Part 2 - Cheryl Klein (Second Sight Giveaway)

Last week, Cheryl Klein stopped by to talk about her new book, Second Sight, An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults.

Part 1 aired last Thursday.

This week, in Part 2, Cheryl talks more about the editing side of her career.

Let's get started.

Cheryl, in addition what are the top 3 reasons you reject a book?

Not necessarily in order:

1. I don’t find the characters or their conflicts all that interesting.

2. The narrative voice annoys me, and therefore I don’t want to spend two years listening to it. (Most likely because of broadcasting, as above.)

3. It isn’t something that I think I can publish effectively, either because I don’t think it’s very good, or because there are a lot of books like it already in the market, or because it’s not really an Arthur A. Levine Books type of book (meaning it will do better published as something other than a literary hardcover book).

Can you give us an idea of day in the life of Cheryl Klein?

I get up between 7 and 8, do all the typical morning stuff, take the B train from my neighborhood in Brooklyn to the Broadway-Lafayette stop in Manhattan, and arrive at the office by 9:30, where I have a cup of tea and check my e-mail. I deal with any fires there, then try to turn to the first thing on my to-do list—whether it’s negotiating a contract (which can involve a lot of talking to other departments) or writing flap copy or preparing for a presentation or line-editing a manuscript or examining proofs.

The day then alternates among those tasks, attending meetings, and continuing to deal with what comes in from our production department or over the phone or e-mail—though when I’m in the middle of a novel line-edit, that tends to subsume everything else for me, because I find the work so interesting and absorbing, and because line-edits take a while.

The last thing I do every night at work is write my to-do list for the next day, so that I have my priorities set and ready to go the next morning.

There are so many books on writing out there. What is your favorite book on plot? How about voice? (besides your own of course :)

My favorite book on voice, by far (and character, too), is Orson Scott Card’s Characters and Viewpoint.

The book on plot from which I’ve learned the most is Aristotle’s Poetics, which I read for the first time in college, but I was really lucky to have a great professor teaching me the significance of all the jargony theoretical statements in the book (the edition we read, anyway).

I also like The Fiction Editor by Thomas McCormack, which is also jargony, but says some really useful things about the larger points toward which plots should work.

What is the one piece of advice you would give a writer who keeps getting so close but doesn't make it?

Figure out what (1) your two greatest writerly strengths, (2) your favorite subject to read about, and (3) your two biggest weaknesses as a writer are.

Develop (do not yet start actually writing) a book that uses (1) to portray (2) and minimize (3). For instance, if you know your strengths are awesome characters and dialogue, and your favorite subject is romance, but you’re terrible at plotting and creating tension, come up with your awesome characters, but put them in a simple story that doesn’t involve a lot of tension—a love story with a straightforward central conflict that lets the characters do their thing.

Then get help with (3) to improve it as much as you can before you dive in; then write the book and revise it.

And have fun. When writers have fun, readers do too.

In the spirit of Actor's Studio, here a few questions for you. We'll call it Editors's Studio. First, what is your favorite word?

My boyfriend will tell you the word I say the most is “Meh” or “Feh.” The word whose sound I like the most . . . I’ve always been fond of “spackle.”

Wait, is that a word? :) Okay, how about the word you hate the most?

Hmm. Soundwise, I think I must have blocked this offending word from my mind, because I can’t think of one! Meaningwise, “failure.”

What is your favorite thing to do in your personal time (you cant say reading! :)

I love cooking and baking—the absorption of putting all these ingredients together in just the right quantities, the ability to listen to music or NPR while I work, the deliciousness that results, the pleasure of serving it to others (sometimes!) and eating it.

And lastly, what profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

In the realm of reality, I think I really would enjoy being a professional baker. In fantasy, I’d love to sing and dance in a Broadway musical. Both of those professions are about being part of a community and making other people happy through your work, and those are two of my greatest satisfactions in being an editor, too.

Thanks Cheryl!

Comment and your name will be entered into a drawing for a copy of Second Sight by Cheryl Klein.

