The Editors Panel Begins!

Moderated by Ruben Pfeffer (not pictured in this close up)

With, left to right:

Bethany Buck, Editorial Director at Bloomsbury Children's Books
Zareen Jaffery, Executive Editor at Simon & Schuster
Kendra Levin, Executive Editor at Viking Children's Books
Arianne Lewin, Executive Editor at G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House
Nancy Paulsen, President and Publisher, Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House
Sara Sargent, Executiv Editor at Harper Collins

And here's the long-view, with Ruben…

Ari Lewin is Executive Editor at G.P Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group at Penguin Random House.

Some of her titles include Rick Yancey's bestselling Fifth Wave Series, and she recently published Journey's End, a middle grade novel by Rachel Hawkins.

She gave a workshop on World Building. Creating an immersive world that is seamlessly believable keeps readers turning pages. "The world that you're building is going to create the stakes of your story and force your character arc."

She's come across a lot of worksheets for world building, but she thinks those are more useful to look at later in the game. She started us off with a sheet to jumpstart our brainstorming. Spoiler alert: animate teacups were an option (hooray!).

Some questions to ask ourselves when we are constructing worlds: Is this believable? Why does it matter? If the topic is familiar, how will I break it out and make it different?"

We chose elements and--working with a partner--created worlds with stakes, and thought about how make these things believable. This is where she pulled the rug out from under us, after having given us things like talking teacups and astronauts to work with.

Premises can't be 20 kinds of wacky, because we need readers to believe these things our wheel. when you take on elements that are too difficult to work with, "you can spin your wheels to infinity."

Humans are wired to pick up information at locations. Let's say you're at a bar. What are people wearing? What's being served? What drinks are on the menu? These things build atmosphere. This gives context for your reader and lets them slide in without having too many questions. The atmosphere is revealed as a reader watches what a character says and does. When the author steps out from behind a curtain, this turns into a book report—which isn't as exciting as a movie.

She gave us a story scenario and walked us through the process for creating a world that works using fairies, trolls, and a pair of purloined wings by considering a number of dynamics: power structures, the economy, the presence, rules, and limits of magic.

Generally, showing a character in a world is far more interesting to read than explaining and summarizing a world.

Follow her on Twitter: @ariannelewin https://twitter.com/ArianneLewin

Ari Lewin: Writing Fantasy

Putnam editor Ari Lewin took a different approach to her Writing Fantasy workshop—following the advice often given to writers: Show, don’t tell. 

Ari had members from the packed audience read the openings from books like THE GOLDEN COMPASS and ARTEMIS FOWL. Using the examples, she pointed out why they worked so well. It was an informative list of dos and don’ts. 

So what are some of Ari’s dos?

Number one, characterization. You have to make the reader care so that they’re willing to go on this journey. She gave the audience tips on how to achieve this, and pens were furiously scribbling down her suggestions.

One of her major don’ts is over explanation in the beginning of the book. Show us the world. Don’t tell us. We learn so much about characters from how they interact, what they say. Find the right way to work in the world building, otherwise the reader won’t be invested. 

She ended with a great Q&A session, leaving the audience with inspiration to use on their own fantasy novels. For me, her best advice was to be genuine—your fantasy should be transparent and honest.  And she also introduced me to instagram which I will start using non-stop.

Pre-#LA12SCBWI Conference Interview: Executive Editor Arianne Lewin

Check out Suzanne Young's interview with Arianne Lewin, Executive Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Ari is doing three talks at the the upcoming 2012 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles - one on how and what she acquires, another on writing fantasy, and a Monday intensive on improving your first pages.

To hear her yourself, and have a chance to learn from and be inspired by Ari and the rest of the publishers, editors, agents, art directors, illustrators and authors who are part of the amazing conference faculty, you can still register here!


Illustrate and Write On,
Lee
 

Arianne Lewin: Fantasy

An exciting breakout session focusing on fantasy with editor Arianne Lewin. Ari is an executive editor at GP Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.



