When I Was Eight

by Riley Redgate

Like most strange adults, I was once a strange kid. Back in my elementary school days, I had a knack for sleepwalking: I'd end up downstairs a lot, managing our staircase with ease, and sometimes I'd have conversations with people while asleep. One night, my father found me in the hall outside my bedroom, staring at nothing. When he asked me what I was doing, I helpfully replied that I was "looking." Looking at what? I don't know. I didn't elaborate. We chatted for a minute or two about why I was still awake -- it was about 1 AM -- and then I went back into my room. I remember zero percent of this.

Nighttime is when I do my best work. Unfortunately, it is also when I am weirdest. This has always been true. Once, when I was eight, I walked downstairs in the middle of the night, sobbing. My parents asked me what was wrong. My response was, "I just don't want to die!" If I were my parents, I would've been terrified of me. (Note: I have not yet died.)

People wonder why old fairy tales were so bloodthirsty, what with all the violence, cannibalism, etc. I feel like the answer is pretty simple: children are obsessed with darknesses and terrors. I have spoken with innumerable people who tell me they went through a Holocaust fascination phase as a kid (so did I). When I was in elementary school, my fellow students loved this Jingle Bells parody, which is a blood-soaked piece of rewriting if I've ever seen one. And kids, Neil Gaiman says, read his notoriously horrifying book Coraline as an adventure, while adults get nightmares. Let's be honest, though: all you need to do is crack open one of those Scary Stories anthologies to find something traumatizing. Those were always popular at my school libraries.

When I was eight, the ideas of death and pain were everywhere in the media I consumed. Kids' books and movies have a high body count -- dead parents, dead kids, people getting injured all the time. Harry Potter is the poster child for fictional orphaned kids, who have been trendy in literature since Dickens. Kids get devoured by the handful in Roald Dahl's The BFG, and tortured by Ms. Trunchbull in his book Matilda. Part of this is the dichotomy kids' books often draw between good and evil: evil people hurt others, and good people stop that from happening. But there's more there.

I'm still scared of dying, like most people. But when I was eight, the fear of it crippled me. I had huge fears that swallowed me up every night as I lay there, staring at the ceiling. I have a body of experiences now that help me cope with fears based on how my life has gone this far. But when I was eight, fiction was the only way I could understand most fears. Stories make awful things comprehensible to kids. It's an incredibly important part of growing up, understanding what bad things are, why they happen, and how they operate.

Books taught me the best way to beat the monsters, too: keep going. Keep reading to the end of the story. Keep moving forward until something changes, or until you understand. That's why my favorite kids' books, from chapter books to YA, have heavy or dark elements -- these books help readers deal with hard truths, and persistence is always the way to tackle them.

It's understandable, wanting to shield kids from the worst parts of the world. Still, in my opinion, kids shouldn't be sheltered from scary topics. There's a time and a place for everything, obviously, and kids' literature has boundaries that adult categories don't. All the same, loss, pain, and death are part of being alive, from the youngest age, and in my life, books have been the weapons I've used to fight back the fear of them.

Riley Redgate, enthusiast of all things YA, is a bookstore-and-Starbucks-dweller from North Carolina attending college in Ohio. She is represented by Caryn Wiseman of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Sporadically and with occasional weirdness, she blogs here and speaks with considerably more brevity here.

Considering the Standards (Common Core or Otherwise)

by R.C. Lewis

Disclaimer: While I am a teacher, I'm a math teacher. I try to keep up with English/Language Arts education as an author, but I don't know firsthand what those teachers face.

There's a lot of controversy about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and their implementation. Too much emphasis on non-fiction reading … pushing us further into test-driven education … Let's leave that aside for now, though, because standards have been around before CCSS and will continue to be. It's my contention that standards in and of themselves aren't a bad thing—it's what you do with them.

"Hey, R.C., what does this have to do with authors of kid-lit?"

Is it just me, or is it really cool to think a class somewhere reading your book and talking about it? For some of you, maybe not. Maybe you're saying, "Yeah, right. My book will land on a Banned Books List long before any teacher will dare use it in a classroom." (And hey, that's its own kind of cool right there.) But maybe some of you have that same occasional daydream I do.

