A Celebration of 20 Years in the Midsouth

Genetta Adair recognized SCBWI-Midsouth founder, Cheryl Zach and Midsouth RA Emerita, Tracy Barrett for their contributions to our region on our 20^th anniversary.

Emily Mitchell: Voice: Your Special Sauce

Character is intimately related to voice.  Characters cannot be relatable if they are not speaking in their own voices.

A gifted writer can muse all three elements; characters, plot, and narrative voice.

Without voice, a story is just a series of events.

Best advice to learn voice:  read good books.  Listen for the book's voice.  Try to analyze how author creates that voice.

First person is one of the easiest ways to establish narrative voice--but you can have voice in third person, too.

Emily read specific examples from selected books to demonstrate an excellent use of narrative voice in both fiction and non-fiction.

Examples of some books with great voice:

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Matilda and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Speak and Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
Going Bovine and Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
Ramona books by Beverly Cleary
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

Alexandra Cooper: Show, Don't Tell: Developing a Character

Basic building blocks of character:

Character arc:  What does your character want more than anything?

"Stories should start on the day everything changes for the main character." -Judy Blume

What is your character's deepest fear?

How will your character face his/her greatest fear?

Use benchmarks.  If a character is in a similar situation at the beginning and at the end, show that a character reacts different.  It is a way to concretely show that the character will react differently.

Diamond Structure of character building--four different aspects of a character:  Spine, Supporting traits, fatal flaw, and a shadow.

Don't forget to add flavor to your characters!  Give your character a past.

Through the course of the book, the character must work through fear and conflict to get what they really want.

Sympathy is what turns type into character.

Elizabeth Dulemba: Technology and the Future of Books

A Brief History of Apps and Technology Reading

As one of the first author/illustrators published as an app (Lula's Brew), Elizabeth Dulemba presents both (brief and fascinating) history of reading via technology. 

E-book- flowing text. This is not ideal for picture books because there is no fixed layout (due to the ability to change size of font etc.) E-books are mostly text based books. 

Apps- a piece of software...for picture books it can be used to change colors, create mazes, etc. 

Apps are a much different format than ebooks.  

She presented a history of children's book apps, from Miss Spider's Tea Party (2010) to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (May 2011). 

Some tips for illustrators:

* Artists need to work with technology and sound experts. 

* most developers are not accepting submissions, yet. 

*best for out of print books. 

Check out her website www.dulemba.com for great resources and information! 

Linda Sue Park – Scenes: The Building Blocks of Fiction

Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park believes scenes are the building blocks of fiction. She writes in scenes, not chapters. She believes Character, Plot, and Setting are interconnected and cannot be separated.

Each scene shows the character’s progress or impediment (both internal & external). Characters are acting or reacting in each scene.

The level of progress/impediment in your story changes depending on what type of story you are telling.

Michelle Poploff: The Acquisition Process

Michelle Poploff lead a "Sunday morning sermon" on the acquisition process.  Here are some highlights!

When Michelle receives a submission, she is going to assume you have worked on numerous revisions. You get one shot, and you need to make it your best shot.

Each book is an organic process.

When your book is acquired, roll up your sleeves and get ready for some good old fashioned revising.

This can take from several months to a year or more.

She will work in whatever way is best for the author.

Not every issue will be resolved in one revision.

After many revisions....

After the book is copy edited and all queries are answered, the author receives first pass pages. The book is set into type.

The proofreader reads the pages.

The author can add dedication, acknowledgments, author's note, glossary, etc.

The art department is working on cover art and interior illustrations as the writer and editor works on the editorial process.

THE STEPS, CONDENSED:

Editor sends editorial letter.

Editor makes comments on the revised manuscript.

Copy Editor—grammar and punctuation are checked throughout in a second color of pen.

Cody edited manuscript is sent to author.

Author responds in third color of pen.

Most of this is now done electronically.

Emily Mitchell: The People in Your Neighborhood

I’d like to begin this post with a comment I heard as we were leaving this session. A voice behind me said, "I wish I'd heard this talk when I was just starting out." Emily Mitchell's session, "The People In Your Neighborhood," was a useful, insightful peek into the roles of the various individuals at a publishing house who each play a part in bringing our books to life.

We learned that the first group at the publishing house to receive a manuscript is Editorial. The first person to read it will usually be an editorial assistant or intern, and if it makes it to an editor who likes and wants to publish it, that editor will make the case for the book with Sales and Marketing at the launch meeting.

Once it has been decided that they are really interested in the book, the sponsoring editor contacts the author to discuss it. This may be the first time the author hears from the editor, even though she or he may have been interested in the book for quite some time. The editor is the author’s ally, the one who has been promoting the book internally throughout the process.

Design joins in with Editorial to choose an illustrator. Design works out the details like trim size and fonts. When the illustrations are finished and the design is all set, Production coordinates printing and tracks the shipment of the finished books.

Meanwhile, promotions are tackled by Sales & Marketing. Sales reps visit stores, schools and libraries. Marketing looks into subsidiary rights opportunities such as toys and translations for foreign countries. It’s not good to leave all the promotion to the publisher, though. You can really help promote your own book, and in many cases the publisher will help you. Consider book signings and school visits. Make sure you have a website and include links to booksellers who are selling your book. And don’t forget social media – there are numerous opportunities to promote your book in that way, even before actual publication.