What Does Success Look Like?

I tweeted last week about this question and wanted to expand upon it to begin the new week. How do you define success? Is it being published in a magazine? Recognized as an online authority or book reviewer? Is it landing an agent or that first book deal? Or maybe seeing delight in the eyes of a child as you read during a library visit is your brand of success. How about signing books and a reader tells you how you changed their life? Or answering loads of fan letters praising your characters and story?

All writers have different goals and vision when it comes to success. Just like our story ideas and personalities differ, so do our definitions of success. Many writers who write for children (my chosen age group) seek to impact the life of a child and especially reluctant readers, not pursue super-stardom. Of course, the chance of super-stardom is slim anyway so best to pursue more honorable aims (wink).

I've been reviewing my own ideas of success. My greatest desire is to write something that entertains kids. Building a relationship with an agent for the long-term, someone who "gets" my work and is interested in collaboration, that would be success. I'm not about sales numbers and I'm realistic about writing as a career. Success would be seeing the book about our journey through liver disease and transplant on a bookshelf.

How about you? What does success look like for you?

Obscure Word of the Week, #9

fimbriate – to hem; to fringe.

What's on Tap

My brain's still full from last weekend's conference so if you see me musing about that for a few weeks, just know I'm processing in public. (smile)

My newer blog readers may have noticed I recently began posting interviews to the blog. I hope these are helpful for you and would love if you could take the time to interact with my guest. I have plans to continue the format for as long as there is interest, guests are willing to grace my blog with their presence and the community benefits.

My next conference is the Northwest Christian Writers Association’s Writers’ Renewal in May. I have some interviews lined up in advance of the conference and hope you’ll stop by. Agent Rachel Kent was the opener to this parade of guests this week. I’ll be posting interview TWICE per week as we close in on the conference (May 18-19). Here’s a sampling of who you can expect to see in the coming weeks:

Terry Glaspey, Director of Acquisitions, Harvest House

Carolyn McReady, Executive Editor, Zondervan

Marshal Younger, writer/director/producer

Jeffrey Overstreet, writer, Aurelia’s Colors and other books

Chila Woychik, Publisher, Yonder Press Books

and later in May and early June:

Deb Lund, The Amazing Picture Book Author!

Stasia Kehoe, debut author of Audition

Authoress, everyone’s favorite anonymous blogger & friend to writers everywhere

Sandra Bishop, agent with Macgregor Literary

Is there anyone YOU would like to see interviewed? Just let me know. 

Reflections from the 21st Annual SCBWI Western WA conference

I’m still digesting all the information I accrued over the weekend. So many great speakers, sessions and people. Every year I think it can’t possibly be as good as the previous year, but the conference always proves me wrong, every year. Thanks to Kim, Jaime, the entire Advisory Committee and all the volunteers. You did awesome!

As I reflect about the conference, I wanted to note some of the personal highlights for me. I’m also eager to share how close I came to hitting my pre-conference goals, so bear with me.

Highlights:

-          - Meeting new writer friends. This is always one of the greatest benefits from the conference. I’m continually blown away by this community and all the quality people.

-          - Meeting some Twitter and other friends I’ve only met online. These included the amazing Deb Lund, Lois Brandt and my new best Twitter buddy, Amber Keyser (yes, you ARE a hoot!)

-          - Favorite conferences sessions? Tammi Sauer’s lively picture book session; Andrea Welch’s informative picture book session; and Jenny Bent’s query workshop. Phenomenal insight from all three ladies.  Such insight into the picture book world that I’m inspired to delve further and revisit some of my finished/unfinished manuscripts again.

-       - The diverse and incomparable faculty. The agent/editor panel is always lively and fun. Getting a glimpse of how different each house/representative is really sets a nice tone for the weekend. It keeps things in perspective on how subjective the industry can be.

Some new goals inspired by the conference:

1.      Get back to writing daily, 500 words per day.

2.      Refine picture book voice.

3.      Focus on show vs. tell, particularly in my novels.

I'm happy to note that I met most of my conference goals:

1.  Meet 10 new people. I mean more than saying 'Hi". The idea is to learn about them, share our writing and maybe check in throughout the weekend. This may be easier than normal because I've volunteered as a mentor to 1st time attendees. I'll report back next week. ACCOMPLISHED

2.  Learn at least two things I can put into practice with my writing right away. ACCOMPLISHED

3.  Chat with some published writers and about their experiences. I won't put a number on this but I'd like to speak with several across genres and age-groups. ACCOMPLISHED

4.  Find a potential critique partner. STILL WORKING 

I'd love to hear some of your insight if you attended the conference. 

Interview with...Agent Rachel Kent of Books and Such

This week I welcome Rachel Kent, an agent with Books and Such Literary to the blog. She'll be part of the faculty at next month's Northwest Christian Writers' Association Writers' Renewal.

