Moderator: James Dashner
Stacy Whitman, editor—Most recently at Mirrorstone of Wizards of the Coast. She’s worked in lots of different places, and has a Master’s in Children’s lit—Children’s and YA especially fanstasy. Now she’s a freelance consulting editor with Tor.
Amy Jameson, agent with A + B Works—she represents Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George. She worked at Janklow & Nesbit Associates, then moved to Salt Lake and started an agency with her husband. She represents authors on the national market.

At the LTUE conference, the pendulum seemed to be swinging from fantasy back to scifi—have you seen this?

• Stacy—I am looking for scifi. There are some really great books out there that are YA. How can we extrapolate the world we live in to the future?
• Amy—We talked about this this very afternoon actually. Despite the recession: romance and scifi are selling well: escapism.
• Stacy—It’s hard to say adult-wise, but with YA, that’s where it is. J. Westerfield, The Hunger Games, etc.
• James—In middle grades, fantasy is still more popular.

For Amy—how do you coordinate with NY while living here?

• Amy—The Internet. 10 years ago, this wouldn’t be possible. It used to be all about face time, long lunches with editors. But it’s a new day because we’re connected by email. I do get out to NY once a year. Also Publishers’ Marketplace.
• Stacy—a lot of agents aren’t getting as much face time because publishing lunches are being cut back. Face time doesn’t matter as much these days.
• James—Anyone who’s familiar with Jessica Day George can see that you can succeed outside of NY.

Does being an international author affect your chances with American publishing house?

• Amy—depends on location and genre. [Questioner’s location: Canada] Oh, Canada’s not that far away. A very different market, but there’s a lot of interest in Canadian writers, and it’s a tight community. There are some nice awards for Canadian authors. A lot of crossover with US publishers anyway.
• Stacy—There are sometimes troubles with “Well, if they’re in South Africa, how will they promote the book?” Special circumstance: Canadian and American co-authors. It can be tough, but it’s easier if you’re establishing your name.
• James—Aren’t most books here sold North American rights? [Yes]
• Amy—Canadian issues are often financial issues because of exchange rates. Technical stuff.

In the YA market, we’ve seen romance strong in the paranormal genre recently. Do you anticipate publishers looking for romance in other genres?

• Amy—YA almost always has romance.
• Stacy—Teenagers are all about love. They’re all about hormones. Lust, maybe, not love. Puppy love.
• Amy—It doesn’t have to be that romance is the center of it (that’s not really appropriate in scifi anyway), but there has to be some element there.

Does the market now want more diversity (ethnicities) now?

• Stacy—There should be. Our literature should reflect the reality of most of our cities. Not just racial—religious, cultural. So why not? Don’t make it forced, but make sure it’s appropriate. Personally, I’m looking for multicultural stories. Fantasy—largely western mythology with white characters. A lot of kids (black kids especially—they’ve told her they only get a month and it’s always about MLK). Be true to your characters and give them interesting lives—that’s what matters.
• Amy—Especially in YA, there’s a real hunger for ethnically diverse characters. Look at the Newberries—traditionally a lot. Huge desire for Hispanic characters, too. It’s hard if you’re not from that background, there’s a learning curve and wondering if it’s genuine.
• Stacy—There was a huge “Racefail” in Jan/Feb in adult fantasy in blogosphere. A lot of people of color who are authors or readers—I think it started because an author had a character end up in a racial slavery situation. It started conversation about how people of color are portrayed in adult fantasy.
• James—I’m seeing that debated all over the place. Some people are saying, “Don’t just have a token black character,” but the other half says, “Why not? Why default to all white?”

How can we help promote our books and should we mention a willingness to do so in a query?

• Amy—Being willing to promote your book should be the default! There are some helpful resources on blogs. Promoting it is absolutely your job.
• Stacy—Your own promotion efforts within the first week, month of your book are huge. Start early. Have a blog (if you’re a blogger). Don’t if you don’t know how to communicate with people on the web. Become web savvy. Get to know who else is blogging out there. Become a part of the community.
• Amy—Virtual school visits through Skype
• Stacy—Hard to say whether signings are successful. Invite your friends so you can create buzz. Usually the bookstore’s not going to be doing a lot of promotion for a first-time author.
• Amy—One of her authors set up his own tour. In the places where he knew people, that was successful. In the places where he didn’t, it was disheartening—maybe 2 people come through. Make your time pay off.
• Stacy—Utah has a strong writers’ community. It welcomes books. So many kids here read. Look for how can you be involved in your community. Look at Shadow Mountain—start local buzz, wildfire spreads. Good example to take for your own books.

HP & Twilight as trendsetters—fairly clean. Why isn’t that in adult books?

• Stacy—librarians like to put together “clean reads” lists, so there is a movement for that. As an editor, I focus on what is in the book, not what isn’t.
• Amy—bear in mind who these people that are acquiring these books. Most of them are single women, 20s-30s in NYC area. Narrow vision of life—even in children’s books. They want to be cutting edge, different, extreme. Whereas clean-cut, beautiful stories about nice kids who are choosing the right doesn’t get media attention.

I’m writing a book in ancient southern Africa—having mostly black characters. Is that a problem if I’m not of that culture? I’ve included a lot of the myths and legends, but I’ve made up a lot of stuff, too—is that okay?

• Amy—most people don’t know anything about it, and as long as you have your reasearch and are honest about what you’ve made up. It’s harder to do a contemporary story in a culture you’re not a part of.
• Stacy—Naturally, there may be some cultural appropriation issues there. Also, I know for a fact that yours is fantasy, and in fantasy there’s more leeway with culture. It can be inspired by that culture without it necessarily “being” that culture. Ex: Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days was inspired by Ancient Mongolia.

