In celebration of National Picture Book Month and Veteran’s Day:

Give a Military Family a Free Book

11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph book

THE STORY: “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph”

When her father goes soldiering for a year, a girl decides that without Dad at home, it’s not a family photo album. Though her beloved Nanny is in charge of the album that year, the girl makes sure that photographs of her never turn out well. Photos are blurred, wind blows hair in her face. April rains bring umbrellas to hide behind. Halloween means a mask. This poignant, yet funny family story, expresses a child’s anger and grief for a Dad whose work takes him away for long periods of time. It’s a tribute to the sacrifices made by military families and to those who care for children when a family needs support.

THIS STORY IS A WINNER!

READ THE BOOK!

Darcy Pattison’s story, “11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph” is the winning children’s story. It is a free download at www.takepart.com/thehelp, or download it here (pdf download).

You can also order it for your:

• Kindle
• Nook
• paperback, coming soon

MORE

Read more at www.11WaystoRuinaPhotograph.
PLEASE pass this along to anyone who might know a military family or to anyone in the military that you know.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Silver Bay YMCA, Adirondack Mountains, NY

Nancy Castaldo, SCBWI Eastern NY Regional Advisor

In attendance were 35 writers, who were fabulous. See pics on Facebook soon.

5 Picture Book Editors

Speaking were five editors: Sylvie Frank of Holiday House, Kelly Smith of Sterling, Dianne Hess of Scholastic, Marilyn Brigham of Marshall Cavendish, and Kate Fletcher of Candlewick.
(NOTE: Please see the publishers’ websites for submission info.)

(L ro R) Marilyn Brigham, Sylvie Frank, Kate Fletcher, Dianne Hess, Katrina Damkoehler, and Kelly Smith. Photo courtesy of Nancy Castaldo.

Sylvie Frank, Holiday House

Sylvie Frank, Holiday House

Kelly Smith, Sterling Books

Kelly Smith (left) and Katrina Damkoehler (right), Sterling

Kate Fletcher, Candlewick

Kate Fletcher is the young Meryl Streep of children’s literature, classy and smart, destined for great things. Think literary, smart, clever, tongue-in-cheek. While Candlewick publishes fiction and nonfiction, Kate will usually pass off nonfiction to a more enthusiastic editor. Instead, she looks for fictional picture books and novels. Genre matters less than literary quality.

Marilyn Brigham, Marshall Cavendish

Marilyn Brigham, Marshall Cavendish

Dianne Hess, Scholastic

Dianne Hess, Scholastic

Art Director for Picture Books

Also participating was Kristina Damkoehler, Assistant Art Director of Sterling Children’s Books. She’s the Catwoman of children’s literature, lithe, lean and able to see what others don’t. She graciously agreed to do portfolio reviews for all the artists in attendance. She works hard to match the sensibilities of a story with an artist’s style to make a book the best it can be. She said she keeps a list of author websites to look over when she is looking for the perfect match.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Writing is rewriting

Guest post by Anastasia Suen

For years I have been saying that writing is rewriting, and now I have a book that shows it quite clearly, my new picture book, Road Work Ahead (Viking 2011).

This picture book is short, like most of my books. It’s only 120 words, but those words have been rewritten over and over again. Yes, this one has been a lo-o-o-ong time coming. I started this book when my son was 2…and now he’s 27!

Picture Book Inspiration

When my son was 2, he loved to look at all of the trucks and machines along the road, so I started snapping pictures for him. I made him a “look book” that later turned into a picture book. I loved the story in that book, so I sent it out to editors, but it kept coming back, over and over. Editors said they loved it, too, but it wasn’t quite ready. So I kept rewriting it and sending it out…and now 25 years later, it’s finally a book you can hold in your hand.

The 6 Ws of Story

So what made the difference? I used ALL of the 6 Ws this time. I made sure the story had who, what, when, where, why and how. Using all 6 Ws made it a story, not just a list of machines along the road. Stories sell, but lists…well, not so much.

New Beginning and Ending. After the story finally sold I thought it was ready to go, but my editor thought it needed something more. She asked me to write a new beginning and ending, so we knew why the little boy was on the road looking at all of the road work. That also added a who, by showing us the little boy before he got into the car.

