Meet Ethan Long, A Children's Book Creative Virtuoso! + Book Giveaway

 

Once again I shout, “Lucky me!”

I meet The Best People doing what I love and loving what I do, 

here in our singular Children’s Book World.

But now you can, too.

Meet Ethan Long, a veritable Children’s Book Creative Virtuoso 

whose debut middle grade novel The Death and Life of Benny 

Brooks (Christy Ottaviano Books/Little Brown, October, 2023) 

might luckily be yours simply by entering our Book Giveaway.

(See details at the end of this post.)

Fate first connected me to Ethan oh, so long ago, in 2001, 

when Holiday House editor Mary Cash chose him to illustrate my 

debut middle grade novel, The Confe$$ion$ and $ecret$ of 

Howard J. Fingerhut.  Ethan and I met in person at that year’s NY 

SCBWI Conference, his smile every bit as impish as the one he’s 

sprouting in the above photo. His Professionalism, Commitment, 

Passion, Smarts and Joy bowled me over. He was all in when it 

came to creating children’s books, grateful to be illustrating, but 

eager and determined to someday figure out a way to tell his 

story, his “crazy family’s story,” in words.  He’s done just that, 

adding illustrations, of course, in The Death and Life of Benny 

Brooks (Sort of a memoir). I knew he someday would, which is 

just what I’d told him.

 

Ethan has added all sorts of descriptive nouns in the intervening 

years - author/illustrator, author, graphic novelist, cover artist, 

game designer, animator, just to name a few, creating baby board 

books, picture books, novelty books, chapter books, murals, 

baseball cards, poetry books, joke books, book trailers, 

digital book series, animated shorts, indeed his very own NFT 

collection. His awards include the 2013 Theodor Seuss Geisel 

Award for Up! Tall! And High! and a 2022 Kidscreen Award for 

Scribbles and Ink, an Emmy Award Nominee. His latest noun in 

apposition should be no surprise: AGENT!  He and his wife 

Heather recently joined the Tugeau 2 Art and Literary Agency to 

represent fellow creatives. You can learn more about his artists 

and the story-tellers he seeks here.

Imagine my surprise when Good Ol’ Serendipity arranged a long-

awaited meet-up at ALA this June in Chicago! Ethan’s puckish 

smile was the same, his eyes twinkling behind round horn-rimmed 

glasses just like mine. He was as grateful a human being as ever.  

When he shared his Good News - how he’d finally figured out a way

to tell his “crazy family story,” as an illustrated middle grade novel, 

how The Death and Life of Benny Brooks would release this 

October, I could only thank him for affirming my “I told you so!”

 

The book’s front flap copy captures Benny perfectly.  “Benny's life 

is slowly unraveling. His parents are newly divorced, his mom 

chooses to move away, and Benny and his brother and sister are 

left with their chain-smoking dad, who has just been diagnosed 

with lung cancer. Benny is lonely, anxious, and very angry. He 

can't sleep at night and spends his days trying to survive fifth 

grade.”

 

Numerous starred reviews praised Ethan’s illustrations – 

“dynamic youthful-feeling pencil drawings by the protagonist” - 

but as important, the “bighearted story brimming with hope.”

Janet Tashjian’s testimonial lauded Ethan’s novel as “the perfect

 book for readers trying their best to come to terms with the 

many curve balls life hurls.  It also has the most important 

quality a story can have – honesty.  There’s not a false note in 

it.”

I agree, 100%. Benny’s heart reaches out to the Reader and

never lets go from the very first image on page one: Benny 

lying beneath the clouds, wondering what it would be 

like to be dead. “The part of me that used to be happy and 

funny and smiley is gone,” he shares.

 

After a tortuous school year in which his teacher Mr. Rogers guides 

him to focus, not fight, “YOU,” Mr. Rogers tells Benny, “are going 

places, Sir! Once you realize how much you have to give, which is a 

lot, you’re going to soar.”

 

Read my interview with Ethan that follows. Click on the links to 

read about his books.  

