I think it’s safe to say that most everyone is frustrated with the state of publishing these days, including the people in the industry. But what if we creators could do something to change that, even a bit?

This question has been pinging around the usually overcrowded thought-scape that is my brain for months, especially in light of my involvement with KidLitGN. As stated in a previous post, we thought we’d have to stop the pitch event because the resources and time to manage it were just getting too much for our small but mighty volunteer group, then we connected with Orange Country School of the Arts (OCSA) and opened up a new direction for KidLitGN, with student interns doing interviews and helping with the pitch event. (BTW, the students are going to be picking their favorite pitches from KidLitGN’s pitch event and sharing those results in an article on KidLitGN’s website in November. Subscribe to the website to be among the first to read about their choices.)

I don’t think I realized how big this merger was. At that moment, it was a way to keep the pitch event going, but as time passed, it became clear that we had the opportunity to do something much bigger. How many platforms bring industry pros, creatives, and students–the audience for our books–together?

Let’s face it, most books on the market are top-down driven. Publishers decide what they will publish and the market can choose whether to buy it or not. Kickstarter, and the like, has democratized that process a bit, but by and large, the people buying the books aren’t the ones making the decisions of what books are published. What if we flipped that a bit? What if we gave the book readers a voice in the market? What if we, as creatives, could hear what they were thinking about the books they liked and what stories they wished they could find? What if graphic novel readers could chime in on the pitches that connect with them?

Well, KidLitGN now has the chance to do just that, with our student interns infusing their thoughts and ideas into the graphic novel community. I don’t know how it will all shake out, but I am excited to see if these students’ involvement will enhance the industry, even in some small way. If you want to hear more about our plans, check out this interview by Barney Smith on his fabulous StoryComic channel.

You can also get just the audio version. And check out Barney’s StoryComic website with loads of incredible resources.

And if you have any thoughts on what you’d like to learn from the students, add it in the comments section. Good luck to those who are pitching in KidLitGN’s pitch event this year. Remember that the pitch window opens up this Saturday, October 3, and closes at 11:59 pm. on October 7. Agents, editors, and publishers can view pitches October 7-31.