An Interview with Dial Editorial Director, Kathy Dawson

I’m so happy to have a guest visiting the blog today, Kathy Dawson.  Kathy is VP, Editorial Director for Fiction at Dial Books for Young Readers / Penguin, and the projects that she’s worked on over the years are some of my absolute favorites: Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis, Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, Graceling & Fire by Kristen Cashore, and Chime by Franny Billingsley. 

Some years ago, when I was the Director of Library Marketing at Penguin, I was considering a move into editorial.  So, briefly I wore two hats there, and in addition to my duties in marketing, I acquired some projects.  At the time, Kathy was also at Penguin, and she was my go-to adviser on all things editorial.  She was then, and is now, one of the smartest and most passionate people I know in this business.  I love the way she thinks about books.  Many thanks to Kathy for answering these questions!

This question is a three-part-er on your book history: Was there one book that started it all for you -- inspired a love of reading in you?  Is there a book that changed your life?  Is there a book that you turn to again and again?

I’m one of four siblings, and my mom read to us every night which no doubt inspired my love of books and reading. Also, my younger sister Jen is legally blind (she can see but not well enough to drive), and my mother created several one-of-a-kind books for her. I remember one about Herman the mouse with the too-long tail and one about an elf who was hiding at the back of the book (Mom attached jingly bells that you could hear ringing with every page turn—they were the bells on the elf’s slippers). Using felt, faux leather, die-cuts (& bells!), my mom gave my sister a tactile, auditory experience of reading. My mom also made us plush versions of her book characters with lots of clothes. Platt & Munk actually came out to our house to meet with her and offered to publish them, but they wanted her to make changes that she didn’t agree with. The irony of my current job duties is not lost on me.  

We kids went to the pediatrician twice a week for allergy shots, and I read the books in the office there over and over. One favorite, because I could never remember the ending and there was so much tension in it, was The Man Who Lost His Head by Claire Hutchet Bishop—which now that I’m an adult, I’m convinced is about a hangover.

I loved The Pokey Little Puppy; The Crows of Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley; illus by Barbara Cooney; Corduroy and Beady Bear (Beady!) by Don Freeman; Winnie the Pooh; Frog and Toad; Little Bear. And in middle-grade—which was my most magical reading era—I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, A Girl Called Al by Constance Green, Judy Blume (everything), the Jenny and the Cat Club books by Esther Holden Averill, One-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. My mom took us to the bookstore and the library often, and I ended up reading a ton of Newbery and Newbery honor books. I read Island of the Blue Dolphins over and over; and I read Animal Family by Randall Jarrell over and over.  Child of the Holocaust by Jack Kuper made a huge impression on me as a kid. One book I obsessed over made me sob every time I read it: J. T. by Jane Wagner, about a boy who finds an old, one-eyed, badly hurt alley cat (who looks suspiciously like my current cat, Buzz).    

Did you always know that you wanted to be a children’s book editor?  Can you tell us about how it evolved? 

I knew that no matter what my job was, I’d work with words. I loved reading, I wrote as a kid all the way up to my post-college years, and I have always been in awe at what some writers can do with language. After college, I had informational interviews with a magazine editor and a freelance writer, and interviewed with headhunters who specialized in publishing. But it wasn’t until Patti Gauch’s daughter (who went to graduate school with my boyfriend at the time) gave her mom my resume that my fate was sealed. Patti passed my resume on to the managing editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Margaret Frith was the publisher then), and I interviewed for a job as the assistant to the managing editor. Until then, it had never occurred to me that I could work with children’s books as much as I loved them. A job in which I’d be nestled within the children’s editorial group but still able to see all the working parts of the publishing house was a dream come true. From there, I became an assistant editor, managing editor, and finally an editor in my own right.

Jobs often look one way from the outside, but live another way, on the inside.  What are the parts of your job that you least expected? 

