| janfields |
Open Forum Chat begins
tonight in five minutes -- join for an open topic forum with web
editor Jan Fields in five minutes.
|
| janfields |
Open Forum Chat begins
in two minutes -- come play "stump the Jan" -- last time, the winner
was chippy!! Who will pop up with a question I can't answer
tonight?
|
| janfields |
Welcome to Friday Night
Forum. We're running with an open topic tonight so any writing
question is fair game. I'm your host, Jan Fields, snapping out
answers from 20 years as a professional writer.
|
| janfields |
Thanks for popping in
to share an hour with me.
|
| janfields |
I hope to be able to
answer any questions you might have.
|
| janfields |
Oh, soradina, wants my
wisdom on the right field to be in to make
money....
|
| janfields |
hmmmmm....
|
| janfields |
I see it
now....
|
| janfields |
You can make a bundle
sending spam about Nigerian banking.
|
| janfields |
Oh...you said
legal.
|
| janfields |
I dunno. You got me
there.
|
| janfields |
But I have a leftover
question from the last open forum...I dunno how I missed
it.
|
| janfields |
So I'm going to pop it
in for the transcript.
|
| craftymama |
I have a very commn name.
What if there is already an author out there with the same name?
What do you suggest?
|
| janfields |
I actually know of a
lot of writers who have faced this.
|
| janfields |
You can go with a true
variant of your name
|
| janfields |
For example....if there
was another "Jan Fields" who had already made a name for herself in
writing
|
| janfields |
I could simply write as
"J.E.Fields
|
| janfields |
Most of the writers I
know who have dealt with the "same name" issue use a variant of
their name...or a family name...or a middle name.
|
| janfields |
Usually there's a way
to make yourself stand out.
|
| janfields |
You could do what
Michael J. Fox did to differentiate yourself and give yourself a
fake middle initial.
|
| janfields |
Dell says it's a good
idea to google...yes.
|
| janfields |
Actually there are a
lot of jokes about "self googling"
|
| janfields |
But it's a good idea to
do it.
|
| janfields |
See who has your
name
|
| janfields |
Also, it's a nice way
to find out if anyone on some website is saying nasty things about
you.
|
| janfields |
Which, isn't
necessarily good news...
|
| janfields |
but ya hate to be the
last to know, right?
|
| nisey |
How do I find the right
magazine for my article/story?
|
| janfields |
Wow, I wish I had a
magic wand for that nisey.
|
| janfields |
Here's how I do
it.
|
| janfields |
Early in my career I
create a list of my "top markets"
|
| janfields |
the magazines I was
truly familiar with
|
| janfields |
And that I felt I
"connected" with
|
| janfields |
The ones that felt like
me.
|
| janfields |
Then, I discovered most
of what I wrote fit those markets.
|
| janfields |
For me, the top two
were the Cricket group and Pockets
|
| janfields |
So, for me..those are
"easy" markets.
|
| janfields |
But I don't do so well
with Highlights, which has a way different voice.
|
| janfields |
They rarely buy from
me.
|
| janfields |
Of course, to find
those markets I connect to...I had to take the time to read a lot of
magazines"
|
| janfields |
And that's never news
anyone wants to hear...but it's meant far more acceptances and far
fewer rejections for me.
|
| janfields |
So...take your market
guide
|
| janfields |
Make a list of the
markets you like the sound of
|
| janfields |
Track down copies...or
send away for them.
|
| janfields |
Start finding your
"best thing" markets -- they exist.
|
| nisey |
I seem to hit a road
block with the pieces I've sent out and
|
| nisey |
have trouble finding
other suitable matches.
|
| janfields |
In these days of market
specialization
|
| janfields |
The really sad news is
that it's pretty easy to write a piece
|
| janfields |
that just won't
sell.
|
| janfields |
As least not without
major overhauling.
|
| janfields |
For example, I wrote a
story that I tailored for American Girl.
|
| janfields |
But they passed on
it.
|
| janfields |
So now, I'm stuck
unless I rewrite because no one else buys fiction quite like
American Girl.