One way many authors are making their book more attractive for classroom use is by preparing (or paying to have prepared) discussion guides and other teaching materials. With both my author and teacher hats on (and believe me, that's quite the look), I can say some are better than others. Some more useful than others.

If you're thinking of preparing such materials on your own, here's some totally biased advice from me to you.

• Start with the Standards: Seriously, you and I both know that you know your book. Click on over to this page on the CCSS. Select "Reading: Literature" and then the approximate grade(s) you feel your book might be used in. Read through the standards and see them through the lens of your story.

• Make Teaching Easier, Not Harder: Put everything you can at the teacher's fingertips, rather than making them dig. Think about how the teacher will want to use the materials. Discussion guides meant to be used verbally should look one way, while questions for students to answer in writing should perhaps be formatted in more worksheet-style, ready to print. Alternatively, make your materials easy to edit or copy/paste from.

• Avoid Minutiae … Unless that's the Point: Sometimes teachers want a few quick, simple questions on a section just to verify students actually did the reading. You might want to include those as "quick quizzes" or something. But those are pretty easy for teachers to come up with on their own. For general questions, dig a little deeper. Remember, you know your story.

• Fiction & Non-Fiction Can Be Friends: This may be easier for some books than others, but if there's any way to incorporate non-fiction resources, go for it. For example, Mindy McGinnis's Not a Drop to Drink lends itself to connected reading on water conservation and other environmental issues.

• Don't Forget Writing: Go back to that CCSS link and select Writing, followed by grade level. Take a look and think about how a project or paper related to your book could help meet some of those standards. Include suggestions about such projects in your materials.

Any teachers out there have further advice (or conflicting opinions!) on book-specific classroom resources? Authors, have you considered preparing materials for your book? What's helped or hindered you?

R.C. Lewis teaches math to teenagers—sometimes in sign language, sometimes not—so whether she's a science geek or a bookworm depends on when you look. Her debut novel Stitching Snow is coming from Hyperion in October 2014. You can find R.C. on Twitter (@RC_Lewis) and at her website.

Extend Your Shelf Life: Tackling the Library Market

by Cat Woods

Personally, I love libraries. I love the atmosphere, the sense of peace and the very smell of thousands of amassed books. I hope someday, my books will love the library as well. As a writer of juvenile literature, I fully realize the library market has the ability to make a title.

Young kids take weekly trips to the library from their classrooms. There, they are exposed to hundreds of books and authors they otherwise would never hear about. Think of libraries as television commercials for the elementary student. Students are captive audiences to the books on the shelves, and when they find one they like, they become instantly gratified. Books are checked out and drug home in back packs for use as bed time stories. In this scenario, both parents and children can fall in love with an author and look for new titles to grace their private collections at home.

In middle school and high school, books are often bought for classroom curriculum. If your title is picked, multiple copies are purchased to be read year after year. Not to mention, teens and preteens visit the library to check out the newest author-of-the-month. This age-group reads voraciously and will often latch onto a genre or two with such gusto that librarians struggle to keep titles on the shelves. This can lead to outside sales, as youth are notoriously impatient when it comes to waiting.

Each month, library boards wrack their brains to find presenters who will bring patrons into their facility. They adore authors who can offer a fun or exciting program to any age group. They use you to make their library a happening place to be. After all, their funding is impacted by their circulation. And more funding means more sales and more choices, which in turn feeds circulation. It's a win-win situation for all involved.

Yet, some writers I know shy away from the library market, pooh-poohing it as an unnecessary avenue in which to sell their books. After all, library books are free, no?

Well yes, to the public. But not really, because every book on library shelves has been purchased with real money. Often times at double or triple the cost of a book store edition. Thinking e-books? Many libraries have already weighed in on the great debate and are showing their support to both patrons and writers by connecting them through e-book subscriptions.

Check out Books and Such Literary Agency's blog for a low-down on how it all works and how this motivated agency is making inroads in the marketing world. With over 2,500 on the Library Locator—the nifty thing Books and Such is part of—this "free" market could help an author sell-through and earn back an advance.

So, is the library market an untapped avenue for you as a writer, or does this free service seem a bit too trifling to pursue? Which shelves would you like to see you work on and why?

