Archive for Robert Young

Open Mouth…

December 5, 2012 Writers No comments

Okay, so I get a little testy these days, trying to make my way through the underbrush of the publishing world. I quit SCBWI when their market reports sunk to the level of absurdity, mainly listing markets that were not open for submissions or open to submissions by writers who had jumped various hoops (e.g. met them at a conference, previously published with them, said the magic word). So, I took up with Children’s Writer, a newsletter of writing and publishing trends. They have a market report as well which, it seemed to me, was heading down the same useless path as SCBWI. As a result, I wrestled with the idea of renewing my subscription. After much thought, I decided to reup for one more year and see what happens. I also wrote a note describing my concern. Here’s the response I got:

Dear Mr. Young,
Thank you very much for your renewal, and for your note about Children’s Writer’s Marketplace section. I understand that finding open markets is a primary reason for subscribing to the newsletter. Seeing a newsletter publish information only about publishers that accept agented submissions would be extremely frustrating, but I would like to point out that Children’s Writer, and especially the Marketplace section, does far from that.

I took a few minutes to annotate the publishers we have included in for six months, since our August issue. As you will see in the list below, publishers that accept agented submissions are the exception rather than the rule in Marketplace.

While I believe that Children’s Writer has an obligation to report on major new publishers, even if limited to agented submissions, these make up a small percentage of those companies we list in Marketplace.

I hope the following is helpful to you, and that you find all of Children’s Writer informative and expansive. Thanks again for writing.

Sincerely,
Susan M. Tierney
Editor in Chief, Writer’s Institute Publications

August 2012 (21.1)
Write Integrity Press PITCH; NON-AGENTED
The Collaborative QUERY; NON-AGENTED AND AGENTED
Quirk Books QUERY; CHAPTERS. NON-AGENTED
Spaceports & Spidersilk COMPLETE MS. NON-AGENTED
Fun for Kidz NON-AGENTED
Pockets NON-AGENTED
Smart Pop Books QUERY, PROPOSAL. NON-AGENTED
Cool Well Press SYNOPSIS, MS. NON-AGENTED
Irene Goodman Literary Agency AGENT OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS
Merit Press Books HAD NOT ANNOUNCED AGENTED/NON-AGENTED POLICY
Wisdom Tales MANUSCRIPT. NON-AGENTED
AMP! Comics for Kids QUERY. NON-AGENTED

September 2012 (21.2)
Shadow Mountain QUERY, CHAPTERS. NON-AGENTED
namelos DOES EDITORIAL EVALUATIONS, CONSIDERS MSS FOR PUBLICATION. NON-AGENTED
P& R Publishing PROPOSAL. NON-AGENTED
Pajama Press PITCH. NON-AGENTED
Zumaya Publications QUERY, SYNOPSIS. NON-AGENTED
Blue Apple Books NEWS ON POLICY CHANGE; SHIFTED FROM OPEN TO UNSOLICITED TO AGENTED.
Star Bright Books QUERY OR MS. NON-AGENTED
Milkweed Editions SUBMISSIONS MANAGER. NON-AGENTED
Topaz Publishing SYNOPSIS, MS. NON-AGENTED

October 2012 (21.3)
August House PROPOSALS. NON-AGENTED
Mitchell Lane ASSIGNMENTS. SEND RESUME, SAMPLE. NON-AGENTED
Appleseeds QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Cobblestone QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Highlights Hello. IMPORTANT NEW PUBLICATION TO NOTE. NOT AS OPEN AS HIGHLIGHTS, WHICH IS COMPLETELY OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS.
Red Sofa Literary AGENT OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS.
Girlworks QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Youthlight QUERY. NON-AGENTED

November 2012 (21.4)
Home Education Magazine SEND ARTICLE
Aladdin AGENTED FOR MOST FICTION, BUT FOR SERIES — WORK-FOR-HIRE ASSIGNMENT, QUERY WITH TARGETED PROPOSAL, NON-AGENTED
Harper Voyager ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN OPEN PERIOD FOR UNAGENTED SUBMISSIONS
Spencer Hill Press QUERY PLUS 10 MS PAGES. NON-AGENTED
Blaze QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Beyond Centauri COMPLETE MS. NON-AGENTED
Common Call EMAIL FOR INFO. NEW RELIGIOUS MARKET THAT COVERS FAMILIES. NON-AGENTED
WebMD, the Magazine QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Times They Were A-Changing. CONTEST/COMPETITION FOR ANTHOLOGY. NON-AGENTED
B&H Kids NEWS OF COMPLETELY NEW CHILDREN’S IMPRINT. AGENTED
Seventeen. QUERY TO APPROPRIATE EDITOR. NON-AGENTED
Dramatics COMPLETE MS. NON-AGENTED
Triangle Square Editions/Seven Stories Press COVER LETTER AND SAMPLE CHAPTERS. NON-AGENTED

