Donna - out on submission with agent, Mary Kole
Talia - out on submission with agent, Sarah Davies
Katy- working on edits with agent, Catherine Drayton. Hoping to go out on submission in the next month.
Veronica- submitted edits back to agent, Josh Adams. Hoping to go out on submission after Labor Day.

The Nevada SCBWI ran its first mentorship program in 2006.  The idea formed, depending on who you talk to, either in a cab or in a hotel room, but both Ellen Hopkins and Suzanne Morgan Williams agree that they started it to help “almost there” writers and illustrators get “all the way there”.

How do you find/choose mentors?

Suzanne Morgan Williams:  Some of our mentors are published Nevada authors and some are friends of Ellen's and mine.  At first they almost volunteered their time. Now we’ve reached the point where published people approach us about wanting to be mentors. We try to include people who are well connected in the publishing industry and always require a person be a generous, effective teacher. We try to create a faculty that will be fun, easy going, and balanced personality wise.

How do you find/choose mentees?

Ellen Hopkins:  Originally, most were our local SCBWI members, but the word got out around the larger organization, so we now get applications from around the country and even from other countries. It is a juried program, so mentors choose to work with the people they feel best able to help move forward (and upward).

Interviewer’s aside:  On this note, I asked Suzanne Morgan Williams to share her own story with us.

Ellen and I not only get to accept the mentees for each program, we have the difficult task of turning away many applicants. I know how discouraging that can be and that it can be seen as one more rejection.  It helps for me to share that I was not accepted to our first program. The applications are numbered as they come in and are sent to the mentors for their selection without names. No one knew they were rejecting the RA in charge. But they did. Fortunately, I was the next person in line to be selected – an alternate – so when one of Terri Farley’s mentees was unable to attend the retreat, she offered to mentor me for that last weekend. I stepped in as the alternate. Terri read my novel in two days before the weekend and was a great advocate for me. I was able to read during her group’s time with our guest editor, and the result was the publication of my novel, Bull Rider in 2009. You never know where this journey will lead.

Why is it important to you to help “pre-published” writers and illustrators improve their craft?

Ellen Hopkins:  Children's publishing is a special arena, and helping talented writers and illustrators find their way into it is extremely rewarding. When I was searching for where I belonged in this industry, our local SCBWI helped me. It's simply returning that gift.

Suzanne Morgan Williams:  I love great stories, I love art, I love teaching. SCBWI is in the business of supporting people’s dreams and their careers. I’ve gained so much from this group and it’s been delightful to help develop a community of talented writers and illustrators, connected with Nevada SCBWI, whose purpose is to create wonderful books. I think the community is the most important. When we feel safe and supported we can let our creativity soar and our words and colors work their magic.

What is the best thing about the program for you personally?

Suzanne Morgan Williams:  This program requires a lot of work. The mentors work hard. The mentees struggle and revise and rewrite, recreate again. If you do it right it takes a major commitment. And then at the end, when we gather for the final weekend, we get to see the results. That weekend all the detailed planning, explaining, listening and critiquing are worth it. It’s such a magic time. That’s the best. And later, hearing the results come in from past mentees – that’s pretty cool too.

Ellen Hopkins: When people go through the program, they become more than SCBWI members. They become friends. And they keep coming back to Nevada because of the friendships that have developed. The best people in the world you could have for friends are children's writers and illustrators!

How do you find time to write, run the Nevada SCBWI, the mentorship program, and be a mentor yourself?  (not to mention school visits, conferences, family, etc.)

Ellen Hopkins:  I have no clue. Really. When things matter, you get them done. I prioritize as best I can. And on the SCBWI end, having Suzy as a co-RA makes it all work. When I'm gone, she takes care of things and when she's off and running, I do the best I can to fill her very big shoes.

Suzanne Morgan Williams:  Not sure. Working on it.  : )  I do love all of the above. That helps.

From my experience, just going through the program feels like an incredible achievement, but from a publishing industry standpoint, what are some “success” stories from the program?

