Results - Slush Pile Challenge April 2014

This challenge was set by Penny Holroyde from the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency  

THE CHALLENGE... 

was to make Penny laugh out loud with a first chapter.

We sent 15 anonymous entries to Penny Holroyde, chosen randomly. Penny read them and asked if she could read all entries and not just the 15.

BUT HOUSTON! We have a problem...

Penny says: "There were some close calls in this Slushpile challenge but I’m afraid I wasn’t able to pick a winner this time around.  

The entry that came closest to making me laugh was called 'ASKING FOR IT'. 

The author has a good voice for this age group (a girl embarking on her sixth form career with all the self-doubt and image consciousness that goes along with it) but, although there were some funny quips, I feel this novel was shaping up to be a quite serious coming of age novel dealing with some quite serious issues and so ultimately I couldn’t really shelve it as a ‘funny’ book.

Funny is of course a subjective concept and I think that I am quite readily made to laugh.

However, I felt that a lot of the entries fell back too easily on what the authors think is funny for children rather than what perhaps is funny for children. It’s quite interesting, reading 15 in one go, how many authors go for perceived tried and tested sure-fire funnies. 

Here’s a list:

Something being stinky

Eggy or cabbagy farts

Overuse of superlatives: 
reeeeeeeeeeally eggy fart, R-E-A-L-L-Y stinky feet, waaaaaaaaaaay too stinky, etc.
A hatred of school

Goo, Poo, More poo

Dads getting fired or quitting their jobs

Girls who don’t like dresses

Old-fashioned language, e.g. ‘poppycock’
Sterotypical parents: why do parents in funny books have to either be buffoons or dictators?

References to current fads which come across to me as overtrying: I read about a flyPhone and an App called Grumpy Pigeons. 

Try to avoid references that may too easily date.

I think a lot of the entries felt like they were trying too hard to tell the reader THIS IS A FUNNY BOOK. Children are smart and don’t react well to be told what to get out of a book. 

I think dialogue is the easiest way to be funny. 

Expositional set up is a much harder context for portraying humour and so I think all the authors need to work on developing dialogue that has verisimilitude for modern children."

Wait, we have some good news!

"I’m pleased to report, though, that all of the entries used age-appropriate language which is a mistake I often see in our submissions pile so all of the authors have clearly read published books in their target age group. 

I found some of the contexts also very promising – a boy who is born (in a grave!)  the heir to a funeral parlour, a boy who takes his pathologically lying grandmother to Show and Tell. These were very promising ideas but I just felt they needed a bit of work with their execution. 

I’d like to ask all the submitting authors to just relax once a funny idea hits and it may make the writing come across as just a little more confident.

Again, sorry not have picked a winner but I do hope these notes help."

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While we are all disappointed that we didn't get a winner for this challenge, as writers we understand that honest feedback is very useful to improve our craft. Writing funny perhaps is the hardest thing out there and the advice from Penny would be very useful to all of us.

Penny has promised to come back and do another challenge for us next year. So sharpen those pencils and the wit and next time let's make her roll on the floor laughing!

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Chitra has published over 20 books in Singapore, UK, USA and India. She loves writing picture books and retelling folktales. She's also working on fiction for 7+ . Chitra is a member of the Words & Pictures' editorial team, managing The Slush Pile Challenge.

Farmer Falgu is far away from home!

It's a joy to celebrate with our Slush Pile Challenge Editor, Chitra Soundar on her UK launch of  Farmer Falgu Goes on a Trip! Thank you Chitra for some beautiful photos from India and Streatham! Many Congratulations on Farmer Falgu and two marvellous events. Over to Chitra..


Farmer Falgu Goes on a Trip is my first book with Karadi Tales, an Indian publisher who specializes in audio books, picture books and literacy. It was fortuitous that I was planning to be in India at the same time as the launch. What a fantastic opportunity it was – my parents were there, the local press turned up and loads of children came to listen to me read the story and sing some songs too.

Launching in India...

Then came the bullock cart to whisk the kids away for a wonderful ride just like Farmer Falgu did when he went away on his trip. We had live percussion, specially arranged music and loads of laughter with the kids.