December 2012 (21.5)
Kathy Dawson Books, Penguin NEWS OF NEW IMPRINT AT MAJOR PUBLISHER. PENGUIN IMPRINTS ARE LARGELY OPEN TO UNSOLICITED QUERIES.
Turtle COMPLETE MS. NON-AGENTED
FamilyFun MAJOR ACQUISITION, OPEN IN SOME DEPARTMENTS TO SUBMISSIONS.
Quake/Echelon Press REOPENING TO SUBMISSIONS IN FEBRUARY. NON-AGENTED
Sterling Publishing, Splinter COMPLETE MS. NON-AGENTED
Poisoned Pencil MANUSCRIPTS. NON-AGENTED
Odyssey QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Keys for Kids MANUSCRIPTS NON-AGENTED
Flashlight Press QUERY. NON-AGENTED

January 2013 (21.5)
Ranger Rick, Jr. MAJOR NEW CHILDREN’S MAGAZINE ANNOUNCED. SEND RESUME FOR CONSIDERATION FOR WORK-FOR-HIRE ASSIGNMENTS.
Scarlet Voyage/Enslow NEW YA LINE ANNOUNCED. OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS — EAGER FOR THEM. NON-AGENTED.
Hunger Mountain OPEN TO MIDDLE-GRADE, YA SUBMISSIONS. NON-AGENTED.
McSweeney’s McMullen’s OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS. NON-AGENTED
Parents QUERY. NON-AGENTED
Poppy/Little, Brown STAFF CHANGES AT MAJOR YA PUBLISHER. AGENTED.
Carolrhoda SUBMISSIONS POLICY UPDATE. HAS PERIODIC OPEN CALLS. ALSO AGENTED.
Adams Media PROPOSALS. NON-AGENTED
Splashdown Books OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS. NON-AGENTED
Clarion Books COMPLETE MS. FOR FICTION; QUERY, SYNOPSIS, CHAPTERS FOR NONFICTION. NON-AGENTED
Children’s Book Press OPEN TO UNAGENTED SUBMISSIONS. QUERY, SYNOPSIS, OUTLINE.
Teen Vogue. QUERY WITH CLIPS. NON-AGENTED

Uh, okay, so maybe perception does not always equal reality. I sent a response this morning, which included an apology. Note to self: Focus on the positive, the viable options, the possibilities. They’re out there.

Book Choice – Plunked

November 12, 2012 Educators, Kids No comments

Plunked by Michael Northrup Scholastic, 2012 247 pages

If you have ever played baseball (and everyone has) at some point you had some anxiety about getting hit by a pitch (everyone does) hurtling through space at you at what seems like a thousand miles an hour, you can relate to this story. Jack Mogens is a sixth grader vying for the starting left field job on his Little League team. What starts as a little anxiety about getting plunked (hit) gets worse when he actually does get hit (in the head) and then again (in the ribs). Some kids don’t experiences like these, but what about Jack? Will he be able to get back into the batter’s box and feel good about himself and the game he loves? The book is a smooth, interesting read despite the daily details that slow it down. But then again, baseball has those moments too.

Book Choice – The Weirder The Better

November 12, 2012 Educators, Kids No comments

The Weirder The Better by Stasia Decker-Ahmed Black Heron Press, 2011 177 pages

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong? Jamie Smyth did. Maybe it was because she attended ten schools in seven years. When she starts middle school, though, she decides things would be different. So, she starts her own club of other kids who don’t fit in, including boys. It’s not easy for her, especially when the school principal targets Jamie and the group. The question for her becomes: “Is is worth it?” A good read, even for boys. Especially weird ones.

Marketing Site

November 7, 2012 Writers No comments

Looking to place your manuscript with a traditional publisher (yes, there are some left)? Check out this site: myperfectpitch.com. The site actually lists publishers who are open to unagented submissions. What a find! Let’s watch and see how often it’s updated.

