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 We will begin in two minutes and 27 seconds!

mel boring We will start the Open Forum in 1 minute and 17 seconds!

mel boring Good afternoon! Welcome to this 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! 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 I promised you another BORING simple quiz question today. Here it is, just think about it for a while and send me your answers....

mel boring Which country makes Panama hats?

mel boring We also have some leftover questions and comments from last week....

mel boring Here is the first one, a follow up by Mary Beth to all of our discussion of her fantasy novel....

mbvoelker As best as I can tell counting pages and estimating word counts a Del Rey fantasy novel for high school/college age readers generally runs 60,000 -- 100,000 words. (Yes, I know targeting Del Rey is ambitious, but all my favorite authors are Del Rey authors). :-)

mel boring And a follow-up to her follow-up....

mbvoelker A note about the length though -- my target readers are high school and college and my target publisher is Del Rey (yes, I'm thinking big, but all my favorite authors are Del Rey authors). As best I can tell by counting pages and estimating words 60,000 -- 100,000 words is normal for this sort of book. But I think your advice will help a lot getting my organization sorted out.

mel boring Yes, there are publishers who publish as much as 100,000 words for Young Adults....

mel boring And the pubs MB has picked out are GOOD SOLID ones....

mel boring I only caution that for a FIRST novel, an editor might not want to take as big a chance as 100,000 words....

mel boring So UNDERwriting it to, say 50,000 might increase your chances in indirect proportion to the length. (-:}

mel boring Here was an EXCELLENT suggestion from last week, by halette meyer....

halette meyer Someone should write a book addressing each publishers

halette meyer criteria, the things you discussed earlier. Ch length, etc.

mel boring That would be a book that tells what publishers are looking for in terms of...

mel boring chapter content, chapter length, and the kind of info we spoke of needing last week....

mel boring I also suggest, for analyzing chaptering, that you read Louis Sachar's HOLES...

mel boring which is a very popular book among kids today, near as I can tell from Middle Grade to YA.

mel boring Now, I see we have some questions already this week, and no answers to the Panama quiz question yet....

oma Do you think more research is being done on the internet rather than via books?

mel boring I don't think more than via books, oma, but definitely MORE on the Internet....

mel boring just because the Net is most accessible....

mel boring I do research on the Internet. But the caveat to this is that much of the info on the Net is "unsigned" and undocumented....

mel boring so editors may look more askance at it than, say, books and mags....

mel boring What I use the Net in research for mostly is...

mel boring preliminary "stuff." When I'm just starting a book, or an article,...

mel boring the Net will give me a wide blanket of info that is not so deep....

mel boring It may tell me, about Sputnik I, for example, the USSR's space craft that beat U.S. into space...

mel boring the date and time and all the "5 W's" (What/When/Where/Who/Why) about it...

mel boring but not the deeper details, such as the names of the Russian Air Force people who devised this or that part of that Sputnik spaceshot.

mel boring Here is a RIGHT answer to the silly quiz question....

mel boring Actually, TWO right answers....

dolly Are the hats from Ecuador?

mbvoelker Equador?

mel boring YES, dolly and mbvoelker, they ARE made in Ecuador!...

mel boring For your right answers, you both deserve a tissue paper Panama hat!

mel boring Here are some GOOD general questions people have asked about the Chat Room....

wanabe can I ask a question from this room?

mel boring Yes, wanabe, you most certainly can ask a question from the room where you are...

mel boring You use the little "thought bubble" I think it is on the center strip across the middle of the screen....

wanabe Where do I pick up my answers?

mel boring After you ask the question, wanabe, it comes backstage here to me...

mel boring I post it then, so everyone can see it, right here where this sentence is....

wanabe is there a special way to log out of chat rooms?

mel boring There is a logging out way, but I doubt too many people use that way--including me! (-:}...

mel boring I usually just clickon the X at the top-right of the browser screen---Microsoft Explorer for me today--and it...

mel boring blinks everything off, and you're out, without actually logging out, wanabe....

mel boring THANKS for your very common-sense questions, friend!

kwinfield Where can you find motivation to write on dreary gray days?

mel boring Right here now it is sunny, bright and warmish, but I know what you mean, kwinfield....

mel boring MOST writing days seem to be usually dreary and gray. While others may send the answers to me so I can share them too, I'll tell you what I do....

mel boring I look at some of my desktop images, such as from Screen Themes or WebShots, which you can make into screensavers....

mel boring There are some VERY bright and sunny pics among their selections, and that helps make the day sunny INside, anyway.

mel boring For those of you joining us late, this is an "Open Forum" session where you are free to ask any writing and publishing questions you have, and your moderator (Mel Boring) will do his best to answer them!

bettyboop It snowed here this week, I took out the pictures of the beach and posted them all around my computer, so I am still in a sunny mood

mel boring THANKS, bettyboop, for your SUNNY suggestion, I'm going to try that, too!

