Elise Parsley’s Four Leaf Clover

“. . . I imagine that every now and then a book is picked up by a prestigious New York agent and sold to a prestigious New York publisher, but it is statistically akin to finding a four leaf clover. On the banks of the Dead Sea. In July.”
~Ann PatchettTHIS IS THE STORY OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE

E4Elise Parsley found a four-leaf clover.
On the banks of Medicine Lake.
In November.

Metaphorically speaking.

Her book was picked up by the prestigious New York agency, Writers House, by their prestigious West Coast agent, Steven Malk, and sold to the prestigious New York publisher, Little, Brown and Company.

And, incidentally, Elise lives near Medicine Lake. And this all happened in November

Even better than a four-leaf clover, Elise received a three-book contract. Now she and her work are hot topics for blogger friends like me; literary magazines like Publishers Weekly; and  sweet tweets like Steven Malk’s December 17th and January 15th entries.

However, don’t let this lucky clover analogy give you the wrong impression.  As Elise’s critique partner and friend, I can attest that no one worked harder or possessed more talent and determination to find success.

THE ELUSIVE FOUR LEAF CLOVER
HOW ELISE PARSLEY FOUND HERS AND WHAT SHE’S DOING NOW

1. When you developed your upcoming book, what did your creative process look like? For example, how did you decide what art medium to use? What came first: the protagonist or the plot; the title or the ending; the illustrations or the text?

Elise P“I actually came up with an image of the story’s antagonist first. I drew a classroom scene with a hulking alligator that happens to be dodging blame for tossing a paper airplane. I put the piece together to give my portfolio some fresh work before an SCBWI conference. After I drew that image, I figured I should have a good reason for an alligator hanging out in a classroom full of small children, so I developed the protagonist (the kid taking the blame) and created the story. The title came long before the ending. I love thinking up book titles. They’re so full of promise!

For this book, I’ll be creating the art using a digital tablet and Photoshop. I fell in love with digital painting shortly after graduating college and have been exploring it ever since.

2. What is your favorite part of the process, writing or illustrating? And why?

“My favorite part is when I’ve developed the writing enough to begin work on the images. The images fill in so many blanks and add a lot of punch lines, and it’s always satisfying to see the text and art paired together, rather than just mentally picturing it. I spend a lot of time snickering to myself before I get the pictures hammered out. Once they’re developed, I make my husband and critique group look at them to see if they’ll snicker too. Sometimes they do! And sometimes they give each other side looks and I can hear crickets chirping. That’s when I know my work is falling flat.”

3. How many drafts do you typically write before you feel a manuscript or dummy book is ready for submission?

“I don’t think I have a typical number yet (and probably never will). I kept track of at least 25 drafts for ALLIGATOR. But then there were various drafts of the storyboard and dummy after that, and I didn’t keep track of those numbers.”

4. What advice would you give writers and illustrators who are just starting out on the road toward publication?

Elise

Seriously? Your critique friends give each other side looks, Elise? They sound like losers. Hee. Hee.

“That’s a good one. Hmm. Well, you should definitely read a lot of books in your intended age range (we’re talking several gazillion, including the classics and the stuff hot off the presses). Also, you should make an effort to spend time with kids in that age range.

When it comes down to the work, it’s important to realize that it’s work. I would encourage writers and illustrators to be very intentional about creating time to do that work and set some office hours. Become part of a regular critique group (or two or three) if you can. A good critique group will give you fresh perspectives and ask valuable questions to push your story and characters. It’s also important to be on the lookout for ways to learn more and practice your craft. Continuing education can include (but is not limited to) signing up for an art or writing class (or degree!), attending writing/illustrating conferences (e.g. SCBWI conferences), and self-study (books, tutorials, etc.).”

5. How did you celebrate your three-book contract?

“When it was all said and done, my husband made me a tuna fish sandwich. It was delicious, and probably the only normal thing that happened that week.”

6. When will we see your books on bookstore shelves? And what are you working on now?

“Magnolia and her alligator will hit shelves in the fall of 2015. Stay tuned for more details! Besides Magnolia’s story, I’m working here and there on a new piece that takes place among a lot of snow and ice and cold (thanks, Minnesota winter, for your constant inspiration in that area).”

7. If you could be a children’s book character, which character would it be, and why?

Wouldn't it rock to have Elise Parsley for a mom?

Wouldn’t it rock to have Elise Parsley for a mom?

Shucks, right now I’d have to say I’m aiming to be as awesome as Clementine’s parents in Sara Pennypacker’s series (you know, the CLEMENTINE books.) They seem like such a great pair who know how to set limits for their creative and hilarious kid, but they also know when to let her creativity roam free. I hope I’m half as cool as them when I’m a parent!

 

Thanks, Elise.
And congratulations to a talented and deserving writer  and illustrator. You’re the best!
Anna Marras

2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference-Part III

MichellePoploff“Write about your histories!”

