| janfields |
Today's Open Forum will
begin in five minutes. It's open topic, so any writing question is
fair game -- let's play "stump the Jan" in five
minutes.
|
| janfields |
Open Forum begins in 2
minutes...two minutes till "stump the Jan"
|
| janfields |
Welcome to Open Forum,
May 15. I'm your moderator and web editor, Jan Fields -- ready to
answer whatever you feel like asking.
|
| janfields |
I have a couple
pre-loaded questions...but I'm still counting on y'all to have some
things you want to know.
|
| janfields |
If we can't get to all
the questions...any leftover will be answered in the
newsletter
|
| janfields |
But we usually do
pretty well.
|
| janfields |
So, let's hit
it...
|
| janfields |
Xu: Is anthology piece
same as magazine piece?
|
| janfields |
Basically short
nonfiction and fiction has two possible markets...
|
| janfields |
actually three...but
let's talk about the two main ones first.
|
| janfields |
Magazines are the first
that come to mind
|
| janfields |
Most magazine stuff for
kids is under 2000 words...some way under.
|
| janfields |
However, there are also
books which are made up of short pieces by different
authors.
|
| janfields |
These are
anthologies.
|
| janfields |
They are a lot like
magazines, but all the pieces are usually thematically
linked.
|
| janfields |
I've had piece
published in writing anthologies and teaching
anthologies.
|
| janfields |
And sometimes stuff you
sell to a magazine, might be bought again by the magazine's
publisher to go into an anthology
|
| janfields |
If the publisher does
that sort of thing.
|
| janfields |
For example, selling to
Seasonal and Holiday Celebrations (before they
folded)
|
| janfields |
allowed me to be
published in their softcover book anthology too...and they paid
extra for that.
|
| janfields |
The third way short
things are published are in educational materials -- usually testing
materials.
|
| janfields |
Today, a lot of test
companies buy stories from magazines.
|
| janfields |
A story I sold to Wee
Ones was picked up by a testing company and I was paid again at that
time.
|
| stretch |
Is there a promoter
agent? Like a literary agent? I am disabled, and visiting schools is
hard for me.
|
| janfields |
You can hire someone to
help you schedule all your promotions
|
| janfields |
And to find promotion
outlets for you
|
| janfields |
The person isn't called
a promoter agent...he's called a publicist.
|
| janfields |
They are very
expensive, so much like any publicity push,
|
| janfields |
you have to decide how
much you want to invest and you need to be able to look
honestly
|
| janfields |
at your book and tell
if it's worth the investment.
|
| janfields |
That doesn't mean -- do
you have a good book?
|
| janfields |
It means -- do you have
a book that is likely to sell well with promotion.
|
| janfields |
That usually means a
"high concept" book...one that sounds exciting even when boiled down
to a one-line synopsis.
|
| janfields |
If you feel that you
do, a good publicist can be invaluable.
|
| janfields |
Xu: What are
differences between article and essay?
|
| janfields |
An article is designed
to bring facts to the reader
|
| janfields |
The facts can be used
by the reader to do something -- in the case of a how-to
article.
|
| janfields |
The facts can be used
simply to inform -- in the case of an informational
article.
|
| janfields |
The facts may be used
to convince the reader of something -- in a persuasive
article.
|
| janfields |
An essay is also
usually designed to bring about change in the
reader.
|
| janfields |
Though often it's a
change in viewpoint.
|
| janfields |
An essay mixes fact
with opinion, and usually depends on the writer's experience for
some of its support.
|
| janfields |
Any "facts" woven into
an essay should be supported with your source
list/bibliography
|
| janfields |
But mostly an essay
draws from your experience and your viewpoint.
|
| janfields |
It's hard to get essays
for kids published, unless they are by kids.
|
| janfields |
But essays for adults
readers on topics like parenting are easier.
