Category: Industry Insider

Editor Interview: Reka Simonsen (Atheneum)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider2 Comments

This month’s Industry Insider is Reka Simonsen. Prior to becoming Editorial Director at Atheneum, she worked at various publishers and bookstores such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and Books of Wonder.

To know why we’re so excited to have her join us at OPB, just look at some of the people she’s worked with—Margarita Engle, Carole Boston Weatherford, Evan Turk, Frank Morrison, Jamie Sumner, Linda Urban, Joy McCullough, Emily Ecton, Melanie Crowder, Brian Pinkney, Sean Qualls, Lita Judge, and Lloyd Alexander, among others.

And then there’s the awards that books she’s edited have won—a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Award and an Honor, a Geisel Honor, a Sibert Honor, Walter Honors, a PEN USA Award, several Pura Belpré Awards and Honors, Jane Addams Peace Awards and Honors, Americás Awards and Honors, a Christopher Medal, Charlotte Zolotow Awards, and they’ve been finalists for the Morris Award, the Andre Norton Award, and the Edgar Award.

Wow, right? Let’s get straight to the interview to discover how Reka makes the magic happen.

RVC: What was your first vital/​transformative experience with books?

RS: Books have been such an important part of my life since very early childhood that it’s hard to think of one transformative experience that I’ve had in relation to them, but some of my earliest and happiest memories are of reading with my father. Long after I’d passed the usual age for bedtime stories, he and I would take turns reading to each other, often from favorites like My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I still reread that book almost every year, in memory of my dad. And I very nearly became a wildlife biologist because of Gerald Durrell’s books…

RVC: You graduated from Hunter College with degrees in art and English. What was the career plan at that point? Was it wildlife biology?

RS: Getting a job with health insurance! I’m joking, but not really. I deferred college for several years while I trained as a dancer, so when I did finally go to school, I knew the financial insecurity that comes from being in the arts. Because of that, I was aiming for a career that fulfilled both my need for creativity and my need for basic benefits. I was working part-​time in publishing while I was in college, so I already knew I liked the work; my goal was just to get into the area of publishing that I had always loved: children’s books.

RVC: Though most people think of you as a kidlit editor, you got your start by editing textbooks and coffee table books. How did that work prepare you to be an editor for children’s books? 

RS: At the time, I wondered if the skills specific to those two types of books would be of any use once I started working with children’s books. Turns out that a few of them have. Knowing how to do photo research and obtain permissions has come in handy when I’ve worked on nonfiction books. And editing coffee table books gave me a good eye for how art and text work together to create visual energy and interest for readers, whether young or old.

RVC: What was the first picture book you edited? 

RS: At first, I edited a lot of things that I inherited from predecessors. The first picture book I acquired and edited was Head, Body, Legs, a Liberian creation story by Won-​Ldy Paye and Margaret Lippert, illustrated by Julie Paschkis.

RVC: What was the most important lesson that book taught you?

RS: The importance of working collaboratively, which is something I agreed with in theory but had never had such a hands-​on experience of before this book. The text is a collaboration between two authors: Won-​Ldy is from Liberia and has known the traditional tale his whole life, and as a professional storyteller he can hold an audience rapt with his rendition of it. But he had not written a book before, which was where his friend and collaborator Margaret came in. She is a writer and educator, and she knows how to shape things so that the written version that a parent might read with their kid lands with the same impact that the story has when told in the oral tradition. Then the two of them worked directly with their friend Julie to help interpret the story visually, which was not an easy task, given that it’s about three individual body parts trying to figure out how to come together to make a person! Usually, authors and illustrators do not work directly with one another, but in this case all three of them were friends, and that brought another layer to the book. The art director and I worked closely with all three of them to help shape the folktale into a wonderful book. It was an incredible experience!

RVC: That sounds amazing! Now, what’s the most common misconception about editors?

RS: Even in the book world, I find that most people still think that editing means correcting grammar and punctuation—the kind of red-​pen editing that a lot of us are familiar with from the notes teachers wrote on our school essays. More experienced writers and agents know otherwise, of course, but first-​time authors still often expect that the first thing they’ll see from an editor is a detailed line-​level edit of the manuscript, which is usually a much later step in the process, rather than a letter or conversation that looks at the bigger picture aspects of the story, which is more often the first editorial step.

RVC: What was the most demanding/​challenging picture book you’ve worked on?

RS: I’d have to say A Violin for Elva by Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Tricia Tusa. The book itself was wonderful, as were the author and the illustrator, who are both incredibly talented, and lovely people to boot. But long before I started at Harcourt, the two of them had disagreed about the vision for the book, and so the project languished for many, many years. Then I approached them about finding a way forward together, and we were able to do that. While I’d like to think that my fresh perspective and sheer brilliance were what did the trick, I think it was more that enough time had passed for everyone to approach it with more clarity.

RVC: In the few years I’ve been doing interviews here at OPB, I’ve only had a few with a noticeably absent digital footprint. While you’re not quite in the running with them, you’re close! What’s your relationship to social media?

RS:  Ha! Well, it is intentional. While social media has some wonderful upsides, it has a lot of downsides, and for me there are just too many instances where it goes negative and seems to bring out the worst even in well-​intentioned people. I really don’t need to see more of that than necessary—the state of the world provides quite enough stress these days!—so I stay off social media as much as I can. I find that even without being very active on most platforms, I still hear the big headline-​level events and news fairly quickly.

RVC: How important is it for authors to use social media or maintain some type of web presence?

RS: It seems to be much more important for YA authors than for authors writing in any other age category of children’s books. While of course it’s helpful to have some online presence, there just aren’t many platforms where people outside the industry chat up picture books or middle-​grade novels, so the kind of TikTok phenomenon that some YA and adult books are benefiting from just doesn’t seem to be happening for other sorts of books.

RVC: How do you handle pressure at work?

RS: It is very easy in our industry to spend every waking hour either working or thinking about work, an unhealthy situation that has gotten even more pervasive since the pandemic has resulted in many of us working from home indefinitely. But I try very hard to shut down my computer at a reasonable time except when there’s a truly urgent reason for me to keep working at that moment and turn my mind to something else. Plus, I’ve built in other activities, fun things that aren’t work related, that force me to stop work by a certain time at least a few days a week. When things are stressful, often it helps if I take a walk to get some fresh air—even better if I get to see some happy dogs out and about!

RVC: Do you ever get editor’s block?

RS: Oh, yes; I think every editor does once in a while. For me, it helps to read a really good book that I didn’t edit! And sometimes revisiting old favorites can rekindle the spark and remind me why I love working with children’s books. I think it’s also really important to have some creative outlets that are not about books. As editors, our work is often creative and fulfilling, but we can’t mistake that for having our own creative passions that are entirely separate from our jobs. For me, those are things like singing in a chorus, working in the garden, cooking, and to keep both my hands and my mind busy but relaxed, knitting while watching basketball.

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. It’s brag time! What upcoming projects are you especially excited about? 

RS:  Where to start?! I’m beyond excited about Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi, an incredibly fresh, epic YA fantasy inspired by West African culture that’s coming out in February. It’s the story of an élite female fighter named Dirt who feels she’s over the hill but must reenter the competition to protect her found family of younger sisters. It’s a fiercely feminist, body-​positive novel with characters that just grab you by the heart and don’t let go.

I’m also absolutely thrilled about Emma Otheguy’s picture book Martina Has Too Many Tías which has the most adorable illustrations by Sara Palacios. It is a wonderful reimagining of the beloved Caribbean folktale “La Cucaracha Martina” that any child (or adult!) with a loud, lively family will be able to relate to.

RVC: Thanks for that, Reka. But now it’s time for the LIGHTNING ROUND! Zippy questions and zappy answers. Are you ready?

RS: Yes!

RVC: What secret talent do you have that no one would suspect?

RS: I can write backwards—mirror writing. It’s not a very useful talent, but it’s kind of a fun parlor trick. And I found out the hard way (by breaking my wrist) that I can write with both hands, though admittedly my left-​hand writing is at about a third-​grade level.

RVC: You can only eat one food for the rest of your life. What is it?

RS: Only one? I guess I’ll have to go with my favorite birthday cake: lemon cake with lemon curd and whipped cream.

