Kristin Fulton's Remarkable SCBWI Success Story

Kristin Fulton has a powerful and inspiring story of her journey so far in Children's Literature.

She shared it on the main conference stage at the recent SCBWI Winter Conference in New York to a riveted audience of over 1000 attendees! I sat down with Kristin in the conference hotel lobby and we spoke about her story:

 

Thanks, Kristin!

You can find out more about Kristin at her website here.

Tina Nichols Coury's Road To Her Debut Picture Book

I chatted with debut picture book author Tina Nichols Coury about her journey from the idea and starting to work on her story to having "Hanging Off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up On Mount Rushmore" in her hands (and in stores!)

Here's what she said...

Tina's Debut Picture Book, Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport

Congratulations, Tina!

And thanks for the reminder that perseverance and hard work pay off!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Jennifer Bosworth

Debut author Jennifer Bosworth is a SCBWI success story.

She will be on faculty at the SCBWI Summer Conference (Aug 3-6, 2012) in Los Angeles.

Her apocalyptic Young Adult novel, STRUCK, comes out today (May 8, 2012!)

Before the interview, you have to watch her remarkable book trailer:

Lee: Hi Jennifer! Thanks for taking the time to chat. I just watched your trailer again, and I am *struck* (Heh, heh) at how amazing it is. I'm feeling like there's a new idea about book trailers, from Sara Wilson Etienne's trailer for Harbinger to yours for Struck, that envisions a book trailer almost like a movie trailer, and not just a video that pans the cover and puts up promotional quotes.

Jennifer: You know, it's really all about the reader or potential reader's experience, and I think Sara and I both understood going into it that a trailer's first job is to entertain. It's a commercial, after all, and people don't watch commercials anymore unless they have a very good reason to, or unless they actually want to. And if people are entertained by the trailer, they're going to want more. It's as simple as that.

Lee: It certainly kept me entertained! Is there a worry that having a face - a look - for the characters changes a reader's interior view of what things look like? I'm thinking about how I generally like to read a book before watching the movie, since I get to make all those decisions.

Jennifer: I definitely think there's a danger, and it's a risk the author has to decide whether or not he/she is willing to take. We were extremely careful when it came to casting the lead, and ended up doing two casting sessions to find the right girl. As soon as she walked in the door, we knew it was her. When you have that feeling, I think you're okay. If you feel like you settled for someone who doesn't embody the part, you might be heading down a track that will alienate readers. Luckily, there are enough great, undiscovered actors and actresses in Los Angeles that it wasn't an issue for us. I feel great about our "Mia Price."

Lee: Yeah, she's great in the role. Okay, so you had casting sessions, but I'd like to know more about how you made this trailer. I can imagine things like getting an actor to stand in a hallway and look cute/mysterious, or another wearing spooky contact lenses, but some of the special effects – the cars falling into the hole in the street, the skyscrapers blowing up from lightning hits... How did you do all that?

Jennifer: I can't take a lick of credit for any of that. My husband, Ryan Bosworth, and his sister, Erin Bosworth (of Team Bosworth) did all the special effects. It took months. Not only months, but long, long hours of every day for months. I'm surprised Team Bosworth made it through the visual effects portion alive. They basically did the work of a entire VFX facility. After the book is released, I'll be posting the making of video which will explain in more detail the technical side of destroying Los Angeles. It's an incredible, intimidating process.

Lee: The results are remarkable, and I'm relieved to hear that you had a team! I was reflecting on how trailer music sets a tone, kind of like the opening lines of a book. Your opening to STRUCK set the same exciting tone: 

April 14
Three days until the storm...

1

I don’t sleep much. An hour here. Two hours there. Chronic insomnia, it’s one of my more tolerable lightning strike aftereffects. Not as bad as the veiny red scars that cover me from neck to toes, or the burning in my chest that flares hotter when I get a little emotional. Insomnia? Eh. It could be worse (and usually is.) Most people wish they had more hours in the day. I keep almost the full twenty-four. 

Can you tell us more about writing the beginning of Struck? Did the story always start in this way?

