Author Catherine Linka on Getting an Agent: It’s All About Fit

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agents, Catherine Linka, pitching, publishing, query

By Catherine Linka, author

Getting an agent is about finding the right fit, because the agent who will sell your work successfully is the person who loves to sell what you love to write. 

Agents champion books they believe in. They work unpaid until they get you a book contract.

And they are also human beings. They may love rom coms, but not horror. If you write rom coms and they love to read rom coms, they’ll be more likely to read your submission. They’ll be more likely to have sold rom coms and to know which editors are fans of rom coms. They will be more aware of the other rom coms in the marketplace.

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Toot Your Horn!

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middle grade, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, young adult

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!

 

Writers Day 2019: Tenacity, Writing with Respect, and Other Takeaways

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Abigail Samoun, Cornelia Funke, Frances Gilbert, Lee Wind, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Steve Mooser

By Charlotte Offsay

On March 9, writers swarmed the Skirball Cultural Center for SCBWI’s annual L.A. Writers Day conference. The day was packed with wisdom, tips, and motivation. Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the event.

The publishing industry is subjective, do your research and don’t give up!

Doubleday Books Editor Frances Gilbert cited being bored, an overly complicated plot, or an over-published topic among her reasons for rejecting manuscripts. She shared her own journey as an author and highlighted the subjective nature of this business – one of her manuscripts was called too specific by one publisher and too vague by another. She encouraged authors to do their research before submitting to find the right home and champion for their manuscript.

#KTWriteOn with Editorial Assistant Stephanie Guerdan: Mixed Media Storytelling

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Jay Kristoff, Joe Ballarini, Lisa Greenwald, mixed media storytelling, Stephanie Guerdan, Tehlor Kay Mejia, writing exercise, writing tips

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by Stephanie Guerdan of HarperCollins Children’s Books. Stephanie acquires and edits middle grade and teen books. Some of the books she has worked on include the acclaimed debut We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia and the Soldier Dogs series. She likes queer fiction, weird science, and Star Wars.

By Stephanie Guerdan

There are so many different ways to tell a story — even if you narrow that down to just the format of a book. From traditional prose novels to full-color graphic novels, from highly illustrated to photographic, and everything in between.

One format that’s particularly close to my heart is mixed media. This kind of storytelling eschews traditional prose and instead tells a story through a collection of various kinds of media. In a way, it’s taking Marilyn Cram Donahue’s collaging prompt to the next level.  Instead of using your collage images as inspiration, you’re creating your own media and using them to tell the story itself.

Toot Your Horn!

Tags

picture book, SCBWI community, SCBWI members

SCBWI members’ publishing news is something to celebrate here at Kite Tales! Check out whose book is coming to a platform near you or around the world. Horn-tooting and digital hi-fives welcome in the comments!

 

 

Butterflies in Room 6, by Caroline Arnold, photographs by Caroline Arnold, Charlesbridge Publishing, ages 5-9, nonfiction, ISBN: 978-1-58089-894-2, released 05/12/2019. 

 

Author Tamora Pierce on Writers Day, Connecting with Fans, and Diversity in Fiction

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Tamora Pierce, YA Fantasy, young adult

Tamora Pierce is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than 28 fantasy novels for teenagers. She’s the winner of the 2013 Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement in Young Adult Literature, the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award, and the 2005 Skylark Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction.

Her latest work includes Tortall: A Spy’s Guide (2017) and 2018’s Tempests and Slaughter, the first in a three-book Tortall series.

She answered some questions about her work and the upcoming Writers Day, where she will be a keynote speaker and faculty.

ERLINA VASCONCELLOS:  You’re on several social media sites and have a robust website with the most thorough author bio I’ve ever seen. What motivates you to be so visible and open with the public? Do you have personal guidelines or a philosophy for social media?

Great News!

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SCBWI community, SCBWI members

SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. Digital high-fives welcome in the comments!

 

 

In 2018, Joan Bransfield Graham had poetry featured in five new poetry anthologies: School, People, World Make Way (Abrams in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Great Morning!, A Bunch of Punctuation, and National Geographic’s The Poetry of US. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Educational purchased rights to use her book The Poem That Will Not End in their Reading Series for 5th Grade.

#KTWriteOn with Author Andrea J. Loney: Use Childhood Memories to Brainstorm New Story Ideas

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Andrea K. Loney, character exercise, Tara Lazar, writing exercise, writing prompt

 

The year’s first #KTWriteOn writing prompt is brought to you by Andrea J. Loney, author of Bunnybear and Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! Andrea was a SCBWI-LA PAL mentor for 2018. Follow her on Twitter, @AndreaJLoney, or at AndreaJLoney.com.

By Andrea J. Loney, author

Happy New Year, SCBWI writers! 2019 has given us a fresh new page to start scribbling down our creative plans. One of my favorite January activities is brainstorming new story ideas. I use several different techniques, but like New Year’s resolutions, this technique is based on lists.

10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2018

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Aaron Reynolds, Cassandra Federman, Dan Santat, Danielle Davis, Garret Weyr, illustrator tips, inspiration, Kayla Cagan, Kent Culotta, Melody Mansfield, Victoria Wells Arms, writing tips

I’m always grateful for the community and connection that comes from being a member of SCBWI. There’s no shortage of people willing to share advice, tips, and knowledge. And lucky for us, so many in the kid lit community have shared their stories and wisdom on the Kite Tales blog.

Whenever I need a creative boost, I like to reread Kite Tales posts for nuggets of inspiration.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Kite Tales stories this year. Hopefully they’ll inspire you too as you set your 2019 writing goals. Read on and click the links to see the full posts.

Working Writer’s Retreat 2018: Revisions, Connections, and Karaoke

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E. Katherine Kottaras, Jessica Chrysler, Katya Dove, Kelsey Horton, Nephele Tempest, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Stephanie Guerdan, Victoria Wells Arms, Working Writer's Retreat

By JESSICA CHRYSLER and KATYA DOVE

This year’s Working Writer’s Retreat brought together writers of all skill levels and backgrounds to the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, Sept. 28-30. From actors to teachers, newbie writers to seasoned veterans, participants had something to gain from the faculty and each other. In workshops, writers were grouped by category and genre and had ample opportunity to mix and mingle throughout the weekend, including a karaoke party.

Faculty included agent Nephele Tempest, agent Victoria Wells Arms, Delacorte Press associate editor Kelsey Horton, Harper Collins assistant editor Stephanie Guerdan, and author E. Katherine Kottaras.

In this post, writer and illustrator Jessica Chrysler and writer Katya Dove share a conversation about their experiences at the retreat.

Jessica Chrysler: It was so great to see you again at the retreat this year, Katya. As much as I love getting to know new people, it’s always nice to find friendly faces. Every year the organizers try to change up the panels and workshops, so I’d like to know, what was the highlight of your weekend?

Katya Dove: I thought the critique sessions were amazing. Listening to other writers read their work, sharing my own, and bonding over words was by far one of the most powerful experiences. There’s so much talent among the attendees. I was blown away by how focused and committed everyone was. Though I must say, the karaoke party brought out a whole new side to fellow writers and faculty—a wild and vivacious side!

JC: I have to agree on the karaoke! It’s always my favorite part of the retreat since it gets everyone out of their quiet, writerly shell. I also really enjoyed the presentation by Katherine Kottaras on “The Joy of Revising.” It’s important to love revision as part of the writing craft and it felt like everyone had similar challenges when facing editing demons. It was great to share and learn different strategies to tackle those obstacles.