Suzanne Morgan Williams:  The measureable success stories are posted on our website. Fran Cannon Slayton’s When the Whistle Blows, Philomel, 2009, mentor Ellen Hopkins; Suzanne Morgan Williams’ (that’s me) Bull Rider, Margaret K. McElderry, 2009, mentor, Terri Farley; Lindsay Eland’s Scones and Sensibility, Egmont USA, 2010, mentor Bruce Hale; Holly Thompson’s Orchards, Delacorte/Random House, 2010, mentor Esther Hershenhorn; Tracy Clark, winner of SCBWI Work in Progress Grant, The Circle Journal, now with Michael Bourret agent, mentors Ellen Hopkins and Susan Hart Lindquist. Additionally, people who’ve gone through our mentor programs and retreats, and who we count as “ours” include, Jackie Pynaert, now with agent Josh Adams, mentors Linda Sandoval and Terri Farley; Katherine Longshore, now with agent Catherine Drayton mentor, Susan Hart Lindquist; and from our spring Tahoe Novel retreat, Kelly Sheahan and Veronica Rossi were both nominated for the Sue Alexander Award at this year’s SCBWI LA Conference, and Veronica Rossi is now with agent Josh Adams. Honestly, there’s no way to know how much we are helping people with their writing and careers and how much of this is the program’s attracting great writers and illustrators. It’s probably both, but we are honored and just a little proud to count all these talented people as part of the Nevada SCBWI family.

Three programs have run to completion “graduating” almost 60 mentees.  A fourth program has already begun.  

Anyone interested in applying for the mentorship program will need to have a finished manuscript by the end of 2011.  Keep an eye on the Nevada SCBWI website and follow them on Twitter @NVSCBWI

Last week I talked a little about the Blueboard and its founder, the lovely Verla Kay.  Verla is a children's book author and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.  She was gracious enough to allow me to interview her.  So without further ado, I give you Verla Kay!

Verla Kay writes historical picture books in a special kind of poetry she calls "cryptic rhyme."  She has sold a total of eleven picture books, two of which are still "in the works."  All nine of the books that have been published have received recognition, including "Tattered Sails, which was named a "Child's Best Book of the Year" by Child Magazine. The text from “Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails” is in a 2nd grade social studies program in schools. “Rough, Tough Charley,” is on the 2008 Amelia Bloomer Project list of recommended feminist literature for young readers and her newest book, "Whatever Happened to the Pony Express?" is getting very favorable reviews and acclaim from many sources.

Verla Kay's website <http://www.verlakay.com/>, which she designed and maintains herself, has twice been named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer's Digest.  Her message board page gets an average of between 800,000 and one million hits per month. It currently has over 1500 registered members.  In the past few years, the “Blueboard” has become almost an icon for children’s writers and illustrators.

When/How did the Blueboard come about?

First, let me say that I had no clue when I put up this message board that it would grow to the immense size it is today! When I first started my website on February 18, 1998, it was with the hope that it would someday help other struggling writers get some easier answers than I did. We had a very active chat room in those days, and many of the workshops and chat sessions ended up on the Transcripts page of the website. (They are still there for anyone that wants to read them. Information might be a bit dated in places but most of it is still very apt for today's writers.) As the website grew in size, I decided it needed to have a message board, so I put one up. But almost no one visited it. If it got one message a month posted on it, that was a big deal! Eventually, after a year or so, I took it down, due to lack of interest. 

Later, looking back at that first abortive message board, I realized one of the major reasons it didn't "take" was because it was so difficult to use. It was filled with pop-up ads, and messages took FOREVER to load, create, and post, so no one wanted to use it. After searching the web for weeks, I finally found the SimpleMachines website, which is what my message board is now on. For a flat fee, I could buy an ad-free message board. So I did, and on September 1, 2003, the message board made its debut. People immediately started calling it the "Blueboard" because there was another message board on the web that was affectionately known as the "Yellow" board and many of the same people frequented both boards. 

I'm always amazed at how supportive and positive the Blueboard stays.  How do you keep things positive?

When I started the Blueboard, I knew immediately that I didn't want to allow ANY flame wars on it. (I was still smarting from being badly flamed on another message board.) I wanted it to be a "safe" place for people to post. One where folks didn't have to worry about anyone jumping down their throat for saying something someone else disagreed with. I also realized I could never do this all by myself. So... the board's Mod Squad was born. I spent about a week looking at the messages posted on the board and when I'd identified the most frequent posters that were tactful, friendly, and sensitive to other people's feelings, I emailed each of them, asking if they would like to volunteer to be moderators.  Some said, "Yes!" and some said, "No, thanks. I'm too busy," or "I'm not interested." Thus the first Moderators came to be. Later, as the board gained in size and popularity, some of the Moderators were moved up to Administrators and new Moderators were added. Today there are 6 active Administrators (including me) and 12 Moderators that all work diligently to keep the message board running smoothly.