|
| janfields |
So...it's possible to
hit a road block that cannot be overcome without knowing a lot more
about more markets...
|
| janfields |
so that you know how to
go back to scratch and rebuild
|
| janfields |
to sell to what
exists.
|
| janfields |
That's one reason why I
like having a market in mind as I write.
|
| janfields |
I might not be married
to that market, but I don't end up "caught out" so
much.
|
| janfields |
If you want to ask a
question and be sure it has a chance to be posted, you'll need to
use either the "ask a question" button on the bar across the middle
of your screen. OR type /ask...then space once and type your
question. That passes the question to me and I can post it for
answer. If you type the question in the bar at the bottom of your
screen, I may not see it.
|
| chippy |
How do you go about
getting sample copies of magazines Jan? & How many should you
try and get?
|
| janfields |
Well, I always start
with magazines I can score at the library.
|
| janfields |
For me that's about ten
magazines if I'm willing to drive a bit
|
| janfields |
And I am...cause I'm
cheap.
|
| janfields |
Then I hit barnes and
noble
|
| janfields |
Then...as a last
resort...I'll send away.
|
| janfields |
Not often...cause
magazines are slow slow slow to respond to magazine copy
requests...even when you send money.
|
| janfields |
And I'm
impatient.
|
| janfields |
Thankfully, a lot of
markets are online.
|
| janfields |
And I discover new
markets by reading Wooden Horse Publishing
|
| janfields |
Which
|
| janfields |
"announces" a lot of
new markets.
|
| janfields |
I also check out Mr.
Magazine...he watches new magazine launches.
|
| janfields |
After I 'hear" of a new
market, I google the magazine title
|
| janfields |
so I can learn as much
as possible via the computer
|
| janfields |
Cause that doesn't cost
me.
|
| janfields |
Today more and more
magazines are putting real content online.
|
| janfields |
Oh, thanks Kate...for
Kids magazine, I do try to put up all the new markets I find on
http:..www.kidmagwriters.com
|
| janfields |
And I'll put notices in
the enews from this site.
|
| janfields |
And you can get update
on new markets through Children's Writer
|
| janfields |
And the Children's Book
Insider.
|
| janfields |
I buy market guides,
but they can be some outdated by the time they're in
print.
|
| janfields |
So newsletters online
and in print help tons.
|
| dell |
May I sneak in some good
magazine news...I have a rebus story - Cricket in the Classroom - in
the Sept issue of Ladybug. The story behind it is that it went
through a round of revisions with Highlights, but they ultimately
passed. So I subbed to Ladybug and they snapped it up. Very
subjective business we're in!
|
| janfields |
Yeah,
dell.
|
| janfields |
I missed putting that
in the enews.
|
| janfields |
I'm such a
slug...congratz though.
|
| janfields |
Selling a rebus is big
stuff.
|
| janfields |
Not an easy
form.
|
| grammybug |
is it easier to get
published by a magazine than to get a book
published?
|
| janfields |
Well, yes and
no
|
| janfields |
The top magazine
markets that pay really well
|
| janfields |
Boys' Life, American
Girl, Girl's Life, National Geographic...
|
| janfields |
those are rought to get
into
|
| janfields |
Probably as tough as a
book market.
|
| janfields |
But anything you write
for a magazine is likely to take less time than a
book.
|
| janfields |
And the magazines are
easier to target because the number of them are limited and they
make what they publish fairly clear.
|
| janfields |
Book publishers can be
mysterious.
|
| janfields |
And there aren't many
magazines that require you to have an agent.
|
| janfields |
Which makes everything
harder.
|
| stretch |
Please tell me how to
score mags from Barnes and Noble...I'm confused...
|
| janfields |
I meant I go to B&N
and buy all the kid magazines periodically.
|
| janfields |
But it's an investment
for me and I really invest a lot more probably than the average to
keep up with magazines.
|
| janfields |
Part of that is because
of kidmagwriters
|
| janfields |
And part is because I
coach a course called Pipeline
|
| janfields |
And marketing is a big
part of that coaching.
