Failing Before You Start: The Key Steps I Ignored to Crowdfund My Picture Book

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crowdfunding, illustrating, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, publishing, SCBWI members, self-publishing, Stan Yan, There's a Zombie in My Basement, tips, writing

by Stan Yan, Author and Illustrator

This is the first part in a two-part series where I will discuss my “missteps” in crowdfunding my picture book, There’s a Zombie in the Basement, because sometimes you have to risk going against conventional wisdom to bring your book into the world.

In 2013, my primary job was drawing zombie caricatures at conventions. One day, my 3-year-old son wouldn’t come down to my basement studio, fearfully pointing at my zombie artwork on the walls. This inspired my foray into kidlit, which taught me some lessons.

Ignored Step #1: Don’t Self-Publish.

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Scholastic Senior Editor Matt Ringler on the Goosebumps series, his love for revisions, and plot arcs in reality television

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Amar'e Stoudemire, Davi, Goldy Moldavsky, Matt Ringler, Mike Lupica, pitching, publishing, R.L. Stine, Scholastic, Sharon Robinson, Stephanie Kate Strohm, tips

SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day faculty member Matt Ringler is a Senior Editor at Scholastic where he edits chapter books, middle grade, and YA fiction.

He got his start at Scholastic in 2001 as a summer intern during his freshman year of college and, minus a short stint as a freelancer, has been there ever since. He compares the internship to winning the lottery, landing him the opportunities to work with Scholastic Editorial Director and author David Levithan and to witness the height of Harry Potter domination.

His books include the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine, the Game Changers series by Mike Lupica, the STAT series by Amar’e Stoudemire, and Sharon Robinson’s middle grade novel, The Hero Two Doors Down. His YA list includes Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky and It’s Not Me, It’s You by Stephanie Kate Strohm.

Matt talks to Kite Tales about his work and Writers Day in Los Angeles, taking place March 3.

Erlina Vasconcellos: Your books are so diverse and range from long-running series to debuts. How do you choose the books you edit?

Matt Ringler: A lot of that is a combination of luck and paying careful attention to the books I’m acquiring. With a long-running series, there’s always books to work on. That allows me to be really choosy with [the non-series books]. I always want to do something different from what I’ve just done. When I took over on Goosebumps, I sort of became the middle grade horror person. I like it, but I don’t always want to work on middle grade horror. The same thing happened when I acquired my first YA project—everything agents were sending me suddenly mirrored this one book I bought. But I like to read all age ranges; I read all genres.

EV: What are the elements of a strong series? And how should writers present that series to you? Do you want to see a whole plan?

Agent Fiona Kenshole on Books Becoming Movies, Traditional vs. Self-Publishing, and Pitching an Agent

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agent, Fiona Kenshole, Laika Inc., pitching, publishing, screenplays, self-publishing, Transatlantic

Happy Valentine’s Day! Fiona Kenshole wants to be your Valentine. Her love letter to you: this fantastic interview!

Fiona Kenshole loves the midwifery of being an agent, from getting your debut published to doing the movie deal. At Transatlantic, they like to sell your book to publishers all over the world, so Fiona works with co-agents in 28 countries, selling worldwide rights. Before becoming an agent, she was a publisher in the UK where she worked with best-selling names including Michael Bond (Paddington Bear), P.L Travers (Mary Poppins) and the Laureate Michael Morpurgo. She was also the British editor for authors including Beverley Cleary, Lois Lowry, Richard Peck, Bruce Coville, Gary Paulsen and Cynthia Voigt, and was nominated for “Editor of the Year” at the British Book Awards. She was also the Vice President at Laika Inc. when their first three films were all Oscar nominated: The Boxtrolls, Coraline, and Paranorman. And she will be bringing all this experience and insight into kid lit and storytelling when she appears as a faculty member at this year’s SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day, taking place on March 3^rd.

Sarah Parker-Lee: How has working as an editor, filmmaker, and publisher influenced your approach as an agent, both on the client side and on the selling side?

FIONA KENSHOLE: The opportunity to work on so many different sides of the storytelling process just increases my respect for writers. It really is an extraordinary gift, to be able to create people and worlds that can feel more real than our everyday lives. My job, whether as an editor, a film executive or as an agent, is to help that writer in their creative process so that the story they tell is the best it can be. I’m often the first person that a story is entrusted to. I can see the places where the writer is too close to a story to see what is missing, for example, and as a professional with many years’ experience, I offer gentle, supportive practical criticism. I spent several hours this week reviewing a new manuscript I am really excited about, by one of my clients, and she came back to say, “All of the structural weakness of the book that you identified are ones that I already knew were there”.​

​That made me feel good: I am doing my job right!