Besides terrible writing, what’s the easiest way I can botch my chances with you?

• Amy—Not standing out enough is the thing for me. They all start looking the same to me, so anything that stands out from the crowd. But you don’t want to be crazy, gimmicky.
• Stacy—No pink paper—follow submission guidelines. Until the last year I was at Mirrorstone, we didn’t do picture books. It was in the guidelines 3x. 90% of the slush was picture books. One was a pretty good writer, so I personalized the rejection and invited her to submit if she does fantasy. She emailed back and said “I’m sorry, I don’t do fantasy.”
• James—If an editor asks you to write about elephant poo, do it.

Could we get some more information on Stacy’s editing services?

• Stacy—I do individual critiques for authors as well. I look at your first three chapters. But this is separate from Tor consulting. StacyLWhitman.com > Critiques. Submission packet for flat fee or full crits, but start with first three chapters to see if she can fit it into her schedule and if she’s the right editor to you. Caveat: there are so many free resources, especially for children’s books. Before you decide on getting a freelance editor, check out other resources (on her website and blog).

One piece of advice to aspiring editors?

• Stacy—read a lot.
• Amy—as you’re reading, especially new books, look at how the narrative is constructed. Start thinking like an editor: “If I were editing, how would I advise the author on character and plot?” Look for what’s working for you and not. There’s a good editing program at BYU.
• Stacy—You have to be willing to follow the job, and probably live in NY.
• Amy—There are great internships at major publishers. That’s how Kirk Shaw got his start. That’s a great thing on a résumé.
• Stacy—Be willing to work for free or very little. Nobody goes into this for the money and there really isn’t any for many years.

Editors say they don’t want to be queried by email. But you’ve said it’s okay; is it?

• Stacy—For me, it’s easier by email.
• Amy—Depends. Younger people tend to be into email.
• Stacy—I’m getting a Sony Reader soon—it makes it so much easier! Problem, though—you can get buried in the inbox. You have to figure out an organizational system so things don’t get forgotten.
• Amy—For queries, it’s easy to keep track of them via email, but for manuscripts, it’s harder to ignore a big stack of paper.

What is Tor looking for in its new YA line?

• Stacy—Their YA line has been around for 20 years. Starscape has been around for as long as Mirrorgate has. Kathleen Dougherty has been doing this for 20 years, but she sells into educational market first. Not as widely known from bookstore browsing. Right now: scifi, fantasy always a good thing, chapter books and young MG fun books—David Lubar My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie). Looking for something good, something that will break out. Little Brother by Cory Doctrow—Dystopic scifi YA. Personally, I don’t like dystopias unless they’re hopeful—kids making world better

Should we keep an eye on the market—what’s coming out in 6 months?

• Amy—absolutely. What if someone else has sold what you’re writing? Subscribe to Publisher’s Lunch.
• Stacy—Publisher’s Weekly has good email newsletters you can sign up for. You can get the news for what’s going on in that genre weekly, daily, etc. At Publishersmarketplace.com and publishersweekly.com. Find your niche of the blogosphere and follow blogs even if you don’t blog yourself.

Are either of you interested in children’s chapter books like Junie B. Jones or Amber Brown?

• Stacy—Personally, no, I’m into fantasy.
• Amy—Personally, I’m not, but there’s a real need for good chapter books.
• Stacy—They are hard.
• Amy—You’re limited vocabulary-wise, and it’s hard to write characters that speak to kids.
• Stacy—Even if you’re good, you have to have shelf presence. Teachers love books they can give to transitional readers. It’s hard to get a foothold for a series, and there’s such a small margin, it’s hard to make financial sense unless it’s a series. But once you get a foothold, you have continual demand.

Would you recommend novelists spend time querying editors directly?

• Stacy—some editors are okay with it. Meet the editor or read their blog so you know they’re a good match. Either way works if it works for you as an author. Agents can really help to pitch books.
• Amy—it does happen. Jessica Day George met editor at conference, and that editor wanted to buy book when Jessica contacted me. It’s a great way to get an agent—eliminates so much work for agent, so you can concentrate on the book and the deal.

A lot of us here feel like we’re targeting two markets. LDS market—books go out of print fast. How do national agents feel about picking up a book that’s been published niche?

• Amy—Even on the national market, they just can’t keep everything in print. It doesn’t make financial sense to physically store books. Books have about a year to make or break, and that book may be gone after then. [What size of book runs nationally?] Depends on category.
• Stacy—I’ve heard people say most books don’t sell more than 5000 copies and then you have your break outs. Sometimes people are including self-published books in there, and that really skews the numbers. Transitioning from LDS to national also depends on content, wide appeal.
• Amy—It’s hard to take a book because of prejudices and misunderstanding that’s out of print and take it national. If the LDS market has been tapped, it seems too late.

With respect to the national market and adult fiction, is there a benchmark on the “squeeze factor” that needs to be in novels?

• Stacy—Editors won’t come to you and say, “This needs more sex.”
• Amy—They might if it’s romance and Harlequin. Most editors won’t say “This isn’t trashy enough for our market.” In romance there’s a certain level of sex expected. [Depending on the publisher and the line—there are plenty of highly successful “sweet” romance authors like Debbie Macomber.]

About the conference: LDStorymakers is a writing contest geared to LDS writers. The conference covers both the niche, regional publishers that cater to the LDS market as well as national publishers.