I am very excited for Would You Read It today! Not only do we get to start the day with Something Chocolate, not only do we get to read a great new pitch, not only am I not in the car (it’s true! I’m not in the car! Can you believe it?), but this is the first month where we’re trying out the new system!
Previously, we just voted on the month’s pitches, but NOW, as per the new policy, pitchers who wanted to have had the chance to revise their pitches for the pitch pick, so what you will be seeing today is that in action for the first time!
3 of our 4 July pitchers chose to take your helpful comments and revise for the July Pitch Pick, so here are the pitches for your evaluation:
#1 Carrie Title: Singin’ Sam, the Ice Cream Man Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8) Pitch: Sam loves dishing out ice cream to his favorite customers. But when a rival ice cream truck shows up on his corner, Sam must find a way to out-sing, out-scoop, and out-serve the competition to keep his customers — and himself — happy. #2 Rita Working Title: What’s Wrong With Molly Zwirl Age/Genre: Chapter Book (ages 6-9) The Pitch: Molly, an immigrant girl from Europe settling in the USA, is just like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. She tries so hard to be good but when her grandparents come she just has to be bad. #3 Vivian
Working Title: The Tomato Turner
Genre/Age: Picture Book/3-8
Stuck between a brainy brother and an adorable sister, Peter Peter middle-seater is searching for a way to be spectacular. When he sees the basket of green tomatoes, he knows his chance to astonish his family has come…if only he can turn the tomatoes red.
#4 Dana Working Title: CJ’s Tiger Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8) CJ has always dreamed of having a tiger for a pet, so he is thrilled when he awakens one day to find that his cat “Tiger” has transformed into a real tiger. However he soon learns that having a pet tiger is a lot harder than he imagined when the day turns into one big catastrophe! Please vote for your favorite below by Sunday August 19 at noon EDT. I will announce the winner Monday and send her pitch off to editor Erin Molta for comment at that time.
I must say, this is a tough choice!!! I can’t wait to see how the votes land!
Now, onto today’s pitch, which comes to us from Sharron. Sharron loves reading, writing, sharing with friends and learning new things. She blogs at Nothing But Writing and has joined us here once before for the 27th pitch of Sorrysorrysorry back on February 15. (As a matter of fact, she was the winner of the February pitch pick!)
Here is her pitch for today:
Working Title: Nothing But Blue Skies Age/Genre: Upper Middle Grade Fantasy The Pitch: Wizards have turned the world topsy-turvy. The sky is green. The grass is purple. Streams are pale pink. An abused, fourteen-year old princess is the only being able to change it back. But – not as a girl. A dragon’s tear transforms her into a prince. To triumph over magic, she must find out who she is and who she wants to be.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Sharron improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. There are openings in September, which is not very far away at all at this point, so we could really use some new pitches!!
Sharron has struggled mightily with this pitch and is very much looking forward to your thoughts!
I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s reactions to the new pitch pick system. Do you like it? Would you prefer to have the old pitch and the revised pitch both shown so you can compare, or would that make too much reading or be confusing? Inquiring minds want to know 🙂
Hurray!!! It’s time for another Short & Sweet! But first…
I have returned from The Pine Tree State where I still did not see a moose! I saw signs – “Moose Crossing”, “Watch for moose in roadway” and just plain
but although pretty much everyone else in the northern hemisphere has seen an actual moose, I still haven’t. Don’t get me wrong… I do not want to meet one in my car at 60 mph! I just want to see a real one looking serene in his or her natural surroundings 🙂 preferably alongside a cute baby moose 🙂
Anyway, onto business. The winner of the June pitch pick, whose pitch will go for a read by editor Erin Molta, is none other than the fabulous Lori with her pitch for These Little Piggies! Congratulations, Lori! And congratulations and thanks to all who bravely put forth their pitches – you are all winners in my book just for stepping up to the plate!
