Week of January 6, 2013: An Interview
with Maria Modugno
Wednesday, January 9—An Interview with
Maria Modugno, Part III
This is the third installment in a four-part
interview with Maria Modugno, Editorial Director, Picture Books, Random House Books
for Young Readers.
Rob
Sanders: Maria, I know you’re still fairly
new at Random House, so you may need to look back to HarperCollins to answer
this question. What have you acquired recently that you love and why?
Maria Modugno: Hey, no fair. It’s
like asking me which kid I love best. But some recent titles include: Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and
Peter Reynolds, Lucky and Squash by
Jeanne Birdsell and Jane Dyer, Foxy
by Emma Dodd, Emeraldalicious by
Victoria Kann, a new as yet untitled book about Splat with Rob Scotton, and Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid . .
. I could go on and on. I was sad to
leave Ruby Rose: On Her Toes behind
since working so closely on the text with the author made me almost believe
that she is real. We also found a terrific artist, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, who I
was looking forward to working with. I'll just have to cheer these books on
from the sideline.
RS: Maria, some people consider you the queen of picture book
series. What advice can you give us about writing a series?
MM: Now I’m embarrassed. I approach each series
book by book. I don’t always know which characters will endure beyond the first
story.
RS: What makes a picture book series character such as Fancy
Nancy or Pinkalicious or Splat the Cat have longevity?
MM: I think kids fall in love with these
characters and want to know more about them. (There’s also a very structured
publishing plan that is developed in conjunction with sales and marketing to
launch and continue to publish such books.)
RS: Picture book writers are consumed with word count and
everyone is revising to get their manuscripts down to 500 words or less. What
is your opinion of word count and what guidance can you give us?
MM: I’m not too good at counting. I say use all
the words that are necessary and no more than that.
RS: Writers work so hard to craft a cover letter, deliver the
perfect pitch, format a manuscript, and so on. We are concerned that the
smallest thing might get our manuscript “disqualified.” What (if anything)
turns you off about a submission or makes you stop reading?
MM: I usually skip cover letters. I read that
Margaret McElderry was always waiting for something that was irresistible
before she would pursue it. Good writing from the beginning of the story is
important.
I know
you’re clicking your heels in joys from Maria’s insights.
Come back
tomorrow for more!
4 comments:
Wonderful interview full of so much useful information. Thanks for posting it.
Love Maria's responses about word count and cover letters! The letter especially was one of the things that makes me sweat and quake. This is a great series--thanks, Rob and Maria.
This was super! Thank you so much for sharing with us. :)
Maria is practical and realistic. That's one of the reasons I love her! Thanks for posting everyone! Rob
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