Jennifer: I started this story so many times in so many different ways, I can barely remember them all. But the very first beginning is now the middle of STRUCK. I started in the Waste (destroyed downtown Los Angeles) and then just kept working backward until I found the point that clicked. I tend to feel my way through each draft. I know when something works and when it doesn't, but I don't always know why. It's an intuitive process for me. It's like falling in love. You know when you're in, and I think you also know when you're out.

Lee: That's so interesting about finding the starting point. You’re going to be on one of two SCBWI Success Stories panels at the SCBWI Summer Conference – without giving your whole success story away, can you tell us how long you’ve been a member?

Jennifer: I joined SCBWI four years ago, right about the time I realized that I was writing YA. I'd written several books previous to STRUCK, all of them quasi-adult, but it took me years to understand that I had a YA voice. Once I did, I had another of those moments when things click into place. But I think back on the first SCBWI conference I attended, and remember how overwhelmed I felt. I didn't know anyone, and I had no idea what I was doing there. It's amazing how much can change in a few years. While you're living them, struggling through them, the climb seems slow, but when I say "four years" that really doesn't seem like very long.

Lee: What do you think is the best thing you’ve gotten from being part of SCBWI?

Jennifer: A community. And from that community, inspiration. I get to be surrounded by writers all the time, and I'm in awe of their talent. Not just the published authors. ALL of them. There is so much collective greatness among the members of SCBWI, it's staggering to look upon. Sometimes I have to shut my eyes so their light doesn't melt my face like in Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lee: Ha! But I totally hear you. Community. As Lin Oliver likes to say, we're a tribe! You’ll also be teaching a pro track workshop on the Sunday of the summer conference, “The Conspicuous Writer: Helping Readers Discover Your Work.” Can you tell us more about that?

Jennifer: It's a subject I've had to think a lot about now that it's actually applicable. Now that children's books are so popular, there are more choices for buyers. But when there are so many book choices, how does an author position their book to stand out in the market?

What I want to talk about in the workshop is how to set yourself apart as an author, and how to make your work attract attention. I'll be doing author case studies, and I'm hoping to use some live visual aides.

Lee: I wonder if you'll be talking as well about things like the other video you had on your website – the one where you’re opening the package from your editor with the first hard-cover copy of STRUCK, and you see it for the first time. And then you share the dedication page with the viewers. It’s so different from the flash and drama of the trailer, so simple, and yet it was very endearing and emotional. You made us like YOU as an author (well, I know you outside of social media, and already like you) but I imagine it will win readers over to your side.

Jennifer: I do want to talk about that video, and what it accomplished. It was honest and the emotion was genuine and unscripted. I actually choke up every time I think about that moment. I'm getting misty right now just writing about it. I think we authors have to remember that, even though we're trying to be professional, readers want to see us as human. They want to see heart and vulnerability. When we become public figures, we're almost like characters in a book. If we don't show our true selves, it doesn't give readers a chance to connect with us.

Lee: Here’s something I’ve been wondering about: Is there a difference between getting out there in social media so people can find your book and celebritizing yourself?

Jennifer: Haha. That's a good question, and I'm not sure it has a definite answer. For me, it's all about making a connection with individuals. I hate feeling like a phony, so when people follow me on Twitter I read each and every one of their bios, and I try to comment on them if we have something in common. Someone followed me recently who said she was a belly dancer, and I took belly dancing lessons ten years ago, so I told her that and we connected. I'll remember her, and I think she'll remember me. But I don't think you can try to become a celebrity. It happens or it doesn't. If authors start leaking sex tapes, I'll be worried.

Lee: Yikes! Me, too.

Last lines are also really important – and the last lines of your trailer are still echoing in my head: “My name is Mia Price. I’m a lightning addict. And the fate of the world is in my hands.” But don’t tell us the last lines of STRUCK – we’ll need to earn them by reading it!

Congratulations on your book being released Today!

And I’ll give you the last line of our interview...

Jennifer: Fantastic! This was so much fun, Lee! 

To find out more about Jennifer and STRUCK, check out her website.

You can meet Jennifer and attend her conference sessions by registering for the SCBWI Summer Conference. Click here for details and registration.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI Success Story: Sara Wilson Etienne

Author Sara Wilson Etienne had not heard of SCBWI until she moved to LA in 2003. "In fact, it'd never even occurred to me that writing was anything but a solitary activity," she says. "Then I went to LA Writer's Day and got the chance to hear the marvelous and hilarious Paula Danziger speak. And if that wasn't enough, I got to hear editors and writers describe their collaborative process. And, of course, I met new writer friends. It was a revelation."