RVC: Five things we’d see if we checked out your favorite writing/​editing place.

RS: My tortoiseshell cat, Maisie, who is trying to crawl into my lap; an in-​progress knitted blanket that at this point is just big enough to keep my toes warm; a view of my newly planted garden which will hopefully be more impressive next year; two very tall, very full bookcases; and two beloved original Edward Gorey prints.

RVC: What’s the One That Got Away?

RS: Oh, there’s more than one! The two that have stuck with me the most, even though they were a long time ago now, are The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin and We Are Not Free by Traci Chee.

RVC: Who sets the standard for writing picture books with heart?

RS: So many wonderful writers to choose from, but two who always speak to my heart are Julie Fogliano and Mem Fox.

RVC: What literary agent’s compliment about you would please you most?

RS: I suppose that they’ve heard great things about me and have been wanting to work with me!

RVC: Thanks so much, Reka!

Editor Interview: Kayla Tostevin (Page Street)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider

The October Industry Insider at OPB is…Page Street Senior Editor Kayla Tostevin! While I generally create my own bios for interview guests, I ran across this bio for her at various SCBWI faculty bio pages, and it’s so terrific that I’m just including it in full.

“When not poring over books (and sometimes while poring over books), she likes to be outside: hiking, biking, on a boat, or wandering aimlessly and smiling at animals. She hails from one end of the longest US freeway I‑90 (Seattle, WA) and now lives at the other in Boston, MA.”

Kayla got on my radar because she’s acquired books from literary agents who’ve joined us here at OPB, such as:

What I’ve found is that good people tend to gravitate toward other good people, so that pretty much explains the connections above.

And speaking of good people, let’s learn a bit more about our new good friend, Kayla, by getting to that interview.

RVC: Between the bio above and your Twitter bio (which has the line “happiest while adventuring”), I’m really curious—what type of childhood did you have?

KT: I’m very lucky to have grown up with four fantastic parents (my step-​parents both came into the picture when I was quite young), shifting back and forth between my two sides of family every few days. I think having that constant movement and two wonderfully different home environments—generally spending a lot of time running around outside with neighbor kids and hiking with family at one house, falling in love with movies and playing lots of card and video games together at the other—has probably greatly influenced my restlessness and curiosity/​enthusiasm for a wide variety of things even today. I’m so grateful for all I was able to experience during childhood and all the adventures I’m continuing to have as an adult!

RVC: At what point did you know you were going to work in publishing?

KT: I’ve loved books my whole life and suspected I wanted to work with them as early as middle school—but I originally wanted to be a writer, so I went for a writing, literature, and publishing major in college. After spending some time around other students on the same track and taking several classes, I realized I was better suited to the publishing part than the writing part!

RVC: You started at Page Street in the marketing area. What kind of advantage does that give you now as an editor?

KT: I think it really helps to have a better view of the entire process of bookmaking—and in this case, that very much includes what comes both before and after the book is made. When I’m looking at submissions for potential acquisition, I’m careful to consider not just if it’s a great story, but if it actually has some strong selling points, and my marketing experience definitely has made me stronger at pinpointing those selling points. Once the book is made, I can discuss with the marketing/​PR team what features of the story might be most useful for them to push, using my familiarity as editor to help the rest of the team promote as effectively as possible. Other perspectives are always useful. This background has also given me a much greater awareness and respect for all the other departments involved in making a book.

RVC: What’s the story behind the first picture book you edited at Page Street?

KT: I was one of two children’s editorial assistants in 2019, and we would often be assigned stories the children’s publisher at the time was interested in working on and possibly acquiring. We’d often (good-​spiritedly) fight over who got to work on which ones, and a dummy I won eventually became Moles Present the Natural Tolls of Digging Holes by Springer Badger.

Honestly, it was pretty minimally revised—I mostly just encouraged the author-​illustrator to rearrange some scenes, bring out some contrasts, and lean into the delightful weirdness lurking in the art’s background. The process was a strange one with me doing most of the editing during my temporary return to the marketing/​publicity department, and I still have a huge soft spot for the book.

RVC: What important lessons did that book teach you?

KT: This book was probably my first big lesson on how incredibly subjective publishing is. The author-illustrator–my bosses–and I all had many different ideas about the best way to handle many aspects of this book, and I realized, oh, being an editor is much less about fully controlling the development of a book than it is about finding the best route to solid middle ground between multiple visions. It’s not steering the car so much as politely giving directions from the shotgun seat, while sometimes the driver ignores you to make their own rogue turns, or the backseat passengers argue, or your maps app dies and you have to ask everyone to pull over and be patient with you while you reroute.

It’s a kind of chaos I’ve learned to fondly embrace. Having to come up with a new title that satisfied everyone was an especially hard piece of this lesson. (Fun fact–the original title of the book was We Dig Holes Like Moles).

RVC: Fun title! Now, what makes a Page Street book a Page Street book?

KT: Our publisher likes to stress that we want to make books we feel passionate about, and I second that! With our picture books specifically, we try to consider what will entertain a kid first and foremost—any messages or lessons have to come second to this, because no matter how great they are they’ll do no good if they can’t keep a kid’s attention, and like adults, children absolutely deserve to have some really great stories they can simply enjoy again and again. Though if I do have a favorite agenda to push, it’s to expand perspectives and encourage curiosity about the whole world, on scales big and small.

RVC: Describe a typical workday for you.

KT: Usually, a lot of emailing and meetings—I’m in constant communication with Page Street coworkers, authors, agents, and more. I’m also pretty consistently reading newsletters and reviews and doing research to try to keep up with kids book trends and the publishing industry as a whole. Other than that, each day holds some amount of editing manuscripts, proofreading text and reviewing art, looking at submissions, copywriting, browsing a pitch event or kidlit illustrator hashtag on Twitter, and plenty of other miscellaneous tasks. Sprinkle in some tea, snacks, and music throughout the day, plus a walk in the middle.

RVC: What’s the most important thing prospective Page Street authors should know about you?

KT: I want to be a team! I am here to listen and suggest and collaborate—even after I’ve had my hands all over it, I want the text to always feel like it’s wholly yours, or ideally even more like it’s yours, as we should be trying to make it stronger and bring out its essence together. I might put my foot down about things that aren’t working, but I’m always flexible on how those things can be fixed. Also, if I offer to acquire your book, know that I really, really love it and believe in it, and I will champion it to anyone and everyone in my immediate vicinity.

RVC: The worry writers have over Art Notes. Totally overblown, totally appropriate, or totally something they need to lose sleep over?

KT: Definitely nothing to lose sleep over! I think they’re most appropriate when either a) any part of the text might be confusing without them, or b) you have an art idea that’s so good you just have to throw it out there.

Think of them as a tool in your arsenal—they’re just there to help you communicate with your preliminary readers and the illustrator, and they can definitely be phrased more as suggestions than directives (which is my personal preference, since I think it’s wise to leave plenty of creative space for the illustrator!). The best part about art notes is that no one is going to see them in the final book, so they merely have to be comprehensible, not super carefully crafted like the rest of your writing.

RVC: Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your kidlit industry career.

KT: I feel most proud and accomplished any time I get to hold a real, finished book I acquired and edited for the first time. Making a picture book is a long, hard process, and every single one feels like a huge victory. Maybe that feels like a cop-​out answer, but this is a tough question, and it’s true! If you want a funnier answer, a recent personal high was proposing a title for a picture book sequel inspired by 2 Fast 2 Furious and expecting everyone to laugh and move on, but, uh, look out for Pirate & Penguin: 2 Few Crew by Mike Allegra and Jenn Harney! (After the first Pirate & Penguin releases, of course.)

RVC: Just wow. That sounds awesome.

KT: Agree!

RVC: How do you handle pressure at work? What do you do to de-stress?

KT: Whenever I feel my focus starting to slip or my anxiety starting to spike, I let myself take a little break—it’s going to be worse for everyone if I keep working and it’s not my best work. My kind of mantra whenever I’m having a really stressful time is “Nobody dies in publishing,” and that little reminder always helps me either muster up the strength to push on or assuage the guilt about taking my necessary pauses. Walking helps me immensely, especially if I go outside, or making a cup of tea, or reading a little bit of a non-​work book.