During her presentation, “The Write Place at the Write Time”, Michelle Poploff urged Iowa SCBWI Conference attendees to put  historical fiction on our to-write lists. She motivated us by sharing the process toward publication of successful  Delacorte Press’ historical fiction novels; among them, Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard, Running Out of Night by Sharon Lovejoy (to be published in 2014).

Finding Your Voice

IA SCBWI 2013

Later Poploff emceed the “Finding Your Voice” portion where attendees whose names were drawn read the first 500 words of their manuscript and provide on-line elevator pitch synopses. This was my favorite part of the conference because it gave writers the opportunity to shine. They shared their words with the rhythm and inflections they envisioned. Most of them had wrung these words out of their minds onto paper through blood, sweat, and tears. Now they were able to share their bounty with other sweaty, bloody, teary-eyed writers. The exercise enabled writers to be heard. That’s what all writers want.

 Publication Teamwork

Jan Blazanin and Allison Remcheck

Jan Blazanin and Allison Remcheck

JanBlazaninAllisonRemcheck


Christine Kettner, Art Director, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Illustrator Jennifer Black Reinhardt, walked us through the journey of making  middle grade novel The Adventures of A Southpole Pig. On the other end of the spectrum, Allison Remcheck, Assistant to Rosemary Stimola, and Jan Blazanin, Iowa author and Young Adult Mentor, gave us an inside look at Blazanin’s successful query letter to the Stimola Literary Studio, how she snagged the agency to represent her, and how Stimola, Remcheck, and Blazanin became an effective team.

I’m the poster child for the artistically-challenged, but both road-to-publication re-enactments were equally fascinating. Unless you know a published author, illustrator, agent, or editor personally, you can’t get this inside information without attending a conference. I’ll share some choice tidbits:

  • Directors, agents, and editors’ inboxes are swamped, so make your email query subject line stand out.
  • Don’t put all of your eggs in one manuscript. Your first manuscript may not be the manuscript that gets published.
  • Read as many books as possible in your intended genre.
  • Never pay someone to read your work for representation.
  • Self-publishing may sabotage your chances of being published later.

The Story Only You Can Tell

Joanna Cardenas, Assistant Editor, Viking, Penguin Group, USA, presented “Mastering the Deceptively Simple Art of the Picture Book” and “Author as Self-Promoter”. In picture books, she looks for humor, clever dialog, a memorable plot, and a distinct point of view. She wants to read the story that only you can tell. She quoted Leonard Marcus: “Picture books are stories told in two languages–text and art.”

A sampling of Cardenas’ self-promoting tips:

  • Publishers rarely can afford to offer book tours anymore, so you will need to do a lot of footwork yourself.
  • A website is key, but starting social media and not keeping up can hurt you. (Now she tells me.)
  • Teachers can help others discover your book.
  • Pool your efforts with other authors.
  • Offer workshops for kids that pertain to your work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post-view of the 2013 IA SCBWI Conference. Maybe I’ll meet you there in person next year. (Remind me to take more pictures in 2014.)

2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference Photos

2013 IA SCBWI Conference-Part II

Louise650

First Pages practice
On the pitcher’s mound: Louise Aamodt

If you’re a children’s book writer, one of the best ways to hone your craft is to attend your regional Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conferences. For instance: the 2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference offered a variety of hands-on manuscript development opportunities:

  • Roundtable Peer Critiques
  • First Page Readings
  • Manuscript Reviews

Roundtable Peer Critiques

Conference peer reviews provide fresh, unbiased feedback for our work-in-progress. Also, they widen our circle of writing friends, broaden our view of the world, and challenge us to write at a higher level.

For the peer critiques Iowa SCBWI Assistant Regional Advisor Lisa Morlock divided the manuscripts by genre, then she organized us into groups of four or five. Lisa emailed the manuscripts to each pertaining group member so we could review and print critiques (or bring them in e-form) before the conference.

Accomplished author Sharelle Byars Moranville facilitated my group, which consisted of three other chapter book and middle grade novelists. To top off the great advice we received from one another, she suggested we give all characters a crucible moment;  deliver the empathy-building essence of our protagonists; and strategically plan for pivotal stepping moments at the quarter point, the mid point, and the three-quarter point of our manuscripts before tying it up with that satisfying ending.

Elevator pitch practice Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

Elevator pitch practice
Up to bat: Alicia Schwab

First Page Readings

Michelle Poploff, Vice President and Executive Director of Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, led “Finding Your Voice”, a session where First Page participants received a wealth of feedback in minutes. Participant names were randomly drawn. They read the first 500 words of their manuscripts. After each reading, attendees in the audience provided anonymous  comments on notecards.

