SCBWI Reception Rocks Edinburgh International Book Festival!

@edbookfest

This week it's HUGE Congratulations to..... 
SCBWI British Isles! 
Specifically to Natascha and South East Scotland, in the shape of Sheila Averbuch and Louise Kelly, for engineering a great big Sparkly SCBWI arrival at Edinburgh International Book Festival. Sheila has written a spectacular report, here it is....



Who attends the Edinburgh International Book Festival, come August time? Only everybody! That’s why we were triple-thrilled this year to host a SCBWI reception that gave rise to a lively industry discussion, involving a knowledgeable audience of seasoned literary professionals from around the UK.

 Jonathan Meres of The World of Norm
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Janey Louise Jones of the PRINCESS POPPY series, Jonathan Meres of WORLD OF NORM fame, Keith Gray of OSTRICH BOYS, Moira Young of BLOOD RED ROAD… all were guests at a glittering SCBWI British Isles reception hosted by the Southeast Scotland network on the evening of 13th August. The aim was to have a relaxed industry question-and-answer, "Festivals Uncovered," helping writers and illustrators understand what's expected of them when they're tipped to speak at a festival like Edinburgh, at a library or a school.

Janey Louise Jones of the PRINCESS POPPY series

Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

We were joined by a fantastic panel that included author Nicola Morgan (TEENAGE GUIDE TO STRESS), agents Lindsey Fraser and Lucy Jukes (Lucy also co-coordinates the Picture Hooks mentoring scheme for picture book illustrators in Scotland), Falkirk Librarian Yvonne Manning, Sales and Marketing Manager of Floris Books Chani McBain, and the Children & Education Program Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Janet Smyth.

Children & Education Program Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Janet Smyth Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay 

In addition to the panel, we reached a great selection of librarians, booksellers and other industry guests who were invited to participate, thanks to Janet's assistance and the wonderful Scottish literary contacts of Louise Kelly and Nicola Morgan. The venue was the stylish multi-hexagon Party Pavilion inside Charlotte Square, made even more beautiful by the travelling SCBWI Illustrators Showcase, a curated annual exhibition of member images. And of course the whole event was made possible through the kind sponsorship of SCBWI British Isles and support of our Regional Advisor (Chair) Natascha Biebow, who is a passionate advocate of professional development events like these, which are dedicated to supporting published authors and illustrators in furthering their careers. Questions, answers and yurts.

L to R: Lucy Juckes of Jenny Brown Associates and Picture Hooks,

Lindsey Fraser of Fraser Ross Associates

Chani McBain of Floris Books

Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Following a wine reception we kicked off the Q&A with questions for the panel about how the role of festivals has changed over the years, as well as how authors and illustrators can attend the events they want to without spreading themselves too thinly.

L to R: Susan Bain, Christina Banach and Maureen Lynas
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

There was a real feeling of focus and intense interest in the topic among the audience, which included SCBWI authors Candy Gourlay (SHINE - shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2014), Christina Banach (debuting this year with MINTY) and Maureen and Katherine Lynas (CUPCAKE CATASTROPHE! ). We were also delighted to welcome Frané Lessac, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Australia West, an experienced illustrator who teams up with her husband Mark Greenwood on a number of collaborations.

And did someone say YURT? The evening finished off with a number of us decamping to the hallowed ground of the EIBF yurt, where the conversation about all things literary carried on 'til late in the glow of the wood-burning stove.

SCBWI reception highlights

For you SCBWI members who didn't get a chance to come to Edinburgh, more school-visit events are planned in London, York and at our annual conference in Winchester  later this year, but here's a selection of what you missed in Edinburgh:

Published authors need to protect their writing time.Beware the exhausting schedule that can spread you thin and make your creative time disappear. Be clear with your agent about what kind of events you'd like to do and how many, and they will help remind you to make time for writing.

If you're doing author/illustrator events, the standard rate is £150. Many schools and libraries know the rate, and if they don't, let them know and don't feel guilty about it. This prompted a robust discussion about fees. Many people feel willing and keen to do free events for the experience, and to spread the love of literature among kids, but Nicola Morgan advised you make it clear you're doing it free/cheap because you’re new to this and are looking for feedback. I guess the lesson is if you're doing it free or cheap, be very clear about your reasons why, rather than having "free" as the default because you feel you can't ask the standard rate. Candy, for example, has done free events in the run-up to a bookstore-based book launch to help ensure attendance (several people mentioned that bookstore events can often be badly attended); that strategy worked well, helping numbers for the bookstore event and leading to a number of paid school visits. (Bookstore events, incidentally, are unpaid and typically part of a promotional tour at launch).

