Social Media Fans Unlock An Annotated Extra Genesis Chapter Of Laini Taylor's Fantasy Series: Innovations In Book Marketing

It was covered in Publisher's Weekly, and was so cool I reached out to Jessica Shoffel, Director of Publicity at Little, Brown and Company Books For Young Readers to find out more.

Jessica explains:

The campaign was done to continue the buzz leading into the July 7th release of the paperback edition of DREAMS OF GODS & MONSTERS.

LBYR's social media channels asked fans to share a favorite quote from DREAMS OF GODS & MONSTERS with the hashtag #UnlockLainiTaylor. Once we reached 613 hashtags (the page count in DREAMS OF GODS & MONSTERS) we released a chapter from Laini that inspired the series.

And the genesis chapter wasn't just put out there. As Jessica shared:

LBYR partnered with Genius to create a reading experience where fans can read Laini’s own annotations about the chapter. They show up as highlights throughout the text, and when you click each one, a pop-out with her note appears, see it in action HERE. It was an incredible collaboration that allows fans into the early genesis of the series and Laini’s beginning ideas on what it could become.

Here's a screen shot of the unlocked chapter, with an open note:

It's a very cool use of social media to build buzz and reward fans!

You can find out more about Laini and her books here.

Illustrate and Write and Market On,
Lee

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Editors & Agents on Interacting With Them

 

SCBWI's Annual Winter Conference in New York is just few days away! I fly to York today to attend Digital Book World previous to the SCBWI event. Look for my tweets with the #DBW hashtag. And, starting Friday, follow the conference live via SCBWI TEAM BLOG's post on The Official SCBWI Conference Blog and on twitter via #NY11SCBWI. 

 

Since I've finished over-packing, I have time to bring you one last pre-conference interview roundup with a group of editors and agents.

 

Today's topic: INTERACTING

Editors KRISTA MARINO (Delacorte), FRANCESCO SEDITA (Penguin), and KATE SULLIVAN (Little, Brown); and agents KERRY SPARKS (Levine/Greenberg) and MARY KOLE (Andrea Brown) are participating in the Writers' Intensive that kicks off the weekend of conferencing.

I asked this group to offer some advice on interacting with them in a conference setting. We've all heard stories about manuscripts being thrust under bathroom stalls and other inappropriate behavior. Below, our publishing professionals talk about what makes a good impression--including being yourself, not being too aggressive, and being memorable (in a good way). I also asked them why they attend conferences.

What's your advice on interacting with editors and agents during a conference?

KRISTA MARINO: Conferences can be overwhelming for everyone, even editors. At this conference we’re here prepared to critique not acquire. Cornering an editor and pitching your book idea will only make them less eager to work with you. They can’t lug home manuscripts and they can’t really have a spur-of-the-moment conversation about your work with you.

FRANCESCO SEDITA: When you go on "Wheel of Fortune," you are super-psyched to meet Pat and Vanna. You want to make the most of your letter choices. But Pat and Vanna have nothing to do with whether or not there's an "L" in the puzzle. Think of the editors like Pat and Ms. White. Yes, they may love your project, they may help you with it, they may even want to publish it someday but that doesn't mean you're going to say "L" when that's what their publishing puzzle requires. You spin the wheel and you hope for the best...I'll take a D, Pat. (P.S. My friends and I are obsessed with the BEFORE AND AFTER puzzles. We text them to one another all the time. Please stop me if you see me and give me a few good ones. Tina Turner Movie Classics. White House Music All Night Long. Jimmy Cagney and Lacey. Facts of Life Cereal.)

KATE SULLIVAN: Be memorable. But of course, be memorable for a good thing. You want an editor, if they ever see your stuff down the line, to say, “Oh, that’s the woman who had everyone cracking up at her honesty” or “I remember this guy. He gave the most thoughtful and constructive comments.” Obviously, this can backfire if we remember you for forgetting your please and thank yous, dressing in a costume made of foam, or sending increasingly large giftbaskets every time you ask for a status update on your submission.