|
| coloradokate |
I have a few subs out, to
magazines and to contests, that I sent long before the recent
postage increase was even a gleam in the Postmaster's eye. What do
you think will happen with my underfunded SASEs? Will the mags add
the postage???
|
| janfields |
Usually there is a kind
of "grace period" during which all the little lost sheep of SASE
land make it home.
|
| janfields |
Sometimes they come
"postage due" but often the post office just kind of "ignores" the
difference in postage.
|
| janfields |
If the submission is
with a publisher for a LONG time...sometimes they will add more
postage (I've had them do that for me.)
|
| janfields |
If you KNOW that the
rate is substantially higher than what you put on
it...
|
| janfields |
you can contact the
publisher with a "follow up" and simply ask what they would like you
to do.
|
| janfields |
Maybe offer an
alternate response option like email.
|
| janfields |
Or offer to send a new
SASE.
|
| janfields |
I wouldn't just send a
new SASE because you probably don't need to.
|
| janfields |
But if it's a big
increase, a publisher will appreciate the offer.
|
| janfields |
And an agent or tiny
house/magazine will appreciate it a lot.
|
| webby27 |
Do illustrators take a
great deal of art courses in order to study different techniques in
illustration?
|
| janfields |
Yes, actually they
do.
|
| janfields |
I did an informal bit
of research on all the illustrators I know
|
| janfields |
And all the ones I
could find.
|
| janfields |
In all cases, all the
illustrators had professional training.
|
| janfields |
This isn't just to make
them nifty artists -- many were nifty artists to begin
with.
|
| janfields |
It was to teach them
the technical requirements of illustrations...
|
| janfields |
which is TOTALLY
different from how you would approach a fine arts
painting.
|
| janfields |
That's one reason why
it won't work to get your sister/cousin/daughter/son/uncle to do
illustrations for your book
|
| janfields |
Even if they are
totally nifty -- if they don't know the technical requirements of
the work
|
| janfields |
A publisher won't want
to work with them.
|
| janfields |
I saw a self-published
picture book about two years ago.
|
| janfields |
The author had hired a
talented local fine artist to do the illustrations.
|
| janfields |
They were very
pretty...but they were TERRIBLE as illustrations.
|
| janfields |
The faces of the boys
in the illustrations weren't consistent...the youngest boy seemed to
change from infant to toddler to preschooler depending upon the
illustration
|
| janfields |
The color for hair was
not consistent
|
| janfields |
A fine artist simply
isn't used to trying to render an exact likeness over and over and
over in action drawings.
|
| janfields |
Xu: Can an unpublished
writer join the local SCBWI?
|
| janfields |
Yes, you
can.
|
| janfields |
Anyone who wants to
join SCBWI who is not published...
|
| janfields |
or who IS published but
not in any children's related media...
|
| janfields |
can join as an
associate member. And become full members upon
|
| janfields |
publication in a
children's media...including ebooks, magazines, books, audio
books...a bunch of stuff. Even coloring books for
illustrators.
|
| janfields |
There isn't really any
difference in quality of interaction between SCBWI and associate
members
|
| janfields |
vs full
members.
|
| janfields |
And once you join the
national, you automatically become a member of your local
group.
|
| janfields |
Though sometimes there
is an extra fee for a local print newsletter -- to cover cost of
printing.
|
| janfields |
But you cannot join a
local group without joining national.
|
| stjohn |
I've heard other people
talk about SCBWI. What is it?
|
| janfields |
SCBWI is the Society of
Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
|
| janfields |
Though they have a lot
of members without books...who have only been published in
magazines.
|
| janfields |
Those of us who write
primarily for magazines are the red-headed step child of
SCBWI
|
| janfields |
but we do get to be
full members.
|
| janfields |
The group holds
conferences -- both nationally and regionally.
|
| janfields |
They have a variety of
worthwhile publications.
|
| janfields |
The organization is
actually slightly more valuable to the beginning writer than the
experienced writer
|
| janfields |
But they are beginning
to try to change that to help all of us.
