| janfields |
Afternoon Open Forum
for May 13 will begin in five minutes. Ready your writing questions
because I'm here to pontificate.
|
| janfields |
Afternoon Open Forum
for May 13 will begin in two minutes...flex those typing fingers and
I'll be ready to fly.
|
| janfields |
Welcome to Afternoon
Open Forum...any questions you might have, just ask away. Let me
post about the best way to do that...
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| 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.
|
| muffie |
Are there any up coming
writers' conferrences?
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| janfields |
Many of the SCBWI
regional conferences happen in the spring.
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| janfields |
And you can attend even
if you're not a member.
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| janfields |
You can find lists of
great conferences in the "conference" section of the Children's
Writers and Illustrators Market
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| janfields |
Your public library
probably has a copy in reference (most do)
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| janfields |
and you can read
through the conferences and note the ones you want to learn more
about.
|
| muffie |
Looking for people to
chat Tuesday mornings, suggestions?
|
| janfields |
The best way to get
Tuesday morning chats going is to post a notice in the
enews.
|
| janfields |
If you accept the
status of "lead chatter" -- then I'll post that folks WILL be in the
room
|
| janfields |
and people will come.
So just drop me an email to let me know when you want to
schedule
|
| janfields |
a weekly "hang out"
chat time...and if you plan it, they will come.
|
| coloradokate |
A friend is considering
publishing a nonfiction book with a famous POD vanity publisher (not
PA). Should I try to discourage her, or encourage, or just stay
mum?
|
| janfields |
Well, having a POD
vanity NF book is not always a bad thing
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| janfields |
ESPECIALLY if you hve
an outlet to sell it.
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| janfields |
For example, if it ties
in with speaking engagements
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| janfields |
Or if it is something
that would fit in museum gift shops -- which you can get
into
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| janfields |
even if you don't have
a "publisher" behind you.
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| janfields |
But some vanity presses
are REALLY expensive.
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| janfields |
IUniverse, I think, is
okay...most of the complaints are common with vanity
POD
|
| janfields |
the per unit price is
high
|
| janfields |
So the books are a bit
tough to sell -- sometimes, it depends, again.
|
| janfields |
But any POD publisher
will tend to have a high per unit price
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| janfields |
SO...if you're friend
has easy sales outlets...it might be fine.
|
| janfields |
I've heard of folks who
do very well with POD NF
|
| janfields |
But you really do have
to be a bookseller as well as the author.
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| jan_fields |
c mackay What bookkeeping
methods do you all use for tax purposes?
|
| janfields |
My husband uses quicken
to keep up with income and turbo tax when it's time to pay
them.
|
| janfields |
But most of the writers
I know with steady income at my level get an
accoutant.
|
| ccollier |
Jan, why don't most
magazines send out tax reciepts
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| janfields |
At a certain pay out
level, they have to send you a tax form.
|
| janfields |
A very few do it as a
matter of course...but many of the really low pay
magazines
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| janfields |
are unlikely to pay any
one writer enough in a year to warrent needing a tax
form
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| janfields |
and that's one less
piece of paperwork and detail to handle.
|
| janfields |
And magazines are even
more THRIFTY than my husband.
|
| ccollier |
I've made at Brio and
didnt get one
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| janfields |
And that, my dear, is
because FOCUS ON THE FAMILY operates a bit differently from other
magazines
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| janfields |
because they are a
religious organization
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| janfields |
So they are probably
dealing with different rules...otherwise, I'm thinking they should
hav.
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| janfields |
But see...that's a
number thing, and I seriously stink at number
things.
|
| ccollier |
I wonder what the amount
is?
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| janfields |
Yeah, I dunno. At one
time I did know but the law changes and I don't keep up so
well.
|
| janfields |
So it really pays to
keep careful records on OUR side because there is no sure things in
those tax papers.
|
| janfields |
Plus, some magazines
don't send them in a timely fashion either.
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| janfields |
My husband loves being
a early filer...and sometimes we get forms PAST the deadline when we
should have received them, and after we file.