RVC: You seem to have an especially active presence on Manuscript Wish List. Why don’t more editors or agents use it?

KT: I don’t know, I think they should! It’s a super useful tool that ultimately saves a lot of time, because agents and writers are always asking me, “What are you looking for?” and I can immediately send them a link to a detailed list. I try to stay especially on top of it because I don’t really have a lot of time for agent calls, so I hope keeping this list updated, detailed, and easy to find helps make up for my very limited availability.

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. What’s an upcoming project or two that you’re really excited about?

KT: One at the top of my mind right now is Kadooboo!: A Silly South Indian Folktale by Shruthi Rao and Darshika Varma, because we just looked at revised sketches and some potential covers for it and ohmygosh it’s so much fun. It’s basically a game of telephone, an adventure all across town, and a hearty recommendation for South Indian food all rolled into one. We’ll have to wait until Winter 2024 for that one, so coming up much sooner (this November 1st!) is Mending the Moon by Emma Pearl and Sara Ugolotti, which has such a lovely, classic storytelling feel and a really cool fantastical scenario, with the moon falling to Earth and shattering and a girl, her grandfather, and some animals working together to fix it.

RVC: Alrighty, Kayla. We’re entering…THE SPEED ROUND! The point values are quintupled, and zippiness is at a premium. Are you ready?

KT: Oh boy, I guess!

RVC: If you could only have one app on your phone, it’d be…

KT: AllTrails.

RVC: If “Spider-​Man” is the answer, what’s the question?

KT: Who’s the only superhero you’ve seen all the movies for?

RVC: You’re organizing a kidlit dinner party. Which three characters from pictures books do you invite?

KT: Pokko from Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe, Lilly from Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes, and Payden from Payden’s Pronoun Party by Blue Jaryn and Xochitl Cornejo. (This will truly be a party.)

RVC: Five words that describe your editorial process.

KT: Consider, suggest, listen, try again.

RVC: What’s a picture book from 2022 that really got your attention?

KT: I already mentioned a Matthew Forsythe book, but I gotta say Mina. The humor, art, and unexpected direction are all so, so good.

RVC: Let’s end with a single line from a picture book you acquired.

KT: “If Mimi hears one more Chinese ghost proverb, she will shriek. And not for extra credit.” (Just one of many excellent ghost jokes from So Not Ghoul by Karen Yin and Bonnie Lui.)

RVC: Love it. Thanks so much, Kayla!

Editor Interview: Frances Gilbert (Doubleday Books for Young Readers/​Random House Children’s Books)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider4 Comments

This month’s Industry Insider is Frances Gilbert, Editor-​in-​Chief at Doubleday Books for Young Readers/​Random House Children’s Books. In addition to editing some of the top picture book writers working today, she also authored the picture books Go, Girls, Go! and Too Much Slime!, as well as numerous Step Into Reading titles and an abridgment of The Secret Garden. Among other things, Frances is well known for offering clear, supportive writing advice on social media and at writing conferences.

Let’s get to the interview to hear some of that wisdom ourselves firsthand!

Frances’ Twitter

RVC: At what point did you realize you were absolutely going to work in publishing? 

FG: I grew up in a blue collar family in a blue collar town where people didn’t have jobs like the one I have now. When I got to University of Toronto, I was surrounded by élite students whose parents had jobs I didn’t even know existed.

One friend’s mother was a sales rep at a big publisher. I asked if I could visit her office and as soon as I saw the stacks of books in everyone’s cubicles, I decided it was the place for me. She actually tried to talk me out of it! I think she was pretty burnt out. But in my head I kept thinking, “Nope, nope. This is what I’m going to do.”

RVC: What happened next?

FG: A couple of lucky breaks. A friend noticed a posting on a job board at University of Toronto while I was finishing my Master’s degree in English. It was for a Book Club Editor at Scholastic Canada. I knew I wanted to work in publishing but had my sights set on literary fiction. I applied anyway and was hired by the brilliant and wonderful Iole Lucchese, who thankfully read to page two of my resume and saw that I’d worked in the children’s department of my town library for four years in high school. She saw potential that I’d completely missed. Within days of starting, I knew I wanted a career in children’s books.

RVC: What kind of duties does a Book Club editor have? 

FG: A Book Club Editor manages the monthly book club—those flyers we all ordered from as kids. My responsibility was to select and purchase the Canadian content for each list, in addition to writing the copy and hitting monthly financial targets, so I was essentially a book buyer with a large business to manage and account for. I met with every Canadian publisher a few times a year and liaised with my counterpart in the New York office. Looking back, I still can’t believe they gave me such a big job. It allowed me to leap over assistant and associate positions and start right in the deep end. I was so lucky.

RVC: This might seem like a silly question, but I know people are wondering. Were books being published by Scholastic Canada solely for the Canadian marketplace? 

FG: Like any publisher, Scholastic Canada publishes primarily for their own country first, the Canadian marketplace, but not exclusively. Every publisher also has an international sales and foreign rights team who both sell English language copies around the world and license the rights to foreign translations.

RVC: How much French did you pick up while there?

FG: I lived in Canada from age five till I was thirty and took French in school through my second year of university, so I can get around in French at a schoolgirl level.

RVC: Très cool! Now, what are your thoughts on the Tim Hortons Double Double?

FG: I picked up a Tim Hortons Double Double each morning on my way to work. I still hit one up as soon as I land in Canada. Not Double Double anymore, but it’s still my favorite coffee.

RVC: Before getting to Doubleday where you’re at now, you spent a good bit of time working at Sterling (for those of you who don’t know, it’s owned by Barnes & Noble).

FG: Sterling was family-​owned when I was hired. I knew them as one of my suppliers for Book Clubs and Book Fairs. I bought books from them. The owner wanted to start a children’s editorial division and asked if I was interested in moving to New York to set one up. I was twenty-​nine when I got the offer, and had never actually edited a book, as my position was as a buyer and product manager.

RVC: What were some of the highlights of working at Sterling?

FG: Looking back, Sterling’s family-​owned, maverick spirit was certainly a highlight. They were nimble and independent and could take chances. When I protested during my interview that I had no editorial experience, they said, “You’ll learn!” And I did! I’ve often described those early years as “I’ve got a barn, let’s put on a show.” I was teaching myself a lot of stuff on the spot, but I had their full support to find my place. I’ll always be grateful to the former Sterling owners and executives for what they did for me. We had a large and very profitable children’s business when I left twelve years later.

RVC: How is working for Doubleday (a Big 5 publisher) different than what you experienced at your previous editorial jobs?

FG: The feeling of coming to Random House was definitely that of arriving at the Mother Ship. It’s impossible not to be impressed by basically everything–the resources, the systems, the offices, the history, the authors, the backlist, the bestsellers, the brilliant and in many cases legendary staff. But in some ways, my job was very similar to the one I left. Doubleday Books for Young Readers hadn’t published anything for a number of years when Chip Gibson, then the President of Random House Children’s Books, asked me to come over and see what I could do with it. Just like when I started at Sterling, I had to build a business from the ground up, so that was a task I was really comfortable with at that point.

RVC: Let’s help some of the aspiring writers out there. What’s a common misconception about kidlit editors?

FG: I know our industry can feel opaque when you’re trying to break in. One thing I always let people know is that we’re always earnestly trying to find exciting new works. I think people have the idea that we enjoy rejecting things, when in truth it’s the opposite. We’re always avidly trying to find great writing. We don’t enjoy saying “No” as often as we must. “Yes” is always more exciting.

RVC: What kind of things are you most looking for with picture book submissions?

FG: I’m always looking for that intangible thrill you get when you read something and it grabs you, either because it’s incredibly unique or stunningly beautiful or blistering funny. It’s hard to quantify but I know it when I see it. One thing none of us are looking for is formulaic writing. I do worry that picture book manuscripts fall into this category too often. I’m not looking for anything that simply ticks a lot of boxes that someone has heard in a seminar. That’s not how it works.

RVC: One more question for aspiring writers—what are your feelings on art notes? 

FG: If I don’t know what you envision happening in the book without art notes, then give me art notes. It’s that simple. I don’t understand why people worry about them so much.

RVC: In November 2019, you tweeted, “Gulp, so I’m a published book author.” How did your debut picture book Go, Girls, Go! come about?