red2 The chat help tech said you can click on your back slash and then type exit to exit the chat rooms also

mel boring Here is a suggestion about logging off the chat room, thanks to red2! Here's another...

mbvoelker If you want to use that window for something else the logout code is "/exit". Or you can just click on something from your favorites/bookmark folder. :-)

mel boring Here's an answer TOTALLY befitting us children's writers...

wordsmitty1 answer maybe act like a kid..pretend..make beleive ..dream...

mel boring THANKS, wordsmitty1!

mel boring And another, thanks, dianna...

dianna To write on a dreary day: I imagine what it would be like to see the sky changing before my eyes into the weather I prefer. them write about the changes

red2 I received a story back from an editor who would like to see a revision with a different ending. Some staff members made comments on things they didn't think were accurate, but actually were because I had done research. Would it be okay to send revision and comment on accuracy and mention my research? It is a fiction piece so there was no bib. included.

mel boring YES, red2, but all means....

mel boring Editors and their staffs can't possibly know all about every subject, so...

mel boring some of the facts may seem unbelievable to them....

mel boring For example, in my CATERPILLARS, BUGS AND BUTTERFLIES book, the editor couldn't believe that...

mel boring Some moths and butterflies have a life span of ONLY 24 hours....

mel boring and they honestly wanted to know. So I sent them chapter and verse from my researchk, red2, and they were happy to get confirmation, as well as to learn that amazing fact.

wingwriter If I have a good idea for a children's story, how do I get it illustrated? Does the publishing company take care of that?

mel boring For children's STORIES, the magazine takes care of that....

mel boring They usually have a "stable" of illustrators they "farm stories out" to...

mel boring then they choose the illustrator whose submitted samples look best for that story....

mel boring With BOOKS, publishers still have a stable of illustrators, and in the beginning of your career as a children's writer...

mel boring you will probably only know WHO the illustrator even IS after the book comes out!...

mel boring Of course, if YOU are a trained artist, you should also submit illustrations.

mel boring I want to get to some advance questions now, from tigger....

mel boring I have two mss out for about a year now, both of which I have sent inquiries about, and still not heard anything.

mel boring One is a picture book ms sent to Turtle Books in November 2001. I sent a status inquiry letter with SASE via snail mail in August 2002 and still have heard nothing.

mel boring tigger, you NEED and DESERVE to know, after SO LONG, what's going on....

mel boring I would suggest you PHONE Turtle Books and ask....

mel boring At least a receptionist could track it down for you to let you know its status....

mel boring I don't know Turtle Books, so can't advise you about their "bona fideness," but you are certainly entitled to KNOW.

mel boring The other is a craft idea that I sent to Family Fun in December 2001 for one of their departments. I inquired about the status via snail mail in April 2002, and by e-mail again in June. I got an e-mail response back in July from an intern saying she would "try and sniff out my ms." Never heard back from her, so I sent another e-mail in September, but have not heard back. Aaaaaahhhhhhh!

mel boring So I'm just wondering if this is how a writer's life will always be, or if there is something else I should be doing about these two mss. I realize that calling publishers is a no-no, but what else can I do? My biggest fear is that the manuscripts are lost, and I am wasting all of this time waiting for nothing. If they would just let me know that, I would immediately send another copy. What do you suggest?

mel boring To a certain extent, it is "the Writer's Life," tigger, but...

mel boring you certainly shouldn't NOT try to find out. A phone call could get you a response. Sometimes...

mel boring you can get to THE editor's message-taker machine, and leave a phone message for that person. But PLEASE, for the sake of ALL us children's writers,...

mel boring DON'T SIMPLY DO NOTHING!...

mel boring Phone the publishers!

mel boring Here's a very creative answer to the what-to-do-on-dreary-days...

mbvoelker I am seriously thinking of putting a plant light beside my desk. There's almost no natural light in this room and on a grey day its miserable.

mel boring Thanks, MB! I have one beside my desk, thanks to my wife, and I hadn't realized until I looked at it just now...

mel boring what a lively treat it is to have it here!

ljmonroe My cousin draws for my book, would publishers accept that?

mel boring Here's a follow-up, thank you, ljmonroe, to the illustrating question....

mel boring IF your cousin is a profesional artist/illustrator, YES, that would be very acceptable....

mel boring If not, it could hurt your chances for acceptance of the manuscript....

mel boring Here is an anecdote that Jane Yolen told me once in regard to your question....

mel boring She and an artist friend submitted a picture book to a publisher,...

mel boring and the publisher ended up buying her friend's illustrations, but having someone else write a book for them!

dianna what does it mean when they say 'pays flat & royal'?

mel boring dianna, the "flat fee" is ONE payment, period. I wrote my first book 30 years ago for a flat fee....

mel boring I received in a flat fee--REALLY FLAT! (-:}...