So I added my mother and her famous homemade oatmeal cookies to the book. (We used to eat them right after they came out of the oven. Yum!) Driving to Grandma’s house for fresh, warm, homemade oatmeal cookies is definitely a reason to keep going despite all of the traffic delays due to the work along the road. And when you get to eat them at the end of the book, ah, sweet reward! Adding 2 short stanzas was all it took.

The change I made was used by the Publishers Weekly reviewer to describe the book.

“A batch of Grandma’s homemade oatmeal cookies beckons, but for this backseat narrator, the sights and sounds along the road to her house are equally compelling:
“Road work ahead./ Move over. Go slow./ Jackhammers crack./ Look at them go.’”

The text quoted in the review was the original beginning of the story. I had jumped too far into the action. What worked better was taking a few steps back and letting the reader know who the narrator was and why he was on the road in the first place.

Yes, writing is rewriting! (And a good editor makes ALL the difference. Thanks, Regina!)

For more on writing and revising picture books, see WriteaPictureBook.com

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

So What? That’s the question you must get past in your fiction. Why should a reader care?

Keep Reader’s Interest: Make Everything Matter More

The best way to make a reader care about your story, your novel is to make things matter more, put more at risk, up the stakes.

Personal Stakes

This can be accomplished on multiple levels. The first is a personal level. We must care about your character for some reason. A typical kid in a typical school is boring. Why do we care about this character?

• Moral Character. Because they are honest or loyal, kind or brave, respectful or trustworthy, loved by one and all. Some character trait must endear them to us and that usually has to do with a high moral character, at least on some level. And of course, your story will challenge that moral fiber
• Someone Loves Them. It’s important that you Show-don’t-Tell that someone loves this character. We like likeable folks; especially if you have a rough character, someone must let the reader know that the character is still lovable. It might be just a dumb animal who loves and is faithful to Mr. Rough Mouth, but it must be something or someone.

Public Stakes

In the world of your story or novel, something must also be happening that has consequences. If A doesn’t figure things out, then X, Y and Z will happen and those things add up to one major catastrophe for the city or nation, the neighborhood or the ranch, the business or the spy endeavor.

• Stretch out the tent pegs. Give the story’s consequences a wider influence than you had originally planned. The events reach tentacles into the very fiber of society (on whatever level is appropriate).
• Price of Success. What’s the price your character must pay to succeed in their quest? How can you increase the price in terms of moral character or personal relationships? How can you make the character hurt more, while also taking the results to a wider field?
• Self Sacrifice. Funny–if a character volunteers to endure something, we admire him/her. If they are forced to do it, we sympathize, but we don’t admire them as much. A willingness to pay an unusually high price will raise the stakes.
• Extreme Effort. Here’s where a story can easily go wrong: you make the trials and ultimate resolution too easy. Instead, push your character to his or her physical limits, mental limits, emotional limits. You love this character that you created, yet you MUST tighten the screws in every way possible, make them suffer, force them to fight for every inch of success. Whatever trials and conflicts you’ve thrown at them, intensify it. Think about extreme sports: the triathon combines on three hard races for a grueling competition. And yes, it’s no accident that upping the public stakes can hardly be separated from its impact on your character.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The Arkansas Society of Children’s BookWriters and Illustrators conference (see the national SCBWI site here) was this weekend in North Little Rock, AR, my home town! It was a small, cozy conference; but look out, because Arkansas writers have big dreams. Kudos to the AR-Regional Advisor, Phyllis Heman, for planning a great conference.

The speakers, Katherine Jacobs of Roaring Brook and Andrew Harwell of Dial/Penguin were informative and encouraging, partly because they are NYC transplants and seemed to understand the sensibilities of our mid-South region better than some.

Andrew Harwell, Ass. Editor, Dial Books for Young Readers

Dial Books does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

When I reported on the Oklahoma SCBWI conference last month, I referred to Nick Eliopulos of Scholastic Books as the “Peter Parker of children’s publishing.” So, the pressure is on–who is Andrew Harwell?

At first, I thought maybe he was the Clark Kent of children’s publishing. (Nice symmetry, that–if it worked.) But there aren’t thick glasses; and he’s not shy and retiring like Kent. Andrew (never Andy or Drew) is from Georgia: maybe he’s a kick-ass version of a young Colonel Sanders? No, the southern gentleman qualities come through for sure, but that’s not the right description, yet. Perhaps the best comparison is this: Andrew is a young Bill Gates of children’s publishing. Do we see a Harwell Publishing in his future?

