Since I hope to one day write juvenile fiction, I sat in on a session at the San Francisco WC where agent Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary and Wendy Lichtman, author of Secrets, Lies & Algebra, talked tips and advice on writing for teenagers and pre-teens.

Here are some great points they made:

• Kids are very media savvy these days, of course, and that should be reflected in your story.
• You can’t talk down to kids. Jennifer brought up Octavian Nothing, noting that she first believed the book was way too smart for kids.  But the truth, she said, is that kids are actually smarter than we think, where as adults are the lazy ones.  Kids feel an intense connection with books and will take the time to tackle a book. They consider a "smart book" to be a great challenge.
• Wendy said she sat in on a high school class for three months to pick up kids' patterns of speech, lingo and cadence.
• You will indeed come across morality vs. reality dilemmas.  For example, if teenagers use the word “retard” constantly in a derogatory fashion, should you include it as such?  Wendy refused.  And yes, thirteen-year-olds do have sex in today’s world, but is that really proper to include in a middle grade work?
• Publishers are constantly trying to push the boundaries in terms of sex in these books. Anything is fair game, but a lot depends on how the crucial horrific moments are dealt with.  For example, if a teenage girl narrator is telling of a scene where someone is murdered, she doesn’t have to provide the graphic details.  It’s the difference between “He slit her throat and blood sprayed everywhere” and “Her body went limp and the carpet became red.”
• If you want to go with heavy sexual stuff, that’s OK, but understand that the book is always facing gatekeepers (librarians, booksellers, agents, editors, teachers) who can opt not to carry a certain book because of what they deem inappropriate content.
• Don’t start your book off with something terribly graphic and horrific.  It may scare off booksellers.  Wendy said that her book, at first, began with a suicide.  She moved the suicide to chapter 2 so that those who picked up the book weren't immediately confronted with something so morose that didn't define the rest of the book. 
• You can cross genres.  In adult fiction, things are often pressured to be classified.  "Is it a mystery?  Is it women's fiction?"  Juvenile fiction has less of that problem.

• The joy of novels for kids is the incidental learning.  Kids don’t want to be lectured.  They want to learn while being entertained. 
  

Reminder: Newer agencies are golden opportunities for new writers because they're likely building their client list; however, always make sure your work is as perfect as it can be before submitting, and only query agencies that are a great fit for your work. Otherwise, you're just wasting time and postage.

Important notes: This agency's Web site is open, but technically their first day is Feb. 1 - so don't rush your query. Make it better and send it in a few weeks.
      Also, this information below is limited because Kate Schafer has not yet responded with all info.

KT Literary

9249 S. Broadway, #200-543, Highlands Ranch CO 80129. Phone: (720)344-4728. Fax: (720)344-4728. E-mail: queries@ktliterary.com. Web site: www.ktliterary.com/about.html. Contact: Kate Schafer. Prior to her current position, Ms. Schafer was an agent with Janklow & Nesbit. Established: 2008. Writer's Guidelines: www.ktliterary.com/submissions.html. Specializes in middle grade and YA fiction. How to Contact: Query with SASE. Submit: 2-3 sample pages. Absolutely no attachments. Paste text in e-mail body. E-mail queries only. Responds in 2 weeks to queries.

Actively seeking: Actively seeking brilliant, funny, original middle grade and young adult fiction, both literary and commercial; witty women's fiction; and pop-culture narrative nonfiction. Quirky is good. Does not want picture books. Tips: "If we like your query, we'll ask for (more)."

GLA: What's the most recent thing you've sold?

CW: One of my recent deals is a YA novel by a debut author, AP sportswriter William Konigsburg, who is one of only two openly gay sportswriters in the country. Bill's novel, Out of the Pocket (Dutton) is about a heavily recruited high school quarterback who is forced to come to terms with his sexuality during an eventful senior year. Another one of my authors, Deborah Underwood, is co-authoring a series with Whoopi Goldberg, called Sugar Plum Ballerinas (Hyperion, forthcoming).  

GLA: You have an MBA and a background in business. How does your background help you (and your clients) in agenting?

CW: My business experience includes client management, sales and negotiation skills, all of which are essential to an agent. I also did extensive business writing and editing, and learned the ins and outs of contracts. Finally, I have used my business skills to develop a proprietary editor database for our agency's use, and for tracking my clients' projects. Through it all, I was always a voracious and critical reader. Despite all that dry finance reading, I even started a book club with a few business school friends, which is still going many years later!

GLA: You specialize in juvenile and children's writing. If you were speaking to someone who had written adult fiction or possibly nonfiction and now wanted to try juvenile writing, what basic advice can you give them before starting?

CW: I would tell that person to go to their local bookstore, browse extensively and read everything that they can before they start a children's project. They need to understand the categories of children's books, as well as the differences in writing style between adult and children's writing. A great resource is Nancy Lamb's The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children.