It's important for people to know that there is NO COMPENSATION of any kind for being a Moderator or Administrator of the message board. There is a cost every month to have the stable bandwidth to put this board on, there was a fee for the client used to put the board up ad-free and there's a yearly fee in order to keep the board client updated. All these costs incurred in the creation and continuation of this board are paid by me. There's no fee for anyone to join the board or be a part of it. That's all donated by me. The Administrators and Moderators donate their time and energy (and yes, sometimes their sanity, too!) to keep the Blueboard a safe, friendly place for everyone.

Are there qualifications for joining?  What are they?

The only requirements for joining the board are that you are interested in children's literature, that you are not a spammer, and that you "play nice" on the board. People who want to talk about religion, politics, or play flame war games are "encouraged" to go elsewhere to post. We only allow a friendly atmosphere on the board and people who can't abide by that aren't allowed to post on the board.

Can you share a Blueboard success story?

Many people have expressed their thanks for different ways the message board has helped them. Probably the best way to answer this is to send you to a thread on the Blueboard that addresses this exact subject. It's three pages long and is titled:  How Has the Blueboard Helped You?

http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=37717.0

What other interests do you have?

I love many things! I decorate cakes for fun -- see the marvelous wedding cake I made recently for my grandson! 

http://www.verlakay.com/page9/page22/page22.html

I love playing computer games (but not the "shoot-em-up" kind - I like adventure, mind teasing games) and my favorite is an online game called Puzzle Pirates. I can be found on the ocean of Midnight many nights in my pirate persona of "Ramboetta," sailing on a ship on the high seas. Battles with enemy ships are fought via a Tetris-style game, as are all the other activities done on the ships and in the island shops.

Fishing, cooking, and reading are three more of my favorite activities. I also love scrapbooking, although it's been a long time since I've had access to my huge supply of scrapbook materials. They've been in storage for 6 years! I finally got them out a few months ago, but haven't had time yet to play with them. But I will....

And of course, I love to write! At the moment, I'm in between stories. I'm hard at work on a WWII POW story that is totally non-fiction and completely different from any of my rhyming picture books. It's an amazing story and I hope to have it done and submitted to different markets before the end of this year.

What books do you have coming out?

Next summer, in 2011, "Hornbooks & Inkwells" will be coming out via Putnam. I just recently got to see the first proofs and it's going to be a marvelous book. It's illustrated by S.D. Schindler, who also illustrated my "Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails" and "Gold Fever" books. It's a fun story of two brothers attending a one-room schoolhouse in the 1700's. Children will delight in seeing how different (and in some cases alike) school was then compared to today.

In 2012, "Civil War Drummer Boy" will be released. This shows children the Civil War through a drummer boy's eyes and if the very rough sketches I've seen (illustrated by Larry Day) are any indicator of how this book will be when it's finished, it's going to be another winner for sure! 

Both of these books are written in my signature style of rhyme that I call Cryptic Rhyme -- short, terse, cryptic verses -- hence my name for them.

Any advice for writers who are dipping their toes into the internet?

If you want a site that will draw people to it, you have to give them a reason to visit your site. Who do you want to visit  your site? Kids? Adults? Teens? Why would they want to come to your site? Why will they want to come back? What would make them want to share your site with other people?  Look long and hard at what is out there now, and figure out what you can offer that will be attractive to them. What information, service, or content can you offer on your site that will make people will want to visit it over and over again?

Once you have decided on the "theme" for your site, then you have to commit to updating it frequently enough so people will continue to visit it. It's a big job to have a website, but it can help you get "name" recognition, it can help you promote yourself and your books, and it's almost a necessity in today's fast-paced internet world. Almost everyone depends on the internet today for research, information and even communication with others. 

Learn from what others have done, figure out a way to make your site special and then "Go for it!"

Anything else you think readers should know about the Blueboard?

The message board is set up with more than one level and the next level of the board is not discernible until a person has been given permission to have access to  that level. This means that while visitors are allowed to read the basic board, they are not allowed to post until they register for the board. This helps to keep "Drive-by" Spammers off the board.  Once a person has registered and been personally approved by one of the Administrators of the board, then there will be additional boards that were invisible to them as visitors. These boards, including the Response Times boards of publishers, agents, and editors, are "perks" for people who are committed enough to want to join the Blueboard community.

It's important for people to know that I regularly go through the board registrations and eliminate inactive people from the forum. It isn't necessary for people to actually post messages to stay active, but they do need to log onto the message board at least once every 90 days in order to stay active. Over 9000 people have registered for the message board since it started in 2003. Today there are over 1600 active members on the board - a good number of them from the first day the board began. :-)

If you are a writer, illustrator or are otherwise interested in children's literature and you have never visited the Blueboard <http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php> be sure to stop by sometime and stick your toe in the water. You might just find you love it! 