FG: I actually wrote Go, Girls, Go! as a sort of practice piece. I was thinking about how most cars and trucks books have male characters behind the wheel and wondered what one would look like if we featured girls instead. I wrote it quickly and then put it away for a couple of years, never meaning to have it published. But I kept stumbling across it and finally shared it with a handful of editors. Andrea Welch at Beach Lane /​ Simon & Schuster clicked with it and made me an offer, and I ran about my apartment screaming. The feeling was as if I’d never set foot in the industry before. It was such a thrill.

RVC: What was the most important lesson you learned thanks to that book?

FG: I learned how important it is for authors to roll up their sleeves and really hustle for their books. It became like a second job to me in the evenings, writing to people, begging for favors, posting online. Now that I’ve done it myself, I feel even more emboldened in expecting it of the authors I work with.

RVC: How do your various identities—editor and author—inform each other?

FG: Certainly as an editor I can already envision how a manuscript I’m writing will fit into a publisher’s program—how it will be pitched at list launch, how it will be positioned within the larger list of books, what kind of marketing hooks the sales, marketing, and publicity team can use to help them sell and promote the book. Basically, all the things I think about when I’m acquiring, I also think about when I’m pitching one of my own manuscripts.

RVC: You’ve gone on to publish more picture books. Which one has the most unusual path to publication story?

FG: I have a new picture book coming out with Beach Lane /​ Simon & Schuster next spring. I wrote it during the first summer of the pandemic after receiving an email from an environmental group in my neighborhood. The subject line of the email sparked an idea and I immediately went out on my deck and wrote Can You Hug a Forest? I felt like I knew the entire manuscript in that one second; it just landed in my head and there it was. One moment you’re not thinking about writing something, the next moment you have an entirely new manuscript to share with your editor.

RVC: Do reviews hit you differently as a writer versus an editor?

FG: I’m thick-​skinned as both an author and an editor and can easily read a negative review and think, “Well, you didn’t understand what I was trying to do, and that’s too bad for you that you’re missing out on something really nice.”

RVC: In all of your experience as a picture book author, what has surprised you the most?

FG: How much I love doing it! I was an editor for close to twenty-​five years before it even occurred to me to write something. I can’t explain why; it just never crossed my mind. Being a writer has opened up a whole new part of my imagination.

RVC: What’s next for you as a picture book author? 

FG: Outside of Can You Hug a Forest?, which comes out next May, I don’t have a new manuscript in the works. I have to get on it!

RVC: Here’s one last question for this part of the interview. Who sets the standard for picture book rhyming?

FG: John Robert Allman, author of A Is for Audra and B Is for Broadway on my list at Doubleday. He uses rhyme so smartly to add sass and humor. It’s brilliantly inventive, like he’s landing a quadruple axel in each line.

RVC: Alright, Frances. Now it’s time for THE SPEED ROUND. Boomy-​zoomy question followed by zappy-​cracky answers, please. Are you ready?

FG: Hit me.

RVC: What would you most want—personal chef, maid, or a masseuse?

FG: Paul Hollywood baking in my kitchen all day.

RVC: What makes you roll your eyes every time you hear/​see it?

FG: The phrase “cancel culture.”

Samuel West, who indeed has a mellifluent voice!

RVC: If someone narrated your life, who would you want to be the narrator?

FG: The actor Samuel West, who has the most perfect voice on the planet.

RVC: What’s your editing superpower?

FG: I make really quick decisions. I know what I like the second I see it.

RVC: What’s a picture book you;ve edited that’s more awesome than the world realizes?

FG: Philip Stead’s I’d Like to Be the Window for a Wise Old Dog is an absolute masterpiece. Everyone who reads it will see I’m right. I don’t think it gets any better than this.

RVC: Your picture book philosophy in five words or fewer?

FG: “Grab me from line one.”

RVC: Thanks so much, Frances! This has been delightful. 

FG: Thank you for your great questions!

Agent Interview: Tricia Lawrence (Erin Murphy Literary Agency)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider3 Comments

This month’s Industry Insider interview is with Tricia Lawrence, an agent at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency (EMLA). She joined the agency as a social media strategist in 2011 after nearly two decades as a developmental and production-​based copyeditor. Born and raised in Oregon and now living in Seattle, Tricia’s often called the “Pacific Northwest branch” of EMLA.

Let’s get to know Tricia a bit more by playing Eight Truths and One Lie. Ready?

  1. She has watched 500+ hours of BBC America.
  2. After binge-​watching Project Runway, she spent a TON of time draping and fitting a half-​size mannequin.
  3. She has the innate ability to stack books as high as she is tall.
  4. She’s an avid runner.
  5. She likes to collect rocks.
  6. She’s a big Seattle sports fan.
  7. She’s a bonafide piano plunker.
  8. She once shared a blueberry bagel with Beyoncé.
  9. Books she’s authored have been sold off Target endcaps.

Can’t tell which is the lie? The answer will be revealed in the interview…somewhere. And since you likely really want to know that answer, let’s get right to the interview.

RVC: When did you first discover your love for books?

TL: I was about 8 and realized if I slapped down my family’s library card, the librarians had to let me borrow the books. I would clear off a shelf of books at a time, and then read them in about a day, my long legs slung over the arm of our wingback chair. And then I would pester my parents to drive me to the library to get more.

I began to get a reputation at that library …

RVC: How did school foster or get in the way of your future career in the book industry?

TL: I struggled in school, only because I was often daydreaming, but I was alternating between two schools for most of my grade school years. It was my parents’ dream for me to attend a Christian grade school, but they didn’t have the money every year, so I struggled to write a complete sentence in third-​grade PUBLIC school, only because in second-​grade PRIVATE school, our studies hadn’t gotten there yet. These were not the best years of my life. It created a lot of self-​doubt, but I knew I was going to be a writer. And I so in spite of all of this, I reveled in my love for books.

RVC: After college, you spent some time in the writing/​content-​creation side of the medical world. What lessons from those jobs do you use most in your work now as a literary agent?

TL: That no matter how much education you have, it doesn’t mean you can write a story that can keep someone engaged. I edited for a lot of doctors and just like so many have awful handwriting, a lot of them struggled with writing. They were great partners, however, because the best conversations I remember are discussing complex sentences as well as phlebotomy.

RVC: What convinced you to make the move to joining the Erin Murphy Literary Agency (EMLA)?

TL: I’ve LONG been an admirer of Erin Murphy and the kind of agency she has created. She actually turned me down the first time, but I came back a few months later, and voila! Sorta like querying sometimes. One “no” isn’t often the last word.

RVC: I love hearing success stories based in perseverance. Now, what’s the most important things authors should know or understand about effectively using social media to support their careers?

TL: That social media DOES NOT MATTER without the writing. It supports the book, but it doesn’t supersede the book. You only need a massive social media platform if you’re writing nonfiction for the mainstream adult trade market, say, if you’ve got a new approach to phlebotomy or something (ha!), but the story matters the most in children’s literature and teen literature. It’s ALL that matters.

That said, pick the social media tools you enjoy and leave off the rest. If you don’t like Twitter, it will be obvious. If you LOVE TikTok, go with god and have fun.

RVC: Let’s talk about you as an agent. What’s the first picture book you sold?

TL: It was There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight, a magnificent rhymer by the amazing Penny Parker Klostermann. I remember sitting out on the lawn checking my email and then staring up at the trees in our backyard in awe of the power of picture books. I had fallen so hard for Penny’s text and I had sent it to an editor who also loved it. It’s the magic beans of this business. If the author has passion for their work, it will spread and it’s a beautiful thing.

RVC: What are some other books that just grabbed you at the language level like that?

TL: There are so many! From Annie Bailey’s Mud! (2022) to Jill Esbaum’s How to Grow a Dinosaur (2018)–I would need to go on and on and on!

RVC: In terms of your identity as an agent, how would you describe yourself?

TL: Devoted, passionate advocate, and curious.

RVC: Describe your ideal client. 

TL: Self-​aware, honest, and hardworking

RVC: What’s a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career at EMLA?

TL: I think each time I read a manuscript from a client and think “I love this” and then I convince an editor to also love it is the most significant. I know I’m hedging and also being repetitive, but this…this is the magic.

