How Books Begin

ELLEN E. M. ROBERTS AT IBBY SEPTEMBER 24

2011-07-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

International Board of Books For Youth Appearance This Autumn

by Ellen E.M. Roberts
Editor-in-Chief
Where Books Begin

Ellen E. M. Roberts, editor-in-chief of Where Books Begin, will be appearaing at Paichai University in Daejeon, South Korea on September 24, 2011. Sponsored by the Korea Association of Children's Literature & Education (KACL&E) this special conference will be about Writing & Publishing the Children's Picture Book.

Ellen’s book THE CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK: How To Write It, How to Sell It, was first published in Korea in 2002. It is very popular there. Her lecture topic will be PUBLISING BOOKS FOR BETTER BRAINS: How Picture Books Help Children Learn to Read, Write and Think.

She will discuss picture books for children from birth to age 9, as well as illustrarted books for teenagers, including telenovelas, magna, graphic novels and comic books. Her focus will be on the interplay of visual images and aural signals in integrating the child’s embrace of a story.

This important event will be co-hosted by International Board on Korean Committee Books for Young People (KBBY) and will take place on September 24, 2011.

For further information about the conference, contact:

Keumhee Kim, Ph. D.
Dept. of Child Studies
Korea Nazarene University
Ssangyongdong 456
CheonAn, ChoongNam
South Korea
330-718
khkim@kornu.ac.kr

WHO’S WINNING THE BOOK SUBMISSIONS GAME?

2008-11-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

Publishers or Authors? Agents or Editors?

by Ellen E.M. Roberts
Editor-in-Chief
Where Books Begin

Publishers since the time of Hammurabi have been trying to figure out a way to publish content without having to deal with authors. Authors can be delightful but most often they are not. Insecurity plagues them. Successful ones feel like frauds; unsuccessful ones feel paranoid. I have always looked at the book submission process as a game. Publishers win an inning, authors win an inning. The game hasn’t ended yet, but right now publishers are ahead. Here’s how the game has played out so far.

Two hundred years ago, when American publishing was becoming a good way to make money, there were many more people who could read than could write. Writing was a demanding process, involving candlelight and quill pens. Very few people had the time, the education or the resources to write a whole book. Furthermore, the writer had to have penmanship that others could actually read. I almost fell over when I saw the original manuscript of George Eliot’s Middlemarch in the British Museum. Three cross-outs in the entire manuscript. She knew what she was going to say before she put pen to paper. And two hundred years ago, paper was scarce and paper was expensive. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin on used butcher paper, bloodstains and all. Publishers were looking for untried (read cheap) talent. The authors breezed ahead.

Largely because of the success of Mrs. Stowe’s book, the word got out about 1870 that publishers would read the writings of people they didn’t know. And if they liked it, pay money for it. Thus began the wretched tradition of manuscript submission. Publishers would brag that they found a hot property “over the transom” meaning an unknown writer slipped it through the opening atop the publisher’s door, early in the morning or late at night when the office was closed. Authors liked this process because it gave them access to the commerce of publishing and publishers liked it because they could get talent for little money. It was beginning to look like a tie.

A hundred years later, this tradition ran amok as Americans acquired word processors and personal computers that enabled them to type easily and quickly. Couch potatoes who used to entertain themselves with knitting and television viewing became novelists overnight. They might not know foreshadowing from a foreclosure, but they could fill the pages with typing.

With PCs in every den, the notion of the “original manuscript” disappeared. Agents and then writers discovered that they could create multiple original manuscripts. Publishers no longer knew whether they were the only ones considering a script for publication. This made it possible to submit to many publishers at a time. The volume of unsolicited manuscripts increased a hundred fold. Every publisher got to see every manuscript. Weary editorial assistants referred to the tons of unsolicited manuscripts that blanket the publisher’s daily mail like dirty snow as the “slush pile.” At famous publishers like Random House, entire rooms were crammed with manuscripts packed floor to ceiling waiting for an editor to have time to look at them. The authors were winning now.