Nick’s mandate at Dial Books is to publish a wide variety of books, from preschool picture books through young adult or teen novels. He’s not afraid of “series potential” in a submission, because he grew up reading and loving series of fantasy, such as the Redwall books by Brian Jacques. Currently, he’s working with Jim Arnosky on nature books, while editing a middle grade series about a girl detective, and working on an edgy teen novel (“I can do dark,” he says brightly.)

When considering a manuscript, he’s always looking at the commercial potential in the trade market, while keeping an eye on the school/library market. But Dial is firmly trade and books that Andrew acquires must have legs in that market. Got one with sturdy commercial legs? Have your agent send it his way.

Katherine Jacobs, Roaring Brook Press and Andrew Harwell, Dial Books

Katherine Jacobs, editor, Roaring Brook Press

Roaring Brook Press does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
(Uh-oh. Now the pressure is really on! Who is Katherine Jacobs in the children’s publishing world?)

Professional, a bit of an academic, enthusiastic, and of course, dressed in regal purple–if 007 needed M to keep him on track, authors should look at Katherine Jacobs as a young, enthusiastic M, who gives them the license to “kill with creativity.” (Think Judi Dench many years ago!). Katherine, “the M of children’s literature,” tempers her academic bent with an enthusiasm for stories. Like many other editors, she came to publishing from a childhood of total immersion in stories, one of readers we write for. She realized early on that her participation in the publishing process would be as an editor, not as a writer or bookseller–though she has tried both.

Katherine loves a great story. Period. Mystery, fantasy, realistic–while some genres have a special pull, it’s the story and especially, the character that draws her in.

Poetic picture books are Roaring Brook’s specialty: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, created by author-illustrator team Philip and Erin Stead won the 2011 Caldecott. Its other Caldecott winners are My Friend Rabbit (2003) and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004). First the Egg, also published by Roaring Brook, was a Caldecott runner-up in 2008. While Katherine does do picture books and some non-fiction, the mix of editors at RB and each one’s individual strengths, means she tends to do more novels. In fact, to balance those Caldecotts, she’d love to edit the next Newbery–if you’ve written it, please ask your agent to send it her way.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

12 Updated Resources for 2011

1. State of the industry. First, a basic question: Are picture books dead? Not according to Karen Springen and PW.
   Don’t Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet, By Karen Springen, Dec 12, 2010
2. Writing Encouragement. Natl Pic Book Writing Week May 1-7, 2011

   National Picture Book Writing Week is a take off on the National Novel Writing Month and encourages writers to work on children’s picture book manuscripts.

Basic Resources for Writing Children’s Picture Books

3. 30 Days to a Stronger Picture Book. Children’s picture book author, Darcy Pattison has 30 posts about how-to write a children’s picture book. Answers questions like, where do I find an illustrator? (You don’t! See why.)
   This is also available as an ebook.
   
   
   
4. Getting Started: The Basics of Children’s Writing and Illustrating, by Harold Underdown
   Introductory information for people wanting to get published as a children’s book writer or illustrator in the United States, by former editor.
5. Picture Book Editing Checklist

Authors on How-to Write a Children’s Picture Book

6. So You Want to Write a Picture Book–advice from author Mem Fox.
7. Nancy Antle on Writing Children’s Literature: Interview about Dos and Don’ts of Writing Picture Books.

Philip Bell: Capturing Childhood Magic With Picture Books

Updated Information on Self Publishing a Picture Book

8. Why I’ve Switched to CreateSpace for Picture Books, by Aaron Shepard

   Long-time self-publisher has insider knowledge about various POD options and explains why he’s switching to Amazon’s CreateSpace.

How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book

9. How To Write a Rhyming Picture Book and Get it Published — Part 1: A Writer’s Perspective.
10. How To Write a Rhyming Picture Book and Get it Published — Part 2: A Publisher’s Perspective.
11. How To Write a Rhyming Picture Book and Get It Published — Part 3: A Reader’s Perspective.
12. 
    Write a Rhyming Picture Book blog article, by author Patricia Thomas

Other Posts about Picture Books on Fiction Notes

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Books & Authors for the NonFiction Book Blast

I’m attending the June ALA conference and will be speaking on Sunday morning, along with nine other nonfiction authors. I’ve posted on the NonFiction Book Blast today, specifically telling more about writing Prairie Storms, but in general talking about the difference in writing fiction and nonfiction. PLEASE come by and comment!

