Interview: Picture Book Author Joëlle Retener on a Stonewall Honor, Agents, Disability, and Activism

🌈 Happy Pride! Charlotte Sullivan Wild here, and I’m thrilled to share this interview with picture book author Joëlle Retener. They are about to receive a Stonewall Honor for their picture book Marley's Pride (illus. by DeAnn Wiley) at the American Library Association conference next week.

💜 Last year, one of my happiest surprises was when Joëlle asked to trade work, and we became fast friends. We connected through the Facebook group Disabled Kidlit Writers, hosted by Lillie Owens Lainoff (another star!). In addition to both being LGBTQ+ picture book authors, we have the same chronic illness. ME/CFS blocks a body’s ability to produce energy correctly or recover from exertion (physical, mental, emotional, and sensory). Finding a creative friend who doesn’t mind recording video messages while lying in a dark room is a gift! Now, I'd like to share the gift of Joëlle's interview!

📚 → Learn more about Joëlle’s recent and upcoming books.

 
✏️ My comments are bolded. Joëlle’s are in regular text. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Let’s get started!

STONEWALL HONOR

(c) 2024 DeAnn Wiley, from "Marley's Pride," Barefoot Books, used with permission

Joëlle, CONGRATS on your ALA Stonewall Honor for Marley’s Pride! This is a beautiful story of how a queer Black grandparent supports their queer grandchild, by helping them navigate Pride with sensory sensitivities. The heart of this book is that Pride is about welcoming and supporting everyone.

What was it like to get “the call” about the Stonewall Honor and to have your work honored?

I was in complete disbelief. I broke down in tears and screeches of excitement! It was such an honor to be recognized. You and I have talked about this before, Charlotte… [historically], queer literature that’s recognized tends to be whitewashed and focused on the experiences of white gay men. The fact that my book that centers the journey of two trans-nonbinary Black individuals was recognized is a testament to the evolution of queer children’s literature. This win sends a message to people who share those intersecting identities that you’re seen and we value you. Your voices and your stories are worthy of being shared, are worthy of being uplifted. It was a powerful experience to know that something that I created is providing representation for my community in a way that has not been done, or at least not consistently.

It gives me hope that stories like mine, that children like me, that families like mine, can see themselves represented in books. Not only books about trans and nonbinary lives, but books that go beyond the normal tropes of coming out, [that] are centered in queer joy, and rooted in community, I think that’s a really big deal. Especially at a time when there is so much struggle within our community. To be reminded that the radical joy that comes with living authentically and being in community with others lives on is a gift. For my book to be shared broadly as a symbol of all that our community is, is humbling. I’m very grateful and hopeful that it will uplift folks who need the daily reminder that we are not alone. Joy is inherently part of our human experience no matter how we identify.

AGENTS!

Both of us have had the hard experience of leaving our first agents. It sounds like you have landed in the right place with James McGowan at Bookends Literary Agency! (For those querying agents, James is focused on building his adult list right now.) What is that relationship like? I know that on my recent search I needed to figure out my own priorities…

I’m so grateful to be working with him! I feel like I have this superstar in my corner! James is really responsive. He has a great eye for how to strengthen my manuscripts in order to make them sellable. He is patient with all of my many, many questions. He is kind and funny and so snarky, and that’s what I love most about him! I can bring my full authentic self to the table when I’m working with him. While I recognize, yes, it’s a professional relationship, I can let my very short hair down when I’m with James. I feel so comfortable.

Most importantly, I genuinely believe that James loves my manuscripts. As someone who has historically been insecure about their writing, having an agent like James by my side has helped me to really fully perceive my work for what it is. It’s been such a magical experience. I couldn’t imagine working with anybody else.

The search for the right agent can be so tricky. It’s encouraging to know that this is possible with time and patience!

WRITING WHILE DISABLED

The new logo for the Disabled Kidlit Writers group on Facebook, where Joëlle and I met.

How does disability influence the way you write and what you write?

I have a dynamic chronic illness [meaning, the severity fluctuates], so I live my life in seasons, from flare to flare. As a result, my writing is also seasonal. [Flares] impact me both physically and mentally since my disability affects my cognitive function. The typical advice is to write, write, write, as much as you can! You must be a prolific writer! The reality is that I can’t be. I can only write based on how my chronic illness is behaving.

