| janfields | Join us this afternoon in the AUDITORIUM-Scheduled Events Room for an "Open Forum" with Web Editor, Jan Fields. With over 20 years experience in selling to the magazine market, and teaching writing, I welcome your questions on time management, getting started, writer's block, marketing, writing rights, writing earnings, or anything else you'd like to discuss. Bring your QUESTIONS to this open forum-in five minutes.
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| janfields | The Tuesday afternoon "Open Forum" will begin promptly at 3 Atlantic/CANADA, 2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Central, Noon Mountain, and 11 am Pacific. While you wait for the "Open Forum" to start, feel free to use your ASK A QUESTION button RIGHT BETWEEN THE YELLOW "MAP" AND THE RED QUESTION MARK IN ICHAT to post some questions for the discussion group-two minutes from now.
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| janfields | Good afternoon! Welcome to this Tuesday afternoon's "Open Forum" session. I'm your moderator, Jan Fields, Web Editor. I'm here for an informal time of answering any questions you might like to ask, on any subject. So feel free to ask what's on your mind--and I'll tell you what's on mine! First, please read these announcements, then we'll get started….
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| janfields | IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS: Send questions you'd like answered or discussed by using your "Ask a Question" icon/button. (It looks like a thought bubble icon, RIGHT NEXT TO THE RED QUESTION MARK.) I will post the questions one at a time in the chat room and do our best to answer them. Also note: If you want to make it possible to ask the longest question you can, first type "/ask" (without the quotation marks), then leave one space after the end of "ask", then type as many characters of your question as you can. If your question is not complete, send the second part next, then if necessary the third, etc…
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| janfields | WARNING: If you don't post anything at all, SOME of you will be bounced off the system in 15 minutes. TO PREVENT THIS, type something (either a question to the moderator or even a private message) every 15 minutes to stay active and remain online.
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| janfields | PLEASE NOTE: If you type remarks into the little box at the bottom of your screen instead of using the "ask question" option - I won't see it and it can't make it to the transcript. So anything you want to contribute to the conversation - please, use the ASK QUESTION button.
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| janfields | This chat will last about an hour...maybe a few minutes more.
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| janfields | I want to start with a couple good news bits
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| janfields | Because I adore good news.
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| janfields | And we don't get nearly as much as we need as writers.
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| janfields | Stephanie shares this great news: I got a phone call from an editor with Concordia Publishing House. He just
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| curriculum work for them. This will look great on my |
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| want me to do is what I love doing on a daily |
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| janfields | Yeah Stephanie
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| janfields | I've done curriculum work for church publishers and it's a lot of fun.
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| janfields | Donna Marie West shares this -- My short story, "The Bed Bug" has just appeared in the April 2006 issue of STORY FRIENDS. This is the second publication for this story, which is actually the first one I ever submitted, when I was about 4 lessons into the basic course back in 2003.
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| janfields | Great, Donna..
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| janfields | Donna got into this wonderful magazine before it folded..
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| janfields | many of us are going to really miss Story Friends.
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| janfields | It is mailing it's last issue in a few months
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| janfields | On the Line is also folding...alas
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| janfields | Shannon says: Wee Ones just accepted my historical profile, “Mary Pickersgill’s Gigantic Flag” for publication in July 2007.
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| janfields | I love Wee Ones...the editor is a sweetheart AND an ICL instructor!
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| janfields | So good on ya, Shannon
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| janfields | writermum shared that she'll be writing a column (God's Crazy Quilt) for Extreme Woman. And a bi-weekly column on marriage and parenting for Moms in Faith.
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| janfields | Columns are fun, and a great way to practice our grace under pressure skills -- good writermum
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| janfields | Sarah says, "Positive Teens Magazine is publishing my article "Recovering from Hurricane Katrina" in the next issue!!!!!!"
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| janfields | Good going Sarah...sounds like an interesting piece.
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| casey | Wee Ones accepted my "Jackhammer of the Forest" for March/april 2007
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| janfields | Yeah, casey.
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| janfields | And for the questioning...the editor of Wee Ones is Jennifer Reed.
