Win a signed copy of VILLAIN SCHOOL, by Stephanie S. Sanders!

Please join me in welcoming debut middle-grade author Stephanie S. Sanders to Project Mayhem today. She is the author of VILLAIN SCHOOL: Good Curses Evil, coming August 30, from Bloomsbury! 

The lovely Stephanie S. Sanders

OFFICIAL VILLAIN SCHOOL BLURB:

Three delinquent villains. A school that will teach them to be bad. And one unbelievable assignment. Rune Drexler is a student at Master Dreadthorn's School for Wayward Villains. It's like a military school for the children of evil villains. Rune is nearly failing his villain studies, so he's sentenced to a Plot by his father, Master Dreadthorn. In one week he must:

1. Kidnap a princess
2. Steal a baby
3. Find a henchman
4. Overthrow a kingdom

If he succeeds, Rune will be promoted to Fiend, if he fails, he'll be exiled from the villain community forever. Luckily, he may choose two Conspirators, so Rune chooses his best friends Countess Jezebel Dracula and Big Bad Wolf Junior. Only one problem, Rune's not very evil. In fact, his behavior on the Plot seems suspiciously heroic….

Villain School is a world of fairytale villains that kids of all ages will enjoy!

Doesn't this sound fantastic??! In honor of her debut, Stephanie will be sending one lucky win a signed copy of the Villain School ARC!

LET'S MEET STEPHANIE:
Stephanie, sum up your book in a tweet! 140 characters only!

A wayward warlock, a cocoa-loving vampire, and a not-so-Big Bad Wolf set off from Villain School on a Plot to prove they can be villainous.

Stephanie, tell us something cool, creepy, or special about VILLAIN SCHOOL: GOOD CURSES EVIL, that's not in the blurb!

One of the main characters not mentioned in the blurb is Chad, Rune’s cookie-baking roommate. Curly-haired, blue-eyed, freckle-faced Chad doesn’t seem like much of a villain, but looks can be deceiving.

What inspired you to write this book? Had the idea been brewing for a while, or did something inspire you out of the blue?

This book was completely out of the blue. I awoke one morning with a vague idea and jotted down a few words in a notebook: “Evil Villain School. Hero School. Villain father is angry his son is questioning evil ways.” Those few words sparked a whole book! And although I never got a chance to write about a Hero School in this book, it’s something that fans of Villain School might get to read about in the future.

Now, I know you've written more than one book. Is there a method to your madness or do you approach each book differently? In other words, explain your writing style!

This is tough. Lots of writers talk about the writing process and how they have a whole series planned out from beginning to end before they even pick up a pen and put the first word on paper. I’m not like that. My ideas are rarely in order. They flutter and fly and roll and tumble through my mind, and I have to catch them like butterflies or pick them like flowers or sometimes run through them like rainstorms until I’m soaked through with ideas. Then I can wring them out, put them in some kind of sensible order, and that becomes a story. Sometimes I have to rearrange my ideas or even (and this is the hardest part) start completely over. If I’m lucky, in the end, they make some kind of sense and can become a great story, like Villain School! 

NOW FOR SOME FUN!

What's your favorite food?  

Dutch letters! These are sweet flaky pastries in the shape of an S (for Stephanie!) and filled with almond paste, which sounds gross but tastes amazing.

Describe yourself in four words:  

Shy, creative, sarcastic, hungry.

What's your guilty pleasure TV show (be honest!)?  

My family and I ditched cable, so I have to catch re-runs on Netflix. I tend to get addicted to one series at a time. Then I watch every episode straight through for days on end until I’ve seen them all. The last couple addictions were The Adventures of Merlin & The Legend of the Seeker. I’m a sucker for fantasy shows (and stories).

If you weren't a writer, what's the one thing you'd want to be?  

A writer. (Love this answer!)

You can find everything Villain School & everything Stephanie HERE:            

Book website:    www.villainkids.com

Author:             www.stephsanders.com

Publisher:          www.bloomsburykids.com

Agent:               www.nancygallt.com

GIVEAWAY RULES: Easy-peasy rules, people! Simply follow the Project Mayhem blog if you don't already, and leave Ms. Stephanie a comment! That's it! Winner will be announced Tuesday of next week! ;)

On behalf of all Project Mayhem Team Members & Head Mischief Makers, CONGRATS, Stephanie!!!

Wherein Writer Cat Gets Published!

Only Writer Cat could make rejection adorable!