I relate! When I became ill, the focus shifted from “how much” I work to “how to” work around physical and cognitive limits. Whether one is disabled or caregiving or working long hours, working harder isn’t always an option.

Often times, I’m not writing, but I’m reading, listening to audio books, which are incredible when you don’t have the physical capacity to read. During these periods of “dormancy” I focus on documenting the ideas that bubble up. My creativity is usually dying to come through and this is an easy way to feed it even if I’m not able to fully create stories in those moments. (Yes!)

My disability has also allowed me to explore different ways to write. When sitting up is difficult, I’ll write from [bed]. (Ditto!) Sometimes, physical typing or looking at my computer screen isn’t accessible to me. I use talk-to-text apps instead and leave myself voice memos to think through ideas or concepts. I save them like sticky [notes] to circle back when I have the space to do so.

Does disability affect what you write?

My disability has made me even more determined and passionate about writing inclusive stories. It’s so important for children, but also [for] the parents who are reading, to see themselves in books. I want to remind readers that they belong. Black people belong. Black trans - Black Queer people belong, and disabled people belong, especially in spaces that have been historically inaccessible to those communities, such as nature/the outdoors. We exist in this world, right? To assume that disabled people aren’t all around us is just unrealistic. Which is why I make a concerted effort to work with my editors and illustrators to have disabled people represented. [I try] to ensure that that representation is present in whatever I touch.

FINDING CREATIVE COMMUNITY WHILE DISABLED

For me, isolation has been the hardest part of becoming chronically ill – worse than the illness itself, which is why your friendship has been such a joy, Joëlle! (I wrote about this for SCBWI in 2023: “Cures for Loneliness: Writing and Illustrating Disability.”)

How is creative community different when you live with disabilities? What do you wish people knew?

Thank you for this question! I don’t often get opportunities to talk about my disability and how it impacts me as a creative. Shedding a light on it could help other spoonie creatives like me to feel a little bit less alone. 

(SIDEBAR: Christine Miserandino coined spoon theory as a way to measure energy with metaphorical “spoons.” People with disabilities may have significantly fewer or a fluctuating number of daily “spoons” compared to non-disabled people. “Spoonies” are people who have to pace their energy very differently than non-disabled people. Now, back to Joëlle!)

I really struggle with connecting with the kidlit community. There are so many platforms where we can engage. While I’m really grateful for those digital spaces, keeping up feels impossible. Being on apps like Bluesky and Discord feels like stepping into a really loud room and you have a sensory sensitivity. Like, there’s constant noise coming at [me], and I am incapable of sift[ing] through it.

Sometimes, when I’m having good body days and my mind isn’t as foggy, I try to jump on. I want to be around my people. I want to share the ups and downs that are part and parcel of the publishing business. But it’s difficult. And my enthusiasm doesn’t last long. It can be really isolating not to be able to connect with other creatives in those spaces. It’s often a choice between [that] and showing up in the real world for myself or my family. That means I don’t get [many] opportunities to connect with other creatives.

That’s so hard.

One of the few gifts of the pandemic was that more events are now online, which means that homebound or disabled people can at least watch events when in-person or live attendance is impossible. This also reduces travel costs, another barrier. I appreciate when webinars are archived for a month, so I can watch them in parts if I can’t concentrate for 1-2 hours or if it’s a bad health season. But for those able to attend some events, there are still barriers, right?

In person get-togethers are so difficult. They usually require travel, which looks like me schlepping my entire family to these events. Then there’s naturally lots and lots of socializing which takes weeks for me to recover from on the back end. I don’t think most people understand how taxing it can be for people [with] chronic condition[s] to simply leave their homes let alone all the planning and prepping that comes with attending larger social gatherings. It is a struggle and it can be very lonely.

I’m really grateful for the writing friends who I connect with one-on-one, via Marco Polo (a free video messaging app) or voice memos on texts.

Ultimately, it is very much about trying to find accommodations and exploring different avenues for connection.

It’s my hope that this blog post will help able kidlit creatives to better understand the spoonie struggle. Then perhaps we could find ways to reduce the emotional and mental labor that’s typically shouldered by their chronically ill counterparts when seeking out community.

Thank you for sharing your experiences, friend.

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Last, what is something you’ve read that is lighting you up?

Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without a Bullhorn)
Small Actions = Big Results
By Omkari L. Williams
Forward by Layla F. Saad

Gosh, this book really stuck with me! It's about how to make activism accessible to everyone. Williams talks about the perception [of] activist[s] and what [they] look like. More often than not, activism is perceived as being at the front lines with a bullhorn, on stage. The reality is that activism is more all-encompassing, and [we] need to see it from a holistic perspective. Activism is accessible to everyone, which to me is an incredible realization given my health issues.

Yes! Recently, a disabled author friend was processing with me how much she wanted to march at protests, but she is unable to do so physically. She did feel proud that her son marched. Raising him is part of her radical work. So are her stories and donations. We can show up in our own ways.

[In] the forward, Saad [says] that for the longest time, she did not consider herself an activist because she did not fit the quintessential image of an activist. But as Williams notes, activism is a verb. It’s a verb that describes actions that you take in order to move forward the greater good of humanity.

I’ve had to really rethink how I show up in this world, specifically [with] my social justice work. This book has allowed me to own it, and to embrace it. It has allowed me to recognize how my storytelling is one hundred percent activism! Yes, I have said it! I’ve said it!

I agree!

My disability has forced me to let go of a lot of things. [But this] book allowed me to see that maybe it’s not a releasing of the social justice part of my life, [which] is so fundamental to who I am. Perhaps it’s a reframing of how I approach my activism, and an opportunity to find new ways to lean into it.

I love that! Thank you for sharing your heart and experiences, Joëlle!

If you’re headed to ALA, look for Joëlle and their beautiful book Marley’s Pride! Check out what's next from Joëlle!

Wishing you all joy and community for your journey!

💜

In case you missed them, here are my previous posts for June:

“Pointless Joy! Returning to the Heart in our Art”

“My Process, My Nightmare!”

💜

Joëlle Retener is the author of Marley’s Pride a Stonewall Honor book, which received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist, and OUR WORLD: USA. Their forthcoming books include MADINA’S BIG, FABULOUS, WIN and its sequel (Disney Hyperion ’26), and BELLY GROWLS (Henry Holt 27′). As a Black Kreyol, disabled, nonbinary creative, Joëlle believes that art is a vehicle to rewrite and reimagine outdated narratives about historically marginalized communities. Joëlle is a proud graduate of Spelman College and American University. They are represented by James McGowan at Bookends Literary Agency. Learn more: www.joelleretener.com

Charlotte Sullivan Wild is the author of several picture books. Love, Violet (illus. Charlene Chua) is a Stonewall Book Award winner, Charlotte Huck Honor Book, and Lambda Literary Award Finalist. The Amazing Idea of You (illus. Mary Lundquist) is a lyrical celebration of the potential in living things, especially in every child. She has taught language arts, literature and writing, worked as a bookseller, and volunteered as the SCBWI RA for Southwest Texas. She is represented by Analía Cabello at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Learn more: www.CharlotteSWild.com

7 Books in 21 Years: Lee's Tips on Getting Published

This week's tips are on Getting Published – things I wish I'd known back when I was starting out, and that I'm happy to pass along to you now.

1) Know your goals and what success is to you.

Is it financial? 

Is it awards?

Is it impact on a single reader?

Is it the most readers?

Is it seeing your book on a bookstore or library shelf?

Is it even about you, or is it more about the stories and/or ideas you want to share?

Being clear on your goals can help you determine the path you want to take with getting published. 

I author-published (a.k.a. self-published) my first YA novel, and while I liked having control (like selecting and hiring the team of professionals who helped me make it awesome) I ultimately wanted that book (Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill) to reach more readers, to empower more young people.

That influenced my decision to not publish myself again, but instead to be published by traditional publishing houses that have full sales team distribution. Accordingly, I've been published by a bunch of independent publishers: Lerner/Zest Books (No Way, They Were Gay? and The Gender Binary is a Big Lie), Levine Querido (Red and Green and Blue and White), Chicago Review Press/Interlude/Duet (A Different Kind of Brave), Reycraft (Love of the Half-Eaten Peach), and now Cardinal Rule Press (Like That Eleanor).

If you want to explore the many different paths to getting published, check out this free resource from IBPA, the Publishing MAP (Models and Author Pathways).

2) Don't "submit" your work. "Offer" it.

Author and poet Lesléa Newman gets the credit for this shift in mental models. I also don't want to "submit" and give up my power. I would much rather "offer" the work to a publisher to see if they want to partner with me on getting that book published and out in the world and into the hands of readers.