With the arrival of the millennium, email again changed the submissions landscape. Publishers were really swamped now, because the author no longer even needed to print and post his script. He could just send it along as an attachment. Publishers refused to open the attachments from people they didn’t know. But they saw that email could alleviate the avalanches of unsolicited manuscripts if they asked for an email query first. They upped this by informing writers that they would only answer emails if they were interested. Writers could no longer tell if they were being considered or not. Was no news a rejection? How long should an author wait to hear from an editor or an agent?

The publishers are ahead now.

VOCABULARY WORDS FOR SUBMITTING AUTHORS

1 INTERNET Publishing companies and literary agencies are notoriously fluid in their staffing. Editors quit over policy; publishers fire because new management has new ideas; money runs out, so the up-and-coming editor is now a down-and-out waiter. If you hear of an editor who is looking for new talent or a new agency opening up, check the internet before your submit. Things change. In publishing, things routinely change overnight.

2. NETWORKING Facebook and My Space may seem tedious to you, but they are important resources for building an author platform. Broadcast your successes and link to your blog using these social networking sites. Many editors and agents are members.

3. PERSISTENCE. Agent Phil Spitzer calculates these days it takes ten years to publish a mainstream novel. If you are going to the trouble of writing a book, stick with it. Don’t give up submitting it. .

This is a short version (with all the libelous stuff taken out) of a speech given to the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Association in Palmer, Pennsylvania November 22, 2008.

The Non-Fiction Novel: A Flight From Fantasy

2008-10-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

by George Flexior

Telemarketing Manager

Where Books Begin

Dr. Seuss reports how disappointed he was when he finally met Jackie Onassis at a New York Public Library gala. Expecting brilliant conversation, instead he found himself answering the same banal question he was always asked at parties, “Where do you get your ideas?” Dr. Seuss had some interesting answers to that question, but most writers don’t. They simply help themselves to other people’s lives. It’s what Lady Caroline did to Lord Byron in Glenarvon; it’s what Harold Robbins did to Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers and what Jackie Susann did to Judy Garland in Valley of the Dolls. After helping themselves to the plots of other people’s lives, out of vanity or guile, the writers call their work fiction and avoid being sued for libel or scolded by Oprah on national television.

This is not simply Scott Fitzgerald writing about Gerald and Sara Murphy in Tender is the Night, or even Jack Kerouac maligning Neal Cassady in On The Road. This is wholesale appropriation of the hot celebrity stories that Page Six, People Magazine and the gossip-hungry TV show TMZ can only hint at. And as a literate American, I think this is fine. Fifty years ago, Walter Winchell and Louella Parsons did not bring down civilization writing about Debbie and Eddie and Liz. or Dominick Dunne spoofing John Gutfreund in People Like Us.

But when the topics get political, I get nervous. We can’t vote intelligently if we are getting bad information from propagandists hiding behind the First Amendment. I see trouble brewing across the Atlantic and have spent some time considering whether it can happen here.

In the UK, Severn House is publishing a historical novel—with footnotes, can you believe it?—called My Friend Hitler by German television writer Claus Hant. Hant cagily tells his story in the first person, through the eyes of Hitler’s best friend. The homoerotic subtext is only hinted at, but the power of the prose pulls the reader along. And though it’s classified as fiction, a preface by a leading historian makes it all feel legitimate.

In France, where writers are unconcerned with legitimacy but are obsessed with style, editor Justine Levy’s book, Rien de Grave, pushed The Da Vinci Code off the top of the fiction best seller list. This expose of Madame Sarkozy’s promiscuity is selling well in the US as well, combining the plot of a TV-movie with language worthy of a poet. Jeffrey Archer has been tickling readers for decades with the skinny on Saddam Hussein and Warren Christopher hidden in his preposterous plots. What does this European trend bode for America as we move into the elections?