KERRY SPARKS: Be your natural self--we are just people like everyone else! And remember that we really want your work to be great and we need writers in order to do our jobs. So it’s not an Us against Them sort of situation. Don’t bombard us with your pitch, but rather kindly ask is we are open to receiving submissions.

MARY KOLE: Be relaxed and try to smile when you're approaching an agent or just seeing one in the elevator. Don't come and aggressively start pitching. Read the situation. If people are hanging out and chatting, go with the flow of the situation and make normal conversation with an agent or editor. If the moment feels right, you can pitch (keep it really brief, though), or you can just make a strong connection and offer to send the agent a writing sample and query later. Not every agent encounter at a conference has to be a pitch...it's often enough to have a great conversation and then remind the agent later that you met them!

>>> For a little more on the topic, check out this helpful post from Dystel & Goderich VP/Agent Michael Bourret, who offered some advice after attending an SCBWI regional conference. 

What do you get out of attending conferences? 

KRISTA: At this particular conference I not only get to see new work, but I get to actually meet the author and see how he/she accepts criticism. Editorial direction and criticism is such an big part of the publishing process and it’s invaluable to an editor to actually get to participate in it in person. Aggressive, abrasive behavior will turn me away from even the most promising manuscript.

FRANCESCO: Laughs. A good time. And a chance to like go to a high school reunion sorta, without all those pesky gym class memories. And, really, a chance to bat my eyelashes at Lin. Love that lady. Steve's pretty cute, too.

KATE: Reconnecting with the beginning of the process, more than anything: It gives me perspective. I’ve also made great friends, and often learned something from those I’m there to teach.

KERRY: Hopefully, I get some new talented clients with great projects! And I also get to see editors and meet new editors which is a big part of my job.

MARY:  I love interacting with writers, hearing ideas, and getting a chance to give a talk or address a crowd on a panel. I'm a teacher at heart, so I really do enjoy being helpful, whether it's with feedback on a pitch or answering a question during Q&A. Conferences are also great places to interact with SCBWI RA's and volunteers, authors, other agents, and editors. Not only do we meet writers, but we can network and have lots of fun with the faculty! Some of my best friendships, with writers and other kidlit professionals, have been forged at conferences!

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Jennifer Hunt

The time draws near for the 2010 SCBWI Annual Summer Conference and today I offer yet another TEAM BLOG pre-conference faculty interview. I've talked with the amazing Editorial Director of Little, Brown Books for Young readers, Jennifer Hunt.

Jen oversees the acquisition and development of all MG and YA fiction for the Little, Brown. She edits an impressive list of award-winner, bestselling and über-popular authors including Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Cornelia Funke, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Pseudonymous Bosch, Cressida Cowell, Walter Mosley, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Jewell Parker Rhodes. (She is also the proud editor of SCBWI’s very own Aaron Hartzler!)

Jen is offering two breakout sessions--PEAK TO PEAK: HOW TO BUILD A CAREER AFTER YOUR FIRST BOOK and AN INSIDE LOOK AT LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS--and participating in a panel--A VIEW FROM THE TOP: 4 PUBLISHERS DISCUSS OUR INDUSTRY.

You worked in marketing, at MONEY magazine, and in adult editorial before you began working on books for young readers. What drew you to publishing for this audience?

I really love the idea of marrying narrative with a visual component, which I truly got the experience of when I worked at TIME magazine. I worked for the website, and we were able to work with the writers from the magazine but also add interactive and visual elements to the stories. While that’s what initially drew me to it, what’s kept me in it and made me passionate about it are the intelligent, creative, hard-working people that are a part of the “children’s creative community.”

You're kind of an editor rock star, working with many award-winning and popular authors (Sherman Alexie, Sara Zarr, Cornelia Funke, to name a few). Why do you think you're you so good at spotting the gems? And can you mention some upcoming books you're particularly excited about?