For me having a book out on "offer" has been a very healthy switch in how I think about getting my work out into the world.

3) The Big Five are not the only path. There are Indie Presses. And Self-Publishing (or Author-Publishing).

At this point, the general public does not care who published a book. If it is beautifully done and the quality is there and it is professional published, it doesn't matter to them who published it. They are not studying the copyright page.

This is an amazing opportunity.

Librarians and bookstores do care still who published something, so if you're going the smaller indie publisher or author-publisher path, there's a lot more vetting you'll need to do so your book is considered.

4) Publishing yourself is not a short-cut.

Impatience is not a good reason to author-publish (self-publish.) 

Being a publisher is a completely different role from being a writer, and even being a published author. A publisher has so much else to consider and deal with, and while there's a lot of control, you have to control it all...

Be sure it's what you really want to do. And if you do it, do it in the most professional way.

5) Publishing is subjective. Incredibly subjective.

...Meaning it's not a 'failure' if a project hasn't found its publishing home yet.

Case in point: recently, a book project of mine went on offer to an editor at an imprint of a publishing house. They asked for revisions. I revised, and they loved the new proposal/sample chapters. "We're going to acquisitions!" 

Then the musical chairs of publishing stopped the music—as often happens in this industry—and there was a different person who was the new editor of that imprint. 

Same book project. Same imprint. But now my book didn't fit their vision of what they wanted to publish. So that book didn't go to acquisitions after all. 

And now my agent and I need to figure out what would be the right publishing home for that project, and put it out on offer again.

It is all subjective. Don't beat yourself up if the answer is 'no.' Sometimes, it takes a lot of 'no's to get to the right 'yes.'

6) Email etiquette and compassion.

Email sucks.

A few years ago, when agents started saying that they would only respond to pitches when they were interested, there was quite an uproar. It felt unfair, that we were being told to careful craft our pitches and tailor them specifically for a specific agent, and then we might not even hear back! 

Many of us wondered, How was that professional? 

I view that with a LOT more compassion now. In my day job (as Chief Content Officer for the Independent Book Publishers Association) I get between 150-200 emails a day. That is so much to respond to! I do my best, but sometimes it's a few weeks before I respond, rather than a few days. And there are emails that get by me! 

I'm doing my best, but email is an incredibly inefficient means of communication (I also dislike how tone doesn't come through) and it's a lot -- especially when juggling all the other parts of my job.

So I've come to view agents (who get many, many more emails than I) with more compassion about the email situation. They have to prioritize their current clients, the things that are most pressing, and they're squeezing in reviewing offers for representation...

We could all use a bit more compassion when it comes to emails. And if you want some email etiquette tips from a publisher I admire, Brooke Warner rounds some up here.

7) Publishing has two speeds: Glacial and Panic.

You only control what you control, so try to focus on that. 

And while your work is out on offer, or you're waiting for notes back from your editor, or otherwise publishing is making you wait, work on something else. Don't just sit around waiting. 

Put your energies into what you control.

**

I hope these tips have been helpful!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

7 Great Resources if You're Looking for an Agent

The goal: finding a literary agent who will represent YOU in your author/illustrator/translator career (and not just a single project.) Someone who communicates in a way that works for you and who is enthusiastic about your talent and projects.

So how do you find the agents you're going to query/pitch/approach? Here are seven resources that might help:

1) Narrow down your list of agents by genre at Agent Query: https://www.agentquery.com/

2) Narrow down your list of agents by keyword at Manuscript Wish List: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/

3) Read interviews with agents, aggregated at Literary Rambles: http://www.literaryrambles.com/p/agent-spotlight-interviews.html

4) Dig into personal experiences with agents and agencies (on things like response time) at Absolute Write's "water cooler": https://absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php?threads/index-to-agents-agencies.352886/

Screenshot of Absolute Write's Index to Agents and Agencies

5) Meet agents at virtual and real-world events hosted by SCBWI, Highlights Foundation, The Writing Barn, etc...

6) Find the agent on social media and get a sense of what they represent.

7) Look at the agent's website for specifics on how to submit, and follow those guidelines.

Good luck!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

P.S. Thanks to author J.S. Puller for the heads up on Absolute Write Water Cooler, a new resource for me!