I returned to London and wanted to invite friends and family here for a launch party and what better place than a library? The wonderful Sandra Davidson and her team at Streatham Library hosted Farmer Falgu for his London launch where again, much to the surprise of many SCBWI friends, I sang, played instruments and made noises and told the story.

…and in Streatham

Since then Farmer Falgu has been out and about – the latest visit was to Clapham Library Rhyme time where more than twenty toddlers joined in the fun. Farmer Falgu is going to return in November with another trip. He’s always going away somewhere – and in the second book he will be going to the market.

Congratulations Chitra!

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Chitra Soundar is Words & Pictures competitions editor, she has written over 20 books for children. She is also an amateur storyteller. You can find out more about her books and events at www.chitrasoundar.com.

THE UNIQUE SELLING POINT

Harry's Horse dummy

Generating a following and identifying a specific market for your book can be a challenging process. This week, author and illustrator Gillian McClure examines her experiences running a small press.



It was when my editor phoned to ask if I would help her come up with a unique selling point for the new picture book she was taking to an acquisitions meeting the next day, Harry’s Horse, that I realised a nice story and pictures were not enough to see a picture book into print; a business criterion needed to be met and I was going to have to review my way of thinking. In the end the book my editor wanted for her art series never got published as she was unable to convince the sales team. That was back in 2009. 

    A year later, I started Plaister Press in order to publish my own picture books. The decision was primarily a creative one - I wanted to proceed with a book rather than run a business. Luckily, the first Plaister Press book, Selkie, was a reprint. It had been on the National Curriculum and had a good sales track record. Just as well, for I still wasn’t thinking too much about the selling strengths of books.

 It was only after two years of Waterstones signing events that I really started to see things from a business perspective and realised that the second Plaister Press title, The Little White Sprite was quiet with no bright, in-your-face cover to act as its selling point. Memories of past letters of rejection ending with, ‘a little too quiet for us,’ rang in my ears. I needed to come up with a unique selling point for this book and learn how to get my message across if I was going to convince people to buy it:

 “Yes it is quiet,” I would say to customers (parents, grandparents and teachers.)  “Ideal for reading aloud at bed time with a gentle rhythm and rhyme and soft coloured pictures.” I would read them the opening pages plus the final one and then, to make doubly sure, point out that the theme of The Little White Sprite - a child going through a hole in a tree to a magical world inside - was one that would be encountered later in books like Alice in Wonderland where a child falls down a rabbit hole into another world. Teachers, looking to inspire the imaginations of their Year 1 pupils, liked this and parents and grandparents sometimes would say The Little White Sprite reminded them of a book they’d had as a child, Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree. It was evident customers like to see a new and unknown book in the context of books they already know about.

So there was a market for The Little White Sprite but it was not going to be a mass market and it was going to need some dedicated selling to shift copies.

    As the Plaister Press list gradually lengthened, increasingly, the business side of me would ask the creative side to identify the selling strengths of each new project right from the start. It was obvious now why my editor could not get Harry’s Horse through the acquisitions meeting.  It was a story based on a picture hanging in Parham House, but unfortunately Parham House is not part of the National Trust so the market for this title would have been limited to just one shop instead of the many National Trust shops. I too have rejected that title even though I’m fond of the story and pictures.

  Reviews can often help identify a selling point as they highlight what aspect of the book appeals. Here are two reviews of the fourth Plaister Press title We’re Going to Build a Dam:

Carousel review

Teach Nursery review

When I’m selling this book I now talk about beach holidays and hazy purple and yellow beach colours. This works even in the winter when we’re all yearning for summery outdoor activities.

 The fifth Plaister Press title, Flood was published after a winter of floods in 2014. I wondered whether that theme, along with the ink splattered, splashy pictures, would be its unique selling point.

Flood was taken in dummy form to the Bologna Book Fair and there received a conflicting response from Japan. One Japanese publisher liked the story but wouldn’t consider buying it because it was too soon after the 2011 tsunami while another thought it would be just the thing post tsunami. The unique selling point of this book obviously lies elsewhere – perhaps ‘teamwork and animal characters cooperating in the face of adversity.’

