Q: After you sell a picture book, how much work are you asked to do before the book is published?
Almost all of my books, even though I like them very much, have problems with them. Sometimes I feel I could have solved the problems had I had more initial input. So now I'm much more hardnosed about input.
The first thing I do is pay a lot more attention to editing after it's sold and before the publisher finalizes things. On too many of my books, after they're published, I find wordings I should have changed.
I also now insist that any change the publisher makes, even putting in a comma, gets approved by me. (I'm actually easy to work with, but I've found that the simple editing decision the editor makes sometimes changes the meaning or rhythm of the story.)
I'm also getting more involved in the illustration (still not very involved, but more than I than I did in the past.) I now ask that the editor send me all sketches or works in progress. I don't micromanage illustrations, but I want to see the art early enough to catch things that might be problems.
Some picture books, like Bullfrog, only work if they're formatted just right. In these cases I provide a lot of illustration and format notes. I just finished a manuscript that's about 100 words fo text, and 500 words of illustration notes. If it's published it will be an unusual book, and it will only work if it's done just right. Most of the time though I don't provide notes. In fact the book I just sold to Putnam is a combination of two short manuscripts. Not only haven't I provided notes, I don't even know what the structure of the book is going to be like. I'm assuming my editor has something in mind, and when she gets back to me with her ideas then I'll work with her. I won't say anything before, however, because I want to see what she and the art director have in mind.
So in general, you get involved as much as you need to to make sure the book works, but not so much that you get in the way of the other people doing their jobs.
Q: If my editor wants me to do something to my manuscript that I think will make the book worse, what should I do?
Sometimes they'll also have good reasons why your approach isn't best, and then you can both try to find a third alternative that makes everyone happy. That happens to me a lot too.
Anyway, if I were starting over I'd try to be more involved right from the start.
Q: Is non-fiction a good market now?
Q: I sent my manuscript to a publisher who said they will respond in three months. It's been more than three months. What should I do?
So ignore the slow publisher for now and just send the manuscript on to the next publisher. If the slow publisher is interested and they're just dragging their feet, they'll eventually get back to you. If not, you haven't lost any more time with the manuscript.
Q: I've just sold my first book to a small press and have just received my contract. Is there anything I need to watch out for, or are all contracts pretty much the same?
A couple of friends and I pitched an idea to one small publisher, but bowed out when we discovered that they insisted that we publish exclusively with them, now and forever. The ultimate options clause. Non-negotiable. And possibly illegal. It was irrelevant to them that I was currently publishing with six other publishers, and that my other two friends were also publishing with other presses.
Q: How many hours a day do you write?
The rest of the time I'm in charge of kids and my wife gets the time off. Even then though I try to get stuff done. If the kids are mellow I can work in my office. Sometimes I'll take work that doesn't have to be done at the computer (and doesn't require a lot of concentration) and work on it while I watch the kids. It's amazing how obsession combined with a sink or swim financial situation motivates you to get stuff done. The obsession makes me write, the finances make me focus.
Q: Where do you get all your ideas?
Besides, for me brainstorming is the most fun activity in the universe. I would love some company to hire me just to brainstorm for them fulltime.
Q: My spouse doesn't take my writing as seriously as I do. What should I do?
But sometimes we don't get all the support we need and want, and for the sake of a writer's sanity, I want to discuss a couple of reasons why I think that might be and what we can do about it.
Reason number 1--Ya gotta eat. And if the family budget is tight, the breadwinner is going to see moneymaking as more important than what they might consider a hobby. In the best of all possible worlds, a money-making venture won't necessarily have precedence over a self-fulfilling venture like writing. But when a family is struggling along financially, self-fulfillment frequently has to give way to practicalities. My wife and I have had to deal with that a lot. And it's hard. It's frustrating to put off things that are important to your soul to focus on things that are important to your stomach and wallet.
But there are some things you can do. Even if your principal concern is finances you can still find time to get some writing in. And when you plan finances with your partner, make sure that part of the financial equation includes getting to a point where you're in a financial position to do more of what you want to do--more time off, more time to write, more help from the spouse. Your partner probably also has dreams that are delayed because of finances. It's a difficult balance, but unless you're independently wealthy you've got to do it. And even when you're making a living as a writer sometimes you have to give up some self-fulfillment for practicality. I can't always write just what I want to write. I have to focus on things that have a chance of getting published. Sometimes what I want to write and what can get published is one and the same, but not always.
