Encounter: Arthur A. Levine of Scholastic

The Year Editors Forbade Bathroom Manuscript Pitches, and a Run-In with Arthur Levine of the Scholastic Imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books:

Editors at the SCBWI 2005 Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles warned against pitching a manuscript to them in the bathroom.  Yes, really.  I did just type that.  The bathroom.

"Don't pass your manuscript to me under the stall," one editor said, "because you know what it will be used for!"

It's no surprise authors take advantage of any face time they can get.  If you've never attended a Los Angeles conference, you must!  The conferences are highly energized, inspiring, and great for networking.  The 2005 conference had a marked air about it that screamed "This Is My Chance!"

The editors were there.  Real ones.  Not cloaked behind a labyrinth of receptionists and email servers.  And everyone was dying to touch the fine hairs at the tip of one particular sacred cloak.  The cloak of Arthur A. Levine.

It was Harry Potter season, and here was a real live Scholastic editor.  The MAN who EDITED Harry Potter for the U.S.!  Maybe he will see me!  Maybe he will love my book!  Maybe he will put right the wrongs of writing without pay!  Maybe he will reach down and say, "Well done, good and faithful second-year college student who is dying to work in publishing."  (That would be me.)  "Come walk by my side!"

Despite the warnings against being rude, I hovered.  I couldn't follow him into the bathroom, of course, so I watched from a distance and looked for my chance to sneak in.

Levine was cornered in an unofficial "line" of attendees waiting to speak with him.  The "line" happened to look a lot like a swarm.  A swarm in which all participants note whose right of way it is at a bajillion-way intersection and itch to be next.  Unfortunately for me, Levine was on a precious break between sessions and looked ready to slip away.  Behind him loomed a cold metal elevator.

Finally, it was my turn to speak to him next.  Really, it was.  That's when another attendee slipped in front of me and launched into the most desperate pitch I've ever heard.  Again, I'm not hatin'.  But establishing a rapport with an editor and THEN sending him your writing is better than pitching your book straight off.  An editor cannot know the quality of the writing until he reads it.

Ding!  The cold elevator doors slid open and locked into position with a subtle shudder.  Levine stepped inside.  He could disappear!  My chance to ask a Real Life New York Editor about his job was dangerously close to disappearing!

So, I did something very obnoxious.  I followed Levine and his lamprey author into the elevator.

Ding!
Lift.
Floor 2.  (Chatter, chatter from the lamprey author.)
Ding!
Lift.
Floor 3.
Ding!
Lift.
Floor 4.  (Talk talk talk.)
Ding!
Lift.
Floor 5.
Ding!

Lift.

(Finally, a short pause.)

Floor 6.
Ding!

Levine exited the elevator and turned around to face the two of us.  His body language prevented us from following him to his room, which was a smart move.

He looked at me.

"Do you like your job?" I said, very softly.

His face changed.

"I love my job," he said.  "I love making books."

He stepped away.  The doors closed behind him.

It was a very quiet ride down.

5 Avoidable Cover Letter Blunders

We've all sat down to write that one-chance, first-impression letter to someone we admire. Editors, agents, and prospective employers are all recipients of our love mail: The Cover Letter. Let me share some avoidable blunders I've found in my perpetual days of reading.


Top 5 Cover Letter Blunders:


#1: A Disgruntled Voice

The mood you are in while writing the cover letter will shine through. So, write after you've just had the tastiest meal of your life, made by an endearing husband/brother/friend, in a land where dirty dishes disappear and reincarnate as clean ones in your cupboard.


#2: Not Enough Information or Materials

Have a stellar bibliography. Better yet, have an expert in the field read your work for accuracy. Your editor will pee a little bit when some verification has already been done. Verification of facts can be important in fiction, too.

Make it easy for the editor to respond to you! Rachelle Gardner, literary agent, prefers a signature with a first and last name so she knows how to address you. Initials don't convey gender, and that's nervewracking. Mr.? Mrs.? Ms.? Miss? Dr.? Professor? Knight? Queen? Dignitary?!


#3: Annoying Typeface

Ouch! Small type hurts. Your reader might not realize she's squinting, but it will surely affect her concentration and patience.

Use serif fonts. Serifs are the little swoops on the edges of letters. They help our brains recognize the letters faster, making for an easier read. Sans serif fonts (without serifs) are reserved for bold titles and billboards. They provide some contrast.


#4: Sending to the Wrong Publisher

I'm a big fan of submitting until your ears bleed. But if you know the publisher would never print your genre, maybe you should just be friends.


#5: Addressing to a General Reader

Addressing your letter to a "general reader," "submissions coordinator," or the like will add one more step to your manuscript's perilous journey. Addressing it to an editor by name will get it straight into her hands. Just quadruple check the spelling of her name!

For books, send to an imprint first. If the imprint says "no," you still have a chance with the main house or its other imprints.



Further reading:

See Harold Underdown's "Getting Out of the Slush Pile" at http://www.underdown.org/slush.htm

See an interview with Arthur Levine of Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine books at http://www.underdown.org/levine.htm

See Rachelle Gardners's blog at http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/ and follow her on Twitter at @RachelleGardner, http://twitter.com/RachelleGardner