So Your Book is On the Shelves, What Next?

off the phone cork and autumn 2011 236

So what happens after a book is published? I’ve had two books out this month – Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas (Amy 4 for short) and Sally Go Round the Stars: Rhymes from an Irish Childhood. I know a lot of people think that all kinds of exciting things happen on publication day like fireworks and lunches with champagne, and maybe they do, if you are JK Rowling! But nice things do happen if you have the right publishers. Walker Books sent me a Happy Publication Day card, signed by my editors and all the other people I work with. This is a lovely thing to do, very sweet!

The publishers of my adult novels, Pan Macmillan always send me flowers on publication day (although I’m not sure if they still do this in the ‘current climate’ as I don’t have a book out with them this year). Again, a thoughtful, kind thing to do.

Sometimes books have launches, sometimes not. This depends largely on the marketing budget for the particular book, and the publishing house’s policy on launches. I had a very glam dinner for the first Amy Green book, with booksellers, journalists and reviewers. For Amy 3, I had a launch in a bookshop. I also launched two other books at the same time (it was a busy year!), Emma the Penguin and The Loving Kind. It was a really fun night and all my friends and family came along to celebrate the ‘christening’ of the books with me.

This year, I didn’t have a launch for either Sally or Amy 4. O’Brien Press didn’t have time to organise one for Sally (sadly), and I didn’t have the energy to do it myself after a hectic few weeks of book festivals and back to school activity. And I decided not to have one for Amy 4 as I had a lot of events organised around publication day anyway. I’ll definitely have one for Amy 5 however, as a launch is a fantastic way of celebrating a book and giving it a good send off.

So if there’s no launch what happens to the book?

Basically it is put on the shelves of the local and national bookshops after the ‘publication date’. Often the books appear on the shelves before this date. It’s quite a stressful time. You wonder ‘Will anyone buy the book?’, ‘Will anyone review it?’, ‘If they do review it, will they like it?’ It’s only natural to worry about your book’s reception. I always try to tell myself that I’ve written the best book I can, I’ve promoted it to the best of my ability, and now it’s out of my hands. Whatever happens, I am doing a job I love, every day of my life, and that’s the important bit. And that’s it pretty much! Doesn’t sound too exciting, does it? But of course, then comes the marketing and publicity.

Marketing and publicity

About a week after the publication date, my publishers (being proactive and organised people) generally invite me to visit the bookshops and do an informal stock signing. This means calling into the shops, saying hi to the booksellers (fab, hardworking individuals – I used to be one so I’m biased of course!), and sign the stock they have on the shelves. It’s a chance to thank booksellers for stocking your book. And if the shop doesn’t have the book at all, it’s a heads up for them to order some before you arrive.

If you’re lucky, you might be invited to do some pr for the book. I have a wonderful publicity team both here and in the UK, and I often get asked to appear on shows like Elev8 (RTE), the TV3’s morning show. I also write blogs for my own and other peoples’ sites around publication time, like writing.ie, articles for newspapers and other bits and pieces. I also visit a lot of schools to talk about my new books (this only happens for the children’s books obviously). And after the launch (if there is one), the ‘will anyone buy it’ angst, the signings, the publicity, life goes pretty much back to normal and it’s on to the next book.

I do try to celebrate publication day in my own special way – I often buying myself a special gift, take a day off to visit an art gallery, or meet a friend for lunch – just to mark the occasion. But for me, the actual writing of the book is the part I love the most. A good writing day, when everything clicks into place and I’m happy with my work beats a publication day hands down.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

A Who's Who of Exceptional Children's Literary Agents

Who represents Eoin Colfer? Who is Darren Shan’s agent? Who helped Derek Landy climb to the top? As this month I have two new children's books out - Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas (Walker Books) and Sally Go Round the Stars (O'Brien Press), I thought I'd focus on writing for children.

You’ve written a book for children (or teenagers) and you’d like to get it published, so what’s next?

If you are interested in reaching the widest readership possible and giving your work the best possible chance to be successful, you’ll need to find a good agent.

Why do you need an agent? Can’t you just go it alone?

In Ireland we are lucky to have the O’Brien Press where the editors are happy to read unsolicited manuscripts. You can send your book directly to one of their editors. Details of how to do this are here. But most UK publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts so you will need to submit your work through an agent.

What does an agent do exactly? 1/ An agent can advise you on your manuscript and on how to make it more attractive to a publisher. Some of them will act as unofficial ‘editors’ to their clients or at the very least can suggest changes or improvements. 2/ An agent can find the right editor or publisher for your work – like a book matchmaker. And they can sell your UK, US, digital and foreign rights. They can also look after any film or television rights. 3/ Agents deal with the difficult and technical area of contracts. This is particularly important at the moment, with ebooks coming to the fore. 4/ Financial back up - they can chase up your royalties and talk to your publishers about outstanding monies owed to you.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when writing for children is not paying enough attention to the age range. Who is your book for? An early reader of 5 to7? A confident reader of 8 to 10? A strong reader of 10 to 13? Your characters/language/themes must be appropriate for and also interest the age you are writing for. Read award winning and bestselling books in the age group you are writing for to get a clear idea of what works best. I’ll come back to this again in another post as it’s so important – you must write for children for the love of it – not because you want to make your fortune. Write because you can’t not write. And be very aware that these days writing for children means schools visits and events – and a lot of them! If you are not good with children you might need to reconsider. The very best children’s writers have a child like quality and also remember what it feels like to be a child or teen – to be 4, or 13, or 17.

