All You Need is Love
The Beatles, once again, had it right.
Saturday's keynote address at the Loft's Children's and Young Adult Literature Conference by Arthur A. Levine of Arthur A. Levine Books spoke of love, love, love. How does he decide on a manuscript? He asks himself, "Do I love it?"
Is this a book that someone will love to pieces, that will remain on the bookshelf even as an adult, the covers tattered, the pages worn soft?
He spoke of book categories, not so much the genres themselves. It's not the genre, he said, it's the writing. He instilled hope in a lot of people sitting in that hall, with humor and encouragement and above all, love - a love for reading and books, and good writing.
On Sunday, Stacey Barney, Editor at Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, spoke in much the same vein. She said there's always room in the market for things that are well-written. She spoke of varied paths to publication and said, "Don't give up. The path may unfold differently for you."
The weekend was filled with lessons on craft - plot, character structure, revision. My notes are plentiful and I'm looking forward to revisions. I'm hopeful.
The path is there and I have the patience to follow it wherever it unfolds for me.
Saturday's keynote address at the Loft's Children's and Young Adult Literature Conference by Arthur A. Levine of Arthur A. Levine Books spoke of love, love, love. How does he decide on a manuscript? He asks himself, "Do I love it?"
Is this a book that someone will love to pieces, that will remain on the bookshelf even as an adult, the covers tattered, the pages worn soft?
He spoke of book categories, not so much the genres themselves. It's not the genre, he said, it's the writing. He instilled hope in a lot of people sitting in that hall, with humor and encouragement and above all, love - a love for reading and books, and good writing.
On Sunday, Stacey Barney, Editor at Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, spoke in much the same vein. She said there's always room in the market for things that are well-written. She spoke of varied paths to publication and said, "Don't give up. The path may unfold differently for you."
The weekend was filled with lessons on craft - plot, character structure, revision. My notes are plentiful and I'm looking forward to revisions. I'm hopeful.
The path is there and I have the patience to follow it wherever it unfolds for me.
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