Meanwhile, here’s a trailer for the event.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

In a recent post about Facebook Author Pages, Nathan Bradford said:

When fan pages were first created, I think people were kind of nervous to get started on them due to the whole “fan” thing. It seemed a bit presumptuous to have a fan page when one wasn’t a celebrity. But Facebook pages are increasingly how people distinguish between their private and public networks. So even if you aren’t (yet) a published author, I would definitely consider creating a page for yourself.

Wow! Intimidating. Before you even have a manuscript to submit, you should get involved in social media? I strongly feel authors have a social presence. A friend finds this intimidating and asked for advice. I’d suggest a slower start than others. For one thing, you’re probably unsure of your goals for social media beyond name recognition. You’re unsure of whether you want to target writers, parents, teachers or readers (adult or kids). Dip your toes in for a while; wade a while.

Start Slow in Social Media

Get a Business Email. Usually, this will be something like FirstLastName@gmail.com. Use this email to start accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Comment. Since you’re unsure of what manuscripts you’ll sell, and where you’ll fit into the chidlren’s literature world, take some time to look around. Use something like Alltop.com to find blogs to read. On Alltop, you just search for a topic–writing, moms, dads, teachers, etc–and find blogs.

Using your new business identity, read blogs and comment.
Pay attention to topics being discussed, the layout/design/platforms of the blogs and anything else that interests you.

On Twitter, don’t worry about posting, you can just attend a chat:
KidLit Chat
YALitChat

Or Follow some folks and Message them about their Tweets

On YouTube, watch book trailers and add authors and publishers as friends.

At first, set small goals. Maybe a goal of 10 comments a day. That should help you make the rounds of blogs that interest you. It lets you see your options. You can go to AllTop.com and search for writing blogs, moms blogs, reading blogs, or whatever.

OR, if you like Facebook, try posting daily and Liking 10 things daily.
If you like creating videos, post a new video weekly and comment on 10 other videos.
If you like Twitter, post one thing daily, and Message 10 people daily.

Well, you get the idea.

Notice What you Notice

Meanwhile, notice what you notice. Which blogs draw you back over and over? What topics do you comment on? Why? Which platform do you like: FaceBook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube? Do you gravitate toward things for readers, parents, educators? Are you drawn to info about picutre books, nonfiction, YA/Teen lit?

Start slow, start small. Notice where your interests lie. Read tutorials on platforms that interest you. And when you’re ready dive in. Yes–you should do it sooner, rather than later. But if you don’t have a mss ready to submit, you’ve got time. Use it to find a niche that you can sustain.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Do you look at your old drafts?

Save!
Obsessively, I save old drafts. I number the versions of my manuscript, untill I finally decide to name it something different. I create folders for OldDrafts. But I rarely LOOK at these old drafts. Somehow, it doesn’t seem necessary.

Looking Back or Finding What Worked
This revision is difficult, though. I like this story very much, but it keeps just missing. You have stories like that, too? So, we circle back to it and think this time, I’ll do it right. Today, I’m looking back over my shoulder.

Old Drafts Yield Strengths and Options

Well, this time, I went looking at the old drafts and found some surprising things:
Placement of Backstory: I had some good options in where I put backstory. There is a legend that needs to be told at some point. I know there are tons of creative ways to do this: have someone sing a ballad, tell it to young kids, set it up as the prologue. Nothing seems to work well here. Yet, the reader needs the backstory, the ballad. It’s hard to give out dribbles because it’s a complete legend unto itself.

In one old draft, I told the story early to some youngsters. And–I like that. It worked. I’m going to try that again. But this time, I’ll rewrite the legend itself to make it a more exciting scene and not just a narrative that is told.

Playful Elements. I also used some playful elements in earlier drafts. Why did I give those up? Maybe, I wasn’t confident enough to be that playful, to trust that the reader would get it. But I like some of the play there and want to work some of it back in.

Mostly, looking at old drafts has given me some options and perhaps, unveiled some hidden strengths of my writing. If you haven’t done it lately, open up some of those old files and look for golden words!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

*|YouTube:1qrcNksj5DE|*

Copyright: It provides my daily bread.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win