As for the selling side, without being immodest, I am a brilliant story pitcher! It’s the result of my years of pitching to tough executives [at] Hollywood studios who don’t move a muscle. I went out with a pitch for a debut last month and got 20 requests to read from editors within a day! 

SPL: Should writers be concerned about whether or not their book will make a great movie when they’re writing it? If the ultimate goal is to make a movie, do you need to write the book first?

Toot Your Horn!

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authors, illustrators, published, publishing, SCBWI members

 

Five-Minute True Stories: Animal Rescue, by Aubre Andrus, Scholastic, ages 4-8, Nonfiction, ISBN: 1-338-20006-2, released 03/27/2018 

 

Great News!

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authors, illustrators, published, publishing, 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!

 

 

Hatching Chicks in Room 6 by Caroline Arnold was named a 2017 Eureka! Honor book by the California Reading Association. The Eureka! awards are for excellence in nonfiction.

 

Having a Mentor Just Might Lead to a Manuscript That Sells

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Andrea J. Loney, Karol Ruth Silverstein, mentors, mentorships, publishing, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, Wade Bradford

by Karol Ruth Silverstein, Contest Coordinator

It’s common knowledge that having a mentor can impact your writing career in wonderful ways. Sometimes the impact is immediately apparent; other times it takes a while for the coaching a mentee receives to translate into career success.

My own experience falls into both categories.

SAG Winner Karen Jameson on Getting Published & the Mentors That Got Her There

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agents, Alexis O'Neill, Ann Whitford Paul, Dianne White, Karen Jameson, Lynn Becker, published, publishing, SAG, Sue Alexander Grant

By Karen Jameson

Sometimes the person who’s about to change your life has been there all along!

Children’s author and friend, Dianne White, and I met way back in 1996 when I joined the teaching staff at Peachland Elementary. A well-respected primary teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of children’s literature, Dianne pursued her love of children’s writing after hours. Sixteen years later, when Dianne announced plans for an early retirement (and a move to Arizona), I knew that it was now or never. I finally summoned my courage and shared my own secret writing dreams. I never could have imagined what happened next!

Toot Your Horn!

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authors, illustrators, published, publishing, SCBWI members

It’s Black Friday! Don’t forget that you can purchase books today, and small business Saturday, and cyber Monday! Here are some members whose books have recently become available!

Lint Boy, by Aileen Leijten, Clarion, ages 8-12, Graphic Novel, ISBN: 978-00544-52860-4, released 06/27/2017.

 

 

 

Great News!

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authors, illustrators, news, publishing, SCBWI members

SCBWI loves celebrating our members’ successes and noteworthy news, and there are many to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches! Read on to find out who’s got something to shout about. If you have something to be thankful for, kid-lit-related or otherwise, share in the comments! We here at SCBWI Los Angeles and Kite Tales are thankful for each and every one of you!

 

 

Rabbi the Rabbit, by Shireen Hakim, was published in the “Out of Many, One: Celebrating Diversity” anthology. It also won an award by the anthology publisher, Houston Writers Guild Press, on April 5, 2017.

Author and Illustrator Mary Ann Fraser’s Lessons After 60 Published Books and Counting

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Book Launches, Charlesbridge, illustrator tips, Mary Ann Fraser, publishing, writing tips

Mary Ann Fraser is the author/illustrator of 60 fiction and non-fiction books for children. Her latest picture book, Alexander Graham Bell Answers the Call (Charlesbridge), was published in August.

Fraser is also the Regional Advisor for SCBWI’s Central-Coastal Region. She talks to Kite Tales about her prolific career and shares lessons learned over the years.

Erlina Vasconcellos: Congratulations on your new book, a nonfiction look into the childhood of Alexander Graham Bell. How did you choose him as the subject?

Mary Ann Fraser: First, thank you for the opportunity to share my journey toward this latest book. As always, I am so grateful for the support and encouragement of my friends and peers that make up this amazing community we call SCBWI.

In 2012 my husband and I visited the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. I was amazed at Bell’s endless curiosity, inventiveness, and desire to help others, particularly the deaf, and was struck by how his life’s work seemed inevitable from the time he was a young lad. His mother was deaf and his father and grandfather were speech therapists. At the museum bookstore, I asked if they had any picture books on Bell. The cashier said they didn’t but wished they did. That’s when bells (excuse the pun) started ringing, and I realized I had my next project.

EV: After 60 books, how do you stay inspired and keep things fresh? Is your method for generating ideas different from when you began?