As I mentioned in last week’s posting, I think of the Big Sur Children’s Writing Workshop as a pivotal experience in my writing career. I also consider Andrea Brown, co-director of the conference, to be my writing fairy godmother. Andrea probably has no idea, but she provided the encouragement and push I needed to finish my first middle grade novel, Boob Blogs. She was kind, tough and insightful. Who would have thought with her amazing experience in the publishing world she would have still have such a heart for new authors?

Andrea Brown is the President of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. Founded in New York City in 1981, it was the first literary agency to represent both children's book authors and illustrators. Prior to opening her own firm, Andrea was an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, and worked in the editorial departments of Random House and Dell. In 1990, she moved her literary agency to Northern California. Among their many published clients, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency represents New York Times Bestselling authors like Maggie Stiefvater, Jay Asher, and Ellen Hopkins. In addition, the agency also represents future New York Times Bestsellers like… ME :)

Andrea is also the Executive Director of the Big Sur Writing Workshops. This week I’m grateful to have Andrea respond to a few questions regarding Big Sur.

Why would a literary agency organize a writing conference? Isn't that a bit unusual?
Big Sur writing workshops began 13 years ago after I met Erin Gafill (family owns Nepenthe in Big Sur) at a writing conference in Fresno. She hooked me up with the Henry Miller Library to start a workshop as she was a writer and artist, and very involved with the Big Sur community. So, it was never, and still does not, have any formal affiliation with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. It is just me personally who is a co-director, along with the Henry Miller Library, who is the formal sponsor.

How do you select the faculty?
Over the years, as my agency has grown, I have just invited more and more of my agents to act as faculty, and as luck would have it, many of my agents have found great talent there and signed up many new clients from the workshops. We have had other agents attend in the past, such as Donald Maass, Erin Murphy and others. Now that I have 8 other agents, it just makes sense to mostly have ABLA agents there. They love it and they are great teachers. I choose all the faculty and try to find editors, and authors who are fabulous writers/editors as well as nice, approachable people. We want to create an informal, pleasant, fun and enlightening experience for everyone and since we work closely together all weekend, it is important to have people around who are a joy to be with and work with. New York editors are now begging me to bring them out to Big Sur as they love coming and getting to do what they really love about the business—work with new writers to polish their works. So, we have editors signed up into next year already.

Both the December and March workshops will focus only on juvenile books. We used to handle adult books at the March one as well as juveniles, not any longer. December 5th weekend will be at the Big Sur Lodge and the March 5 weekend will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey as some people want the conveniences of a new hotel and some want the rugged Big Sur experience.

What makes Big Sur different from other writing conferences?
What is special about our workshops are that each writer has his/her own individualized unique weekend. No two are the same. Miracles have happened and we have about 27 success stories now. We focus all weekend on just the manuscripts—with some panels and information on the markets, business end, etc. but it is all about the craft.

What advice would you give to someone attending for the first time?
I would suggest that new writers coming to Big Sur have at least a partial manuscript ready to work on, decide what areas need the most work/revision and come prepared for anything. Some writers totally change their books. Some realize they need to write a different category/genre. Some work only on polishing the first chapter to make it ready to show.

So check it out for yourself. Maybe you’ll meet your writing fairy godmother at Big Sur.
You never know.

Big Sur Writing Workshops For Children’s Books from Picture books to Young Adult fiction. December 3 - 5, 2010 in Big Sur.
March 4 - 6, 2011 in Seaside/Monterey.

I'm not just the Thursday girl, I'm also supposed to be the Third Friday girl, but unfortunately, I was "out of the office" (read:  at the beach) and therefore am blogging a bit late.

I just wanted to make an addendum to my last post about the Nevada mentorship program.  Not only is it held in lovely Nevada, not only are the mentors brilliant and able, but you also meet some of the most wonderful, up-and-coming childrens' authors and illustrators in the world (we had mentees come from Canada and Japan, as well as from all over the United States)

Susan Hart Lindquist not only read, commented on and held my hand through a grueling six-month process, but she did the same (possibly minus the hand-holding) to two other writers.   Tracy Clark, who writes edgy contemporary YA and, I hear, brilliant dystopian YA as well.  And Karen Langford, who blogs in character at Baltazar Fish Egypt Diaries.  Check them out.