I KNEW I had a talent for writing at a young age!

What does it take to succeed as a novelist?

   



Awhile ago Meghan posted about the role talent plays in getting published. That got me thinking about what it takes to have a successful career as a novelist. Meghan was talking about getting published from an artist's point of view -- but I think that's different -- when you're starting out and later, too. For one thing, it's easier to get editors to look at picture books!

What do you think it takes to succeed as a novelist -- not just to get that first contract, but to have a successful career? In order of importance, here's what I think:

1. Talent -- without this spark, you won't get anywhere. Hard work can make you better, but without SOME talent, you won't write novels anyone will read to the end.

2. Hard work/discipline -- that talent does have to be supported, consistently supported, by what Jane Yolen calls BIC (butt-in-chair). I've known talented people who don't work consistently enough to even finish novels, let alone make them good.

3. Good judgement -- about yourself, your talent, the business: knowing where to put your energy. Some people don't need this -- what they're best at and most interested in writing and the marketplace all align nicely; but (I think) many of us face hard decisions....and even those fortunate few need to decide whether, say, promoting their books is a good or bad use of their energy and time.

4. An editor who really loves and GETS your work.

5. The fortitude to conquer your demons or the good luck to not have any.

6. At the beginning, some luck (or the patience and persistence to try for years plural) to get your novel read by an editor who falls in love with it. These days, that probably means having an agent -- and even then, it can take time: my agent told me that the books that have won the most accolades took the longest to place.

And if you aspire to making it big, luck will definitely be needed. This essay isn't about making it big, but the story of how his first book became a bestseller is a good (and unusually frank) example. I'm not saying that all it takes it make it big is luck -- the book needs to appeal to lots of people, too! -- but which of the good books published each year become blockbusters does depend as much upon luck and timing as merit and promotion, particularly if the author is unknown.

7. The support (if financial, so much the better!) of family or friends or both.

8. If you want your work to last: something to say. By "something to say" I don't mean a simple lesson, but the sum of what your novel says/means -- something only you could have said in that way. I put this last not because I think it is the least important but because I think it's quite possible to be published, and even build a successful career, without it. But the books that people are still reading a hundred years later all have it -- and maybe many we AREN'T reading a hundred years later have it too. Luck again? Or do all the best books survive?

And just for fun, how would you rate YOURSELF on each of these?

Cold Spring by Lawrence Raab

Here in New England, we have four very distinct seasons. Spring doesn’t usually arrive early where I live. In the past week, we had a spell of warm, sunny weather. It was so good to have an extended “taste” of spring. Now it’s cold and gray again.

I was looking for poems about spring this morning. Cold Spring was the second poem I read—and I knew I had found the one I wanted to post today. I love the way Lawrence Raab (and other poets) can use a season, the weather, food—anything—and relate it to something in their lives…to something hidden under the “tangible” surface of things we see, hear, smell, or touch.


Cold Spring
By Lawrence Raab

The last few gray sheets of snow are gone,
winter’s scraps and leavings lowered
to a common level. A sudden jolt
of weather pushed us outside, and now
this larger world once again belongs to us.
I stand at the edge of it, beside the house,
listening to the stream we haven’t heard
since fall…

You can read the rest of the poem here.

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At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original acrostic poem about spring: HIBERNATION. (It's about a mother bear waking up, sensing a warmer season, and thinking about taking her cubs out into a world they have never seen.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at Becky’s Book Reviews.

SCHOOL VISIT

I'm going to call this picture day. First, these are some illustrations I'm working on for THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF BALTO:







Second, these are some letters I've gotten from kids:

It's pretty normal until you get to the bottom!



There was a great picture attached. This kid is an artist!



And then there are these drawings from Holly from Alabama... (I posted 2 but there are a whole bunch - it's an alien epic story!)





Third, I was in Alabama last week.






It was exhausting, and, of course, I got sick. I'm going to become known as the girl who pukes or almost pukes in people's cars! How embarassing!

The Librarian's daughter Ellie wrote me such a cute letter:



I'm afraid I didn't life up to her expectations! Almost throwing up in their car was probably not what she was expecting.





All the kids in this class in the front row wore alien hats made out of construction paper. How clever! I wish I had a closer shot of it.



OMES school had a contest based on my upcoming book POP! They had a jar of bubble gum and all the kids guessed how much gum was in it. The closet guess got to win all the gum and a copy of my new book. This 3rd grader won! He was so funny. He said he'd be able to chew it all within several hours. (I hate this photo of me - bad steriod puffy face day - but it's worth it for the picture of him)



All the classes decorated the halls. It was great to see all the artwork inspired from my books! I had no time to take photos but one of the librarians kindly took some and made copies for me on the spot! Amazing.