More thoughts from Nicola on events, including why charging a real rate should be your default mode, is here in her excellent blog post: Getting and giving great author events.

Have a pitch ready if someone asks, "Do you do events?" Put your events info on your website, and make sure you're listed everywhere you should be (including in the SCBWI Speakers Bureau; the Scottish Book Trust  also lists authors).
Don't hesitate to say how long your events last. Janet Smyth mentioned that 30 min. to 45 min. is plenty for very young kids.

It's not only "big names" that get invited to festivals. For example EIBF in particular feels it has a role to promote new writers, including our Southeast Scotland member Emily Dodd, who's speaking at this year's EIBF following publication of her picture book with Floris, CAN'T DANCE CAMERON.
It's okay to approach festival organisers and librarians and let them know what you do; we were all stunned to hear that festival organisers who approach publishers seeking a specific writer don't always get them! The hard truth is that not all speaking invitations that go via the publisher are passed on to the writer, so make sure you clearly communicate your availability and preferences for events.

Panicked about the idea of doing a school or festival event? Ask your peers! The SCBWI community was terribly helpful to me when I did the mother of all school visits earlier this year, and many authors and illustrators will agree to allow you to tag along to see how they do events.

Make connections with storytellers where possible and take them along advised Janey Louise Jones, author and storyteller Janis Mackay (2014 winner of the Scottish Book Trust’s Children’s Book Award for THE ACCIDENTAL TIME TRAVELLER) and Chani McBain. See how they present stories, helping you to become more comfortable with the "performance" aspect of an event.

(Seated) Carnegie and Greenaway judge Joy Court, who's also behind
the free-to-attend Literally Coventry book festival, relates her Terry Pratchett anecdote
Photograph courtesy Candy Gourlay

Carnegie and Greenaway judge Joy Court, who's also behind the free-to-attend Literally Coventry book festival, related a fabulous anecdote about KM Peyton. Peyton willingly admits that in the days when authors were offered nothing more than a geranium as payment for an event, she would go along and "give them a geranium's worth." But one day, giving an event alongside a dynamic and fabulously entertaining young writer, Peyton realised how thrilling events can be – that young man was Terry Pratchett.

(Ed: BIG Note here)

'Live literature is where it’s at.'

As Janet Smyth noted, even with the distractions offered by so many other media and online, live literary events – like live music – are enjoying a resurgence. People long to connect in a face-to-face way with the artists who are the source of so much inspiration. You, authors and illustrators, are that source of inspiration – so embrace the chance to get out there!

A big team of people came together to make the SCBWI reception at Edinburgh International Book Festival so successful. Louise Kelly and I, who coordinate the Southeast Scotland network of SCBWI BI, would like to thank our RA Natascha for her support, Vento Ludens for donating display boards, and all the SCBWI members who gave their time to help bring the gorgeous SCBWI illustrators showcase to Edinburgh, especially Jeanne Dron, Sarah Broadley, Stephanie McGregor, Candy Gourlay, Anne-Marie Perks and Bridget Strevens-Marzo.

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L to R: Sheila and Louise

Sheila Averbuch is the co-coordinator of SCBWI British Isles Southeast Scotland network and is currently mudwrestling a draft of a reality-slip story for 9 to 11s, set in Massachusetts. She blogs at www.spacekidsbooks.com.

Literary Agent, Lindsey Fraser on Submitting & The Edinburgh Book Fest 2014

Sarah Broadley

www.fraserross.co.uk

As a volunteer with SCBWI British Isles, South East Scotland, I was privileged to be given the chance to interview one of Scotland's leading literary agents, Lindsey Fraser from Fraser Ross Associates based in Edinburgh.

Kathryn and Lindsey

In 2002, after careers in teaching, bookselling and readership development, and ten years working together at Scottish Book Trust, Lindsey and her business partner Kathryn Ross, created Fraser Ross Associates Literary Agency and Consultancy based in Edinburgh.

The Literary Agency represents authors and illustrators for children and adults from all over the UK and overseas. The Consultancy continues their involvement in readership development, editing and book selection, and they manage The Pushkin Prizes – a creative writing initiative for children in their 1st and 2nd years at Scottish secondary schools and specialist English language schools in St Petersburg.

