The Manuscript Academy #MSWL

In this episode, Julie meets with her former teaching partner, Mary Murchie, to discuss two first pages, the role of detail from a reader's perspective, and what they’ll cover in their new Facebook Live series.

Want to join a few thousand supportive writers in our free Facebook group? Head to https://manuscriptacademy.com/Facebook.

Happy 2021! We have a brand new year with a ton of new projects designed to keep you creative, happy, and optimistic.

We have:

A new first-page podcast (in the feed now!) with Mary Murchie, our newest Facebook Live host. If you’d like to join our free Facebook group, head to https://manuscriptacademy.com/facebook.

This month, we also have:
*A success story Q&A panel with Academy alums who’ve gotten agents (January 12)
*A live Q&A with agent Larissa Melo Pienkowski (January 21)
*Accountability and goal coaching with Valentina (Ongoing)
*Three-Day Revision Workshop (January 26-28)

All events, except the accountability coaching, are included with membership. Learn more here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/member-lounge
And here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/2021-goals

If you’d like to join the revision workshop a la carte, head to https://manuscriptacademy.com/revision.

Happy New Year!

Hello friends!

It is time for our annual holiday party. This year, we’re featuring agent and editor guests, fun ways to find new critique partners and friends, and a choose your own adventure format to build the best holiday party for you.

Everything is free, online of course, and designed to be the kind of fun usually only possible in a year that is not on fire.

There will be prizes, surprises, readings, hilarity, community and more.

Plus, we get to playfully annoy some of our agent guests with a live game, which we can’t wait for. (All I will say now is that it’s not a dunk tank, because we couldn’t figure out how to do that on zoom. Plus we like them. And want them to have fun too.)

Want to learn more? Head to ManuscriptAcademy.com/party to RSVP and get on the list.

It all starts this Wednesday, December 16, at 8pm Eastern. Hope to see you there!

We are so happy to welcome Esther Cajahuaringa, an editor at Hachette Book Group.

This is the first in a series of live-recorded Q&A’s with agents and editors. Are you interested in attending events like this? Learn more about our member lounge here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/member-lounge

8:05 Why can't one publishing house can’t have two similar books at the same time?

9:41 How do the seasons work in publishing?

10:58 When are book tours a thing?

12:28 When can authors submit directly to you, or to publishers? Do publishers ever help authors find agents?

14:30: What does Little, Brown publish?

16:10: A little love for sales and marketing.

17:02: Do you recommend hiring copy editors? What do they do at a publishing house, and with illustrations?

21:22 How perfect should a manuscript be before it goes to an agent or an editor?

23:50 What’s a success story you can tell us? (Plus a story about working with Mo Willems.)

27:21: If you’re an author-illustrator, how much do you have to worry about page layout before you submit your picture book dummy? How does that work?

29:27 What’s on Little, Brown’s wish list?

31:37 You mentioned taking a middle grade novel and turning it into an early reader. Can you tell us what went into that decision, and the difference between the two?

35:11 What’s something you’ve changed your mind about in your time in the industry?

37:07: More on laying out illustrations.

37:26: Any tips for writing books about kids in foster care, and books about the emotional well-being of children? What’s the line between commercial and educational?

38:50 Tell is about the first time you saw one of your books for sale.

40:25: What’s something you wish writers knew about our side of the desk?

41:55: How important is conflict in picture books? What about in a lyrical picture book? What's the difference between conflict and tension?

43:46: What’s your number one tip for writers?

Esther Cajahuaringa is an editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. As a former educator and non-profit organizer, Esther draws upon her experiences working directly with kids when thinking about today’s readers. She has worked with Joe Cepeda, David Goodner, Jyoti Rajan Gopal, Rhode Montijo, Andrea Tsurumi, and Mo Willems to name a few. She’s avidly seeking picture books and graphic novels. She has her master’s degree in Curriculum & Teaching with an emphasis in literacy from Teachers College, Columbia University. Originally from Southern California, she’s made the East Coast home for the last seven years. Esther is a daughter of immigrant parents and truly believes in the power of storytelling, because it changed her world. You can find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cajameansbox.

We are so happy to welcome Rebecca Raskin, an editor at HarperCollins, to our podcast.

Rebecca started her career at Kensington Books, where she worked on genre fiction (including cozy mysteries, which we’ll talk about later in the episode!) and now works primarily on nonfiction.

We talk about how Rebecca loves “quiet” novels (and whether there’s a market for them), the large team behind every book (and the department that never gets enough recognition), and how editors sustain 2-3 years of enthusiasm for your book.

We also discuss:

11:37 Does an editor’s relationship with the author affect the book?

13:02 Tips for how to get along with your editor, and the editor-author relationship

15:26 Cozy mysteries, how to pitch them, and what happens (for anyone) if you use the wrong genre in your query

19:20: Why typos aren’t nearly as big a deal as you probably think (and what actually causes rejections)

20:03 How Rebecca sometimes chooses to work on books that aren’t ready yet, and works with the author and agent to make them happen

28:10 The best advice she was ever given

You can follow Rebecca on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/rj_raskin

You can join our supportive Facebook group here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/facebook

And the Dewey Decimal Rap that Julie mentioned is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHiUQb5xg7A

This episode was recorded live in front of our Facebook group. Join for free events, support, community and more: https://manuscriptacademy.com/facebook

We talk with Em about her time in subrights, focusing on co-editions (and what that means), how predictions about ebooks were far from accurate, and what we should do about New Adult (and the very idea genre in a world with digital shelves).

We also discuss new developments in science fiction (and the type she’s looking for now), D&D, video games, and torturing plants. And whether you should have an artist along for the ride with your graphic novel submission—plus other tips for success.

We talk about how agents neither can nor want to represent everyone—and how this mentality can help you keep going with your submissions. Plus, insights from the editorial process, why fit has to be so good—and what happens when an agent and editor disagree on your edits.

You can find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mmmlysaght.