Writing 411: Picture Book E-Queries

by Cat Woods

Picture Book Manuscript? Check.

Targeted Agent List? Check.

Query Letter? Heck no!

We all know that writing for very young children is different than penning novels for older kids and adults. Make no mistake, writing a query letter for picture books is an equally unique process. It is also highly nuanced, making it necessary for writers to really research potential agents and their guidelines.

In my experience, more agents are open to receiving a full manuscript for picture books than for any other age group. In part, this is due to short word counts. After all, it is easier to enjoy a book by reading the book rather than by reading a summary of it. With picture books topping out at 500 words, manuscripts can be shorter than the query letters representing them.

Thus, e-querying agents for picture books falls into two distinct categories.

1. Agents who accept manuscripts along with a query letter.
2. Agents who do not accept manuscripts with a query letter.

You can figure out your targeted agents' preferences by visiting AgentQuery, Query Tracker, agent websites/blogs and market resources such as those found at and by Writer's Digest. Verla Kay's Blue Boards is another great resource, as is the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

For the sake of space, I will address only the first instance (with manuscript), as a cold query letter without a manuscript or sample pages is the same for picture books as it is for older novels. Additionally, the example provided below is not a MUST DO, but rather a guideline that I used when searching for my agent. My method is a conglomeration of info gathered on websites, via magazine articles, at writing conferences and my own personality.

Subject Line: Query: TITLE, picture book, 475 words (Capitalize your title.)

Method to My Madness: all my pertinent information is available at a glance. Agents immediately know I'm sending a query letter for a picture book within the acceptable word count. They should also get a feel for my manuscript based on my title. In this way, I'm not wasting anybody's time.

It also serves a secondary purpose. If an agent were to provide feedback and request a revision, a simple change to my subject line would keep Said Agent up to date on what is coming in, while remaining consistent and keeping my title in the agent's mind. My new subject line would look like this: Requested revision for TITLE.

Dear Mr. Agent Awesome: (Don't forget to double check spellings for names and end with a colon.)

(Very brief bio and/or a relevant blurb on why you chose this agent.)

As a library board member, a child advocate in the court system and a past preschool teacher, I recognized a need for stories about XYZ. I am a member of the SCBWI and a moderator on AgentQuery Connect. I have also presented at Young Writer's Conference across Southwestern Minnesota.

I follow your blog/met you at a conference/etc ... and feel TITLE may address your interest in XYZ (a tie into your bio would be nice). Per your guidelines, I have included the full manuscript for my picture book.

Method to My Madness: The agent will get to read my manuscript. It's pasted into the body of the text, and therefore does not require a blurb. In this instance, I feel it is a good idea to let the agent know who we are and what we're doing. This is our time to connect with the agent and let our personalities shine through.

But be brief. Agents have little time to wade through our backgrounds from infancy to old age. We should provide only those details that lend credence to our ability to write this particular story. Case in point, I said nothing about my pubbed works in the adult arena or that I have four children. Avoid telling the agent about the story. Again, Agent Awesome will have the opportunity to read our text as long as we don't bore him with our life histories first.

I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you.

Method to My Madness: I'm a people person. A warm thanks is my style. Some people may argue it lacks professionalism or that it sounds needy. I tend to believe it's a whole lot better than a sterile and abrupt end such as "Thank you" or a rude "Call me". The choice is yours, but know that agents don't reject a manuscript based on this line. And if they do, they're likely not the kind of agent you want.

Sincerely,
Cat Woods

Phone number
Address
Words From The Woods

Method to My Madness: with luck an agent will need to contact us. If we fail to provide this information, we may inadvertently slow down the process or fail to make a viable contact with an interested agent altogether. I do add my blog address to my writing correspondence, as an interested agent may google me. If you don't have one, don't fret. Blogs are not necessary to secure an agent.

Next, paste your manuscript into the remainder of the email—never, ever send agents to your website or blog to read it or send it as an attachment unless expressly requested by the agent—and check for the following things:

• formatting: spaces, line breaks, etc. You want a clean copy for easy reading.
• white space: you may need to adjust how your manuscript looks to make it easier on the agent's eyes.
• italics should be capped or underlined, as some email servers don't support fancy schmancy text.
• likewise, centered titles can be brought to the left margin for a clean look.