In our motel room the night before, my roommates and I took turns rehearsing and creating one-line elevator pitch synopses.  Not only did the pitch-writing exercise equip all four of us to create more impactful queries; but the extra preparation paid off in the performances. When my roommates names were drawn, they delivered self-assured readings preceded by convincing pitches.

Elise Hylden Up to bat

Elise Parsley up to bat, critiquing the pitch

Manuscript Critiques

Face-to-face manuscript critiques provided the best opportunity to have our most polished, unpublished manuscript critiqued by an editor, agent, or published author. We submitted our manuscripts three to four weeks prior to the conference to allow ample time for our advisor to review and write comments; then we received a ten-minute appointment for them to tell us what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve our work.

Thanks to Joanna Cardenas, Assistant Editor for Viking Children’s Books, for reviewing my manuscript. She devoted an impressive amount of thoughtful consideration, offering suggestions on character development, plot and structure, language and diction, voice, and marketability. Her advice differed substantially from input I had received from Barry Goldblatt, founder of BG Literary, at the 2013 Minnesota Conference. However, their foundational goals remained the same: to increase my protagonist’s likeability, which would increase the appeal of my manuscript, which would increase its chances of being published. I’m grateful to them both.

Next week I’ll share more 2013 IA Conference wisdom from Michelle Poploff; Allison Remcheck, Assistant Literary Agent of Rosemary Stimola Literary Studio; Joanna Cardenas; and Jennifer Black Reinhardt. See you then!

2013 Iowa SCBWI Conference Photos

Now what?

Aruthur Rackham's illustration from GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS from the Project Gutenberg archives.

Aruthur Rackham’s illustration from GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS from the Project Gutenberg archives.

So, you’ve subjected your manuscript to writers’ conference reviews.

  • Papa Editor says your manuscript is too soft/lame/dull.
  • Mama Agent says it is too hard/scary/implausible.
  • And your Baby Peer Group says it is just right, except for a few hundred nagging flaws.

Now what?

  • Sleep until noon.
  • Eat bon-bons.
  • Complain on Facebook that editors, agents, and other writers don’t know their succotash from Shinola.

Just kidding!

Post manuscript review steps

1. Detach

  • Know that your reason for living is not dependent on those 600/9000/48,000 words.
  • To avoid burn out and increase objectivity, let the project rest in a drawer for two weeks or more.
  • Start another project. Many successful authors juggle several manuscripts at once. Epiphanies often occur while focusing on something else.

2. Look for middle ground

Note opposing revision suggestions. You can’t incorporate both, so see if the middle ground makes sense.

For instance, one manuscript reviewer advised that I intensify a storm scene to make it scarier. The next suggested that volatile weather may be too scary for children.

Because of favorable input received earlier from a test group, I plan to meet in the middle and leave the storm as is. If I didn’t feel confident and couldn’t decide which advice was best, I would save my original manuscript, rename and rewrite it  the two suggested ways, and select the best.

Writing exercises are never wasted.

3. Note common threads

Listen and check your notes for common threads of advice. This indicates a weak point. A common thread regarding my aforementioned manuscript is a preference for a supporting character over the protagonist.

To improve the manuscript according to this feedback, I can:

  • change my protagonist to make him/her stand out.
  • advance the supporting character to the rank of protagonist, knowing this may change the genre, theme, and story.
  • create an entirely new protagonist.

What critique advice have you heard more than once?

4. Note common sense

An editor noticed a scene where I had gotten sidetracked. I tend to be a bit attention deficit. SQUIRREL! To compensate for the shortcomings in my personality, I plan to change my writing process. It’s dangerous for someone like me to just write and hope it takes me to a logical place. ICE CREAM! I will need an outline to keep me on track. Common sense will save me from ending up in an entirely different story and writing ten times more material than I need.

What common sense advice speaks to you?

5. Incorporate the best advice

Save your manuscript under a new name and incorporate the common thread and common sense advice. If others, especially the professionals, agree that chapters, phrases, and words do not carry your story forward cut or change them.

You can go back to the original if you don’t like what you get. But I’m guessing you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

6. Test your manuscript

Revise, then test your manuscript with readers of the age group you are targeting. In extreme critique instances, ask your test group to select between the two different revisions and the original. If the pieces are too long, offer three different synopses for comparison.

My manuscript was originally written without a storm. The youngest member of my test group suggested one. Post-revision, the test group says the story is way cooler with a storm and it’s just the right amount of scary.

Trust your target audience. They’re the best indicator of the marketability of your story.

7. Start again (Back to Baby Peer Group, Mama Agent, and Papa Editor)

At the October 2013 Iowa SCBWI conference, a participant received a submission request from a major publishing house director. This friend started her manuscript over a decade ago.

“She’s arrived!” you say?

Not yet. She’ll follow the post-manuscript-review steps, then she’ll submit her manuscript.

I can’t wait to tell you how the story ends.