Editor & Agents Panel: The State of Children's Publishing: What's Selling and What's Not - Sally Kim & Melissa Manlove

 

Sally M. Kim is an associate agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency based in San Francisco, CA. She represents a wide range of children’s book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators of picture books through middle grade. Sally is drawn to stories with a distinct voice, unexpected wit, aggressive pacing, punchy and/or emotionally resonant endings. When it comes to illustration, she gravitates to traditional mediums and is always on the lookout for versatile artists with a unique take on color, texture, perspective, and thoughtful details. Sally is especially eager to see authentic explorations of underrepresented cultures, relationships, and identities.

Question: What a typical day looks like?

Time blocking is huge for Sally. A block of :email catch up, reviewing manuscripts, giving feedback, following up with editors. Fridays are a catch all day.

Question: You are considered tastemakers. How do you decide what that’s going to be? 

“You’re the makers. We’re the tasters.” Sally is always excited to see what comes into her inbox. But what she’s in the mood for on any given day changes. 

Question: What are you looking for? What are you not looking for? 

Board books through MG (she is dipping her toes into YA)

Sally is looking for anything she doesn't have. 

What she’s not looking for: time travel, dead parents, rhyme. 

Question: What are some good self-promotion skills for authors/illustrators?

For those that dislike self-promoting, Sally would like you to think about it as celebrating every good moment in your life. With every bit of good news, you are sharing it with the people who support you. 

Melissa Manlove is an Executive Editor at Sourcebooks. She has been a children’s book editor for 22
years. Her acquisitions encompass a wide range of ages, formats, and fiction/nonfiction. When acquiring, she looks for fresh takes on familiar topics as well as the new and unusual. An effective approach and strong, graceful writing are important to her. She also has 23 years of children’s bookselling experience.

Question: What a typical day looks like?

Melissa’s day is a lot of answering emails, and depending on the day, attending a lot of meetings. Later in her day, she can usually carves out time to read submissions and do some editing. 

Question: You are considered tastemakers. How do you decide what that’s going to be? 

Melissa says, “Everybody matters.” She shares that it’s such a team effort. Children come first, of course, but a book (before it gets to kids) is touched by a lot of hands. 

For melissa, having been a bookseller, has also been very helpful. 

Question: What are you looking for? What are you not looking for? 

Melissa acquires fiction and nonfiction, through a large age range. 

Melissa loves to work on illustrated books, so she tends to mostly acquire books for younger readers. 

She gets excited when it’s something she hasn’t seen before. Something that feels fresh and new. Melissa loves to think about how to bring it to the market. 

Question: On how much editors reach out to agents to find what they are looking for. 

Melissa share that yes, relationships with agents are very important. 

Question: What would you like to see in a book proposal?

Being able to see that the writer knows their section and is well read in that format. Seeing that can help them rise to the top. 

Question: What are some good self-promotion skills for authors/illustrators?

Authenticity is gold. Find your way into social media that you can do authenticity. If you hate it, Melissa recommends to stay off of it. 

Question: Does an author/illustrator need to be focused on making their book go into a global space? 

There are books that they think when acquiring will work in a global market, but others that they know will not. Both work. America is the largest market.

Something to always keep in mind: There is no always. There is no never.

Industry Panel: Beyond Big Publishing: Alternative Paths to a Thriving Children's Book Career - Angela Engel and Michele McAvoy

Originally from Minneapolis, MN, Angela Engel now calls Oakland, CA, home. With extensive experience in sales and marketing for renowned publishing leaders like Chronicle Books, Ten Speed Press, Cameron + Company, Dwell Studio, and Moleskine, she has cultivated a deep understanding of the industry. As the CEO and Publisher of The Collective Book Studio, Angela is dedicated to empowering authors, offering comprehensive support to bring their books to life from concept to completion. 

Hybrid Publish:

Angela has taken her many years of experience working in traditional publishing to a hybrid model as CEO and Publisher of The Collective Books Studio. Angela partners with authors in new ways, contracting with books creators, working with them based on their goals. She's able to help them gain access to things (like reviews) they wouldn't otherwise have access to. 

There is still a submission process. The Collective Book Studio only accepts about 5% of the children's books submitted. A big part of that reason is because publishing a children's book is very expensive. 

In this hybrid format, book creators pay for the service, and The Collective Book Studio handles publishing, marketing, and distribution services. 

If you're a business or a brand, Angela might be a good avenue for you. 

Parting words: Look at your contract, look at your term. You should be getting a contract. Be open to new business models. Her model isn't perfect, or right for just anyone. Remember it's your business and your journey. Know you should not have to pay for a submission. 

Michele McAvoy is a multi-award-winning children's book author, publisher, attorney, and educator from New Jersey. While Michele wears many hats, they all point towards a single goal, bring entertaining and meaningful stories to kids. Michele is the owner and publisher of The Little Press. Michele's published titles include Willa the Werewolf, Buckingham Gets A New Shell, Cookie & Milk, and (forthcoming) Toby Undone. www.michelemcavoy.com

Small Presses (with some notes on self-publishing):

Michele started by self-published a tittle in 2014. 

She notes self-publishing can be a place to springboard your career, allowing you to learn the process and the business. 

