Kathy Dawson: Summing Up and Q&A

She told the audience of writers that editors really don't know what they're looking for until they see it.

She was asked what she looks for in picture books. Wordplay, humor, new perspectives.

She was asked about the effect of the economic downturn in her experience in publishing. She just left Harcourt after it's takeover from Houghton Mifflin. What it means is that there are a smaller number of people to do the same amount of work. But, she says, people working in publishing are passionate about it and will ride out the storm. She feels it's tougher on picture books than MG and YA. She says the pace of change in how the publishing industry works is more rapid than ever. There are things happening now. she says, that are changing the way publishing works. A lot of what happening is the industry correcting itself.

More From Kathy Dawson

Kathy's talking about using details as a way to establish voice. She's looking for passages that use detail masterfully.

She looks for action, rhythm, intrigue and adventure.

Action, for her, really means perfect pacing. Too keep up the pace of your novel, she suggests, go through a draft and delete everything you can. Young readers must be hooked, hooked fast, and stay hooked until the end.

Rhythm, she says, is another way to refer to voice. This is important whether you write from frist or third person point of view. It's just as critical in novels as in picture books.

She's reading from Pretties by Scott Westerfeld as an example of effective use of repetition.
She's also reading from My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe, and Saint Iggy by K.L. Going, also as examples of good use of rhythm.