Reason number 2--Not everyone with a hobby, a dream, a pursuit can be taken seriously. Now I'm not talking about anyone reading this. If you're here, you're probably serious about your writing. But you've probably met people who you recognize are hopeless in their dream of getting published. They're either really bad and not willing to put in the work needed to get good, or their pretty good but not willing to put in the work need to get published. And it's not just with publishing. There are wild dreamers everywhere asking for emotional and financial investment in their dreams. But individual emotional and financial resources are limited, and people have to decide who they're going to give their time and support to. How do they decide who to support? They judge the possibility of success. The problem is that with many dreams the people asked for support don't know how to judge potential success. Ideally they should support us in our writing just because it's important to us and they love us. But sometimes their love for us causes them to take an opposing view. When my wife and I were young marrieds, I had a dream of being a writer and spent a lot of time at it. My father and father-in-law, however, were more concerned that their children ate and had a roof over their heads. Though they offered some support just because we were their kids, their support wasn't whole-hearted, and whenever I leaned toward a career that offered financial security they became much more excited and supportive. They didn't know whether I had the talent to make it as a writer. When I began to sell, however, they saw that as verification from those in the industry that I could write, and so they became much more supportive. Now they are huge cheerleaders of my writing.
As a writer you need to understand these things so you don't see a loved-one's lack of support as a lack of love and concern. Sometimes they're just afraid that an unrealistic obsession with a goal is leading you down a path that will get in the way of what they see as more important things. Do what you can to convince them you're serious and that it's important, but if the support doesn't come wholeheartedly, don't get discouraged. Just keep writing, and as outside verification comes in that you are a good writer, then your loved ones will more easily accept and support what you're doing.
Q: Weren't you upset that some people thought you were crazy for wanting to be a writer?
Q: My agent wants me to reimburse her for postage and phone calls. Is that fair?
Q: Is it true, as I've read, that you shouldn't get an agent who represents someone who writes in your genre because they're the competition?
Q: How do you get writing done with all your kids around?
I do have a home office, fairly decent size, with a couple of computers, a couch, a TV and video machine (I watch a lot of TV and videos while I work--I have to keep my mind occupied while I'm doing busy work, which a lot of writing work is), a couch, my clothes, some filing cabinets, a small fridge and microwave, and lots of bookshelves. (My office is designed for me to comfortably stay in for long periods of time. It's my favorite room in the house.) And yes, it does have a lock on the door and I use it, though I like to have an open door policy if what I'm working on isn't too demanding.
The kids are trained that if Dad's door is locked, he's working and he's not to be disturbed. If Dad's door's locked, go ask Mom.
Q: When you were a teen, what did you think of problem novels?
Q: What kind of books did you read when you were a kid?
Q: How many manuscripts do you have out at any one time?
Q: What do you think of celebrity books?
Saw a new celebrity book today. Written by a famous novelist. It was a fun idea, but needed some good editing. The book had the following problems: 1) It was in verse. It should have been told in prose. 2) The verse was awkward. Didn't flow easily. 3) The book was too long, probably 64 pages, with 2-5 verses per spread. 4) Because the story was forced into verse it was too wordy. The author used two or three stanzas to say what he should have said in one phrase or one sentence. It was clearly the work of a person who writes long novels and is used to going on and on. 5) And strangely enough, though the story was too long, the plot was too slight.
But the thing that really got to me about the book, and this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine--is that the jacket copy stated that the book was "destined to become a classic". I've found that as a rule any work of art that proclaims itself to be "destined" to be something is only destined to be bad.
Q: How do you deal with rejection?
One reason I write so much is that I know that the fates have ordained that only a small, fixed percentage of what I write is going to be accepted, so the more I write the more books fit into that percentage. Besides, I figure that when I die, if I've developed a big enough name, then my heirs will be able to keep submitting my manuscripts, and I'll join the ranks of Dr. Seuss and L. Ron Hubbard who seem to publish as frequently after their death as while they were alive.