Below is a kindergartner who read her story for me. She is a really accomplished writer.



Even though I didn't feel well, had a bad headache and almost threw up several times, I think it was worth it.

from facebook...

I noticed this posted on facebook, amongst the other posts. And I was like, wait, that kind of looks like me. Huh. It is me!



Dawn Schreiner painted it, probably from one of my crazy facebook photos. Nice, right?

CHECK THIS OUT!

TERRIBLE YELLOW EYES - This is a website and art dedicated to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. The art is amazing! I wish I'd known about it - I would have done a piece.

Welcome TU Books!

Tu Publishing, an upcoming independent press of multicultural fantasy & science fiction for MG/YA has just become an imprint of Lee & Low. Being a huge fan of multicultural MG fantasy and Lee & Low, I am excited and thrilled by this news!

Fresh from the Enchanted Inkpot is an interview with Tu Founder Stacy Whitman. Here's a little teaser:

Stacy: Thanks! We’re very excited about it. You can read the full announcement here, but here’s the scoop: Lee & Low Books has acquired Tu Publishing, and we’ll become an imprint of Lee & Low. We’re still looking for launch titles, and I remain editorial director. I’ve just relocated to New York and am settling into the new office. The name of the imprint will change slightly to Tu Books, to match Lee & Low’s other imprints.

Read more HERE!

Greta painting finished

Continued from last week.

Beyond the Book: I Can Be Anything! by Jerry Spinelli, illustrated by Jimmy Liao (and also, EGGS)

Beyond the Book: I Can Be Anything! by Jerry Spinelli, illustrated by Jimmy Liao (and also, Eggs)

(aka, How I became Jerry Spinelli's editor at Little, Brown) 

I wrote about I Can Be Anything! ages ago (October 2008, to be exact) in my post about matching picture book texts with illustrators. The book is finally out in stores! And yes, it can take a long time for a picture book to make it into the world. To put it into perspective. we signed up the text around the same time we had signed up Jerry Spinelli's novel Eggs, which pubbed in June 2007.

I just went back to look, and it appears that I never did a "Beyond the Book" post for Eggs;  I'll touch on that book a bit in this post, because the acquisition of these two books are inextricably linked.

It was fairly soon after my department was relocated from Boston to New York. I was an assistant or associate editor at the time. Assistant editors and associate editors are generally the ones in editorial who are handed projects to oversee. Yes, I was also acquiring my own books, but much of my list consisted of projects I inherited from either my boss or editors who left. Jerry hadn't published a new book with Little, Brown since the Newbery-Award winning Maniac Magee in 1990, and his editor had since retired. We still had his backlist going strong (mainly his first four novels: Space Station Seventh Grade, Who Put That Hair in My Toothpaste, Jason and Marceline, and Maniac Magee), and I was asked to oversee a redesign and "branding" of the four books. I was happy to comply, and set to reading all of the books over again. While reading Space Station Seventh Grade, I noticed some outdated language, namely the word "Oriental." I emailed the publisher to ask if they thought it would be okay to update the language (to "Asian"), and he said "Yes, but run it by Jerry first." Now, up to this point I had yet to be in touch with Jerry directly, and was a bit intimidated! But I emailed him, introduced myself, and explained what I was hoping to do. He emailed right back and said thank you and yes, please do update the books, and then asked, "Are you my new editor at Little, Brown?"

Well. What could I say to that? I believe I answered that I was his new "editorial contact" but I also decided that then would be a good idea to send him a fan letter, and so I did. Gosh, I wish I still had that email, but the gist of it was that I was a huge fan of his work, and that I knew he had a relationship with other publishers, but if in the unlikely event that his other publishers were to pass on a project, I would be more than excited to "welcome him home" to Little, Brown.

Well, he agreed that he couldn't see adding a third publisher to his rotation but did say he would love to work with Little, Brown again, perhaps in another genre--picture books perhaps?

He sent me a collection of his poetry, and the text that was to become I Can Be Anything rose to the top as the one that would make a perfect picture book. Here's a sampling:

When I grow up,

what shall I be?

Of all my many many jobs,

which one will be the best for me?

pumpkin grower

dandelion blower

paper plane folder

puppy dog holder

puddle stomper

apple chomper

tin can kicker

mixing bowl licker

In the meantime, a forgotten manuscript for a middle grade novel surfaced. Jerry emailed me to say that his wife Eileen reminded him of an unpublished novel he had written about ten years prior and then put aside. He found it (in the bottom of his closet, he said), Eileen read it, pronounced it as good as his other books, and he sent it along to me. It was titled "Who Cares?" and was about the unlikely friendship between a little boy who had recently lost his mother, and a teen girl growing up without her father. I found it to be a quirky, poignant, beautiful little gem of a book. This is the manuscript that would become the book Eggs.