I know you’ll agree: Ethan Long continues to soar!

 

Thank you, Ethan, for being who you are and doing what you do - 

for Young Readers, for our Children’s Book World and for gifting 

one lucky TeachingAuthor reader of this post with an autographed 

copy of The Death and Life of Benny Brooks.

 

Long live Creatives!

 

Esther Hershenhorn

p.s.

Thanks to Bridget at WeeWords for hosting today’s Poetry Friday.

…

 You’ve had quite the Children’s Book Creator’s Journey, from illustrating my first middle grade novel in 2001 to writing yours, with a bounty of written and illustrated picture and early chapter books in between. You shared on your website you’ve experienced in the publishing industry both “struggles as well as successes.”  What wisdom did you glean from both that kept you keepin’ on?

Thank you, Esther! Great question. And I love that we have 

known each other for over 20 years! The struggles: They 

teach you about yourself and your limits — what you will 

put up with and what you won’t put up with. When I am 

struggling or have struggled, sometimes it is so hard that I 

want to give up, and sometimes do (temporarily), then 

realize I HAVE to keep going because of the commitment 

I made to myself as a creator and also the commitments I 

have to my family. It is not fun, but knowing my family, 

friends, and other artists have seen me struggle and succeed 

lets them know they can do it, too. At least, that is my hope.

 

·       Channeling Richard Peck’s Dear Reader letter for The Best Man (Dial, 2016), what does Benny’s story mean to you and what do you hope it means to your Readers?

Benny’s story is about struggle and hope. The goal was just 

to get the book out of my head and down on paper, but now 

that it’s out, it makes sense to me that people are thanking 

me for writing it and how it has inspired them to reach out 

to estranged family members or deal with a lingering issue. 

The book has inspired them to ACT. It has also inspired

 other writers to go emotionally deeper into their stories. 

That is satisfying.

 

·       Congratulations on your newest endeavor, partnering with your wife, Heather – Heather and Ethan Long Art & Literary Agents with the Tugeau Art & Literary Agency! You’ve already signed 13 creators you’ve deemed “amazing.” How would you describe the creatives you seek? How can interested writers and illustrators contact you?

Oh my gosh, our time with Nicole Tugeau and Lillian 

Mazeika at Tugeau 2 has been an amazing experience. Both 

struggle and success have been intertwined since we started 

in November of 2022. The creatives we seek have to be 

technically skilled in what they do, have the content and 

expression to make us go WHOA, but also have the 

inclination to write stories. They need to be prepared for 

that kind of hard work. We will have 17 artists by the end 

of 2023 and although not everyone has gotten work yet or 

sold a story to a publisher, everyone is working and 

growing. It’s amazing to watch and be a part of.

 

·       I once heard an editor share that as writers and illustrators, each of us has a story to tell, a Truth, of sorts, we wish to leave behind. We tell that story again and again, in various formats and genres, for a variety of Readers. What might be your story?

You are a pro at asking great questions, Esther! Hmmm. My story 

is multi-faceted in that I came to this earth with a lot of gifts, but

 also a lot of baggage that I had to sift through over the years to 

let my gifts shine through. It has taught me to continually clean 

myself out by talking through things and letting them go. That 

process keeps me as in-the-moment as possible and allows my 

creativity to flow effortlessly and without boundaries to others.

It gives me the mindset to work on many projects at a time and

not feel weighed down. Is it a perfect process? No. But I work 

at it every day of my life.

·       

Y   You write on your website you “can’t wait to see what comes next.” Either can I and now, I’m sure, the Readers of this interview. Can you give us a clue or a hint? Might something new be in the works (I hope)?

You know me by now…there is ALWAYS something in the 

works. :) Two middle grade novels, some easy readers, two 

“non-fictiony” picture books with a writing partner and friend, 

some animation development, and of course, the artists at the 

agency, which are always a work in progress, like the rest of us.

. . .  . . . . . .

OUR BOOK GIVEAWAY!

