Write His Answer

Guest blogger Donna Brennan
Interviews Patti Shene
Editor with Written World Communications

One of the benefits of going to a writer’s conference is the opportunity to meet face-to-face with agents and editors. Both the August 1-4 Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference and the Colorado Christian Writers Conference each May allow you four agent/editor appointments if you attend all three days. That’s more than most other conferences offer.

Patti Shene is one of the editors you can meet with this year at the Philly conference. She is Division Manager for YA and Children’s Imprints with Written World Communications (WWC) and Executive Editor of Starsongs Magazine, one of WWC’s publications.

In addition to taking appointments, Patti will be teaching a session for the over 50 writer. And she will be one of the instructors for the Teens Write full-day program on Thursday, August 2.

I got in touch with Patti to ask her some questions about what type of books and articles she’s looking for and to find out some more information about the sessions she will be teaching.

Question: Most people deciding on editor appointments are interested in what each editor is looking for. You are representing several imprints; can you give us a brief description of each one and what their current needs are?

Hi Donna. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with our conferees. I’m excited to meet with some great writers!

As Division Manager for YA and Children’s publications with Written World Communications, I will represent those three imprints.

Starsongs books can encompass several genres, from fantasy, mystery, and horror, to romance and historical. This is a secular market imprint. These stories showcase characters faced with challenges they confront with determination and resourcefulness. These books are meant to carry the reader beyond their everyday existence, yet provide a take away that leaves the reader with a life lesson learned.

Untapped books launch teen readers into a tempest of troubling scenarios that force them to examine their own beliefs, values, and decisions. These stories, whether contemporary or historical, carry a non-preachy Christian theme that guides the reader along a winding path of spiritual discovery concluding at the throne of grace.

Patchwork books is a Christian imprint that covers stories for pre-school through middle grade readers, homeschool curricula, parenting books, and family devotionals.

Starsongs magazine is a quarterly general market publication for kids written primarily by kids. We feature original short stories, essays, articles, poetry, photography, and artwork by young people ages 9-19. Each issue contains an article by an adult mentor related to writing or photography. Editorial needs: short stories, essays, articles, and poetry that reflect a young person’s view or opinion of his or her world, problems encountered and positive ways to resolve them. We accept secular and light Christian content.

Untapped magazine is a soon to be launched publication that will provide sound Christian content to teens. It will feature fiction and non-fiction, devotionals, thought-provoking articles, and address the edgy issues that today’s world forces teens to face. Editorial needs: We are looking for pieces that offer ideas for teens about how to live out their faith in active and exciting ways in today’s world.

Patchwork – We have just acquired a brand new editor for this future publication. Information about the magazine will be posted on the WWC web site at www.written-world.com.

Christine Richards and Rowena Kuo will be representing other WWC imprints at the Philly conference. Information about all our book imprints and magazines can be found on the web site at www.written-world.com.

Question: I noticed your reviews on Amazon and your blog covered a wide range of genres including suspense, romance, historical, YA, and western. You even covered non-fiction. Are your editorial interests just as wide?

I created the blog (Patti’s Porch found at www.pattishene.com) long before I was involved with WWC and mainly used it to promote the work of writing peers and favorite authors.

However, the editorial needs of WWC in general pretty much encompass all of those genres. We are always looking for unique work in just about any genre, For non-fiction, we would love to see parenting advice of special needs children from a Christian world view, Christian living books, and unique Bible study material. We are not interested in memoirs.

Question: Are there any types of writing you are definitely not interested in? Does length matter?

We are not interested in any material that contains graphic sex or violence. In other words, we do not accept work with an “R” rating or above. We limit book length to 90,000 words. Magazine length is addressed in Starsongs guidelines at www.kidspublished.blogspot.com.

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Thanks Donna and Patti and for parts 2 and 3 to come when Patti will provide encouragement for those nervous about meeting with an editor and share her passion for mentoring young writers and those over 50.