Childrens Writers Chat Log 3-5-02

Subject: Childrens Writers Chat

Author: writerbabe

Uploaded By: JOANWRITE

Date: 3/6/2002

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Childrens Writers Chat Log 3-5-02

Guest: Julie Strauss-Gabel Associate Editor at Clarion, soon to be an Editor at Dutton

Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), Workshop room

Children's Writers chat - writers and illustrators of children's books meet for specific topics and special guest speakers, moderated by HOST WRTR WBABE & HOST WRTR CGaley, with HOST WRTR sUe & HOST WRTR Neely (Greeters).

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<HTML>Childrens Writers Chat Log 3-5-02

Guest: Julie Strauss-Gabel Associate Editor at Clarion, soon to be an Editor at Dutton

Neely f: Time to go into protocol . . .    NOW!

Sryope2: Hi all

Neely f: That means, when it's time for audience participation,

Neely f: type ? for a question, ! for a comment,

Neely f: and wait your turn in the queue to be called on.

Neely f: Type GA (guests, too) for "Go Ahead" when you have finished

speaking.

Neely f: First, I want to thank my co-Hosts, WriterBabe and CGaley for

allowing me this opportunity to   sneak out from behind the screen.

Neely f: We should each be forever grateful to JOANWRITE, who edits each of

the CHAT LOGS   and archives them in the LIBRARY for future reference.

Neely f: AND last but not least -- thanks to BOEDEN, who I can always count

on to cover the GREETER   position when I can't be there.

Neely f: Give a wave, Sue.

BOEDEN: Hello! Ü

Neely f: Give a holler Marilyn, Chuck and Joan.

WriterBabe: Hola!

Sryope2: :::::applause::::::

CGaley: hey!

Neely f: Now . . . it is my great pleasure to welcome Julie Strauss-Gabel,

currently Associate Editor at Clarion.

Neely f: Julie recently informed me that within a few short weeks she will

be moving to Dutton as Editor.

Neely f: Congratulations on your move, Julie, and I wish the very best GOOD

LUCK in finding that hew best seller.

Neely f: I had the pleasure of meeting Julie several months ago

JOANWRITE: Hi

Neely f: when she was a speaker at a conference in New Jersey which I

attended.

Neely f: LOL  I knew you were there, JOAN>

Neely f: Julie impressed me with her sincere interest in children's books

and children's book writers,

Neely f: and her thorough knowledge of the publishing business.

Neely f: I am very pleased that she has agreed to share her knowledge of the

publishing world with us this evening.

Neely f: I've tried to keep the questions to a more general nature so that

we can bridge the gap between each of the companies.

Neely f: AND NOW > > > >

Neely f: Here's Julie... Give a wave, julie.

North110: [waves]

Neely f: Welcome, Julie.  Would you like to make an opening statement or do

you wish me to go right into questions?

North110: :)

North110: Let's just go ahead - more time for ? at the end - Just glad to be

here, and thanks for your kind words!

Neely f: Okay .. here we go.

Neely f: Julie, can you tell us a little bit about yourself -- specifically

your qualifications as an editor --

Neely f: what inspired you to choose this field as your profession?   GA

North110: Like many editors I was an English major in college.  I had always

been

North110: involved with kids and programs for kids, but it wasn't until I

took a

North110: a

North110: wonderful class during my junior year that my love of kids and my

love of

North110: books started to come together with the study of children's

literature.

North110: Of course, it seems so natural to me now.  After college, I felt

strongly

North110: about deepening my knowledge of child development, so I received

an M.Ed.

North110: And, of course, the most valuable learning experience has been the

time

North110: I've spent at Clarion, working with wonderful editors, authors,

and

North110: illustrators. GA

Neely f: Julie, are Clarion's doors open to unsolicited manuscripts?  And if

so

Neely f: can you give an idea of how many unsolicited manuscripts arrive in

the mail each day?   GA

North110: Yes.  Clarion is open to unsolicited manuscripts.  We probably

receive

North110: about 100 unsolicited manuscripts every week, plus queries and the

many

North110: submissions sent directly to editors. GA

Neely f: Julie, we've been hearing that publishing houses have become

particularly careful about

Neely f: manuscripts that come in over the transom since September 11th.

GA

North110: There was indeed a period of time--particularly at the height of

the

North110: anthrax contamination--when there were a lot of difficult

decisions to be

North110: made about mail from unknown sources.  Even though it is pretty

much

North110: business as usual now, we did set things aside for a little while

at the

North110: most uncertain times.  There was so much cross contamination

North110: in NYC and so

North110: little that was--and still is--unknown about the source that

everyone had

North110: to be very, very careful. GA

Neely f: Julie, are you the primary reader of your slushpile, or do you have

readers sift through the pile first?   GA

North110: I am the primary reader of my own personal slushpile, yes.

North110: But, of course, we do often turn to colleagues for added input on

various projects.

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, approximately how long does it take for you to respond on a

manuscript?   GA

North110: It can often take several months to respond to a manuscript,

though we do

North110: try to read through the general unsolicited once a week.  Months

is, of

North110: course, not the ideal and we all would prefer to get back to

authors

North110: especially if it's something we know won't work for us.  But the

North110: reality is that it can take a long time and I think printed

turnaround

North110: times need to be considered to be very much in flux in order to

have

North110: realistic expectations.

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, if you like a manuscript but are unable to make an offer for

it, do you ever indicate to the author

Neely f: any specific reasons why you are not making an offer?   GA

North110: I try to offer as much helpful feedback as possible both to help

the author

North110: understand why something isn't working for Clarion and also to

have ideas

North110: for revising the piece.  Sometimes something just won't work on

the list,

North110: something more intangible, and it's hard to say.