To enter the giveaway drawing for The Death and Life of Benny 

Brooks, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Note: if the widget 

doesn’t appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says 

“a Rafflecopter giveaway” to enter.)

 

You may enter via up to 4 options.  The more options you 

choose, the better your odds! If you choose option 3, you 

MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog post or on our 

TeachingAuthors Facebook page.  If you haven’t already 

“liked” our Facebook page, please do so today!

If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: 

teachingauthors @gmail.com

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, 

YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA 

RAFFLECOPTER BELOW.  The giveaway ends 

November 1, 2023 and is open to U.S. Residents only.

 

If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter giveaways, here’s info 

on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway.  And a second article 

explains thedifference between signing in with Facebook vs. 

with an email address.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A New Year...An Upcoming Book - Anatomy of a Book's Journey

Moving Forward in the New Year!  

Here we go…2023 is here and I am on a speeding train toward the book launch of my first book that sold in July of 2018.  It’s been a long time coming and certainly not without its own story, replete with the twist and turn of not ending up being my debut book.  So where did it all begin?  Well, with my very own teaching author of course!  Here’s the anatomy of a picture book sale for an author who wondered if it really could be done. 

Chance meetings and serendipity have always been my friends. As a public school teacher in Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design allows teachers to take one free extension class a semester. In 2017, I attended an open house ready to sign up for a painting class.  It had been a long time since I had explored my ideas on canvas.  It was a life I had wandered away from once I had a child in 2001. I was ready to add a little pizzaz to my life, to reclaim that part of me that had slumbered through my child’s childhood. I meandered through the tables exhibiting the offerings, awake and alive to the endless possibilities of reentering a formal learning environment.  And then I happened upon Deborah Nourse Lattimore and my life took a new turn.  

I had been exploring writing for children and I had been putting the work in to learn the craft. It was work.  Enjoyable work…but work, nonetheless. I had no intention on that day to add to my workload. I was looking for delight. But, Deborah was pure delight and I found myself signing up for her class instead of the painting class I had intended.  I was about to find myself at a new level of a career that I had been dabbling with, wanting to be serious but unable to find the next level.

Deborah Nourse Lattimore is the author-illustrator of almost 40 children’s books and has taught writing for years. Her gift as a teacher is to recognize each students level and extend their reach in a non-judgmental, nurturing, and loving way.  Deborah creates the conditions for good writing to occur without the student knowing that it’s happening. The growth is organic and authentic and not performative, process over product. I thrived. 

After studying with her for months, I took a risk and randomly asked her if she ever recommended her students to an agent whom she was friends with. She said, “Sometimes.” I ventured further, “Would you consider recommending me?”  I braced for the very real possibility of a no.  But there it was.  My first yes.  

That December I travelled to Egypt to visit my father and extended family.  Egyptian Lullaby tumbled out of me as a full-blown manuscript. I could hardly keep up. It was my love letter to Cairo. 

Abigail Samoun of Red Fox Literary was still looking at some of my weaker manuscripts when Deborah encouraged me to send her Egyptian Lullaby. Abigail’s response was positive, and my timing was on point. Abi was traveling to New York that week to meet  with editors.  She asked if she could take my manuscript with her. It was a resounding yes from me which resulted in 5 interested editors from leading publishing houses. I naively expected an immediate sale.  

          

Some clean up and revisions were necessary.  Time passed…editors passed on it…and the manuscript stalled. Knowing that rejection is a part of an author’s lifestyle and accepting that every turn is an adventure kept me out of the trough of despair and imposter syndrome. But time kept passing and nothing was happening. Then we got a bite, but a full rewrite was required. I’m always up for the challenge and adventure so I jumped in and responded to the editor’s direction.  The manuscript was significantly different, but I liked the changes and was willing to let go of the original story. 

We were ready to cross the finish line when Emily Feinberg contacted us. Egyptian Lullaby seemed like it belonged at Roaring Brook Press. A different manuscript that I had in my collection of manuscripts seemed like it was better suited for the original editor whom I had worked with.  So, I ended up with two sales. 