 Despite one’s best efforts, however, publishing a book, whether for children or adults is a lottery; nobody really knows which book is going to succeed and some of the classics have had their selling points completely misunderstood or ignored by publishers: the following rejections are taken from Rotten Rejections by Bill Henderson.

Animal Farm - 1945 by George Orwell
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A.’
The Time Machine – 1895 by HG Wells
‘It’s not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader.’

The Good Earth- 1931 Pearl Buck
‘Regret the American public is not interested in anything on China.’

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On 28 June Gillian  will be leading an SCBWI workshop from a business perspective, Ways into Publishing, for writers and illustrators. Participants will be encouraged to look at their picture book projects, old and new, with a view to selling them to a publisher or directly to the customer if self publishing.

Her official website is here.

Ask a Picture Book Editor

So, you’ve found your UNIVERSAL theme, and you’ve created your 
child-centred characters, now:

Think about the tone and pitch of your writing

One of the key criticisms about texts that cross our desks is that the pitch and tone is too adult and too sophisticated. It’s important that any theme, setting, and interactions between characters are couched in a framework that is appropriate for your readership. There’s no point using grand similes or high-falutin’ imagery that will not resonate or strike a chord with the child. The tone and pitch of picture books needs to be child-centred.

Let’s take writing on the theme of ‘love’ as an example. The love between a parent and child, grandparent and child, between siblings or maybe between friends are the sorts of emotional interactions with which a pre-school child will have had direct contact. Consequently, they will understand these sorts of relationships. So, if your UNIVERSAL theme is love then how do you make it CHILD-CENTERED?

-  choose a type of love that will resonate – i.e. between a parent and a child

-  think of a setting and context that a child will comprehend – the playroom, the woods, the mountains

-  use simple imagery, language and concepts that are tangible

A few fantastic examples are:

 
All the allusions in these texts are easy for a child to grasp because they are centred in the child's world, and they are written with a simplicity of style that makes them perfect for the age group.

Remember that pre-schoolers are not yet self-aware

Pre-schoolers don’t yet have the self-awareness to identify and verbalize how they are feeling. They can’t reflect on their experiences objectively like older children and adults. So don’t make the mistake of having your character say they are ‘lost’ or ‘nervous’ or say ‘I wonder what would happen if . . .’

Pre-schoolers don’t reflect on what’s happening in their world, rather they launch into the action right away. They are much more likely to comment on their immediate experiences in the context of concrete happenings.

Third person narratives work best for picture books as they are aimed at young readers who lack the self-awareness that comes with first person point of view.

Hone and refine your unique author style and voice

So, what is voice?

When you read a book by a particular author, you might be able to tell that it’s written in that author’s voice by the unique style of the writing (how the author writes as opposed to what s/he writes about), the choice of theme, and the way the author puts a unique spin on the story. Voice is your personality and every word must to count!  

When you look at a famous artist's work, say a Van Gogh or a Matisse, it is the use of colour, pattern, textures, brush stroke – the style and themes – that help you to identify the painting as originating from one or the other. 

In a similar way, a strong voice is what identifies your work as yours. It is the link between you and the reader. Plus you need to find the story that only you can tell and tell it in a way that is singular to you!

There are so many wonderful examples of strong author voice in the picture book market – each one speaks to the reader in a distinctive way. 

As you look at the following examples, think about how each one is different and distinctive. What makes it particularly memorable?

The challenge is to find your ownvoice, to pinpoint and refine what it is about your writing that makes your stories feel special and unique. This flair and style is often the icing on the cake that will really make publishers and the reading public sit up and take notice of your work.

The best advice is to: 

- read your texts aloud

- join a SCBWI or other critique group

- work on your craft! Seek out opportunities to get advice your craft through SCBWI, a literary consultant or a professional development conference, workshop or course

- practise, practise, practise!

READ OUR OTHER "ASK A PICTURE BOOK EDITOR" CRAFT BLOGS:

Click'Ask a Picture Book Editor'
 in the list on the left.

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Natascha Biebow is editor, mentor and coach at www.blueelephantstoryshaping.com

 

Ellie Farmer is Senior Editor at Little Tiger Presswww.littletigerpress.com

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 3rd June

Katrina Charman was complaining recently about how much time she spends reading the Blog Break when she should be writing. Sorry, Katrina - perhaps you should look away now as this week's installment is chock-full of procrastination opportunities!