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| janfields | One of my favorites.
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| janfields | Now let's hit some tough stuff...
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| duckduck | What do you think about Story Friends folding and the changes at Carus?
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| janfields | Unfortunately, I was expecting Story Friends to fold, though On the Line was a surprise
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| janfields | You can often tell when a magazine is ailing...
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| janfields | When they disappear from the 'net...cut staff...start to get really slow to respond.
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| janfields | And a lot of smaller magazines do struggle to stay alive in this competitive market.
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| janfields | The Cricket group's change surprised a lot of folks.
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| janfields | It makes sense to consolidate magazines under one roof, but it sure was hard on the editors.
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| janfields | And I think they might find that doesn't end up with the rewards to their reputation that they would like.
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| george kulz | I know this question has been asked in forum before, but who do you address a cover letter to if you don't have a contact person's name? In particular, it's for a book publisher.
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| janfields | If you don't have an editor name...and sometimes publications actually prefer you send NOT to a specific editor
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| janfields | Then I always use "Dear Editor..."
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| janfields | Or I've been known simply to use "Greetings,"
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| janfields | I NEVER NEVER NEVER use "Dear Sir or Madam"
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| janfields | I've heard editors say they hate that.
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| janfields | Many of them are young people and it just sounds very foreign to them
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| janfields | To get something that formal.
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| duckduck | When do you have enough rejections on one ms to just say forget it?
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| janfields | When I run out of markets it matches.
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| janfields | Really, I almost never call it a day on magazine stuff.
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| janfields | I have given up on SOME book manuscripts when I get rejections that say things like..
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| janfields | "I could have bought this a few years ago but we just don't buy...whatever...anymore"
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| janfields | Sometimes I'll try a few more but often I'll shelve it and wait for greener pastures.
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| highhopes | In the guidelines for Bread for God's Children it states "no tag endings". What does this mean?
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| janfields | I zipped an email to the editor to see if a tag ending was a "moral of the story" type ending. This is the answer from BREAD -- YES, we don't want any obvious restatement of the moral of the story.
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| janfields | That's pretty universal with religious magazines
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| janfields | They want a strong theme but they want it not summed up
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| janfields | but "revealled"
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| janfields | The plot should unfold and illustrate the lesson
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| janfields | But you really want to avoid having the main character sum up what she's learned at the end.
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| plumisle | I'm trying to enter the Writer's Retreat discussion boards for the first time and don't know how to send a message of my own. Can you help me?
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| janfields | All of the posting functions in the Writer's Retreat can be accessed by clicking on the faint-ish triangle within a circle that is at the lefthand corner of the thick blue toolbar. Clicking that will make a new toolbar appear that will have the controls you need.
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| janfields | I still sometimes forget and wonder...where the heck did my controls go?
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| janfields | So..the little arrow is your friend on the discussion boards in Writer's Retreat.
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| janfields | Ryan asks: Do picture book editors normally want more than one story submitted because they are so short, especially if you wanted to do a picture book series?
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| janfields | Yes, usually with any book manuscript...you send one.
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| janfields | Especially in today's market
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| janfields | picture book editors are way to scared to think series all that often
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| janfields | and a lot of series are done "out of house" by packagers
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| janfields | But if you're manuscript can stand alone but you think it's a good series idea
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| janfields | You can focus on the one...then mention series possiblity near the bottom of your cover letter.
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| janfields | But only send one unless they ask to see the others.
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| vettemom | OK, your opinion on resolving a story please? need one ?
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| janfields | You're asking if your story can be open ended -- not clear on the resolution?
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| janfields | If so..yes, magazine will buy that.
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| janfields | Sort of a "lady or the tiger" ending
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| janfields | But it still needs to be satisfying
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| janfields | And you really can only get away with it for teens and only if the story is pretty literary
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| janfields | in tone.
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| duckduck | Do you have any figures on the popularity of ebooks?
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| janfields | Ebooks are still lagging...especially for kid books.