In other Would You Read It news, the vote for whether or not to keep the system the way it is was TOTALLY evenly split and indecisive! So now what? I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it. While I think, nothing will change. If anyone has thoughts or opinions, please share 🙂
Now then, are you ready? Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!
Today’s Short & Sweet will work best if you don’t peek 🙂 I’m not sure quite how to accomplish that on a blog post, so let’s go on the honor system – no scrolling down yet!
First, pick a number from 1-10. Got it? Write it down.
Now pick a number from 1-10 again and write that down.
Now do it again.
And now one last time.
(BTW, it’s okay of you pick the same number more than once. If you want to make it really random you can roll a pair of dice and just discard any 11s or 12s you roll, or take an ace-10 out of a deck of cards and randomly choose cards.)
Hopefully you now have 4 numbers between 1 and 10 written down (for example, I have 3, 7, 1, and 5)
Now, use your first number to select from this list:
Character:
A pirate who likes to sing
A little girl who doesn’t want to practice her violin
A zookeeper with a lost animal
A 5 year old girl with a rainbow umbrella
A homeless child
A boy whose father is a Navy SEAL
A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
A disobedient robot
A sailor who is far from home
A six year old boy who can’t ride his two-wheeler
Use your second number to select from this list:
Setting:
a museum
a national park
a playground
a big city
a birthday party
the porch of an old farmhouse
an enchanted forest
a fancy restaurant
the moon
Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop
Use your third number to select from this list:
Time:
first day of school
the Fourth of July
during a thunderstorm
in early autumn
sitting down to breakfast
bath time
the first warm day of spring
during church
a winter evening
after a fight
And use your last number to select from this list:
Situation/Challenge:
something embarrassing has just happened
someone feels like giving up
someone has to keep a secret
an important decision has to be made
someone has lost something
someone has found something
someone’s pride has been injured
something is where it shouldn’t be
someone has been chosen for something
something has made someone mad
You should now have a randomly selected character, setting, time, and situation/challenge – everything you need to prompt a story!
In the comments below, list the 4 you got and write 50-100 words of whatever story they suggest to you! Don’t agonize! Don’t over-think! We’re all among friends. Just write! All we’re doing here is priming the pump. If all you can squeeze out is 50 rusty words, that’s fine! You wrote 50 words in the middle of your hectic, busy day! But maybe, just maybe, 25-50 more will trickle out a little less rusty, and maybe after you’ve written your 50-100 here you’ll find you’ve got a gush of clear water rushing forth and a whole new story will well up and land on your list of accomplishments for today!
Oh, and if you find it’s too hard to include all 4, it’s okay to just use 1, 2, or 3 of the prompts you picked – the exercise is just to get ideas and words flowing 🙂
Here’s my example in case you don’t quite get it: The numbers I chose were 3, 7, 1, 5, so I get
Character #3 – a zookeeper with a lost animal
Setting #7 – an enchanted forest
Time #1 – the first day of school
and Situation/Challenge #5 – someone has lost something (which accidentally overlaps with the character description so I’m only going with one lost thing!)
Given these prompts, I might write the following 50-100 words:
George took his job as zookeeper of the enchanted forest very seriously.
At the end of each day he checked that the unicorns had plenty of magic meadow grass.
He made sure the griffin’s nest was comfy and the sphinx had his book of riddles.
He tested the mermaids’ pool – it would never do if it was too cold!
He made sure the dragon had plenty of fresh water in case he set his bed (or anything else!) on fire.
Then he double-checked that all the cages were locked, said, “Good night my friends!”, and went home to his supper.
But on the first school day of the year, with Miss Venus’s class field trip due any minute, George arrived to find that the Loch Ness Monster, had gone missing!
“How can this be?” he moaned, wringing his hands. “I was so careful! And Nessie’s cage is still locked!”
(OK. I’m wordy. And I got caught up 🙂 149 words.)
