Success Story Panel: Amy Kumph

Moderator Alvina Ling (top L), illustrator
Amy Kumph (top R), author Pam Harris (below)

Amy Kumph earned a Bachelor of Science in interior design, a more practical path to her than an art degree, but she continued to creating murals and pottery before ultimately set her sights on illustrating. Amy lives on the East Coast, close to the sea, with her husband, three daughters and two funny little dogs. 

AMY'S FIRST BOOK is in progress right now, but she started thinking about illustrating a decade ago while raising her kids. She was reading a lot of incredible kids books that she absolutely loved and just kept thinking "I think I would like to do this, but there were a lot of people out there volleying for these positions and I felt like I wouldn't make it, and that created a little bit of fear. I won't lie to you, there was a little bit of will I ever even accomplish this goal? But I just kept going, and here I am."

Amy's favorite book as a kid

Amy's first in-person conference was the SCBWI New England Editor/Agent Day many years ago for which she wrote and illustrated a book dummy to present at different round tables over the course of the day. Amy says the positive feedback from those roundtable industry professionals was enough to keep her going for many years to come.

Until last year! When she won the SCBWI unagented illustrator portfolio show award. From that win Amy had two interviews, one with Little Brown Books, and one with Simon and Schuster, and Amy called both of those experiences "just fabulous".

But Simon and Schuster's Lauren Rille helped set Amy up with her agent, Andrea Morrison of Writers House, and in January of this year Amy found out she would be illustrating legendary Cynthia Rylant's next picture book (title to come) with Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books editing.

Advice Amy would give to those just starting out: 

• Give yourself time and space to be creative. 
• You be you, be true to who you are. 
• Think long and hard about what you want to actually draw or illustrate, because that passion will come through, and if you're not interested in what you're illustrating, that will be obvious.
• Have fun.
• Fear less.

Amy says she regrets not putting herself out there earlier, she lurked for years before joining or submitting to portfolio shows, and the first show she did finally enter she won! If you've worked really hard, if you've done the research, if you've done the reading, the next step is to start putting yourself out there.

from Amy's online portfolio

Success Story Panel: Pamela N. Harris

 

Pamela N. Harris is an award-winning author of young adult novels, which include WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE US and THIS TOWN IS ON FIRE.

Pam's been writing for as long as she can remember. 

As a child when Pam went to the story her parents they would get her a new Lisa Frank notebook that she would immediate fill up with words. And, in second grade she wrote a story called the Troll Princess, and she was selected to read her story to the kindergarteners. In that moment she fell in love with telling stories to others. 

Pam discovered the SCBWI while doing research and seeing that joining the SCWI was recommended by editors and agents. She attended her first conference in LA when Judy Blume was the speaker, and, of course, she cried. 

After getting her first agent, she thought all was going to be great. But it took her subbing three different YAs and a middle grade before she got her first contract. It took nearly 8 years before her break came. Pam stayed focused over that time. She also took a short breather (from writing but not reading) and also stayed connected to the community, listening to the stories of perseverance. 

If you're brand new to the SCBWI, Pam advises taking a break from your writing when you need it, but during that time devour books. - Keep writing. Keep reading. Persevere. Continue to learn. Continue to be eager. And always take care of yourself. 

To those who are already published, Pam recommends doing your best to understand the business side of things. Be aware of all that's going on. Also, continue to follow the journey of those you admire. 

Pam shares that the biggest mistake she made was querying before she was ready. Pam queried when she was only half though a manuscript (to test out the pitch) and when the agent then asked for the full, she wasn't prepared. It meant she didn't share her best work, and it felt like a wasted opportunity. 

One piece of advice that was important for Pam to hear came from Judy Blume at that the first SCBWI she attended. She had been struggling with a beginning, and Judy Blume shared to start a story on the day your character's life changes. That bit of advice has helped her and stayed with her. 

When it comes to Pam's writing routine, it's key for Pam to be intentional. She has a busy life, with a day job, and two young children with special needs. So, when it comes to writing, she schedules it. It is on her calendar. 