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| janfields | Some homeschoolers are connecting with SOME ebook nonfiction
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| janfields | But fiction is still pretty much a "cottage industry" feel
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| janfields | I know a few folks who
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| janfields | have gotten a hundred dollars in royalties
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| janfields | but I know a lot more who have gotten a lot less
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| janfields | And, really, you can make a hundred bucks from some magazines.
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| skeet | is there a market for animals and kids that communicate?
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| janfields | I come really close to saying no
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| janfields | You see it, of course, on tv
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| janfields | Dora has the monkey and they both talk
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| janfields | And there are plenty of others
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| janfields | And thus they do end up in print via television.
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| janfields | But editors are soooooooooo leary of it
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| janfields | You would have to be incredibly outstanding.
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| janfields | So...I'm teetering on the edge of NO...but you never know, really.
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| dell | Does an author make the same amount of royalty on a picture book if the book is purchased online at a discount, say from Alphacraze.com or overstock.com, etc? thanks!
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| janfields | Up to a point. The bulk of royalty payments are on what the book's cover price is
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| janfields | But once you get remaindered...things change.
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| janfields | And a lot of that is in the contract...and sort of mysterious to me.
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| janfields | But as long as you're in print and selling...you're royalities aren't going to be dependent upon
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| janfields | who is doing the selling.
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| janfields | As long as you're with a commerical publisher.
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| gladys1 | what about animal stories where the animals and humans do not speak to each other but only to their own species?
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| janfields | I've seen stories...there was a really cute one in Highlights...where the animal is talking to himself
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| janfields | After overhearing some people talk.
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| janfields | They don't talk to one another...but they co-exist.
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| janfields | So that's a little easier...but often animals and people are pretty separate in stories.
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| janfields | Of course, if you're a celeb or a world famous adult novelist you can write a kid book anyway you like
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| janfields | And it'll get published...it's a little harder for us normal folks
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| paige | Is it acceptable to copy a word definition from a dictionary for use in a sidebar -- or would one have to re-word it?
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| janfields | If you give the exact atttribution right in the sidebar, that should be fine.
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| janfields | If the publisher doesn't like it...they will let you know.
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| janfields | I see a lot of "According to Websters, a hurricane is...blah, blah blah" stuff so it's okay
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| jobranham1964 | what do you mean by "remaindered"?
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| janfields | Ah...remaindered is book hell.
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| janfields | When your book sells out what the publisher believes is it's potential
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| janfields | Any extra copies are usually
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| janfields | either offered to the author (cheaply) or released to deep discount booksellers
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| janfields | And the book is officially "out of print" even though copies are still being sold at these discount sources
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| duckduck | How does a person go about getting permission to use material, say scripture from a specific bible, to use in an article? If you write to the publisher and have to wait for a response, won't it take a very long time?
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| janfields | If you use KJV...no problem, it's public domain
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| janfields | If you use other verses...it depends upon how much you're using.
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| janfields | Say you're doing a book...and you use a lot
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| janfields | If all comes from the same source...say New KJV...you can actually go ahead and secure a publisher
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| janfields | Before you get your permissions...sometimes the publisher will even handle the permissions
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| janfields | Sometimes not...but they will give you the time to get them.
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| duckduck | Can you sell an out of print book to another publisher?
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| janfields | Sometimes...if you think you can convince another publisher that it still has
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| janfields | marketability...which is hard if it's in remainder bins
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| janfields | Plus, you have to be sure rights reverted back to you upon "out of print'
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| janfields | They usually do...in most contracts.
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| duckduck | Do publishers have very tight specific guidelines for writing easy readers?
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| janfields | It depends upon the publisher...some really really do, some don't. There is ZERO standardization in easy readers.
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| janfields | You have to get the guidelines.
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| gladys1 | can you revise an out of date book and resubmit it under a different name or even the same name
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| janfields | Sure, if you own the rights again...but again...it's a whole new marketing ballgame
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| janfields | So the fact that it's been published before and possiby bled off all it's potential market can be an issue.
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| eggamy | what about verses we us in Sunday School papers?
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| janfields | Those are so brief, you don't have to worry about permission.
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| janfields | Just make sure you use the version that the magazine prefers.