Below Sara talks more about how SCBWI helped her writing career, tells how she found her agent, gives the scoop on her debut novel (coming from Putnam in Spring 2012), talks about her editorial process, offers advice to writers working toward publication, and more.

Find Sara online at sarawilsonetienne.com.

How did SCBWI help your career move forward? When did you join? When did you attend your first SCBWI event? Why would you recommend SCBWI to other writers?

A few months [after I joined SCBWI], I went to the Annual Summer Conference, I was blown away again. I went from isolation to community in one long weekend. There were hundreds of people doing the same thing I was doing. Wonderful, successful writers struggling with the same challenges I had. Real life editors walking among us mere mortals! I was in heaven and I never wanted to leave. So I didn't.

From then on, I went to the Westside Schmooze (which I later co-coordinated), availed myself of Critique Connections where I found a writers' group, and signed up for consultations at the yearly Summer Conference. Joining SCBWI was like opening a door to the kidlit world and realizing that I didn't have to wander through the forest alone. In fact, someone had already packed me a picnic lunch, some good books to read, and put up 'Beware of Wolf' signs where appropriate.

Tell us about meeting your agent Michael Bourret. How did that come about and how long until he signed you?

Meeting Michael was a series of connected events that unfolded over a couple of years. I'd already been writing for a while, but I hadn't looked into agents because my book wasn't ready yet. One year at the Summer Conference, I was matched with Jennifer Hunt at Little, Brown for my consultation. Now, she's a very smart editor and was able to explain things in a way that made me see immediately how to fix them. At the end of our consultations, she asked me if there was anything else I wanted to ask her about writing or the industry. A little voice in my head, the one I'm not used to listening to, said 'Ask her! Ask her!!" And so I opened my mouth and forced myself to ask the awkward question, "Can you think of any agents that might be a good match for my story?" And she said, "Michael Bourret."

Fast forward, one year. I've been working away to my manuscript and I see that Michael is going to be at the upcoming Summer Conference. And that little voice kicked in again. "Write it! Write it!!!" So I wrote Michael an email telling him about my consultation with Jennifer Hunt and ask if he'd like to meet. Minutes later, I had an email from him saying 'yes.'

And I must admit, I pitched my book horribly to Michael. And I'm sure the espresso I'd just swigged didn't help either. But Wonder Woman saved the day. I'd written backup, emergency questions in my notebook to give me some confidence and as soon as I pulled it out, Michael took one look at the cover and said, "I love Wonder Woman!" That moment of bonding gave me the courage I needed to regroup and repitch... this time doing a much better job.

It was actually another 6 months until I was ready to submit to Michael, but when I did, he got my story right away. His insightful, smart comments about what he loved and what still needed work made me sure this was a great match. He knew exactly the story I was trying to tell and knew how to help me get there. That is what you want in an agent (and an editor for that matter.) Well, that and a love of Wonder Woman.

Sara and her agent Michael Bourret at the recent SCBWI 

Annual Summer Conference (Photo: Rita Crayon Huang)

Your debut novel THE HARBINGER will be released by Putnam in the spring 2012. Tell us a little about it.

The 'likely-to-be-renamed' HARBINGER is a supernatural thriller set in a very near future... a place of oil embargoes and rioting cities. Faye just wants to live the normal life of a 16 year-old girl. Unfortunately, she’s far from normal. Disembodied voices whisper in her ears. Rooms dissolve into ocean waves. Drums pound in her mind.

Her questionable sanity lands her on an island in Maine, at Holbrook Academy. There, hemmed in by razor wire and locked in solitary confinement, Faye is left to drown in her own hallucinations. Only the low, quiet voice of Kel, the guy in the next cell, is able to reach through Faye’s nightmare and pull her back to reality.

But despite their undeniable connection, Faye’s world continues crumble around her. She begins to lose time, waking up in strange places surrounded by crudely drawn symbols. As Faye’s life unravels, Kel and her assigned ‘Family’ group get tangled up in the madness. Now Faye must uncover the secrets that brought her to Holbrook. Before the past destroys them all.

