Ford Street Books and Sarah: Sales Force Extraordinairre

I can't believe it was nearly a month ago but it appears it was. 

After my last day as an intern with Black Dog Books (but before I started my temporary work with them) I started the first part of a placement/internship/work attachment with Ford Street Publishing. The task for the day was to run a successful book launch for a beautiful new picture book, The Glasshouse text by Paul Collins and illustrations by Jo Thompson. 

I was the sales force, in charge of the money and the merchandise.
I have to admit, I haven't been to many book launches, but the ones I have been to in the past were boring. I learnt that I did not like book launches. Since The Glasshouse launch I've changed my mind though. I met so many fantastic people who love writing, love illustrating or just love reading! It felt like the Aussie kid-lit crowd all turned up. I was among kindred spirits, you might say, so  I definitely want to go to more launches.

The launch of the book about a girl and her pumpkin growing glasshouse was held at the end of October (clever, right? Because of Halloween?) not in a bookstore, but at Prahran Market which was a creative choice in venue. Families were already out in force, enjoying their Saturday morning together, therefore the launch attracted parents and kids (sometimes kids without their parents, and the odd dog) to just wander over and check out what was going on since they were there already.

The speeches were a bit hard to hear over the noise of shoppers shopping, especially as Paul was ill so couldn't speak loudly if he wanted to. I think a microphone is all they need for next time.

There was supposed to be book-signing after the official launch and speeches but guests just couldn't help themselves and as soon as I sold them a book or two they had to get them signed!

Above is some of the artwork from the picture book, and paper pumpkins for the kids to have a crack at making! (Photo courtesy of Megan Burke)

And here are Paul and Jo (Photo also courtesy of Megan Burke). 

All in all, it was a great day with great people. I am taking a bit of a break after finishing up with Black Dog Books, finishing my assignments and finishing my novel. Getting into my summer job routine and then I'll be heading back to Ford Street for more learnings! And either revising a novel or plotting my next one.

Ciao for now,

Sairz

More tales from the slush pile

After that depressing post about the blahness of the slush pile, and how the editors don't really NEED to find your masterpiece in it but they'd really like to if only it was easier to wade through the muck to find it....well after THAT post I want you to eavesdrop with me for a moment.

On the other side of the room, with my back to the editors, I am work work working away on something else. I can't remember. It was either a post for the blackdogbytes blog or line editing a nearly finished book or reading another and trying to come up with poetic and haunting titles for it...it was one of those. While I had my back turned, the two editors were bracing themselves to attack the slush filled email together.

They started with my "Under Consideration" folder.

A couple of things happened. If you say in your cover letter that you are published, they are going to Google you. They might even check Nielsen to see how many copies you have sold (so don't lie!). If they think your work sounds remotely interesting, they're also going to Google you. If they think your work means surely you must be a crackpot, then that will make for the funnest Google ever.

There were giggles behind me. And then I realised it was because, like me, they liked a story. It was cute, they could see it had something, a spark. One particular story had a cast of international characters and that is something ELSE Black Dog are trying to do, represent a real Australia, which are not all white people.

So they liked it and set it aside. Then there was another one (one I loved) with totally attitude filled illustrations that they printed out to make sure to show the publisher.

And there was another from the physical slush that they liked too.

So there's all this stuff HAPPENING. Books are ACTUALLY under consideration, not just sitting in an inbox waiting to be read.

But you'll never know about all this stuff that's happening. They might discuss your book, talk about how they could market it, where it would fit in the marketplace, which types of shops would carry it.

And you might be at home getting annoyed at how fricking long it takes for them to finally reject you.

In the end, these books might not get published by bdb, lord knows the stats aren't looking good, but you never know.

Stuff is happening. The editors are talking. And it might be about you.

The Slush Pile and Meh

Gotta tell ya, the slush pile was a different experience to what I was expecting.

If you don't know what a slush pile is, read briefly about it here. If you're hoping I'm going to mock some of the more attrocious submissions from the Black Dog Books treasure chest, you'll be disappointed because I don't want to do that. But you can find someone who does here (though they're not from the BDB slush).

I was looking forward to the slush pile! Delving in, finding something amazing, or even learning from the shockingly appalling.

But mostly what I found wasn't terrible, but it wasn 't amazing either. And it has to be amazing to be published. They have to be able to see who they could sell it to, and how they could market it to booksellers.

I probably found more that I put in the "Under Consideration" pile than one of the editors would, because I was hoping to find gems and give everything the benefit of the doubt, whereas the editors know they have X amount of spots on their list for new works and it's gotta be amazing if it's going to be considered.

A little bit of background about BDB. Black Dog Books - like all publishers - are busy. They have authors that they work with a lot and if they want a book on a particular topic they can go and ask one of those authors if they could write something.

Similarly, they have a stable of authors who write successful books, so they keep publishing more by those authors.

They like fresh new writers and ideas - absolutely they do - but they don't need them.

So when looking through the slush (which is all done in their own time, and considering they work overtime anyway, I now, when I have my writers hat on, will cut editors way more slack when they take awhile to get back to a submission) though they dream of finding that next big amazing book, they don't need it. And often it's just not in there.

That said, my pal Shirley Marr's first book Fury was one of the FOUR BOOKS EVER found in Black Dog's slush that they have published.

A lot of the slush doesn't meet their needs.

WHAT THEY WANT

Black Dog Books are currently looking for longer works, so junior fiction and YA novels. Junior fiction they prefer series, otherwise stand-alones can get lost in the overwhelming number of junior fiction titles out there. They're moving away from really thin junior fiction books, and they're really not into rhyming picture books. The picture book market isn't amazing at the moment anyway.