The Bookanistas love Cheryl Klein's new book, Second Sight

Cheryl Klein stops by to talk about her new book - Second Sight, An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults.

For those of you who have not heard Cheryl speak - I'm sorry :( because you are missing out. The woman is brilliant and every time we talk, I have so many "aha" moments.

I've had the pleasure of being on faculty with Cheryl and she was as fun and engaging as she is smart.

A personal tidbit I learned - she loves music. Like goes to concerts all the time. That's how cool she is.

Anyway, never fear, now all of her best, amazing talks are in this book.

This will be a 2- part interview with a giveaway on Part 2.

Hi Cheryl, tell us about yourself.

Hi Shelli. I’m a narrative nerd of long standing: I love stories of all kinds—true, false, books, film, theatre, biographies, for children, for adults—and thinking about how a good story works or why the bad ones don’t. I’m lucky enough to get to work with lots of brilliant writers and stories in my job as a senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. And I have a book coming out that brings together all the writing I’ve done over the years about plots, character, voice, and all those other great components of written stories. The title is Second Sight: An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults, but thinking about it now, I really could have called it The Collected Narrative Dorkery of Cheryl Klein.

What made you finally decide to do this book (besides all the begging we have done!)

Ever since I started putting a good number of my writing talks on my website, people had been asking me when I was going to publish a real book on writing. And while I love editing other people’s books, I thought it sounded pretty awesome to have a whole book of my own.

You talk a lot about plotting in this book. What do you find is the biggest problem writers have with plotting?

The writers are so close to the characters and understand so much of their backstory and thoughts that actions and plot developments that seem hugely significant to them (“them” meaning “the characters and writers”) only make the reader say “Um, what just happened there . . . ?” A lot of the work I do with my authors focuses on building in the backstory and character development that makes the action in the book matter as much to the reader as it does to the writer.

I've heard you say voice is so critical to you loving a book. What do you find is the biggest problem writers have with voice?

I’d say it’s either that the voice isn’t distinctive—that it sounds like a hundred other narrative voices already out there, with no particular personality or beauty to distinguish it from anything else; or that the voice too-obviously broadcasts everything the character is feeling, oncoming plot developments, other characters’ true natures, etc., etc., without regard for proper pacing of the information or emotional flow.

The book touches on how to write from various POVs. What can a writer do to write an effective 3rd person vs 1st person character?

A first-person narrator has to do three things effectively: (1) tell the story; (2) be believable and compelling as the voice of that particular character; and (3) bring a personality and richness to the story beyond mere factual narration—some imagination, charm, or elegance. In third person, (2) is removed, so all the voice has to do is tell the story well.

==================

Was this enough for you? No? Cheryl will be back Monday with Part 2 - talk about a cliffhanger :)

In the meantime, what questions do you have for Cheryl?

Check out the other Bookanista posts:

Elana Johnson shares her love for Like Mandarin

Christine Fonseca purrs over Save the Cat

LiLa Roecker is sweet on Like Mandarin

Carolina Valdez Miller gushes over Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Bethany Wiggins is enchanted by My Fair Godmother

Carrie Harris falls for Head Games

Rosemary Clement Moore travels Across the Universe

Katie Anderson goes Retro

Corrine Jackson celebrates Where She Went

Stasia Ward Kehoe sings about The Mockingbirds

Marvelous Marketer: Sara Lewis Holmes (Operation Yes)

Hi Sara, thanks for stopping by. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi Shelli, I'm the author of two middle grade novels, LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL, which is about a real girl who writes letters as if she were Rapunzel locked in a tower, and OPERATION YES, which was released last fall from Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic.

OPERATION YES has little green army men on the cover, and yes, it's about military families, but it was also recently named as one of Booklist's Top Ten Arts Books for 2009. I'm tickled that I managed to write a book about two important influences in my life: being part of an Air Force family and my secret history as a high school theater geek.

A lot of authors do blogs but your blog seems to focuses more on Poetry, which is a great blog niche. Was that a conscious decision or did it just evolve?

I jumped into the blog world on a Poetry Friday with a post called Enter (in which I confessed to my fear of that awful exam word: "begin.") Poetry continues to be one of my favorite ways to enter into and connect with the larger online community. Anyone can play! Poetry is a language; when we speak it, it's hard to stay solitary.

On a related note, I was surprised to learn that my Poetry Friday posts helped confirm my editor's interest in acquiring Operation Yes---even though the book is not poetry. She wrote about the decision process at Scholastic's On Our Minds blog; it's a fantastic window into how editors might look at an author's online presence.

Speaking of online, a coupe months ago, you and your editor, Cheryl Klein, did a live twitter chat together. How did you come up with the idea ?

Cheryl was active on Twitter before I was. She inspired me to open an account and try the crazy thing, and then to go one step further and attempt a chat in real time. Both of us thought the improvisational theater angle of Operation Yes was a great fit for the medium---emphasizing the creative back-and-forth of a live, on-going conversation with audience participation.

Of course, once I agree to chat, I had to learn how to do it! I listened in on several Twitter conversations, then begged Gregory Pincus for help. He made me wise to hashtags and the TweetChat application and Twitter transcripts and generally how not to mess it up. Thank you, Greg!

After the chat, I used some of the material to write several more blog posts, on The Emotional Argument for the Arts in Schools and Spine and Form in Structuring a Novel.

One thing I tend to forget about marketing/publicity efforts: there's ALWAYS follow-up. Sometimes, you create your own, as in those subsequent blog posts and in archiving the Twitter Chat transcript and in hosting a book give-away. Sometimes, if your marketing is successful, there are external responses: emails to answer, and offers to visit a school or teach a class, or even interviews (like this one!) So budget time for follow up; don't be surprised by the amount of "afterwards" to a marketing effort.

Cheryl interviewed here about marketing and is very active in social networking with her blog and Twitter. How important do you think it is to have an editor/agent that is actively involved in social networking? Does it help your book marketing?

Cheryl's blog is her personality in digital form: passionate, well-spoken, and packed with an inordinate amount of practical and inspiring advice for writers. She has a huge following, both at Brooklyn Arden and on Twitter, so that exposure naturally spills over to the books she edits, like my Operation Yes.

Her post on writing the flap copy for Operation Yes, for instance, was terrifically informative in its own right, but in reading it, a person would also get a clear picture of my book and why they might want to read it. I think the combination of a peek into publishing's inner secrets matched organically with a specific writer's work is marketing magic. The how and the why and the what of a book combine to tell the story of why you should care. That's marketing to me.

In addition to the chat and Skype tours, what are a few creative things you have done to market your books?

Do push-ups count? I do them at signings and school visits. Not just because I can :) but because I love reading the scene in Operation Yes when Miss Loupe surprises her class by getting down and "giving them ten."

I also built a website dedicated to Operation Yes and held a jody call contest for the book launch. That was awesome, especially when one teacher told me you could hear her class out in the hallway, practicing the jody call she wrote!

In addition, I hired a teacher (and former military kid), Natalie Lorenzi, to write a book guide for me. She included improv theater activities for every chapter, which is incredibly fun. I offer it as a free download at my blog and website.

As an author, what book publicity advice can you offer for upcoming authors?

First? Listen to your publishing house's marketing geniuses. They do know what they're doing, and they work best when kept in the loop. (Thank you, Becky at Scholastic, for everything you do and the enthusiasm and grace with which you do it.)

Second, turn the question of marketing around. Ask not what the world can do for your book, but what your book can do for the world. (Apologies to President Kennedy.) I'm impressed by authors who tie their book launches to the larger community. See Mitali Perkins "Celebrating Girl Power" posts for the paperback release of The Secret Keeper for a great example.

I would add that it's enlightening to discover what makes your own heart pause and take a second look at an ad, a book cover, a blog post, a Twitter chat, or an interview. People ignore marketing campaigns every single day. Paying attention is the exception, so if you're engaged by someone's book promotion, ask yourself why. Plan and improvise from there.