The political novel is something of an American tradition. Edwin O’Connor’s novel about Mayor Curley The Last Hurrah and Robert Penn Warren’s examination of Governor Huey Long –All The King’s Men--were both major movies. Washington insider Joe Klein’s Primary Colors didn’t come out until the Clintons, whose election it chronicles, were safely in the White House but it started some baseless rumors which persist. William F. Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, uses a minor player in Mackerel By Moonlight to showcase insiders like Abe Fortas to show us how Easterners inside the Beltway have corrupted American political safeguards. In an age where young people watch Comedy Central for their evening news and the spin on Fox is dizzying, one could worry about fiction as yet another tool for voter manipulation.

Fortunately for the election, both McCain and Obama have protected themselves against the onslaught of Nonfiction Novels by writing their own books, clearly and completely non-fiction. Obama is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books. McCain has a different style, working with a professional writer to get it down on paper, but he tells his stories so vividly that many of them stand verbatim on the pages of Faith of My Fathers. It will be interesting to see how the non-fiction novelists appropriate real-life stories published after the election. But for the moment we have two candidates whose own larger-than-life stories prove the point that truth is not only stranger than fiction (or comedy routines or gossip shows) but also a better predictor of Presidential behavior.

HOW TO TELL WHEN YOU ARE BEING MANIPULATED BY A NONFICTION NOVELIST

-- The writer includes telling details from the real life event, such as a sapphire tiara or a Mexican mother that ring bells with the reader, conscious or unconscious.

-- The writer doesn’t waste words on establishing settings, but chooses clichéd milieus such as the White House, The Graham Norton Show or Langley.

-- The writer leaves out details that slow the story down, even if they are important to a fair representation. Yes, he spent the night with a 14-year-old boy, without mentioning the kid is his nephew.

-- The dialogue reads as a parody of what the subject says in real interviews. It’s as if the author listened to Larry King and then reduced the responses to a dozen characteristic phrases.

-- The author exaggerates the limited third person point of view. Supporting characters come in from all sides but the author makes sure everything happens to or through the main character.

-- For all his irresponsibility in stealing a real-life person’s story, the author chooses a tone that understates, nearly drones on, like British cozy. This creates a matter-of-fact tone that makes the nonfiction fiction believable.

-- The author is telling you, not showing you. When an author is using a real-life character and real life events, s/he depends on narration more than s/he would in a mainstream novel.

-- When you get to sections that are already familiar from news coverage and celebrity gossip, you will see that the narration slows down so that the reader can savor his “in the know” perspective.

I USED TO THINK BEING PUBLISHED WAS A STATUS THING

2008-09-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

by Chad Jarrah
Assistant Editor
Where Books Begin

For me, for many years, as for all aspiring writers, publication was the goal. I wanted people to read what I had written. But even more, I wanted everyone, readers and non-readers alike, to be impressed that I was in that elite club of published writers. That some editor somewhere thought that what I had to say was worth reading.

Publication would show acceptance into an elite club. We authors send out query letters again and again all in the hope of receiving that one response from an interested agent or publisher telling us: ‘Yes, you are good enough for me. Join us!’ As a writer, I was that nerd in high school who longs to go out with the popular cheerleader. Me, in high school, I asked every cheerleader out and got rejected until I lost all hope. Then that last pretty cheerleader saw something in me and accepted me for all my random quirkiness. I was hoping for the same thing in publishing.

THEN I BECAME AN EDITOR MYSELF

Then I became an editor myself. I got a job in publishing, working as an assistant editor for Where Books Begin, and I began to see things differently. As an aspiring writer, I had the cart before the horse. I thought that the acceptance by the publisher came FIRST. As an editor, I found out that the publisher is just a buyer, and he buys the best. If I wanted him to pick me out of the crowd, my stuff had to be better than everyone else’s. I had to be best. And how would I be best? Thomas Edison, who never wrote a word in his busy life, had the answer “Ninety nine percent perspiration, one percent inspiration.” Robert Louis Stevenson whose books are still popular after a century, echoed him: “Good writing is re-writing,”

EDITORS WANT PERFECTION.

And rewrite is what editors and authors do. Back and forth, over and over, again and again. How many times can the first thirteen pages of a novel be sharpened, tweaked, focused and perfected?