So back to finding an agent: My own children’s agent is called Philippa Milnes-Smith from the LAW Agency (details below). She used to be the MD of Puffin, which gives her a brilliant insight into the market and a great eye for what works and doesn’t work in books. I have a different, equally brilliant agent for my adult books (also in LAW). These days having potential isn’t enough, your manuscript must be as perfect as you can make it before it goes anywhere near an editor – this especially goes for children's and YA fiction. A good agent can play a vital role in this process.

So to the Good Bit - The Agents Who Represent the Most Successful Irish Children’s Writers (with Contact Details)

 Remember to check each agent’s website for submission guidelines before you send anything out. Or ring the agency for details first – I know it’s daunting but they are always happy to advise you on how (or if) to submit. Be warned – you may get the agent herself/himself on the phone. Be prepared!

Eoin Colfer is represented by Sophie Hicks sophie@edvictor.com 0044 (0) 2073044100

Derek Landy is represented by Michelle (Who also represents Patrick Ness) office@michellekass.co.uk 0044 (0) 207 74391624

Darren Shan is represented by Christopher Little Christopher Little Literary Agency 10 Eel Brook Studios 125 Moore Park Road London SW6 4PS Tel: +44 (0) 207 736 4455 Fax: +44 (0) 207 736 4490 For general enquiries please email: info@christopherlittle.net

Sarah Webb is represented by Philippa Milnes Smith at LAW Contact: All submissions should be sent, in hard copy, by post to: LAW, 14 Vernon Street, London, W14 0RJ www.lawagency.co.uk

Cathy Cassidy is represented by Darley Anderson (Spends a lot of time in Ireland and a lovely woman so I’ve included her!) Contact: Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency Estelle House 11 Eustace Road London SW6 1JB Tel: 00 44 (0)20 7385 6652 Fax:00 44 (0)20 7386 5571 Email: enquiries@darleyanderson.com

Judi Curtin and Marita Conlon McKenna are both represented by Caroline Sheldon Contact via: www.carolinesheldon.co.uk 71 Hillgate Place, London W8 7SS

And finally John Boyne is represented by Simon Trewin

See www.simontrewin.com for details

Other Recommended Children's Agents:

Julia Churchill Greenhouse Literary Agency  submissions@greenhouseliterary.com 

And note this - Check our submission guidelines on this site for full information before querying.  Please note, we no longer accept snail-mail queries or email attachments. We are sorry that we cannot take (or return) phone queries regarding submissions. 

Eve White, Eve White Literary Agency (represents Andy ‘Mr Gum’ Stanton) eve@evewhite.co.uk 00 44 (0) 207 6301155

Veronique Baxter at David Higham Contact: David Higham Associates 5–8 Lower John Street Golden Square London W1F 9HA Switchboard: 00 44 (0)20 7434 5900 Fax: 044 (0)20 7437 1072 E-mail: dha@davidhigham.co.uk

Review of Roddy Doyle's New Book for Children

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Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle may be best known as an adult novelist but his children’s books have sold over half a million copies worldwide and have won him many plaudits, including an Irish Book Award in 2008 for 'Wilderness'. His latest book for readers of 10+, 'A Grey Hound of a Girl' is another award winner in the making.

This beautifully crafted and highly original book features four generations of the same family, three alive and one dead - twelve-year-old Mary O’Hara; her mother, Scarlett; Mary’s hospitalised granny, Emer; and finally Tansey (Anastasia), the ghost of Mary’s great-granny.

As the book opens, Mary, a strong, feisty and often ‘cheeky’ girl is bereft. Her best friend, Alva has just moved away and no-one understands how alone and cut off she feels. While walking past Alva’s empty house, Mary spots a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothing and stops to talk to her. As always Doyle’s simple yet telling description of the woman paints a vivid picture for the reader. ‘She was wearing a dress that looked like it came from an old film . . . she looked like a woman who milked cows and threw hay with a pitchfork.’ This woman, ‘shimmering as if she was stepping behind a sheet of clear plastic’ is the Tansey, one of the most ‘real’ and robust ghosts I’ve ever encountered in any book; with Tansey, Doyle rips up the ghost handbook and re-writes it.

The story moves from the present (narrated through Mary’s eyes), to the past, telling each adult woman’s story in turn, weaving in and out of time - describing Tansey’s life on the farm in her mid twenties, and how she died of flu when Emer was a toddler; and adding vivid, telling scenes from Emer and Scarlett’s childhoods. In the hands of a lesser writer this time travel could prove confusing, but in Doyle’s strong, confident hands it works perfectly and adds a depth and substance that makes this novel a stand out read.