Thanks Sara!

Thanks Shelli!

The Magic of a Southern Breeze

NOTE: Fabulous Follower Winner Prizes went out today. I'm working packaging up the Mardi Gras Prizes tomorrow and will email you when it goes out!

This past weekend I went to the Spring Mingle for the Southern Breeze Region (SCBWI). It was here in Atlanta.

I must say at first I was not sure if I was going to go. I had alot of things I needed to do and I did not know if I could handle a weekend of writing. In a way, I felt like I needed a weekend - away from writing.

Not to mention, my "normal" possee was not going. I was going this one alone. Don't get me wrong, I knew people there and love everyone in my Region. But having the comfort of a few girls that know me, my journey, and my deepest fears and dreams is nice when you enter a room of 150 people.

I'm not very good in a large room. I'm a bit shy, definitely an introvert, and I really stink at small talk. I usually resort to bad jokes and probably put my foot in my mouth at least twice.

I'll even tell you all a secret.

Part of me kinda wondered if I would learn much. I mean, I have an agent so the agent talk would probably not apply to me and wondered if the sessions would help me at the stage I'm at in my writing process. (this embarressing because I have so much to learn! I dont' know what I was thinking~)

Anyway, I went to Springmingle.

And am so glad I did.

I think the BEST thing about the conference was hanging out and getting to know Jennifer Jabaley and Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. These girls are definately soul sisters of mine (I hope they thin so :). I adore them and can't wait to see them again. They made me laugh, listened as I cried, and gave me advice and words of encouragement that I needed at this stage in my writing journey. I felt like I had known them for years and found myself sharing things that I NEVER share with anyone outside my normal friend circle. (and most of my friends have known me for at least 10 years.) If I'd hung out with my normal "crew" - I would have missed kicking off these great friendships. And that would have been a true loss. Check out Kristin (author of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different) at her blog/twitter and Jennifer (author of Lipstick Apology) at her blog!

I also hung some other great people. Karen Strong, Sheri Dillard, and Heather Montgomery (who knows everything there is to know about how to be safe during a earthquake!!)

The next thing that was Sooooo worth it was meeting and hearing Josh Adams from Adams Literary. He was funny and open and shared some secrets to agenting that helped me feel even more confident in my agent and her process. It also gave me critical insight into the submission/agenting/publishing world that we writers don't get to see very often. If any of you are looking for an agent, be sure to read what he is looking for and query him because he rocks!!! (from what I can tell, he also kicks ass and takes names for his clients).

Another highlight was seeing Cheryl Klein again. I was on faculty with her at MidSouth in the fall and had dinner/drinks with her. For those who don't know who she is...she is the continuity editor at Arthur Levine for Harry Potter. Not only is she the sweetest but she is BRILLIANT! She talked on the 22 steps to revising that gave so many great suggestions (and a few crazy ones :) - that my head was spinning. I had to skip the next session because I was going through my book in my head and figuring out more things I wanted to start working on. She also did an amazing discussion on character development. Check out her amazing talks and blog!

And then of course, Jane Yolen, bestselling author of Owl Moon and How Do Dinosaur Say Good Night? She is funny and brilliant and honest. But most of all, she is real and tells it how it is. She had ridiculous insight into the industry and a perspective that only someone who has been in the industry over 30 years could, which I guess is why her blog is called Telling The Truth.

For those of you who have not joined SCBWI, you are truly missing out on a great experience, on great friends, on learning more than you can imagine, and on finding a place where you truly belong. With writers. Writers at every stage. Writers that care about you. Writers that love books. When you walk into an SCBWI conference, it is a pool of magic.

Marvelous Marketer: Cheryl Klein (Senior Editor, Arthur Levine Books)

Hi Cheryl. Thank you so much for stopping by. Can you tell everyone a little about yourself and your publishing career?

Shelli, thanks for inviting me to be interviewed on Market My Words!

