The real life of a children’s book editor

- Stacy

I was going to write about the difference between writing series in a shared world and standalones, but that’s a little too high-maintenance a post for 11 at night. So instead I’m going to write about the new TV show, The Return of Jezebel James. If you read the PW Children’s Bookshelf, you’ll see how the HarperCollins editors were consulted on it and how they take it with a grain of salt. Obviously it’s TV, so it’s not going to be true to life, but it’s fun to see the little details.

I thought the show just aired for the first time last week, but apparently there are 3 episodes online at Fox.com, so I am currently watching the pilot episode.

First off, I was NOT expecting a laugh track. Dang, I thought it would be a longer drama, not a sitcom. Instant turnoff, I’m afraid. I like comedies, but not comedies that have to tell me when to laugh.

Oh, how nice it would be to have an assistant who makes all my appointments for me. Wow, that’s a really nice big
office. 

But overall, it’s kind of fun to have children’s book references all over the place. “Sorry, Dad, gotta go, Beatrix Potter’s on the other line.” I love the work scenes–“B&N hates the cover,” etc.

She’s kind of a scatterbrained, endearing kind of character. I can’t handle the fake crying. But I don’t think I’ll be watching this beyond the pilot. Endearing or not, the sitcom thing… I don’t know.

Then again, the end of the episode wasn’t as painful as most sitcoms. About halfway into most Friends episodes, I have to stop watching because it’s embarrassing to watch the sheer stupidity of some of the characters and the lengths they go to to be supposedly funny. This show? Not so bad. Perhaps I’ll give it a couple more shows to decide. It was made by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who did Gilmore Girls.

ETA: Now watching 2nd episode. And somehow her house changed from pilot to 2nd episode. Wow, that’s a pretty big apartment for New York City. I think it’s even bigger than the house I share with four girls here in Seattle. But what a CUTE little library she has? And I must admit the writing is quite snappy! And the acting is much better. Less fake.
  
ETA: Also, no editor would ever refer to an author as a “client.”

Miscellanea

- Stacy

I’m going in for minor surgery today (don’t worry, it’s really, really minor) and this weekend my roommates and I are doing a yard sale, basically to clean out the basement as one roommate moves out. Why I scheduled these two things for the same week, I haven’t a clue. Hopefully it’ll be exactly as the doctor says and not only will I be able to drive home from the surgery (it’s that minor), I’ll still be able to push my HUGE desk out of my room. I’ve decided that having a desk in my bedroom just encourages me to pile things on it, because having a laptop means you can work from anywhere. So I’m replacing the desk with two beautiful bookshelves with little leather crates/boxes to hold the things the desk drawers used to hold, and giving myself back about 8 square feet of floor space. Now I’ll be able to reach the closet and maybe that will help me not pile things on the desk that will be gone. 🙂

As far as actual editing goes, well, it’s life as usual. I have all sorts of interesting things happening at work, which I can’t really blog about just yet, and just a lot of editing to hit deadlines. I got two books out to copyedit last week, and it’s on to the next book. Busy busy busy.

One thing I CAN tell you is that I can officially announce a new series by which I’ll be working on. Here’s the Publisher’s Lunch announcement:

Jeff Sampson’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF EMILY COOKE, the first in a dark fantasy series about Emily Webb, who at night transforms from shy and mousy geek girl into a wild thrill-seeker, to Stacy Whitman at Mirrorstone.

There’s a WHOLE lot more to the story, but I don’t want to give away anything! Keep your eye out for more on it in the future, though.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

- Stacy

It’s days like this that I miss living in Chicago, where they dye the river green in celebration. (Also, notice the white clock tower on the far left in the background? That’s one tower of the Wrigley Building, which I used to work in. It’s like stepping back in time in that building.

But last night my roommate and I watched Waking Ned Devine (me for the first time, she for the umpteenth time) and it was definitely a good substitute. Hilarious. I think all my favorite movies have quirky old men in them–for example, Return to Me is a favorite probably because of those funny old men.

So, let’s talk about quirky characters in storytelling, especially in books for children and young adults. How can a quirky character, perhaps an older person like in the two movies I just linked, bring life to a story while still being a story about the child character?

I can think of two main examples which show what I’m trying to talk about–Holes and A Long Way from Chicago. Let’s start with A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck. This is actually one of my favorite books, and I’ll tell you it has nothing to do with the narrator. A Long Way from Chicago is one of the best examples I can think of where the character you most connect to isn’t a child. While the narrator Joey is a child, and the story is seen through his eyes (and in the sequel A Year Down Yonder, his sister Mary Alice’s), Grandma Dowdel is the most interesting person and she’s the cause of all their adventures.

In Holes, the story of Kissin’ Kate, while not about an elderly person, is a story set in another time-
–and a story that is also integral to Stanley’s journey, though we don’t know how until much later in the story.

Waking Ned Divine doesn’t really fit in this category of older people helping drive the story of the younger—Jackie is the instigator and main character all along—but it did make me think of how often in children’s literature we focus on the child to the exclusion of older adults. It’s important to get the kids away from the parents, for example, to help them have autonomy enough to do whatever the story requires. Don’t get me wrong—I love this plot device, and I know that kids love it. But I do think that there’s a place for amazing stories that include older people and people of previous generations, and that those two books are perfect examples of how that can be done while preserving a narrator that the child reader will identify with.

You have to admit: Grandma Dowdle rocks. That’s one hilarious story, and not just because she reminds me of both my grandmas and my great-grandma, with a shotgun thrown in.

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Soft puppy ears

- Stacy

Sometimes this job is hurry up and wait. I’m still waiting for the waiting part, though. Perhaps fast and faster would be the better description. But as I walked out the door yesterday to go pick up lunch from the Thai place down the street, I was able to take a bit of a pause and play with a litter of beagle puppies that a coworker had brought in to show everyone in the lobby. Their ears were SO soft! I was so tempted to take one home. Except that Mogget and Tildrum might not like that so much. The puppy was about as big as they are full-grown.

Not to mention I only have so much room on my lap for the animal menagerie sort. Two is the limit, at least for now.

But I was sorely tempted.

Linkage

- Stacy

 I’ve been swamped, as usual–two books to get to copyediting soon! So instead of hanging on my every word (because of course, you all do… :P) pop over to Cheryl Klein, where she’s discussing the author-editor relationship. I really like the analogy she comes up with.

Also, keep an eye out this month for book 3 of Hallowmere, Between Golden Jaws. Tiffany Trent just traveled down to see a library in New Orleans who won a visit from her for their Teen Read Week activities. (See here for coverage–i
t’s the second part of the piece, so scroll below the ad.)

Last month’s release, Magic in the Mirrorstone, has been getting some great reviews. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you don’t want to miss it.