GLA: Can you explain exactly how chapter books differ from middle grade?

CW: There is a lot of overlap between categories, so the difference between older chapter books and younger middle-grade is often just a matter of marketing.  Younger chapter books are for kids who have graduated from Easy Readers and are starting to read more fluently. They usually have 8-10 short chapters, each with a cliff-hanger ending. They are often a series, like Captain Underpants or Magic Tree House, and can be lightly or heavily illustrated. I have a highly illustrated chapter book series coming out next year: Nate Evans and Paul Hindman's Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard-Boiled Detective. It's a noir-style chapter book series, illustrated by Nate Evans and Vince Evans, in which Det. Humpty Dumpty, Jr. and his sidekick, Rat, solve crimes in "New Yolk City."
      Middle-grade is for readers in the 8-12 age group. They can have a complex plot and subplot, and while often humorous, they can certainly be more serious. The vocabulary is more sophisticated than chapter books, and the emphasis is on character. The Qwikpick Adventure Society by Sam Riddleburger (Dial) is an example of a middle-grade book, in which the targeted reader is at the younger end of the spectrum. At the older end of the middle-grade spectrum is "tween." It's realistic, often contemporary, often edgier than traditional middle-grade, and deals with identity issues, school-based situations, family vs. friends, and just how hard it is to be 12.  Highly illustrated books for young readers, such as The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is a new category of middle-grade books that are heavily illustrated. 

GLA: You're looking for nonfiction for young adults, such as picture book biographies. Can you give a few good examples of this for people to read and learn from?

CW: The most important thing to me is that the nonfiction reads like fiction - that there is a "story behind the story."  For example, Pamela S. Turner's George Schaller: Life in the Wild, forthcoming from FSG/Kroupa, is a biography of the great field biologist George Schaller. The book explores Dr. Schaller's career both as a scientist and as an advocate for vanishing wildlife. Appealing to children who are interested in animals, science, adventure and the outdoors, each chapter of the book will also be a "mini-biography" of the species being studied.  Several of Pamela's other books study certain environments or animals and make science fun and interesting for kids. 

GLA: We recently crossed paths at the La Jolla Writers Conference. When writers meet you face to face at conferences, what are some common mistakes they make with their pitch and presentation? 

CW: Often, writers are extremely nervous. I don't bite!  It is important that they have their pitch down cold and that they can sum up their book in a few sentences. Their pitch needs to be high-level and exciting; they need to hook me right away, and leave me wanting to know more. 

GLA: If you receive a query for a YA novel where you feel the book is good but should be retooled to be a middle grade work, will you typically sign on that author and work through the process? Or will you encourage them to resend it after it's been retooled?

CW: It depends on the project. If it's something that I'm absolutely in love with, and I feel that the changes that are needed are not terribly extensive, then I will probably sign on the author.  However, if the changes needed are more extensive, then I will give the author general comments, and ask to see it again after it has been revised.  It's important to me to know that the client can revise.

GLA: Are there any subjects you're actively seeking right now?

CW: I'm always looking for great YA that is both commercial and literary. I would love to see more contemporary multicultural MG or YA fiction - books that deeply explore another culture, as well as books in which the ethnicity of the character is not the issue; magical realism, urban fantasy, or fantasy that is very much based in reality (no maps needed); sports fiction that has a hook other than the sport, for girls and boys; page-turning thrillers; and realistic fiction with an environmental theme. Humorous chapter books and middle-grade fiction with a great voice and unique characters are always a hit. I do not represent adult projects, so please do not query me regarding adult work.

GLA: Will you be at any conferences in the future where writers can meet you?

CW: I will be at the Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop in December 07, at the SDSU Writers' Conference in January 08, the San Francisco Writers' Conference in February 08, and the Central Coast Conference in September 08. (Editor's note: Caryn will also likely be at the Writer's Digest Books Writers' Conference in Los Angeles on May 28, 2008.)

GLA: The best piece of advice you can give concerning something we haven't talked about?

CW: Make sure that you have a polished, error-free, and complete manuscript to submit - you want to make an excellent first impression. Be sure that you know who your target audience is, and that there isn't a mismatch between your work and your intended reader. A great voice is paramount; whether first or third person, I need to fall in love with your voice. Your characters must be memorable and you need to make me root for your protagonist right from the start. Show your protagonist's journey, through the use of dialogue, the senses, actions and reactions, rather then tell through the use of narrative. Finally, a great opening is absolutely essential. You need to grab me immediately, and keep me turning the pages. If you can make me laugh out loud, cry, or keep reading late at night, you may have a winner!


      Caryn Wiseman is an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency in California. She specializes in children's writing. Her agency's Web page has detailed submission instructions.

Caryn Wiseman