Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 39
October 16, 2016
A comic for those doing NaNoWriMo this year
I'm going to be using NaNoWriMo as extra motivation to get in some extra writing done on novel-in-progress. I found out last year that NaNoWriMo actually welcomes writers who are in all stages of their project!
Just write. Many writers hope elves will come in the night and finish your work for you. They won’t. @Neilhimself
Just write. Many writers hope elves will come in the night and finish your work for you. They won’t.
- Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself on Twitter)
October 15, 2016
Comic: NaNoWriMo Emergency (and a writing challenge for those who don't have the time for #NaNoWriMo)
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Don't have enough writing time for NaNoWriMo & looking for an achievable daily goal challenge? Try my Daily Words Challenge.
October 13, 2016
Literary agent Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group building client list: seeks picture bk writer/illus, middle grade and YA writers
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Mark Gottlieb is a literary agent at Trident Media Group. Mark is actively building his client list, including those who write picture books, middle grade and young adult. For picture books, Mark prefers representing those who both write and illustrate rather than those who write only or illustrate only (see his comments below). Mark was kind enough to answer a few questions for Inkygirl.
Q. How did you become an agent?
Most people find their way into book publishing as an accidental profession. In my case, the agency where I work is family-owned and operated, so I was groomed from a very young age for my current role as literary agent at Trident Media Group. To that end, I obtained an undergraduate study in publishing from Emerson College in Boston and did a stint at Penguin Books, before coming to Trident. There's more about this journey of mine in my company bio:
"Mark Gottlieb attended Emerson College and was President of its Publishing Club, establishing the Wilde Press. After graduating with a degree in writing, literature & publishing, he began his career with Penguin’s VP. Mark’s first position at Publishers Marketplace’s #1-ranked literary agency, Trident Media Group, was in foreign rights. Mark was EA to Trident’s Chairman and ran the Audio Department. Mark is currently working with his own client list, helping to manage and grow author careers with the unique resources available to Trident. He has ranked #1 among Literary Agents on publishersmarketplace.com in Overall Deals and other categories."
With authors at LDStorymakers Conference.
Q. What kind of children’s/YA books are you looking for?
I’m very open to hearing ideas, but I find that a lot of editors are still stuck on the John Green contemporary YA sort of thing. Editors have been saying for a while that they’ve had post-apocalyptic YA novels coming out of their ears. That is, of course, until someone writes the next post-apocalyptic YA bestseller… In general, what I find works well in YA is a strong female protagonist or at least a lead character. For YA focused more so on a boy audience, fantasy and sci-fi tends to do better.
Q. Do you represent illustrators as well as writers?
I represent a mixture of authors, illustrators and author/illustrators. Many of them are bestselling authors and award-winning authors.
Q. Who are some of your current children’s/YA book clients?
Andrew Buckley, Ruby Karp, Jason Walz and Claudio Sanchez.
(From Debbie: You can see a list of Mark's clients' new releases on his Trident page, at the bottom.)
Q. How should writers and illustrators submit material to you?
Our literary agency prefers to receive query letters through our website on our Submissions/Contact Us page.
(From Debbie to those who write/illustrate picture books: Note that Trident/Mark prefers a synopsis rather than the entire picture book manuscript. If Mark is interested in seeing the entire mss, he will let you know. To those who illustrate: I'd suggest including a link to your online portfolio in your query letter.)
Q. Are you open to picture books?
I am indeed open to PBs. We first prefer to be queried via our website at since there's a Submissions/Contact Us form there. If the query letter in good, I will request samples to be sent via email. Any format is OK for me. I represent authors and illustrators. I'm very open to most any idea but I tend to prefer writer/illustrators of picture books over representing just writers or just illustrators. Where I represent an individual writer or illustrator they tend to have some award recognition to their name.
Mark (on right) helping fix up an inner-city school with other volunteers in New York.
Q. Where can writers and illustrators find out more about you?
Authors can visit our literary agency’s website. Our literary agency’s twitter handle is @Trident_Media. You can find tweets from me there, usually composed on behalf of my clients or about industry news and trends in book publishing. We’re also on Facebook.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
Writing or illustrating a picture book? Here are some free templates to help you plan your story
I've started working on a new picture book idea (YAY!). After I pick an idea I'm excited about, I start writing the text. Because I tend to think visually when writing, I also usually start paging out the manuscript and scribbling stick figure thumbnail sketches to help me figure out pacing.
You can read more about my process as well as download some free picture book thumbnail templates.
October 12, 2016
October 8, 2016
October 4, 2016
My podcast interview on WritersMarket about writing and illustrating children's books
Thanks to Robert Lee Brewer and Brian Klems of Writer's Digest for inviting me to be on their new WritersMarket.com podcast! I talked about how I started writing and illustrating books for young people, what I've learned so far, my middle grade novel, meeting Judy Blume, how much I love illustrating Michael Ian Black's stories for kids, board gaming, musical instruments and much more.
I was nervous but ended up having a lot of fun; both Robert and Brian are such nice guys. I used to work with both Robert and Brian for Writer's Digest (a daily publishing news column as well as articles for the magazine) and I hope to finally meet them in person someday!