See how easy? Ready, set, WRITE! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you come up with! 🙂
P.S. For anyone who’s just finding Summer Short & Sweets, full info is on that link or above in the tab 🙂
Apparently I have too many things to post for the number of post days I have. I have no idea how this happens. I’m usually so reserved with my words 🙂 (I hear you laughing! Don’t worry – I couldn’t say it with a straight face either :))
ANYWAY, today we have a bit of a smorgasbord.
First, we’re a little behind on the June Pitch Pick. See what happens when we all go on vacation? 🙂
Here is a little refresher:
#1 Laura
Working Title: Uncle Larry
Age/Genre: PB
The Pitch: A true story about Uncle Larry, a special child/adult who grew up on a farm, trained and loved animals, liked to play and work, got into mischief, and taught us how to love someone a little different by loving everyone himself.
#2 Rita
Working Title: Elephant And Dolphin
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-7)
The Pitch: Elephant and Dolphin meet every morning by the sea. But Elephant lives on the land and Dolphin lives in the ocean. Elephant eats grass while Dolphin eats fish. Elephant trumpets and Dolphin clicks. How can these two play together with the differences they have between them? Elephant and Dolphin find out how friendship overcomes everything.
#3 Lori
Working Title: These Little Piggies
Age/Genre: Rhyming Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: In this Mother Goose mash-up, five little piggies are living happily in a shoe until a callous old woman forces her way in and turns their lives head over tails. The piggies decide to set a trap for the old woman so, the first little piggy goes to market… the second little piggy stays home… Will they succeed in giving the old coot the boot?
#4 Anna
Working Title: Hug-A-Bug Travels To Egypt
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-8)
The Pitch: Fasten your seat belts and prepare for a high-flying trip with Hug-A-Bug to the famous Giza Pyramids. On his visit, he wows the reader with the exploration of hieroglyphics and Egyptian phrases. During his travels, he meets up with someone who needs a hug. Who will he meet this time?
Please vote below for your favorite by Wednesday July 11 at 11:59PM EDT.
The winner’s pitch will go for a read by editor Erin Molta (who is here with us today! – so exciting!)
But hang on for one more second before we get to Erin because I have other exciting news, too – the winners of the giveaways from our generous self-publishing mini-series authors!
And the winners (as chosen by random.org) are…..
For the set of 3 hardcover Gator’s Gang picture books from Suzanne McGovern – Catherine J!!!
For a paperback copy of the fabulous Show Me How from Vivian Kirkfield – Beth S!!!
For an e-book of The Adventures Of Lucy Snigglefritz from Patrick Milne – Vivian K!!!
And for a paperback picture book of Meg The Egg from Rita Borg – Erik (I don’t know you’re last initial :))!!!
Catherine, Beth, Vivian, and Erik, please email me so we can organize book signing and mailing!
And now, the post we’ve all been looking forward to for some time, our Q&A with the fabulous Erin Molta. Erin is an experienced senior editor of picture book, early readers, chapter, middle grade, and YA books, as well as novelty and licensed titles. She has been in children’s publishing for more than twenty years and has a keen understanding of early reader through YA audiences. She has an excellent reputation with established authors, illustrators, and agents. She is currently evaluating manuscripts for publishers as well as freelance editing for prospective authors before submission to publishing houses.
Questions from readers are below in blue, answers from Erin in green.
From Clar: For Erin: I wonder if a ms with monsters and bedtime is has been written about too much and if she would just throw it in the trash without reading the whole pitch or does she think there’s a chance for it to go through.
Though it has been done, it’s all in the matter of the telling — because it’s such a universal topic a fresh take on it is always welcome.
From Coleen: I’m always curious to hear what kinds of manuscripts publishers are buying right now. 🙂
Ha! They wish they knew! Publishing usually goes in cycles. For a while it was Harry Potter and fantasy. Then there was Twilight and other paranormal-type books. Now it seems, in YA at least,that suspense is the up and coming genre. For middle grade books there doesn’t tend to be such a flocking to the genres and subgenres. Every publisher is looking for the next best thing—the next Harry Potter or Goosebumps, Percy Jackson . . .
