Jenny Bent, Susan Katz, Joy Peskin, Marisa Russell, Hannah Moskowitz, Betsy Bird. Photo by Galo Delgado.

What are the ingredients that make up a YA bestseller? A panel of seasoned publishing professionals addressed this question and many more at the Women’s National Book Association NYC chapter’s event “The Making of a Young Adult Bestseller-From Acquisition to Reader,” November 14. It was moderated by New York Public Library’s youth materials specialist and Fuse #8 blogger Betsy Bird, at Manhattan’s Wix Lounge, a free work and event space for creative professionals.

Over the course of two hours a group of industry hopefuls—aspiring writers, editors, and agents—heard insider tips, advice, anecdotes, and encouragement from representatives involved in each of the major stages of children’s publishing. Speakers included Jenny Bent, founder and literary agent at the Bent Agency; Susan Katz, president and publisher at HarperCollins Children’s; Hannah Moskowitz, author of several books for teen and middle-grade audiences; Joy Peskin, editorial director at Farrar Straus Giroux for Young Readers; and Marisa Russell, publicity manager at Penguin Young Readers.

The panelists agreed that while there is no magic formula for acquiring and finding “the next big thing,” chart-topping hits usually have a few key elements in common.

When taking on clients and new manuscripts, Bent looks for the perfect balance of great writing and a phenomenal idea. She said she asks herself “Does it leap off the page? Will it resonate with young adult readers?”

Photo by Galo Delgado.

Peskin added that a clue to a title’s possible future success is whether at an editor’s first read, the manuscript has a magnetic pull, much like meeting an exciting new person. That initial gut reaction is what will create an advocate in an editor, who will then push for acquisition and publisher support in the months that follow.

Using the example of Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” series from HarperCollins, Katz credited spunky editors for bringing fast attention to books that deserve a closer look. Once they’ve received and read a stellar manuscript, these individuals then push for a preemptive bid—a preliminary deal, including author advance and contract terms—so high that it would allow a publisher to sign up the book before any auction with competing imprints. “Unfortunately, there are a lot more misses than home runs,” she says, as a high advance doesn’t always equal a grand slam.

Moskowitz, who recently experienced a small auction for one of her titles, assured the audience that an editor’s enthusiasm and connection to the work is just as important as contractual stipulations. “I knew which publisher I wanted to work with on Zombie Tag (Roaring Brook, 2011), because the house sent me the offer in a zombie-themed coffin,” she recalled.

In this competitive market, an author’s ability to self-promote and speak about their book is a publicist’s dream. In addition to a major hook and raising awareness on a new title via radio, print, bloggers, and social media, building buzz through author appearances can really impact a novel’s staying power.

“We were amazed at how YA author, Rae Carson, a former beauty pageant contestant, totally compelled her audience at the New York Comic Con,” Russell said. But if writers are not up to speaking in public, there are different ways they can build a relationship with their readers. “Find your own means of connecting,” whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, or blogging,” Bent recommended.

For her part, Moskowtiz explained, “I don’t use social media to expand my audience, but to cement it.”

Social media is especially important for authors who self-publish. For those writers, success requires a lot of time dedicated to promotion and marketing. “Trying to sell your self-published novel is a full-time job in itself,” said Bent, who represents both traditionally and self-published writers.

Citing the “Pete the Cat” picture book series (HarperCollins), which was sold by the creators to thousands of fans before being picked up by the publisher, Russell added that popular self-published authors often bring along a built-in fan base to build on.

When publishers feel like they have a potential blockbuster in their hands, they spend considerable time branding the book, brainstorming covers, title, and taglines, and soliciting advance praise in order to provoke excitement.

Peskin struggled with fine tuning the title for YA novelist Leila Sales’s next book, This Song Will Save Your Life (Farrar, 2014), changing it several times before she and Sales were completely satisfied that it accurately reflected the work’s caliber. Bent praised Abrams for getting the packaging just right for A.G. Howard’s Splintered (Abrams, 2013), a creepy retelling of Alice in Wonderland.

In the end, panelists agreed, there’s really no telling whether a book will meet its high expectations, even it if has all the right elements: riveting writing, perfect trappings, and savvy and connected author. The experts encouraged participants to keep working on their craft, and to persevere.

“Write the story that only you can write,” Peskin advised.

Bullied when she was a girl, author and illustrator Frieda Wishinsky got payback by using her childhood persecutor as source material for her books. So Long Stinky Queen (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2000) is about two elementary school students who turn the tables on a bossy classmate, while You’re Mean, Lily Jean! (Albert Whitman, 2011), shows how a little girl finds a funny, effective way to stand up to her older sister’s overbearing new friend.

Wishinsky, the author and illustrator of over 60 picture books, says that her experience of being bullied taught her the importance of asserting herself. One of several authors participating in “Bullying in Books for Youth,” a New York Public Library Children’s Literary Salon on October 20, she advises using humor to outsmart bullies, much as her characters have done.

Authors Paul Griffin, Madeline George, and others on the panel, which coincides with National Bullying Prevention Month, discussed their personal encounters with cruel classmates, the healing power of books, and their advice to young people today—the bulliers along with the bullied.