After giving a quick overview of the different types of fantasy--Magical Realism, YA Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy and Dark Fantasy among others--Ari talked about trends and how authors shouldn't write to them. By the time a book catches on with consumers, it might be too late to start. If you do, it has to be a passion. As an editor she wants an experience, so tell a great story.

Ari then passed out some first pages for the attendees to look over and discuss. She also shared some of the specific types of books she's looking for.

#NY12SCBWI Pre-Conference Interview With Ari Lewin

Check out my super-informative and fun interview with the delightful Ari Lewin, executive editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers!

We cover a ton of ground, about Ari's upcoming breakout sessions on writing Fantasy on the Saturday January 28, 2012 of the conference, about prologues, and business cards, trends and Hollywood-style pitches, and so much more!

It all really fired me up to attend Ari's session myself - and you can, too.  Registration for the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference is still open.

Hope to see you there!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

LGBTQ Meet and Greet

Always a highlight of the conference, the LGBTQ Meet and Greet was fantastic. Aaron Hartzler set the scene with a great story that really pulled the group together and spotlighted how important it is to talk about LGBTQ issues, and keep talking about them.

Lee Wind did a fabulous job framing the questions and keeping the conversation interesting and enlightening. Joining Aaron and Lee were Ari Lewin, editor at Putnam/Penguin and agent Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich.

While they were talking, Ari said that she would love to see a cute, fun story featuring a gay or lesbian lead. We were all surprised to hear from Jim that only about 2% of his submissions have gay or lesbian themes, but he would love to see more!

Lee opened it up for question from the over 50 attendees. Someone asked if they thought lesbian characters were underrepresented in YA, and Lee mentioned his blog and his thorough list of spotlighted books with gay and lesbian characters.

A great moment came near the end when Lee pointed out to the crowd that writing novels with LGBTQ themes and characters is a huge opportunity in publishing and should be seen as such.
When asked what they were looking for, both Ari and Jim want a book that stands out and is well-written. But Ari did hope to see more teen romance in LGBTQ books.

The event was casual and inclusive and the attendees were engaged in conversation about the current state of LGBTQ literature. Afterwards, many of us hung around to chat--keeping the good vibes going.

Great time! Can’t wait to do again this summer in LA!!

Arianne Lewin: Take a Tour of a Publishing House from Acquistion to Publication

Arianne Lewin is a Senior Editor at Disney Hyperion. She edits an eclectic list, that emphasizes YA novels and fantasy. She’s currently looking for new voices in all genres.

In acquisitions, she sends the pitch to all the departments. They will rarely take on a book that sales is not behind.

Part of the offer is based on sales projections and possible marketing plans. Sometimes Hyperion will buy books that they feel can win awards because it helps the overall list and also attracts other authors.

Placement is everything in sales. So when a book is to be acquired, they must envision where it will live on the shelf. Arianne also let us in on some secrets about the books that are face-out or on endcaps and tables in the bookstore.

Rachel Vail's Keynote: School, Drool, & Other Daily Disasters: Finding the Humor and Heart in Middle Grade Novels, part 1

Rachel Vail has written over 30 books for kids through teens. She has one of the best opening 2 lines ever in her book "Gorgeous:"

"I sold my cell phone to the devil. In my own defense, it had been a really crappy day."


She's also the author of "Justin Case: School, Drool and Other Daily Disasters!"




That starts out like this:

September 1, Tuesday
Okay, yes. I'm worried
Already.
I can't help it.

As Lin Oliver is saying in her introduction, Rachel is

"Queen of the novel for kids"



Rachel thinks a good book is more than just a story well told, at it's best, for middle graders, it should be suffused with humor and heart.

If I want a character to feel head exploding jealousy... she remembers how she felt when she was a child. The mix of emotions.

She challeneged the room to remember a book that really moved you when you read it as a child.

She shared the story of reading "Of Mice and Men," and how deeply it affected her - and how later it became a theme of her own books - What does love require of us?

What an interesting challenge to see if the books of our childhoods that split our heads apart had themes that still resonate for us, through time and into our own narrative flows.


Adolescence is so fraut: We are faced with adult feelings and no adult perspective. As an adult, we see someone hot and go - he's hot. As a 7th grader, we see someone hot and the brand new feeling knocks you down.