Hahaha. That’s very kind of you to say. What’s been great for me at Little, Brown is that I’ve been given the freedom to acquire the things that I love, and that’s truly how I make my acquisitions. I never care about anything other than the writing and it doesn’t matter to me if the writer is established or just starting out. If I hear it on the page, I’m excited about it. And my focus never wavers from my goal--which is to create great books for kids and teens. Books that hopefully shed a unique light on their experiences.

I’ve been very thrilled about a book that just came out, SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi. This is a writer whose work blew me away from the first page and I’m thrilled that teens will have a chance to experience his master level of world-building and storytelling. I’m also very excited about a middle grade I have coming out called NINTH WARD by Jewell Parker Rhodes, which is a coming of age story that takes place during Hurricane Katrina. Some of my favorite stories to work on are about kids who are easy to overlook--which doesn’t mean that their lives are uninteresting. I love it when a writer is able to bring them to life with the level of exquisite detail and dignity that they deserve.

What qualities attract you to a manuscript? What should writers be concentrating on?

Voice is first and foremost, because I feel it’s the most difficult thing to teach or master. And as an editor, if I feel someone’s able to catch my attention with a great voice, it gives me a great deal of confidence that we can conquer any other problem their manuscript might have.

Why do you participate in SCBWI events? What do you get out of them?

As I mentioned earlier, I love the children’s creative community as a whole. We’re a unique bunch and it’s fun to be around other people who are as excited about kids and books as I am. I also want to honor the efforts that people make to learn more about the industry and to strengthen their own craft—so I’m always happy to participate in this because I want to say thank you for making the effort to take your work seriously. I consider it an honor to be asked. What I get out of these events, hopefully, is the opportunity to work towards strengthening editors’ and writers’ common goal of bringing our best to this genre.

You're doing a session called PEAK TO PEAK: HOW TO BUILD A CAREER AFTER YOUR FIRST BOOK. Can you give us a teaser?

I believe in excellence of all kinds and what I hope this talk will do is help writers build a foundation. In creative work, I think it’s really important to have a goal and purpose beyond what’s right in front of you, and I want to talk about keeping oneself motivated by and focused on creative excellence for the long term.

Any other words of wisdom/advice you can offer those working toward publication? 

The most important thing to focus on is your writing, and nothing is going to make you better at it than sitting down and doing it. No amount of networking, blog reading, tweeting, etc. can substitute for making sure your number one priority is working on your craft. Because, ultimately, that’s what’s going to capture an editor’s attention.

Click here for information and to register for the Summer Conference where you can glean more wisdom and tips from Jennifer Hunt and all the other fabulous editors on the faculty.

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing-related news I've read during the week that I found interesting or helpful (or, perhaps, fun).

Below you'll find Little, Brown in the news for both Stephenie Meyer's BREE TANNER and publishing GLEE books. The New York Times offers a good rundown of e-readers. If you choose a Kindle, you can now get a waterproof cover just in time for beach season (which sounds so much better than a duo of big Ziplock bags which Jeff Bezoz once said he used for in-the-tub reading). The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were announced. One prominent editor moved houses and another is tragically without a home after a fire. A writer on Huffington Post reveals how the iPad can make kids smarter. And don't miss agent Nathan Bransford's piece on the rejection letter of the future (spoiler: it is not in a silver lamé envelope delivered by a mail-droid via hovercraft).

Click titles for links to the full articles. Happy Friday and happy reading!

Bree Tanner' Proves Lackluster for Indies (PW)
"While Stephenie Meyer’s publisher is touting strong sales figures out of the gate for her new novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, not everyone in the bookselling community is happy with how the slim title is faring. A number of independent booksellers are complaining that Meyer’s book, which pubbed on June 5, isn’t selling in their stores. This, despite Little, Brown’s news that the book sold more than 350,000 copies in its first two days."