Where are you in the editorial process? How has it been for you? Any surprises?

I'm most of the way through my first revision with Stacey Barney. It's been terrifying and thrilling and very exciting as I get to towards the end. I'm starting to see all of the little changes coming together in a big way.

The one thing that shouldn't surprise me anymore (but always does anyway) is how important another set of eyes can be. And not just any eyes... Stacey is a deep and detailed reader, pushing me to develop my world, my characters, and my story as far as they can go. It's hard to have someone challenging you that way, it's even a little threatening... I won't deny that I yelled at my manuscript a few times while reading line notes. But Stacey was spot on in her editorial letter and even asked new questions that I'd never managed to ask myself.

Despite all this, there were still some problems I didn't know how to fix. In one of our phone conversations I went on and on, hopelessly, about one of these problems, saying "If I fix it this way it causes these problems, but if I fix it that way it causes these other problems." I was about to tear my hair out when she said, "Well then, why don't you fix it this other way."

Light bulbs went on and bells rung and the crowd went wild! Why hadn't I thought of that? Because, having spent years on this book, I was stuck in a little box of my own making. Often it takes another person to help you find a solution. Lesson learned... at least until the next time.

What do you have planned in the way of promotion of your debut novel?

Well, I'm still very much in the brainstorming stage, but I am hoping to get a little creative. I'm excited to create a book trailer that really intrigues and entices people. And I already have some very talented friends involved in the process. This is one of those times when it's great to live in a movie town.

I'm also going to redesign my website... or I should say, have my wonderful artist husband redesign it. But I definitely plan on taking all the credit. And, of course, I'll get the news out on Facebook, Twitter, and a revolutionary new thing I just heard about... in-person book signings!

I have a few other ideas up my sleeve, but you'll have to wait till 2012 to find out.

You signed a two-book deal with Putnam. Is there anything you can tell us about your second book (or is it too soon)?

Unfortunately no. Mostly cause I haven't written it yet...

What are some of your favorite books (or who are some of your favorite authors)? Are you drawn to the paranormal?

Growing up, I was definitely drawn to fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal. I was particularly fascinated by Madeleine L'Engle's mix of magic and science, especially in  A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT. I mean what's better than telepathic dolphins? But I also loved mysteries, like the WESTING GAME. And I devoured Lois Duncan's books, which often had a bit of both.

Over the years, as kids and YA books have thrived, I've found so many other favorites. TRICKSTER'S CHOICE by Tamora Pierce, any book by Diana Wynne Jones, FEED by M.T. Anderson. But I also have a soft spot for ridiculous and bizarre middle grade, like Daniel Pinkwater's LIZARD MUSIC, any book by Roald Dahl, WHALES ON STILTS by M.T. Anderson, and THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex.

What advice would you offer the pre-published?

Well first of all I would say, your path is not the same as other people's paths. So many times we hear writers say that this or that was the key to their success. Like me and my Wonder Women connection with Michael. What? You like the Green Lantern instead? No book deal for you!

It can be super stressful to think you're not doing all the right things to get published. But the truth is that some people find exposure in blogging, others at conferences, still others are keeping their heads down and working diligently on their own. At some point you have to stop looking around at what other people are doing and find out what works for you. You need to seek out things that feed you creatively and play to your strengths, not other people's.

That said, my other piece of advice is: Push yourself out of your comfort zone.
You need to be an advocate for your book and yourself as a writer. Every bit of movement I've had towards publishing has been because I listened to that little voice in my head and forced myself to ask the question, write the email, or send out the manuscript.

Think of how parents are with their children. They are willing to put themselves on the line to help their child have the opportunities they deserve and become the best people they can be. You have to think of your book this way. You've created this lovely/funny/thrilling/whatever-ing story and it needs you to be fearless so that it can get out and live in the world.

SCBWI Success Story: Debut YA Author Steve Brezenoff, |-1|

Steve Brezenoff wouldn't advise other writers to use his tactics when approaching an editor (more on that below), but his methods worked and he got the interest of Andrew Karre at a Minnesota SCBWI event. Steve's first book  |-1| [The Absolute Value of -1] was released this month from Carolrhoda Lab, the new YA imprint of the Lerner Publishing Group.