If you're self-publishing, Michele recommends finding illustrators on Instagram. You might find illustrators just starting their career, open to illustrating a self-published book 

The Little Press is a small press. It is a traditional publisher. Many people want the big book deal, but that's extremely hard. So a small press might offer the option to get out there and become a published writer or illustrator. 

When you're looking at a small press, know there are a lot out there. Print-on-demand (a book prints once the sale has happened) has made it much easier for small presses, because print runs are very expensive. If you're looking at a small press, Michele recommends taking a close look at what they publish. Order one of their books. Look at it. Do you like it? You need to like. You also want to be sure to ask any questions you have. 

Parting words: In terms of working with a small press, don't exclude them. Ask questions. Respect their boundaries, like being closed to submission. Don't be afraid to revise and rework your manuscripts. It's a good thing, it's part of the process. 

Industry Panel: The AI Debate - Ginee Seo

 

Ginee Seo is VP and Editorial Director of Ten Speed Young Readers, the children's book imprint at Ten Speed/Crown. She has worked in children's book publishing for over 35 years and has held a number of positions, including Executive Publishing Director of Children’s Books at Chronicle Books; VP, Associate Publisher at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, where she also had her own eponymous imprint; and VP, Editorial Director at Harper Trophy. 

A note on this conversation, as AI is quite broad. In this conversation, the panelist are speaking to generative AI technology. Keeping in mind that generative AI has been built on copyrighted material (without compensation for that work). 

Martha asks about AI clauses in contracts.

Ginee shares that PRH doesn’t have a specific AI clause as of now, but they do already have a a clause that expresses that the work is solely created by the author. That said, they (PRH) very much believe in protecting copyright. On the copyright page of each book, there is a statement that any use of generative AI using the book is not allowed (protecting the person/people behind the book). 

She also shares that at Ten Speed, they have core principles:

• Human authorship is essential

• Originality and IP integrity is nonnegotiable

• Transparency and early communication are key

She says it all comes down to protecting you. 

Ginee wanted to be on this panel to share this message: Protect your text. Do not run your text through AI. If you do, you are giving away your material. People are not aware how invasive and intrusive AI is. 

Ginee is not seeing any request from agents or authors to not put their work through AI, but she thinks that’s likely to change

She is asked if any publishers are taking their IP work and putting it into AI to generate more work like it. Ginee hopes not, but she could see a possibility of that happening. 

On the question of using AI to research, Ginee says to consider the information are you giving it. Know it can be wrong. That it is only just a starting place.

Final advice: Ginee fears that maybe the conversation has created a bit of fear. She just wants you all, as book creators, to know: Do not make it easy for these companies to take your IP. Don't take the shortcuts. And, if you were to write something to share with publishing gatekeepers you might say, "All work done by an imperfect human." Imperfection is what makes us beautiful. It's what makes art. 

What an informative conversation about this important topic. If you want to listen, you can still register for the conference at scbwi.org and watch the replay. 

The Big Picture in Children's Publishing : Patrice Caldwell

 

Patrice Caldwell  is seeking commercial, character-driven fiction for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers as well as narrative nonfiction. Across the board, she is especially looking for middle grade and young adult science fiction & fantasy, mythology retellings and reimaginings, romance novels, and anything that can be categorized as horror and/or gothic literature. Patrice loves to champion stories from writers & illustrators from marginalized backgrounds. She does not represent picture books.

Before becoming a literary agent, Patrice was an editor at Disney-Hyperion and, before that, Scholastic. She went to Wellesley College, where she studied Political Science and English, and is the founder of People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization.

Patrice just started her own agency in February--The Caldwell Agency. It has a DEIA focus at its heart, not to be exclusionary but to be inclusionary. Patrice wanted to really think about what it means to build an agency that is accessible and has tools to support its creators. Part of why Patrice moved from editorial to agenting was the ability to work with a writer for their entire career, to be an advocate for them. 

Patrice believes the mark of a great agent is someone who's passionate about the thing you want to do. Patrice also says your agent isn't someone you should be afraid of. You want to have an agent that you feel comfortable sharing information with.

Patrice encourages: Don't discount a young/new agent. With the additional note: there are several new agents that will be with The Caldwell Agency soon. A great thing to know for those of you who are looking! 

Great tip: Before you sign with an agent, you should talk to a client or two. Patrice advises you don't talk to their most successful client. Things are going really well for them, so it might be more useful to talk to someone who's debut is just coming out. Or, a writer that's been through several rounds of revisions with her on the same project. 

Patrice notes that the market is all over the place, and that it's harder than ever to sell a debut, but it's never been easier for a previously published writer to do really interesting things (when it comes to genre blending).  

Things her writers are exploring: more illustration, shorter pages, playing with format, and more interactive. 

What do you hope your legacy to be? Patrice shares the choice to start this agency is now her legacy. She's very proud of the work she's done and knowing that her clients books didn't exist a few years ago. Patrice is happy to feel like "I've done good work and I'm happy with the work I've done."

If you want to view this session to hear the full content, along with the rest of the conference,

register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/virtual-summer-conference-2025. Replays of the

conferences will be available until September 14th, 2025.