You know, it’s really hard to remember. I know that in my early years, before I became an editor, I thought there were only two kinds of editors: the introverted ones who worked quietly at their desks and did the most intense, smartest editing and the outgoing ones who were more natural performers, able to “sell” their books to everyone within the house and outside the house. I agonized over which kind of editor I’d be. My natural state was introverted and I dreaded the public aspects of being an editor, but I knew that the extroverts were getting a heck of a lot of attention for their books. In the end, thank goodness, it turns out that it’s easy to “sell” the books I edit because I love them and feel protective of them and want to help them march forth proudly into the world. And by now, I realize that there are so many different types of editors—there’s no one right way to be.

What do you like best/least about being a children's book editor?  

The answer to both is the editing itself. I love it best and love it least at the same time. I imagine that many writers would say the same about writing. It takes so much out of you, and there’s usually a point with each book where I think to myself “OMG, I have no idea how to help this author; why aren’t I a smarter person,” and it’s hard to juggle the editing with everything else, and yet when I’m in the flow of editing, when I have a flash of inspiration about something that might help an author, and when I read a revision that just shines with the author’s heart and talent, it’s the best feeling in the world.

In your opinion, what makes a good editor?

Short answer: A good editor can tell an author what’s actually made it onto the page and can do it honestly, clearly and without judgment, leaving it up to the author to decide how to proceed. I think the world of the authors with whom I work, but I also try to remind myself that I’m not in the business of making friends—I’m in the business of giving honest, useful feedback, even if it’s feedback an author might not want to hear.

Longer answer: There are tons of different kinds of editors in the world. Plenty for every kind of writer. It’s a special, intimate connection between a writer and an editor, and it feels differently for everyone. Some editors write long editorial letters. Some only do phone calls. Some have a great eye but don’t spend a lot of time editing. Some are like stand-up comedians. Each one possesses certain traits that make her good.  But we’re all different. 

I’m the kind of editor who believes there’s an underneath layer to everything in life – there are the things people know and admit about themselves, and there are the things they don’t talk about, or won’t admit or actually can’t see about themselves—and to me, the best fiction explores and captures that layer in some masterful way. Even picture books. Books can capture the magic of a tiny moment or the thrill of another world—but those things only ring true when an author is brave enough to go to that deep, sometimes dark, place where truth lies. That’s the only place to find all those rich, honest, raw details that make a passage of writing feel universal. That mining process is amazing, rewarding, and fascinating to me, and I hope that means I will never edit a book about which a reader will say, “So what?” after finishing.  As a child (and now), I read books to find my place in the world, and so the kind of books I want to edit are the ones that present the world in the truest way possible—whether the book is a comedy or fantasy or sci-fi or romance.

Editors have the great skill to read something that they can see needs work, while seeing what the manuscript can become. How do you do this -- how do you intuit the story lying inside what’s on the page?

It all comes from the author’s own words. The writers who can tap into that place I mention above just end up putting things on the page that are powerful and real. That’s what I look for. The things that make my heart beat faster, that make me gasp, or tear up.  And it doesn’t even matter if the author realizes what they’ve got on the page. If I can see those flashes of brilliance and insight that are expressed in a totally unique way, even if the text itself is pretty raw, then I can start to see what the manuscript can become. Genre doesn’t matter—the type of character doesn’t matter—as long as it’s true.

I usually find my way through the characters as well, although these days, it’s sometimes the plot that carries me away just as strongly.

We hear a lot about “voice.”  How can writers create a unique voice?

By visiting “the deep place where truth lies” mentioned above. The other way is by listening. In other words, voice comes from within and it comes from without. I don’t imagine you can write a strong voice without being able to hear both your own voice and the musicality of lots of other people’s voices.

What’s the best advice you have for novelists who are just starting out? 

Be brave. Especially when it comes to your own crap—it’s guaranteed to be interesting to readers as long as you are honest. Be utterly fascinated by your own material, and if you aren’t, write something else. Read, of course, and know why you love what you love reading. And just write. Writing is a full body experience, it’s not just in your head. You’ll want to walk the paths your characters walk, spend time talking to them, see the things they see. 

Would you tell us about some of your favorite upcoming titles? 

