San Diego SCBWI conference

On March 8th, I attended the SCBWI's annual Editors and Agents Day in San Diego. Local agent Kelly Sonnack, of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency, was impressive, both articulate and forthright. In the First Pages' critiques, her editorial comments were dead-on every time.
Andrea Welch, editor with Harcourt Children's Books, discussed the editor-author relationship, and talked about what she looks for in a manuscript. She said every book must have an essential story, or heart, and that emotional content is the main reason a parent and child will return to a book again and again. She also emphasized that humor and heart should go hand in hand. She looks for a story that is both funny and emotionally engaging. When reading a submission, she asks herself what the essential, universal story is that underlines the manuscript.