RVC: I know what you mean. What is the most common misconception about a literary agent?

TL: That once you’ve got the agent, you’ve arrived (and for some that may be true). I believe every time we write something, even if it doesn’t garner agent attention or doesn’t win, we’ve arrived. It’s a big balancing act and each writer will arrive to it in their own way, i.e. has their own goals that make them feel they’ve arrived. Hopefully as an agent, I can help them fine-​tune those dreams and reach even farther.

RVC: How do you feel about Art Notes?

TL: I’m feeling pretty good about them. Sometimes they’re just necessary and yet can feel like their own set of rules.

A reminder: if you rely on the art notes to create your story rather than to enlarge and enhance your story, go back through them again and seek out how you might rework anything.

RVC: You seem fairly active with live and virtual events/​communities. What do you get out of participating with #DVpit or attending an SCBWI conference as faculty?

TL: A TON. It’s a place for like-​minded folks to gather. And now, with opportunities opening for more and more stories, I’m hoping we see even more change and openness. Just because I don’t know, doesn’t mean it’s not important. I think gathering together helps us to understand and to learn. Plus, it’s just nice to hang out with folks who are as addicted to stories as I am!

RVC: You also do a lot of work beyond being an agent. Care to talk about some of your own book writing?

TL: I wrote some books back in the late 1990s that were among the first to get picked up by Target. At the time, Target was not doing a lot of book sales, so I got to be the experiment.

RVC: Lucky you!

TL: I remember buying copies for friends and family and my sister announced to the person checking us out that I was the author. The checkout guy made me open each book and point to my name. It was surreal, but really fun. I love that my own clients get to have that experience now. It’s seriously thrilling. I’ve gotten back to my writing during COVID and I’ve learned so much from my clients as to how to be a writer. Courage, refusal to give up, and more courage!

RVC: I see that you’re doing a lot of painting these days and you’ve said that you regret not taking it more seriously earlier.

TL: I started an experiment making art (watercolor and Procreate on the iPad) just to see if I could. I’m not as diligent as I should be, but I still make art every day. I find that it soothes me and opens up a different part of my brain. I give advice to writers all the time about allowing the creativity to flow through other tactile activities: gardening, making art, knitting. I thought it was time to take my own advice and it has become a lovely hobby.

RVC: How has your work as an artist informed your work as a literary agent?

TL: In so many ways. Having a growth mindset means you work at it. So I go from feeling confident and wheeling and dealing for my clients to trying to make art, where I feel inadequate and like a failure. The tension there is so interesting. It’s a daily journey through that tension, but so worth it. From that tension comes amazing growth, centeredness, and courage!

RVC: Brag time. What upcoming projects are you most excited about? 

TL: I’m obsessed with Alice Faye Duncan and Chris Raschka’s Yellow Dog Blues (Eerdmans, 2022) coming in September. Chris took Alice Faye’s text and created a masterpiece of art. He painted on and embroidered burlap for each page.

RVC: WOW!

TL: And Kim Rogers’ debut Just Like Grandma (Heartdrum, January 2023) illustrated by Julie Flett. Absolutely beautiful work. I cannot wait. I also cannot wait for Jill Esbaum’s upcoming Stinkbird Has a Superpower (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2023) illustrated by Bob Shea. So excited!

RVC: Tricia, it’s time for the SPEED ROUND. Lightning-​fast questions and even faster answers, please. Are…YOU…READY?

TL: 100 percent!

RVC: What’s something that will always be in fashion, regardless of how much time passes?

TL: Books.

RVC: What movie quote do you use on a regular basis?

TL: “Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint.”—wrongly used in the 1999 movie they made of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, because the original quote is from Austen’s novel, Love and Friendship.

RVC: You’re hosting a literary ice cream social. What three writers—living or dead, real or imagined—would you invite?

TL: Octavia Butler, Mary Magdalene, Carl Sagan.

RVC: What books are on your nightstand?

TL: Oh god. Hundreds of books (but the nightstand doesn’t support them any longer, so they are on a currently reading bookshelf). HAHAHAHAHA.

I have so many. Right now I have 16 novels from the library (mostly murder/​thriller reads, but I’ve been going through this list of debut novels and love being blown away by them all!

RVC: What was the first picture book that gave you a WOW moment?

TL: I Want My Hat Back. I’m a dark soul. This book is brilliant.

RVC: Favorite line from a picture book you repped?

TL:

“Nestled on a garden path

and strewn along the shore.

Scattered on a city block

and on the forest floor …

 

Tucked in sidewalk crevices

and stuck in mucky ground.

Stretching high and scraping sky,

rocks are all around.”

This is from Lisa Varchol Perron and Taylor Perron’s unannounced co-​authored picture book coming in 2024 from Penguin Random House.

RVC: Thanks so much, Tricia! Oh, and by the way, care to reveal which of the biographical nuggets in the introduction is a big stinking whopper of a falsehood?

TL: While I have seen Beyoncé in concert and sang along with everything like the obsessed fan that I am, I unfortunately have never shared a bagel with her. Bey, you want bagels? Call me!

Editor Interview: Catherine Laudone (Paula Wiseman Books)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider

This month’s Industry Insider Interview is with Catherine Laudone, a children’s book editor at Paula Wiseman Books. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster in 2013, she graduated with a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and completed several internships at children’s publishing houses and literary agencies, including HarperCollins and Sourcebooks. She is also currently pursuing her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Over the last nine years, she’s edited picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels in a wide range of genres. Her authors’ titles have been New York Times bestsellers, Junior Library Guild selections, Indies New Voices and Indies Kids’ Next Pick selections. They have also been chosen for state reading and award longlists, and received starred reviews.

When Catherine isn’t editing, writing, or reading, she likes to throw pottery, crochet, bake, play tennis, and watch Gilmore Girls reruns. And, quite reasonably, she’s a devout fan of all things chocolate.

Let’s get to the interview so we can learn more!

RVC: What aspect/​part of you today gives away where you’re from and how you were raised?

CL: Growing up on Long Island, I was very close to my extended family—especially my Nana and cousins. My immediate family moved to New Jersey when I was in seventh grade, but we maintained those close relationships over the years. So, my love of stories centered on family and intergenerational relationships reflects my upbringing.

RVC: What influence did your family have on your love for stories?

CL: Growing up, every week my mom took my brothers and I to the library. We even had a designated “library bag” that we would load up with books. And both my parents would read to us every night before bed, fostering a love of stories and books that continues today.

RVC: That’s such a familiar story with agents and editors–I love it. Now, when you chose to attend Emerson College’s BFA program, were you planning to become a full-​time writer and editor?

CL: Yes, going into college I knew I wanted to write and edit children’s books. So, I chose Emerson’s program because it had the best of both worlds—writing and publishing within one degree.

RVC: What lesson from your time at Emerson do you find most useful today?

CL: Emerson College is where I learned to “speed read” and read multiple books at a time. These skills have been helpful, as I often have to multitask and work on many different projects daily as an editor.

RVC: Care to share a tip on how to speed read?

CL:  Speed reading is a fancy word for skimming. Sometimes when another colleague shares a longer novel for second reads, I skim or “speed read” several chapters to get a sense of voice and the story’s overall direction. Practice is the best tip I can give for learning to speed read or skim.

RVC: How did you land internships in publishing? And how valuable were those in terms of getting a full-​time job as an editor?

CL: I looked up internships online on my own, applied, and interviewed for them. I was fortunate that my parents lived about an hour outside of New York City, so I was able to live at home and intern in the city during the summers, between college semesters. I did a few internships in Boston during my semesters as well. Those internships gave me real-​world experience in the children’s publishing industry and helped when it came time for me to apply for entry level editorial jobs in children’s publishing.

RVC: I’m always interested in imprints named after someone because they feel so specific and distinct. Now, I have my own answer here, but I’m curious—in your mind, what makes a Paula Wiseman book a Paula Wiseman book?

CL: A Paula Wiseman book celebrates the joy of being a child—the excitement and magic of new experiences, learning, and building relationships. And a Paula Wiseman book reflects the wonderfully diverse world that we all live in.

RVC: What’s the story behind the first picture book you acquired?