Most of the submissions in the physical slush, are for picture books. So they had a pretty slim chance of making it through. I found several 2000 word picture books (if you don't know, picture books are generally 500 words or less) and many lacked illustration advice so I couldn't really picture what their stories were about.

Most of the submissions (that I got to) in the email slush, were junior fiction and YA. I found a couple of YA that sounded interesting, but didn't really fit with the type of YA Black Dog are publishing at the moment, which are a bit darker, edgy, serious books. About murder (Shirley Marr - Fury) a car accident in which one of the characters dies (Karen Tayleur - Six) and the danger of taking dares too far (Sue Lawson - Dare You). They have more great dark serious stuff lined up for next year (I know because I read them).

Not only do you have to write something amazing, dear writers, but you have to write something amazing that complements the other amazing books they publish.

It's a difficult business, is it not?

That was all a little depressing, wasn't it. But fear not! Today I sat in on a meeting in which a debut author was offered a book deal! She was calm and collected and in control in the meeting but if the minute she was out of sight she didn't do a happy dance, I will be sorely disappointed. I expect she grinned all day.

Tell you about it later.

Sairz

Infiltrating a Publishing House...mwahahaHAHA!

I have done it, readers. I'm IN.

I wrote on their blog yesterday, and then I updated their Facebook. I have their passwords. I have the POWER. I could have written ANYTHING! I could have written that the office smells like blue cheese! Or that the Publisher has power naps...in a coffin!

But I didn't. I am sheer professionalism. I also didn't, because the above are not true. Just so you know.

I have also infiltrated their MANUSCRIPTS, everybody. I have read that shiny new American YA with the fancy new cover and written a report with my opinion of it.

I have read the manuscript of an Australian YA they are considering purchasing and written a report with my opinions and RECOMMENDATIONS about what could be edited, and whether or not they should buy it. The commissioning editor (as in the editor commissioning this specific project) has not even read the entire thing yet.

I have nearly finished reading a draft of the first in a series of Junior Fiction books that they are publishing next year and have been line editing and making comments and writing questions in the margins, just as I do with my critique partners.

I will finish it on the train (much more productive than crawling in peak hour traffic on the freeway) and read the second one today - both of which I will write reports on. With OPINIONS. And RECOMMENDATIONS.

As one editor and the two publishers are off in Sydney at a Publishing conference, another editor sits behind me finding images and tinkering with the design of a non-fiction book, and filling up excess pages at the end of a book (for some reason - she doesn't even understand why - it was cheaper to make it with more pages than less) with awesomeness, I will be growing bolder, still.

Not only are my opinions (perhaps) going to sway how already under consideration and commissioned books will turn out, but today...today I will attack THE SLUSH PILE*.

MwahahahAHAHA indeed**.

Sairz

*If you are IN the slush pile at Black Dog Books, don't worry, nothing I read will be deleted before being seen by an editor, but I do have 2 fancy inboxes, 'Sarah - Consider' and 'Sarah - Reject' (I don't think those are the actual names, but that's what they mean).

**I am not a coffee drinker in my daily life but with all of this reading, I have had to indulge in a foamy cup or two and I don't think it's doing any favours to the stability of my mind.

Inside an Editorial Meeting at Black Dog Books

Black Dog Books

Today is Day One of my internship with Black Dog Books, who are a fabulous Melbourne based childrens and YA publisher and I'm learning loads.

My first task was to read an international manuscript that there has been lots of buzz about all over the interwebz, and write a reader report because Black Dog are considering purchasing the Australian rights.

It hasn't even come out in America yet so I'm definitely on the INSIDE now, people. Are you massively jealous of me? I know you are. And think about it, the publishers and editors here get to read fantabulous new books before they come out, for a LIVING.

A Black Dog Book

Anyway - the editorial meeting.

There was discussion of the pros and cons of publishing the third book in a series. And there is a lot to be considered. There are added costs with a third book because the first and second would need to be reprinted. But if those didn't sell amazingly? The staff here love their writers and spend countless hours helping them craft their work. They're invested. But sometimes that personal investment isn't enough. There are so many other elements involved, like what size to make the book, and the sizing effects how many copies booksellers think they will be able to sell. So if BDB plan to produce something in C format and booksellers don't think they can sell it, but they could sell it at B+ (which would make the book cheaper for consumers), it will all effect sales and whether you can find books in stores. It has nothing to do with the content, or the author, it's just how much room it takes up on a shelf that can affect whether you can find it or not.

They decided to buy the rights to this international title with masses and masses of buzz, but are going to create their own front cover for it which is exciting, and I'm sure this book will do fabulously for them.

Another Black Dog Book

They discussed their line up for next year, and had some gaps in their list to fill so rearranged a couple of books, for instance they pushed one back two months because then it could be their lead title for that month, when it may have been lost or competing with another title on their list where it was. They moved a couple forward and negotiated the costings and what the move would do to their expected sales. For instance June is not a good month, sales wise, as booksellers are doing stock take and returning books. July is not amazing, but it's better because booksellers are needing to refill their shelves!

There were illustrations handed around for two picture books - one was a picture book that they had asked for some illustrations to be re-drawn to better reflect the story, and others were design ideas for updating some old stories with new illustrations.

Concept art for the protagonist in what looked to be a new chapter book series was looked at and everyone (there were five staff members plus me) could have some input and weigh in on the decisions.

They needed to pick a cover designer for a book coming out next year, and we had a look at some different designers, and also concept art for what the feel of the cover and the book should be like.

A brand-spanking NEW Black Dog Book

Although here at Black Dog each employee has their own job and responsibilities, it is most definitely a collaborative, team effort to produce the best books they possibly can.

I'm looking forward to Day Two!

Sairz