All four women finally meet in the last quarter of the book when Mary and her mother, Scarlett sneak Emer out of the hospital to meet Tansey’s ghost. After Emer’s initial shock (and a very touching and funny reconciliation scene with her ghost mum), Emer wants to drive to Wexford to see the farm when she was raised (by her father after Tansey’s early death), and the four women take a road trip through the night. I won’t spoil the ending, but there is a deep sense of peace at the close of the book, a gentle quietness, of four lives that have all changed from the experience, and two that have come full circle.

Doyle’s dialogue is masterful – pithy, clever, direct and is one of the great joys of reading this book; and while I adored all four characters I fell in love with Tansey, a character I will never forget. Doyle uses the theme of mothers living on through their daughters to great effect – the lynchpin of a previous picture book ‘Her Mother’s Face’ in fact - ‘When you want to see your mother, look at your own face in the mirror’; and this book is also a meditation on life and death and the nature of ageing – how the child we once were is still in all of us. I would highly recommend this masterful family drama with a ghostly twist to any reader of ten plus. It may be short, but it packs a lasting punch.

This review first appeared in The Irish Independent

What Every Writer Can Learn From Cathy, Darren and Derek

Sarah Gets Strangled by Darren Shan

The Mountains to Sea Book Festival has just finished - phew - and I'm back to my desk. I programmed the children's events this year and had such fun watching the authors in action and helping at their mammoth signings. Three authors in particular really impressed me. Cathy Cassidy, Darren Shan and Derek Landy. They have such huge respect for their readers and do everything they can to send every reader home with a big smile on her or his face.

My own nephew isn't a big reader but after Darren's inspiring event went home and started writing a zombie story. My sister was astonished. Darren read two extracts from his work - one so spooky it made everyone jump in their seats and scream. Then he talked about his life as a writer and took questions from the floor. And then - then! - he signed for 3 hours solid, greeting each young reader with warmth and interest, chatting away to their parents and grandparents. It was a joy to watch.

Cathy Cassidy was equally charming to her long line of fans. She posed for photos, gave out sweets and chocolate, chatted to the girls and asked them questions about Dublin and what they liked to read. She basically made them all feel really special.

The last event of the festival was a hilarious delve into Derek Landy's weird and wonderful mind. His fans are something - I spotted lots of Skulduggery T-shirts, several hand-made Skulduggery bags and even a pair of Skulduggery runners. Again, he signed with patience and a big grin, making all his young readers laugh with him.

If a reader arrived with a pile of books, they all signed each and every book. If a child arrived with a grubby piece of paper, that was signed too. Nothing was too much trouble.

It was utterly inspiring and reminded me exactly why I love the children's book world so much - the writers are just so darned decent and lovely. To a man or woman - the picture book gang, the Irish writers, the UK writers, the Americans (Meg Rosoff and Patrick Ness) - all exceptional people. I'm sure they have their grumpy days like we all do, but they give everything they have to their readers and for that I salute them.

I'm so grateful to them all for making our festival so successful and giving so many readers an experience they will never forget.

We can all learn a lot about how to treat our readers from Cathy, Darren and Derek!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Welcome to My New Website

WEBB, S 28.11.08 0086

This month is a busy one for me, with two new books out: Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas and Sally Go Round the Stars, a nursery rhyme collection. I'm also involved in the Dun Laoghaire Mountains to Sea Book Festival (I'm the Children's Programmer), which is hard work but a lot of fun. And I’m also launching this lovely new website. So in true book form, here are my acknowledgements:

Thanks are due to Lisa Haran who designed the site and put up with all my daft questions! She has the patience of a saint and is wonderfully talented to boot – a great combination for a website designer. If you’re interested in hiring Lisa (which I’d highly recommend) you can find her here. Because of Lisa, I can do that clever link thing!

I’d love some feedback on the new site, so do comment below or Facebook me on my new Sarah Webb page - see, did the clever link thing again. OK, I’ll stop slapping myself on the back now. But you have no idea how exciting these things are to a computer muppet like me.

Thanks are also due to the wonderful Sarah Conroy who also did lots of clever teckie things to get the site up and running.

And to Ben, for endless ‘Which looks better, the pink type or the bold?’ questions. He also has the patience of a saint.

So to the website itself. It’s a Wordpress site, which means I can sneak in behind the pages and change things to my heart’s content. So expect lots and lots of updates, photos, blog entries, author interviews and You Tube clips. The media box on the home page will be added to over time – another clever feature. It currently has a pic of me and my latest book and an Ask Amy Green video clip.

I’ll be continuing my Yours in Writing blog, telling you all about my writing life. So please do stay tuned. Next week I’ll write about what happens once your book hits the shelves, plus what every writer could learn from Darren Shan.

The next newsletter will go out in December, so do join the mailing list for that also on the home page. As always, thanks for reading and I do hope you enjoy the new site!

Yours in Writing, Sarah XXX