Here's a brief bio from the agency website: 

"Growing up as the middle of five children (two older brothers and two younger sisters), Rachel has learned first hand how to be a mediator, peacemaker and confidant. Good relationships have always been important to her. She likes to stick by people. She believes that as long as two people are dedicated toward working together, the relationship can work, and they can accomplish the task at hand. Rachel started at Books & Such as a summer intern while she was attending U.C. Davis and then, after graduating, worked part-time at the agency as an assistant. Her favorite part of the job was reading a manuscript and providing an author with feedback to help him or her to improve the project.She graduated from Davis in three years with a bachelor’s degree in English and minors in both religious studies and psychology. Through Rachel’s work at the agency and with authors, she has gained an understanding of the publishing process, contract negotiation, and what it takes to successfully write and market a book."

Rachel, thanks for taking time to answer my questions.

Rachel: Thanks for interviewing me!

Could you describe a typical day in the life of an agent at Book and Such Literary?

Rachel: Each day in my week looks a little different because I try to do certain tasks on specific days, but generally I check my emails and answer the really important ones first. Then I negotiate contracts, edit proposals, or read manuscripts for my clients; send out submissions to editors; and if I have time in a day I'll read queries and submissions from potential clients.  

How vital do you believe social media is to writers today? Is it necessary to sell a book?

Rachel: Having a presence online is extremely important these days. I'm not sure that you need to be everywhere, but joining Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads is a great start for an author. I also believe that a professional website is a must for all writers even if they don't have a book published yet. I will often go check an author's website if I'm considering representing him or her and I like to find a professional, friendly page with information about that person. If I can't find a website, I am less likely to take on that author as a client. It's necessary to sell a book in my opinion, but there are always exceptions.

How often do you fall in love with a query and possibly a partial, only to be disappointed the longer you read the manuscript?

Rachel: I'm guessing here, but I'd say out of the queries I receive I request only 1 proposal out of every 200 submissions. Out of the requested proposals, I ask for a full manuscript from 1 out of 30. Of the full manuscripts I read I only offer representation to 1 out of 5 authors. These statistics don't hold true for writers I meet at conferences. I request more proposals from conferences because I know that those authors are working hard on the writing craft and have invested time and money into making their manuscripts better.

What types of thirty-something nonfiction are you interested in seeing?

Rachel: I'm looking for issue-oriented fiction and nonfiction projects for thirty-somethings. Books that relate directly to what thirty-somethings are going through during that time of life. For example: reconnecting with a spouse after having children; coming to the end of having babies and dealing with knowing you are done with that part of your journey; and balancing work and a family. These types of ideas can be presented in fiction and nonfiction and I'm interested in both.

What are you currently reading?

Rachel: Robin Jones Gunn's FINALLY & FOREVER, the fourth book in the Katie Weldon series.

Please describe your dream client.

Rachel: I could write an entire blog series on qualities I look for in clients, but to keep it simple I want I client who is: easy to get along with, patient, a great writer, and willing to work hard.

I've also blogged recently on the topic of clients, so feel free to check out those blogs if you'd like to know more:
http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/what-i-look-for-in-a-client/
http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/i-wont-represent-you-if/

Rachel, thanks for a great interview.

Rachel: I'm looking forward to the conference next month!

A Personal Aside: Transplant Living, 3 Years Later

I try not to blog too much about my persona life on my writing blog because I have another blog specifically for that. Today, however, is not a normal day. Around 6:20pm the night of April 23, we handed our 7-month-old baby girl over to the anesthesiologists in preparation for a liver transplant. At 4am on April 24, 2009, my youngest daughter, Sarah, was being sewn up by surgeons at Seattle Children's Hospital.

This journey began on November 14, 2008 at Sarah's two-month pediatrician appointment. Our doctor ordered extensive lab work due to Sarah's jaundice. The result: diagnosis of the rare liver disease, biliary atresia. Essentially, B.A. as families like to call it, is the absence of bile ducts from the liver to the gall bladder. Or the ducts are so minute as to be useless. You can imagine the result of this. Bile doesn't filter out of the liver, instead polluting the organ and damaging it day-by-day. That's exactly what happened to Sarah.

On November 17, Sarah visited her first operating room and became a recipient of a Kasai surgery. The surgeons attached part of Sarah's small intestine directly to her liver in hopes of relieving the bile back-up and saving the liver from any further damage. The surgery itself went without a hitch. It wasn't until later we realized the liver was too far gone.

While the bile did indeed drain from the liver, the organ had suffered so much damage it resembled that of an alcoholic: hardened and dying. Blood could not flow properly through and veins had to find away around the liver to the heart. The result was life-threatening varices and a major bleed in early March 2009. Just over a month later, Sarah received her gift of life and is flourishing. As transplant recipients know, there's no such thing as "normal" due to a lifetime regimen of immunosuppression drugs (with their own side effects) and the threat of rejection - at any time.

We stand here today grateful to God for Sarah's presence in our lives and forever thankful to the family who lost their old child, enabling ours to live. Happy Transplantaversary, Sarah!

Obscure Word of the Week, #8

drusy – abounding with very minute crystals.