Listen to the Latest SCBWI Podcast: A Conversation with Marietta Zacker

 

Co-Founder and Agent at the Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency Marietta Zacker speaks with Theo Baker about agenting, rejection, marketing, advice, and much more!

Listen to the episode trailer here.

Current SCBWI members can listen to the full episode here (log in first).

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Listen to the Latest SCBWI Podcast: A Conversation with Alex Slater

Agent Alex Slater of Trident Media Group speaks with Theo Baker about his career journey, his passion for representing historically underrepresented authors, building his own client list, and much more. (49:20)

Listen to the episode trailer here.

Current SCBWI members can listen to the full episode here (log in first).

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Lee & Low's Diversity In Publishing 2019 Baseline Survey Results are Released

"Where is the Diversity in Publishing?" Four years after their first (and groundbreaking) survey of the publishing industry to get some solid numbers to be able to quantify and track diversity status, efforts, and progress, the 2019 survey results have been released.

Looking at race, gender, orientation, and disability, this time around the survey included literary agents and university presses, and overall had a lot more participation ("In 2015, there were 3,706 responses to the survey. In 2019, we received 7,893 responses.")

While the change in terms of diversity in publishing was not "compelling" or statistically significant, there were some bright spots of progress, (i.e, intern populations are much more diverse than publishing in general) but clearly our industry can do more and better.

The full article on the results (and the rest of the slides) are well-worth checking out!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Literary Agents of Color - A Great Resource to Know About

Agent Beth Marshea's recent article in Publishers Weekly, We Need Diverse Agents, points out,

"With nearly 80% of the industry identifying as white, straight, and able bodied, is it any wonder that so many stories sound the same? Calls for more diverse characters, authors, and stories are great. There’s a step further that must be taken, however; we need to make changes to the gatekeepers. As Kacen Callender rightly pointed out in their Publishers Weekly article, 'We Need Diverse Editors,' sometimes stories weren’t written for the people we have guarding the house.

The need for representation in all aspects of publishing is clear. In order to get an editor, books need to be represented by agents—so it stands to reason that the industry needs diverse agents, as well."

And then, Beth brought up the website Literary Agents of Color at https://www.litagentsofcolor.com/, which, as of writing this, lists 56 "amazing agents of color."

Our industry certainly needs more, but it's great to know about this resource!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

A Conversation with Jenny Bent - Listen to the latest SCBWI Podcast!

Jenny Bent founded The Bent Agency in 2009. The agency now has nine agents, offices in New York City and London, and a focus on international rights. Jenny speaks to Theo Baker about the difference between Y.A. and Adult, what she's looking for, the decision to launch her own agency, what happened that changed her approach to agenting, and much more!

Listen to the episode trailer here.

Current SCBWI members can listen to the full episode here (log in first).

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Literary Agent and V.P. Elizabeth Harding of Curtis Brown discusses the $3 Billion children's book business

From this interview with Valerie Peterson on the Balance, Elizabeth shares:

'Where the retail booksellers have been the primary market for adult books, for children's books, the school, and library markets have always been really important to sales — and there's been a recent resurgence there.
To give some historical perspective — 20 years ago the school and library market was very robust and, at the time, it was great if your children's book sold in bookstores, obviously, but it wasn't the focus.
Then Barnes and Noble and other superstores and Amazon came into the picture, and it became really important to be able to sell your books through those venues; a lot of weight was put on those sales. The focus shifted [from schools and libraries] to getting books onto the picture book wall at B&N. The children's market began to rely heavily on those retail sales — which hadn't traditionally been the case, and which was more in tune with how adult books were sold.
There still is a lot of weight put on those sales, but we're back to having the school library market being really critical.

It's well-worth reading the full interview (and I love the advice about befriending your local children's librarian!)

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Listen to SCBWI's Newest Podcast: A Conversation with Jennifer Laughran

Jennifer Laughran is a senior agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. In this interview with Theo Baker, Jennifer talks about her running start as an agent, the elements of building a career, what goes into some "overnight" successes, what she's hoping for when she receives a submission, and much more!

Listen to the episode trailer here.

And SCBWI members can listen to the full podcast here (log in first!)

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

PW rounds up a baker's dozen of children's and YA agents heading to Bologna

The article is a fascinating snapshot of 13 agents and agencies' take on what's going on in the children's and YA marketplace, both in the US and internationally.