The Magic of Nonfiction**

October 23, 2012 Educators 2 comments

And a hearty “thank you” to the dedicated Lane County (OR) educators who braved darkness and dampness to attend The Magic of Nonfiction** workshop last night in Eugene. I hope you have located the handouts on this site. I included a Survey handout as well because I like to periodically see how my students are thinking about themselves as writers. This is a quick/easy activity to do at the beginning and the end of the school year, and it can provide you with some valuable information.

Please let me know (by reply below or e-mail) if you would like me to post specific activities for books. I would be happy to do so. And, of course, these and all other handouts are open to all visitors of the website. Please note, though, that they’ll only be up for a limited time, so download at your earliest convenience. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about the handouts.

You’ll also see A.C. Gilbert handouts listed. One is a packet of activities that Karen Antikajian and I developed specifically to go along with my book: The Magic of A.C. Gilbert. The other is a Readers’ Theater script of the book. Sorry there were not enough A.C. books for those who wanted to buy one. If you contact me I’d be happy to get a signed copy to you.

If you think a workshop such as this (or on Common Core, Six Traits, assessment, writing workshop, or writing across the curriculum) would be helpful to your school or district, please pass along the Real Writing professional development flyer distributed last night to your administrator or staff planning team. Author visits, with an emphasis on curiosity and Faction writing, can also be arranged for this school year. Please pass that flyer along to your parent organization or other sponsoring group. Thank you!

Hope you enjoy the other offerings of the Emerald Empire Reading Council.

Road Trip 2012

October 4, 2012 Educators, Kids, Writers No comments

As if moving was not enough to keep me from “the pencil” add another interesting twist. My grown son has been on a work hiatus and doing a bit of traveling (Africa for four months). He had been living in San Diego for the past five years and I haven’t gotten to see him as much as I’d like, so when he returned from Africa and invited me on a cross-country road trip, I couldn’t resist.

So, for most of September I have been “on the road” from Oregon to Maine, exploring places I’ve never been (Yellowstone, Theodore Roosevelt national Park, Springfield, IL, Maine) and sharing places I’ve previously experienced (Black Hills, Gettysburg, NJ, NYC, Walden Pond). It was a blast and the time I spent with my son was filled with unforgettable moments.

But, what of the writing? The bottom line is simply that there is more to life to putting words on paper. That said, experiences form the basis of writing so I have many, many bases for doing additional works. Some have presented themselves directly; others with take time to bubble to the front of my mind. Other experiences will remain as such. And happily so.

You don’t always have to be scratching a pencil across a piece of paper or pounding away at a keyboard to be writing. Those are a necessary part of the process, for sure, but there’s always the planning stage and even the composing in your mind stage. I did a whole lot of both, believe me. And, I was greatly inspired by visits to the Kurt Vonnegut Library and Museum in Indianapolis as well as Walden Pond in Concord, MA.

Digging Out

August 8, 2012 Educators, Kids, Writers 3 comments

Okay, the move is done, the boxes are unpacked (or put into storage) and life resumes, but there’s lots different. Like waking up to see clouds embracing the hills, the lake shimmering, the birds playing. A mile away cars and trucks thread their way along the lakeside and remind me that people are going places and doing things. There’s work to be done.

And what of this writing work? It appears to have stopped for now, but it really hasn’t. It’s going on – all the time – in my head. Characters, plot points, curious topics to explore. All of them, in there somewhere. I just haven’t had the wherewithal to formalize them onto paper or the screen. Some of them will remain for the plucking, others will dissipate.

Looking forward to moving forward (not “moving” again!) back into the world of words.

A First!

June 20, 2012 Educators, Kids, Writers 7 comments

A writing milestone. My first book of fiction has now been published! Who Stinks? is picture book story about a bear who wakes up in the spring and smells something bad. Very bad. He stomps out of his cave and around the forest blaming everything he can find: a mouse, a snake, a blackbird, even a tree! In the end, it’s the wind who helps the bear discover who the culprit really is.

I wrote this story a while back – 1986. That’s twenty-six years ago! So, what’s taken so long for it to finally get published? Who knows? You can call it luck. Or timing. I think it was both those, plus a big dose of persistence. What else would make me keep sending it out all those years no matter how many rejection letters I got (and I got a WHOLE LOT!).