“That ellipsis on page 7: is it really necessary?”

Answer: “Of course it is necessary, it shows the character is drifting off, evading confrontation.”

Editor’s reply: “But can’t the dialogue itself show that same evasion?”

It feels like it will never end. I don’t know whether I feel like a law clerk or Dr. Phil, but I keep asking questions. That’s what editors do to help writers make better books.

PERFECTION PAYS OFF

Then one day the author gets a nibble from an agent. “Sounds good, send it along!” Once a writer is accepted into the company of the agent, then he can have the luxury of calling his writing “Art” With a capital A. I dance a jig around the office. See? It pays to seek perfection!

HOW BEING AN EDITOR AFFECTS MY READING

While working as an editor, always making manuscripts better and better, I began to get very choosy about my reading off the job. I didn’t want anything that didn’t hit the mark. I have been working on a memoir, so I started seeking out great memoirs. Three people told me to check out Mark Salzman, author of Lost in Place, Iron and Silk and Lying Awake. These books are based on his experiences in life and all three are rooted in humor -- the same approach that I want to pursue.

DISCOVERING MARK SALZMAN

As I breezed through his Lost In Place, I forgot all about writing and rewriting. I was right there in Connecticut (I have never been to Connecticut, I try to stay west of the Delaware River) in the seventies (before I was born) doing kung fu (I have never done kung fu) and worrying about whether I was going to get into Yale (Lehigh was what I worried about when I was in high school.) M. B. Goffstein says “Being a professional writer is working and working and working and working until it seems like you never worked at all.” That’s exactly what I felt Mark Salzman had done. And even though I know it’s a ton of work, it’s exactly what I would like to do. Salzman has inspired me to try.

THE SALZMAN TECHNIQUE

Salzman tells his stories in a way that make the reader understand his exact feeling and point of view at whatever moment in his life he is describing. He defamiliarizes his anecdotes so we have the ‘in his shoes’ feeling.

WRITER’s LESSON: DEFAMILIARIZATION

Defamiliarization is the writer’s sleight of hand. He grasps that which everybody takes for granted and lays it out as something new. Readers who know what he is talking about, nod in recognition. Readers who have no idea of what he is talking about, learn. This makes the process of reading effortless. Those who already know can skim. Those who are learning something new from the book are interested, excited even, and the energy that rises out of curiosity helps them along.

They are so focused on the content they don’t notice the style. If you ask the reader “What did you think of Salzman’s style?” most likely he will reply “What style?” even though Salzman has a distinctive style. The content has pulled them into Salzman’s story. They are totally unaware of techniques and tricks. They just want to read more.

WHAT NEXT?

Now I am reading Jeff Goodell’s Sunnyvale which tells the eighties version of Salzman’s suburban tale. This with a twist of the divorce of the main character’s parents early on in the story. In this day and age, divorce in no twist, but the norm, but the reactions of Jeff and his family, and the paths each member takes because of it, serve to surprise the reader. Again, defamiliarization is the key. My parents and aunts and uncles have never been through a divorce, but the confusion that Jeff and his siblings feel is so tangible, I know I’m blessed to have been so lucky.

I don’t think it’s possible to learn good writing just from reading good writers. They are too slick, too polished, their techniques can go right past you. You need a teacher to say “Why don’t you slow down the pace of that section?” or an editor who asks “Why do you leave the mother out of this scene?” But once you have taken writing courses or worked as an editor of another person’s work, you are ready to appreciate how the masters make the simplest, stupidest suburban existence, into a book that you cannot put down…or stop thinking about once you have finished it.

Enchantment is the goal. After realizing this -- after understanding all the rewriting that has been done, and after all the numerous changes made -- the 'elite club' theory begins to make sense.