While it's good to know about the movements (like #ownvoices) and trends (like middle grade adventure), it's also fascinating to see that, as with everything in this industry, there's a huge amount of subjectivity: YA is either "hot" or "fatigued," depending on an agent's unique perspective.

Overall, it's well worth reading!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Booklist Webinar on Agents and Engaging with Librarians, Teachers, Booksellers and Readers

A heads-up courtesy of Chicago Regional Advisor Emeritus and author Esther Hershenhorn,

Join Booklist and New Leaf Literary & Media agents for an hour-long, free webinar that will discuss the role of a literary agent, as well as describing how librarians, teachers, and booksellers can work directly with agents to forge relationships between authors and readers. Panelists will share examples of working with their YA authors, including Veronica Roth, Victoria Aveyard, Kody Keplinger, and Leigh Bardugo, and explain how they've connected with schools, libraries, and bookstores to coordinate events, panels, special mailings, social media interaction, and more. Moderated by Ilene Cooper, Booklist Books for Youth Senior Editor.

This free webinar will take place Thursday April 9, 2015 at 1pm Central Daylight time. You can sign up and find out more here.

William Morris Endeavor's GIMME BOOKS Pop-Up Holiday Bookstore

Because it's so timely, and fascinating...

The talent and literary agency William Morris Endeavor just announced its first holiday pop-up store:

 

The idea (and innovation) of Gimme Books (announced back in June 2014) is that a talent/literary agency is seeing the events their clients are already appearing at (like Fashion Week and Wimbledon) as opportunities to sell their clients' books.

And in the case of this holiday season, they've added a new spin, with this New York pop-up store that features:

"...books hand-selected and sold by our very own WME literary agents" 

and

"Live in-store events" with some of their author clients.

Some points to consider:

Will branding authors for the public by their agency representation work? 

Will agencies themselves become branded selling points?

The moving roles of literary agencies, some towards producing, some towards publishing, and some, towards bookselling, is fascinating to witness.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Agents on the Diversity Gap in Publishing

This interview with a group of literary agents by Jason Low over at the Lee & Low Books blog explores what's going on with the "diversity gap" in children's and teen publishing, and where literary agents fit into bridging that gap (or not.)

A few highlights:

Lori Nowicki (of Painted Words agency)
 "Less than one percent of the submissions I receive reflect people of color in the samples."

 Abigail Samoun (of Red Fox Literary)
 "The author’s ethnicity... makes a tremendous difference when the story is told from the perspective of a person of color. Editors want those stories told by insiders to the culture."

 Karen Grencik
 "I think writing for children is a luxury that not everyone can afford."

 Adriana Domínguez (of Full Circle Literary)
 "Seeing my son at preschool, surrounded by many other kids who are also multilingual and multicultural, and who already have a broader understanding of the world, gives me hope and confirms for me that diverse publishing is not a “niche” market, it is this country’s present—and future."

 and Mira Reisberg (of Hummingbird Literary)
 "I think we need to have a kind of self-aware affirmative action in publishing where people of color are mentored, if need be, so we can have more books by and about people of color."

Read the full post here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Query Letters To Agents That Worked

Jason Boog for MediaBistro's Galleycat pulled together this great resource, 23 Query Letters To Literary Agents That Worked.

Some are shared by the authors (one tells us that it was the 22nd version of their query that got noticed and ultimately led to 5 offers of representation!) And some are shared by the agents who now represent those authors (including one query written in the voice of a character that was a masterful feat of derring-do and voice.)  They are all well-worth reading!

As you craft your query letter (or delay doing just that), let these stories and examples inspire and galvanize you into creating your best query.

But remember, don't query until your work is ready. Because no matter how excellent your pitch, your material has to deliver!

Illustrate, Write and Query On,
Lee

More News About E-publishing your out of print titles...

This month, Sarah Weinman in Publisher's Lunch reported this single line:

"Argo Navis Author Services has signed the Arcadia Literary Agency, Donald Maass Literary Agency, and Harvey Klinger as clients."

What's worth noting is that Argo Navis is an e-publishing service "designed for professional authors acting as publishers, who control the e-book rights to their reverted or not-in-print works" and that authors cannot sign up themselves.  Their AGENTS have to be signed up before they can have their works included.  That "ensures that the service is focused on professionals rather than self-published authors."

By making literary agents central to their business model, and ensuring their e-books are vetted by the structures of traditional publishing, this announcement gives us one view of how the future of e-publishing is shaping up.

