Location:  Books & Such Nashville Office

Weather:  Still hot

After writing about words for three days, I’ve realized that the hardest writing may be description–not dialogue–because description is more visual. It calls for painting pictures with words, and that’s really difficult to do well. It’s hard to evoke the feelings derived from texture, smell and color.

This summer in Nashville we have the most spectacular exhibit of colorful glass sculpture by Seattle artist Dale Chihuly. From the 30-foot tall, massive golden glass spiral at the entrance to the glass balls in the Japanese sand garden to the blue glass crane shapes in the reflecting pool, and on and on, everywhere you look there is one or more entrancing pieces of beautifully colored blown glass. As I listened to the exhibit chief talk about the installation, I was struck by how low-key and plain-spoken he was. Then I realized that he knew the exhibit would speak for itself as it was viewed. Words can’t do it justice.

I make no secret of the fact that my favorite book format is the picture book, that careful design of few words and colorful pictures to convey meaning to young children. Yes, the color printing process makes picture books more expensive to publish and the number of picture books being produced in the last few years has diminished. But when a richly colored book such as this year’s Caldecott Award winner, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, hits the market, we know it’s worth sharing for years to come.

Editors and critics often mention the “color” of an author’s work even though no visual element is involved. I think they are referring to a particular vividness of imagery. Most writers do have a mental picture of their protagonists, and it’s often a help if the author keeps close at hand photos or paintings of the setting where the narrative takes place. That way a writer might produce more colorful words, not bogging the manuscript down with description. It’s a tough act to write a colorful piece with only words.

Who are some of your favorite “colorful” authors?

Location: International Christian Retailers Show, Denver, CO

Many writers see agents as just another gatekeeper, barring entry into the garden of publishing. The common lament is, “You can’t get published without an agent, and you can’t get an agent to even look at your manuscript.”  I addressed that fallacy in an earlier post but the truth is agents love nothing more than to discover a treasure.

In fact, that’s one of the best parts of my job. Not all books are discovered, of course, but each has its own path to travel.

Some of the books I’ve sold have come about through trial and error–submitting and honing, testing and going back to the drawing board.  Other books, especially nonfiction books, develop as a team effort. The author may know where he wants to go, but there are so many possible ways to get there.  We all put our heads together to brainstorm the format. I call it “building the book,” and sometimes it takes testing a lot of building plans before we find the right structure on which to hang the material.

Recently, we’ve had a number of book ideas come from publishers. An editor comes to our agency with an idea he would like to see, and we help him to find the right author for that book. I’ll talk more about matchmaking tomorrow–it’s another great part of our job.

But perhaps the most fun of all is dipping into a manuscript and finding that perfect gem. Every agent can tell stories of their favorite discoveries. I’ve got a slew of them, like the time Gayle Roper, head of the fiction mentoring track at Mount Hermon, slipped me a note that read, “Look for Camy Tang. Amazing.” I did, and she is.

Or when I had an email from N.J. Lindquist, director of Write! Canada, asking me if I’d look at a manuscript from a brand new writer, Bonnie Grove. Halfway through the manuscript, Talking to the Dead, I called Bonnie and offered representation. The book is pure genius.

Novelist and teacher at many writers conferences, James Scott Bell told me to watch for Debbie Fuller Thomas. It only took a few chapters of Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon for me to know Jim was right. (That book ended up being a finalist for the Christy Award held Saturday night.)

Novelist and Internet guru Randy Ingermanson pointed me toward Sharon Souza. Her novel, Lying on Sunday, is a finalist for RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice award.

Hmm. Looks like I’ve had a lot of help with my discoveries.

Jennifer Valent is another debut author I loved at first read. When I met her, she had just won the Jerry Jenkins/ Tyndale House Operation First Novel Competition at Writing for the Soul. Her novel, Fireflies in December, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and has been critically acclaimed.

I’d known Andy McGuire for a while before I ever saw his art and writing. Andy was my own fiction editor. At a writing conference, he showed me the art for his first picture book, Rainy Day Games. It was love at first sight. Andy is both an extraordinary illustrator and a gifted writer. His book is a finalist for the 2009 Retailer’s Choice Awards.

I could go on and on. There’s nothing better than discovering one of those books readers will treasure forever. But now it’s your turn. What part have you had in discovering a new writer? Readers discover gems all the time and recommend authors to others. Tell us your favorite discovery.