|
| writingfreak |
How short is a short
biography?
|
| janfields |
Well, a short biography
in a magazine could be 500 words.
|
| janfields |
A short biography that
you write in third person to accompany an article is usually from 50
- 100 words.
|
| janfields |
A short biography for a
picture book is usually close to 1000 words.
|
| janfields |
So...it depends on what
kind of short biography you're dealing with.
|
| janfields |
Ah-ha...I have now run
out of questions
|
| janfields |
Wanna ask something --
hu? huh?
|
| janfields |
Jitterbug: How do you
join SCBWI?
|
| janfields |
You can join online
actually...go to http://www.scbwi.org
|
| janfields |
And they have online
forms...if you want to pay by credit card, I think you can do it all
online.
|
| janfields |
I know I renew that
way.
|
| janfields |
Otherwise, you can
print out the forms and do it through the mail.
|
| janfields |
And you'll get a packet
in the mail of very cool material.
|
| janfields |
You'll also get the
monthly newsletter which used to be kind of niffish...but has gotten
really good lately.
|
| janfields |
Do I recommend it? Yes
and no.
|
| janfields |
If money is tight...you
don't need to join. You can do fine without it.
|
| janfields |
But it will let you
connect with other writers.
|
| janfields |
It will send you some
good materials.
|
| janfields |
And I think it just
makes us FEEL more like we're connected.
|
| janfields |
At this point in my
career...they don't do a lot for me. But I stay a member because I
like being connected to the whole children's-writing
field.
|
| janfields |
Monkee:
niffish?
|
| janfields |
Niffish is ...so-so,
not so hot...kinds blah.
|
| janfields |
I am pretty sure
membership costs the same period...though you renew for less than
the cost of joining.
|
| gonewest |
How long after payment
from Highlights will they let you kno
|
| gonewest |
know when your piece will
be published?
|
| janfields |
My experience has
varied from JUST BEFORE THEY PUBLISH to "HEY, LOOK AT THIS A
CONTRIBUTOR'S COPY -- I GUESS THEY PUBLISHED IT.
|
| janfields |
So, they don't give you
a lot of pre-warning.
|
| janfields |
And I suspect it tends
to be dependent on how on top of things they are.
|
| monkee |
Any tips on feelings of
"too many writers already, why try?"
|
| janfields |
I don't think there are
too many writers ... we need the voice of writers.
|
| janfields |
Ultimately, the "too
many writers" thing just means the slush piles are
slow
|
| janfields |
The editors work too
hard
|
| janfields |
And sometimes reading
submissions is like getting punched in the brain
repeatedly.
|
| janfields |
The issue really
is...do you have the skills to compete with the VERY SMALL number of
good writers.
|
| janfields |
Editors will tell you
that there just enough good writers to go around.
|
| janfields |
And tween magazines
will tell you there are not enough good writers.
|
| janfields |
Honestly, I had an
editor ask me if I would please consider writing for
her.
|
| janfields |
She even said
please.
|
| janfields |
So there are not too
many writers...there are a lot of writers.
|
| janfields |
And many of them are
too focused on getting stuff out there and not quite focused enough
of getting good.
|
| janfields |
Becoming a good writer
means never ever quitting on the process of skill building...there
is always something to learn, an area to grow in.
|
| janfields |
We can send stuff out
before we're "good" -- I sold stuff long long long long long before
I was a good writer.
|
| janfields |
Because the other thing
editors want is a writer who bothers to know their
market.
|
| janfields |
If you take time to get
to know the market...really read while asking yourself -- hmmm...why
did they buy this piece above all the things in the slush
pile.
|
| janfields |
Then you've got a huge
leg up.
|
| janfields |
StJohn: What do you
mean by voice, Jan? The right voice and style?
|
| janfields |
Voice can mean a couple
different things.
|
| janfields |
It means how well you
sound like a peer to the reader...because most children's writing
today is writing in a peer voice.