Fascinating!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Business: Agencies Helping Clients Self-Publish E-books

Via Publishers Lunch comes this news from Nelson Literary Agency, the latest literary agency coming up with "ways to help their clients self-publish" or, in the language of the agency, answering the question: "what is an agent to do if clients want assistance making backlist titles available in eFormat?"

Their Digital Liason Platform, according to Kristin Nelson, lets clients "self-publish their content within a supported environment." It differs from a publishing house model in that "our clients maintain full control of their titles. They are not granting them to us. They have full say on covers, editing, pricing, etc. The program is voluntary so if they want to participate on our DLP, they can, but they are also welcome to handle their backlist themselves."

NLA offers a full-service and distribution-only option, with authors asked to commit to a two-year term of license on the full-service model "since we undergo all the expense and that would be rather uncool for a client to let us do that and then pull the title a month later." In the full-service model, the agency handles the file conversions; connects clients with designers, copyeditors, publicists; distributes through all venues; and "uses our individual leverage with all the venues to promote."

Interesting to see how so many aspects of our kid lit industry are changing.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

No query? No pitch? No Problem! The Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest

Regina Brooks, Founder and President at Serendipity Literary Agency, who'll be on faculty at our upcoming Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York, January 27-29, 2012, let us know about this contest for YA writers.

How do you enter? 

You submit an "enticing" title and the first 250 words of your YA manuscript.  No query.  No pitch.  Just an opportunity to let the work speak for itself.

It's a chance to break through, but there's not much time left - the contest ends tomorrow, November 30, 2011!  You can get more details here.

Also, if you want to do your homework on Regina Brooks, check out her Agent Spotlight page on Literary Rambles, where Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre have compiled wonderful profiles on 109 (and counting!) kid lit literary agents from a multitude of online sources. 

Good luck!
Lee

SCBWI's Open Letter to the Kid Lit Industry About No-Response-Means-A-Rejection Policies

One of the powerful things about SCBWI is that it functions as a collective voice for authors and illustrators.

There's quite a controversy going on since this summer, as the "If you don't hear back from us in x amount of time, it means we're not interested" policy of some publishing houses has been increasingly adopted by agents.

Agent Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency wrote a post on her blog explaining "Why I don't send rejection letters" that talked about the negative karma of sending out rejections.  (One of the commenters quipped "first time I've heard of an agent's karma running over a writer's dogma.")  Jill was so swamped with negative reaction that she actually changed her query policy. She's still open to unsolicited queries, but says if the no-response-within-a-month-means-no policy doesn't work for an author, they should query a different agent.

Agent Rachel Gardner with Word Serve Literary Group also wrote about her agency's "If you don't hear back within 60 days it's a no" policy, saying "Cutting out the step of responding means I can read and consider twice as many in a given hour." (Rachel is also closed to queries at the current time.)

Agent Janet Reid of Fine Print Literary had a different take, in her post "No, you're wrong, and here's why," where she explained her system for sending rejections, and mused it might even give her a competitive advantage over agents who don't respond.  (Janet's open to queries)

Former agent Nathan Bransford chimed in with his take on responding as well.  He personally did respond, but agreed with Janet that he felt responding gave him an kindness edge.  He also said, "I know it's frustrating as an author to send queries into the ether, but agents have every right to set their own submission policy, and if an authors doesn't agree with it they are more than welcome to query someone whose policy they prefer."

And agent Jennifer Laughran at the Andrea Brown agency explained the reason why they have both a no-response-means-no policy and an auto-responder to let authors know their queries were received.  And yet she admits "But... I really do try to respond to things, at least with a one-line form rejection, despite the fact that our official policy is "No Response Means No." It is just a personal quirk of mine, I truly hate leaving loose ends."

The impassioned comments to these and other posts (hundreds and hundreds of comments) and many different conversation threads on kid lit listserves cried out for a reasoned, collective voice for authors to speak out.

Here's the Open Letter to the Industry SCBWI has published in response to all this:

THERE HAS BEEN much controversy of late about whether or not writers are entitled to expect a response from agents and editors to their unsolicited submissions.  Many publishing houses have adopted the policy that no response constitutes a rejection of the project.  More recently, some agents have begun to adopt this policy.  If there is no response in a given period of time, which ranges from three to six months, it is assumed that the project was rejected and writers are free to submit their work elsewhere.