School Visits for Illustrators: Planning, Promoting, Connecting with Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is one of the most innovative artists/bookmakers/persons you’ll ever meet. She bravely she jumps into new formats and makes them her own, a true inspiration. You’ve seen her fantastic picture books and book covers (Judy Frickin Blume!), and you probably know she’s a social media dynamo, but did you know Debbie also makes art in virtual reality? And that she can play the harp (in all realities)!? 

She’s also the most generous person you’d ever hope to know in publishing, or on social media, and that sentiment is echoed in every quadrant of the industry/internet. As soon as I heard she was giving a presentation on—well—it didn’t matter—I knew it would be fabulous. 

And this particular session on School Visits for Illustrators: Planning, Promoting, Connecting has every nanosecond of it full of great tips and advice. The title says 'for Illustrators’, but really, Debbie has great ideas for authors and artists alike. It’s definitely worth rewatching if you missed it live, probably worth watching it multiple times til the link expires! 

Debbie reminds attendees that there are many benefits for book creators to try doing school visits: Connecting with readers is an enriching experience for all parties involved. It also usually means connecting with educators, booksellers and librarians, fellow adults who love kid books as much as kidlit creators do. And school visits can also be an important source of income to book creators.

Debbie and educators at a NerdCamp

Here are a few of Debbie’s tips for Nervous Newbies:

• Practice in whatever way makes sense to you
• Find a friendly pre-audience and get feedback. An educator being the ideal audience
• Record yourself on Zoom, then watch the reply and figure out what you need to improve
• Have a checklist of reminders

Debbie goes over the prep work that makes for a successful school visit whether it’s in-person or virtual. She has tips for engaging audiences of all age ranges, whether that’s in person or virtual, too! And she showed her virtual event presentation zone set up—Debbie has a green screen! Many monitors! And also utilizes various cameras/angles for easy sharing of artmaking or booktalking. And is the first to say you do not need any of that to give a quality virtual visit: The appropriateness of the content to the age of the audience and your energy and engagement are the key.

Debbie also shared wonderful business-side best practices for navigating the wide range of school visit opportunities that can come up. The School Visit Workshop handout she provided to session attendees (live or recorded!) is easily worth hundreds of dollars of tips and links—her tech and supply source links alone will save you time and money!

Find out more about Debbie and all the awesome things she’s up to on DebbieOhi.com, on Twitter at @inkyelbows, and on Instagram at @inkygirl (art) / @inkyelbows (Bookstagram).

Transforming Life into Art: KIM TURRISI heart emoticon heart emoticon heart emoticon

Kim Turrisi is the SCBWI Family Favorite! She's got a background in film and TV and her debut YA novel is out now, JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY.

Kim talks about her path to publication. She was getting rejection after rejection on another project, and while talking with an author friend about how to fix this original project, the friend asked Kim if anything important or memorable happened to her while she was a teen. Kim said yes... When she was 15, Kim's sister committed suicide. The author friend told Kim that that was her next story, but though Kim was worried the subject was too hard and too close to work on, she began. Kim's book deals with the aftermath of suicide, the sort of book she didn't have access to when she was 15.

Emma Dryden reminds us these are not memoirs or autobiographies, but novels inspired and influenced by these real events. Emma asks about the areas where the panelists strayed away from the truth to better serve the book or story of the character.

Kim knew who her protagonist was, but she needed to figure out all the ancillary characters required for the setting of the teen grief camp. She spent a lot of time fleshing those backstories out, they are an amalgam of dozens of friends and family members distilled into a small group of camp goers.

Some of the writing process was very painful: Kim put her sister's suicide note on her wall, it helped Kim challenge herself every day to be authentic in her writing. Her editor readied her for the pain of potentially editing out authentic moments of Kim's life for the book by telling Kim that her job as editor is to make every reader turn the page, some of these edits may be difficult for Kim, but that they're doing this all to ultimately serve the book and its readers best.

Kim's note on writing from a painful personal experience: With any book where you are going to go deep, you're not going to get it right on the first or second or third draft, maybe not even by the 12th, but you have to keep working to get there to make the book resonate.