From Julie H: I guess I’d have to say my top curiosity right now is whether editors are still finding picture books to be a hard sell and, if so, whether she thinks that will change any time soon.
I think the picture book market is picking up a bit—mostly because it follows the baby booms. And there are more babies now. Even with e-books and Apps, parents still want books to sit down and read to their kids.
From Darshana: Any tips for PB authors (not PB author/illustrator) for writing unique/quirky PB under 300 words. I have noticed a lot of PBs I like are written by author/illustrators that are short on text, where the humor and quirkiness is carried in the pictures. I know I can come up with clever stories however since I am only a PB author, I get nervous about using too many illustrator notes, as that could turn-off an editor.
Illustrator notes don’t necessarily turn off an editor, but they should only be used to point out what may not be obvious from the text—for instance if you are imagining that the characters are animals as opposed to people or if you are envisioning a twist that must be present in the art. No need to describe clothing or setting unless it directly impacts the story.
From Julie R-Z: Questions for Erin: Vocabulary: when and why does an editor like or dislike BIG words (son’s 1st gr. teacher called them million dollar words!) in a PB manuscript?
It’s all about appropriateness. If big words further the plot or are essential and are the best word choice for the story, then they are OK. You don’t want to have the story that as a parent etc. is reading they have to stop to explain every 5th word to a child. Then it becomes a vocab lesson and not an enjoyable read. The more important part of writing is not the words themselves but how they are used. If you say Jane is melancholy you are saying she is sad but if you show us why she is sad—“Usually when Jane came home from school, Gramma would be sitting at the table stirring milk into her coffee, reading the historical romances they liked to share. There would be an apple on a plate for Jane. Today there was no Gramma and no paperback book. Just an apple—on a napkin. Jane’s chest felt heavy and her eyes welled up.” You bring the scene alive and a reader will get the melancholy feeling by showing rather than telling.
Cliches: I understand that’s a no-no, but when used sparingly is it not appropriate if it can teach apre-schooler about the meaning behind a cliche?
Again, it’s all about the story. If you are writing a story about clichés or if they serve to bring the scene alive—then used sparingly, they are fine.
In general do editor’s agree on common mistakes or are the peeves more often personal? If so, give us the dirt Erin!
There are no general peeves—but words for the sake of the words as opposed to the story is a common mistake that most editors detest –and typos and spelling mistakes in a query are a no–nofor us all.
From Jarm: I also would like to know what place there is in the publishing world for picture books with more than 800 word counts. I was thinking of PBs for older children on non-fiction topics, that are woven into a story, such as “Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride” by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
Any place—again it depends on the editor. Nonfiction normally does lend itself to longer text, but check publisher’s lists and see who tends to publish more nonfiction picture books. Clarion tends to, as does Charlesbridge and smaller presses like Eerdmans and Bearport Publishing.
From Kirsten: I’m most interested in hearing what makes it out of the slushpile (for nonfiction) and why. What are editors looking for on the nonfiction side?
Editors tend to follow the school curriculum so check out a standard curriculum—say 4th graders do the American Revolution and 2nd graders learn about the night sky and maps. Seasonal topics, too—books about apples, pumpkins, and growing things, if done in a fresh unique way, are some popular topics. Animals are popular, too, but again, something new like unusual animal friendships or animals that have strange stories—like a penguin who shows up on a beach in Florida. Cute animals don’t hurt either.
From Penny: a question that I have been wondering about…when I read online in submission guidelines that a publishing house/agent is closed to submissions except for folks they’ve met at a conference OR REFERRALS FROM OTHER PROFESSIONALS…I always wonder just who all is included in those OTHER professionals. Does it mean just other editors/agents? Can it mean another published author? Does it ever happen that a published someone that runs a critique service happens upon a manuscript they refer onto one of the publishing houses/agents who is closed to submissions except for the circumstances I mentioned.