Read on for the whole story of how Steve connected with Andrew and hear more about his book, his promotional efforts, his online presence and what draws him to YA.

You can chat with Steve during a Twitterview tomorrow at 1 PM central time using the hashtag #absolutevalue. He'll be answering questions and giving away copies of |-1|.

An SCBWI event played a part in you getting your book deal for |-1|. Tell us about meeting Andrew Karre. And how long had you been writing and pursuing publication?

Ah, time for my embarrassing story. I do so hate to spread this around, lest SCBWI members get the wrong impression of how to go about meeting editors, getting published, or writing a novel. But here 'goes.

I had written a middle-grade novel several years prior to joining SCBWI, and had shopped it out to an agent or two, very half-heartedly. It wasn’t very good. But as for the YA that eventually became |-1|, I'd shown it to a couple of editor friends at S&S (where I worked for five years) in an unfinished state. Though I'd been writing short stories (and the beginnings of several never-finished novels) since high school, that was the extent of my efforts to publish before I attended the MN SCBWI conference in fall of 2008.

When I arrived at the conference, I looked through the seminar options and spotted Andrew's. I knew of his work at Flux, and knew he was a hot brain of YA, so I attended his talk. It was brilliant, naturally--he compared good YA voice to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and, well, everything else to "Jack and Diane"--and afterward I approached him, introduced myself, and handed him my . . . um . . . resume.

Flashback to the day before the conference. I don't remember which of us gets the credit/blame for this idea, but at some point my wife and I decided I should have a resume of sorts. I had some strong publishing experience already--work-for-hire stuff, that is--and we agreed it gave me some kind of upper hand. I also had a few in-progress manuscripts I wanted to pitch. (Yes, in-progress. I know.) Anyway, I created this resume: on one side was my experience as a writer, and on the other were blurbs pitching my WIPs. I printed off 10 or 15 copies to bring to the conference.

So, back to Andrew. I handed him this . . . thing. To his credit, he accepted it without making a face like it was a bag of poo, which I would have totally forgiven in hindsight. And not only that, he contacted me on Monday morning to ask for "whatever I had." Which you'll have guessed, if you have been reading closely, was essentially nothing. I told Andrew I'd send him my YA manuscript in a few days, then set about finishing it.

(I really hope no one is reading this and thinking it's a good plan.)

So, I banged out the last few thousand words and sent it to Andrew. I guess I did a decent job, because he liked what he saw, but he said--and I agreed--that it really wasn’t a novel. It was hardly a novella. So it was back to the drawing board with the question: how do I make this into a novel?

With help from my wife, as usual, I solved the problem, and six months later, Andrew bought it.

Would you tell my readers what your book is about and explain the title?

|-1| is about three high school sophomores, Lily, Noah, and Simon. Each gets their own part to narrate, and each tells the story a little differently, highlighting certain pockets in time, leaving others out entirely, changing events to suit their perspectives. As tenth grade plods on, the friends drift apart in fits and starts, thanks to difficulties each is having, but not sharing with the others.

The title (my wife's idea, and perfect) reflects Lily’s obsession with math, of course, but also represents the central question: What is the value of absence? Each narrator loses someone, and that loss colors the character in a powerful way. I don’t think the question is necessarily answered, per se, but it is examined.

Your debut book is on Carolrhoda Lab's debut list. Do you feel any pressure for your book to do well to get the momentum going for the imprint?

Um, yes! I definitely have had a lot of fear that the debut list would flop so bad that I’ll never sell another book, and that Andrew will be out of a job, and that Lerner will close its doors and leave a big abandoned building in Minneapolis' warehouse district. But that's of course ridiculous. Also, with Blythe's and Ilsa's amazing titles on the list too, it can’t fail, really. [Other titles on the debut list are Blythe Woolston's THE FREAK OBSERVER and Ilsa J. Bick's DRAW THE DARK.]

Your book has been out for about two weeks. What have you been and will you be doing to promote it?

