| mel
boring |
Join us this afternoon
in the AUDITORIUM-Scheduled Events Room for an "Open Forum" with Web
Editor Mel Boring. Mel has published some 25 magazine articles and
stories, as well as eight books for the young readers market. He
taught writing for 18 years, while being home husband and parent to
two of his four children, and doing his own writing. He welcomes
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.
|
| mel
boring |
The Tuesday afternoon
"Open Forum" will begin promptly at 4 Atlantic/CANADA, 3 p.m.
Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, 1 p.m. Mountain, and noon 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.
|
| mel
boring |
Good afternoon! Welcome
to this Tuesday afternoon's "Open Forum" session. I'm your
moderator, Mel Boring, and the Web Editor for this site. We're back
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.
|
| mel
boring |
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.) The moderator (me, Mel Boring) will
post the questions one at a time in the chat room and do my best to
answer them.
|
| mel
boring |
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.
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD NEWS,
first!:...
|
| mel
boring |
Here's GREAT NEWS from
Linda George: My article on strong writing is in the January issue
of THE WRITER, and, best of all, it's the featured article on the
COVER!!!! This article offers the top ten essentials for strong
writing.
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| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS, Linda,
from the HEART!!!
|
| mel
boring |
There is also this
follow up to our talk about the honesty of our critique groups from
last week:...
|
| mel
boring |
JG writes in response
to a Q&A in Monday's Open Forum announcement. The question was:
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| keep my story
ideas from being taken by people in my critique group?
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| that all critique
copies I make include the full headers with my name and contact info
and also the name |
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| even if its just
an excerpt. That way if one person is dishonest a number of other
people have the piece with |
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| if e-mailed, a
date stamp. |
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| is a deeper
concern hidden in this question. In order for a |
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| worthwhile,
successful endeavor, there must be mutual trust and respect on the
part of all participants. If this person is concerned that the
critiquers in his/her group may steal ideas, then |
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| wrong group. They
need to find a group of people or even just one other person they
can be honest with and feel secure enough to share their ideas with.
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| mel
boring |
THANK YOU, JG, for that
follow-up!
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| mel
boring |
Then too, there is more
info about italicized thoughts, as you'll read:...
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| mel
boring |
THANKS to Ann
Spaulding, Other Books with Thoughts in Italics: You asked for
titles, etc. of books in the last 13 years that
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| thinking. Here is
a publisher and author that does that. Stephen Bly, lastest book:
"The General's Notorious Widow." Copyright: 2001; Publisher:
Crossway Books, Wheaton, Ilinois, |
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| He has others
published lately, also, using italics. I agree, I don't care for the
use of italics, also. |
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| mel
boring |
LM writers, about
italicized thoughts: This "italics" is an interesting topic and
usually in the romance novels I read, the thoughts are not
italicized, but the book my son and I just finished reading had
italicized thoughts. It was "Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom
Menace."
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| mel
boring |
THANK YOU Ann Spaulding
and LM!!!
|
| mel
boring |
Here are a couple of
questions left over from last week:...
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| grandy1983 |
Mel, for the article I
will be submitting to you, I will be writing about conciseness in
writing and eliminating excess words that make a story look
cluttered. Would this be a suitable article for the Manuscript
How-To's section?
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| mel
boring |
That MANUSCRIPT
HOW-TO'S has been the most difficult to understand topic,
grandy1983, thanks for asking!...
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| mel
boring |
Yes, the article you
described WOULD be good for that category....
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| mel
boring |
That category is
everything about preparing a manuscript, from paper, word
processing, fonts, grammar, punctuation, postage, and so
on.
|
| mel
boring |
Also, someone last week
asked if there was a Children's Fiction category in the Writer's
Digest contest. There is!, as paige told us last
week:...
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| paige |
Answer for LW. Children's
fiction is one of the ten categories listed in the WD's writing
contests.
|
| lisalisa |
Could you use computer
clip art for the rebus?
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| mel
boring |
Yes, lisalisa, I think
computer clip art would work WELL to show your pictured words in a
rebus....
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| mel
boring |
The magazine would have
their artist do the actual art that would appear, but YOU could show
what you mean well with computer clip art--GOOD idea for all of us
rebus writers!
|
| mel
boring |
Here's MORE GOOD
NEWS:...
|
| soradina |
I have some other great
news too! My website for lonely and discouraged writers is looking
really good. Please pass the link along to others at this forum.