Sure! Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is coming May 10th. This is a hilarious Southern middle-grade murder mystery starring Miss Moses LoBeau and her best friend Dale Earnhardt Johnson III that had me cracking up and crying both. No Safety in Numbers is a debut young adult disaster novel coming May 29^th about four teens who are caught in a quarantine at the mall when a strange device is found in the air ducts. I love a good disaster novel—if I could start my own apocalyptic imprint I might seriously consider it. And of course there’s Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore coming May 1st, and K. L. Going’s first picture book Dog in Charge, illustrated by Dan Santat, coming May 10th.

What occupies you when you’re not editing? 

Walking. Man I love walking. My two cats, Buzz and Pistachio. I tend to immerse myself in new projects pretty regularly. It could be mutual funds and retirement planning, it could be nutrition (I ate raw food for a month once), and right now I’m into yoga.  I’m not very good at it, but I love that it makes you feel a part of something much larger than yourself. Just like books do.

A Wish List

I have a list of the kinds of books that I’m looking for here on my blog (About) and instructions on how to send it to me (Query).  But I thought it might be helpful to dig a little deeper and give a more specific idea of what I’m hungry for at this moment.  In this post, I’ll focus on middle grade and YA, saving picture books and chapter books for another day.

I long for a gorgeous, literary novel for middle grade or YA.  In the past couple of years a few books stick with me: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, Chime by Franny Billingsley, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (though this is an older title, I read it recently and fell deeply in love).  One thread of commonality between these books is that though they are all wonderfully written, none of them are short on plot: Things happen.  There are mysteries to solve.  No one’s sitting around luxuriating in doing nothing except come up with some fabulous prose.  So, I’m looking for a stop-me-in-my-tracks-beautiful, character driven novel that doesn’t stint on plot.

I’ve always loved rich, atmospheric historicals that feel immediate.  Here’s a short list of some time periods/places I’m interested in: World War I, Jazz Age, Berlin between the wars, India under British Colonial rule, Japan and/or China in the first half of the twentieth century, Sydney’s first 50 years, Venice, Henry VIII and the Elizabethan period, Spain during the same time.  I’m interested in the moments, and places, where cultures and values have collided and change is happening fast, around people who may or may not want to be caught up in this change.  I’m a sucker too for the romanticism of some historical fiction, and can be swept up into the dresses, the balls, and definitely intrigue.

In YA, I do see quite a bit of snarky humor, especially coming from a teen girls’ point of view.  In MG, there are plenty of goofy boys, and girls who are quirky originals.  There’s nothing wrong with either of these, but I think it’s harder to be original with these sorts of characters, since there are many of them out there.  I’d love to see something, that’s witty, or sly.  Also, I love word play.

Mystery is always top of my wants list.  Many mysteries I see involve a magical element, or a teen that has special powers of some sort.  I’d love something that is less fantastical, and more grounded; perhaps about a teen who works with a PI, breaking her own cases?

I’ve always been a fan of scifi and I’d love to see a real space adventure; think Battlestar Gallactica, which I loved (I do see lots of dystopian, which I’m not as keen on right now).

Much of the contemporary that I see has a romantic element (not that I object to romance); I’d love something that’s about the other parts of a teen’s life; perhaps friendships, which can be so hard to navigate at this time too.  And I’m always a sucker for a good heart-wrenching mother-daughter story.

Of course, the problem with making this list is that it excludes so much.  Often, I think, you don’t know what you’re looking for until you see it, and that’s the wonderful magic of this business – that there is a writer out there, concocting something new and marvelous that I can’t imagine until I read it.  And I’m open to that!  So, if you’re writing something that I haven’t described here, have no fear and send on.

Happy reading and writing to all!

Visit me at Frolicking Through Cyberspace

You may already know about picture book author Heather Ayris Burnell's smart, informative blog and website Frolicking Through Cyberspace, where amongst other things, she talks about writing, chronicles her own adventures getting published, and is creating the Monster List of Picture Book Agents.  She also interviews people – and I was delighted when she asked if I'd be interested.  The interview went up today, here's a preview of some of her great questions:

It's a tough, highly competitive market, especially when it comes to picture books. Why do you choose to represent picture book authors?

What elements do you think a picture book needs to be successful?

There is such a variety of picture books, are there certain types you prefer to (or not to) represent?

For answers and more of the interview, please visit her site: http://frolickingthroughcyberspace.blogspot.com/

I hope everyone enjoys.  Thanks for having me Heather!