Yes J A referral from a published author will make it past the editorial assistant’s eagle eyes. It has happened that a published author has recommended someone and they have been published.
From Erik: I would like to know the top three common mistakes writers make and what makes her want to read a MS.
Hmm . . . top three mistakes. #1 is when an author tells the story rather than showing—see above for how describing a scene and making a reader feel the character’s feelings works better than using big words or just saying, Jane was sad. #2 is sending manuscripts full of errors. That’s an immediate turn-off. #3 When an author tells you how their kindergarten class or their kids and kids friends love the manuscript. Of course they do. What kids are going to tell their teacher/parent/grandparent that they DON’T like their story?
I do hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did, and Erin’s answers will be helpful to you!
Come on over on Wednesday and help Rita with her MG pitch! Have a great day!
I’m happy to report that we celebrated with homemade blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream (that’s white and blue, anyway, even if we a little short in the red department) and watching the fireworks above the valley from my parents’ back deck 🙂
And now, at last, it’s finally Friday and time to kick off Summer Short & Sweets!!!
First things first…..
Please help yourself to a beach cookie (or 2 or 5)…
…and some fresh lemonade 🙂
Ah! Summery 🙂
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for (or at least the moment I’ve all been waiting for :)) duhn duhn duhn…. the big unveiling!!!
Just look at this creation of beauty which you may all help yourselves to if you so desire!!! I hope you’re able to read the part that says “Writing For Kittens” 🙂 (I also hope that if you need any art work done for any reason you will contact Loni – she does such great art and is a joy to work with 🙂 Same goes for Heather… but more about that in a few weeks… I am all about the surprises up my sleeve :))
Let’s start with a brief explanation of SS&S because I’m not actually sure I wrote this down yet anywhere 🙂
The object of Summer Short & Sweets is to keep our writing oars in even as we are caught up in the happy, busy, outdoor fun of summer. We do not want our writing brains to go on luxury vacation because they are SO hard to jump start when school starts. The Short & Sweets will be little fun exercises we can do together and share to keep those writing sparks flying and to make sure we write a little even while we’re playing whiffle ball, backyard volleyball, and frisbee golf, making sure our toddlers don’t fall in the pool or get swept away by ocean waves or buried by their older siblings in the sandbox, taking our pre-teens to Little League or Lego Tournaments or tap lessons, teaching our 16-year-olds to drive (I personally am sporting a whole new streak of gray hair, and the imaginary brake on the passenger side of the car is getting quite a workout :)), and tending campfires while we watch the summer sun swim down below the western hills and the fireflies come out (and if you’re at my house, watch the marshmallows catch on fire and become charcoal covered goo on a stick :))
Short & Sweets will last for 8 weeks, each Friday from today through Friday August 24. For every Short & Sweet entry you write into the comments you will receive 1 point. You may of course write 2 entries, (or even 3 or 5 or 7 if you are feeling inspired!) At the end of Short & Sweets there will be prizes (which I am still working on) that will be based on the total points for the summer. The minimum number to qualify for a prize will be 8 points – 1 each week of Short & Sweets. If you choose to do more, you can rack up points and I’ll make sure you get something good! but you must do at least one each week to qualify. The more points you have, the better the prizes. I’m going to try to get you some critiques as well as signed books and other goodies 🙂 Feel free to let me know if there’s something in particular your little hearts desire as a prize.
The other advantage of Short & Sweets? We will all inspire each other’s creativity. Once you’ve put your challenge response in the comments, scroll through everyone else’s and see what they came up with. Maybe your own entry won’t spark a story idea for you, but maybe someone else’s will! (And don’t worry – everything will be vague enough that there’s no way 2 people will ever write the same story off the same prompt. It just doesn’t work that way :))
Now then. Are you ready for some Short & Sweet fun???
