Gather round, boys and girls, and prepared to be transported to a magical world of…publishing success. That’s right. Ann Whitford Paul is the proud author of 19 children’s books and a brand-new, uber-helpful tome: “Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication.”

WordHustler was lucky enough to be able to sit down with Ann to ask about her writing experiences, being represented, and getting published…many, many times. Stay tuned at the end of the interview for a special trivia question about children’s books- the winner receives a free copy of Ann’s “Writing Picture Books” (and will be that much closer to children’s book success themselves!).

So here we go! Once upon a time…

WordHustler: How did you get into writing? I know you studied Sociology, then decided to pursue children’s book writing after having your own children. How did you actually go about doing it (getting represented, getting published, etc)?

Ann Whitford Paul: Reading books to my children inspired me to try writing books that other grown-ups and children could share.  I thought since the books were short, they would be easy too.  Ha!  Their briefness is exactly what makes them so difficult.  I wrote for five years before I sold my first book (published in 1986 and long out of print).  I did not work with an agent until after I’d sold my second book.  Since then I’ve had several different agents and am now representing myself.

WH: What were some of your favorite books as a child? What were some of your children’s favorite books?

AWP: My favorite books as a child were THE STORY OF FERDINAND and THE SECRET GARDEN, both of which I still enjoy and my children did too.  Their favorite books were CURIOUS GEORGE and they loved the Russell Hoban’s FRANCES books, too.

WH: Do you feel like there is a big difference between children’s books today and the books you read to your children?

AWP: There’s a huge difference between the books today and the books my kids loved.  First of all, books are much bigger in size and brighter.  Publishers understand that glitzy covers entice customers in bookstores to pick up a book.  Also I think books are much louder and filled with lots and lots of action.  This is a shame.  Children in this noisy and fast-paced world need slower quieter books more than ever.

WH: Besides yourself, of course, who are some of your favorite children’s book writers out there?

[Read more →]

When embarking on the long, winding road to publishing success, it’s easy to feel intimidated. So most writers seek the help of a literary agent, someone who can be a guide, a cheerleader, and most of all, a champion.

Enter Zoe Fishman, literary agent and foreign rights director at Lowenstein-Yost Associates in New York. Zoe is everything you’d want your dream agent to be: smart, savvy (she’s got oodles of publishing, editing, and agenting experience), and best of all, she fights for her clients…in a nice way, of course.

 WordHustler sat down with Zoe to get the real deal on agenting, publishing, and the “next big thing” in the YA book world [hint: it’s not vampires but does involve the afterlife].

So sink your teeth into this juicy interview, and then get your work ready for some immortal success!

WordHustler: Zoe, how did you get your start in the publishing industry?

Zoe Fishman: I majored in English at Boston University, and then I took the 6-week magazine publishing course at NYU. My first job was the assistant to the Audio Publisher at Random House. I then moved to editorial assistant at what was Dell, which eventually became Bantam Dell. Then I wrote for a few websites. That was fun.

WH: Are you a writer?

ZF: I am a writer. I eventually came back to Simon & Schuster to work in foreign rights, which was a completely different thing for me but turned out to be really, really wonderful.

WH: And you do the Foreign Rights here at Lowenstein-Yost, right?

ZF: Yes. At Simon & Schuster I learned so much about business, selling and marketing. Of course, getting to meet people and travel around the world was great. I did that for about five years and got to the point where I missed the editorial a lot, so I thought I would try agenting. I’ve been at Lowenstein-Yost for almost four years.

WH: So missing editorial brought you back to agenting. Were you amassing writers and projects you were passionate about over the years of foreign rights? Did that also help lead you back?

ZF: You know, I have always been a voracious reader and have a lot of editor friends. I’d watch them when they were passionate about a book, and notice the difference between that and being stuck with something they didn’t really want to do.

So when I came in, YA had just started to explode and I love that. I love a good Young Adult novel…and I had some good contacts in that area. So I started with that, and then because I do the foreign rights, there’s not tremendous pressure on me to be a niche agent. If I love the book, I can represent it. And I don’t have a gigantic client list, which is okay. I like that better for both the writer and me.

WH: You represent both YA and adult authors. What draws you to YA? What about an adult book catches your eye?

ZF: I think it’s kind of the same thing: I’m drawn to excellent writing. I think for YA, there’s something about the perspective of a teenager when they’re so not sure of themselves and they have no idea who they really are, that’s compelling because you know all that is ahead of them. You’re rooting for them to truly be an individual.  What I love is when characters are written as ones who you really identify with and feel their struggles.

[Read more →]

We at WordHustler, along with the rest of the world, were saddened to hear of Michael Jackson’s passing today at age 50. But, being the publishing-minded individuals that we are, our thoughts turn to the huge amount of Jackson-centric books that will inevitably flood the literary marketplace in the new few months.

Photo Courtesy of Phil Walter/Getty Images

Searching the book section of Amazon with the keywords of “Michael Jackson” already yields over 20,000 results. So the question is, WordHustlers, how many books do you think will be released about Jackson in the next 3 months? Let us know your guess.

Goodbye to a true Thriller. And good luck with your writing, WordHustlers.

A Southern Writer Never Kisses and Tells: An Interview with Mindy Friddle

Somewhere in a plant-choked garden in South Carolina, journalist-turned-novelist Mindy Friddle is planting some succulents in an old, broken-down cowboy boot. She’s also thinking about characters and scenes for her next novel, giving them space to roam around in her head. Mindy Friddle is the real deal, folks: a bona fide Southern lady and a talented writer to boot (pun completely intended).

