It All Starts With Research

While at the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC, my roommate Liza Parfomak started talking about all the research she had done in the short time she had been focusing on children’s books.  I said, “Why don’t you write up something for my blog,” and Liza agreed.  I met Liza last year at our NJSCBWI Summer Conference in June.  Again another example how one thing leads to another.  Liza reads my blog and e-mailed to ask if I knew anyone who could share a room in New York and I offered to share my room with her.  She went to dinner on Saturday night with the group I had put together and she was so happy that she joined us, because she made a number of new friends at dinner.  Here is a picture of Liza with Henry Winkler.  Looks like Henry enjoyed Liza’s hugs.  Anyway, Liza is out there trying to learn as much as she can and giving her a chance to make things happen.

Here is Liza on doing her homework:

Research by Liza Parfomak

Writing is an art.  It is inspiration.   It comes with homework.

My story is that I am an almost PhD, who found she didn’t know the first thing about writing.   What a terrible discovery!  Seriously, all those years of school and you would think I could just whip something up and everyone would melt into goo.  I can thank the NJ SCBWI for this knowledge.

I showed up to my first ever NJ SCBWI with two stories.  I signed up for a number of critiques.  My stories were great, after all. Why shy away from feedback?  I scored a critique with a really good editor named Krista Marino.  I knew what type of book she liked and I thought she would be a good fit for my manuscript.  I was right, because when she was done with her pencil, there wasn’t a white spot of paper available on that manuscript.  I felt sorry for her; she really got the short end of the stick with all the labor she put into pointing out where I went wrong.   The critique was just part of the package for attending the conference, but she did a REALLY good job critiquing my stories.

I understood almost immediately that I held gold in my hands…and an assignment.      

[Kathy:  Sorry to jump in here, but this is something many authors don’t see right away.  They walk into a critique and expect the editor or agent to love what they wrote.  If the editor/agent is not interested in what they read and don’t want to buy it, then you need them to pick it apart.  You don’t have to agree with everything they say, but you do want them to say it.  So no tears, keep your composure, and pull as much as you can out of the critiquer.  The feedback will help you revise your manuscript – just be willing to revise.  I know people who have been writing for many years, who fight the revision process.

Come prepared to your one-on-one critique with all of your nagging questions.  Get them answered.  Sometimes editors/agents will say, “So tell me about the book.  How did you come up with this idea.”  This might be a legitimate question, but fifteen minutes go fast and authors could talk for hours about their book. You don’t have the luxury, answer quickly and redirect the editor or agent back to what they thought when they read your manuscript.  Find out what they think you need to do to improve your book.  

I don’t want to hear, “Well, she didn’t tell me very much” or “I don’t know what she was talking about,” after your critique.  It is your job to question and find out what the editor/agent means.  If you feel they are not giving you enough, it is your job to drag all out of them   So be prepared going in to your critique to get the answers you need.  Write down some questions.  Make a plan.  Now back to Liza…]

My obsession needed work, the kind that involved research first.  But not the kind of research I had expected.  My writing required research about writing.  Getting published, it seemed, took more than having some great ideas in my head and putting them down on paper any old way.  It took a lot of preparation and understanding of the business. If you decide to be a runner, you don’t just put on a pair of shoes and go out the door. A person needs to find running shoes that compensate for how their own feet hit the ground.  You need to do some things before and after the run (stretch) so there is no injury to the muscles.  Depending on your fitness level, water is something to consider for hydration, as is a way to track your time and distance to understand when you are improving.

Writing was the same, except I didn’t know how to “stretch” for a manuscript.

Luckily, research was one thing I could do well, thanks to all the classes I have taken in grad school.   I have done ridiculous amounts of it, so it comes naturally to me. With that said, I think everyone is capable of doing good, basic research.  Just get started. Once I understood I needed to know more about writing, as writing, it was pretty straightforward.  But, in the hopes of saving you a year or two of work as a beginning writer, here are a few things I discovered:

(1)    You cannot just put your story down on paper, follow the margin and spacing requirements, and think it is awesome. There is so much more to a properly formatted manuscript.  For example, what does the dialogue look like on a page? (What is it supposed to look like?)  [Good reason to attend Anita Nolan’s Writing 101 Intensive Workshop on Friday June 8th]

(2)    Read The Elements of Style.  Seriously.  Read it.  There are so many details in this book that will eliminate a plethora of problems that you are not even aware you have.

(3)    Go to more writers conferences!  This is also a form of research.   I attended the NY SCBWI this past weekend where I heard Cheryl Klein speak on the topic of revision (by the way NEVER spell her name wrong if you are submitting to her).  What I learned from Cheryl will not only allow me to be a better writer for children’s books, it will also have an impact on my academic writing.   If you missed the conference she has a book out, Second Sight.  I am already halfway through it even though I just acquired it a few days ago.  This is a tool, and a darn good one.

(4)    Become a member of a critique group. If you knock and no one lets you in, make your own group.  If you don’t know how, research it.  The information is at conferences and on the web.  The rules you want to adopt for your group to follow are floating on the Internet waiting for you to capture and adopt them.

(5)    Do your homework on what agents and editors are reading.  Sure, sure, you hear this all the time but people still don’t do it.  Listen to what these agents and editors are telling us!  This takes hours of reading, digging up bios, understanding what they are publishing (or if you’re lucky Kathy Temean does the work for you before registration opens up for the NJ conference).

(6)    Be brave! Submit that work for a critique anyway. The knowledge is priceless. Each page you write, you will learn something new and hopefully improve.  Some conferences offer the gift of the critique more than others.  Do your homework here too. Give yourself the best shot you can at becoming a published author!

(7)    I also cannot say enough about taking a writing course or two, specifically aimed at the YA,  MG, or PB author.   I am in the middle of one right now through the Bethesda Writing Center in Maryland and I cannot stress how much fruit it is already bearing.  Check and see what writing centers may be right in your backyard.

Tired yet?  You still have to write that story….

We have great tales bursting out of us, but there is groundwork that needs to be done.  I think, as writers, we also need to be good researchers.

Thanks Liza for sharing your thoughts.  Good job. Good reminders for everyone.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy