Who would have thought this strange, difficult year would have also allowed us to produce an inspirational and informative conference through Zoom.
Each presenter had so much valuable advice for writers and illustrators, regardless of the stage of their careers.
Literary Agent and Publishing Consultant - Alex Adsett Publishing Services
Literary agents are rare creatures in Australia, but we were lucky enough to learn more about them from the wonderful and extremely busy, Alex Adsett.
· While you will need an agent for the US or UK markets, it’s not essential in Australia.
· The pluses of having an agent are that they will put you in front of the right publisher for your book – and this does not always mean the biggest publisher. They will negotiate your contracts, help manage your career, and can assist with selling to overseas markets.
· A reputable agent will never ask for a fee, they will only charge a commission.
· Read submission guidelines carefully. View them as a test of whether an agent will want to work with you. Alex only represents authors whose work she loves.
· Alex also provides consultancy services to authors, such as contract reviews.
Author
Dee White has two new middle grade novels featuring 11 year old boys. That’s where the similarities end. Beyond Belief is about Ruben, a Jewish boy hiding from the Nazis in the Grand Mosque of Paris. Eddie Popcorn’s Guide to Parent Training is funny, easy to read and the main character will give your children terrible ideas.
Dee let us in on some of her secrets to creating compelling characters with a writing workshop that illuminated how character traits and flaws can work together. Dee’s techniques are fantastic and it is well worth attending one of her workshops.
Keep an eye out for another character workshop Dee will be conducting with SCBWI Queensland in October.
Author Illustrator
Hands up if you want to live in an Aura Parker painting? Gorgeous characters, colours and ideas blend together to create her beautiful picture books.
She took us through her magical artistic process and gave us some wise words as well.
· Her mustard metaphor reminds us that you need a strong flavour, even if it doesn’t please everyone, and the things you’re embarrassed or scared of can be useful.
· Trust your intuition.
· (Bruce Whatley quote)
Tips for artists
· It’s important to draw characters in action.
· If you put something online – you can become known for that
· Good things come from sending stuff out.
Publisher - Larrikin House
CEO - Learning Discovery
Everyone loves James. A new publisher who is looking to publish Australian titles, with an emphasis on fun books that are commercially viable. His second company, Learning Discovery, sends book packs into schools, so he has market knowledge as well as ‘book smarts’.
Larrikin House’s motto is ‘Strong humour with a subtle message, or strong humour for the sake of humour,’ and story is king for James.
He outlined his WINKS grid when assessing a book:
· Who – are you writing for? Kids? Teachers? CBCA?
· Impact – the wow factor.
· New – original, clever, quirky.
· Kraft – well crafted story.
· Sales – will it sell?
A note for illustrators – James finds a lot of his illustrators on Instagram. Use the # illustrators, Australia, children’s.
Thank you to Shelly, Catherine, Sarah and especially tech wizard Mitch for an incredible event in the time of coronavirus.