HarperCollins Editor Karen Chaplin on Defining Voice, Trends, & Time Management

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Guardian Herd, Karen Chaplin, middle grade, picture books, trends, voice, writing tips, YA

Karen Chaplin began her publishing career at Scholastic. She was an editor at Puffin Books/Penguin Young Readers Group for six years before she moved to HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she is currently a senior editor of picture book, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Karen received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Delaware, and her MA in English from Simmons College. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, finding DIY projects to do, and dabbling in photography. She also has graciously offered to do a Q&A with us!

Sarah Parker-Lee: As an editor, it’s your job to take a writer’s labor of love and not just fine-tune it but take it to the next level. What are you looking for when you first begin this process?

Karen Chaplin: One of the first things I look for in a manuscript is voice. The voice of the story, of the main character, of all the characters, really needs to draw me in from the first few pages, and if that happens, then the author has got me hooked. Plot points, character issues, the ending—all of that can be modified. But the voice is difficult to accomplish, and if an author nails that, it’s a fantastic start.

SPL: Any advice for writers working with an editor, whether they are first-timers or old pros?

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Emma Chichester Clark’s TOTO Illustration Process and Her Muse—Her Dog, Plum

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chapter book, Dogs, Emma Chichester Clark, HarperCollins, illustrator, illustrator tips, illustrators, interview, Michael Morpurgo, middle grade, Plum, The Wizard of Oz, Toto

Emma Chichester Clark is the illustrator of the beautiful middle-grade chapter book, Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. Its 250+ full-color images showcase Chichester Clark’s signature style.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! In Toto, you collaborate once again with author, Michael Morpurgo. How does illustrating well-known stories differ from working on new fiction? Does having a dog as the narrator change your focus when you work on the art?

EMMA CHICHESTER CLARK: In fact, it’s my sixth collaboration with Michael. We have also done versions of Pinocchio, Aesop’s Fables, Hansel and Gretel, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and a Christmas story called The Best of Times. Almost all of them were about well-known characters and I had to find my own ideas about that. This is a challenge because the images we all already know so well are imprinted in our heads. With each character, I have to draw and redraw them, over and over again, until I find someone that belongs to me but who is, at the same time, true to the character I’m representing. [In Toto], having a dog as the narrator was the most fun of all because I adore dogs. I have one, Plum, who is not unlike Toto in appearance and I spend a lot of my time trying to interpret what is going on in her doggy brain.

CVZ: You are also an author. Please give us some insight into your process, both as an illustrator and an author-illustrator.

Author Michael Morpurgo on His New Book, TOTO, and Writing From an Animal’s Perspective

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chapter book, Children's Laureate, Emma Chichester Clark, Farms for City Children, HarperCollins, interview, Michael Morpurgo, middle grade, Toto, Wizard of Oz

Today, we feature Michael Morpurgo, author of the middle-grade chapter book, Toto: The Dog-gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. This retelling of the classic is from Toto’s point of view. Each chapter begins as he tells his tale to his puppies—only one of which usually stays awake until the end.

A former Children’s Laureate, Morpurgo has published over 150 books. His novel, War Horse, was successfully adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film by Steven Spielberg. Morpurgo’s books include retellings such as Pinocchio by Pinocchio (told from Pinocchio’s viewpoint), also a collaboration with illustrator, Emma Chichester Clark.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! What influenced your decision to rewrite The Wizard of Oz?

MICHAEL MORPURGO: We all know the original story from the film and perhaps less from the L Frank Baum book. It is a wonderful and magical tale—funny, frightening—and strange and a wonderful film, but I always felt that there was one character who had little part to play in the story. Dorothy we know and love, but her little dog, Toto, does little more than accompany her on her adventures, providing her with comfort and company, but we never know what he thinks of all that is going on. He just gets carried around a lot. So, I thought why not tell the story again, but through Toto’s eyes. But it was really my friend, the illustrator of Toto, Emma Chichester Clark, who originally had the idea of a retelling the story with her own beloved dog, Plum, as the inspiration for Toto.

CVZ: Please tell us about your writing process.

HarperCollins’ Alyssa Miele: Critiques, Word Blizzards, Queer Representation in Middle Grade, & Music to Edit By.

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Alyssa Miele, critiques, HarperCollins, Jen Malone, Jo Whittemore, LGBTQIA, middle grade, SCBWI events

HarperCollins Associate Editor, Alyssa Miele, loves fiction chock-full of strong, flawed, and loveable characters whose stories stay with her long after she’s earmarked, underlined, and reread the heck out of them. From commercial to literary, queer to straight, and everything in between, Alyssa loves books that inspire, haunt, and captivate. Alyssa’s recent projects include Changes in Latitudes by Jen Malone, Confidentially Yours: Vanessa’s Design Dilemma by Jo Whittemore and The Arrival of Someday (working title) by Jen Malone (Summer ’19). Alyssa was on faculty for this year’s Los Angeles Working Writers Retreat and spent a weekend in Encino with our members as they dove into their writing and tweaked, polished, and maybe even dismantled their projects. For tips, insights, and music to edit by, keep reading!