North110: But if there is any

North110: guidance that I can provide that will help to improve the

piece/improve the

North110: piece's chance of being published, I do try to communicate that.

It serves

North110: me well and it serves the author well.

North110: ga

Neely f: Julie, is there a particular type or genre of book that you prefer?

picture books, easy readers,

Neely f: middle grade, young adult, mystery, fantasy?   GA

North110: I always enjoy working on picture books.  I think my real

passion/hunger is

North110: for middle grade/YA.  I have always loved YA as a reader, and I

aspire to

North110: find wonderful YA as an editor.  But good fiction is VERY hard to

find . .

North110: I'm always on the lookout, particularly for contemporary stories.

As a reader

North110: I have always loved unusual/mysterious/weird fiction and literary

North110: fantasy, but I think this is one of the toughest genre's to

conquer and I

North110: haven't seen much--submission wise--that has caught my eye lately

North110: but I'm always interested

North110: I also like folklore, poetry, and really unique and

North110: kid-friendly nonfiction.

North110: I'm not looking for easy readers

North110: Historical

North110: fiction is not something I'm looking for - unless it's really

unique

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, what is the time frame--in Clarion's publishing?  How long

can one expect to wait from contract to book shelf?   GA

North110: It all depends.  A novel might be 1-2 years (the production

process alone

North110: is about a year).

North110: A picture book can take many years, depending on the

North110: availability of a illustrator and how fast he/she works.

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, can you outline the "conception to birth" of a book? For

example, once the contract is signed--what comes next?   GA

North110: Depending on how final the manuscript is, there may still be

several rounds

North110: of editing after acquisition.  This really varies.

North110: Once the basic manuscript is polished and ready for copyediting it

goes roughly like this:

North110: - Manuscript is edited and then accepted for copyediting

North110: - Manuscript copyedited . . . at the same time a jacket artist

will be

North110: hired

North110: - Copyedited manuscript goes to author for review

North110: - Changes are entered and manuscript is transmitted to design

North110: - Design generates first pass with is proofread and also sent to

author again

North110: - Designed interior is circulated through editorial until no

North110: changes/mistakes left

North110: at the same time jacket design/flap copy created and sales and

catalog materials generated

North110: - Book transmitted to production department

North110: Black-and-white illustrated nonfiction is similar,

North110: but there is obviously more work to be done with photos, captions,

maps, index, etc.

North110: For picture books, the text follows a similar pattern

North110: while the artist is also working with the art department.

North110: We will first see sketches/sketch dummy

North110: Once sketches have been approved, the artist will go ahead with

North110: final interior art and jacket.  Once delivered, the designer will

create a

North110: mechanical using the typeset galleys and the final art.

North110: GA

Neely f: WOW!  All she could say was, "WOW!")   from Lilly's Purple Plastic

Purse. )

Neely f: Julie, what makes you really take notice of a story? What grabs

your  attention and

Neely f: makes you want to read to the end of the manuscript?

Neely f: GA

North110: Strong writing and a good voice. #1

North110: Of course, the backbone of the narrative

North110: needs to be there as well, but it's the use of language and the

feeling of

North110: a genuine voice that always grabs my attention.  Mastering a

child's voice

North110: and point of view is unbelievably difficult, so when people get it

spot on

North110: I always notice.

North110: I also like intelligent humor and insight.

North110: I think I tend to be turned away by the maudlin and melodramatic

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, what do you feel are the attributes of a good book?   GA

North110: I think most of the same things that attract me to a manuscript

are the

North110: things that make me love a book.

North110: Also a great plot and interesting characters, of course

North110: is always room for fun books that get kids reading

North110: but I do think that an exceptional children's book should say

North110: something more to the reader about his/her world, provide some

insight

North110: and/or support.

North110: This absolutely does not mean that it should be preachy

North110: I hate preachy and melodramatic), but I think it needs to be smart

and

North110: insightful and say something

North110: GA

Neely f: Julie, can you name some of your favorite books--both that you have

edited and those that you may not have, but are particularly fond of?  GA

North110: Well, I do, of course, have a special place in my heart for books

that I've edited

North110: and love them especially because I've shared such special journeys

North110: with them

North110: .  But just a few favorite titles (some recent, some not so

North110: recent

North110: include:

North110: Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy

North110: THE WESTING GAME

North110: WINNIE THE POOH

North110: HOLES

North110: most anything by E. L. Konigsburg

North110: Richard Peck's GHOSTS I HAVE BEEN

North110: ga

Neely f: Julie, are you more apt to look at a writer's work if they have

been previously published?   GA

North110: sure

North110: It's always helpful to have a writing credit.  It displays a level

North110: of achievement and means that the submission is  more likely to be

well

North110: written/of high quality . . . always worth a look

North110: Of course, for authors with recent trade book credits (or people

who publish regularly elsewhere)

North110: I do have to wonder why *I'M * seeing the submission.  Has their

regular

North110: editor already turned it down?

North110: Have several editors turned it down?

North110: Is it something that isn't selling?

North110: Or maybe it's just that it doesn't fit with the regular house

North110: or the author is just too productive for just one house

North110: , or the author lost their editor.

North110: If there''s a genuine reason (other than that the other house

rejected it)

North110: that it's best suited for me, it would always be helpful to know

that

North110: ga

Neely f: Julie, when you consider signing an author or an illustrator, do

you look at  the project as a one book deal, or

Neely f: are you more inclined to sign someone  whom you feel is more likely

to have a writing/illustrating career?   GA

North110: I'm looking for something long term

North110: A relationship.

North110: I think the business is built on long-lasting relationships.

North110: It's good to grow a list at a house

North110: and vitally important to work with an editor whom you trust and

with whom you can honestly communicate

North110: The same goes for illustrators.

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