WordHustler sat down with Mindy to get a feel for her writing experiences, her personal writing style, and why you have to talk to everyone about your project (answer: because it may just land you your dream agent).

Read on to explore the magical world of Mindy Friddle’s fertile mind!

WordHustler: How did you get your first big break? I know you have a journalism background- what was the first thing you ever published?

Mindy Friddle: I began writing for my college newspaper, and I found I really took to writing features as opposed to hard news.  As a senior in college, I also wrote a poem and had it published in the college literary magazine. I loved the process of writing that poem– figuring out the ideal word, concentrating on imagery. When I graduated, with a very marketable degree in philosophy (ha) I took a job as a newspaper reporter for a tiny weekly newspaper. I covered everything–town council, school board, and business, but still gravitated toward writing features and columns.

A couple of years later, I was in graduate school working on a Master’s and getting certified to teach English, and I took a class with James Dickey and a prose workshop. From then on, it was a matter of mustering the courage to write fiction. I yearned to do it, even in the face of rejection. I wrote some stories, had them turned down, wrote some more, and finally, when I started with an image of a decaying homestead for my first novel, THE GARDEN ANGEL, I was on fire.

I worked on the draft, revised, wrote some more for several years. The story had a momentum of its own. I love when that happens! My first big break– well I was blessed to have several: the first chapter of THE GARDEN ANGEL won an award in my state, and was published in the Charleston newspaper. That was a clipping…my first. Enough to send in a query to an agent, which I later did. A second break– going to Breadloaf Writers Conference, where I met Julianna Baggott, whose first novel GIRL TALK, was coming out, and who struck me as an immensely talented writer and generous person. She’s a friend now, and when I asked her–a stranger really, then–if she was pleased with her agent, she had glowing things to say about the agency, and encouraged me to contact them, and to mention that she sent me. To make a long story short, I queried the agency, sent in my lone “clipping” and the first three chapters. They agreed to work with me.

WH: I know you are an accomplished book reviewer as well as author. What kinds of books are your favorite to review? More so, what type of books are your favorite to read?

MF: I love reviewing books I’ve enjoyed. In fact, I won’t review books that I didn’t like or didn’t connect with for whatever reason. It’s subjective–taste– and life’s too short not to praise books and share them. I’m an eclectic reader and often recommend books on my blog, Novel Thoughts (http://mindyfriddle.blogspot.com/). Some of my all time favorite novels–this is a very partial list: Ironweed by William Kennedy, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, every novel written by Ann Tyler, The White Hotel by DM Thomas, The Hours by Michael Cunningham, The World According to Garp by John Irving, Norwood by Charles Portis, Veronica by Mary Gaitskill, Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Amy and Isabel by Elizabeth Strout, Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo…and lots of Southern faves: Jill McCorkle, Lee Smith, Allan Garganus, Josephine Humphreys, Carson McCullers, Kaye Gibbons, Eudora Welty, Michael Lee West–Crazy Ladies, love it– Fannie Flagg. On and on.

WH: Now for the part everyone wants to hear about: how did you land an agent? Was your first book, THE GARDEN ANGEL, finished at the time? How many agents did you approach before landing one?

[Read more →]

Announcing The May Essay Contest Winners!!!

The time has come to announce the winners of WordHustler’s May Essay Contest, which centered around the prompt: “What Is the Best Birthday Gift You’ve Ever Received and Why?”

It was a tough decision for the folks at WordHustler- from over hundreds of submissions, we selected three Winners and six Honorable Mentions.

Winners:

T. Katz, Canyon Country, CA

Karen Bumpus, Marshfield, MA

Orietta L’Abbate, Virgin Islands

Honorable Mentions:

Janice Moss, Albany, NY

Lea Schizas, Quebec, Canada

Donna Eggert, Tabernacle, NJ

Colleen Collins, Delray Beach, FL

Christopher Eller, Castle Rock, CO

Ruby Thomas, Gurnee, IL

If you didn’t win this time, you still have a chance to enter the Summer Poetry Contest! Look for contest rules HERE.

The three winning essays are posted below. Read on to see how these three WordHustlers shared their most memorable birthdays in an even more memorable way.

[Read more →]

WordHustler’s Summer Poetry Contest: Sun, Fun, and Publishing Success!

UPDATE: Contest Deadline EXTENDED until August 3rd!!!! See below for details!

School is out, as is the sun, so let’s celebrate summer with some fantastic poems. WordHustler’s Summer Poetry Contest is here!  Send us a poem under 300 words that perfectly encapsulates the feel and attributes of summer at its best (or worst).

We will then sort through all the masterpieces and post the best 3 on WordHustlerInk.com*

So get those competitive juices flowing and hit your computer – submissions are due by August 3rd at 12:00pm PST. Go to the the WordHustler Summer Poetry Contest listing in the Contests section of WordHustler’s Markets and submit through our system to win!

There’s a bonus too – not only will the top 3 works be posted right here on WordHustlerInk for all the world to read and enjoy, the winning poets will also get one free submission (up to $5.99 value) each.

See below for Official Rules and Regulations. Good Luck, Hustlers!

*Please Note: “Best” will be determined by the WH team. We are looking for compelling writing that gives us insight to you as a writer and what inspires you to do what you do. Note, the WH team consists of 10 writers with a combined experience of over 80 years in the industry who will determine which work captures the theme the most passionately….

[Read more →]