Martha Brockenbrough & Stacey Lee: Success Story Panel

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of YA novels THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH and DEVINE INTERVENTION, and THE DINOSAUR TOOTH FAIRY,  a picture book with much more to come.


Martha wanted to write books her whole life. She had a couple transformative moments: 1) The decision to attend this conference in 2008. 2) A class she took with Linda Sue Park that turned on a lightbulb for her (on revising scenes).

The "if I could just" thought can be dangerous (If I could just get an agent... If I could just get published...). "What's really satisfying is building meaningful relationships."

Martha thinks resistance makes you strong. It means it takes effort. We all have to get stronger in order to progress.

Martha reminds us the first draft of a novel is not going to great. There can be great moments in it, but you can't let those moments become your enemy. As Martha struggled with her only draft, Anne Ursu advised: Just finish the draft. Martha, tell us, don't stop as you go.

Martha reminds us all: The work is the reward. The work is the joy.

Stacey Lee is the author of UNDER A PAINTED SKY, her debut young adult novel.



For Stacey it was writing for many years and then taking a risk. Stacey attended a local SCBWI conference that she nearly talked herself out of attending because of fear. There, her work was recognized as the most promising manuscript and things started rolling from there for her.

Stacey wrote 5 books before breaking in with UNDER A PAINTED SKY. You have to cut your teeth working on other projects to grow as a writer.

Stacey remind us that conflict makes us keep turning pages. We need to give our characters pain to make the payoff better.

Stacey shares, success is not what defines you.

Lori Nichols: Success Story Panel

Isn't Lori cute? And so is whoever
is photobombing her.

Lori Nichols, author/illustrator, is asked what was it that broke her through to the other (published) side:

"If I had to break it down to two things, it would definitely be SCBWI, I went to my first conference in 2002, I left two small children at home with the flu and drove five hours to a regional conference (where I then got the flu) but I learned so much. I met my agent at a SCBWI conference, and she's the other thing that's broken me through,  my amazing agent Joanna Volpe."

Lee asks Lori about some craft tips: Lori quotes Kelly Light, "Writing is like punching myself in the face."

Lori says, "That quote really spoke to me, for me, I have to show up every day, and sometimes what I write is going to stink. It's the showing up every day and not waiting for perfection. I think part of what makes a beautiful book are the imperfections, maybe a line is too scratchy, so what! Show up to your paper, your easel, your computer, and stay there, do it daily. Study other writers and illustrators, too."

Mike Curato Interviewed by Martha Brockenbrough: The #LA15SCBWI Pre-Conference Interview

Click on over to read this chat between SCBWI Team Blog's Martha Brockenbrough and debut author/illustrator Mike Curato.

They talk day jobs and publishing dreams, polka dot elephants and shows at cupcake stores. Martha even gets Mike's time-traveling advice to himself years ago, which includes this gem:

"Make things that make you smile inside."

Mike's publishing journey is one of our "SCBWI Success Stories" featured at the upcoming 2015 SCBWI Summer Conference on a Friday afternoon panel (that I'll be moderating, and that will also feature Martha herself!)

Mike will also be co-leading a Saturday Breakout session with agent Brenda Bowen on "The Artist Agent Relationship!"

We hope you can join us for #LA15SCBWI – and perhaps it will be the path to your own SCBWI Success Story! Detailed conference information and registration here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Deborah Freedman: An SCBWI Success Story

Team Blogger Martha Brockenbrough continues her series on children's book writers and illustrators with SCBWI success stories!

 

Here Martha interviews Author/Illustrator Deborah Freedman about how SCBWI made a difference in Deborah's career - including the breakthrough that happened through attending a SCBWI Conference!

There are still a few spots left for this Summer's SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles, August 2-5, 2013.  You can find out all the details and register here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI Success Story: Tracy Clark

As we gather momentum for the upcoming SCBWI Summer Conference (Aug 2-5, 2013) in Los Angeles, Team Blogger Martha Brockenbrough came up with the great idea to highlight some SCBWI (and SCBWI Conference) success stories.

Martha has featured Tracy Clark (whose debut novel, SCINTILLATE, is coming out January 2014 from Entangled Teen) in a piece that's poignant and inspiring.