|
| janfields |
Most children's writing
say....the 30 - 40 - 50s was written in an adult
voice.
|
| janfields |
The voice of the adult
watching the kids.
|
| janfields |
So, part of what you
want to do is here kids
|
| janfields |
hear
|
| janfields |
not
here
|
| janfields |
And respect
them.
|
| janfields |
Anytime you approach an
article or story with a "this is something kids ought to do" or
"hear" or "learn" -- you're automatically going to get into that
adult voice.
|
| janfields |
Because your base goal
is going to be to fix the kid
|
| janfields |
Good writing does
change the reader.
|
| janfields |
Sometimes I read a
novel and end up thinking about it for weeks or even
years.
|
| janfields |
It makes me ask
questions or myself and think
|
| janfields |
But if we think about
how adult novels do that...then bring that down to do it for
kids...then we'll have the peer voice.
|
| janfields |
Because certainly adult
novels do not take a "let me teach you what's good for you"
tact.
|
| janfields |
And neither does adult
nonfiction.
|
| janfields |
Imagine how quick you'd
read an article on the changes in tax law if the writer assumed you
needed constant reminders to be honest and not
steal.
|
| janfields |
You'd be
insulted.
|
| janfields |
And yet editors get
nonfiction with that "sound" to it.
|
| janfields |
Hmmm...I think I
wandered...I definitely wandered.
|
| janfields |
Sigh.
|
| janfields |
Anyway, voice is also
about word choice...choosing powerful verbs
|
| janfields |
Keeping sentences clear
and crisp -- go for elegant simplicity, not artistic
complexity.
|
| janfields |
A lot of what passes
for artistic complexity in adult literary novels is just
self-indulgence and you don't get to write that way for
kids.
|
| janfields |
So...you don't have to
sound TRENDY.
|
| janfields |
You don't need to fill
your article with trendy things like text message abbreviations --
BFF o
|
| janfields |
or
CUl8tr
|
| janfields |
Just write normal prose
but keep it casual and comfortable.
|
| janfields |
One thing that helps me
is to imagine I'm writing about it to a friend...someone my own age
but who bores easily.
|
| janfields |
Then I tend to be
casual...but simple.
|
| janfields |
And crips and focused
on cool/fun factor.
|
| janfields |
Golly, it would be
nifty if I could type as well as I pontificate.
|
| coloradokate |
Jan, about understanding
voice--it can help to compare different works by the same author.
Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie has a very different voice
than her A Tale of Despereaux. Or Lois Lowry, with The Giver, as
compared to Gooney Bird Greene--TOTALLY different
"voice."
|
| janfields |
Great
suggestion...voice in novels varies from novel to
novel
|
| janfields |
Even in the same
author,
|
| janfields |
Looking at A Tale of
Despereaux and The Giver...the authors are trying to give a sense of
"back in time"
|
| janfields |
but still keeping
simple enough to hold the attention of young
readers.
|
| janfields |
While Gooney Bird is
full of contemporary bounce and charm
|
| janfields |
And Because of
Winn-Dixie is very very region specific -- you would never
accidentally decide that novel was set in New England, for
example.
|
| janfields |
So...there are a lot of
things that color your decisions about voice...including point of
view and the specific narrator.
|
| monkee |
What are some good hi-low
books for adults who hate to read?
|
| janfields |
You know...I honestly
don't know.
|
| janfields |
If I were giving a book
to an adult who doesn't like to read
|
| janfields |
I would probably go
with an anthology
|
| janfields |
Because stories are so
much easier to conquer than a long novel.
|
| janfields |
Hey...the Spenser
novels could be good...I know the author keeps writing novelettes
and publishing them as novels.
|
| janfields |
If the print gets any
bigger they'll look like Dr Seuss
|
| janfields |
WOW...good news for
ccollier -- she got accepted in a Christmas anthology --
yippee...super congratz
|
| janfields |
I wanted to get that
into the transcript.
