Hey all you children’s and YA authors out there! Yes, we’re talking to you. Sure, you’ve got a great idea for a kids’ book. Maybe you’ve even written it. But how does your story go from your desk to the Best-Seller shelf at Barnes & Noble? Enter Ben Barnhart: children’s book editor and all-around publishing maven.

Barnhart is the Young Readers Editor at Milkweed Editions, a reputable and innovative children’s book publisher that is “one of the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit literary publishers.” Impressive, no? But let’s get to the part you really want to know: how does a writer become a published Milkweed author? And what does it take to succeed in children’s books?

Sit back and prepare to profit from this nonprofit editor’s fantastic information. You will soon be informed. Very, very informed.

WordHustler: First of all Ben, let’s get some background on you. How long have you been at Milkweed? And what got you into publishing?

Ben Barnhart: I got my start as an intern at Milkweed Editions during the summer of 2000, and stayed on as an editorial assistant. I’m coming up on nine years at the press, though I’ve been acquiring and editing the books for young readers only for the past five years. Coming out of college (I got my B.A. in philosophy from Cedarville College), I knew I liked writing and working with authors from my time as editor of the school’s literary journal. The internship confirmed my interest, and also gave me a sense that I might actually be good at this kind of work.

WH: Why does Milkweed focus on middle grade books? What is it about that age group that really sparks to reading?

BB: Our founding editor and publisher, Emilie Buchwald, started publishing books for middle-grade readers in 1993 after she identified a dearth of serious, literary books for young readers (eight to thirteen years old). Feeling that this was an age where many young readers cement their lifelong love of reading, Milkweed Editions has continued to focus on this age range with an array of titles from historical to contemporary novels. Of course, several years after we started publishing books for these readers, a young boy named Harry Potter changed the literary landscape and made young readers a much more attractive market for many publishers. So we find ourselves with a lot of competition these days.

WH: How many Young Reader books do you publish a year?

BB: We publish between four and six new books each year.

WH: Does Milkweed ever get Young Reader books put on school curriculums? Does a book have to hit a certain level of popularity before it is approved to be read in schools?

BB: Many of our titles are read in the schools, but as far as I know none have been selected as curriculum. Because most of our titles are fiction, they’re often used in conjunction with a specific segment, like Laura E. Williams’ Behind the Bedroom Wall while classes are studying World War II.

WH: Knowing that you obviously love each of the books you publish, what is your favorite Milkweed Young Reader book from 2008 and why? (If you need to be diplomatic, what are your TWO favorite books?)

BB: I do love each of the books I’ve worked on (not unlike children, actually), but my favorite from 2008 is a debut novel: Julie Crabtree’s Discovering Pig Magic. It’s a novel about three young teen girls in California, each struggling with a problem beyond her control. The characters come amazingly alive, with hilarious, spot-on dialogue. It manages to be light-hearted and serious at the same time.

WH: I’ll have to check that out. Now I must ask about what all of our readers want to know: manuscript submissions. How many unsolicited submissions would you say Milkweed Young Readers gets a month? What’s your turnaround time like?

BB: We get about three hundred manuscripts a year, so close to thirty a month. We advertise a maximum turnaround of six months, though I’m uncomfortable having manuscripts around for more than three months. In other words, we do our best to respond to submissions soon, but it will likely take us at least a few months.

WH: As editor, are you drawn to a specific kind or genre of book? Or are your tastes constantly changing?

BB: I wouldn’t say I’m drawn to a specific kind/genre of book, so much as I’m drawn to a book that manages to come alive for me as a reader. That can be almost any kind of book, in my mind: historical, fantasy, contemporary, urban, etc. I’m continually excited by books that push the envelope of young readers’ taste, recently I’ve been very impressed by Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.

WH: What are three things about a query letter or manuscript submission that make you want to read more?

BB: It’s almost impossible for me to develop an interest in a manuscript without actually having a sample of the writing. Having a strong premise and outline is always helpful, but I rarely ask for a manuscript if I don’t get at least a few pages to help me develop a taste for the author’s writing ability.

With the writing sample, I’m looking primarily for a strong character voice. That indicates, to me, the author’s ability to fully inhabit their characters, as well as confidence telling the story. Without those two elements, it’s highly unlikely that a novel will work for us.

[Read more →]

Are you in the market for some holiday reading? Or looking for books to give the reader in your family? Look no further!

Publisher’s Marketplace put together best books of 2008 lists from Amazon.com (their top 25), the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, the New York Times, the National Book Awards finalists, PW, Salon, Time magazine, the Washington Post, plus lists from critics Michiko Kakutani and Janet Maslin to determine the consensus picks from among all the lists (numbers in parenthesis correspond to how many best-of lists the book is on, hence the ties):



Fiction

1. 2666, by Roberto Bolano (Translated by Natasha Wimmer) (8)

2. Netherland, by Joseph O’Neill (6)


3. A Mercy, by Toni Morrison (5)


4. When Will There Be Good News?, by Kate Atkinson (5)


- Lush Life, by Richard Price (5)


- The Likeness, by Tana French (5)


7. Home, by Marilynne Robinson (4)


- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (4)


- Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri (4)


10. Serena, by Ron Rash (4)



Nonfiction


1. The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins (6)


2. This Republic of Suffering, by Drew Gilpin Faust (5)


- The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Reed (5)


4. The Suicide Index: Putting My Father’s Death in Order, by Joan Wickersham (4)


- The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer (4)


- The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, by David Hajdu (4)


- Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, by Mark Harris (4) 



Some interesting facts from Publisher’s Marketplace about the above titles: 


- Aside from Edgar Sawtelle, the only other title on the two lists above to hit No. 1 on a NYT bestseller list was Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth.
- The only two titles that didn’t at least appear for one week on an NYT extended bestseller list are The Hemingses of Monticello and The Suicide Index (this did not appear on any of the nat’l or regional bestseller lists tracked by PM).

- Of these 17 titles, only 4 of the 10 fiction titles and 3 of the 7 nonfiction titles were in the top 10 of an NYT bestseller list for at least one week.

Happy Holiday Reading (and Shopping)!

Do you have a future best-seller brewing in your brain? Why not send a query to Jhumpa Lahiri’s agents at Janklow & Nesbit Associates? They’ve gotten best-sellers published (many times) and maybe yours is next! Good luck and Happy Holidays from your fans at WordHustler!