Like Wishinsky, author Susane Colasanti drew from her own experiences when writing her semi-autobiographical novel Keep Holding On (Viking, 2012) about an abused girl who is teased and taunted by cruel classmates. “My purpose with every book is to reach out to teens and help them feel less alone,” she said.

Moderator Betsy Bird, NYPL youth material specialist and School Library Journal blogger, observed that current books often give the topic nuanced treatment by blurring the lines between bully and victim or by depicting perpetrators sympathetically. For instance, Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (Scholastic, 2012), about two boys who take revenge on their tormenter with a series of pranks that soon become far worse than the original bullying.

Others concurred that the persecutor/victim divide is not always so clear. Paul Griffin, who has worked with incarcerated and at-risk teens since 1989, observed that bullies themselves are often victims of abuse. His own young adult novel, Stay with Me (Dial, 2011), includes a scene where a persecuted boy lashes back at his attacker, becoming a victimizer himself.

Similarly, author Colasanti imbued the antagonist of Keep Holding On (Viking, 2012) with a complex backstory and motivation for her malicious actions. Like Griffin, she feels that books showing bullies as well-developed, realistic characters, rather than one-dimensional villains, are much more powerful.

The authors also touched on how books can lead to positive changes in the lives of their readers. Griffin described an experience with a troubled teen during a school visit. One student responded enthusiastically when Griffin read a passage depicting a graphic act of brutality from one of his novels. Griffin learned that the teen was being severely bullied and was on the brink of violently retaliating. According to Griffin, “That kid that day needed to hear that scene” in order to voice his problems—bibliotherapy in action—and the author was able to ensure he received the support he needed.

George’s novel, Looks (Viking, 2008), about the unlikely bond between two outsiders—a silent overweight girl and a sharp-tongued anorexic poet—may provide therapeutic value of a different sort, she suggested. The book’s ambiguous ending offers only a “very slender thread of hope” that life will improve for her protagonists, she said. Panelists agreed that starkly realistic, honest works like this with uncertain resolution often resonate most with teens, as they did with George when she was a young adult.

Participants concurred that the best way for young people to cope with bullying is by having the courage to reach out to others. Griffin advocated getting young people together to discuss their problems, and Wishinsky agreed: “Don’t be that isolated kid, get a friend. If you can give anyone advice, it’s get a friend…so you’re not alone.”

Moderator Jen Hubert-Swan, a blogger at ReadingRants and middle school librarian at New York’s Little Red School House, began the conversation by bringing up a recent Slate.com article, “Against Enthusiasm: The Epidemic of Niceness in Online Book Culture, ” which took aim at online book culture for creating an atmosphere in which “retweets, likes, favorites…make any critique stick out sorely” and which has resulted in bloggers who are reluctant to negatively review novels.

Although the panelists agreed that reviewers should honestly critique novels, Betsy Bird, a youth materials specialist at New York Public Library, pointed to a few who would rather limit themselves to writing about titles they enjoyed. Bird, who blogs for SLJ at Fuse #8, says she considers them cheerleaders rather than reviewers. However, Bird cautioned against writing nasty or mean-spirited reviews.

Similarly, Liz Burns, a librarian at New Jersey’s National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and who blogs for SLJ at A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy, advised that a critical review should be supported by quotes or references to the text. She also stated that a reviewer can apply critical analysis to books they appreciate as well as to those they dislike.

Monica Edinger, fourth grade teacher at the Dalton School, a private school in New York, and who blogs at Educating Alice, put the conversation into historical context. She brought up past authors and literary critics, such as E.B. White and Dorothy Parker, who regularly reviewed each other’s work—and often resulted in feuds and arguments. Edinger believes that the world of social media is simply making the relationships between authors and reviewers more public.

Hubert-Swan questioned whether a blogger can have a friendship with a writer and still review their work. Freelance writer Marjorie Ingall, who also writes at her self-titled blog, doesn’t “friend” or follow any authors because her journalism background makes her more sensitive to potential conflicts of interest.

On the other hand, Burns distinguished between knowing an author personally and following them on Twitter, stressing that a relationship based only on social media wouldn’t affect reviews. Above all, she emphasized the importance of transparency and stated that if she’s reviewing a book written by a friend, she always discloses their relationship in the blog-post.

Bird said she often receives responses from authors or editors who take issue with her negative reviews of their work. Similarly, Hubert-Swan talked about her experience writing critical commentary of books on Goodreads. She said she removes her negative comments if contacted by authors because she would rather not start a debate in a public forum.

The panelists concluded that many authors dealing with Internet commentary need more guidance from publishers. Sheila Barry, blogger at Making Books for Children and co-publisher of Groundwood, said that as an editor, she’s often had to reassure authors who were unhappy at receiving negative reviews. As both a blogger and a young adult author, Maureen Johnson finds herself in a unique position. She drew upon her personal experience, stating that confronting the world of online reviews is incredibly daunting for a first-time author. However, she emphasized that authors must refrain from replying to negative responses to their work to ensure that reviewers feel comfortable voicing their opinions.