Q: Whenever I get a rejection, I'm depressed and wonder whether I'm fooling myself, and that maybe I don't write well enough to get published. Should I just give up?
Even my own successes sometimes confuse me. Most of my best stuff gets rejection after rejection, while things that I think are okay but not wonderful get picked up immediately.
What it means to me is that all you can do is write as much and as well as you can, market yourself as much as you can, pray as hard as you can, and be patient. It's a fickle world.
Q: Should I get an agent?
Q: How can I get an agent?
If you don't know any agented author who will refer you, try the following:
Q: What wordprocessing program do you use?
And I don't like using the mouse when I write. When I'm peppering the keys I don't like to have to stop and move my hands over to the mouse, then back. Takes too much time and is too disruptive.
And there is no wordprocessor faster than WordPerfect 5.1. It's because it's lean, it doesn't have those thousands of functions that I'll never use. I remember the first time I tried WordPerfect 6.0. The screen couldn't keep up with my typing. I know this is probably not a problem anymore with faster chips and more memory, but it was really annoying at the time and it stuck with me.
I also like the Review Codes option. And with the quick Help screen I can figure out how to do anything the program is programmed to do, fast. And anything it's not programmed to do I can usually hotwire with a quick keystroke macro.
I'm not opposed to other wordprocessors. If I hadn't become a wordprocessing pro back in the land of DOS (actually, I learned on a J editor, where you had to type in all your own formatting codes) I'd probably be doing the Windows thing.
But that's where I learned. And now what works best for me is just having a basic blank screen, and whatever I put on it. No bars, no icons, no fancy stuff.
Q: An editor told me my manuscript was "slight". What does she mean?
I suspect that's one reason Shakespeare's been so popular. His plays are full of depth, but he tells a ripping good tale too.
I was also confused the first time an editor rejected one of my manuscripts, calling it "slight". Eventually I figured out that what she really meant was that the manuscript only worked on one level. There wasn't anything to bring the reader back for a second reading.
Q: I'm having trouble getting a publisher. Should I self-publish my book?
Q: How can I make sure that an editor looking at my picture book manuscript understands some of the illustration possibilities I picture in my head?
(Illustration note: Flying buzz saws are attacking Alexander.) (from my book "Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Power Tools") I think doing this helps the editor see the possibilities of the book. Make sure, though, when you do insert illustration notes that they are essential, or at least very contributory to the success of the book.
Q: What's you're favorite part of writing?
Q: My editor has so many editing suggestions I'm starting to feel like the story isn't mine anymore. What should I do?
And then "No Way!" part II--there might be a very small chance that the editor will insist on a change that for moral or artistic reasons you cannot bring yourself to do. At this point you have to balance your need for money and publication credits with your need for moral and artistic integrity, and either give in to the editor or withdraw the manuscript. And no matter how many others influence you're story, it's still your story. You gave birth to it. It's like raising a kid. Neighbors, teachers, youth leaders, friends, all have a hand in "editing" your child, but it's still your child. And it's still your story.
Q: Now that I have a book published, I want to start doing school visits. How should I go about doing this?
If you want to get into the system, I think the first the you have to do is develop an "act". It's worth fine tuning your presentation at some freebies, finding what works best, what keeps kids attention and gets them excited, what excites teachers and librarians. I have a general purpose slideshow that's fast, funny, introduces myself, and covers in general terms what it's like being a writer and what the writing process is like. Most of my school visit days begin with this assembly, sometimes to the entire studentbody K-6 all at once. The rest of the day I do a variety of smaller writing workshops.
Once you have something you feel comfortable with, start letting it be known that you're available. Most of these gigs come through word of mouth. I have teachers and librarians and others who put on these conferences call me all the time trying to find out who's available in the area. Make sure other authors in the area know you're available. They'll pass on the information. Make sure librarians know. Volunteer to speak to librarian gatherings. I spoke to a group of about 40 librarians last fall and got probably twenty school visits out of it. I've also got a lot of attention through my website. If you're really ambitious you can put together flyers or brochures and distribute them to librarians, to PTAs, to school district language arts specialists. Depends how deep you want to get into this.
