School Librarian of the Year Award 2012

Adam (right) receives the award from
author Kevin Crossley-Holland who is
President of the School Library Association

Congrats to Adam Lancaster who is SLA School Librarian of the Year and Duston School for winning the Library Design Award. It was an inspiring event with many thrilling ideas about enthusing children into reading. But the awesome initiatives on display were made poignant by a constant awareness of the terrible challenges nibbling away at our libraries. When I was a kid, the library rescued me. But who's going to rescue the libraries?

Read my post on the SLA Librarian of the Year Award

Please participate in this online survey, part of a piece of research entitled Envisioning the Library of the Future, commissioned by Arts Council England. This programme of research will inform the development of the Arts Council’s long-term vision for public libraries in England. Go to the Survey 

So you've got an agent. Now what? A short checklist.

By Candy Gourlay

Lots of talk about how to get an agent last week here and  here. Who knows, some writer who attended one of these events may this very minute be signing up with an agent.

(Speaking of which, congratulations to Julienne Durber over at our sister blog, Demention, who's just signed with Gemma Cooper of the Bent Agency! Woo hoo!)

Once you've got an agent, you're truly on the brink. You're as almost there as almost there ever could be.

But now what?

Here are some helpful tips from your been-there-done-that NFTS reporter:

1 Now is not the time to stop working on your craft. The quest is not over. Will it ever be? Ahh. That's the thing you see. In this business, evolution is never-ending. Stop developing and you're left behind.

2 Tune up your public profile. Well yeah, just in case your agent strikes gold first time. And if, like many of us, your agent doesn't get you an instant deal, it's good practice. Spring clean your Facebook profile. Make sure you've got a good profile pic on all the usual channels (go to Gravatar, to get a universal profile pic). Spruce up any info about you online. Start working on that website. Volunteer to guest blog somewhere. Review a few books on a few websites. Add that precious line '(Your Name) is represented by (Your Agent)' to your bio.

3 Tune down your expectations. Fame? Fortune? Sorry, it ain't instant. Don't give up the day job. At this stage, it's just another level of submission ... and rejection. Here's a video I made back when I realized that agents spent a lot of time getting rejected too.

To watch the video you need a password which is iwantanagent

4 Be discreet. It's not just you against the world now. You've got an ally. The days of social moaning are over. Don't jeopardize your agent's strategic submissions by shooting off about random niggles, doubts and worries on Facebook, Twitter or what have you. And don't go shouting to the world about the manuscript you're shopping around. You don't want to help your competitors with their publication timings. Besides, the first time a publisher sees your manuscript should be a wonderful surprise. Don't spoil it.

5  Manuscript safely with your new agent, what to do? Well just in case your agent isn't successful in finding it a publisher, do not delay: double your chances by writing another book.

6 NEW! Okay, thought of something else, something absolutely VITAL, as I watched Adam Lancaster win the School Librarian of the Year Award today (Adam, so well deserved! More news in a future blog post) ... from now on, you, dear future author, are an apprentice to the world of books - learn EVERYTHING you can about it. Booksellers, librarians and libraries, the literacy curriculum, Amazon, ebooks, EVERYTHING. This is your world now.

That's all I could come up with off the top of my head. Anyone else got the experience (bitter or otherwise) to offer more advice on this one?

The Curtis Brown Discovery Day at Foyles - Writers and Industry coming together

Update! A detailed report of British SCBWI's yearly Agent's Party appears on Jeannette Towey's blog. Oh, and here's our report on last year's Agent's Party New - So you've got an agent, now what? A checklist

by Sally Poyton

On Saturday, I, along with 270 other budding writers, convened at Foyles for the much-anticipated Curtis Brown Discovery Day. The day was billed as giving ‘aspiring novelists the chance to pitch their book ideas directly to award-winning literary agents, Curtis Brown.’ Those lucky enough to bag a free ticket recieved a seven minute one-two-one session with an agent - 30 seconds to deliver your pitch and then six and a half minutes to brace yourself for some feedback!