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Re: Promising Debuts
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From: Lisa Albert <writes4kids_at_wi.rr.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:22:04 -0600
I haven't seen much discussion on the "Promising Debuts: First Books" topic so I thought I'd chime in and give my perspective as an author with a 2011 debut novel forthcoming in October.
Megan asked:
What are the challenges (and rewards) if you are a first-time author or illustrator?
For me, the rewards far outweigh any challenges. Knowing my work will be read by young adults and available to the public is exciting. It's also a bit nerve-wracking because so much of what happens after the book is published is out of my control. I hear this over and over from my author comrades. In a time of Goodreads, blogging reviewers, and social media, first books compete with a plethora of releases by celebrity authors and award winning authors who have huge followings.
The challenge for me is to focus less on what's going on with other titles and that can be a difficult thing. Most authors are tuned into the industry: blockbuster sales, New York Times best sellers, movie deals, etc. I have to trust that my book will find its own readership and not worry about how it does in comparison to any other title. I'm trying to put my energy into promoting my title's theme and categories and how it fits into language arts units such as compassion, grief, friendship, etc. Personally, I want to focus more on how my book can be useful to the personal growth and education of teens. While I love the idea of it being read for entertainment, its thought-provoking subject matter is well suited for a learning environment as well. I'm putting together a proposal for the AASL convention in October, too. :-)
As a K-8 school library technician, I see firsthand how teens that make a connection with literature at an emotional and personal level keep coming back for more because they've been bitten by the book bug. They may not realize they're being educated and actually learning and the author in me loves that. As a parent and reader, I know literature is extremely important for lifelong learning as well as entertainment and having access to a wide variety of books is a great thing. The fact that my novel will be one of the several hundred teen titles to debut in 2011 is a humbling accomplishment and I'm honored to be part of the author community as a whole and lucky to be part of the debut group Megan mentioned in the original post. and young adult authors blog at
Thanks for opening up this discussion! I hope my perspective is helpful.
All best, Lisa Albert
K-8 Library Tech.
Muskego, WI
Lisa Rondinelli Albert www.lisaalbert.com http://lisaalbert.livejournal.com -Lois Lowry, The Giver of Stories & Memories, Enslow, (2007) -So You Want to Be a Film or TV Actor?, Enslow (2008) -Stephenie Meyer: Author of the Twilight Saga, Enslow (2009) -Mercy Lily, debut YA novel coming October 2011 from Flux Books
----- Original Message -----
From: Megan Schliesman To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 9:34 AM Subject:
Promising Debuts
First, thanks to everyone who contributed to the "Reluctant or Not? " discussion the first part of this month. It was a wonderful exchange of perspectives, experience, and thoughts.
Our topic for the second half of February is "Promising Debuts: First Books.":
The future of children's and young adult literature is dependent in part on a constant influx of new authors and illustrators to the field. Sometimes a debut is more than memorable, garnering critical accolades as well: The 2011 Newbery award went to a first book for an author (Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, published by Delacorte Press/Random House in 2010), and the 2011 Caldecott award went to a first book for an illustrator (A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead, published by Roaring Brook Press in 2010). The recently established William Morris Award, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, goes to a first young adult novel each year. Of course, not every first book receives such distinguished honors, but many first books show promise even when they aren't masterpieces. What are the challenges (and rewards) if you are a first-time author or illustrator? A publisher? A reviewer/critic? And what are some memorable or promising recent "firsts" in children's and
young adult publishing? (Check out the 2011 debut authors blog!)
From my perspective, so often a first book comes out that I think shows immense promise but doesn't quite work as a whole. Because our primary evaluation focus here at the CCBC is ultimately on creating a best-of-the-year list (CCBC Choices), there are many promising new authors and illustrators who end up being someone about whom we note internally: "a writer (illustrator) to watch." Yet not everyone can write a great book the first time out (or the second, or the fifth) but the first or second books need support if there is going to be a third or a fourth or a fifth that might be amazing.
So how do we as a profession support the work of promising authors and illustrators whose books don't quite rise to the top? It's one of the reasons I am glad there are so many "perspectives on excellence" (to use a phrase I learned working here at the CCBC under Ginny Moore Kruse) in children's and young adult literature--not only because the wide variety of award and best-of-the-year lists offer a wide range of perspectives on the publishing year, and a wide range of resources for librarians and teachers to turn to for finding books for their libraries and classrooms, but because they also mean a greater number of books, including promise books by newcomers to the field, get attention. What a horrible burden it would be for any body creating a best-of-the-year list or conferring an award if their's was the ONLY perspective on excellence in children's and young adult literature.
I would love to hear from reviewers how mindful (or not) they are of "first books" in their work.