While Eggs was being edited and revised, I set out to find the right illustrator for I Can Be Anything. As I mentioned in that past post, we were looking for something who could take the simple but magical text and add another layer to the book. I didn't initially consider Jimmy Liao despite loving his art, because his illustrations in Sound of Colors and The Blue Stone were more sophisticated that I envisioned for Jerry's text. But one day while looking through some of Jimmy's other books published in Taiwan, I realized he also had a younger style that would be perfect for the book. I consulted with the designer, Alison Impey, who also designed The Blue Stone, and we agreed that he would be the perfect choice.

When I first approached Jimmy with the text, he initially said no, because he felt he wouldn't be able to fully understand the nuances of the English text (Jimmy is a native of Taiwan and not a fluent English speaker). However, I urged him to reconsider and assured him that we would work closely together on the project, and that I would even fly to Taiwan to work with him if need be. Fortunately (or unfortunately!), this wasn't necessary, and there was only a little back-and-forthing needed. The toughest text translation-wise to explain was "best-part saver," but that came out perfectly in the end (see below).

When the final art came in (all the way from Taiwan), it was a ridiculously giddy and exciting time unveiling each piece in the conference room. The sketches did not do the art justice at all. The colors were so bright, the characters so playful, great expressions, a bit psychedelic, and I love the little bunny buddy in blue that appears on each spread.

The back cover:

I Can Be Anything is just out now, but it has already received two starred reviews:

"An inspired take on a timeless question."--Kirkus, starred review

"It's an uplifting, imaginative vision of life's possibilities that suggests that there are no limits—not even the sky." --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

And if I may make a suggestion: It's a perfect graduation gift for a child or adult! 

By the way, Eggs is now available in both hardcover and paperback.

And now I am proud to be able to say: Yes, I am Jerry Spinelli's editor at Little, Brown.

A Wedding Poem & Pictures

In January, Grace asked if I would do a poetry reading at her wedding. I felt honored that she asked. Then I started to wonder if I should search for a grand love poem written by a great poet--or write my own. I asked Janet Wong for advice. She suggested that we both write poems, send them to each other, and then "cobble" a poem together written by the two of us. We knew whose words would inspire our wedding poem for Grace and Alex.

A Wedding Poem for Grace and Alex

Where the mountain meets the moon
everything sparkles like raindrops in the sun.
Here at the top of the world
we feel light as clouds.
We dance in the air.

Here on the shimmering summit
we bind ourselves together
with an invisible cord of love.
Our dreams entwine, our hopes
for the future are now one.

We smile thankfully up to the sky
as we become husband and wife.
The two of us will walk hand in hand,
side by side through life, sharing
joys and sorrows, looking ahead--

to our wonderful tomorrows.

by
Janet Wong and Elaine Magliaro

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Raise a cupcake and cheer for the happy newlyweds!

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

At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original poem that I wrote about Grace's wedding.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Teaching Books.

New Deal!

Just wanted to post a new deal that I just made with a fellow Blue Rose Girl. It was just announced!

Newbery Honor winner and NYT bestselling author Grace Lin's DUMPLING DAYS, a charming and heartfelt follow up to Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, for Fall 2011 publication, and RETURN TO SKY and NEEDLE AT SEA BOTTOM, two original fantasy follow ups to WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, for Fall 2012 and 2013 publication, respectively, again to Alvina Ling at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, in a three-book deal, by Rebecca Sherman at Writers House (World English).

Hurray!

entropy

So, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't really kept up with all the posts here at the BRG as well as I should. So I am just catching up on Meghan's posts about the "dark side" of being a children's book creator. And while I agree with what Meghan has written (bookstore signing can be completely depressing), I wanted to add a bit more encouragement to the overall picture.

At my wedding, my science genius cousin (he really is a genius, he's working to find a cure for Alzheimer's) Austin gave a little speech at my wedding. Earlier in the day, he had been untangling his guitar strap and Alex had made a comment about how the straps always seemed to get tangled, and why was that? Entropy, Austin said.

According to him, as soon as factors occur--someone moving the guitar, lifting the strap--there are an infinite number of ways for it to get tangled but only one way for the strap be perfectly straight. When you think of the probability of the strap staying straight, it is actually close to impossible. And if you take this metaphor and apply it to life and the changes that must occur--love, death, work--you realize that it is impossible for that road to be straight as well. It is impossible for life to be as you plan at the start. But once you accept that, that life is going to be mixed up and changed and tangled--unexpected and amazing things can happen.