Lindsey very kindly agreed to answer some questions on submitting your MS, researching your craft and the do's and don'ts when approaching an agent!

Pressing 'send' is one of the most unnerving tasks an author has to do once they are satisfied their work is at the submission stage. Can you provide any helpful do's/don'ts for submitting authors?

DO remember that literary agents need writers and illustrators.

When you submit your work to a literary agent, that literary agent assumes that you believe your book is ready to be published. So the very fact that you’re submitting tells us a great deal about you as an author. Like many other agents, we do work on manuscripts with authors, and we do so now more often than we did when we started. But our primary role is to secure a commercial publisher’s support. So...

DON'T submit too early. We are inundated with submissions, and regrettably, given the pressures on our time and the priority we give existing clients’ work, they don’t get a huge chance to make an impact. So...

DON'T submit your work expecting the Literary Agent to sort out your writing issues. Another 2 months in a drawer followed by another 3 months redrafting can turn a manuscript with potential but a ‘will need a lot of work’ post-it note into a manuscript which is already polished and commercially viable. It may not be perfect, but it should be at a stage when we can think in terms of possible publishers.

DO pay attention to things like grammar, punctuation and spelling. I’m not beyond making errors in all three – but not, I hope, when it matters. It turns out that our names – Kathryn Ross and Lindsey Fraser – present a number of spelling challenges. If you take the time to get them right, it definitely helps.

DON'T write a covering letter in which you berate the literary community for having taken such a ludicrously long time to acknowledge your astonishing writing skills. Bitterness is not appealing. Be positive.

The best writers are widely read – we are always interested to know what writers you like reading and where you feel your writing fits on the bookshelves.

DO follow the submission guidelines – for example there are good reasons that agents want the first three chapters, and not some random chapters of which the author is particularly proud from the middle of the book.

Most agencies prefer electronic submissions these days – but the result has been many more premature submissions. It is so easy to press that ‘send’ button. I would always recommend that writers print out their manuscripts and work on their final edits on a hard copy. Or change the font and size on screen – it gives a whole new perspective on a manuscript with which you are very familiar. On-screen editing is convenient, but it can be quite ham-fisted at times, and more suited to copy editing than creative editing.

DO submit to two or three agents at a time. If you get an offer, let the other agencies know. Tempting though it will be to sign on the dotted line, you don’t have to go with the first offer you get – take time to have a conversation with the agent, so that you feel confident that this is a working relationship that will last. And if you do submit by post, don’t enclose glittery stars with your manuscript. Having to vacuum can ruin my day.

If an author sends in work that they feel fits one genre but you see it at another level, would this sway your decision to offer representation?

Often writers tell us where they think their book fits in the market – and that can be quite revealing in terms of the research they’ve done and their expectations. But I am looking for writing and storytelling that knocks my socks off. If it does that, I’ll happily debate genre at a later date.

Do you read every submission that comes through the doors of Fraser Ross or do you have a team of experts who work their way through them? On average, how many do you receive every month?

The submissions process is one with which every Literary Agent I know struggles. We are still open to submissions, but we are so behind with our responses that I can hardly bear to think about it. We used to give feedback but partly because of the lack of time, and partly because it wasn’t always appreciated, we rarely do now. Yes, we do read everything between us. Every so often we engage readers to help – but in the end the decision has to be ours. After all, if we sign a writer to the agency we hope very much it will be a long term business relationship so it’s a big decision, and it has to be one we’re happy with.

 Are you on the look out for any particular age range/topic at the moment?

We are constantly talking to publishers about what they’re looking for, and we take note of their shopping lists. But the core market for children will consistently be 8 to 12, so good writing for that age-group is always going to lift our spirits. Sometimes – as in the case of Chris Higgins – a writer catches our attention with one type of writing and then turns out to be every bit as good at another. Or you have a writer like Vivian French who can turn her hand to virtually anything. Or an illustrator like Barroux who revels in different styles and approaches. So I’m more interested in what our writers and illustrators bring to us than in dictating what I’d like them to bring to us.

There are times when writers work on something for which we simply cannot envisage finding a publisher, and the ensuing conversation can be difficult. But by and large writers who are working on books they’re keen to write are happier and more successful.

What are your thoughts on submitting to the same agent for a second time - should an author approach them with a different book idea or move on?

Check with the agent. If they’ve given you guidance which suggested that they thought it would be worth reworking something you’ve submitted, it may well be worth going back to them. But bear in mind that while you’ve been redrafting they’ve been receiving yet more submissions – so you may well have to be patient. All over again.