Here's a taste:

The good things that have happened so far in my career have depended upon putting myself out there and availing myself of the opportunities that SCBWI has to offer by attending both my local SCBWI events and the national SCBWI conferences. If there is any advice I’d give to someone considering one of the national conferences for the first time, it is not to go with the singular goal of getting “discovered” though that can and does happen.


Go! But go to meet fascinating and passionate people. Go to find out that editors, agents, and published authors are approachable, helpful, and open-hearted. Go to learn more about the business so you can navigate the publishing world more easily. Go to learn more about craft so you can continue to grow as an artist. Go to where they understand you. Go to be inspired! If those are your goals, there is no way to leave disappointed. Any other magic that happens is a bonus!

Go read Tracy's whole story (and hear a bit of Martha's SCBWI success story as well!)

And join us at the 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference. We hope to see you there,

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI Success Stories

Each panelist has found SCBWI to a part of their success along the way: getting them started, keeping them going as they traveled their path to publication, as well as being important once the contract came.

A piece of advice from each of the panelists:

Chris Rylander: The only thing that can stop you from being published is stopping.

Chris Rylander's debut novel THE FOURTH STALL is this year's Sid Fleischman Award for humor. 

Lissa Price: Remember that last year I was the one sitting out in those seats. Next year you could be sitting up here.

Lissa Price is debut novel is STARTERS. The follow-up in the series ENDERS will be out in December.

 Ruta Sepetys: Don’t be afraid of change. Be open.

Ruta Sepetys is the author of the NYT bestselling BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY. 

Clare Vanderpool: Hold on to the moments that excite you.

Clare Vanderpool's debut novel MOON OVER MANIFEST was awarded the 2011 Newbery Medal. Her second novel NAVIGATING EARLY comes out in 2013.

SCBWI Success Stories: How I Did It

MATTHEW KIRBY

After seven years of continuous rejection in the adult writing world, Matthew thought about how many of his joys involved children. That's when it seemed clear that he should be writing for kids. He began to google and look for an organization that could help him do just that, which is how he discovered SCBWI. His publishing connections started with his regional chapter in Utah, where he connected with his agent.

One of Matthew's biggest mistakes is that he almost gave up when he met his agent. Meeting him gave Matthew the burst he needed to keep going.

A great piece of advice Matthew received was to give himself permission to treat writing like a career.

JENNIFER BOSWORTH

Jennifer says the theme of her journey has been, "Fake it 'til you make it." Jennifer took what she learned from writing screenplays, and the idea of high concept, and used it as she wrote her debut novel, STRUCK. 

Jennifer had an interesting strategy to her pitch: she listened to a song to get her psyched beforehand. She had ten minutes to pitch.  She only took about one minute to talk about the book and she used the rest of the time to have a conversation, and ask questions.

Since, her involvement with SCBWI has started. "This organization is so great because it gives you a community of people who understand."

PAMELA WELLS

Pamela's story starts in college with a guy. A guy who broke up with her. She wanted to tell her story. So she began to write it, pouring the story out on the page. In writing her story, Pamela didn't realize many of the rules, but she met with an editor at an SCBWI conference who was interested, and it snowballed from there.

Pamela is the bestselling author of the HEARTBREAKERS and CRUSHES. The movie adaptation of Heartbreakers is scheduled for release in 2013, starring Selena Gomez.

Pamela suggests writing the book you would write for free and you can't lose.

EUGENE YELCHIN

In 2006, Eugene received a Tomie de Paola award at the SCBWI winter conference. Since he's had great success include receiving a 2012 Newbery Honor for BREAKING STALIN'S NOSE.

Eugene says he started with beginners luck. "If you write to please other people you won't get published." Eugene believes publication can't be the goal. You need to write for yourself. You will get an agent, you will get an editor if you write something that will resonate with readers.

"Don't stand in the way of your intuition."

SCBWI Success Story: James Christopher Carroll

I was happy to catch Jim Carroll between sessions, and he told me about how being part of SCBWI helped him get "The Boy And The Moon," his debut picture book as an author and illustrator, published:



Thanks, Jim!

Namaste,
Lee