Intern Needed!

I’m looking for an intern who loves to read books for children, especially middle grade and young adult, and is interested in picture books as well. If you’re a fan of books by MT Anderson, Mary Pearson, Nancy Farmer, Gennifer Choldenko, or Jack Gantos; if you couldn’t put When You Reach Me, The Westing Game, or Shade’s Children down -- your tastes and mine will likely be a good fit. This internship is remote so you don’t need to live in NYC, and it’s a 10 hour a week commitment.

Send an e-mail to kidsintern@gmail.com. Explain why you want the internship and something about yourself, or include a resume if you have one (but it's not necessary). Include two lists: the last ten books you read and your ten favorite books of all time.

There are usually a great many applicants and the application period will close fairly quickly: watch this space and twitter (@susanhawk) for details.

Querying: A Guide to Knocking My Socks Off, Part II

Hi all.  We’re back for the second intern post on querying.  Again, a big thank you to the interns for these!

Query Polish

Working as one of Susan’s four intern/readers is a crash course in queries. In my first ten weeks, I read about 350 of them. As you might expect, they ran the gamut in terms of quality. What struck me, though, was how much better many of them could have been with a few simple tweaks.

Your query introduces you and one specific polished project to an agent. But a good one multi-tasks, and understanding that can help you strengthen yours. Here, four roles a query plays, and how to make the most of them:

A query is a business letter. Start with a greeting and the agent’s name. This sounds elementary, but plenty of people don’t do this or simply write “to whom it may concern.” This is not a positive first impression. In your query, you’re basically proposing a business partnership; don’t be overly formal—or too familiar. Use standard English, including conventional capitalization and spelling. (Again, obvious, but . . . ) Include your phone number and email address. Finally, make sure you sign your letter. I’ve been surprised by the number of queries I see in which the writer does not include his or her name anywhere in the email. Susan replies to each, and it’s awkward if she has to guess your name from your email address. (“Dear LuvsCats . . .”)

A query is an amuse-bouche. It’s not a meal; it’s not even an appetizer. It’s one of those carefully crafted singular bites (an “amusement for the mouth”) served on Top Chef and at fancy restaurants to get diners excited about the upcoming meal. A good query makes an agent eager to read your full manuscript. That’s your goal, to get that request. Therefore, a solid query is brief and focused. You may be tempted to share why you wrote your story, how you’ve included Important Themes and Necessary Life Lessons, and why you feel passionately called to Write (with a capital W) despite family pressure to be a ferret farmer. Imagine an agent reading hundreds of queries a year, and perhaps you can see how this information is superfluous and, frankly, distracting. Queries are difficult to write because you need to be able to describe the essence of your project in a powerful, concise way. Get in. Get out. Make the agent hungry for more.

A query is a pop quiz. It shows the agent you did your homework. Note the word “show.” You don’t need to tell the agent what you’ve learned. (“With the success of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, today’s ‘young adult’ novel is popular!”) Show your market knowledge with thoughtful comparisons. (“My contemporary fairy tale for middle graders might appeal to fans of Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs.”) Of course, your query will include your project’s genre and word count and this also offers a simple and effective way to show the agent you know your stuff. For example, if you use a genre that doesn’t exist or the length is way off—“BOB THE CAT, my Middle Grade YA thriller novel in non-fiction verse, is complete at 10,034 words”—it raises red flags.

A query is a mirror. It reveals more about you than you might realize. If you write, “say hello to the next J.K. Rowling,” it's another red flag. Providing detailed marketing plans or suggesting the perfect actress to play your protagonist in the film version of your novel does the same thing. (Remember the goal of the query? Stay focused.) Describe your project with care. You might call your hysterical middle grade novel a “lighthearted adventure,” for example, and let the agent discover for herself that it’s a true knee-slapper. Too often, writers hype the hilarity and under-deliver.

When you query, you’re essentially saying you’re ready to be a professional, published author. Those almost-pros are working hard at revision and reading voraciously—in their genre and everything else—to improve their craft and understand the market, sure, but also because they love words and stories. Their passion and commitment—as well as a quiet confidence—resonates in their queries and sample prose, and reading them is a true joy.