Thanks Mel. http://geocities.com/sheila_koester/heartsdesire.html
and please email all ideas and suggestions to Sheila Koester, Web
Analyst at skoester@erols.com. Thank you.
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| mel
boring |
Congratulations,
soradina, on that Web site!!!
|
| dolly |
CONGRATULATIONS
MEL
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| mel
boring |
Thank you,
dolly!!!
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| mel
boring |
NK needs to know:
What's the name of Cricket magazine's editor for nonfiction (age
10-14), for multicultural articles?
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| mel
boring |
The BEST "editor" to
address to, NK, is "Submissions Editor,"...
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| mel
boring |
as the CHILDREN'S
MAGAZINE MARKET lists it....
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| mel
boring |
That's because
EVERYthing goes first to that main person, who then sends it to the
appropriate editor, or to the first reader for unsolicited
manuscripts....
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| mel
boring |
Both Paula Morrow and
Heather Delabre, or LADYBUG/BABYBUG and SPIDER respectively, when
they spoke in our chat room,...
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| mel
boring |
detailed how
manuscripts go to the Submissions Editor, to be given out to the
most appropriate editor, NK....
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| mel
boring |
I looked back at
Morrow's and Delabre's interview transcripts, but I did not find
them giving the name of the CRICKET editor, though you might find it
in those interviews.
|
| paige |
For L.W. The
aforementioned is W.D.'s annual contest. They do have others -- as
in the short, short story contest which closed yesterday. They may
online contests, too.
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| mel
boring |
THANKS again,
paige!!!
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| janel |
kudos to linda! Mel, do
you feel an article on the art of
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| janel |
interview-
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| mel
boring |
I THINK janel planned
to go on to ask if an article on interviewing would be appropriate
for our web site,...
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| mel
boring |
and the answer is a
RESOUNDING YESSSS!!!
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| soradina |
thank you for your free
advertising too. lol
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| mel
boring |
You are WARMLY WELCOME,
soradina!
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| mel
boring |
AH wants to know: How
do busy editors find time to read BOTH a cover letter and
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| a cover letter is
not required (Highlights, for example) does the inclusion of one
simply serve to take up time that would otherwise be devoted to the
actual manuscript? Is it |
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| NOT send a cover
letter and just let the writing speak for itself? I realize that
once I actually have publishing credits to my name, it may be in my
best interest to include this information in a cover letter. But
until I reach that goal, my cover letter is limited to a watered
down version of the manuscript and some thinly veiled groveling
(wink!). Is it wise to take up precious editorial time with
that? |
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| mel
boring |
GOOD point,
AH!...
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| mel
boring |
First of all, a cover
letter MUST be SHORT, only ONE page or LESS!...
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| mel
boring |
So a covering letter
doesn't take NEARLY as long to read as a
manuscript....
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| mel
boring |
I remember Marileta
Robinson saying, when she was in our chat room October 30
last,...
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| mel
boring |
that she ALWAYS likes
to get a cover letter, because it gets her acquainted with the
writer....
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| mel
boring |
By the by, a cover
letter should NOT be a watered-down version of the manuscript,
AH....
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| mel
boring |
It should have THREE
paragraphs: 1) "Hook" the editor some way; 2) Tell only a "teaser"
about your manuscript, to whet the editor's appetite; and 3) Tell
them you'll be glad to send it (include any credits in this part if
you have them).
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| mel
boring |
MS is wondering: Do you
know of a publisher or publishers who will accept art work as well
as text? I'd love to find which publishers will accept text and art
work just to have a chance to try that avenue!
|
| mel
boring |
MOST book publishers
will accept art with text, MS, but only in this
way:...
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| mel
boring |
They don't want all the
finished artwork, of course,...
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| mel
boring |
but just THREE pieces,
Two sketches and ONE finished piece, that's all....
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| mel
boring |
From that, they will
consider you as the artist for the book....
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| mel
boring |
But you must of course
be a professional artist,...
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| mel
boring |
since they'll compare
your work with the professional artists who have their porfolios on
file at the publisher's....
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| mel
boring |
But if YOU are a
professional artist, and can make a "marriage" of your artwork with
the text, NOthing works better, in my opinion....
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| mel
boring |
Look at Mercer Mayer,
for example, and Tomi DePaoli, as artists/writers.