(If the video won't play click here)

As it turned out, my instincts were right.  The version of Egyptian Lullaby that ended up as a picture book was the original version, illustrated by the extremely talented Hatem Aly.  

Ironically, Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story became my beautiful debut picture book

stunningly illustrated by Fiona Halliday. It unfortunately came out on May 12, 2020, just as the pandemic lockdown kicked into full swing, almost three years before Egyptian Lullaby which is due out on April 18th of this year. 

It is a delight to revisit the journey of my first book and honor the people responsible for it. 

This blog post is dedicated to Deborah Nourse Lattimore, my unrelenting mentor who makes me feel like I can write anything, Abigail Samoun, my amazing agent who believes in me, guides me, supports my decisions, gives me the belief that there are unlimited possibilities always possible and helps me bear all the rejections that go with this path, and Emily Feinberg, who took my original manuscript and made it into something I could never have imagined it would be.  

My love for the three of you is immeasurable and my respect is boundless. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

By Zeena M. Pliska

Say hello to Katie Kath, illustrator of More Than Enough ~ A Passover Story

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(Psssst! Click here to find out how enter our
autographed Book Giveaway of

More Than Enough ~ A Passover Story ,
which ends March 31, 2016 )

Howdy, Campers!

On Friday, you learned my true and gritty tale of books, back alleys and dead bodies...

no, wait...

...you learned about the rollercoaster-behind-the-scenes metamorphosis of a story about a hike for seven-year-olds into a playful and luminously illustrated picture book about a family joyfully preparing for Passover, all the while being aware of the blessings of each moment--ta-dah!:

And here today, for your reading pleasure, is my new friend and the fan-tabulous illustrator, Katie Kath, all the way from North Carolina--hiya, Katie!  Uh, Katie...what are you doing...?

~ Illustrator Katie Kath sketching in Yellowstone National Park ~

While Katie's putting away her sketch pad and settling into her seat on the front porch of the TeachingAuthors tree house, I'll tell you a little about her.

She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a Master's degree in illustration. Her career was jump-started when she won one of two SCBWI Student Illustrator Scholarship awards in 2013. Shortly thereafter she was picked up by  Justin Rucker, an agent from Shannon Associates, and now spends countless hours happily working on her colorful and unique illustrations in her studio.

Katie loves to work primarily in watercolor and ink, sometimes accompanied by collage. She lives in those rolling hills of North Carolina, with her husband and their cat, Pangur-Ban.

​Katie, while you're sipping this iced tea, could you tell us more about your rocketship-​to-​the-​moon career path and how my manuscript came to you?

Towards the end of my schooling at SCAD, I pretty much had no clue where my career would go from there, which was a pretty terrible and scary feeling. So, you can imagine my elation when a few images I submitted to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) won the Student Illustrator Scholarship in 2013! This is what started my career. From there, I met Justin Rucker, and have made countless professional connections through SCBWI.

MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ A Passover Story was my very first picture book job and only my second job contracted through my new agent. I can’t describe how excited I was when I got the email from my agent asking if I was interested in illustrating this book. All I could think was, “This is really happening! I am getting hired for this book! This is actually, for-real happening!”

Can you describe your initial thoughts and your illustration process as you worked on More Than Enough?

My initial thoughts were, “I gotta hit the books!” because I knew nothing about Passover and the traditions involved in the holiday. I spent the next few months and beyond studying Jewish culture and the Passover celebration.

Illustrator Katie Kath doing research ~
her first Passover Seder (meal)!

As far as my process goes, the first thing I focused on is creating the characters in the book because they really make the story come alive. I offered a few different options of each character to the publisher and we settled on the characters you now see in the book.

photo courtesy Jama Rattigan from her most marvelous interview and review of our book

Illustrating a book is a very involved endeavor. It involves a process of research, planning, thinking, doodling, sketching, and re-working—and More Than Enough was no stranger to this process!

This is a Passover book...could you talk a bit about this aspect of the book and how you handled it in your art?