Stats:

Number of agent rejections: 175

Number of requests for partials and fulls: 17 and 10

Number of times I rewrote the book while querying: Twice

Number of agents who offered representation: 2

Months looking for an agent: 13 months

Months it took my agent to sell NIGHTSHADE CITY: 7 weeks

I think everyone has a different story about their road to publishing, but I think almost every author could agree the process was far from easy, sometimes even painful. Sure, there are those anomalies, but still, even those required lots of hard work.

Looking back, I started querying way to early. First, I didn't have my query perfect--big mistake! I was so impatient after finally finishing the book, that my query just didn't make the mark on my first round of subs, so I racked up some serious rejections. Then I perfected my query, getting several requests for partials and fulls, but shortly after that, I realized I needed to rewrite the book, which I did--twice! The first time around it was way too long and just had to many side stories and nice little vignettes that really didn't need to be in the book--massively slowing down the pace. On the second rewrite, I realized my timeline needed an overhaul. My rats had to get from one underground city to another by way of a humans house, which (if you’re a rat) is a long chunk of travel time. The timing didn't make sense in the book and it got confusing. If you're confusing an agent as they read, just imagine how a kid will feel! So, after I completed the second rewrite, things really heated up for NIGHTSHADE CITY.

Craig Virden (Nancy Gallt's husband and former president of Random House Children's Division) was the agent I'd been wanting. I knew he was the one I wanted to represent me. We'd exchanged some funny letters. He'd requested the full and made me laugh out loud, telling me my book had more characters than a Russian novel (far less now) and even though Nancy (who'd I originally queried) is not a rat fan, he wanted to read the rest--how does this book end, he asked? This progression took about 6 months. Finally, I got a letter back from him. As much as I'd wanted good news, I knew before I even opened it; it was a rejection. It was the kindest, most inspiring rejection anyone could ever get, but a rejection even so. He said due to the current market woes (2008 economic meltdown) and competition he just couldn't take it on. You'd think I'd be broken, but I wasn't--not at all. He offered to read anything else I had "moldering" in my desk--that was the word he used. So, instead of self-pitying (which I'd become an expert at), I got to work that day on another MS I'd been waiting to finish. Then, about a month later my phone rang. I didn't recognize the area code, so normally I wouldn't have answered it, but I just had this extraordinary feeling. Yes, it was Craig Virden. He said he just couldn't stop thinking about the book and no matter the market, etc, he wanted to take it on if I was still interested...YES! So, long story short, that's how I landed my agent.

Sadly, a month later, Craig passed on. It was a horrible blow to his family and the children's publishing community at large. He was one of those remarkable men that everyone in the industry knew and loved--a truly singular person. Marietta Zacker called me immediately. She was good friends with Craig and Nancy and had just started working at Nancy Gallt as an agent. She called me right away and let me know everything was all right and most of all do not worry. Shortly thereafter, I officially signed with her. She is one of those inspiring agents that everyone in the industry should be thankful for. She answers all my emails (and I bug her a lot!) and is wonderful at touching base, even if not much is going on at a given time. Oh, and she sold NIGHTSHADE CITY in less than two months and then Book II, THE WHITE ASSASSIN (releasing this October) about 6 months later--pretty darn cool!

My Thoughts on Querying:

No one takes rejection well, so don't let anyone ever say you shouldn't be in the industry if you take rejection too personally. Who doesn't take rejection personally? We all might say we don't, but we do! At least the people I know! ;)

Don't query too soon. If your query and/or manuscript is not ready, it will show. Agents can pick out problems right away.

Before you sign with an agent do your research. Read everything you can find on them, shoot emails to a couple of their clients and get their take. You'll be surprised how honest clients are and it's not always with hugs and kisses for their agents! Also, make sure the agent is in it for the long haul, not just one book. You never want to think that your representation is only based on one manuscript, but from time to time it does happen--so ask before you sign!

Last but not least, don't take yourself too seriously OR the agents you're querying. In other words, don't be someone you're not. If you get on the phone with an agent, just be yourself, no need to try and act clever, etc. Be professional of course, but agents are just people and from what I can tell, pretty good ones, so never be afraid to be you. When you do sign with an agent, never feel like you're bothering them if there are things you need, as in questions answered, updates, sub lists, etc. They signed you after all. You're the talent! Too many writers are scared of their agent, especially if they haven't sold anything yet. If you feel intimidated or neglected by your agent, then you need to clear the air and really figure out where you stand.

Other than that, take a nice deep breath, smile and have fun! You've earned it!  

xoxo -- Hilary 

Originally posted on the childrenspublishing blog, Jan 2011