I’ve done a whole bunch of blog interviews, and I have an official blog tour about to happen, too. In the real world, I’m doing a reading at Magers & Quinn her in the Twin Cities. It’s the biggest independent bookstore out here, I think, and is the go-to stop for big-time authors to do in-store appearances. They haven’t hosted much YA (maybe ever? I don’t know), so it’s especially exciting for me that I’ll be reading there. It will also be my first reading ever, so I’m awfully nervous.

I also made a trailer, which I like and some other people have liked too.



How long have you been blogging? What kind of posts will visitors find on Exile in Goyville?

I started my first blog in around 2003. It wasn’t very interesting. I remember one post I wrote about Manhattan Specials (an espresso soda you really can’t find anywhere outside of Brooklyn and Manhattan) and the spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy’s. Those were the days, right, bloggers? It eventually became a place to keep track of the mileage I was putting on my bike here in the Twin Cities before I abandoned it completely. (Don’t look for it, by the way. It’s all locked up.)

Ever since moving out here from NY in 2006, though, I’d been saying I’d launch a blog called Exile in Goyville, considering myself the only Jew for 1200 miles. (Obviously not actually the case.) Anyway, I made the thing but never posted anything until the weekend of that MN SCBWI conference in 2008, inspired to enter the YA blogosphere by (probably) something Andrew said. I intended to focus on the fish-out-of-water aspect of being a NY Jew in Minnesota. However, if you go there now you’ll find far more about writing, YA lit., the journey from MS to publication, and the day-to-day naval gazing I really excel at.

Your character Lily offers three reasons she became "a cigarette-smoking bad girl." Give me three reasons you write YA fiction.

1. I CAN'T HELP IT. I really can't, either. No era of a single human life is as interesting and worthy of examination--to me--than adolescence. I've written middle-grade (both work-for-hire and abandoned manuscripts), but it doesn't come as naturally, and it doesn't feel nearly as satisfying. I know--I'm totally just saying '"I write YA because I write YA" with that response. I'll try to do better with number.

2. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. Not to be self-aggrandizing or anything, but writing YA certainly feels important. Sure, writing for youth of any age is crazy important, because everyone knows we want kids to read, so we'll have adults who read and think creatively and critically. But I feel like as a teen, a lot of us begin to think of reading as a chore. We encounter Shakespeare and Hawthorne and Hesse and Hemingway and suddenly books are thick, foreign, and a struggle to comprehend. "When the hell did this happen?" we say. Well, good YA lit is suited to teen readers, and is bound to hold their interest in a way that our canon cannot.

3. IT'S FUN! Sure, if I wanted to I could sit down and write something for adults, but writing YA characters allows me to drop all kinds of snark and first kisses and first rock concerts and first cars et cetera, et cetera. This is fun stuff! And I can be--in my role as author and sometimes narrator, that is--as adolescent as I want without fear of being called immature. Much.

Tell us about book number two, TWO SUMMERS AROUND THE FIRE. (And will the number three be in the title of your third book?) 

Am I allowed to say this is my favorite thing I've ever written? It's short and the most experimental writing I've done, and I'm immensely proud of it. Andrew recently called it a young adult A MOVEABLE FEAST for Brooklyn, which is perfectly okay with me. TWO SUMMERS is a mystery, sort of, centered on three homeless teens in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 2005. It's also a love story. It's also about gentrification and waterfront property. Obviously I'm still working out the kinks of my elevator spiel.

I had not even thought of that numbers thing. Now I'm going to have to try figure out a way to get 'three' into my next title. Ack!

What's your advice to the unpublished YA writers out there?

Stay true to the voice and the characters. For some writers, this will come naturally; for others, it'll take some work. The best advice I can give is to tap into the adolescent in yourself, or you're bound to come across like an adult trying to sound teen-friendly and slangy and junk, and that's not only a chore to read, but sort of creepy. For me, it's something akin to Method acting, I think (and also for Swati Avasthi, who--at a reading this year--compared her work on narrator Jace in SPLIT to Method as well). You need to occupy that character and become them, especially if you're writing realistic fiction, probably in first person or a close third. Beyond that, don't rush (you won't catch up to trends and they're not important anyway), get a workshop or a critiquing buddy, and--of course--BIC (butt in chair). From a more pragmatic point of view, um, ignore my publication story, because that method will never work for anyone again.