I knew what I needed to do was familiarize myself as much as I could with the Passover holiday and its traditions. I read a lot about it on this fabulous website called chabad.org, I read and re-read the Haggadah, and I also read a wonderfully informative book called The Jewish Book of Why. Of course, I made sure to attend a Passover meal as well!

I knew that if I was familiar enough with Passover, I could create artwork that did not rely on stereotypes to tell a successful visual story about the holiday. I wanted to let my readers know that the point of this book was its theme of love, thankfulness and family, which is approachable to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation.

And your illustrations convey those themes beautifully, Katie.  Switching gears now, tell us one surprising thing about yourself.

Fun fact about myself? When I was little I was really into opera (yes, opera. Like Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Bizet…) and I loved to illustrate some of my favorite operas after watching them!

I  love that!  What's next for you, Katie?

The books that everyone can expect to be coming out next is "Weekends With Max and His Dad" (Linda Urban) "What a Beautiful Morning " (Arthur Levine) "Nora Notebooks 2: The Trouble With Babies" (Claudia Mills), and "Come Over To My House" (by Theo LeSeig, aka Dr. Seuss).

(Did you catch that, Campers? Katie was picked to illustrate a book by Theo LeSeig, aka Dr. Seuss!)

Projects I'm working on now are "My Kicks" (Susan Verde), "Nora Notebooks 3: The Trouble with Friends" and a second Max and His Dad book.

Katie concludes, Phew! Lots o' books!

...and I say:

I'm so lucky to have you as the illustrator, Katie ~
how 'bout a cross-country high five!
note: on some screens it actually looks like we're high-fiving...

Author April Halprin Wayland (and Eli)...

& Illustrator Katie Kath

Thank you for stopping by, Katie...now get back to work on all those luscious books!  

And thank you, Campers, for reading all the way to our cross-country high five...and remember to enter our book giveaway for an autographed copy of MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ A Passover Story, as described at the bottom of the last post.

STAY TUNED!  On Wednesday, Katie interviews the woman who designed MORE THAN ENOUGH ~

posted after a happy day of book signing by me, April Halprin Wayland, with the assistance of my trusty pup, Eli.

Passionate or Practical? Writing To Market Children's Books {and Poetry Friday!}

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Howdy, Campers!

Woo-woo!  The winner of Joan Bransfield Graham's new book, The Poem that Will Not End is Rosi Hollenbeck, who happens to be the SCBWI critique group coordinator for Northern and Central California. Congratulations, Rosi!  You'll find Joan's Wednesday Writing Workout here and my interview with her here.

Today we conclude our series on Writing What We Want to Write versus Writing What is Marketable (or, as I like to call it, WWWWWWWM). Each of us is taking turns thinking aloud about Marion Dane Bauer's terrific post, The Creative Mind, in which she writes convincingly about WWWWWWWM.

It's also Poetry Friday at Buffy's AND it's the start of TeachingAuthors' Summer Blogging Break--woo-woo!

Thanks, for hosting PF, Buffy!

First, let's review what TeachingAuthors have been saying so far this round:

JoAnn began the conversation by sharing her monarch haiku project and the new direction in which she's taking it; Carmela talked about how hard it is to work so long on beloved projects that don't sell...but finds redemption; Laura writes that it's a matter of prioritizing, e-publishing, sharing poetry love and more: and writing coach/writers' booster Esther sees the light, rewrites, submits like the devil, and stays optimistic. Her post has helped me stay optimistic, too.  In fact each of these posts has.

So...wow. I've been mulling over how to talk to you about this one.  It's potent. And personal.

Just like each of my blogmates, I've sent out countless manuscripts that have bounced back again and again and again and again.  *Sigh.*  I'd be a great boomerang maker.

For example, Girl Coming in for a Landing--a Novel in Poems (Knopf) took me ten years to sell. Then it won two major awards. Editors who rejected it said, "Teens don't read.  And if they do read, they don't read poetry."  As Esther reminds us: "Times change; markets change; publishers' needs change; editorial staffs change." Oy--is that ever true.