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| janfields | Guidelines usually tell...and it's often listed in the masthead since they get permission.
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| janfields | Loretta asked: If someone is interested in submitting an article to either the Writers Support or Writing Tips, will the submission guidelines be the same and will you be reviewing them?
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| janfields | Right now, I came into this with a pretty big que of articles...and I cleared the que
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| janfields | by assigning articles up to June.
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| janfields | So if you submit something to me NOW for the website...I'm probably going to ask you to resbub in the summer
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| janfields | Because I hate to make folks wait and wait to see when they are going online.
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| janfields | But other than that little thing...guidelines are the same.
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| janfields | omalizzie asks: What are 'tearsheets?'
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| janfields | Some magazines ask for tearsheets...
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| janfields | That's a sneaky way to see if you've been published and where
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| janfields | And how much page you got
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| janfields | So the magazine wants a photocopy of your article/story right from the magazine
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| janfields | And sometimes they ALSO want a photocopy of the contents page
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| janfields | so they can verify what issue.
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| janfields | Mostly this is only asked for by magazines that pay pretty well.
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| dell | All this talk about remaindering is making me realize how important it is for an author to promote his/her books(s). (How sad it must be to see one's 'baby' go out of print. )
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| janfields | Promotion is important but I've seen books that were doing pretty good
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| janfields | midlist
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| janfields | nonfiction that went out of print because the publisher only had so much room on its list
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| janfields | and felt they had bigger sellers coming in.
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| janfields | Publishing can be painful.
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| high hopes | Is a "tearsheet" the same as a clip then?
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| janfields | Often if a magazine asks for "clips" you can just list your publications
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| janfields | But if they specify tearsheets...they want the photocopies.
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| janfields | Which boosts your postage costs...so personally
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| janfields | I tend to in
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| janfields | interprete
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| janfields | clips to mean...please, list some publications and what kind of story you sold
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| janfields | So far, no editor has smacked me with a rolled up magazine.
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| caq | If your story or article was publisned in an e-zine, how do you get a tear sheet? After a while it will no longer be on the mag site.
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| janfields | As soon as your work goes online...PRINT IT OUT
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| janfields | print a couple copies
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| janfields | Put them in a binder.
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| janfields | They can then be used as tearsheets.
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| vettemom | I always thought clips were copies?
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| janfields | Yeah, they probably mean copies...but...well...dang copies are heavy
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| janfields | So...I send lists of publications, titles of pieces sold and dates.
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| janfields | And it normally makes them happy.
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| janfields | If they are going to pay me a lot if they buy my sub.
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| janfields | I might send one photocopy...but that's about it
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| janfields | I'm one cheap little writer girl.
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| caq | If your story or article is printed in an ezine, you most likely have to subscribe to be able to access the magazine articles and stories so do you have to subscribe in order to get a copy to print?
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| janfields | If my article is in an ezine...they dang well BETTER give me access to it.
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| janfields | Or send me some copies in the mail.
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| janfields | And if it's a subscription ezine...I will get that worked out at the "gee we love this we want to buy it" stage.
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| janfields | I don't PAY anyone to get my own clips...nope nope nope
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| janfields | Smack those people.
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| dawnlee71 | What do you put on a resume before you are published?
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| janfields | I actually spent one year writing for adult magazines while never mentioning previous credits
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| janfields | Just to prove to my writing class that you could sell without credits.
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| janfields | Most magazines REAL interest is in the piece you are actually offering them.
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| janfields | And when you're sending a manuscript...your past sales are of limited interest
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| janfields | Cause they ain't buying them.
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| janfields | Sure I list them now...I will do whatever I must...but if your manuscript is good
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| janfields | And your approach professional...just skip the "clips" or credits part entirely.
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| janfields | Focus on the submission at hand...it'll be fine.
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| dawnlee71 | Does my ICL article count ? Should I put it on a resume?