|
| janfields |
Before I got involved
with those...I really mostly stuck to my "pretty sure"
markets
|
| janfields |
the ones I
knew
|
| janfields |
The ones I read and
enjoyed
|
| janfields |
And I usually had one
"stretch" market a year...one I got to know and kept subbing to
until I made a sale.
|
| janfields |
Sometimes kids
magazines, sometimes magazines for adults.
|
| janfields |
I still do both
sometimes.
|
| chippy |
Are Wooden Horse
Publishing & Mr Magazine online?
|
| janfields |
Yes, let me get the
urls...one sec
|
| janfields |
http://www.woodenhorsepub.com/
|
| janfields |
This is basically just
a magazine site...all kinds of magazines
|
| janfields |
She announces
changes
|
| janfields |
And new
launches
|
| janfields |
She has a free
newsletter which I enjoy
|
| janfields |
She also have a
database of guidelines but you have to subscribe and it cost
money
|
| janfields |
I didn't find enough
kid magazines in it to be worth my while to pay
|
| janfields |
But I do like the free
newsletter and I visit once a week to find out about new magazine
launches.
|
| janfields |
http://mrmagazine.wordpress.com/
|
| janfields |
Mr Magazine is basicaly
an industry blog
|
| janfields |
Mostly adult
magazines
|
| janfields |
But if you're
interested in parenting magazines
|
| janfields |
he can be helpful to
understanding what's going on with them.
|
| stretch |
I always get fast
responses when I send a SASE along with request--straight from the
mag's guidelines. Hope this helps.
|
| janfields |
Yeah, I've always
gotten guidelines really fast...but I once waited six months for
sample issues after paying for them.
|
| janfields |
I think often sample
issues comes from a different place in the
magazine.
|
| jamey_c1976 |
how do "design a piece or
magazine that's right for you
|
| janfields |
I personally write for
markets.
|
| janfields |
I don't just write when
it comes to magazine work.
|
| janfields |
I don't want to write
something and not sell it...it annoys me.
|
| janfields |
So anything I write, I
have a magazine in mind...and I keep that magazine's
style/tone/length/prejudices in mind as I write.
|
| janfields |
So...I kind of
automaticaly "design" an article for a magazine.
|
| janfields |
And I mostly write for
magazines that I've read A LOT
|
| janfields |
so I'm subtly designing
to sell as I write a short story or an article.
|
| janfields |
Let me give an
example.
|
| janfields |
I was reading about
Peary's discovery of the North Pole.
|
| janfields |
And I decided to write
something about it.
|
| janfields |
I thought about
magazines and decided to try Highlights
|
| janfields |
Because I haven't sold
them all that much and wanted to build more Highlights
clips.
|
| janfields |
So...what does
Highlights want in nonfiction?
|
| janfields |
People.
|
| janfields |
quotes
|
| janfields |
sensory
detail
|
| janfields |
So I focused on Peary's
assistant, a seasoned explorer in his own right named Matthew
Henson
|
| janfields |
He had written tons of
stuff -- very sensory stuff about his experience in the North
Pole
|
| janfields |
So I could quote him,
and have very senory details about the effect of the cold on
him.
|
| janfields |
And I could add some
humor...stuff about the Inuit's opinion of the value of the North
Pole
|
| janfields |
All stuff Highlights
would love...so I "designed" the article for them.
|
| janfields |
If i had to sell it
elsewhere...I would rewrite for a different style.
|
| janfields |
But Highlights is
considering it.
|
| chippy |
Do you know what type of
stories are selling these days?
|
| janfields |
Do you mean fiction or
nonfiction?
|
| janfields |
Okay...let's take them
one at a time.
|
| janfields |
Fiction: if you're
doing tween fiction (like American Girl or Girl's Life) then the
kind of story to sell is going to be about
relationships.
|
| janfields |
Friendships
mainly...but family relationships too.