More recently, I finally found a way to fictionalize the story of the flood which destroyed my family's farm and how we rebuilt afterwards.  I'd been taking this picture book manuscript out, rewriting it, and putting it back in my bottom drawer for years.  Last year I was invited to join a dynamite critique group; I took a risk and showed them my story. At this Magic Table I learned what my story was missing and how to strengthen it.

This is what happens at our Magic Table. Sort of.

I was elated.  I sent it to my fabulous agent.  She told me that picture books these days must be short. VERY short.  Picture books used to be for ages 3-8 and could be as long as 1500 words.  These days, editors want picture books for ages 3-5.  After 650 words, editors roll their eyes, my agent told me.

I told the Magic Table this.  They helped me shorten it.  I sent it flying out my door again.

Editors said that it was too regional. I went back to the Magic Table. They said, What about all the floods around the country? What about your themes of resilience, problem solving, weather, storms, climate change and life cycles for heaven's sake? You've just got to help them see this.  You'd got to help your agent sell it.

SO...I hired a curriculum specialist...and resubmitted the story complete with Supplementary Materials including Themes, Common Core-related English Language Arts activities, Science-related activities, and a Glossary.

(Huh! Take That, I say with all those Capital Letters!)

And it's still not selling.

And yet...I believe in the Power of the Table. I do. I love this writing biz. I do. And I love my gang around that table. So what else can I do but believe? I keep on keeping on.

I wrote a poem recently to our group, to our leader, to the Magic Table. It was reverent, in awe of the smarts and wizardry at the Table.

But today I changed the poem. Maybe it's not a Magic Table after all. Here's the revised version:

AROUND THIS TABLE

by April Halprin Wayland

It's magic, you know.
Impossible feats of metaphor.

Six of us around this rosewood table,
savoring tea.

Spilling over our pages,

foreshadowing, fortune telling,

drawing stories

out of the shadows of these drapes.

The illusion of allusion.

A prophecy of sorcery.

The tinkling of full moon necklaces.

Shamans jingling bracelets

dangling from our sleight of hands.

But…are we clairvoyant?

Are we soothsayers, 
sorceresses, sorcerers?

Maybe it's all just make believe.

Believe.

poem copyright © 2014 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

I am boldly stealing the following EXACT WORDING (and formatting) from today's Poetry Friday host, Buffy Silverman because it's 12:15 am here in California...and because it applies to Buffy, to me, and to many other poets in the kidlitosphere you may know (thank you, Buffy!):
In other poetry news, I recently submitted a poem to a children’s poetry anthology being prepared by Carol-Ann Hoyte on food and agriculture, and was happy to learn this week that the poem was accepted.  I’m in good company with many other Poetry Friday folks–look for the anthology in October of this year.

TeachingAuthors will be taking our annual blogging break--we'll be back Monday, July 13th.  See you then!

Four TeachingAuthors on summer break.

Written by April Halprin Wayland who thanks you for reading all the way to the end.

Treats and Tricks: My Q & A with Teaching Agent-Author Mary Kole

Today’s release of the hands-on how-to book for middle grade and young adult writers Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest) gifts Moveable Type literary agent and KidLit.com creator Mary Kole with yet one more title:  Teaching Agent-Author.

Subtitled The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers, Mary’s interactive book offers up a bevy of agent-learned tricks, treats and best of all tools certain to help writers learn and hone their craft as well as their world.  She shares writing exercises, candid commentary and a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children’s book market.

Mary joined Movable Type from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency where she distinguished herself as an inventive and entrepreneurial agent.  Her books include author-illustrator Lindsay Wards’ When Blue Met Egg (Dial), Emily Hainsworth’s YA debut Through to You (Balzer + Bray) and Dianna Winget’s A Smidget of Sky (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).  KidLit.com was named one of Writer’s Digest’s Top 100 Websites for Writers; over 50,000 readers visit the site monthly.

