How did you come to work at Scholastic?

So I had been going to grad school (for Publishing) and doing various editorial internships for a few publishers in the city for about a year, when a wonderful, kind, generous classmate of mine told me she was leaving her current Scholastic Book Clubs job for a new position in the company.

This was HUGE news for me, because Scholastic was the first publisher I ever knew about, due in part to the Book Clubs flyers I poured over when I was in elementary school. So being the enterprising individual that I am, I applied and interviewed for the job…which I didn’t get (but a very good friend of mine got it instead, which is a whole other story!).

Luckily for me, the kind classmate heard about another opening in the Book Clubs division and passed along my resume. Et voila! I got the job, worked for a few years for the wonderful Book Clubs, and then moved over to my current position with Scholastic’s Cartwheel imprint. I guess I’m a Scholastic gal through-and-through.

What is your typical work day like?

Mornings are usually the calmest part of the day. That’s when I can write a few emails, organize our imprint’s various internal charts and grids, catch up on the latest children’s book reviews/announcements, look at production passes, and review and respond to submissions. Afternoons are a little busier, because that’s when most of our meetings happen—with production and planning, or editorial and design, or even with our Book Clubs and Book Fairs. But I also squeeze out more emails and work on submissions in-between meetings. So essentially my day consists of writing, whether it be emails, proposals, or copy; reading, either emails, manuscripts, or proofs; and meetings, with anybody and everybody!

What's the best part about your job?

Working with so many talented authors, illustrators, designers, and editors!

What's the most challenging part about your job?

Working with so many talented authors, illustrators, designers, and editors! Seriously, all of these guys are so creative and inspiring—they really challenge me to be the best that I can be. It’s great…and it’s hard work!

Is Scholastic open to unagented submissions from writers and illustrators? If so, could you please give us more details?

Scholastic’s current policy is that we are not accepting unagented submissions. However, our Cartwheel imprint is opening up a 2-month window starting today, where we will review unagented submissions. (Note from Debbie: This means that your submission must arrive at the address below by Fri July 19th, 2013.)

If you have a submission geared for 0-5 year-olds (board book, novelty, or picture book), we’d love to take a look!

Please snail mail your manuscript to:

Scholastic Inc.

Please include a SASE.

Note from Debbie: I asked Celia if she'd be the person who would be reviewing submissions and what kind of submissions was she especially looking for/not looking for, plus if she was open to submissions from illustrators who are NOT writers. Celia says that she'll be the primary reviewer though other editors may also take a look. From Celia:  

"In terms of what we’re on the lookout for: holiday; tried-and-true subjects like transportation, community, or new experiences; interesting novelty formats; and new ways of addressing core concepts. Things that we’re not looking for are nonfiction, anything older than 1st Grade, and “love” books. And we can certainly take a look at illustrators who aren’t writers! They can send a postcard with their url to their portfolio."

What advice do you have for aspiring children's book writers and illustrators? 

Really explore the book market out there. Go to your local bookstore or a Barnes and Noble and see the kind of books that they display. Then go to stores that have a book section—your Targets, your Walmarts, even your Gaps and Anthropologies. An understanding of what booksellers of all kinds are selling out in the world is invaluable, and can really help you market your stories to publishers.

Related online resources:

About Scholastic Children's Books Publishing & Distribution

Also see my other Inkygirl interviews.

DOLL BONES

Written by Holly Black

Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster Children's (May/2013)

Finished/savored DOLL BONES. Could eat @hollyblack's prose with a spoon. Also love @wheelerstudio's creepylicious pics.

— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) May 17, 2013

Also see my other MicroBookTweets and my interview with Eliza Wheeler.

Juana Martinez-Neal, who won last year's SCBWI Summer Illustrator Portfolio Showcase, has a fantastic step-by-step post about how to put together a children's illustrator portfolio. Lots of specific tips and resource links plus visual examples from other illustrators (hey, like ME :-).

Photo by Adam Wheeler

The photo to the right was taken by Eliza's filmmaker/photographer husband, Adam Wheeler (who is just as cool as his lovely wife). 

It's been so exciting to watch Eliza's career take off since that SCBWI conference. Not only did she win the Overall Portfolio Showcase the year after, but her first picture book, MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), hit the New York Times Bestseller list!! Eliza has a lot of other projects already on the go, of course, but was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for Inkygirl readers.

What was your work process for MISS MAPLE SEEDS?

When I started working on the finals for MISS MAPLE, I had printed out light sketches onto the final drawing paper with my Epson printer (a step I've replaced by traditionally transferring the sketch via a light box), and I stretched and taped my paper onto 16 plywood boards. That way, I could work on all of them at the same time and build up slow washes, moving onto the next as I let layers dry. Creating finals for picture books calls for long hours, and I've found audio books to be really helpful while I work. I believe during this book I listened to The Hunger Games, and started the Harry Potter series. 

Photo by Adam Wheeler

What advice do you have for aspiring picture book writer/illustrators?