We at the SCBWI understand and are sympathetic to the rigors involved in responding to each submission.  The last thing we want to espouse is additional unnecessary paperwork for editors and agents, whose time is best spent developing worthy book projects.  However, a writer's time is also valuable, and the no-response system steals months or even years from our marketing efforts.  The fact that a writer will never hear back about the fate of his or her manuscript leaves us hanging in limbo, never being sure that the manuscript arrived, was looked at, or was ever under consideration.

From the writer's point of view, never hearing back encourages us to undertake multiple submissions so as not to waste time waiting for an answer that may never come.  This is clearly bad for the industry; more multiple submissions will further clog an already overcrowded pipeline.  The SCBWI discourages mass submissions.  We teach our members, and provide them with the tools, to target their submissions specifically to agents or publishers who have demonstrated an interest in a particular type of work.  However, if our members never hear back, even in a form rejection or an auto-response email, how can they be expected NOT to mass submit?

There must be some way to accommodate the two sides of this issue by providing writers with the feedback we need without unnecessarily consuming an agent's or editor's valuable time.  As an organization, we encourage both publishers and agents to find a cost-effective and efficient way to let writers know that they are free to submit elsewhere.  Surely in this age of auto-response and other electronically sophisticated means, a quick and easy response click is readily available and would mean a great deal to writers who are trying to conduct their careers in a businesslike way.

Respectfully,
Stephen Mooser, President
Lin Oliver, Executive Director

***

As published in the SCBWI Bulletin, November/December 2011 Edition

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

In the News This Week

On Fridays I've been sharing snippets of and links to news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.

 Going forward, I'm moving this feature to the weekend to work better with my now-more-full schedule.

This week's news includes a new Scholastic/Ruckus imprint, a children's publishing newsletter launch, iPad 3 news, an editorial against agent-publishers, online/app safety for kids, a new property for Penguin, and more. 


Scholastic, Ruckus Media Form New Digital/Print Imprint (PW)
Children's digital developer Ruckus Media is joining with Scholastic to create the Scholastic Ruckus imprint, a joint venture that will publish a wide range of children's and teen content across all platforms, from interactive content and transmedia projects to e-books, enhanced e-books and print. The first titles from the Scholastic Ruckus imprint will be released in 2012.   

Publishing Perspectives Launches Children’s Publishing Newsletter (GalleyCat)
Publishing Perspectives, the online industry news journal, has launched its first newsletter focused on children’s publishing.

When Will Your Local Borders Close? (GalleyCat)
Wondering when your local Borders will close?
Borders Group entered liquidation this summer, closing its remaining 399 stores and cutting around 10,700 employees. On the bookseller’s Facebook page, you can now see a list of the closure dates for your local Borders bookstore.

iPad 3 Rumored To Be Lighter And Pricier (eBookNewser) 
As Amazon is gearing up to announce a new tablet, Apple is already hard at work on the iPad 3. According to a report from Apple Insider, the third generation iPad will be slimmer and lighter, and possibly more expensive.

Apps, social networks pose new threat to kids (USA Today)
The Federal Trade Commission last month announced a $50,000 settlement with app maker W3 Innovations for collecting and dispersing information of kids under 13 in violation of the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act, or COPPA.

Links Shared On Twitter Last Half As Long As YouTube (AllTwitter)
The folks at bit.ly, the popular URL shortener service, asked themselves just how long a link shared on a social network “lives”. And they found out that links shared on Twitter lasted only half as long as links shared on YouTube.

An Argument Against Agent-Publishers (PubPerspectives)
Nearly two thousand years ago, Plutarch wrote of a great ship that bore Theseus home from Crete. As its planks decayed, the plucky Athenians preserved it by replacing each rotting board in turn, until eventually nothing was left of the original vessel. Was it then the same ship? Plutarch asked. Or was it something wholly new?

Small Potatoes for Penguin (PW)
Penguin USA has acquired the license for Little Airplane Productions’ Small Potatoes, a preschool-targeted series of animated musical shorts. The series has taken off on Facebook and debuted on U.S. television September 6, on Disney Channel’s Disney Junior block. Penguin Young Readers Group’s Grosset & Dunlap division will publish a series of at least 10 books starting in early 2013, with Little Airplane handling the writing and design. The launch list will include a sticker book, an 8x8 and a board book.