What do you look for in a prospective client?

• Fluent writing and inspired illustration - obviously.
• A professional approach to their work, and to working with us and their publishers.
• Good communication skills.
• A good sense of the industry outside their own area of expertise.
• Ambition.
• Realism.

In this digital age as a specialist literary agency based in Scotland, do you think location matters?

It would have been very hard setting up Fraser Ross Associates in Edinburgh without email and the internet. But honestly, I’d say that there is no disadvantage in being outside London. We go there a great deal and although it probably requires more planning than it would if we were closer, I don’t feel publishers treat us any differently.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival will be opening its doors once again next month. Who or what has been your highlight from the festival over the years and who would you recommend for this year?

The book festival is an opportunity for me to find out about authors I’ve never heard of, so I’d suggest taking a lucky dip approach – there are always great surprises in there. The first time I saw J K Rowling – long before I became a literary agent - was in a damp tepee with an audience of about 15. The next year she was sold out. How smug are those 15 people?!

Of past festivals, I will always feel lucky to have been at Maya Angelou’s events; I loved Garrison Keillor’s performances, John Irving reading from A Prayer for Owen Meany, Carol Shields and Alastair Macleod. There are too many highlights from the children’s programme over the years to mention – but last year’s event with Judith Kerr was unforgettable.

This year Joan Lingard, now in her eighties, will launch her new novel for children – Trouble on Cable Street - set against the backdrop of the rise of fascism in London in the 30s. She’s been on every single EIBF programme since it started. You’d think she might like to take a break – but she epitomises the addictive nature of the writer. The minute she’s written THE END she’s planning the next novel. I’ll be at her event, without a doubt.

The Writers & Artists Yearbook provides a wealth of information for all fledgeling authors - are there any other books/websites out there that you would advise them to read?

I think it’s one of the best, but the main thing is to do your research and not waste opportunities. Research the agencies you’re submitting to. A quick look at their authors will tell you a great deal for a start. Visit libraries, go and hear writers talking about their books, buy books from bookshops – be part of the world you have ambitions to join. Like any other industry you’d want to be part of, the more you know, the better.

Name your five favourite authors!

You can assume that writers and illustrators represented by Fraser Ross Associates are all my favourites!

Beyond them – and in no particular order - E B White, Alastair MacLeod, Jane Austen, Tove Jansson, Anne Tyler.

And I would probably choose a different five tomorrow.

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@sarahpbroadley

Sarah Broadley is a Scottish one-woman writing machine. She writes mainly rhyming stories for children but regularly dips her toes in the waters of other genres such as crime, short stories and YA if the water is warm enough. Having already had her rhymes published in anthologies and on educational websites - Sarah is now working hard on her submissions and hopes to soon realise her dream of being a published children's author.

Network News: Featuring Sheila Averbuch and Louise Kelly, South-East Scotland Network

This week, Sheila Averbuch and Louise Kelly, network co-ordinators for South-East Scotland, tell us about the SCBWI activity in their area.

Who are you?

We recently started up the South East Scotland Network. SCBWI had had a presence in Scotland in the past but there's not much been going on for a couple of years so we thought it could be good to revive it and bring it into the SCBWI BI fold. We currently meet third Thursday of the month for support, information exchange about writing and local authors/writing events and sometimes critiquing, but the format of meetings is evolving as we find out what members want. We'll get other events off the ground soon (we're still newbies!) so all ideas welcome.

Has being a member of a SCBWI network helped you with your writing

YES! It's great to know you're not alone, and get encouragement and informed comment and critique on your work. In fact it was Louise attending some SCBWI North East (England) Network scrawl crawls and critique days that convinced her that having a local Network was a good idea. We also really appreciate the wealth of experience that SCBWI members are willing to share with each other about the publishing industry. Neither of us are published yet, but we're taking notes as we watch what other members are doing to promote and market. We've already started laying our own foundations  –    for example by making relationships with local indie booksellers and taking advantage of social media.

Which network activities do you value the most?

The discipline of meeting regularly keeps us and our writing on track and we're looking forward to making contact with other local SCBWIs too! The online community is fantastically supportive, but we've both found the face to face meetings have given us renewed energy in our work. The other valuable thing has been developing a trusting and supportive critique relationship. This takes time, but worth its weight in gold.
 

Would you recommend belonging to a SCBWI network to other writers?