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| janfields | If you've sold something to ICL..sure it counts. In fact, if you've been 'published' in a
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| janfields | free ezine that has good cred in the industry...that counts too
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| janfields | I know editors actually do pay attention to industry zines because I get email from editors
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| janfields | who read Kid Magazine Writers...and we're a dinky garage band zine
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| caq | I was told I could NOT put my ICL publications on my resume becasue they are not things that were written for children. I was told by my instructor and Mel they aren't relevant.
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| janfields | If you're writing nonfiction and ICL is your nonfiction credit...sure, I would put it.
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| janfields | I wouldn't put it for fiction cause there are a lot of folks who can write nonfic who can't write fiction
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| janfields | So the two don't really relate.
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| janfields | Heck, when I switched from writing for adults
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| janfields | to writing for kids, I used a lot of adult credits
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| writersblock | What about those that ASK for a resume? What do you put if you don't have any publishing credits then?
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| janfields | If your resume will have something that impresses them...
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| janfields | A background in the subject you're writing about
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| janfields | Or a degree in...I dunno...kid lit from one of the new MA programs.
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| janfields | Then...yes, a resume without credits can help.
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| janfields | But if they are asking for resumes and tearsheets...they are trying not too
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| janfields | subtly to avoid getting stuff from folks without creditrs
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| janfields | SO you might want to get credits and get back to them.
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| kimber6 | I sent something to Cricket in October and haven't heard back yet. Should I resubmit, or contact them?
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| janfields | I would consider it lost...but I might query and ask if they have it
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| janfields | Often when I send that kind of query
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| janfields | I also send the manuscript with it.
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| janfields | My letter will say, I sent this manuscript in October
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| janfields | And since it's quite a bit after your usual response time, I wanted to make sure you got it.
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| janfields | After all, if they didn't...well, they do now.
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| eggamy | Does my ICL training count they ask for resmue
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| janfields | The tragic truth is that although it counts SOME...it doesn't count a LOT
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| janfields | It shows you are serious about improving your work
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| janfields | Which is good.
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| janfields | But if you graduated recently...it still marks you are a beginning writer...which is less good.
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| janfields | But if you can write...and write really well...they'll get over it.
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| dawnlee71 | Is that why it can be better to be published than paid?
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| janfields | I wanted to field this one because it hits on something important
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| janfields | An online magazine
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| janfields | Or a print magazine
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| janfields | Is only as good as the stuff they buy.
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| janfields | So if you are published in an online that HAPPENS to pay but doesn't seem to have really good editorial oversight
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| janfields | If won't impress an editor (as a publication) as much as one with good rep but maybe doesn't pay.
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| janfields | So always read the stuff coming out of any ezine
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| janfields | Or e-publisher
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| janfields | Or tiny publisher.
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| janfields | And ask...do I want to be judged by keeping that company?
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| janfields | Because it does make a difference.
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| dawnlee71 | Are there ones you'd recomend avoiding?
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| janfields | That's tough because unless they cheat you...I don't like to say...psst...stay away.
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| janfields | But really, if you read it and you like it...and they seem to publish good stuff...I would totally go with it.
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| janfields | And I would never write off one that is publishing...um....less than stellar stuff at the start up
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| janfields | Because something ya gotta go with what you get submitted...I've seen magazines that started off kind of ...ish
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| janfields | But eventually became a really good solid market.
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| janfields | But it might be one to keep an eye on rather than one to jump into.
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| gladys1 | what about being published on line and not paid for it? Does that count as credits?
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| janfields | Yes, there are tons of unpaid credits that can be great.
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| janfields | Some magazines just don't have the funds
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| janfields | Again...read it. If you think the content is impressive...chances are it's making itself noticed in the industry
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| janfields | And that will make it a good credit.
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| janfields | Well, guys, it's 3pm
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| janfields | That was fun though...y'all ask great questions.
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| janfields | And I know I didn't get to them all.
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| janfields | But they will all go into the Monday newsletter-ish reminder thing
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| janfields | With answers.
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| janfields | Oh..and by the way, THE FRIDAY newsletters will now ALWAYS be online
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| janfields | In the Writer's support area
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| janfields | Under "Getting Started."
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| janfields | They will stay online for one week and be replaced by the new one.
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| janfields | I know some folks have subscriber issues sometimes.
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