Unlike some other luckier species, we have no cocoon to hide in - we're going through these changes of adolescence in what feels like full view of the entire world!

"Life or death moments are a dime a dozen in seventh grade."

Ari Lewin On Fantasy...

Two more great moments from Ari's session:

She spoke about how starting your fantasy story at the pivotal moment can feel abrupt.

To give a good example of how to start out your story and world build deftly, she read the opening of "Singing My Sister Down," one of the short stories from "Black Juice" the Printz Honor book by Margo Lanagan.

After she read it, she closed the book, nodded, and said:

"Find any way around exposition - just let it happen."

Ari also recommended amazing fantasy author Holly Black's website as an excellent resource for writers.

It was a great session!

--Posted by Lee Wind

Arianne Lewin's Hot Tip!

A problem that happens with new fantasy writers is that they get so caught up in
the world that they've created that they forget it has to be a story that's
personal to your main character - after all, it's their world, they
won't gaze about in wonder at it.

--Posted by Lee Wind

The Real Deal About Writing Fantasy With Arianne Lewin

Ari Lewin is an Editor at Disney/Hyperion


She's edited a lot of fantasy books, picture books, chapter books, and the bulk of what she does is fantasy - which is in it's "Golden Age." In fact, 4 out of 5 of the books on her fall list are fantasy. So, she knows of what she speaks!

She's starting out defining the different kinds of fantasy:

there's high fantasy: swords, magic, dragons, midaevil, low technology

like Tamora Pierce's books

steampunk: alternate histories (often victorian england) often perfected technologies that we've abandoned

i.e., Levianthan by Scott Westerfield


Urban Fantasy (set in city) like Holly Black's modern fairy tales


Paranormal Romance:

lots of bestsellers

Blue Bloods by Melissa DeLaCruz and that book, you know... Twilight

Distopian Fantasy:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Then some that are hard to classify:

Percy Jackson?

everyone's reading fantasy that was meant for all age levels.

Now she's going into tips about writing fantasy and world building... oooh, some of these are great. Like this:

1. You make up your own rules
2. Have them make sense
3. Follow them consistently
4. You can never change the rules

--Posted by Lee Wind

The Next Step: what to do after a critique

Lin: Do writers need to start on the day that's different?

Ari: Starting on the day that's different is OK. Starting on the moment that's different can be tough because readers don't know enough about the story.

Wendy: Every book is different. It should be organic to the story. And it boils down to the writing, (I can help you with the plot, but I can't help you reshape your writing--it all comes down to that.)

Allyn: The problems I see with beginnings when it comes to picture books, is that they are not the beginnings of picture books, they're the beginning of chapter books. What I'm looking for is one sentence that make me interested, that's a clear beginning. Another common problem--manuscripts written in sing-songy rhyme with lots of alliteration and no narrative arc.

--POSTED BY ALICE

Friday Afternoon Panel: You've Had Your Critique, Now What?

Lin Oliver moderates a panel of (left to right) Wenday Loggia, Ari Lewin, and Allyn Johnston.

Here's a taste:

Allyn: the manuscript that you brought might not be the first manuscript you sell.

Ari: Saw 4 things she'd want to see more of. A lot of action starts but needed to be grounded in world and who character is.

Wendy: The points given to you about your manuscript are not a checklist, but for you to consider - it's your story. See what resonates.

Lots of great advice - and all to a packed house!

-- Posted by Lee Wind

The Next Step: what to do after a critique

Lin: What mistakes did you see.

Allyn: First-person narratives in picture books, and rhyme that's off. Picture books that are on themes that have been done so many times that they wouldn't be salable. (Read books, buy books, go to bookstores, she advises.)

Ari: Manuscripts that started in the middle of a scene.

Wendy: Pages that seemed crammed with information in the beginning. A lack of awareness of the marketplace and what's working

--POSTED BY ALICE

The Next Step: what to do after a critique

Lin: What did you see today?

Allyn: I didn't ask to buy anything today. I did ask everyone who sat at my table to send me something, but that thing might not be the thing we talked about today. Everyone should go home and think about that.