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| mel
boring |
Sunny writes: I am
hopeful you can answer a question for me. I sent an article to STORY
FRIENDS nine months ago; since I didn't hear anything from them for
months I sent a postcard asking for the status of my
manuscript--still heard nothing. I
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| to HIGHLIGHTS,
which I did. Yesterday I received a |
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| a letter telling
me STORY FRIENDS was buying my story. I |
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| worried. If
HIGHLIGHTS does take my story, would they |
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| FRIENDS bought
it. STORY FRIENDS says they buy one-time |
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| it elsewhere, but
I am not sure about HIGHLIGHTS. Can you |
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| mel
boring |
Right away, Sunny,
write to HIGHLIGHTS....
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| mel
boring |
and tell them what has
happened,...
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| mel
boring |
then ASK them if they
would still use your story....
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| mel
boring |
My OWN opinion is that
they wouldn't see STORY FRIENDS as competing with HIGHLIGHTS, one
religious, one secular....
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| mel
boring |
But I DON'T work for
HIGHLIGHTS, so this is ONLY my opinion. But you need to contact
HIGHLIGHTS right away, and I'd suggest Marileta Robinson as the
editor there to contact.
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| soradina |
I was wondering if the
economy has an influence on the publishing decisions editors make in
accepting or rejecting manuscripts?
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| mel
boring |
BY ALL MEANS,
soradina!!! We have just found that out anew, with the downturn our
economy has been under since 9/11....
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| mel
boring |
The economy is
UPturning now, as you know, so...
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| mel
boring |
look for editors to
start buying again!...
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| mel
boring |
I have been in
children's writing long enough (nearly 35 years now) to see FIVE
downturns and upturns, by the way.
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| mel
boring |
ITeechABC e-mailed to
ask: If you've had an "expert" in a specific field to review an
article for accuracy, should you include that person's letter
(including their comments, suggestions, etc.) with the submission
package to the editor, or just hang onto it in case you're asked?
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| mel
boring |
DON'T include it with
your SUBMISSION, ITeechABC, but keep it ready to submit later when
your article is accepted....
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| mel
boring |
In fact, at a magazine
like HIGHLIGHTS, they might even request that before they buy your
article....
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| mel
boring |
But THEY will let you
know, so hold it until it's required. GOOD question,
friend!
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| mel
boring |
MS: How important is a
"real live one-to-one" interview with an expert in the field to an
editor of a magazine for a nonfiction
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| a "world"of
information which can be noted in a |
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| the Internet as
credible as a one-to-one interview with a real person? |
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| mel
boring |
A REAL LIVE ONE-TO-ONE
interview is TOPS, MS! Editors prefer that, believe
me....
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| mel
boring |
What they DON'T prefer
is lots of stuff from the Internet....
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| mel
boring |
That's because Internet
info is OFTEN undated and unsigned, and editors feel it's
worthless....
|
| mel
boring |
It IS worth something,
and that is for your preliminary survey on a subject before you
begin to outline and write....
|
| mel
boring |
So DO use the Internet
for your own benefit, but also DO get those LIVE interviews--editors
LOVE 'em, even if it's not Valentine's Day! (-:}
|
| soradina |
Dr. Seuss is another very
good example of a writer who combined his artwork in his books. He
started his career off in advertising.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, soradina, for
that note!...
|
| mel
boring |
Dr. Seuss, in fact,
started in VERY ADULT work, and only with TO THINK I SAW IT ON
MULBERRY STREET did he venture into writing for
children....
|
| mel
boring |
A children's librarian,
by the way, told Theodore Geisel that TTISIOMS was too far-out for
kids to understand!?!?!?...
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| mel
boring |
The rest is
"Seusstory"! (-:}
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| mel
boring |
AM wanted to ask: I am
submitting a manuscript to a contest. The rules require that I
include a PLOT SUMMARY for my short novel. The guidelines give no
suggested format for the summary and I am nervous about how I should
format it. In general, do you submit outlines, synopses, or
abstracts? Is shorter the best way to go?
|
| mel
boring |
FIRST of all, AM, YES,
SHORTER IS THE BEST WAY TO GO!!!...
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| mel
boring |
I would keep the
summary to only ONE page, if you can, but NOT more than three
pages....
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| mel
boring |
What works best in this
case, I believe, is a SENTENCE OUTLINE....
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| mel
boring |
That is, describe each
chapter in a few sentences. This is easier to follow than the old
"Roman Number Route."...
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| mel
boring |
For example: "Chapter
1: Totally vision-impaired Nora steps in front of a speeding car in
the intersection. She is hit and thrown through the air like a rag
doll. The ambulance rushes her to the hospital. There, she is all
but pronounced dead. The next day, she is missing from her hospital
bed.