It will take time to get up and going. The more writing success you have, the more demand you'll be in, and the more you can charge.
As for money? Depends on the market. Starting out you might charge a hundred or two for a day. Top writers get up to $2000/day. I have an assembly rate, a half day rate, and a full day rate. The best thing to do is talk to some writers in your area who do visits and get their opinion on what you should charge for your market.
I also wrote an article for the Utah English Journal on bringing authors to schools. I've posted the article on my website (http://users.itsnet.com/~rickwalton/bringing.htm). It will also give you some ideas to think about.
Q: Why do kids seem to like pigs so much?
Q: How do you get past all the frustrations that come with trying to be a successful writer?
If people really knew how much work it takes to be a successful writer, most people would never start.
Q: What should you put in a picture book cover letter?
I am the author of four thousand books for children, and the recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for Children's Literature.
I'm enclosing a SASE for your response."
This is my formal cover letter. To my agent, or editors I already work with, it's more like:
"Here's another one. Tell me what you think."
Q: Can I submit more than one picture book manuscript at a time?
There is more to this than just annoying the editor. The two manuscripts might both be publishable. But if you send them both at the same time, the editor will compare them, note that one is better than the other, and immediately reject the other.
I also find that the more you send an editor (or agent), the more work they see they have to do to respond, and the longer they put off getting to it.
Q: I've written a story about a talking car, but I've read that talking objects in picture books is a no-no. What do you think?
So if the talking car works, let it talk. You will probably find, however, that some editors will just kneejerk reject it because they're hyper-sensitive to the idea, or they aren't very good at recognizing when rules are well-broken.
Q: I've queried several agents, and two of them are interested in representing me. Agent 1 only wants to represent some of my stuff. Agent 2 will represent everything, but I don't know how good she is. Should I go with both of them, let one represent what she wants and the other represent everything else?
So you've got to pick one agent. At least to represent your children's stuff. You can get a second agent to market your original bluegrass opera.
You need to go with whichever agent you think will do a better job for you. I think I know who agent 1 is (sounds like were talking about CIA operatives...we'd better not be too specific or we'll give away their identities to the enemy who will do quick hits on the agents, not to be confused with quick hits on my website, which I think everyone in the free world should be required to perform.) And I know that agent 1 won't represent a manuscript unless she thinks she can sell it, so I don't think negotiating for her to represent everything will work. But it doesn't hurt to ask.
My suggestion? Flip a coin. Then as it falls you'll suddenly realize which side you hope lands up. Pick the agent you assigned to the side you're hoping for. Ignore how the coin eventually ends up.
Q: I notice that your books are being sold by LL Bean. Does that mean your books will be over priced from now on? And that you'll be available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year for school visits?
And yes, I am available 24/365. In fact I'd really like to get some of those night visits at schools. Kids are a lot easier to talk to after they've gone home. Actually, at a night assembly I could finally do what I really want to do at an assembly--play basketball! (Every time I'm in one of those school gyms, waiting for the kids to come in, my hands start aching for a ball for a little hoop shooting.)
Q: My agent wants to only represent one of my manuscript at a time. Is this common?
Q: My agent wants to send out two of my books to ten publishers. I am concerned that a lesser publisher might respond before the publisher I'd really like, and therefore, I'd have to make a decision prematurely about the lesser offer. Is this a valid concern? Is it considered unprofessional to discuss these concerns with one's agent? Are we expected to be all-trusting?
Q: I have too many book ideas! I jump from one to the other, and never get anything done. What should I do?
If you just focus on finishing one project at a time, you'll be amazed at how much you get done.
These steps, however, do not always have to be followed. Sometimes it's valuable to go into expansion mode, where you're working on lots of projects at once and coming up with lots of ideas. This mode is very good for loosening up the brain. But when you start feeling overwhelmed, or feel like you're not accomplishing anything, get strict with yourself, grab a project and just finish it.
Q: In school presentations, slides or transparencies?
I also noticed at the recent BYU Conference on Books for Young Readers that all the presenters used slides. I think it's just more common, and slides are compact and easy to carry.
Also, every school I've been to has had a Kodak Carousel slide projector. (Though I'm considering buying my own for home use and for emergency school use. They're expensive though.)