CL: Some graduating seniors from RISD [Rhode Island School of Design] came into the office one day for a portfolio review. I stopped to flip through the portfolio of a talented young woman named Hanna Cha. There was a stunning color sketch of a girl riding on a huge tiger’s back. I asked “Is there a story that goes with this art?” Hanna explained that she had a partial rough dummy that she’d done for school but the story itself was unfinished. I asked her to send it to me and from there we worked on the story together until it was ready to share at my editorial staff meeting. I was given the greenlight to acquire it and that story became Tiny Feet Between the Mountains.

RVC: If you had to summarize the most important lesson you learned over the start-​to-​finish process of that book getting published, what would it be?

CL: I learned that there is no “formula” for editing picture books. I had shadow-​edited other picture books with my supervisor prior to acquiring this one, but parts of his process didn’t naturally fit into how Hanna and I worked together. So, I adapted his process based on what worked for us and figured out the rest as I went. It was Hanna’s debut picture book as well, so it was nice to experience the learning curve together. That’s what makes editing picture books—or any book for that matter—so much fun. Each story is a unique puzzle waiting to be pieced together.

RVC: Describe a typical workday as an Editor at Paula Wiseman Books.

CL: Things have changed since the pandemic. I used to start my day with a long commute and lots of in-​person interactions, but now I work from home and Zoom with colleagues. But the job has remained the same. On a typical day, I am providing feedback on interiors of a picture book, editing a novel, giving my thoughts on a jacket design and art, writing catalog copy, sending requested materials to our Sales or Publicity teams, answering agents’ and authors’ questions via email, and attending meetings and acquiring books.

It’s a fast-​paced, hands-​in-​every-​cookie-​jar kind of job and that’s what I love about it. I’m never bored.

RVC: How much time do you have these days to read for pleasure?

CL: For a few years I fell behind on reading for pleasure—when you’re reading all day for work, sometimes it’s the last thing you want to do when you’re off the clock. But starting my MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts a year and a half ago made me get back into reading. I read a minimum of 50 children’s books per semester and annotate/​write critical essays on some of them.

RVC: Wow!

CL: Today, I make time to read for pleasure (and for school), and I go to the library once a week to check out picture books and graphic novels. Although I will admit that I consume novels mostly in the audiobook format these days. It’s easier to listen while doing the dishes, making dinner, or driving somewhere than it is to find time to sit down and read a physical copy.

RVC: No shame there–I do the same, which helps me justify having a commute. Please tell me about a time when things didn’t go the way you wanted. 

CL: There have been times when I gave notes and asked an author to do a revision and resubmit, in the hopes that I could bring the revision to my staff meeting and get the greenlight to take it to acquisitions. But sometimes those projects I’ve given notes on just don’t pan out and I have to pass. It’s disappointing in those cases but I always hope that my notes helped the author make the story a little stronger and that they will find the right home for their project, even if it’s not with me.

RVC: What’s one of your favorite success stories as an editor?

CL: That’s easy—Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light, Apryl Stott’s New York Times bestselling debut picture book is one of my favorite success stories. When we used to be in the office, I would sometimes get postcards from illustrators advertising their work. One day I received one from Apryl, showing a little girl and a bear in the wintry woods. The bear wore a Santa Lucia wreath and red scarf. I was so charmed by the art that I cold-​emailed Apryl’s agent and asked if she had a story for these two adorable characters.

From there, Apryl and I spent months working on the story together and I went on to acquire it. Fast-​forward to when the book comes out during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and Barnes & Noble picks it for a holiday promotion! Then the Library of Congress picks the story for their National Holiday Read-​Aloud! With all this love for Apryl, the book hits the New York Times bestseller list for a few consecutive weeks. It was a major milestone for both me and Apryl and a true homegrown author-​illustrator success story.

RVC: What do you think of the state of kidlit right now?

CL: I think the kidlit landscape is in a state of evolution. Sure, there are some growing pains that come with that, but I’m encouraged to see so many new voices emerging and telling the stories of underrepresented groups of children and teens.

RVC: Your debut picture book—She Kept Dancing: The True Story of a Professional Dancer with a Limb Difference—comes out from Macmillan in fall 2023. Congrats on becoming an author!

CL: Thank you so much!

RVC: She Kept Dancing is co-​authored. What’s the story behind how this book and your writing partnership came to be?

CL: I have always loved watching the Radio City Rockettes at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and on TV during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So, I was intrigued when I saw an online article about Sydney Mesher, the first Radio City Rockette with a visible disability. I instantly read it and was so inspired by Sydney’s story. My first thought was “wow, this would make an incredible picture book.” I cold-​emailed Sydney and her two agencies, asking if she’d be interested in discussing the possibility of a picture book. I was delighted when Sydney herself responded and said she was interested. I started interviewing Sydney and the story of her career and her levels of determination and perseverance were incredible. I assumed I would hire a cowriter to help tell the story and I would be the editor of the book.

Things came to a halt when we went into COVID lockdown and the initial proposal wasn’t approved by the Radio City Rockettes. But I couldn’t get Sydney’s story out of my mind—and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to be the one to help write and tell her story. I reached out again and Sydney and I reconnected. I asked if Sydney would be open to coauthoring the book with me and she agreed. Then we came up with an entirely new angle for her story and that’s the version that wound up finding a home with Emily Settle at Macmillan. I am incredibly grateful to have Sydney as my coauthor and Natelle Quek as our illustrator—it’s been a fantastic collaboration all around.

RVC: How is the process different for an established editor like yourself in terms of submitting a picture book manuscript?

CL: It’s actually not different for me at all! I still have my literary agent submit a picture book manuscript to editors on my behalf. I have to wait for their feedback and receive rejections and requests for revise and resubmits the same as anyone else.

RVC: How has the process (so far!) with She Kept Dancing informed your work as an editor? 

CL: While working on She Kept Dancing, I really had to be sensitive and thoughtful about how I portrayed Sydney as a disabled individual—I had to make sure to capture who she was as a person apart from her disability, while also still make sure that her limb difference and her challenges were portrayed accurately. And I had to put myself in her shoes emotionally and mentally to make sure her character arc was genuine and compelling. As an editor, I look for the same level of care and sensitivity at the craft level when reviewing submissions, especially those featuring disabled characters.

RVC: What’s the most interesting thing about Sydney Mesher that didn’t make it into the book?

CL: I think we managed to get everything in there, actually! So, you’ll have to read the book and decide for yourself what is the most interesting fact about Sydney.

RVC: You’re currently pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. You’ve already got a successful career in the industry, so do you find it a little weird?

CL: Not really, because they are two separate careers within the same industry. Yes, there is some overlap when it comes to application of craft. But when I’m an editor, I’m helping another author or illustrator tell the best story they can and make their dreams a reality. When I’m an author, I’m telling my own stories and going after my own writing dreams. I chose to pursue my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults to take my own writing to the next level. Being able to apply what I’ve learned to my editor career is an added bonus.

RVC: How many times has a classmate (or a teacher?) pitched you an idea for Paula Wiseman Books?

CL: I’m pleased to say that this has never happened. Sure, sometimes a classmate or advisor might ask my opinion on something publishing-​related if they know I’m an editor. But they never pitch their own books to me. That’s what I love about VCFA—in the program I’m just another fellow writer and student who is there to learn and grow. And people are very respectful of that boundary.

RVC: Editor, author, consultant, freelancer, student. How do your various roles feed each other?

CL: All my roles feed each other in an endless cycle of creativity and critical thinking. I have to be creative in coming up with my own stories and offering feedback on authors’ and illustrators’ stories. And I think critically to find craft-​based solutions and ask the right questions that help both myself and my authors and illustrators best execute those stories.

RVC: You sound busy! What do you do to de-stress?

CL: Going to the gym or for a walk helps a lot. And I like to refill my creative well by learning new things. During the last two years I learned how to throw pottery, but lately I’ve gotten back into crocheting and trying new, harder patterns. Spending time with family and friends is also a great way to de-stress.

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. What upcoming projects are you most excited about?

CL: As an author, I’m of course excited about She Kept Dancing. And I have a few other works-​in-​progress that I’m excited about but can’t share at the moment. As an editor, I am very excited about some new books that my authors and illustrators have coming out:

RVC: Okay, Catherine. It’s time for the LIGHTNING ROUND. Zippy questions and zoomy answers, please. Are you ready?