Sarah Parker-Lee: As faculty for the WWR, you gave feedback on attendees’ work, but you also had to share space with them for a weekend. Did that change how you approached critiquing? What is your “critique style?”

Alyssa Miele: Meaning, is it hard to critique someone’s writing when they could potentially be sleeping next door to you? Ha! I don’t think that occurred to me until after the first few group critiques, when, heading back to my room, I saw some of the writers walking to their rooms along the same walkway as mine. And of course we share meals and social hours, which really turned out to be a rewarding experience for me. But to answer your question, no, it didn’t change my approach. We’re all adults and, whether writer, agent, or editor, we’re all there to get better in some way or another. I got a very good vibe from the writers. In between critiques, everyone was conscious of giving you your time and space to recharge for the next critique group.

My “style” is pretty laid back. I tried to avoid ever sitting at “the head” of the table. I tried to have the writers open up the conversation before I would give my two cents…I very much believe that I was a guest, allowed into their sacred writing retreat environment, and I wanted them to feel like I came with the upmost respect for their time, their writing, and their process. I didn’t want anyone to feel or think I was the end-all be-all of advice, because the truth is that everything they do, and everything I say, is subjective. So I’m very much of the mind that — here is what I think, but if that doesn’t track with what your vision is, let’s hear some other opinions. I know I bring marketplace and publishing experience to the table, so I hope they could find helpful takeaways in that part of my critiquing, but other writers at the table provided helpful insight, too.

SPL: Critiques can be a hard experience for a writer, to give and to receive, but are super necessary. Any tips on how to stay open, be honest, and choose wisely? 

Toot Your Horn!

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authors, community, illustrators, middle grade, picture books, published, publishing, SCBWI members, YA, young adult

 

Living Fossils: Clues to the Past, by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Andrew Plant, Charlesbridge, ages 7-10, Picturebook Nonfiction, ISBN: 978-1-58089-691-7, released 06/02/2016.

 

The LitMingle Minute: San Fernando Valley-Glendale

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community, illustrators, middle grade, picture books, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, writer, young adult

We at the SFV-Glendale LitMingle are dedicated to the pursuit of writing and illustrating children’s literature. We support, guide, and nurture budding authors and illustrators as well as established authors and illustrators. Our goal is to create quality works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that educate, entertain, and inspire children of all ages.

Ask an Editor: Word Count for Middle Grade and Young Adult

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editor, editors, middle grade, word count, young adult

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – Word count requirements confuse me. Should I try to reach a certain number before I submit my novel? Does it really matter?   —Rob, Studio City

Dear Rob – An ideal reference for word count is SCBWI’s annual publication, The Book: The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, available to SCBWI members at https://www.scbwi.org/online-resources/the-book/. The printed version is a bargain at $6.25 plus shipping, or download the PDF for free.

Interview with Booki Vivat, Author and Illustrator of Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom

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authors, Booki Vivat, Graphic Novels, HarperCollins, illustrators, local, middle grade

Today we’re talking with SCBWI member and former Angelino, Booki Vivat. Her illustrated middle-grade novel, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom (HarperCollins Children’s Books), became available on September 27, 2016.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome! In this debut novel Abbie Wu, the middle child in her family, is about to enter middle school. What was your process as author-illustrator from idea to publication?

BOOKI VIVAT: Frazzled has a pretty unconventional origin story. It didn’t start with a traditional pitch or a query or a manuscript. It started with a doodle—or rather, a whole bunch of them. I kept a planner a few years ago to try and get my life in order, but it ended up becoming more of a creative outlet to channel all my feelings. Doodles literally took over the pages of my life!

Toot Your Horn!

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authors, illustrators, middle grade, picture book, published, publishing, SCBWI members, YA

 

A Charmed Life / Una Vida con Suerte, by Gladys E. Barbieri, illustrated by Lisa Fields, Arte Público Press, ages 4-8, bilingual picture book, ISBN: 978-1-55885-827-5, released 05/30/2016.

 

 

LitMingle Minute: Hollywood

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authors, community, critiques, illustrators, middle grade, mingles, picture books, publishing, query letters, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, tools, volunteers, writer, writing tips, YA, young adult

Minglers discussing plot.

The SCBWI L.A. Hollywood LitMingle started humbly. For the past three years, Deborah Blum and Jean Perry (that’s me) have taken the mingle from a living room to the meeting space at the Hollywood Fairfax Library. It’s absolutely delicious to meet with other children’s writers. We who gather on those special Thursdays “get” each other. We find friends whose eyes don’t glaze over at the mention of plot and inciting incident. When we talk about crisis and climax, we can ask which is which. Picture book, middle grade, young adult, and new adult writers are welcomed to this free event every month. We usually start out full group, and then break into small groups based on genre, to get the specific support we need. Mingles are open to the public.