond

June

Me,Grace,Alvina at Newbery

The big work related highlight of June is the annual ALA conference. I know this event has been much detailed on the BRG blog already, but let me add my voice to the chorus and say what a great night the Newbery/Caldecott banquet was and how much Grace deserved the celebration. The weekend also brought a great deal of celebrating Matt Phelan’s the Storm in the Barn not only during the O’Dell party but also during Friday night dinner with his editor and a graphic novel panel put on by Booklist that evening. A trip to DC (even in sweltering heat) also meant the chance to meet with my client Caroline Hickey over a yummy tapas lunch.

*Other June highlights- My birthday (complete with pizza dinner and gelato dessert with close friends)! Toy Story 3 on the IMAX. Writers House/Little, Brown screening of Eclipse.

*Low point- my friend Bethany leaves Writers House (on the very bright side, she left to become Alvina’s assistant at Little, Brown!)

*Great Reads—Countdown by Deborah Wiles and Shug by Jenny Han

July

It was sweltering hot in NYC in July but three very important things happened this month.

#1 I sold THE PLATYPUS POLICE SQUAD series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka to Harper and had a blast doing it.(http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/44382-team-monotreme-walden-nabs-an-unusual-cop-series.html)

#2 LING AND TING: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace published and an early reader superstar was born:

4 starred reviews, 4 2010 best lists, and NYT notable book

#3 I did not break both my elbows…on July 5^th of 2009, I did indeed break both my elbows by tripping while on the way to the gym. The one year anniversary was appropriately celebrated with macaroni (elbow pasta- get it!).

Purple Elbow 2009. Note how my elbow matches my Northwestern Wildcat shorts

*Other July highlights- A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Elaine “Stritchy” Stritch (yes, there is a Sondheim pattern). The final book in the not to be missed Scott Pilgrim series.

*Low points—my first generation kindle dies and the warrantee is up.

*Great Reads—The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger and The Last Summer of The Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

August

August is supposedly slow in publishing. Note: I said supposedly. Things seemed as busy as ever at the office (that is until things got busier in September). This month many wonderful picture books published including FLORA’S VERY WINDY DAY illustrated by Matt Phelan. On the author/illustrator front INTERRUPTING CHICKEN by David Ezra Stein and Anna’s DISAPPEARING DESMOND were published. I’ve loved these books since the very idea of them were relayed to me by David and Anna, and I’m thrilled they are finally available for everyone to love as much as I do.

*Other August Highlights- A wonderful summer art project called Key to the City brought me to places in New York I might have otherwise missed. I encourage you all to venture to the Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens.

*Low point- my first MRI. Yep, this is how long it took to realize my jaw wasn’t working right.

*Great Reads—One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, Hereville by Barry Deutsch, Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (with a reread of Hunger Games and Catching Fire just before)

September

Are you all bored yet? September was busy. So busy that it seems I didn’t record one work related event that month. I bought a new Kindle? Moving on.

*Other September highlights—my mother and sister visit for the week between Labor Day weekend and Rosh Hashanah, and I am introduced to the wonder of Momofuku Milk Bar. My best friend gives birth to baby Eli on Yom Kippur.

http://www.momofuku.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/east-village-november-16.pdf

(May I suggest the compost cookie, cereal milk soft serve, and crack pie? Trust me.)

*Low points—everything else about Yom Kippur—fasting is not my friend. My assistant, Ty King, tells me that she is leaving New York …(on the upside) to become Steven Malk’s assistant in San Diego.

*Great Reads—The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

October

October brought a run of great art. Not only was I able to hang out with so many illustrators and industry friends at the Society of Illustrators Original Art show, I also joined Dan Yaccarino, Selina Alko, and Jarrett Krosoczka on meetings with their publishers in which they delivered final art for new picture books. This is definitely one of my favorite parts of my job.

Editor and Agent (in not-so-photogenic moment) admiring Julian Hector’s art from The Gentleman Bug at the Original Art Show

*Other October highlights: a brief run through NY Comic Con with Jarrett Krosoczka. Going to Chicago to meet baby Eli. My first meal at Gramercy Tavern. Annual Apple Picking with friends. The most unexpected and amazing event of 2010…see p.s.