CL: Bring it on!

RVC: Gilmore Girls…great TV show or the greatest TV show?

CL: Great TV show—it’s a classic but it does have its flaws.

RVC: Most underappreciated Gilmore Girls character?

CL: That’s a tie between Kirk and Lane! Kirk is great comedic relief, and Lane is the BFF that Rory never deserved or truly appreciated, I think.

RVC: Favorite recipe from (or inspired by) the show?

CL: I own the Gilmore Girls recipe books! So, I have to say Sookie’s blueberry lemon shortcake was delicious!

RVC: What’s your most important good habit/​routine as an editor?

CL: Never answering work emails on the weekend. It’s a good habit, to help keep a healthy balance between my professional and personal life.

RVC: A favorite picture book of 2021 that you didn’t edit?

CL: What Isabella Wanted: Isabella Stewart Gardner Builds a Museum by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Matt Cordell.

RVC: Your picture book philosophy in five words or fewer?

CL: It needs an emotional hook.

RVC: Thanks so much, Catherine.

CL: Thank you for this opportunity!

Agent Interview: Jacqui Lipton (Tobias Literary Agency)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Industry Insider

After working as an Associate Agent and intern at several literary agencies, Jacqui Lipton founded Raven Quill Literary Agency in 2019 and, in 2022, the agency merged with The Tobias Literary Agency where Jacqui continues to focus on developing the careers of unique, high quality, engaging, and often underrepresented voices. She represents a little bit of everything from children’s books through the adult market in both fiction and nonfiction.

In addition to holding an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Jacqui is a law professor and attorney with American and international experience in commercial and intellectual property law. She writes columns on legal issues for writers for the SCBWI Bulletin, Luna Station Quarterly, Catapult Community Page, and Savvy Authors, and she’s a frequent presenter on these issues around the country. She’s also the author of Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers (University of California Press, 2020).

Jacqui focuses on representing authors of picture books, novels, novels-​in-​verse, and nonfiction from middle grade through to the adult market.

Now that we’ve got a sense of what Jacqui is bringing to the OPB table, let’s get to the interview!

RVC: Which came first—the interest in writing/​publishing or the interest in law?

JL: I’d have to say I was writing LONG before I was thinking of going to law school. I was always an avid reader from a very young age and started writing bad poetry in elementary school, moved on to short stories in high school, and soon tried short novels and scripts. A major attraction of the law for me involved the narratives relating to legal disputes—different ways the same facts can be perceived and relayed by different parties–and the very human stories the law often deals with.

RVC: Way back when, what were you reading, and what influence did those books have on you?

JL: I started out with mysteries when I was young—I loved books that included puzzles to solve. I still love a good mystery or suspense story. I tend to like relatively fast-​paced stories that contain surprises along the way, but now I also enjoy slower paced, thoughtful literary pieces with beautiful writing craft.

RVC: You’ve got a connection to Australia. Care to explain how you went to university there?

JL: I actually grew up in Australia and moved to the States later in life, so I still have an Aussie accent and did most of my schooling in Australia. I went to the UK for my Ph.D., and also now hold that good old MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

RVC: Since you literally wrote the book on legal issues for writers, let me ask—why do writers need to know about the law? Isn’t it something their agent just handles for them?

JL: Well, to start with, not all writers work with agents or literary lawyers, so it’s worth understanding the basics of the contract you’re entering into! And honestly the main through-​line of the book is that it’s not necessary for authors to know a lot about the law, and that the law should never stand in the way of writing what you want to write because there’s usually a workaround for common legal problems that arise, many of which I discuss in the book.

So, the idea of the book is to explain in simple terms, with accessible pop culture examples, the basics of things like what a copyright is, the key terms authors will see in contracts with agents and with publishers (and the key differences between those contracts) and how defamation, privacy and trademark law can come into play in the writing life. The content of the book is really drawn from lots of questions authors have asked me over the years and my attempts to answer them in simple, accessible terms.

RVC: Simple and accessible sounds wonderful.

JL: There are other books out there that go into, say, publishing contracts in a lot more detail than my book. Mine is really intended as an entry point to give authors a heads up on the key legal issues they might face in their careers, and importantly, which issues can be easily handled without legal help, which may need legal help, and where to go to find effective and hopefully affordable legal help. It also has chapters focusing on self-​publishing where agents/​lawyers are less likely to be consulted. The book won’t make anyone into a lawyer, but hopefully it will give authors comfort about the scary-​seeming questions that often get raised and inaccurately addressed in a a lot of writing groups (online and IRL)!

RVC: I teach Introduction to the Profession of Creative Writing and The Profession of Creative Writing at my college, and something we talk about in those classes that shocks young writers is copyright and IP (intellectual property). They often don’t have any idea of the rights they’re surrendering for free by posting things on social media, for example. 

JL: That was a big reason I wrote the book—just to give authors some accessible and accurate knowledge about things like their intellectual property rights. And posting stuff on social media usually isn’t “giving away” rights in your work, but it may be infringing rights in other people’s work! It’s important to understand the difference between protecting your own rights and respecting other people’s rights—and I hope the book addresses some of those distinctions.

RVC: Gotcha–thanks for clarifying that! Now, you work as a legal consultant for writers and creative artists. What’s the most frequently asked question you get? 

JL: Definitely questions about including other people’s work (e.g. song lyrics, lines of poetry, photographs) in your own work—and the extent to which that infringes copyright. A lot of people think that giving attribution to the original creator avoids a copyright infringement problem and it really doesn’t because copyright isn’t about attribution—it’s about copying. Attributing the original creator is always nice, but it’s not a copyright issue. If the original creator gives you permission to use their work and asks for attribution in return, that’s a contract (it’s a contractual license to use their work with attribution).

The other common question is about defamation—say, someone is writing a memoir and want to know what they can “get away with” writing about real people in their lives without being at risk for a defamation suit. Luckily for authors, defamation is a pretty weak law in the United States as compared with other countries. Truth does tend to be a defense and statements of opinion, rather than fact, are typically not defamatory.

RVC: How did you go from being a lawyer to being a literary agent?

JL: I actually still do a bit of both (or at least a bit of contract consulting here and there). I also mainly teach law rather than practice. I’ve always been more of a teacher than a lawyer, which, I think, is part of the reason I wrote the book. The teacher in me just won’t stop! So, I tend to do a bit of everything but my main focus is a combination of teaching and agenting.

RVC: What’s something most people wouldn’t appreciate about being an agent?

JL: How much paperwork there is in terms of contracts, payments, just day to day emails. I think a lot of people have a kind of glamorous conceptions of agents on the phone doing big deals for books that become instant bestsellers. A lot of it is actually admin work behind a computer. I also think people assume agents make a lot more money than they do, a lot more quickly than they do over the span of a career. An agent only gets a commission on projects they sell, and, even then, it’s usually typically around 15% and most book deals aren’t six-​figure deals. So, you do the math! And bear in mind that unless you own your own agency, that 15% is split between the agent and the agency, so many agents only earn between 7.5 to 12% of the deals they do, depending on their arrangements with their agencies.

RVC: You’re a writer, too. How does your own writing inform your agenting?

JL: I’m not sure that it really does. I tend not to write in areas where I actively agent because I have trouble turning off my editor brain in the genres I work on for clients, which tends to interfere with my ability to write creatively myself in those genres. So, at the moment I write mainly prescriptive nonfiction for adults (the legal issues book and a forthcoming data privacy handbook—Our Data, Ourselves: A Personal Guide to Digital Privacy, coming out this fall with University of California Press). I tend to rep nonfiction more in the kidlit space and more narrative nonfiction than I write. And I don’t really write much in the way of fiction.

Never say never, but once my editor brain is switched on for a particular genre, I find it hard to switch off.

RVC: What made you take the potentially scary dive into launching your own agency?

JL: It was something that felt right at the time because I had trained for a while and I had the legal/​business background to do it. It also enabled me to call the shots and develop the business the way I wanted to develop it—with a wonderful team of agents and clients. I think it paid off in the sense that we gave a lot of newer agents and clients a wonderful start in the business and then, with the recent Tobias merger, we were able to quickly draw on the strengths and synergies between the two agencies to provide clients a deeper level of service and more opportunities more quickly than if we had continued on our own.

