Editor Panel: Publishing Options in 2019 - Ken Wright

Ken Wright

Ken Wright is the president and publisher of Viking Books for Young Readers and Philomel Books, two imprints in the Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House. Authors and illustrators Ken has worked with include Max Brallier, David Arnold, Ruta Sepetys, John Flanagan, Gianna Marino, Oliver Jeffers, Chelsea Clinton, Gayle Forman, Julie Berry, Mac Barnett, Greg Pizzoli, Elizabeth Partridge, Frank Cammuso, Deborah Freedman, and many others.

What's the right way to publish? Well, there's a greater number of options than ever before. Ken Wright is with one of the true big five trade publishers, a term that's evolved over time, but essentially encompasses the broadest range of markets, retailers, and formats that books exist for and in. In a nutshell, their goal is to make the best books they can, then go out to market with them.

Ken doesn't think anyone would say they're published by Random Penguin House, because authors don't identify as being part of a big conglomerate. There;s no acquisitions meeting at Viking and Philomel - he consults with editors, marketing, sales, and finance have their say, they do P&L statements, but in the end Ken is the one who makes the final call. He'll accept submissions from all conference attendees through the end of August; complete manuscripts only, please.

Ken Wright: The Current Market for Your Work

Agent Ken Wright covers a wide range of writers and illustrators. He originally joined Writers House to establish the non-fiction section in children’s books.

Ken felt there were many great writers unrepresented or underrepresented. His client Steve Sheinkin won the 2012 YALSA award for excellence in non-fiction.

Ken also wanted to start a YA literary fiction list at Writers House. Although the agency is well known for their commercial fiction, they have been putting more focus on literary works. For example, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys has done well, and John Corey Whaley's WHERE THINGS COME BACK just won both the Morris and the Printz award this year. (YAY!)

Ken is always looking for the next best thing.

Ken thinks the children's book market is very robust. What we see now is a big difference from ten years ago. Editors and publishers are asking, "Where is this book going to go?" They’re really focusing their list and can no longer just acquire a book because they like it. It has to be clear where it fits into the market. That’s the big difference he’s seen. It’s a hit business. But don't worry, those best sellers open up resources for publishers to acquire great midlist books.

If the writing is great, the story extraordinary, Ken starts making a list of editors he thinks will be perfect for it. He listens to what editors are looking for. So it comes down to the writing and the editor’s perception of what they’re looking for.

#NY12SCBWI Pre-Conference Interview with Ken Wright

SCBWI Team Blog member Suzanne Young interviews Writers House Agent Ken Wright on his upcoming conference sessions on non-fiction, what agents and published writers can gain from attending conferences like the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference, and much more.

The conference is sold out, so if you didn't get a chance to attend, make sure to follow along with the live blogging here at the Official SCBWI Conference Blog, and the stream of tweets on twitter with the hashtag #NY12SCBWI.

And if you are fortunate enough to be attending the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference, we look forward to seeing you in New York!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Ken Wright: The Financial Realities of Your Career: Frank Questions and Answers

Former editor/publisher and now Writers House agent Ken Wright answers any business-related questions from the room. (He notes-he's not a financial advisor.)


Six months before one of his client's book comes out, Ken holds a marketing meeting with his author an their publisher.

There's no rule of thumb on advances. It's market driven. He's not fan of big advances, because of the risk of not earning them out and then not looking like an success to your publisher.

Advances for first time novelists can range from $15,000 to in the hundreds of thousands. He says first-time nonfiction authors would likely get a higher advance than for fiction.

He's a big advocate of promoting your book through school visits, but said that he has a few clients who do a little TOO much of that, which takes away from their writing. Every book and every situation is different, but self-promotion is always important and necessary.

It's OK to take work-for-hire or technical writing or other kinds of gigs if money is an issue. And you don't necessarily need to use a psuedonym--that's on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the initial negotiation, as an agent, he takes care of sub-rights, flow through (release of money to the author), and contract delays that affect the writer.

Agents definitely increase the response time from publishers. As a rule, he checks in with editors about his submissions every two weeks.

What's a good persentage of your earning to spend on marketing? The rule of thumb is 5%.

Why Narrative Nonfiction is Hotter Than Ever: The "Rock Stars" of Nonfiction

Good Morning Conference Goers and blog followers!



Ken Wright moderating, and left to right: Tanya Lee Stone, Elizabeth Partridge, Deborah Heiligman, and Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Early this Sunday Morning we have something worth getting up for... the Narrative Non Fiction is hot Hot HOT panel with multi-award winning author for her nonfiction titles Susan Campbell Bartoletti, National Book Award Finalist for "Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith" Deborah Heiligman, Golden Kite winning author Elizabeth Partridge, multi-award winning author (with an upcoming "The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A History of the Doll and her impact on Culture) Tanya Lee Stone and it's moderated by Writers House agent (with a passion for nonfiction) Ken Wright!



As Lin is saying in her introduction, it's a genre that's finally getting it's moment in the spotlight.

Ohh - the panel's about to start!

Literary Agents View The Marketplace

The Agents Panel is starting!

From Left To Right: Ginger Clark (Curtis Brown), Ken Wright (Writers House), Josh Adams (Adams Literary), and Lisa Grubka (Foundry).

Team blog is covering each agent individually - look for those posts coming up in the next minutes...