Here’s today’s challenge. We’ll start nice and easy 🙂
In the comment section below, list the first five nouns, the first five adjectives, and the first five verbs that come to mind when you think about either the beach, the town pool, or the local ice cream shop. (And when I say the first five, I just mean don’t spend forever on it – you can tweak the words that come to mind into more descriptive ones if you like – run into chase for example – but this whole exercise shouldn’t take more than about 2 or 3 minutes.) Then pick one each of your nouns, adjectives and verbs and write a sentence that could start a story!
Here’s an example for the beach: Nouns: shells, waves, sun, seagulls, kite Adjectives: windy, salty, bright, wet, sandy Verbs: dig, chase, squeal, laugh, splash Howard was digging down through the wet sand when his shovel hit something hard that glinted in the sun.
See how easy? Now you try!
And as an example of where you might go with this, if anyone wants to take Howard and run with him while you’re lifeguarding at the edge of the pool later or chauffeuring the littles around town, the obvious thing for his shovel to hit would be a pirate’s treasure chest, but what if it was something else? An old English car that had somehow crossed the ocean and wound up on Howard’s beach… A genie’s lamp… A silver medallion with a huge emerald in the center and words in a mysterious language around the edge… A dinosaur scale… that was still attached to the dinosaur!… A giant’s gold-capped tooth…! 🙂
I hope you will think this is Short, Sweet, and fun! I’m really looking forward to seeing what people come up with! And if anyone ends up getting a story idea out of this, please tell us! Any 12x12ers, this might be a great place to start thinking for your July manuscript 🙂
Have fun, have a great weekend, and please tune in Monday for Q&A with the fabulous editor, Erin Molta!
I have lots to share today, but I’ll try to be brief 🙂
First, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed Joanna’s post. It was terrific, wasn’t it? Let’s all give her a round of applause by way of thanks! 🙂 clapclapclapclapclapclapclap! Also, I don’t think a shower of confetti is out of line 🙂
Second, I am SO excited for the self-publishing mini-series! This is because I get to read everything coming in ahead of time, so I already know how great it’s going to be and I just can’t wait to share it with you all! 🙂
Third, in the midst of all the busy-ness around here, it had slipped my mind that we were going to have a guest post with the one and only Erin Molta where she answers questions sent in by you! Luckily she sent me the answers yesterday, which reminded me 🙂 Due to the fabulous mini-series, I don’t have room to fit that post into June unless you all want to turn on your computers on the weekend, so I think that post will go up on Monday July 9. Mark your calendars! – it’s great!
Fourth, in case you hadn’t realized it yet, I’m just a little bit nuts 🙂 This is obvious because, in the midst of all the afore-mentioned busy-ness, I’ve decided it’s necessary to work on a new secret project which turns out to be very time-consuming. More on that if and when I succeed with it, but don’t hold your breath 🙂
Speaking of which, I’m a little out of breath after telling you all that!
But now it’s time for Would You Read It, so make sure your Something Chocolate is handy and have a look-see at what we’ve got here.
Today’s pitch comes to us from the Habitual Rhymer herself, Lori Degman! Lori teaches deaf/hard of hearing children by day and writes picture books by night, weekend and school holidays. Her picture book 1 Zany Zoo was the winner of the 2008 Cheerios New Author Contest and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010. It received the Gold-Level Mother’s Choice Award in 2012 and has been nominated for the 2012-2013 South Carolina Book Award.
Working Title: These Little Piggies Age/Genre: Rhyming Picture Book (ages 4-8) The Pitch: In this Mother Goose mash-up, five little piggies are living happily in a shoe until a callous old woman forces her way in and turns their lives head over tails. The piggies decide to set a trap for the old woman so, the first little piggy goes to market… the second little piggy stays home… Will they succeed in giving the old coot the boot?
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Lori improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. There are openings in August, so you have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!
Lori is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! And I am looking forward to seeing you all on Friday for the first up in our self-publsihing mini-series, Suzanne McGovern! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 