Week of January 6, 2013: An Interview
with Maria Modugno
Monday, January 7—An Interview with
Maria Modugno, Part I
This is the first installment in a four-part
interview with Maria Modugno, Editorial Director, Picture Books, Random House Books
for Young Readers.
Rob Sanders: Maria, thank you for revisiting our interview from last year, and congratulations on your new position at Random House. Tell us about your new responsibilities and what you are doing at Random House.
Maria Modugno: I’m
Editorial Director for Picture Books at Random House Books for Young Readers.
I'll be originating new picture books as well as acting as a resource for other
editors in the RHBFYR group who might acquire a picture book. The various
programs and series, such as Step into Reading and Magic Tree House, are
handled by other editors. Schwartz and Wade is an independent imprint, as is
Knopf, but we all fall under the same President, Barbara Marcus.
I'm specifically looking for picture books
with minimal text and fully-developed stories. I have a particular interest in
developing characters who can be introduced in the hardcover picture book
format and then extended into easy readers and 8 x8s. (SPLAT THE CAT and
PINKALICIOUS are two good examples I originated.) Describing a good picture
book manuscript is a little bit like describing porn—hard to define but I know
it when I see it. I'm looking for timeless stories told in a fresh, new way.
RS: Maria, in your opinion, what ingredients combine to make a
well-written picture book?
MM: Start with a good story, one with a real
plot. Appealing characters that are stand-ins for the audience. Spare writing.
Perfect illustrations that complement the text. Fun. A reason a bookstore will
find the finished book irresistible. An editor has to fall in love a little bit
to pursue all that it takes to get a picture book acquired and published.
RS: You
mentioned “a reason a bookstore will find the finished book irresistible.”
Tell us what you think bookstores find irresistible and tell us a bit about
promotional hooks that might “hook” a book seller.
MM: If I knew the formula for making a
finished book irresistible, I would be a millionaire. Even after years of
experience, I find it hard to anticipate which titles will really take off. I
always pause when I have the first bound book in my hands and celebrate that
achievement. What the market thinks is out of our control. Nevertheless, most
bookstores use the top seasonal holidays as a hook for a display. Back to
school is another important season for picture books. It goes without saying,
that the publisher has priced the book competitively and the trim size is right
for the story, i.e. some books are “lap books” that can be spread across the
laps of two readers; some illustrations call for vertical size and others for
landscape.
RS: You’ve
mentioned to me in the past that publishers have the need to establish
characters in the minds of retailers and to make it possible for bookstores to
know “the spot” where a picture book fits on the shelf. How do you recognize
those kinds of characters and stories? What makes a book find that spot on a
bookstore shelf?
MM: Wow. Another hard one. I think
the characters featured in a picture book need to be appealing and well rounded
(not stereotypes, but more like real kids). They should be involved with
kid-like concerns and interests. It helps to have a distinguishing feature such
as Fancy Nancy’s love of words or Pinkalicious’ passion for pink.
RS: The age-range for the picture book audience seems to have
shifted lower. What age-range do you consider to be the audience for the
picture books you publish?
MM: 4-8.
RS: How much do you consider age-range when choosing a
manuscript to publish?
MM: I want the subject matter to be appealing to
the target age range for a book but it’s idiosyncratic. I’ve yet to meet
two five-year-olds who are alike.
Is your
appetite whetted? Are you ready to learn more? Me, too!
Come back
tomorrow for more wisdom from Maria!
6 comments:
Thank you for presenting Maria to us newbies. This was an instructional post. Can't wait to check back tomorrow.
This is fabulous and golden information! Thank you so much for conducting this interview. I'm ready to go edit some MS!
What a great interview! I'm looking forward to the week!
Thanks, Rob. Insightful post and excellent questions.
Helpful insights!
(But my inner middle-grader is snickering because she said "porn")
So glad you all stopped by to meet Maria! She's a gem! RS
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