Glee exclusive: Little, Brown to publish books (EW)
"After last night’s Glee finale, you probably thought some of the mania would die down for a bit? Not a chance. Shelf Life has learned that Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has struck a deal with Twentieth Century Fox to publish a line of official Glee-related books. (There are Glee books aplenty out there, but they are all unauthorized.) Little, Brown has multiple book projects in the works for its Glee program; the first to roll off the press will be an original novel called Glee: The Beginning. This prequel to the show, which includes a double-sided poster, will hit stores this August."

Publishing Community Unites to Help Editor After House Fire (GalleyCat)
"Yesterday Sterling Books editor Alyssa Smith lost everything in an apartment fire. To help her friend, Publishers Weekly editor Rose Fox has set up a PayPal site to collect donations from the publishing community."

Apple Unveils iPhone, iBooks Upgrades; Five Million e-Books Downloaded (PW)
"Although books are not necessarily the focus of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers conference in San Francisco—where the new iPhone 4 was unveiled today—Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced several upgrades for the iBook e-book format and several impressive book related upgrades for the new iPhone 4."

Suzanne Murphy Tapped to Head Disney Book Group (PW)
"Suzanne Murphy has been named v-p and publisher of books at Disney Publishing Worldwide. Murphy is arriving from Scholastic, where she was v-p and group publisher of Scholastic Trade; at DPW she will be overseeing all content strategies for books, as well as handling the group's imprints, Disney-Hyperion, Disney-Jump at the Sun, Disney Editions, and Disney Press. Murphy will also handle content for the company's extensive licensing program, as well as digital content strategies. Murphy is replacing Jonathan Yaged, who left DPW in late February."

How iPads Can Make Your Kids Smarter (HuffPo)
"So the verdict's in: Technology is eroding our brains. Or so the two most venerable bastions of print media would have us believe. Nick Carr's article in the Saturday Wall Street Journal, "Does the Internet Make You Dumber?" makes the case from a neurological standpoint, and a recently most-emailed New York Times article, "Your Brain on Computers," accompanied by a photo of a husband and wife absorbed in their iPads at the breakfast table, is upfront in its equation of technology with addictive drugs."

Kids' books: 7 new picture books starring Dad (Seattle Times)
"With Father's Day approaching (June 20 this year), here's a roundup of children's books about dads. The titles include 'The Fathers Are Coming Home' (by the author of 'Goodnight Moon'), 'Oh, Daddy!' and 'Stars Above Us.' This Father's Day, get Dad a present he can share with his children: a picture book. To get you started, here's a look at some new picture books in which dads play a starring role..."

The Rejection Letter of the Future Will Be Silence (And Why This is a Good Thing) (HuffPo)
"One of the more challenging aspects of being a literary agent is dealing with the incredible deluge of submissions that pour in every single day, twenty four hours a day, from all corners of the globe and for every type of project imaginable. I don't keep precise stats on the number I receive (it's hard enough just to answer them all), but in any given year I receive somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 query letters from aspiring authors. Out of those tens of thousands I reject all but a tiny handful of them and take on perhaps three to five clients a year, whose work I then shop to publishers."

Among E-Readers, Competition Heats Up (NYT)
"When Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, introduced the iPad, he bluntly took aim at the rapidly emerging e-reader market. 'Amazon has done a great job' with the Kindle, he said. 'We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little bit further.' The iPad’s full-color screen and its ability to browse the Web and run thousands of applications certainly make it more versatile than the Kindle, but Apple is not the only company bringing more than just black-on-white text to readers."

Take Your Kindle Swimming With Its First Waterproof Case (Gizmodo)
"Now you can float on your raft, minus the fear of getting your digital copy of Twilight waterlogged. M-Edge's Guardian case is a bloody expensive $80, but if that means protecting your $260 ereader, then it's well worth it."