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| janfields |
But we always know how
much came in and who paid.
|
| coloradokate |
If we make enough (I
don't) we have to file self-employment taxes,
right?
|
| janfields |
OH
YEAH
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| janfields |
I have to pay
self-employment taxes and I totally understand why
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| janfields |
MOST writers with
serious income use a tax person/accountant
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| janfields |
We put a lot of my
income in savings to pay those taxes with.
|
| janfields |
Self-employment taxes
are really brutal.
|
| ccollier |
I think you can earn a
few hundred and not claim it
|
| janfields |
Yeah, I should look
that up. Anytime you have income coming in, keep careful records,
and check the tax regulations carefully because they do
change.
|
| janfields |
I know it has changed
quite a bit from when I was starting out.
|
| ccollier |
iUniverse keeps very good
accounts
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| janfields |
That
helps.
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| jan_fields |
c mackay: A fiction book
I'm writing has godesses from greek myth. Should I write a
bibliography?
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| janfields |
No, you don't need
one.
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| janfields |
Actually those are
really popular right now
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| janfields |
fiction that uses
greek/roman myth in it.
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| janfields |
Sometimes, you might
add "author's notes" for the sake of the reader who doesn't know the
audience
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| janfields |
but you only need that
if you're giving a very "true to myth" portrayal.
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| janfields |
I think the main reason
you don't need a bibliography is because (1) the gods are
myth
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| janfields |
and (2) the editors are
going to be familiar with the basic myth
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| janfields |
and (3) trade
publishers are way less picky about bibliographies than magazines
ANYWAY
|
| janfields |
Now, if you're pulling
in an obsure myth, you can mention it in the query
letter
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| janfields |
so the editor knows
it's authentic
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| janfields |
but they aren't going
to fact check so they don't expect a bibliography.
|
| coloradokate |
I'm starting a book set
in 1969, and the draft lottery's an important event. I'd love to dig
up (if I can find them) some TV transcripts from the day. Can I
quote them directly? Or should I reword?
|
| janfields |
Okay, here's what
Harold Underdown says in questions like this...
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| janfields |
if you want to quote
them...just do it.
|
| janfields |
And then when you sell
the book, mention what you did to the publisher
|
| janfields |
so the publisher can
decide if they want to seek permission or
|
| janfields |
if they want you to
reword.
|
| janfields |
Now, if you're
SELF-PUBLISHING, so you're not going through a
publisher
|
| janfields |
who looks out for
permissions.
|
| janfields |
Then you will need
permission to quote from transcripts from that time period...because
it's under copyright
|
| janfields |
DEPENDING upon how much
you use.
|
| janfields |
If you just do a teensy
bit and you source it, you still might be okay.
|
| janfields |
And if you're quoting
government people, even from a transcript, that's considered fair
game -- anything published by the goverment or said by a government
official
|
| janfields |
is public
domain.
|
| coloradokate |
Any idea where I could
find such transcripts?
|
| janfields |
I dunno...honestly.
I've never done that kind of research.
|
| janfields |
For the transcript, let
me list some of the suggestions from the other
room...
|
| janfields |
contact groups of
Vietnam vets, who may have more info.
|
| janfields |
contact the television
network, who keeps this kind of stuff forever.
|
| janfields |
contract some of the
museum groups for the specific armed services.
|
| janfields |
find the exact date of
the lottery and do internet search.
|
| coloradokate |
So... it's fiction. It's
forty years ago. How accurate should I be, about troop movements and
such?
|
| janfields |
You always want to be
as accurate as you CAN when doing any kind of historical
fiction
|
| janfields |
Someone somewhere will
catch you in the error
|
| janfields |
write your
publisher
|
| janfields |
and make mean
faces
|
| janfields |
So, whenever you need
to give an exact detail, try to make sure it's
accurate.
|
| janfields |
But sometimes you can
write around a detail if you can't find the info you
need.
|
| janfields |
I know historical
fiction writers who make notes in their manuscripts when they hit
something they need to find out
|
| janfields |
and then keep
writing...otherwise, the details can stall the writing into
forever.
|
| janfields |
Okay, we're at the end
of the hour. Thanks for joining us and see ya on t
|
| janfields |
the 22 for Harold's
chat.
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