*Low points- The NYT article on picture books

*Great Reads—The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

November

November was another hectic month as I tried to get EVERYTHING done before Thanksgiving/before the cruise. Unlike Alvina, try as I might…I might never achieve Inbox Zero.

*Other November highlights: Dinner and drinks with one of my two favorite husband and wife teams, Selina Alko and Sean Qualls. Went to a taping of Inside the Actor’s Studio with James Franco. Scottsboro Boys. Went to the Quidditch World Cup. I became a doctor via my second Gossip Girl shout out. Watch the first January episode for another wink to me.

A friend and me at the Quidditch World Cup

*Low points—some of the results of this month’s elections.

*Great Reads—(reread) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

December

Well you’ve already read a bit about my December on BRG so…

*December Highlights other than the cruise: Los Angeles Christmas inc. acquisition of an IPAD! Late December in Chicago ultimately as a better option weather-wise than NYC.

* Low points: where does the year go?

*Great Reads- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine and Room by Emma Donoghue

This never-ending recap is far from a complete look at my year. (I read more books, saw more theater and films, and I didn’t even mention TV watching and I did plenty of that). For those whose names were not named please do not feel left out. For example, many books by clients of mine were published this year. (My recommended Hanukkah shopping list provides a nearly complete list of clients’ books of 2010). There were starred reviews and year end lists (and perhaps in 2011 I should keep a running tally). I sold 28 books (just one of those an adult title), had two books optioned for film, one book optioned for the stage, two picture books’ audio rights sold (not easy!), sold books in territories I never thought possible (Hello, Macedonia) and had a great time doing it all (notice the low points are never related to agenting- unless you count the NYT article).

Looking forward to a great 2011… resolutions to come next week.

p.s. this happened to me in 2010. I can check it off the bucket list. I have been OPRAH’ED. (look upper right hand corner at 10:26 and 11:04)

Rebecca Sherman is a fabulous agent with over 9 years of experience at Writer's House. Her clients include Lunch Lady author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka, the Scott O'Dell Award Winner Matt Phelan, Caldecott Honor Illustrator Brian Pinkney and Blue Rose Girls Anna Alter and Grace Lin. You can follow Rebecca on twitter @rebeccagent.

My resolutions and goals for 2011

I'm happy to still be on vacation this week. Any of you going to ALA Midwinter in San Diego? I'll be there--stop by the L,B booth and say hi!

As regular readers of this blog may know, most of the Blue Rose Girls make resolutions each year. I love this time of year! And I also personally pride myself for making resolutions that I actually keep. Well, partially keep, at least.

Here are my work-related resolutions for the new year (some I've kept from last year):
-Don't stay in the office past 9 pm, and if I do stay until 9, no more than twice a week
-Have my work email inbox at 20 or under at the end of each day I'm in the office
-Achieve Inbox Zero at least once a month
-Read an average of 1.5 published books per month
-Do more cultural activities (shows, museums, etc.)
-get 4,000+ followers on Twitter (follow me! @planetalvina)
-post on bloomabilities at least once a month (I actually have a new post up now. And yes, I know I resolve this one every year and fail...but hey, it's a new year!)
-clean my office (and apartment) a little bit once a week
-de-clutter my apt and office
-focus on acquiring Middle Grade and picture books--acquire at least two projects in each genre

Here are a few pie-in-sky goals that I don't personally have much (if any) control over:
-Have five of the books I've edited become NY Times bestsellers
-Have the books I edit collectively get at least 25 starred reviews
-Win an award for books I've edited in every category: picture book, early reader, MG, and YA


And there you have it. Regardless of whether I keep these resolutions or if these goals happen, may 2011 be happy, healthy, and full of bloomabilities for everyone. Happy New Year!

2011

Ack! Today is the the first day of the year (and also 1-1-11! That has to mean something!). Resolution time! 2010 was quite a wonderful and memorable year for me, So even though I had a lot of resolution fails last year (#5 and #9 were epic failures), I feel pretty content.