Finally, dip your fingernails in Tabasco so you can still answer the phone when it rings! There's no point in chewing your nails when you could be typing your next book.

Writing a query letter is not as difficult as it sounds, particularly when we can submit our manuscripts at the same time. When sending writing samples is not an option, my picture book query letters have two extra paragraphs: one for my hook and the second for my mini-synopsis. I also combine my bio and agent search info to make one small paragraph.

How about you? What tips do you have for writing picture book queries? What do you put in your subject lines and how do you close? Do you include a hook and mini-synopsis when sending your manuscript? If so, why? Do you tailor your manuscripts based on the agents you send to? If so, how? Lastly, where's your go-to resource for agent information?

Curious minds want to know!

In Miniature: Writing for Kids

by Cat Woods

Over the weekend, my youngest son played baseball. Usually this isn't a big deal. We've been watching our boys hit the sticks for over a decade. But this went beyond normal. Youngest played in an All Star tourney against other teams. He swung his bat, scooped the ball and donned catcher's gear.

It was big person baseball in miniature. The whole thing was too cute for words and evoked warm fuzzies that are almost too hard to describe. Maybe the picture will help.

Little boys playing in the big league. When Youngest first got invited to be on the team, I scoffed. "They're so little. They don't have the experience or ability to play a real game."

Writers of juvenile literature are guilty of this same thing. We underestimate our target audience. We see picture books with their small word counts and think, "Ha! I can do that."

We pen ridiculous rhymes about Carlos the Croaking Cricket onto a page and call it good. After all, writing for kids is easy, right?

Wrong!

Picture books, chapter books and middle grade literature are not short cuts to getting published. In fact—as a writer who's had short stories, articles and poetry pubbed in the adult market and nada in the juvie field—I'd venture to say that getting a byline in the kidlit arena is more difficult than pubbing for big people.

The reason? Kids are big people in miniature. They can hit the ball, round the base, tag a runner and read a book—or at least listen to one—just like the grownups they hope to someday become.

They are not less worthy of reading a well-crafted story than adults are. Likely, they require far more from their favorite authors than we big leaguers do from our own. Like adults, they demand quality characters and amazing story arcs—in far fewer words than the latest Grisham novel.

CAT'S QUICK TIPS ON PINT-SIZED WRITING

• Characterization: a cutesy name doth not create character connection. Clara the Caterpillar is no more a story than Hannibal Lector. Clara needs strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and a personality that draws kids in. Kids may be accepting and make friends easily, but they are not shallow. They want a character they can relate to—and since their experiences are limited by time on this earth and not limited by a supressed imagination, this is a tall order for writers.
  
• Word Choice: writing a fraction of the words isn't easier. In fact, it is much more difficult. Writers have to say the same thing in a clear and concise way. Every single word counts. Literally. Today's picture book market trends to 500 words, while chapter books top out around 10,000. Writers simply cannot afford to pad their manuscripts with extra words. Verbs must be strong. Adverbs non-existent.
  
• Description: so how do we evoke strong images without the padding? A lot of it has to do with illustration. When text pairs with pictures, a fuller story can be told. Writers don't need to describe red shirts with blue stripes. The illustrator can fill in those spaces for young readers. Seems simple, but description goes beyond an adjective or two. Think of how often the gentle fall breeze rustles the leaves as evening dawns against a pinkened sky in your favorite novels. In kidlit, virtually all description is purple prose.
  
• Emotional Content: children don't want fluff. They want stories that evoke a full range of emotions. They want to laugh, cry, scream and squeal. They love hiding their faces under the covers or in Daddy's shirt. In other words, they want the good stuff just like you and I.
  
• Story Arc: simply telling a story about a night crawler, a pirate or a lost dog isn't enough. Like big people, miniature peeps demand a conflict and a resolution. In 500 words (sometimes less), a story must still have a protagonist, antagonist, character growth and a satisfying climax. Not to mention that kids love plot twists and stories with unexpected endings.
  