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS (BACK) COVER

2008-07-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

by Chad E. Jarrah, Assistant Editor, Where Books Begin

Books affect their readers in any number of ways. The creepy words of Stephen King make us look over our shoulders, or David Sedaris’ stories make us laugh openly. Children’s books do the same, but due to our innocence when we first hear them, they stick with us much longer. As Dylan Thomas famously said: “After the first time there is no other. “

At Where Books Begin I read the boss's book about picture books and started writing picture books myself. I asked friends and relatives to tell me the picture books they adore. I was surprised to hear the same titles repeated over and over again.

‘Anything by Dr. Seuss,’ a young mother said, ‘My son loves Oh, The Places You Will Go.’

An elementary schoolteacher told me she is a lifelong fan of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. ‘The illustrations in that book are great,’ she said, ‘I read it to my students every year.’

A doting father is reading Richard Scarry’s Busytown to his daughter, having enjoyed What Do People Do All Day? as a child. “My world really became organized when I read this book,” he recalls fondly.

My personal favorite is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I hadn’t read it in years. I remember being confused as a child by the intimidating picture of the author on the back of the book jacket. ‘How could this scary man write such a nice book? This was before I learned never judge a book by its cover, or for that matter, by its back cover. Remembering the menacing picture of Silverstein made me wonder about the authors of other famous children’s books. How many other best sellers were written by people, who, by the looks of them, have no right being anywhere near or associated with a child? So my search began.

If two words could accurately describe the result of my findings, they would probably be ‘Freak’ and ‘Show.’ Every author seemed to be an old white man, more like John McCain than Mister Rogers. Before my researches, I assumed picture books were created by grandmotherly types baking cookies and writing in their spare time. Or dedicated elementary school teachers like Miss Honey, intent on making her students aware of wisdom and beauty. Not with these guys.

Everyone’s heard of Harold and the Purple Crayon, the story of a four year old boy who creates the world he wants to see with the power of his magical purple crayon. This is a great story that teaches kids to use their imaginations, but who would have thought the author, Crockett Johnson, would look like a runner-up from a Telly Savalas look-alike contest. Harold, however, has touched readers all across the globe as it has been translated into ten languages, including Hebrew and Chinese.

H.A. Rey, pictured here with his comb-over and horn-rimmed glasses, is the genius behind Curious George. His creation is recognizable everywhere and has easily become more popular than its creator. Curious George gets four and a half million hits on Google as opposed to H.A. Rey himself with fewer than a million. Again, a homely and unassuming author is responsible for a work that has sold 25 million copies (Btw, George is 67 years old--he’s a senior citizen now.)

For a man who looks like a ruthless and boring organic chemistry professor, Maurice Sendak has amazingly created in Where the Wild Things Are, a ten-sentence masterpiece. It won the Caldecott medal 43 years ago. Sendak likes to tell the story about the mother who told him: "Every time I read the book to my daughter, she screams.”

Sendak: "Then why did you continue reading it to her when she does not like it?"

Mother: "She ought to like it, it's a Caldecott book."

Sendak says “If a child does not like a book, throw it in the trash.”

Born Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss created his pen name after he was kicked off of the Dartmouth college paper as a consequence of throwing an illegal drinking party his senior year. From then on he used the name Dr. Seuss to write without penalty. As I see it: ‘He was drinking some gin, what trouble he’s in, whoever would think in the end he would win!’

Scary? Yes. That’s because this is Richard Scarry, author of the popular Busytown series. His eyes may pierce the soul and strike fear into the heart of even the most brave, but every little kid loves Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat who aren’t scary in the least. The characters he created live on in cartoons, educational materials and video games.

The man pictured to the left seems to have a severe case of airsickness but that’s not possible. He is none other than Antoine Saint Exupery, author of The Little Prince and an accomplished aviator. The Little Prince has sold more copies than any other picture book. Translated into over 180 languages it is currently number three on the most printed list behind only The Bible and Gone with the Wind.

Only twenty picture book authors have books that have sold more than a million copies. The men who created them – and they are overwhelmingly men – are all rich but not that famous. If you subscribe to the stereotypes that women do all the caring for children, think again. A children’s author can be an intimidating, bewhiskered, bald, gin swilling aviator and still share lessons that will endure over a lifetime.