UPDATE YOUR SCBWI PROFILE
By Monica Harris

1. Log onto www.scbwi.org.

2. Click on MEMBER LOGIN.

3. Enter your email and password.

4. Click on MANAGE MY PROFILE.

5. Check the contact information, and your status with SCBWI. There's even an area where you can enter a biography and photos!

6. Make sure to click on CONTINUE or SAVE so the system is updated.

SARAH SHUMWAY
by Gail Flynn

Sarah Shumway, senior editor of Katherine Tegan books, grew up in a beautiful New England town in Maine.  After attending William Smith College in upstate New York, she interned for a year in London. She took her first job after her internship as
assistant aditor to the
president of Dutton and
worked there for seven years. She has now been with the Katherine Tegan imprint of Harper Collins as senior editor for almost a year. Sarah plays
second base in Central Park for the Harper softball team in the Publishing League, sings, speaks Mandarin Chinese, roots on the Red Sox every chance she gets and is a declared "etsy.com" addict.

While attending the Spring conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sarah informed attendees of the acquisition process from an editor's standpoint.  She passed out copies of the acquisition form she fills out.  It is a detailed description of the author and book, and it highlights the books selling points.  "A book must be a property which has an edge over other properties in the market," she said.  But she also said that the selling of a book "...starts and ends with the author."  In other words, the author first has to sell the book to the editor and then to the booksellers and the public.

She gave attendees guidelines to follow when 'pitching' a book to an editor.  She listed these guidelines from most important to least important:  1) Distinctive voice, 2) Good writing, 3) Good premise, 4) Community appeal, 5) Good story, and 6) Tie-in to something current.

She also gave guidelines to follow when 'pitching' oneself to an editor and listed those from most to least important:  1) Author contacts, 2) Knowledge of the market, 3) Engaging query letter, 4) Knowledge of publishing houses and what they publish, and 5) Online presence.

Sarah then led the group through an exercise in pitch.  She suggested writing a book description which does give away the ending to include in the cover letter of a manuscript submission.  Then she instructed everyone to write a short blurb which doesn't give away the ending to be used as a sales handle on a book jacket.  These exercises familiarize the author with their product and better enable them to market their book.

Sarah specializes in middle grade/tween fiction.

Gail Flynn writes science fiction for young adults in the wilds near Kalamazoo.

2009 NOTABLE AUTHOR TOUR:
an experience to remember!
by Jean Alicia Elster

On December 9, 2008, I received an email from my publisher, Wayne State University Press, forwarding a letter from Nancy Robertson, State Librarian, Library of Michigan. My middle grade novel, Who's Jim Hines?, had been one of twenty books selected as a 2009 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. Publishers from across the country submitted hundreds of books that had to fit within the following guidelines- a book whose plot or subject matter takes place in Michigan or  that is written by an author who was either born in Michigan or is currently living in the state.

Aside from the obvious promotional benefits, one of the most rewarding aspects of this award was the 2009 Michigan Notable Author Tour that took place during April and May. Libraries from across the state were invited to request a visit from one of the Notable Authors. All author fees were paid by sponsors of the Library of Michigan Foundation. The host libraries only had to provide basic hospitality-lunch or dinner and transportation around the city if the author was required to travel to more than one library within the same city.

My first visit was to the East Lansing Public Library.  The highlight there was the presence of an archivist from Central Michigan University Public Radio who has been traveling across the state making audio recordings of Michigan authors reading their work. This document will be broadcast on CMU Public Radio and then housed in the permanent collection of the Clarke Historical Library. Also my niece, who is a student at Michigan State University, surprised me by joining the audience.

In addition to the invitation from the East Lansing Public Library, I was fortunate to have been invited by the Grand Rapids Public Schools to make presentations at two of their high schools. A very generous benefactor donated the fees and other costs associated with my two presentations. The manager of the school system's Media/Library Services Department, who was also my personal host, purchased copies of Who's Jim Hines? for each of the libraries within the Grand Rapids Public Schools system.

A special treat-that is considered a part of the tour-was the 2009 Night for Notables event in Lansing on April 18.  Librarians, teachers, and book lovers from across the state converged upon the Library of Michigan to purchase 2009 Notable Books and have them signed by the authors. Christopher Paul Curtis, whose book Elijah of Buxton was a 2008 Michigan Notable Book, was the guest speaker. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm spoke to the gathered authors and our guests at a private "pre-reception." She expressed gratitude at being able to acknowledge and celebrate a part of the Michigan economy that is not associated with the auto industry!

The 2009 Michigan Notable Author Tour-an experience to remember!
 
Jean Alicia Elster is the proud author of WHO'S JIM HINES? She lives in Detroit.

PROSPECTING FOR GOLD NUGGETS
by Kristin Wold Nitz

Publishers have to distill the books in their catalogue down to a single sentence.  You can usually find these summaries on the copyright page.  This is handy for librarians who often include these short descriptions in their online catalogues, but it's also a tool for the people in marketing.  Lisa Matthews, my editor at Peachtree, calls this sentence "the nugget."  Ideally, it should make people think, "Wow! That sounds interesting."  

I learned about the value of having an interesting nugget in early 2002 when Lisa called to explain why she couldn't make an offer on two of my sports novels. While the projects were humorous and well-written, their plots wouldn't stand out enough to catch the attention of reviewers and librarians. "If there was an audience waiting for your next book," she told me, "these would be ready to go." Now that was a compliment that stabbed.  I didn't know what else I could do besides write well. But I found out a few minutes later when Lisa said, "You mentioned that you were writing a novel about a girl playing on a boy's soccer team in Italy.  How's that coming?"  About ten months after that question, the editor made an offer on my first novel, DEFENDING IRENE.  Clearly, my comparatively exotic setting provided some of that "wow" factor for my soccer novel. 

So what happens if you come up with a pretty good idea, but you're not sure that it's enough to attract the interest of reviewers and librarians?  Agent Donald Maass suggests that great premises aren't just discovered. They can be built by bringing together a combination of "plausibility, inherent conflict, originality, and gut emotional appeal." He describes ways to do this in his book, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL.  He recommends that writers spend time thinking about the premise early in the process instead of only discovering it when writing the query letter.

Originality might seem difficult to come by in a world where Ronald Tobias has written a book called TWENTY MASTER PLOTS AND HOW TO BUILD THEM.  But in the end, even the classic Cinderella story can feel fresh and original when given an interesting twist.  For example, Gail Carson Levine gave the heroine of ELLA ENCHANTED the trait of having to obey every order. This fresh angle brought with it inherent conflict and gut emotional appeal.  

Not every great book will have an interesting nugget.  I took a few identifiers out of the following summary: A ten-year-old girl describes all the good things that happen to her in a new town because of her dog.  This sounds like pretty standard fare, but Kate DiCamillo's BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE was a Newbery Honor Book.  So great writing can attract attention for a project some people would dismiss as a dog story. The reverse isn't quite true. Donald Maass wrote the following: "I've received many a dynamite query letter only to be disappointed by the tinny cap-gun pop of a weak manuscript."  You can catch an editor's attention with a great nugget, but you can only keep it with solid writing and great characters.      
 
Kristin Wolden Nitz does a bad job of keeping up her blog from her home in Western Michigan because she'd rather work on her latest novel.

WERE YOU WONDERING...
Who are Your Regional Advisers and What Do They Do?
by Leslie Helakoski

The RAs for the Michigan chapter of SCBWI are Monica Harris and myself, Leslie Helakoski. When we agreed to take on this job last January, we thought we knew what we were getting into. Let's just say that our appreciation of past RAs has grown by leaps and bounds.
 
Monica has been a Michigan member of SCBWI for 13 years. She has published books in the educational, non-fiction and picture book markets as well as many articles and activities. I've been a member almost as long. I am a writer and illustrator and have published 6 picture books. Both of us have been part of the Michigan Advisory Committee (AdCom) for many years. We are in charge of the chapter's finances, overseeing and/or coordinating conferences, workshops, membership, newsletters, list-serve, and helping our members in many ways. But we could never do it all alone. SCBWI is blessed with AdCom and many volunteers to help with running this chapter.
 
What is AdCom and what do they do? The Advisory Committee is made up of Michigan volunteers who work with the RAs to run the chapter. These people make the work look easy but are the cogs that keep the wheels turning. They plan conferences, scout out locations, contact speakers, stuff folders, and much more. Their hard work does come with some benefits but they are asked for a 3-year commitment to the chapter. We meet several times a year and communicate continually with the wonder of email. Our members at this time are: Rachel Anderson, Janice Broyles, Randy Bulla, Julie Chase,Gail Flynn, Vicky Lorencen, Kris Remenar, and Jennifer Whistler.

We have several unseen wizards making the magic of Michigan SCBWI occur. Cecily Donnelly has been our newsletter designer. As most of you know, we are moving into electronic newsletters now. Kris Remenar is our newsletter editor, and Susi Walter is the assistant editor and Opportunities queen. Kristin Lenz handles the newsletter subscriptions. Diane Telgen is our Mistress of the Web. And Debbie Diesen and Liza Martz are our list-serve moderators. Monica and I both feel like we are the flying monkeys among these wizards. We are so thankful for their expertise.
 
If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to our chapter, please notify our volunteer coordinator, who also happens to be Monica Harris. (monicaharris24_AT_sbcglobal.net)

Hope to see you all at the next conference!

Leslie Helakoski is busy painting cows in Kalamazoo.




                                       Members enjoying Shutta's Schmooze!

OPPORTUNITIES

THE THREE FLAWS THAT AFFLICT MOST PICTURE BOOK GEMS
By Lisa Wheeler

HAVE YOU SEEN MY MUSE?
By Janice Broyles

TAKING A LEAP
By Kristin Lenz

PEACE, LOVE AND PUBLISHING:
NETWORKS WEEKEND 2010

KIDDIE LITTER
By Neal Levin