I’m a senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic, where I started my career as Arthur’s editorial assistant in 2000. We publish hardcover literary fiction and nonfiction for readers from picture book age through YA. I’ve worked on everything from translations of Swedish picture books to the last three books of the Harry Potter series to American debut novels—an endlessly fascinating mix that I really enjoy.

In 2009, two of the books I edited won ALA awards: A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce won the William Morris Award for a YA Debut Novel, and Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano, took the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for translation.

In 2005, I rejuvenated my blog and then joined Twitter midway through last year. Both of those feature a miscellany of my personal and professional interests—movie reviews, interviews with my authors, videos I like, advice on submissions, you name it. My dedicated editorial website includes many of my past talks for SCBWI conferences. Arthur A. Levine Books has an imprint website and we Twitter our news at @AALBooks.


I am an avid reader of your blog due to how much craft and promotion advice you give to writers. In your opinion, what are a few things authors can do to promote their book?

I think every author should have a website, to provide a space for readers, teachers, and librarians who love their book to find out more about the book and contact the author. Websites are even more of a must for illustrators; when I receive a striking sample from an artist or see a picture book I like, then I often want to check out the illustrator’s website to see what other work s/he’s done.

Authors/illustrators should also collect and keep the e-mail addresses and/or postal addresses of everyone with whom they come in contact in relation to their book – people who write them fan mail, independent booksellers who feature it in their newsletters, kids who send them questions for their school reports, even blog reviewers who say one nice thing in an otherwise negative review. Then, when the author has a new book available, s/he should coordinate with the publisher to send out an e-mail blast or postcards and let those people know the book is out there.

Finally, authors should always be on the lookout for niche markets and publications to which their book might appeal. Because Elizabeth C. Bunce’s A Curse Dark as Gold was a Rumplestiltskin retelling set in a woolen mill, Elizabeth and I worked with her excellent publicist on a special mailing to fairy-tale and needlecraft publications, letting them know the book was available and highlighting the ways it might speak to their readers. While any efforts like this should always be coordinated with the publishing house, they can be very useful in breaking a book out in specialized and nontraditional publicity markets.

After that . . . honestly, I feel there are very few “musts” for every author, as everything greatly depends upon the author’s strengths and interests. If an author is temperamentally or socially inclined to blog or Twitter, then it’s wonderful to have them out there, participating in the conversation. But authors who aren’t so inclined certainly don't have to, as it can easily sound forced and fake and end up being a turnoff to the very readers we’re trying to attract.


I know you are heavily involved in the conversation online about writing and publishing. Why do you think being online and social networking is so important?

I think social networking platforms can be very useful, but they’re not essential. If you’re a social person with a decent number of friends and connections (even just old acquaintances from high school), and you can use those networks to inform your connections of your new book, then they’re fantastic. . . . Friends on Facebook from my high school class have told me they’re planning to buy my book, and most of them aren’t even interested in writing for children! But again, if you aren’t inclined to be on or not actively participating in such a network, then it probably isn’t going to be very useful to you in book promotion.


You and Arthur Levine appear to be involved in your author's publicity (He even dyed his beard pink for Laini Taylor's award event! :) How do you help your authors and what do you expect them to do on their own?

Arthur A. Levine Books has consistently gone the extra mile for its authors. When we publish an international book, we often reach out to the consulate from the author’s home country to see if they might collaborate with us on promoting the book here; these efforts have resulted in an exhibition at the New York Public Library featuring the art from our Swedish book The Red Bird, and ALA appearances from several Dutch and Flemish authors, among other things. My blog frequently features Q&As with authors or behind-the-scenes essays about the books I edit.

This last fall, my author Sara Lewis Holmes and I did a shared chat on Twitter about her book Operation Yes; you can see the transcript and I hope to do more of those in the future.

Scholastic has a terrific marketing and publicity department that enthusiastically supports all of our books and authors. We hope an author will set up a website for their book; will be available for school visits and media, as appropriate; and will give us a good list of contacts, as mentioned above. (Some media outlets and booksellers may be more appropriate for us to contact; some might be better for the author to contact.)