• Theme: teach, but don't preach. Can you imagine the strike that would follow if authors pumped out novel after novel of moralistic tales? Ones that shove the theme in your face over and over again? Concept books can be a great addition to a child's library, but all books should be pleasurable to read. Kids are not dumb. Their vocabularies may be smaller (maybe), but their ability to comprehend a well-crafted story is the same as ours. Their bull-shit meter is also highly sensitive. They can sniff out and reject moral lessons faster than the Devil himself in Sunday School.
  
• Vocabulary: as long as we're on the topic, books are a great place to stretch a child's vocabulary. Instead of a boat, can Clara sail a sloop? Children use context clues to decipher meanings. This skill is invaluable to readers of all age groups—adults included. If writers don't stretch audience vocabularies, readers will never grow in ability and skill. This is a particular loss for kids, as childhood is the window of opportunity for language development.
  
• Rhythm: as many picture books and chapter books are read aloud, a certain lyrical cadence must be present. The words must roll off the tongue and not stop the flow. Readers shouldn't stumble all over themselves to spit out a slew of sloppy sentences and poorly penned paragraphs. You've probably heard that writers have an inner ear for great sentence structure and lyrical writing. Books in miniature showcase this fine-tuning. BTW, alliteration can almost always alter an anecdote's rhythm.
  
• Rhyme: this is likely the biggest no-no for beginning kidlit writers. I scream this from the housetops: the story comes first. Write the best story you can, with amazing characters and great story arcs that teach subtle lessons. Only then are you allowed to rhyme. If a story lacks any of the above components, end rhymes are not going to save it.
  

As you can see, writing in miniature is more than cutting word counts and penning tales for tots. It is creating solid, well-crafted stories in fewer words for a discerning audience.

I am happy to admit my assumptions were wrong about our Pint-Sized Players. Who knew seven-year-olds could work as a team and make honest-to-goodness double plays? I didn't, but I do now.

So, fellow scribes, what words of wisdom do you have for writing in miniature? How is writing for children different than writing for adults? What is the same? If you write for kids, what appeals to you about the process? What is the most difficult aspect, in your opinion?

Critique Clinic

by Cat Woods

I won't lie to you, sometimes getting feedback from critique partners can stink worse than a riled-up midget skunk. Sometimes it makes us want to fling ourselves to the ground and pummel our fists onto the floor.

Is all feedback good feedback? No...and yes.

No, not all commentary on a piece will resonate with the writer, and not all feedback works with the writing style or the story. However, every single snippet of feedback can, and should, allow writers to see their work from a fresh perspective. Because not every reader will get the same message from our words, we need to pull on our big-girl panties and learn how to gracefully accept and use critique and commentary.

Please enjoy the snippets from seasoned writers and learn how feedback shaped their writing.

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS: A crucial scene in an agented writer's manuscript didn't ring true to a crit partner who works in the juvenile court system. Having his young MC detained overnight in a jail cell would never happen in real life based on the story events. And yet it was imperative that she would be locked up and supervised to make her escape appear magical. Our diligent writer had to tweak the scene to make it believable for all the hoodlums who would know the system and call him out as a liar.

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK: One writer--finishing up her soon-to-be published book—needed group discussion questions. She found a beta reader who is active in the kind of book clubs where she envisions her book being read. This helped her weed out redundant questions, as well as those that typically shut down a book club discussion.

Successful juvenile lit author, Donna Jo Napoli, once stated at an SCBWI conference that she "bribes" kids with a box of chocolate to read her WIPs. They are allowed—nay, encouraged—to quit reading whenever they feel like it. Her only caveat is that they must tell her exactly where they stopped reading. Not why, but where. In this way, she can pinpoint where her writing fails to engage her audience.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: An agented writer told how she used a sounding board of fellow scribes to help her brainstorm motives for her MC. The complaint by critters had been a lack of overall character oomph. The only thing that kept an otherwise delightful MC going was...well, hmmmm...so, the writer talked through her problem and hit upon a motive that resonated within the heart and soul of her MC—an unrealized pregnancy. No longer does she pine for love, but she has a reason to move forward. Her broken heart forced her to make choices she never would have made otherwise. All of which drastically changed the way readers perceived her MC.