My recent temptation, though, which I've got over, is to get one of those computerized projector, where you can produce a multi-media presentation and present it on a screen to large groups. I could use animations, and fancy graphics, and have a great deal of flexibility. I decided, though that it would be too expensive, too much work to produce the presentations, and most important--too dangerous. The higher tech the presentations are, the more things that can go wrong. I've decided that the next step in my presentations is that I need to prepare a technology-free presentation for kids, just in case.
Q: How closely do you work with your illustrators?
But in an exciting way, even though author and illustrator don't communicate directly, there is still a lot of interaction going on. As I write a text I keep illustrations in mind and make sure that the text has as much as possible for an illustrator to work with. And then when the illustrator gets the text, if they're good, they'll absorb it, make it their own, and add new dimensions to it through their art. My illustrators make my story their own, and make it much deeper and fuller. So though I don't communicate with them, I do feel we work closely together.
Q: Have you ever received royalties on GROSS?
Q: I belong to a couple of e-mail lists, but they take so much time to read. I don't want to leave the lists, though. What should I do?
When I first got into the list idea I signed up for lots of lists, and then discovered the true meaning of "overwhelmed". I soon learned that if I was going to survive I could only sign up for lists that had a digest version. Some people do well with the digest, some prefer the more immediate single message approach. Sometimes you are behind with the digest, but digests are so much easier to handle and faster to read than a bunch of individual messages.
Q: What about the finances of writing?
There's a lot that can be said about taxes (record and deduct everything you can--you're going to need the deductions).
About contracts (read every word of your contract carefully. Understand what everything means. If you don't understand, call your editor and ask them to explain it to you. If they don't understand, have them call or refer you to someone who does. There are also some good books that discuss standard contract clauses.)
About surviving on a writer's income (very difficult).
About ways of supplementing your income (school visits, contract work, selling your own books).
About promoting yourself (do it, but don't let it get in the way of your writing).
About drumming up business (keep pitching).
I can discuss some of these things since our sole income at the moment is from writing (we'll see how long that lasts :-) and we've been getting into the financial nitty gritty more and more as a matter of survival.
On writing taxes--the key is...record everything, then give it all to a friend who runs a tax service and let him figure it out. That's what I do, because after I started making money at writing the taxes became way too complicated and I didn't want to bother. So I keep track of every mile I travel on writing business, even to the library, every book I buy, each office supply, telephone calls, if I go on vacations I try to figure out how to turn it into a working vacation, any upgrades on my office (we redid the electricity to my office last year--that will be a healthy deduction). I categorize it all, add it up, and turn it over to my friend. (Something I need to do soon, it's already March! Yikes!)
One thing that's hit me hard since writing became the sole source of income, something I don't like but that I have to accept, is that though writing is still fun, though I still love it, it's now primarily a business and has to be treated as such. I can't work only when I want to. I am a startup entrepreneur, and as such, like most entrepreneurs, I have to put in however many hours it takes, usually more than forty hours a week. (I frequently put in eighty hour work weeks.) And I have to focus my work on projects that have the best chance of selling, not just the projects that I think are fun.
And I'm always looking for new markets, any kind of market that I'm competent in.
Another home office suggestion--seems obvious, but it's been important to me to have a separate room, with a door that locks, just for the office, organized just for getting writing done. Makes it easier to focus. Also helps you to justify a home office as a tax deduction. Also, make your office a pleasant place to be. Then you'll spend more time there and get more done.
Another suggestion--spend some time thinking through how you organize your papers, your computer files, your office supplies. You have to be able to find things when you need them or you can lose opportunities. And you have to be up on ordering of supplies. If my printer runs out of ink, or I'm out of paper or stamps, it makes it hard to send off a letter or manuscript. Since I order many of my supplies through the mail, much cheaper than stores, I need to know when I'm getting low.
Do as much of your business communication as you can by e-mail. It's faster and cheaper than snail mail, faster and not as intrusive as phoning, and it gives you a record of your messages back and forth. Almost all my communication with agent and publishers is through e-mail now.
And now, if you have any more questions for me, click on e-mail Rick Walton . If it's a question I think a lot of people might want answered, I'll add it to this question list.
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