Querying: A Guide to Knocking My Socks Off, Part I

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would be asking some of my amazing interns to write something for the blog.  In a happy coincidence two interns sent me their pieces within hours of each other; both write about querying, and what they’ve seen – and learned – as a result of reading queries.  Here’s the first, the next will follow on the 13th – and taken together this is a boodle of good advice on the best way to query.  Thanks amazing interns!

Three things I've learned behind the scenes

As one of Susan's interns, I read a lot of queries and manuscripts. And in these last few months, I've learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes at a literary agency - stuff I wish I'd known a little more about when I was querying my own manuscript a couple of years ago. So I'm going to share three things I've learned as a literary agency intern (and as an agented author, too): three things that I think you should know as a writer and query-er.

1. There are so many queries to read.

I always guessed from the size of the YA blogging community that a lot of people want to become writers. But I didn't understand just how many until I logged into Susan's inbox for the first time, and then started spending time in there every day. We get a lot of queries from a lot of writers.

The problem with this is that it takes a lot for a query to stand out. I might read five or six or ten queries for a YA fantasy, and three or four queries for a boy MG just in a couple of hours. The good thing about this is that you, as a query-er, can do some easy things to make your query not just shine, but blow me right out of my computer chair.

Research. Spend a couple hours trolling the web for advice. Find out how to structure your query, what to say, and what not to say. Susan's blog is a great place to discover this, and there are others, for instance Query Shark (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/). A quick Google search will give you enough articles and blog posts to learn from for the rest of your life, if you wanted.

Ask a friend or two to read. This is hugely important. Post your query on a site that offers critiques, such as the Absolute Write query forums. Or just ask your best friend/husband/co-worker to give you some feedback. Chances are, your first or second draft isn't as gripping as you think - and some ideas from friends or strangers will definitely push your query to the next level.

From my side of the inbox, it's so easy to tell (I repeat, so easy to tell) which authors have dedicated some time to these two simple steps. Their queries are clearer, more concise, and so much more exciting. Do the work; it'll pay off.

2. But agents WANT to fall in love with your story.

Querying is a beastly process. I get that. But. The best thing about it is that agents really, really want to find stories to love. I'm just an intern, but I want to find lovable stories, too. I plunge into the inbox with my sleeves rolled up and my treasure-radar on, hungry to find that query or two that snaps up my attention. I know that Susan is even MORE excited to find queries and sample pages to adore.

As a query-er myself, I forgot that. I thought agents were sharks, monsters, query-chompers that swallowed me whole and then spit up endless rejection letters into my inbox. But take heart. We're looking for you. We want to fall head-over-heels for your characters, sink into your eerie or beautiful setting, and get sucked into your blockbuster plot line. We love stories. That's why we're here.

3. Revise, revise, revise.

I don't know about you, but I was kind of a delusional query-er. I had this idea that, after I'd revised my manuscript and polished my query, my book was all done. All I had to do was find an agent, go on sub, snap up a book deal, and relax. I first found out how delusional I was when I signed with my agent and she said Now we are going to revise. A lot.

I'm learning again the key role of revision as an intern. When I fall in love with a manuscript, I write an exclamation-filled email to Susan, explaining the juicy and beautiful parts of the novel that I LOVE - and then explaining the things that didn't quite cut it for me. Basically, we don't read with rose-tinted glasses even if we're obsessed with your book. We want it to be the best it can be; often the full manuscripts we request are just a glimmer of the best they can be - full of potential, but in need of a good polish.

My advice to you, as a veteran of revisions: seek critique. Thirst for a good revision letter. LOVE your agent when she tells you she thinks your manuscript needs some work. Most of all, understand that your work as a writer is never done. Actually, it's just beginning!

Queries Re-Opening!

Yes, it’s official.  I will be re-opening queries on February 13^th!  This is a bit later than I originally said and I apologize for any confusion this has caused.  January shaped up to be a very different month than I thought it was going to, so I need a bit more time to get things in order.

I truly appreciate everyone’s patience and interest in querying me, and am looking forward to the 13^th!