UPPING THE ANTE: One MG writer told how crit group commentary changed the payment of the vet bill in his story from Dad's checkbook to the contents of the MC's piggy bank. By creating a scenario where the MC had to gamble with her pennies instead of her dad's paycheck, she felt the pinch. All of a sudden, she had a decision to make and a stake in the outcome. This gave readers something real to connect with—ah, yes, we've all had to weigh our spending habits carefully—and something to root for where the MC was concerned.

SEQUENCING: Have you ever tried to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg? A chapter book writer described her timeline faux pas. A mad mama who assaulted a grumpy king for calling her family a demeaning name. Yet the king didn't actually shout his expletive until after his toes had been smacked. "Hmmm," said Writer's Agent, "how does this work again?" And so, the scene was rewritten to create a believable timeline.

BOOKSHELF BLUNDER: An amazingly gifted storyteller once tried to sell her crit group a false bill of goods. Within the first few paragraphs it became apparent the manuscript was not a middle grade novel, but rather begged to reside on the shelves in the adult section of the book store. Listen up if more than one reader hints that a manuscript is something "other." Weigh a critter's words carefully, and be prepared to take your writing in an unexpected direction.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Winter-worn tar roads aren't the only things that need filling. Sometimes our manuscripts have more plot holes and missed opportunities than we dream possible. A journalist/aspiring novelist described how his crit group almost unanimously cried out for a key character to have an affair. All the signs were present from the first chapter and yet he was the only one who didn't see the growing attraction and potential hook-up. Whether the affair actually happens or not remains to be seen, but the writer is now aware of the vibes these characters were sending out and has consciously incorporated these feelings into the plot.

There is nothing wrong with honest feedback. It's how we handle the information that counts. Click here to see the actual evolution of a critiqued passage—pre and post feedback. To get a better understanding of how feedback affects writers and what to do with those feelings, stick around for RC's words of wisdom on wearing those big-girl panties (slated for Monday).

What feedback have you received that drastically changed a portion of your manuscript? How has feedback from crit partners helped your writing? How do you know what to accept and what to reject in terms of crit commentary?

And to answer Wednesday's question: will a crit partner lay down his/her life for you? Darn right. When things kick into high gear and agent requests roll in or edits are due to publishers, it’s important to have at least one critter who will literally set aside their real life to read an entire novel on a moment’s notice. Deadlines can be tight in this business and writers need to count on their buddies.

Hooray for Series!

by Cat Woods

As some of you know, I attended an amazing writer's conference last month.  One of the things I learned and promised to cover more in depth was how series are it.  IF they are done well. 

THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Series are easier to see in a bookstore.  A single title takes up a very small space on the shelf compared to a line of books in a series.  This is particularly true for chapter books.  Visually, the sheer number of volumes draws the eyes to a series.  Bingo.  Our books have been seen.
• Series are familiar.  Young readers and reluctant adult readers tend to gravitate toward series where the world and characters are familiar.  Anyone who read Harry Potter knew what to expect.  Every time they cracked open a new book, they were greeted with charming Ron, intelligent Hermione and mischievous Harry.  With little to no effort, readers were drawn back into a comfortable world. 
• Series are family.  Because we are so familiar with the characters in a series, they become like a family to us.  Readers quickly become invested in the lives of their beloved characters.  Every new title in a series is like a family reunion where we can rejoice and commiserate with long lost rellies.  
• Series allow readers to be part of the group.  Let's face it, kids aren't the only ones who want the secret knock to the clubhouse.  It is the human condition to want to belong, to be taken along on the adventure of a lifetime, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  A series is an invitation to join a secret club.  It satisfies our need to fit in.

While shelf space may call to a reader in the bookstore and be the reason a series is first noticed, the familiarity and sense of family keeps readers coming back to buy the next volume and the next.  So how in the heck do we write one? 