When evaluating whether to take on an author or book, do you ever Google them to see if they already have a web presence or platform?

Yes, absolutely! I’m always interested to see where an author’s name turns up, what those reveal about his or her background or interests, and how his or her personality comes through in writing not for official publication. I wrote about how this influenced my decision to acquire Sara Lewis Holmes', Operation Yes.

For those interested in submitting to me, my interests and submissions guidelines are available at my website.

SCBWI Midsouth Conference (Part 2 of 2)

Cheryl Klein - Character Development (BTW she posts all of her talks on her web site.

"Your characters should literally change the world, especially the one you created."

Know the point of your book and who is your reader.

Once you know that - everything should support and not detract from that purpose and readership

Ask yourself "What am I trying to do here?"

ESSENSE OF CHARACTERS

1. Figure out the facts of your character - age, gender, social status, marital status, where do they live.
2. Know their Internal qualities - personality traits, ethics, values, morals, self awareness. Look for qualities that can be contradictory to cause conflict.
3. Create external qualities - appearance, descriptions, how they see the world or other people. If you use first person - know what she sees in others. manner of speaking (mannerisms), set your character apart with a few characteristics (nose tapping, rub hair across lips when they think). Watch people around you.
4. History or backstory - you need to know it even if you don't tell or show it. Only use the things that are relevant to the story. (is if it is a book about competitive nature, tell us her volleyball scores etc). You need to know backstory between characters too. If she has a best friend - how long, why, how are they together.

Every story should have a "tater tot" moment - where something happens to begin the sympathy.

ACTION

1. Desire - what a character wants. create double desire - a conflict between two wants where they have to choose one over the other. which one is more important and what is the consequence of going against the other one.
2. Attitude/Energy - how do they relate to others, life, a situation, death, fights etc. are they an optimist or pessimist? Try journaling as the character to find voice. Must balance + and - energy -For example: the pessimist girl who is funny. The optimist who is annoying. Create a story conversation - a) what is said, b) what is unsaid, c) what can't be said.
3. Action - Desire plus attitude. if a character has a desire there must be follow through that is relevant to book. plunk character down in different situations in your mind to decide what they would DO in that situation. Lack of action from a protagonist is one of the top 10 reason why she rejects manuscripts. either its impossible to accomplish or she wont do anything. There must be a reason for inaction.

You must increase the "action quotient" - the reader must see things happen. 1) character can act out against something 2) add in desire where she can take action. (lisa yee does a good job)

3 questions to answer:
1) what keeps him alive?
2) what is his pain?
3) what is his name?

Every character is a hero in their own story.

Secondary characters must not be over played. They must be relevant to the story and plot. If there is not a need - don't use them.

most important elements are - honesty (must be honest with what happens) and time (must be the proper pacing)

let characters words and actions speak for themselves. Try not to stop them. Wind your characters up and let them go. You are not your characters' mother. You are their observer. Allow them to make mistakes and suffer the appropriate consequence.

Cheryl loves characters that make mistakes and show pain.

Activity - character outlines

• boy or girl
• Male of female
• age
• what is the family like?
• where do they live?
• what is their name?
• what are the internal qualities? external?
• what keeps him alive?
• How are they emotionally interesting?
• what is their pain?
• what do they want?
• what is their attitude?

6 strategies

1. make characters new
2. give character a cause
3. take action and show energy
4. put them in anticipated pain
5. surround with unlikeable characters
6. be able to feel with and kill your character at any moment. don't get too attached so that you hold them back.

Caroline Cooney - write at full speed

writing activity - write without thinking.

• use pen and paper - not computer. because you always have 10 minutes somewhere
• fill out the character outline above....
• write a line about setting
• write a sentence about character
• bring in another character
• bring in conflict
• change their location
• what do they see?
• write first sentence to 2nd chapter.

writing tips

• Everyone can write a page a day
• next day - reread what you wrote
• write while you are in car waiting
• answer who, what , where , when and why at everything to dig deeper into story
• every sentence should give you another one

It was fabulous!