1) Be patient while you build up your body of work. Just focus on your craft, and leave the business side of storytelling for later; for when your work is REALLY good.

2) Create the kind of work that your kid self would have loved. Be your own audience, and always ask yourself "If someone else made this, would I read it? Would I put it up on my wall?". It seems obvious, but more often than not when I ask myself this question, I'm surprised to think "no".

3) Read, read, read. Whenever I'm stuck with my storytelling I read. I get new ideas or answers to existing stories when I read. And don't just read in your genre. A friend lent me Aimee Bender's adult novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and I was distracted through the entire thing because every single time I sat down to read that book, a particular story I was working on would come to me in waves. I don't know why that was, but certain books will do that, and I've learned that it's a really great thing.

Photo: Rachel Jackson

Photo: Rachel Jackson.How was your book launch party?

It was INCREDIBLE. I had so much help from my good friends on the day of the event, and it was also my first public speech. I was so nervous, but then really enjoyed telling the story of this special book. There was a large crowd, and it meant the world to see all these friends from different areas of my life come together. There were people there I hadn't seen in years! Also, my books sold out! They had something like 54 copies. We were blown away. I knew that I wanted to make it special for my debut book, but it was even better than I could have imagined. 

Congrats on MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS making it onto the New York Times Bestseller list! What was your reaction when you found out?

It was of complete and utter disbelief! I saw it mentioned on twitter late in the evening, and thought it was a mix-up. Then Nancy Paulsen emailed me the list, and I was in shock. I told my husband, but it sounded more like a question, "My book got on the New York Times bestseller list?"  We just kept saying, "what?! what?!" back and forth. And then I think we laughed a lot and continued saying "what?!". 

Your fabulous illustrations appear in the just-released DOLL BONES by Holly Black. How did that process go?

Doll Bones was extremely fun to work on - illustrations for middle grade go a lot faster than picture-books, it's sort of less excruciating in the sense that we don't need to convey too much information with the illustrations. They add fun, mood, and flavor - there's an ease there that I love. I worked entirely with Simon and Schuster's art director, Sonia Chaghatzbanian, but Holly was sweet to send me a couple Tweets through the process to let me know she was loving the illustrations, which were thrilling messages to get.

What are you working on now?

As for new projects, I'm right in the thick of illustrations for a picture book by Mara Rockliff called The Grudge Keeper. It's a super fun story; one of those manuscripts I couldn't turn down because I wished I had written it. I'm also working on a new picture book idea with my editor Nancy Paulsen at Penguin, but can't say much about that yet. I also will be working on a brilliant middle grade novel by Kate Milford called Left Handed Fate, and I'm equally excited and nervous for that project, just because I want to do Kate's story justice with the illustrations. 

Where to find out more about Eliza and her work:

Eliza's website: http://wheelerstudio.com/

On Twitter: @WheelerStudio

Eliza Swanson-Wheeler on Facebook

Also see my other Inkygirl interviews.

I'm in the middle of reading DOLL BONES by Holly Black, illustrated by my friend Eliza Wheeler, and enjoying it so much that I find that I'm starting to purposely slow down my reading pace so the book will last longer.

Comic originally posted on Writer Unboxed a few years ago.

I read about Authorgraph.com letting authors digitally sign copies of their books on Mediabistro today, and have decided to try it out. You can see a sample of how the above doodle/signature was drawn (this is what a reader would receive as well). Here is the Author FAQ from the Authorgraph.com site.

The service is free, though Authorgraph.com points out that if a reader is using Amazon's Personal Document Service, Amazon may charge a small fee. At present, the site's only income-generating model seems to be through Amazon affiliate links. 

Once you've signed your message and autograph, the reader who requested it has the option of downloading it as a PDF or AZW file, which can then be saved on devices or printed out. When printed out, the image fills an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. It would be nice if a reader had the option of a smaller size that is suitable for printing out and sticking inside the book. Savvy readers, though, will know how to shrink the image before printing.

Readers can also share their author autographs on Twitter. Here's a demo video:

Though the idea of being able to digitally sign a book is great, I can't help but be skeptical about the demand. I know that I'd far prefer a real-life ink autograph than a digital file that's been printed out...BUT Authorgraph.com's process saves the author the postage and printing costs/hassle of autographed bookplates sent by snailmail. Plus the opportunity for the reader to send a brief message to the author and then see the signature being drawn adds an extra level of personal interaction.

I'm intrigued enough that I'll be adding this to my I'M BORED Bonus Page and see how it goes.

More info about Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/

To request an Authorgraph from me about I'M BORED: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/debbieohi

From Publishers Weekly (click on image to see original article)

The package above was mailed out to about 100 chlidren's book professionals, handmade by award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall to help promote THE MIGHTY LALOUCHE, a new picture book about a Parisian postman at the turn of the 20th century, written by Matthew Olshan and illustrated by Blackall. 

What a wonderful package to receive in the mail! 

Find out what was inside each package by reading the full article in Publishers Weekly.