From: Levine, Arthur <ALevine>
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 11:46:27 -0400

In response to Charr Skirvin's question: is this kind of involvement typical in Children's Publishing today, I would say that Nordstrom's genius could never be considered typical -- in her day, or in ours. But it has been my experience that editors still try to give authors and illustrators the kind of intelligent, caring feedback that will help them achieve their goals in a specific book and in their career in general. We still try to be the "ideal reader" -- responding to what the writer has put on the page, and (we hope) clearly articulating that response for the writer to evaluate and consider as they revise.
     And I will also say that reading DEAR GENIUS made me want to write to all my authors immediately! (I also think that email has sparked a renaissance of this kind of correspondence...the informal note, the brief words of encouragement. I bet Ursula would have been a real fan of the net.)

Arthur Levine Arthur A. Levine Books Scholastic Press
Received on Tue 04 Aug 1998 10:46:27 AM CDT