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:22:04 -0600
I haven't seen much discussion on the "Promising Debuts: First Books" topic so I thought I'd chime in and give my perspective as an author with a 2011 debut novel forthcoming in October.
Megan asked:
What are the challenges (and rewards) if you are a first-time author or illustrator?
For me, the rewards far outweigh any challenges. Knowing my work will be read by young adults and available to the public is exciting. It's also a bit nerve-wracking because so much of what happens after the book is published is out of my control. I hear this over and over from my author comrades. In a time of Goodreads, blogging reviewers, and social media, first books compete with a plethora of releases by celebrity authors and award winning authors who have huge followings.
The challenge for me is to focus less on what's going on with other titles and that can be a difficult thing. Most authors are tuned into the industry: blockbuster sales, New York Times best sellers, movie deals, etc. I have to trust that my book will find its own readership and not worry about how it does in comparison to any other title. I'm trying to put my energy into promoting my title's theme and categories and how it fits into language arts units such as compassion, grief, friendship, etc. Personally, I want to focus more on how my book can be useful to the personal growth and education of teens. While I love the idea of it being read for entertainment, its thought-provoking subject matter is well suited for a learning environment as well. I'm putting together a proposal for the AASL convention in October, too. :-)
As a K-8 school library technician, I see firsthand how teens that make a connection with literature at an emotional and personal level keep coming back for more because they've been bitten by the book bug. They may not realize they're being educated and actually learning and the author in me loves that. As a parent and reader, I know literature is extremely important for lifelong learning as well as entertainment and having access to a wide variety of books is a great thing. The fact that my novel will be one of the several hundred teen titles to debut in 2011 is a humbling accomplishment and I'm honored to be part of the author community as a whole and lucky to be part of the debut group Megan mentioned in the original post. and young adult authors blog at
Thanks for opening up this discussion! I hope my perspective is helpful.
All best, Lisa Albert
K-8 Library Tech.
Muskego, WI
Lisa Rondinelli Albert www.lisaalbert.com http://lisaalbert.livejournal.com -Lois Lowry, The Giver of Stories & Memories, Enslow, (2007) -So You Want to Be a Film or TV Actor?, Enslow (2008) -Stephenie Meyer: Author of the Twilight Saga, Enslow (2009) -Mercy Lily, debut YA novel coming October 2011 from Flux Books
----- Original Message -----
From: Megan Schliesman To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 9:34 AM Subject:
Promising Debuts
First, thanks to everyone who contributed to the "Reluctant or Not? " discussion the first part of this month. It was a wonderful exchange of perspectives, experience, and thoughts.
Our topic for the second half of February is "Promising Debuts: First Books.":
The future of children's and young adult literature is dependent in part on a constant influx of new authors and illustrators to the field. Sometimes a debut is more than memorable, garnering critical accolades as well: The 2011 Newbery award went to a first book for an author (Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, published by Delacorte Press/Random House in 2010), and the 2011 Caldecott award went to a first book for an illustrator (A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead, published by Roaring Brook Press in 2010). The recently established William Morris Award, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, goes to a first young adult novel each year. Of course, not every first book receives such distinguished honors, but many first books show promise even when they aren't masterpieces. What are the challenges (and rewards) if you are a first-time author or illustrator? A publisher? A reviewer/critic? And what are some memorable or promising recent "firsts" in children's and
young adult publishing? (Check out the 2011 debut authors blog!)
From my perspective, so often a first book comes out that I think shows immense promise but doesn't quite work as a whole. Because our primary evaluation focus here at the CCBC is ultimately on creating a best-of-the-year list (CCBC Choices), there are many promising new authors and illustrators who end up being someone about whom we note internally: "a writer (illustrator) to watch." Yet not everyone can write a great book the first time out (or the second, or the fifth) but the first or second books need support if there is going to be a third or a fourth or a fifth that might be amazing.
So how do we as a profession support the work of promising authors and illustrators whose books don't quite rise to the top? It's one of the reasons I am glad there are so many "perspectives on excellence" (to use a phrase I learned working here at the CCBC under Ginny Moore Kruse) in children's and young adult literature--not only because the wide variety of award and best-of-the-year lists offer a wide range of perspectives on the publishing year, and a wide range of resources for librarians and teachers to turn to for finding books for their libraries and classrooms, but because they also mean a greater number of books, including promise books by newcomers to the field, get attention. What a horrible burden it would be for any body creating a best-of-the-year list or conferring an award if their's was the ONLY perspective on excellence in children's and young adult literature.
I would love to hear from reviewers how mindful (or not) they are of "first books" in their work.
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
---Received on Mon 28 Feb 2011 07:22:04 PM CST
