| 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-in five
minutes.
|
| 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-two
minutes from now.
|
| 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. Also note: If you want to make it possible to ask the
longest question you can, first type "/ask" (without the quotation
marks), then leave one space after the end of "ask", then type as
many characters of your question as you can. If your question is not
complete, send the second part next, then if necessary the third,
etc.
|
| 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 |
RIGHT off the bat, GOOD
NEWS from lisalisa:...
|
| lisalisa |
Some good news: my
article on the spirited child now
|
| lisalisa |
appears on BabyZone.com.
I thank a member of my
|
| lisalisa |
critique group for
telling me about this great site!
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS, Lisa!
That is GREAT NEWS, and BabyZone.com is a marvelous site that I have
sampled from time to time....
|
| mel
boring |
Now, after the Open
Forum, I'll make a beeline over there to see YOUR
article!
|
| lisalisa |
Thanks,
Mel!
|
| mel
boring |
You are WARMLY WELCOME,
and VERY deserving!...
|
| mel
boring |
Lisa Leuck has been
many-times published on our ICL Web Site.
|
| mel
boring |
This GOOD NEWS comes
from Sonya (ITeechABC): I happily sold an article to WEE ONES this
week called "Bonkers For
|
| online in Nov/Dec
'06. p.s. You should move to Florida where we've been mowing for a
good 2 months now! ; |
|
| mel
boring |
That WEE ONES Web Site
is a STRONG one, Sonya!...
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
|
| mel
boring |
Someone was asking what
online sites were good to submit to, and THAT is one I'll have to
recommend! I can't wait for Nov/Dec to read your "Bonkers for
Buttons"--and I LOVE that title, friend!
|
| mel
boring |
Tina Schwartz sent this
GOOD NEWS: I have a new book coming out at the end of May
|
| GUIDE FOR THE
ENTIRE FAMILY, from Scarecrow Press |
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS to
Tina!!! She is an ICL Graduate,...
|
| mel
boring |
and VERY GRATEFUL to
them for her success....
|
| mel
boring |
This is Tina's SECOND
publication, and I've asked her about Scarecrow Press, to increase
my own knowledge of publishers....
|
| mel
boring |
I know from its listing
in the 2005 BOOK MARKETS FOR CHILDREN'S WRITERS...
|
| mel
boring |
that it offers a
royalty contract, and I'm going to find out more about it from Tina.
CONGRATULATIONS, Tina, and MANY HAPPY RETURNS!
|
| mel
boring |
Marion Tickner has this
GOOD NEWS: ONCE UPON A TIME reprinted one of my ICL articles in
their Spring issue. They are reprinting another ICL article in the
issue coming out this week. Also, OUAT needs short articles to fill
in and they just accepted a short article on why write for
magazines. AKA Casey
|
| mel
boring |
Marion, AKA casey at
our chats, is a multi-contributor of articles to our ICL Web
Site...
|
| mel
boring |
NOW, ONCE UPON A TIME
is reprinting them--and that is DOUBLE GOOD NEWS for Marion AND us!
CONGRATULATIONS, Marion!
|
| writermom |
Mel I just wanted to let
you know I recieved my contract from ParenLife for an article to be
published Jan. 2006.
|
| mel
boring |
ALL kinds of
publication you are having, writermom!...
|
| mel
boring |
CONGRATULATIONS to the
Nth Degree! We'll be eager to see your article in January
2006!
|
| ladybird39pm |
how do you get published
onICL
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD question,
ladybird39pm, and I'm GLAD you asked....
|
| mel
boring |
There are guidelines
for submission of articles to us at:...
|
| mel
boring |
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/wt05/writers_guidelines_12.shtml...
|
| mel
boring |
Go to that site and
read the description of what we need, what we pay, and other
particulars....
|
| mel
boring |
Submissions for our ICL
Web Site are life and breath for it, so I'm always glad to receive
them!
|
| sarahvrichard |
do you know of any good
screenwriting courses?
|
| mel
boring |
No, I'm sorry I don't,
sarahvrichard, since...
|
| mel
boring |
most of children's
writing doesn't involve screenwriting,...
|
| mel
boring |
at least until you get
up in the echelons with the likes of Phyllis Reynolds
Naylor,...
|
| mel
boring |
who will be our Chat
Guest on May 12...
|
| mel
boring |
and who told me this
morning that this summer is the filming of one of her
novels...
|
| mel
boring |
But sarahvrichards, I
would suggest you go to amazon.com,...