And that applies to working in our field. Nothing is worse than self defeat. Don't let the tangles tie you down. The road to publishing and staying published is never a straight path and I doubt it is ever easy. But if you just accept that it is entropy and keep going, it might surprise you in wonderful ways.

(at the wedding, listening to entropy)

A FEW REASONS TO DO STORE SIGNINGS

Just so not everyone thinks I'm little miss complain-a-lot and god forbid, a "diva," I want to share with you a few reasons that may benefit you if you do bother to do signings. I've been working at a large bookstore for years so this is from experience. There are certain bookstores that have rules--if you sign a stock of books then the store cannot return them. The usual deal is that unless your book sells like hotcakes nationwide, your book will be returned within 3 months time. This is sad but true. But lets say that you do a signing and the store ordered in a crazy number of books thinking that you'll do really well. Even though you may bomb, if you sign the stock of books that the store ordered they cannot return the books! So lets say that the store is stuck with 40 copies of your book. What are they going to do with them all? The bookseller will probably put them on display somewhere to try and get rid of them. This is good for you... especially good if you did this said event at a high profile store with lots of foot traffic. Even if your books don't sell well at first you are getting free exposure! Usually publishers have to pay to have books on display at big bookstores so this is a good thing.

Here's a little story of one of my books being on display: When my book Show Dog came out it was on display in Union Sq in NYC. A very big advertising agency went to the kids' dept looking for an illustrator to illustrate their campaign for an ad campaign for the Bronx Zoo. They saw my book, loved my art and called me up immediately. Even though they didn't get the gig (4 agencies were bidding) I still got paid and it was a fun job. And just the thought that I COULD have had my art on billboards and subways everywhere was very cool.

Good thing number 2 is that if you do a big signing through your publisher the publicist may score you a little write-up in some local magazines or newspapers. I've been in Time Out New York countless times. So once again, even though no one may show up at your event, your name is out there. And the more times you get in something like Time Out New York the more times people will see your name and that's another good thing.

A third good thing is you may do a signing at a small indie shop but this indie shop could have an owner who is plugged in to the publishing world in a big way--think Books of Wonder, etc. Suppose you do a signing and the owner writes a blog for PW or something equally big? You may not sell many books but now you have a new fan and an important one.

So those are a few reasons TO do booksignings. Of course, getting these things to happen can be slim. Really slim. So I still think you should only do them when your calendar is clear and you're mentally prepared for failure. If you can't take sitting there alone and your ego will be permanently bruised then really, don't do a signing. It's not worth the hurt! But if you are brave, try out a few of these options. But you have to strategize to make it work.

Greta painting in progress

What a lovely weekend it was, full of joy and beauty and the most amazing wedding cupcakes I have ever seen! Congratulations Grace and Alex!

Back to work on A Photo for Greta...







I'll put up the rest next week!

Wedding pics and links

Got home late last night from a whirlwind but wonderful weekend in Salem, MA for Grace and Alex's wedding. It was a lovely, fun time with lots of friends. Following are some highlights with no commentary.

Hurray for Grace and Alex! Here's to a lifetime of love, joy, and adventure together. Cheers!

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Here are two links from last week that I found interesting reading. First, an article from slate.com about Common Sense Media.

Second, an article from the Huffington Post on the role of an editor (thought this was a good follow-up to my guest post from a few weeks ago).

Have a great week, all!

WHY I SOMETIMES DO BOOKSTORE SIGNINGS

Despite what I said below, I sometimes still do signings. I will especially do this if it is a GROUP signing. Why is this? Is it because I will sell heaps of books? No. It is because I like meeting my fellow authors and chatting with them for a while and I like meeting the people who buy my books and I like meeting the store folks who sell my books. I think group signings are fun! The pressure to worry about gathering a good group of people to show up is taken off of you when you do a group signing. I've also done some fun ones hosted by schools on the upper east side. They're very interesting. Wine is usually served as they are often "adult only" events and little trays of crackers and cheese are brought around. A mix of children's book authors and adult authors are thrown together. Last year I signed next to Kelly Klein who publish a photography book about horses and at another Caroline Kennedy sat at a table in front of me. I remember meeting a fabulous lady with a southern accent who wrote mystery suspense fiction (I wish I could remember her name!). I've had great conversations with these folks.

I've also done some great panel discussions. At some of these books aren't even sold. Why do I do it then? Is it for promotion? No! I do it because it can be fun and I enjoy the company of others.