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| mel
boring |
I'm not writing that
novel, by the way, so have at the idea if it seems a good one to
you....
|
| mel
boring |
What I tried to show is
BREVITY ("the soul of children's writing") AND "grabbing readers by
the ears in the very first chapter."
|
| mel
boring |
PJW is eager to know:
I'm working on a historical fiction in the time era of the Civil
War. I've done my research and really have the middle and end of the
book done but I've always hated the beginning. It is boring (no pun
intended Mel). Well two nights ago in the middle of the night, I
woke up and had this idea about this book. Do a prologue to
introduce the characters and the event that changed them, when the
youngest son and the only male on the farm left to fight for the
confederacy. That left the 240-acre farm with only females to tend
it. One of those females is my main character. I'm very happy with
the beginning now. Here is my question "Do middle reader chapter
books for age 12-15 have prologues?"
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| mel
boring |
YES, but SHORT,
PJW....
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| mel
boring |
A prologue should ONLY
be used if ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY,...
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| mel
boring |
and it sure sounds
necessary in YOUR book....
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| mel
boring |
But keep it short, no
more than 1 to 3 pages, at most....
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| mel
boring |
And GOOD luck with your
project, it sounds very intriguing!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is a good leftover
question from weeks past:...
|
| mel
boring |
Mel, I just got a
rejection from Ladybug for my rebus story. It was a personal letter
by Paula Morrow, saying that she enjoyed seeing my work but their
rebus files are quite full and they are very conservative about
accepting new pieces. She mentioned though that she has passed the
art samples on to the art director. Does that mean I shouldn't send
them any rebus stories anymore because they have enough at the
moment or does it mean that she can't use this story but might use
another one?
|
| mel
boring |
What it seems to mean
to me, asker, is that you shouldN'T send another rebus, because they
have enough....
|
| mel
boring |
But your art work is on
file there, and that COULD get you some art
work....
|
| mel
boring |
By the way, HIGHLIGHTS
always seems to be needing rebuses, so send yours to Marileta
Robinson, Senior Editor there.
|
| mbvoelker |
If the target publishers
don't care for prologues PJW might consider feeding in the
background as one of more short flashbacks during the first couple
chapters. :-) Its another option just in case.
|
| mel
boring |
EXCELLENT option,
mbvoelker--thanks!...
|
| mel
boring |
PJW could look at books
from the particular publisher she's submitting to to see IF they
have any with prologues, too.
|
| mel
boring |
Here's an interesting
observation by lizr about our talking last week about crit groups
and "story-stealing":...
|
| mel
boring |
Speaking about the
stories one hears at a crit group - that someone else may also write
about - there is a book edited by Joanna Hurwitz - I think it is
called Birthday Wishes - she asked different authors to take the
same identical paragraph that she gave them and write a
story.
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| mel
boring |
noodle Who is
responsible for illustrations? The writer or
publisher?
|
| mel
boring |
noodle, the PUBLISHER
is responsible for illustrations....
|
| mel
boring |
The publisher arranges
for the artist to illustrate your book, unless you, of course, are
the artist....
|
| mel
boring |
As mentioned
previously, publishers LIKE to have CONTROL over giving out the art
work, because they have artists "in their stable" whom they want to
use....
|
| mel
boring |
So part of the flack
they may give about doing your OWN art work is that they want to
keep their illustrators in work.
|
| mel
boring |
Here is an interesting
Q&A combo left over from previously:...
|
| mel
boring |
cacarp: How does one
find publishers of ABCs for older kids?
|
| mel
boring |
lizr: In answer to the
older kid abc' s check out books by publisher = Sleeping Bear
Press-- K is for Kick is their newest one
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| mel
boring |
THANKS to cacarp and
lizr for that combo!!!
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| mel
boring |
writermom I'm writing
an historical fiction about the civil war and want to have a fire
but can't verify that there were any at that time would I still be
able to have a fire since it is fiction
|
| mel
boring |
Here's a question I
didn't completely understand, so please ALL of you, help
me!...
|
| mel
boring |
Does writermom mean a
CAMPfire? If so, yes they did have them in the Civil War, but they
may have been tabooed at various times so they wouldn't give
position away to the enemy. Any other ideas, folks?