|
| mel
boring |
and look for
screenwriting BOOKS, since I've known people who learned from BOOKS
without taking COURSES....
|
| mel
boring |
BEST of FORTUNE to you;
and may an already-published book of yours make it onto the Silver
Screen!
|
| caq |
I recently saw a book
packaged nicely with 3 stuffed owls. I have seen many packaged books
like this and had often wondered about it. Is this the publishers
idea and doing or is it the author’s idea given in the
coverletter> (i.e. My idea is to have the book packaged with 3
little owls.)
|
| mel
boring |
It's always the
PUBLISHER's idea, caq,...
|
| mel
boring |
and it comes about when
a book is EITHER very successful, or they KNOW ahead that it WILL be
very successful,...
|
| mel
boring |
so they increase its
saleability with the addition of a stuffed
animal....
|
| mel
boring |
I think it would not be
helpful for an author to suggest it when submitting
a...
|
| mel
boring |
manuscript the
publisher hasn't even seen, my friend.
|
| mel
boring |
From about a month ago,
here's this:
|
| mel
boring |
LizzieGirl sent this
information about a child's speech problem that was brought up in
Open Forum March 22 (MB:Verbal dyspraxia affects the delivery of a
child's speech. The child can be quite intelligent, know what they
want to say, fully understand the words they want to say, but be
incapable of making the correct or total response.):
|
| where MB could
look for info on that speech thing s/he was asking about. I believe
the child in THE RESCUE by Nicholas Sparks had it. This child was
based on his real-life boy |
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, LizzieGirl!
That info used in a book sounds GOOD!
|
| mel
boring |
About our Word of the
Forum previously:...
|
| mel
boring |
The meaning of
deglutition: dee-glue-TEE-shun: the act or process of swallowing
|
|
|
| to
swallow. |
|
| the act of
swallowing or gulping....it is a noun...it seems awkward in a
sentence to me.....The deglutition of worms is not easy for a baby
bird. ( Is that correct?) |
|
| BOTH
are |
|
| mel
boring |
You are right, and I
first ran across this in a poem by Emily
Dickenson!...
|
| mel
boring |
So it's an older word,
but STILL has meaning....
|
| mel
boring |
TODAY'S Word of the
Forum is:...
|
| mel
boring |
luminary:
\LOOM-in-airy\...
|
| mel
boring |
Anyone know what it
means? It's a noun.
|
| mel
boring |
Here are related
questions, one from right here now, and one
pre-submitted:...
|
| mel
boring |
JC wants to know: Is it
acceptable/ appropriate to pay entry fees for writing contests? Is
there a way to screen out "scammers?" Also, if paying an entry fee
is legitimate, acceptable, etc., is there an amount that should not
be exceeded?
|
| crabby
j |
Is there a standard,
aceptable ceiling for fees to enter
|
| crabby
j |
writing contests? A good
source for identifying the scams?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, there ARE fees for
writing contests, JC and crabby j....
|
| mel
boring |
But the fee should be
REASONABLE, one that covers the contest-giver's costs, withOUT
making them wealthy....
|
| mel
boring |
For instance, there's a
fee, I THINK, for the ICL contests, and that JUST covers the cost of
running the contest....
|
| mel
boring |
Someone please correct
me if I'm wrong....
|
| mel
boring |
If a contest charges,
say , I would stay away from that contest,...
|
| mel
boring |
because they'll likely
running it as a profit-making scheme.
|
| mel
boring |
The only "source" for
identifying the scams--unless WE talk about
them---...
|
| mel
boring |
is a LARGE fee they
might charge.
|
| sarahvrichard |
do you know of any good
critique groups?
|
| mel
boring |
One best way to find
those, sarahvrichard,...
|
| mel
boring |
is to go to
www.scbwi.org...
|
| mel
boring |
and search that site of
the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for
the...
|
| mel
boring |
REGIONAL ADVISORS, and
then see if, in their region--or yours--there are critique groups at
work.
|
| mel
boring |
There are also
critique, online groups at an organization...
|
| mel
boring |
called BOOST4Writers,
at, I think: www.boost4writers.com...
|
| mel
boring |
and there you will find
very congenial critique groupS, plural, who have been helpful to
MANY!
|
| mel
boring |
VN wants to know:
What's the difference between "Creative Nonfiction" and "Real Life
Fiction?" I find this intriguing when dealing with topics that touch
on personal experience.
|
| mel
boring |
And the difference
is...
|
| mel
boring |
TAH-DAH!...
|
| mel
boring |
that the FIRST is
NONFICTION and the SECOND is FICTION....
|
| mel
boring |
That's the simplest
difference. Creative nonfiction is the facts about a subject or
situation....
|
| mel
boring |
Real-Life FICTION has
the verisimilitude of real life written into a fiction
story.
|
| mel
boring |
Ah, here's MORE info on
screenwriting, from casey!...
|
| casey |
Writer's Journal Magazine
always has an article on screenwriting. In the latest issue there's
an ad. Go to www.hollywooodlitsales.com and click on the sotp sign.