I can't keep up with Sarah McIntyre; even reading her blog makes me feel exhausted! Her trip to the Hay Festival seems to have packed in enough stuff to turn anyone into a gibbering wreck - random radio appearances, ukelele playing, outrageous schmoozing, frantic live drawing - the list goes on. Sarah is clearly powered by some superhuman energy source, as she's also blogged this week about her recent visit to the 26 Characters exhibition at Oxford's Story Museum and joined in with the Writing Process Blog Tour. Somebody stop her!

Three other SCBWI writers join Sarah for the now traditional fortnightly round-up of the Writing Process Blog Tour. Sue Eves recounts the breathless tale of her writing adventures at last year's SCBWI retreat (I vividly remember her excitement). Anita Loughrey repeatedly states that she is "not in a particular hurry" yet seems to be extremely busy. Finally, fiction and non-fiction author Alex Woolf outs himself as a "writing geek" and gives some terrific advice on writing horror.

Katriona Chapman (not to be confused with Katrina Charman!) is blogging on Big Little Tales and as always her post is a treat, full of detail and with copious examples of the illustrators who inspire her work. This week, Katriona takes on the seemingly massive task of documenting her holiday in a serialised comic, adapting her style in clever ways to make the task a little simpler.

The Carnegie Prize is trundling our way again, and the Space on the Bookshelf team are taking on the challenge of shadowing the shortlist. Sally Poyton is first up with a review of All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry and there are plenty more reviews to come.

Nick.

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A SCBWI member since 2009, Nick Cross is a former Undiscovered Voices winner who currently writes children's short fiction for Stew Magazine, the May/June issue of which is out now!

Ask a Publisher: Venetia Gosling, Fiction Publishing Director, Macmillan Children's Books

@neeshed talks to @CathJacobNews

This interview was recorded at Macmillan Children's Books, on 13th March 2014.

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Catherine Jacob is an award-winning journalist who has worked for ITV, Five and Sky News. She is also an Honorary Mention for Undiscovered Voices 2014 with her MG novel The Perigree Moonlings. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers' Crime Competition 2012 and her short story, Child's Play was shortlisted for the Asham Award 2011. She juggles working with being a mum to two little girls.

The Chalkface Challenge: Introducing the Judges

The Chalkface Challenge
presents…

The Shadow Judges…

• KAREN BALL, @karenball is a publisher at Little, Brown Young Readers & Atom.
• AMBER CARAVEO, @AmberCaraveo is editorial director at Orion children's books & Indigo
• JASMINE RICHARDS, @JRichardsAuthor  a senior commissioning editor for children's books at Oxford University Press
• BEN ILLIS, @bookboyben is a kids & YA literary agent at The BIA literary agency

These excellent people will each select their favourite opening excerpt from the 5 entries shortlisted by the young judges at Sparsholt Church of England Primary School. They won't know who has actually won until after they've made their selection when the children's verdict is announced on Sunday 20th July. Will Karen, Amber, Jasmine and Ben pick the same winner as the children? The Shadow Judges results and their comments will be published the following week on the 27th July.

The judges have also sent in some information on  their reading preferences.

Here they are:

Robert, Shadat, Dominic (Year 4)

Cara, Ben, Isabelle (Year 4)

Abby, Imogen, Georgina (Year 3)

Jacob (Year 3)

Generally:

Y3 children like magical adventures. Characters should be funny and the adventures full of excitement. Their wish list included a girl as a knight, a war in the woods and a big creepy castle. Characters were the main thing they liked about their favourite books.
Y4 children read longer books. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Tom Gates are all big favourites at the moment. They still like lots of adventure and excitement but were less insistent about a magical element. Lots of realistic (gory*) detail though was requested.

This shouldn't in any way deter you from sending in your ungory* story because, as we discovered, last year's judges uncharacteristically shortlisted Julie Fulton's gripping opening to her WW2 canal boat adventure. They are a discerning group of people.

The closing date for entries is Sunday 15th June at 12 noon BST
Instructions for how to enter here.

You have 14 days to make your opening 500 words Sparsholt ready!

Good Luck!

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