|
| janfields |
Usually the underlying
themes are about putting others first
|
| janfields |
Or
trust
|
| janfields |
Now many general
magazines are asking for boy fiction
|
| janfields |
So that's hot right
now
|
| janfields |
Boy fiction means
adventure
|
| janfields |
mystery (no one seems
to be writing real mysteries anymore)
|
| janfields |
sports (editors want to
see sports stories but they are very tired of cheating or be a good
sport themes)
|
| janfields |
Surely sports can be
used to explore other themes besides cheating or being a good
sport.
|
| janfields |
Sports stories for
girl's magazines (and American Girl does a lot of them) are always
about relationships.
|
| janfields |
What effect do sports
have on relationships.
|
| janfields |
Sports stories for boy
magazines are usually on cheating or sportsmanship because that
seems to be all they get so if you can do sports while exploring
differen themes, editors will adore you.
|
| janfields |
Stories for general
audiences are desperate for humor
|
| janfields |
Even with heavy themes,
they prefer some humor
|
| janfields |
But some magazines for
younger kids won't do sarcasm
|
| janfields |
Highlights doesn't like
sarcastic humor (for example)
|
| janfields |
But teen magazines love
sarcastic humor
|
| janfields |
The stories they don't
want to see...
|
| janfields |
wise adult stories --
where a wise adult tells you what you need to know to solve your
problem.
|
| janfields |
The most common "wise
adult" story features grandparents.
|
| janfields |
Dead pet
stories...editors have just has a few too many dead pets
lately.
|
| janfields |
Mysteries where the
culpret is an animal
|
| janfields |
ghost stories where the
ghost is an animal
|
| janfields |
There come over editor
desks in swarms.
|
| janfields |
But it's hard to come
up with one single "most wanted story"
|
| janfields |
The things editors look
for most though are
|
| janfields |
action
|
| janfields |
always always
action...they get so many stories where nothing much
happens.
|
| janfields |
Humor...because reader
mail always begs for more funny stories
|
| janfields |
Adventure...a real
sense of tension and thrill to a story
|
| janfields |
Specific detail...a
writer who can make a reader feel like he's inside the
scene.
|
| janfields |
And you have to do all
those thing in just a few words.
|
| janfields |
Isn't out chosen
profession fun and easy? No wonder celebrities want to do
it.
|
| chippy |
Do you send payment with
a request, or do you offer to pay on receipt
|
| janfields |
I send payment with
requests for sample magazines.
|
| dell |
At a recent writing
conference, someone asked the editors what they get too much of...a
couple answers I remember off the top of my head: I love you
stories, I want a dog stories, and rhyming stories (which I
interpret to mean 'bad' rhyming stories
|
| janfields |
A lot of new writers
think there is only ONE children's story
|
| janfields |
the picture
book
|
| janfields |
and it always
rhymes
|
| janfields |
and it's about
something.
|
| janfields |
So editors get hundreds
of rhyming concept stories with no plot
|
| janfields |
no
action
|
| janfields |
bad
meter
|
| janfields |
and weird non sequitors
that jump into a story to make an end rhyme.
|
| janfields |
They literally get
hundreds of stories that fit that description.
|
| janfields |
As a result, if they
open slush that rhymes...they twitch.
|
| janfields |
So, honestly, unless
you are the absolute most amazing rhyming writer -- you are so much
more likely to sell a prose story.
|
| janfields |
Some folks really can
jump right in with a great rhyming book.
|
| janfields |
But unless you're sure
that yours stacks up with the very best on the shelves...don't
rhyme.
|
| nisey |
how might one begin to
develop a story that hasn't been overdone?
|
| janfields |
Read a lot of short
fiction -- that helps.
|
| janfields |
Some kid writers read
adult short stories because they have such a different approach to
plot
|
| janfields |
and it can make you see
things in a different light.
|
| janfields |
One sure fire sign of
an "overdone" story though is if you can think of a television show
(including cartoons) that have done that plot.
|
| janfields |
For example, I get a
lot of stories from students about "magic objects"
|
| janfields |
that give the main
character confidence
|
| janfields |
only to find out they
were just normal objects
|
| janfields |
and the confidence came
from within.