|
| janfields |
Jitterbug: What is a
novelette?
|
| janfields |
A novelette is a story
that is longer than a short story (for adults, more than 10000) and
shorter than a novel (for adults, meaning shorter than
80000)
|
| janfields |
The average adult
novellette is around 40000 words
|
| stjohn |
what do you think are the
essential elements ofa great story
|
| janfields |
Great
characterization
|
| janfields |
Action...keeping the
plot moving.
|
| janfields |
Thematic
depth.
|
| janfields |
Mad writing
skills.
|
| janfields |
StJohn: Thematic
Depth?
|
| janfields |
Thematic depth means
the "truth" revealled in the story.
|
| janfields |
A story, on the
surface, is usually about goals, conflict, action,
romance...whatever
|
| janfields |
But usually something
is revealled in that.
|
| janfields |
Let's take a story we
all probably know...say...Moby Dick
|
| janfields |
On the surface, it's
about a big white whale and a crazy guy
|
| janfields |
But it's also about the
dangerous and seductive power of obsession.
|
| janfields |
Now, most of us aren't
going nuts to kill whales.
|
| janfields |
But we can all become
obsessed with something...allowing a natural need/or conflict to
grow until it consumes us.
|
| janfields |
Until it becomes
unhealthy.
|
| janfields |
Ray Bradbury's short
story The Veldt looked at the same general theme.
|
| janfields |
His story is on the
seductive power of technology...but ultimately it's about
obsession/addiction and destruction
|
| janfields |
It's not as blunt as a
moral...you have to ponder the story a bit to get the
theme
|
| janfields |
But usually the theme
is what makes the story stay with you and nag you and force you to
think.
|
| janfields |
Jitterbu: Are there
novelettes for teenagers?
|
| janfields |
Yes, sometimes Cicada
will run novellettes
|
| janfields |
And Spider runs them as
serials.
|
| janfields |
Vivian Van de Velde has
done some in her story collections.
|
| janfields |
For a teen, a
novellette is usually more like 6000 - 9000 words...sometimes as
much as 10000
|
| janfields |
How do you create a
great character in the short span of a picture book? I'm thinking of
the IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE books
|
| janfields |
That question was from
michelep
|
| janfields |
Picture books usually
depend on unusual action for character depth.
|
| janfields |
When a character does
something unexpected.
|
| janfields |
The mouse going from a
cookie to almost totally wrecking of the house.
|
| janfields |
Or Olivia (Ian
Falconer) or Lily -- characters who you recognize because they have
the unpredictablity of kids.
|
| janfields |
But taken just a bit
further
|
| janfields |
so it suprises even the
reader.
|
| janfields |
If you go too far into
unpredictable, you get unbelievable.
|
| janfields |
So you want to take
what is real and unpredictable in kids and stretch it just a tiny
bit further.
|
| coloradokate |
is Cicada open for
submissions again?
|
| janfields |
I don't think so...I'll
drop the editor an email and see if she wants to make a prediction
about when they will be.
|
| monkee |
Are there markets for
travel pieces/articles for kids?
|
| janfields |
That is an area where
family magazines really really really are open -- they want travel
pieces for families...kid friendly destinations.
|
| janfields |
Otherwise, for kid
magazines, you have to focus on a specific travelling kid and make
it a profile.
|
| janfields |
If I wanted to do a
travel piece, for example, on a trip to...I
dunno...Madagasscar.
|
| janfields |
I would do it from my
daughter's viewpoint
|
| janfields |
Her
descriptions
|
| janfields |
Some
photos.
|
| janfields |
Then I could sell it to
a dozen magazines.
|
| janfields |
But otherwise...no, I
don't know of any markets for travel.
|
| janfields |
And speaking of my
daughter...it's after three so I have to fold up shop here and go
collect her.
|
| janfields |
Thanks for coming
everyone. It was fun as always...I really appreciate that y'all turn
out for
these.
|