RVC: In all your experience with Raven Quill, what surprised you the most?

JL: We did manage to make a lot of deals very quickly, or at least more quickly than I guessed we would, particularly as we had newer agents and a lot of newer clients on deck. We were probably helped a bit by the pandemic because we didn’t have brick and mortar premises to deal with at a time when lots of people were trying to renegotiate leases, and we didn’t have a lot of existing contracts with pub dates being postponed due to school and bookstore closings, supply chain issues, etc. I guess I was also surprised by the amount of faith clients and editors placed in us so quickly and so graciously.

RVC: Let’s talk about picture books specifically. What are some of the picture books you’ve repped that are indicative of your tastes, both as an agent and for your agency?

JL: It’s so weird to think of myself as a picture book agent because it was one area I never specifically trained in, but I did end up selling a number of them. My picture book tastes are pretty eclectic and my list is currently pretty full in that regard so I’m more likely to look at a picture book author who also writes in other segments of the market at the moment.

One of my absolute favorite picture books (coming out in 2023 with Sleeping Bear Press) is Stephanie Gibeault’s Toby Tootles, illustrated by Mary Sullivan, because I was so delighted to actually sell a fart book! But what I love about the book is that it’s really a book about self-​acceptance that uses flatulence in a humorous way to get the message across.

I have to also give a shout out to Tziporah Cohen for two of her picture books, On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue: How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America, illustrated by the amazing Steven Salerno, and coming out this fall with Clarion, and Afikomen, coming out in spring 2023 with Groundwood (illustrated by Yaara Eshet). I love the Hershey bio because it’s about the way Hershey struggled to create a sweet treat accessible to the masses, and not just for the wealthy. And I LOVE Afikomen because it’s a wordless time travel portal fantasy about Passover. Writing the pitch for it was a lot of fun as you can imagine.

RVC: I’ll bet!

JL: Two of my clients have absolutely amazing picture books coming out on the Heartdrum list at HarperCollins, one about community with a particular shout out to people who identify as “two spirit” (Circle of Love by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt) and another about a young girl coming of age and learning about how to make a ribbon skirt with her grandmother (Stitches of Tradition or Gashkigwaaso Tradition) by Marcie Rendon, illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley.

Another one that I’m particularly excited about is Molly Golden’s debut nonfiction picture book, Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit, illustrated by Paola Escobar, forthcoming with Clarion (big shout out to Jennifer Greene for her editorial vision). While it’s a picture book biography, it’s really a story about using creativity to overcome grief and it was a perfect book to work on during the pandemic.

RVC: Sounds quite timely.

JL: I hate calling out particular client projects because I’ll always end up leaving someone out but hopefully this list shows you that when I do rep picture books, the actual genres within PB that I rep are pretty broad (although I definitely have a soft spot for nonfiction), but what I’m looking for is a meaningful theme at the heart of the piece. For example, I don’t want to see a biography that simply chronicles someone’s life. I want to see a story about hope or grief or love that uses the biography format (or whatever other format) as the vehicle to investigate that theme.

RVC: Something I’ve found to be true is that most agents get a ton of pretty good manuscripts. What helps a story stand out from a bunch of others that are totally solid and have a lot going for them but ultimately won’t make the cut?

JL: That’s a tough one to answer! The short answer is probably “narrative voice” but it’s really difficult to define what that means. When I end up passing on perfectly good projects that don’t have that special “it” factor, I usually write the author a note saying “I wasn’t drawn organically into the story through the characters and their voices; I felt like I could see the author’s hand telling me what was going on.” What I mean by that is there’s a difference between a character who just leaps off the page and into your heart and a character who is interesting, but interesting in the same way as a lot of other characters. I wish I could be more specific. And it’s also subjective, so a character that doesn’t speak to me on that level may well speak to other agents and editors. That’s why it’s almost impossible to define “voice” in a way that’s meaningful to writers! Each agent/​editor “knows it when they see it” and we’re all looking for slightly different nuances.

RVC: What’s your personal feeling on Art Notes from authors?

JL: I think they’re fine as long as they’re not overdone. Some pieces require more art notes than others to clarify what’s happening in the text. As long as the author isn’t being overly prescriptive and not giving any room for the illustrator to shine, or, conversely, the author isn’t leaving too much of the narrative to the illustrator because the author, say, doesn’t really know how the story ends (!), I think, with practice, it’s usually relatively clear where and when illustrator notes should be included.

Agents should be able to help with this, too. I’m often discussing adding illustrator notes (or removing them) with client work, so there’s no “perfect” amount of illustrator notes to include when querying agents, and an agent who likes your work should be able to discuss including or deleting illustrator notes. Same with backmatter and other supplemental information.

RVC: What DON’T you want to see in terms of picture book submissions? 

JL: I’m being very selective about picture book submissions at the moment because my list is pretty full on that front and pretty strong already. I’m not the best fit for anthropomorphized animal characters–or dragons. Actually, I’m probably not the best fit for any prince/​fairy/​dragon pieces!

RVC: What’s a favorite client picture book success story?

JL: I have one that I can’t talk about because it hasn’t been announced yet so ask me next time!

RVC: Consider us tantalized regardless! Now, what’s a favorite you CAN share?

JL: I really loved selling a beautiful picture book, Rising by award-​winning Canadian literary fiction author, Sidura Ludwig, which is being illustrated by Sophia Vincent-​Guy and published by Candlewick. Sidura is such a beautiful lyrical writer and the manuscript was so quiet and heartfelt, simply chronicling a day making Challah between a mother and daughter, but of course it was about so much more. It resonated with themes of family and community across countries and generations. It ended up being a competitive bidding situation between editors who really understood the message and felt passionately about it. At the end of the day, Mary Lee Donovan ended up editing it and she is an absolute dream for this piece. Jewish stories that aren’t about a particular religious holiday or the holocaust have been few and far between, so a simple family Challah-​baking story felt in some ways a tough nut to crack in the market, and I was so glad we found an editor—in fact more than one—who really had the most amazing vision for the piece.

RVC: That’s the secret–finding an editor with the right vision for a story. Awesome.

JL: I know you only asked for one story but I was also super-​excited about the sale of Lyn Miller-​Lachmann’s debut picture book, Ways to Play, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo to Levine Querido. Lyn had always wanted to write a picture book and now calls herself a “triple threat” as a result of spanning the PB, MG and YA markets (and she’s also now written a chapter book as well—the Temple Grandin volume in the She Persisted series—so maybe she’s a quadruple threat). Ways to Play will be such a beautiful book dealing with children on the spectrum being called out for not playing with toys the same way as other kids; both Lyn and Gabriel are on the spectrum and it’s the perfect partnership for this piece.

RVC: Last question for this part of the interview. What would you like to brag about in terms of forthcoming client work? And/​or your own writing?

JL: All of it! Seriously, I can’t pick a project. I’m fortunate and so, so grateful that my clients have put their trust in me and shared their amazing creative work with me and supported me as the agency grew and changed and ultimately merged with the team at Tobias. If I have a brag at all, it’s that I think the market is going to see our clients’ work go from strength to strength in coming years and I can’t wait to see what the future brings for all of us.

RVC: Alrighty, Jacqui. It’s now time for the Lightning Round. Zippy questions and zappy answers, please. Are you ready?

JL: Uh, didn’t you notice the length of my previous answers?? I don’t think I can do this! HELP!!!

RVC: Favorite Crayola color (real or invented)?

JL: Memory Lane Indigo.

RVC: What always cheers you up when you think about it?

JL: My kids’ smiles.

RVC: What do you think you’re much better at than you actually are?

JL: Critiquing plays and musicals!

RVC: Guilty reading pleasure?

JL: ROMANCE!!!!

RVC: What’s the One That Got Away?

JL: Ooh, that’s a tough one. I probably can’t name her because she’s working with another agent and happily selling books I wished I’d had the opportunity to rep. (She knows who she is!!! Or does she???)

RVC: In five words or less, your picture book philosophy.

JL: Write with heart. Rinse. Repeat.

RVC: Thanks so much, Jacqui! 

JL: Thanks for having me!