Ari: I got a lot out of being in a critique group and hearing the comments of the writers who brought up things I didn't think of. It just goes to show that every editor is going to thing a little differently about your work.

Lin: What advice would you offer writers on using the comments they got today?

Wendy: Go home and think about the comments you got today and decide what resonates with you. If you're consistently getting the same feedback, those may be the things you should concentrate on.

Ari: There's always a lot of negotiating between and editor and a writer. Think about the comments you got and if you don't think they'll work for your story, think of another way to solve them.

--POSTED BY ALICE

The Next Step: what to do after a critique

Lin Oliver is moderating the post-intensives panel on what to do post-critique.

Panelists include:

• Allyn Johnston, Beach Lane Books
• Wendy Loggia, Random House
• Ari Lewin, Hyperion

Stay tuned...

--POSTED BY ALICE

Writer's Intensive

Bring on the editors and agents!

The room is packed and tables of anxious writers are waiting for their editor or agent to take their seat.

Here's mine!

We'll be meeting with Arianne Lewin, Senior Editor, Disney Hyperion.

Posted by Jolie Stekly

ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 2

ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 2

Some highlights from Disney/Hyperion Senior Ed. ARI LEWIN'S lecture (Part 2)

-- Picture books - keep 'em short! Doesn't do original board books (too expensive to produce)

-- "Things I do not buy: I don't love a lot of historical fiction UNLESS the voice is so so good that blow me away. Examples of historical fiction that are exceptions include A Northern Light and The Book Thief."

-- "I personally have a tough time with quiet or slow-moving plots. Quiet, I don't do. I don't do a lot of problem novels unless the voice is really fresh." 

-- Editorial meetings are like "a really cool book club" where everyone reads the submission and discuss it in a "frank and honest" way and how it might do in acquisitions, publicity, and marketing before making a final decision. If editorial director approves, then they move to acquisitions.

-- Acquisitions meeting: She says people "dread" this because it's so important for editors who love a book and really want it to be published. What she does before she submits to acquisitions committee (they meet once a week): "I really have to come up with a sales handle. I have to write the flap copy and make it sound so exciting and compelling, just like something they would absolutely want... often times, I will massage what the story actually is because I know how I will edit/revise it. They will understand the direction I will take it in."

-- She also does an acquisitions form that has a one or two line sentence "sales handle," like "This is Men In Black meets Boarding School" for the marketing department. She went on to discuss the other aspects of how books are acquired, which include a profit loss statement etc. 

-- Earn out formula: Retail price of your book, $16.95 times the royalty (10%) times the number of copies gives you how much money the book earned, minus the reserves."

She does an Q&A now with the standing room only hall of conference goers. Again, a very informative nuts & bolts panel about the editor's point of view.

Posted by Paula Yoo

ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 1

ARI LEWIN: "How An Editor at Disney/Hyperion Evaluates and Acquires," Pt. 1

Some highlights from Disney/Hyperion Senior Ed. ARI LEWIN'S lecture (part 1)

-- They accept electronic submissions because of recycling/environment (Disney ordered Sony Readers for the editors)

-- Does a lot of traditional editor stuff - network, schmooze with editors, reads their client submissions on the subway and at home

-- "I don't read the cover letters the agents send me. I want to see the WRITING. The pitch can be awesome but the writing or story might not be. I trust the writing more than the pitch."

-- "What I'm looking for: I don't know any editor who would really say 'I'm looking for fantasy only.' We all want the same thing - good, compelling, engaging stories and they can come from unexpected genres you've never worked for. So oftentimes you know it when you see it."

-- "My No. 1 thing is VOICE. I'm looking for a voice that's fresh and original and believeable. I want the character to feel real and not like anyone else I've read before. It can't be generic."

-- No stereotypes wanted in voice and characteristics of the character. Dialogue should be realistic "If your two teen girls sound alike, I sort of sniff that out." 

-- Recommends E. Lockhart's "The Boyfriend List" as an example of realistic girl teen dialogue.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Posted by Paula Yoo