But I still hope to accomplish things in 2011! I have thought a great deal this year's resolutions, some are repeats from last year but with a different viewpoint (which I hope makes them more accomplish-able!):

1. Learn Chinese. I've been an embarrassing Chinese School failure for a long time and this is the year I plan on remedying that. I want to at least be able to have a basic conversation in Mandarin. My schedule doesn't allow for classes until the summer, but in the meantime I've plunked the money down for Rosetta Stone & dedicated lingual chats with my Mom.

2. Appreciate my readers. Ah, same as last year, but needed more this year! I said that if my FB fanpage ever reaches 1000 fans I'd give everyone cupcakes. I'm at 1337 fans now and still no cupcakes. I have an inkling of an idea of how to do it..hopefully it will happen in 2011!

3. Stop waiting. You know those people who keep plastic on their furniture to keep it good? Or have those nice plates dusting away on a high shelf because they are only to be used for special occasions that never happen? I'm kind of like that. During my Newbery dress search, I acquired a number of pretty clothes that lay unworn while I waited for something special. This is silly. What am I waiting for? In the Tao Te Ching, there is a line about how a cup is only valuable when it is holding something, when it is being used. That means not using items because they are so valuable actually makes them worthless. I'm going to stop waiting and use the things I own. And make everyday a special occasion!

4. Find peace with things outside my control. There's always going to be somebody who's going to find my books boring, my art unappealing, or my personality annoying. Things like that are pretty common for all authors--for all people, actually--yet, I let it get to me much more than I should. My job is to carve out my bit of happiness with the rock I've been given and that is what I need to remember.

5. Seize the day. This ties into #3 and #4. I have some ambitious dreams that I've done nothing about because I've hoped that an opportunity would present itself (#3) and because I've been afraid of others might think it's stupid or that I am getting full of myself (#4). For example, I would absolutely adore Ling and Ting to be PBS cartoon. And while I know it's a long shot, I feel like I should at least try and give it a shot. Anyone know how to pitch an idea to PBS?

6. Balance. This is something on my list every year and I've never achieved it. I regressed to blob state more times in 2010 than ever before. sigh. School visits, traveling, creating books, being healthy-- someday I will find a way to balance my life. Maybe this year?

7. Clean my studio once a month. I wanted to say every week but that resolution would be broken pretty quickly. I have to make realistic, achievable goals, y'know.

8. Figure out Social Media. Or at least what I am doing with it. Right now, I have a blog. This blog has posts that tweet, show up on my FB page and provide content for my newsletter. Maybe that is okay. Or should the newsletter have something special just for newsletter readers? FB something different just for FB readers? Tweets that are not just broadcasting my posts, but are bits of conversation? Do I want to do that? Do I have time to do that? I'm not sure but this year I'm going to figure it out.

9. Charity. In 2010, instead of one large project like smallgraces, I participated a number of small charity projects (with ATASK, Hyde Park Suzuki, Open Fields and 826LA) which I was proud of. I'm not sure if I will continue with small project participation or think up another large one, but I definitely wish to continue.

10. Write without sugar. I have a bad habit of ingesting sweet things while writing. Well, I have a bad habit of ingesting sweet things all the time, but while writing is particularly troublesome. Somehow I have connected the creative process with high amounts of sugar intake (perhaps this is why some of my writing gets overly sentimental!) and this is not good . Which is why I will not do it in 2011!

11. Have Faith. Every year, I have the same literary goal. But this year I am tying it into resolutions #4 and #5. For a while, I have been hearing and reading is how the book industry is dead or dying. There will be no more books and authors will be lucky to have any readers or make any money (much less make a living). It's been enough to tempt me to give up on the whole book thing and try to become a cupcake decorator (though now the cupcake trend is over too).

It's quite stressful. I don't want to bury my head in the sand, so I do plan to try put new opportunities if they feel right (#5). But if I truly grasp resolution #4 (make peace with things I cannot control) and create a story/art/book to the absolute best of my ability, I have to believe there will be an audience to share it with.

I have to believe what I do is of value and others value it too. Or else what's the point of making any resolutions at all, right?

Happy 2011, all!