mel boring BUT that flat fee book got me started, so in my mind it was a payment worth

mel boring A royalty contract--which has many more pages than a flat-fee contract...

mel boring guarantees you an advance payment first,...

mel boring which can vary widely because it is figured up by ALL in the publishing house, from editors to salespeople...

mel boring based on how many copies of your book they think they can sell. MANY first books today bring a range from to #2500 for the advance....

mel boring The royalty is a percentage of the selling price. It may range from 3% (the lowest I've heard of) to 8% to 10% or 12%....

mel boring That means, if you are given a 10% royalty contract (easy math here, folks!) on a book that retails for , you will get one dollar from every copy that sells for royalties....

mel boring Royalties are usually paid twice a year, about March/April and September/October. AFTER your royalties come up equal to the advance you received, you will start getting royalties.

lizr In a query for a nonfiction PB do you include a bibliography

mel boring YES, you should submit a bibliography for ANY nonfiction book, PB or other, lizr....

mel boring What the submitted biblio does is tell the editor very quickly if the book will be factually documentable....

mel boring and that is increasingly important today. The biblio for a PB might be only three sources, since the book will note be elaborately complex, but the three sources should be solid ones--not Internet sources.

mel boring A compliment to my book, Mel said modestly...

dianna That book was very helpful in identifing something from our yard.

mel boring THANKS, dianna!

jim To clarify, royalties are based on retail, not wholesale pricing?

mel boring GOOD point, jim!...

mel boring MOST contracts specify the WHOLESALE price, which of course gives you a lower royalty fee...

mel boring What YOU want to specify is the RETAIL price....

mel boring You may not be able to do that until you build up some publishing credits, though. THANKS for clarifying that, jim!

mel boring A nicely related question here...

kwinfield Is it a no-no to negotiate payment with a publisher?

mel boring No-No, kwinfield, it is NOT a no-no to negotiate payment....

mel boring and it can, and should be done before signing the contract....

mel boring First-timers (as I was not that many years ago) are usually timid about negotiating...

mel boring but I've found that publishers really RESPECT you for negotiating--unless you ask them for the moon.

lizr Is the bibliog then in the querty or aseparate page

mel boring The biblio is part of the query, but on a separate page, lizr--thanks for clarifying that too!

ljmonroe Is it better to explain everything in the 1st ch. or wait?

mel boring Here's a question that will get us into fiction as well, from ljmonroe...

mel boring In fiction, it is NOT better to explain everything in the first chapter...

mel boring because kids will have less incentive to read on into chapter 2 and the rest of the book...

mel boring and we know how much incentive they need! So in the first...

mel boring chapter, I try to think about NOT telling them as much as TELLING them....

mel boring Here's a real life anecdote from my own embarrassing and recent experience...

mel boring A GOOD writer friend critiqued a middle-grade novel I'm finishing up...

mel boring Connie told me that I was "telling kids too much" in several places....

mel boring So I took OUT the "too much," and it's made a MUCH BETTER book of it....

mel boring We THINK, as a writer, that readers need to know everything we know--not so....

mel boring AND if you can leave OUT some very desirable things to know, you'll keep 'em reading more likely.

mel boring tigger had to leave early, but just sent a question saying she will PHONE those publishers--YEA, tigger! (Hope she can hear me!)

bonnie I've never been worried that a publisher would steal my idea, but recently I've come up with an idea for a concept book for toddlers. The idea would be so easy to steal and I believe it will be of high interest. I've considered getting a patent and self-publishing, but wonder if that's too extreme. I've begun a search for an agent, but so far I have not had luck (haven't pitched this idea yet). What are your thoughts?

mel boring The ONLY thing you need to do, and the EASIEST, bonnie, is...

mel boring Just put a "C" in a circle at the top-right of the first page, the year, and your name. Under present copyright law....

mel boring that will copyright it. THEN if a pub takes your idea, you have recourse by law. I haven't heard of any case using this in court, but it IS the law now....

mel boring If your word processor and/or printer will put that "C" in a circle, you have it made. Some fonts have a copyright symbol.

paige How long is appropriate to wait for editors to make a decision before making a status enquiry, once they have said they are considering a piece?

mel boring We only have time for this one last question, so I picked paige's because it follows up the earlier questions by tigger....

mel boring The length to wait is what THEY specify in either their listing in a markets book, or in the specs they will send you. Once that time has passed, ...

mel boring editors know it's reasonable for you to inquire, paige. Once they have said they are considering the piece, then the stated time goes out the window, because they are doing some important...

mel boring and time-consuming study of your book. My own rule of thumb is at six months after they said they are considering it, to write, e-mail and/or phone them.

mel boring THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY, IT MEANS A LOT TO ME, FRIENDS! See you THursday evening with Kristi Holl as our guest? I HOPE you'll be there.

mel boring I'll save the unanswered questions and bring them back next week. Bye, good people!