TOP TIPS TO DRAW READERS IN

• Character Connections.  A successful series must have a group of characters or family, if you will.  This group mentality reinforces the desire for readers to fit in.  It also allows the writer to reach a broader audience by creating multiple, strong personalities within the core group.  When readers can assimilate with a character, they will feel more comfortable joining the fun.  Harry Potter has the geeky side-kick, the brainiac, the misfit and the bully.  A favorite character for every reader.
• Consistency.  A consistent world or home base allows readers—particular young readers—the freedom to explore while returning to the comfort of home.  This consistency is extremely important in fantasy and scifi where the world has complex rules, innovative creatures and interesting landscapes.  
• Concept driven.  More than anything, a successful series must have a concept that readers can quickly identify with.  With a series, our concept, or hook, should only be one sentence.  Period.  Two children enter their favorite tree house and time travel to different adventures.  A young wizard must learn to control his magical powers and defeat his late parents' adversary or die trying.  Okay, not perfect, but you get the picture.   If we can't summarize our series in one sentence, we may have to rethink our projects. 

TOP TIPS FOR WRITING A SUCCESSFUL SERIES

• Create multiple points of entry.  A series must have many layers that can open up to a new story idea.  Unlike a single title or a trilogy, many series have indefinite end points.  The story itself is renewable in scope.  Readers can be voracious, and a writer's job is to supply unique and interesting stories to feed this appetite.  A successful series provides the potential for new problems and off-shoots for new stories.  The series writer has to look at the whole forest when writing instead of focusing on a specific tree.
• Create multiple story arcs.  To be exact, the series itself must have an overall arc, as does each individual book within the series.  In other words, each book must introduce a conflict that is satisfactorily resolved at the end of the book.  Yet the series itself must also introduce a conflict that takes the entire series to resolve.  Throughout the entire series, the characters must change and grow, and eventually overcome the obstacle that initiated the series in the first place.  Yowzer.  How's that for complex?
• Be prepared to ride the wave.  If you haven't figured out by this point, writing a series takes a lot more time, energy and organization than writing a single title.  Because of this, writers must be dedicated to the craft of writing.  Did you know that a series releases anywhere from 1-4 books per year depending on age group and genre?  To maintain reader enthusiasm, books must appear on the shelves frequently and consistently.  Deadlines must be adhered to and writers must write, edit and promote multiple projects at any given time.  If you don't love, love, love your characters, do not pitch a series, as nobody can predict the longevity of one.  For example, The Boxcar Children is Albert Whitman's top seller and has 127 books in the series.

So we have amazing characters, a broad story arc and the commitment to write as many books as it takes to resolve our overall conflict.  How do we pitch our newest concept to an agent?

TOP TIPS ON PITCHING A SERIES

• Write the first book.  Seriously.  As successful series writer, Lin Oliver stated, "Nobody cares about your idea in publishing.  They care about the execution."  Get that first book written.  Make sure it stands alone, yet leaves a hint of great things to come. 
• Pitch your first book as a stand alone with a series potential.  From what I gleaned from several speakers, agents and editors don't need to be told a manuscript is the first book in a series.  They can usually pick out the potential simply by the style of writing and the whiff of something deeper that needs to be explored.  If you have done your job well, they should be delighted to learn you've thought ahead.  However, we shouldn't fear mentioning the potential in a query letter.  We just have to do it right.  NO: This is the first in a series of six.  YES: This stand alone project has the potential as the first book in a series.  I have completed my series proposal should you be interested in looking it over.  For more series query tips, click here (Agent Query Connect) and see what editor Kristen Weber has to say. 
• Write a killer proposal.  This includes providing a broad overview of the characters, the world and the overall story arc, as well as sample plots for future volumes.  Ms. Oliver cautioned that if we can only come up with three or four ideas, we do not have a series.

BONUS INFO

• Series are an investment.  A successful series creates a life for itself. 
• Series represent a property or franchise that creates future, renewable success.
• Series can make a publishing company. 
• Series are prone to being exploited in film or on television. 

The moral of the bonus info?  Keep your subsidiary rights.  I repeat.  Keep your subsidiary rights if at all possible.

Now that you know why a series can be a powerful gig in the writing biz, it is only fair to warn you that they are also one of the hardest projects for an aspiring writer to break in with.  It's hard enough for publishers to take a chance on a debut novelist.  Contracting for multiple books can be extremely risky.  If we want an editor to pick up our series, our ideas and the execution of them must be phenomenal.     

So, does your series idea have what it takes?  What do you think of the time commitment and expectations for creating a successful series?