Would you like to know why I'm doing a signing by myself this month despite what my opinions are? Because I have trouble saying no to things. I need to work on this. I have an autoimmune disease and am ill a lot and have enough trouble going to a part time job yet I still say yes when someone asks me to do a whole bunch of stuff that might add too much stress to my life.

It saddens me that people don't want to hear the truth about how publishing is. People who won't post their names and say things like they won't be buying my books and call me a "publishing diva," are going to silence all the people who have anything honest to say. I'm not a diva. Believe me. If I was then I don't think my publishers would want to work with me. I was a bookseller for many, many years until I got downgraded to being a cashier. I get insulted and treated like the bottom of the earth on a daily basis. I'm so far from a "diva" that it's scary. I just wanted to get a discussion going. But I apologize for offending anyone by telling the truth. I'm not sure what people want out of these blogs or why they read them. I guess what people want is for everything to be roses. The world isn't like that. But if you'd like to pretend it's that way then fine. I'd prefer to live in reality because at the end of the day it's my career and my life and I have to manage it the best I can. I've done a lot of signings and a lot of events and lot of other promotional things and I've learned what works and what doesn't. Next time I'll keep what works to myself.

book signings are a waste of time!

Yeah, that's what I'm saying... and I'm sticking to it! What I think sells books are 1) good reviews (like starred reviews and getting in big newspapers like the NYT, etc) 2) awards--this is a big one! Once you get on a state list, schools all over the state will buy your book! 3) school visits--you can reach a lot of kids within a short amount of time.

When you do a store signing, even a successful one, in my opinion, won't do much. So what if 40 people bought your book? Let's be honest--at least half of those sales were sales purchased by your friends! And if you're are a prolific author, you can't expect your friends to go to all of your signings and eventually you will find yourself at least once twiddling your fingers, sitting alone, in complete embarrassment! There's no worse feeling. And if you do a lot of bookstore signings this can happen more than once! Of course this is the bookstore's fault because they didn't advertise and let you do a signing when they don't have a built in story time audience, but what do they care for? They're not losing anything by having you sit there!

So my advice to all of you out there is just don't bother doing them. Group signings may work better... but even still, it's a drop in the bucket. If you have deadlines and are stressed out it's just not worth it! Save your energy for something else!

February Twilight by Sara Teasdale

Sorry for posting a little late this morning. We had a wild wind storm yesterday and lost Internet access. I solved the problem this morning and reconnected my wireless. Hallelujah!

February is a special month to me. Both my daughter and my mother—as well as my late mother-in-law—were born in February. Tonight, my family will gather at my mother’s house to celebrate her 92nd birthday. (She was born on the 24th—but we’re going to have the party today.)

In honor of my mother, I’m posting my favorite February poem.

February Twilight

I stood beside a hill

Smooth with new-laid snow,

A single star looked out

From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature

That saw what I could see--

I stood and watched the evening star

As long as it watched me.

Sara Teasdale

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My Poetry Friday post at Wild Rose Reader: MARCH: An Original Acrostic.

At Political Verses, I have a new post: Two Rhyming Verses for Creationists.

Jone has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Check It Out.

stuff

I finished the frame and fixed the fact that I cut the mat wrong. You can tell if you look closely but hopefully no one will look closely! I want to post a picture of the finish but I'm too lazy to take a picture. I'll do it eventually. I promise. It's snowing like crazy here!

Anyway, speaking of other things that need fixing - my website, I have just realized, has said that my book Seabiscuit and Astronaut Handbook are "coming soon" - and it has said this for over a year! AAA! The problem is that I make things really hard for myself. These things are not easy to change. I put a background of text behind the books to make a nice design. Example:

(note how it says the date)

Anyway, first I don't recall where I saved the image for that. And then, once I find it, I have to figure out how to fix all of this and add new books and so on. GRRR!!! I make so much work for myself!

Also, I'm participating in a bunch of events this coming month with some Brooklyn ladies and we did a little blog interview thing - it's like the radio but not actually "on air" but rather on a blog. Before I participated I thought of how cool it would be to start my own show. I could interview guests and so on. (apparently anyone can start their own - it's like a blog but you call in). So I did it and then tried to listen to a bit if it. Okay--nails on chalk board! I must have said "um" so many times! Eeek! Awful! I dreamed of being on NPR but forget it.

Okay, so those are my A.D.D topics for the day.

meghan

Who Can It Be?

I thought readers of this blog might be interested to find out that a certain Blue Rose Girl recently received yet another big honor for her most recent book.

Click here to read my announcement at Wild Rose Reader.