See above! Of course.

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Sheila Averbuch lives in East Lothian in Scotland and is working on Space Kids and the Spy from Planet 12, a sci-fi adventure for 9-11's. She holds an MA in journalism from Stanford University and a BA from Harvard University in American History & Literature. Sheila is managing director of the content services agency ENNclick. She contributes social media how-to videos to Words and Pictures.

M Louise Kelly lives in Edinburgh and is working on Rules of Sail By, a YA comic coming of age novel set in Valparaiso, Chile, the Antarctic and Scotland. She's also written for 9-12s. Louise gave up a permanent position lecturing in Psychology and Linguistics to follow a portfolio (patchwork) career: writing fiction; working as publicist for Nicola Morgan; teaching Neuropsychology for the Open University; and being a University Dyslexia Adviser. Some of these pay money!

Network News: Welcome to the new South East Scotland Network

Edinburgh

A new Local Network Group is being formed by M. Louise Kelly and Sheila Averbuch - SCBWI BI South East Scotland. The group is meeting in Edinburgh and is (currently!) the most northerly local network group in SCBWI BI.

SCBWI members from nearby are encouraged to get in touch. 



"

We're planning quarterly scrawl crawls where SCBWI members and non-members are invited to come along to write, share and find out more about SCBWI..."

Members’ work in progress currently includes 9-12 and teen fiction. The group's crit session meets on the third Thursday of the month and has most of its meetings in the Skylark Cafe, Portobello.

"We're planning quarterly scrawl crawls where SCBWI members and non-members are invited to come along to write, share and find out more about SCBWI," said M. Louise Kelly, the group's co-founder. "As we're one of the newest networks, we’re open to ideas for Professional Series type events for both published and pre-published writers and illustrators."



Elizabeth Wein writes about the opportunities for Scottish Authors:

" Little did I know that because I’d been living in Scotland for over ten years, I now qualified as a Scottish author.  It’s opened up a whole new world to me in terms of interaction with young readers and with other authors.

Of course I’d known of the existence of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Scottish Book Trust.  But apart from taking my kids to an awesome Horrid Henry event where they got to meet Francesca Simon, until I had my own book to promote I hadn’t been aware of how much support and interest is available for young readers in Scotland.

I knew that the Scottish Book Trust (like the Book Trust) provides educational support with their “Live Literature Funding” programme, which helps pay for authors to come and speak in schools and at festivals.  What I didn’t know was that they also sponsor the Scottish Children’s Book Awards, with over 23,000 children from a quarter of all Scottish schools participating in the voting last year.  I didn’t know about Scottish Book Week, with fantastic events scheduled throughout Scotland, or about their Bookbug programme, which provides courses for professionals, events for children, and gives books by Scottish authors to every primary 1 child in Scotland.  The Scottish Book Trust’s newly upgraded website at www.scottishbooktrust.com is stylish and attractive, including podcasts, author videos and booklists.

Teen Titles, a book review journal sponsored by the City of Edinburgh Council is well worth checking out. It's put together entirely by teens, including not just reviews but also feature articles and author interviews with a mandate “committed to improving reading within Edinburgh and beyond”—“and beyond” includes a subscription circulation throughout the UK but you can browse some back issues for free. I was lucky enough to be interviewed by students from the Portobello School for an article in the 54th Teen Titles issue, and to meet many other talented contributors (and keen readers!) at the Teen Titles annual reception in Edinburgh in August 2012." 

For more information on SCBWI BI South East Scotland contact Louise and Sheila via southeastscotland@britishscbwi.org

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@spacekidsbooks

Sheila Averbuch lives in East Lothian in Scotland and is working on Space Kids and the Spy from Planet 12, a sci-fi adventure for 9-11's. She holds an MA in journalism from Stanford University and a BA from Harvard University in American History & Literature. Sheila is managing director of the content services agency ENNclick. She contributes social media how-to videos to Words and Pictures.

@mllouisekelly

M Louise Kelly lives in Edinburgh and is working on Rules of Sail By, a YA comic coming of age novel set in Valparaiso, Chile, the Antarctic and Scotland. She's also written for 9-12s. Louise gave up a permanent position lecturing in Psychology and Linguistics to follow a portfolio (patchwork) career: writing fiction; working as publicist for Nicola Morgan; teaching Neuropsychology for the Open University; being a University Dyslexia Adviser and tutoring students for their Scottish Higher exams! Some of these pay money.