|
| janfields |
That story has been
done and done and done
|
| janfields |
Andy Griffith did that
story once
|
| janfields |
Clifford the Big Red
Dog cartoon did that story.
|
| janfields |
Think about really
weird or way out ways for your character to come to the story
conclusion
|
| janfields |
You'll get some humor
that way
|
| janfields |
and you're sure to turn
the story on it's ear.
|
| janfields |
ewww...its
ear
|
| janfields |
not it's
ear
|
| janfields |
I really do know
grammar...just sponge brain big pants
|
| stretch |
tell me more about good
sports stories...kind of not' thinking you're all that'
theme?
|
| janfields |
Okay, a good sports
story might be a mystery
|
| janfields |
Say someone stunk at
batting and suddenly is home run king
|
| janfields |
what happened and was
it legal?
|
| janfields |
Make the main character
track down the answer and discover something important for himself
in the process.
|
| janfields |
Then you'd have a
unique sports story.
|
| janfields |
Or take your skateboard
lover and let him foil a crime with his skateboard
skills
|
| janfields |
Take the sport out of
the typical "game" story and bring it into life
|
| janfields |
When sports are part of
your life...what could you incorporate beyond "game
day"
|
| janfields |
Then you'll have a
unique sports story that hasn't been done to death.
|
| stretch |
So, you said in the
weekly report today that you are usually around the chat room on
Tuesdays. What time, specifically?
|
| janfields |
I'm usually here from
2pm - 3pm Eastern
|
| janfields |
On
Tuesdays
|
| janfields |
Please, don't ask me to
figure that out in other time zones
|
| janfields |
And there are usually
more of us hanging out then too.
|
| janfields |
If you feel like
there's a time you would commit to hanging out in the chat
room
|
| janfields |
And would like company
-- email me...I'll mention it in the newletter
|
| janfields |
and try to catch the
first week or two
|
| janfields |
to get it established.
A lot of folks would like to meet folks in chat
|
| janfields |
and hang out...but to
do that, you have to commit to a time.
|
| janfields |
Of course, um...times
where I'm likely to be in bed...I probably won't get up just to hang
in chat with you.
|
| janfields |
sorry.
|
| janfields |
I love y'all but I
really love sleep.
|
| stretch |
where is there a good
critique for rhymeing stories?
|
| janfields |
Because the
requirements of rhyming stories are complicated
|
| janfields |
I would suggest
something I almost never ever ever suggest
|
| janfields |
You might want a paid
critique from someone who actually has experience with rhyming
picture books.
|
| janfields |
I know bonnybecker does
critiques...and she's an ICL instructor and super
nice.
|
| janfields |
Ummm...you can check
out the transcripts actually...many of our chat guests about rhyming
picture books
|
| janfields |
actually do
critiques.
|
| janfields |
I don't normally
recommend paying for critiques
|
| janfields |
Because .... well...I'm
cheap
|
| janfields |
And there are a lot of
wolves out there
|
| janfields |
But because rhyming
picture books are really tough
|
| janfields |
unless you're blessed
with a really skilled and experienced critique
group
|
| janfields |
it's probably worth it
to pay someone to tell you if the story has any kind of shot at
publication
|
| janfields |
and why...and why
not.
|
| janfields |
Basically any of the
ICL transcript guests are going to be trustworthy
people.
|
| janfields |
So read the
transcripts...see whose "tone" you like and check their website to
see if they do critiques.
|
| janfields |
Many
do.
|
| janfields |
Okay...that's my last
question to answer tonight cause it's ten o'clock in New
England
|
| janfields |
And my eyes generally
glaze exactly at ten.
|
| janfields |
Making my answers even
odder than usual.
|
| janfields |
Thanks for
coming.
|
| janfields |
And I'll see anyone who
wants to hang out next Tuesday afternoon!
|
| janfields |
I'm post this
transcript as soon as I log out, in case you want to check back to
it for
anything.
|