This being Halloween, a favorite holiday of just about every children’s book writer and teacher I know, I consider Mary’s answers to my questions below both delicious, calorie-free Treats and writer-friendly Tricks, plural.

For one more Treat, be sure to read below of our TeachingAuthor Book Giveaway of the 2013 Children’sWriter’s & Illustrator’s Market (Writer’s Digest) which includes two of Mary’s articles - “Crafting a Query” and “Building Your Author Platform.”

(1) How did you become a Teaching (Agent) Author?

I became an agent after reading for free at an agency to learn more about the publishing business. But I've always been passionate about teaching others, so I knew that I wanted to pass on what I was learning to writers. The publishing business is often difficult to wrap one's head around, so I wanted to pull back the curtain a little bit. I understand things better once I articulate them and explain them to others, so the teaching aspect of my work has also been invaluable to me.

(2) Why and how did your book come to be?                                 

I started out as a writer, so part of it was definitely yearning to be a published author. But the book also became a personal challenge: Do I have enough to say about the writing craft and can I say it in a way that it earns its keep on my readers' writing reference shelves? I hope the answer to both questions is "yes," of course, and I'm excited to see the reactions once the book is out in the world. Since I was doing a lot of programming and teaching for Writer's Digest, publishing the guide with them was a natural fit and the process of actually getting the book deal was easy. The process of writing it, though, took a lot more stress and work, but I'm very happy with the finished product.

(3) What are the Top Three problems you note in manuscripts when you’re reading as an agent?

Beginnings are tough to do well, and I often notice that writers don't start with a strong sense of the present moment and present action. A lot of beginnings have tons of backstory and info-dumping and not enough conflict to hook a reader in. In terms of character, writers can always work on motivation and objective--a really strong reason for characters to be doing what they're doing, and an overarching goal that they work toward in the story. In a prose sense, I often find myself giving the following note: "You are saying something fundamentally simple in an overly complicated way." Not everything needs to be a showcase for Writing-with-a-capital-W. Sometimes there's style in simplicity.

(4) What are the Top Three writers’ questions you receive at www.kidlit.com?

Questions about query letters are always popular, and this is the first resource I end up sending to writers:

http://kidlit.com/2009/08/05/writing-a-simple-compelling-query/

Other than that, I've been answering writing questions on the site since 2009 and there are a lot of different concerns that writers have. I don't know if I can pick the runners up in terms of popularity.

(5) Please share a favorite Writing Exercise.

To really help writers individuate characters and think about voice, I like to ask them to describe the same scene or landscape from the POVs of two different characters. Think about syntax, word choice, what each character notices and how. This often drives home the point that each fictional person is unique and has a very distinct lens that should inform every choice that a writer is making.

(6) You’ve worn so many hats while residing in the Children’s Book World! Which do you love wearing the best?

I'd love to say "reader" but, to tell you the truth, there is no better way to frustrate one's love of reading than to actually work in publishing, where you are reading more than you ever thought possible and under time constraints. So I'll say that my favorite hat is "cheerleader," because there's no better feeling than believing in a project and championing it through to publication.

Thanks, Mary Kole, for the opportunity to bring you and your new book Writing Irresistible Fiction to the attention of our TeachingAuthor readers.

Happy Halloween!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S. Trick or treat?  You bet!  We’re giving away one copy of the 2013 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’sMarket (Writer’s Digest)!

You must follow our TeachingAuthors blog to enter our drawing.  If you’re not already a follower, you can sign up now in the sidebar to subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network blogs.

There are two ways to enter:
1) by a comment posted below
OR
2) by sending an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject line.
Just for the fun of it, and since we’re offering a Writer’s Book, share your #1 chocolate Trick or Treat candy. J

Whichever way you enter, you MUST give us your first and last name AND tell us how you follow us. If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email address (formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com) in your comment. Contest open only to residents of the United States. Incomplete entries will be discarded. Entry deadline is 11 pm (CST) Wednesday, November 7, 2012. Winners will be announced Friday, November 9, 2012. Good luck to all!