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| mel
boring |
azurec3 What is the
proper way to put a title of a type of book, say, Young Reader's
Club or Little Golden Book?
|
| mel
boring |
USUALLY the title is
given in BOLD, azurec3, with the first letters only
capitalized....
|
| mel
boring |
But, with some editors
NOT liking bolding, the best is to italicize it, I
think.
|
| mel
boring |
donnac When is a colon
used in setting off text, or a dash?
|
| mel
boring |
A COLON is usually used
to join two sentences; they are joined with they closely
connect....
|
| mel
boring |
Dashes are either EN
dashes or EM dashes....
|
| mel
boring |
An EN dash is: - , just
one, which hyphenates words like home-cooked, for
instance....
|
| mel
boring |
An EM dash is -- , two
dashes, and would be used -- I believe -- to set a sudden thought
within a larger one, like the one I just did. (-:}
|
| soradina |
Mel I think they had
fires during the Civil War. I don't know why writermom is asking you
that question.
|
| mel
boring |
Here is a multi-part
question:...
|
| janel |
if an editor rejects ms.,
but suggests sending to other department
|
| janel |
can I label outside
envelope "requested mater.", to avoid sl
|
| janel |
putr. is acting up: if
ed. rejests ms., but suggests
|
| mel
boring |
YES, janel, if an
editor suggests sending something to another
department,...
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| mel
boring |
by all means, label it
"REQUESTED MATERIAL" when you send it to the other editor, to avoid
the slush pile, I think you mean.
|
| regina |
I would tell PJW that 15
year olds are usually reading YA
|
| mel
boring |
Thanks, regina, for
that special note about PJW's Civil War novel!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is more about the
Civil War and fires, thankfully!...
|
| t
green |
i think she means that
there was a BIG fire in a town
|
| t
green |
or city, but can't verify
if there was one during that time
|
| silverdove |
It could be a forest fire
or a home that was set on fire....
|
| silverdove |
a brush fire, or lantern
kicked over and set a barn ablaze.
|
| peanut |
Writermom means a house
fire (like a house being burnt down) during the war. She discussed
her story with me in chat.....
|
| mbvoelker |
If I remember writermom's
plot correctly she means a building fire -- house or barn, can't
remember which -- that she can't prove actually occured but needs
for dramatic effect. If I remember what she told me correctly she's
concerned about historical accuracy because its set in Gettysburg
during the battles.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS for the
info!...
|
| mel
boring |
With FICTION, you would
be free to "invent" a fire, writermom, by all
means....
|
| mel
boring |
And of course, there
WERE many building/house fires them, many set on purpose. So invent
away freely, writermom! I would suggest you look up Gettysburg
history about 1860-1865 to find an ACTUAL fire, and model your
fiction fire after that, writermom. THANKS for a GOOD
question
|
| mel
boring |
!
|
| margieh |
PJW might be able to
contact reenactors on the net. They might know that kind of detail
of be able to put you in touch with someone who
might.
|
| mel
boring |
Thank YOU too,
margieh!
|
| regina |
I respectivefully
disagree. A colon means "as follows." It
|
| regina |
is used to list items.
Maybe she meant semicolon?
|
| mel
boring |
You are ABSOLUTELY
right, regina, and THANK YOU, Ma'am!!!...
|
| mel
boring |
A COLON (:) Does mean
"as follows."...
|
| mel
boring |
Like this: Put special
instructions after a colon....
|
| mel
boring |
What I was mixed-up
mumbling about was the SEMI-COLON (;), which separates two closely
related sentences, and sometimes two clauses only, or a sentence and
a clause.
|
| mel
boring |
MIRACLE on 34th
Internet!...
|
| mel
boring |
We ran out of TIME just
as we ran out of questions!!!...
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU all for being
here, and for your great questions,...
|
| mel
boring |
and ESPECIALLY your
great help WITH answers!!! All of us is always smarter than any of
us, so I'm very fortunate you were here!...
|
| mel
boring |
Please come to the
Evening Guest Chat Thursday, when we'll have Beth Troop with
us!...
|
| mel
boring |
She was an EXCELLENT
practice on Monday, and made me eager to hear her whole presentation
Thursday evening. I hope to "see you" then!
|
| blondepsycho |
thank you
mel!
|
| soradina |
your welcome and please
don't forget to look at my site. Thanks.
|
| mbvoelker |
I thought it was the Long
Ridge Guest Forum this Thursday!
|
| mel
boring |
Long Ridge MIGHT be
having a Forum,I'll check. But this Thursday, December 4, we're
having our ICL Guest Chat....
|
| mel
boring |
I THINK what happened,
mbvoelker, is that because we skipped Thanksgiving, we got on the
same Thursday as Long Ridge. I'll have to check with Mary R. on
that, and FIX
things!
|