Some of the rejections had a personal spark to them (“a funny idea,” “good humor,” “we think kids would like it.”) and those helped me put it out to more than fifty publishers. My agent liked it and sent it to many more. A couple tastes, but no bites.

I could have just let it go, like I’ve done with so many other projects. But this book was different. And, I was getting positive feedback on it. Not just from editors, either. I created a large (11” x 17”) copy of the book, complete with illustrations I had done with the help from my five-year-old son. When I did author visits, I took the book along and read it to the kindergarten classes. The kids loved it, and the teachers would invariably say, “Why isn’t this published?” and I would reply, “I don’t know.”

And then there was the contest run by Writer’s Digest. I entered the story one year and was pleasantly surprised that it won third place in the Children’s Fiction division. Buoyed by that good news, I started sending it out to publishers once more. And again, no luck.

In 2011 I hooked up with E-Readia to digitize another book I had written. The publisher was excited about my work and asked about other titles I had available. Enter Who Stinks? He loved it, maybe as much as I did. No, of course not. Who could? But he liked it enough to offer a contract and an illustrator. Deal!
Since the signing, the children’s book part of the company has become Bushbaby Press (www.bushbaby.com).

So, what have I learned from this 26 year experience? Nothing profound, really. I already knew that persistence can pay off, I was aware that the market changes over time, and I had lots of experiences in frustration dealing with publishers. The most important thing I got from this experience is the idea that if you write something you like, do something with it, even if publishers don’t want to partner with you. In this case, I created my own copy of the book (complete with amateur home-made illustrations) and shared it with lots of kids. And they liked it! So, to have his book actually published by a real publisher is just the icing on the cake.

I’ll enjoy the icing.

In Touch

May 23, 2012 Educators, Writers No comments

It’s not always easy staying in touch with your audience. It used to be, when I was teaching in the classroom everyday. Even when I worked as a language arts specialist I’d spend time in classrooms, doing model lessons and working with kids. Now I’m retired. Luckily, I volunteer. It’s a win-win the way I see it. The class wins because I help encourage and support their writing efforts. I win because I am able to stay in touch with my audience.

Today during my visit to the fourth grade classroom where I volunteer, I’ll be surveying the class. Ill be asking the kids what they worry about, at school, at home, and out in the world. This will be the latest version of the survey that I’ve done over the years. It’ll be fun to see if there are trends. Do kids tend to be concerned about the same types of things over time? How do worries change?

The results will be of interest to me, however they come out. I may use insights for writing. I’m thinking of a not-so-super hero story or series that would address some of the common problems kids have and worry about. Why not-so-super? I think it would add a bit more realism and humor, and I think kids could better relate to a more vulnerable character. Still not sure; lots of thoughts twirling and tumbling. And that’s half the fun!

Saving / Throwing

May 3, 2012 Educators, Writers 2 comments

Getting ready to move. I’ve lived in this home for twenty-seven years and have twenty-seven years worth of stuff to go through. Or, I guess I could just take it all and make it easier. No, this is the perfect time to edit and revise my life.

Furniture, clothes, books, files. I’m looking over them all, making decisions to carry or cut. None of it is easy, but the hardest is deciding which files to take.

I’ve got thirty years worth of work here (yes, I brought some with me from the last place I lived). I have copies of all my works, and although I have been lucky to have had more than twenty books published, I have many more that are not published. Do I keep them and keep trying? Or, dump them and move on?

In 1986 I wrote a picture book called Who Stinks? It’s about a bear who wakes up in the spring and smells something bad. Very bad. Readers follow the bear as he moves out of his cave and into the forest, blaming every creature he comes across for emitting that noxious smell. In the end, the bear discovers who it is, much to his chagrin.

I sent that story to about fifty publishers, and all rejected it. My agent sent it out to numerous others, and the result was the same. I left the manuscript alone for several years, and then started sending it out again. Last year, I finally found a home for the book: Bushbaby Press.

Along the road to publication, I kept all the rejection letters and postcards as well as the few personal responses I received. I wanted to rejoice in them when (not if!) the book got published. Well, I’ve done that now so I guess I can recycle that file.

But it’s not quite so easy. And neither is dumping so much of the other files I’ve built over the years. Here’s the way I’m looking at it, though. I can either hang onto all the stuff from the past, or I can make space – in my head as well as the file drawers – for future projects.

Now, it’s not going to be so hard after all…

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