Maybe sarah will get more information there.
|
| lisalisa |
/ask If submitting to the
publisher of bi-lingual books, is
|
| lisalisa |
it always necessary to
submit the second language text, or
|
| lisalisa |
will the publisher just
translate it for you?
|
| mel
boring |
I don't know the answer
to this one, I'm afraid, lisalisa....
|
| mel
boring |
but I will ASK people
here, and I will also find out more before next
Tuesday....
|
| mel
boring |
ANYone here know if you
need to provice the second-language text if you are submitting a
bi-lingual book manuscript? Let me know and I'll pass it
on!
|
| mel
boring |
spotslover2 sent this
question: For a "how-to" article on using fabric paint, I mentioned
magazines as a source of art work. But then I began to worry about
copyright issues, so I said to be careful about copying; that is was
probably alright to copy one flower out of a picture, but not the
whole picture. I figured the "fair
|
| Do you think this
is okay, or should I delete all mention of copyright material as a
source? |
|
| mel
boring |
I would EITHER not
mention the copyright issue, spotslover2, OR just delete mention of
copyright material....
|
| mel
boring |
It is THEIR
responsibility, too, not to infringe copyright, so you might want to
just leave it all up to them. OR you could delete mention of
copyright material.
|
| mel
boring |
Midge asked this
question about clips: If a magazine asks for clips what do you send?
How long should the clip be? Is a clip a writing sample? I recently
sent a 270-word release to a local newspaper and it was published
without revision. It was an interview I did with four students who
were involved in a charitable project. The problem is my name wasn't
used. Can I use this as a clip? Can a descriptive
|
| be a clip?
|
|
| mel
boring |
The clip should be of a
PUBLISHED piece,JUST ONE page, Midge....
|
| mel
boring |
And if your name isn't
on it, that's OK, since the recipient will assume you wrote
it...
|
| mel
boring |
But just typing up a
description or a character sketch, unpublished, would NOT be
considered a clip.
|
| mel
boring |
casey says of that
screenwriting Web site:...
|
| casey |
that should have been
stop sign.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS also to casey
for the REAL scoop about the entry fee for ICL
contests:...
|
| casey |
The fee is for
unsubscribers - but they receive subscription to Childrens Writer.
No charge for subscribers.
|
| mel
boring |
SO for that , you get
the CHILDRENS WRITER--one of the BEST and most UP-TO-DATE children's
writers' guides I know of!
|
| mel
boring |
Now, about that
"luminary":...
|
| spotslover2 |
A well known person,
generally of an intellectual bent.
|
| birdi |
luminary is a source of
light. we purchase luminaries each year to honor our friends and
relatives who have died from cancer.
|
| delima-e |
luminary means ans
important person
|
| mel
boring |
You're right, you
three! Pope John Paul II was a luminary,...
|
| mel
boring |
for example. AND birdi
brought up an IMPORTANT point:..
|
| mel
boring |
"luminary" comes from
the Latin "Lumens," for "light."...
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS for your
answers, friends!
|
| tolkienlvr |
Mel, for nonfic. mags
that seek articles for various ages
|
| tolkienlvr |
(ie. 3-6 yo and 9-12 y.o)
is it ok to write 2 articles on
|
| tolkienlvr |
same topic for the two
age groups and submit both, so editor
|
| tolkienlvr |
can decide which is the
greater need for mag? Or no? Thx. :)
|
| mel
boring |
tolkienlvr (whose
Username we LOVE)...
|
| mel
boring |
It is OK, but I
wouldn't submit both to the SAME editor...
|
| mel
boring |
What I'd suggest is
that you submit one to THAT editor, and the other to another editor
at a DIFFERENT magazine....
|
| mel
boring |
If you give then both
to the SAME editor, s/he is bound to compare
them,...
|
| mel
boring |
and "pick the best
one."...
|
| mel
boring |
So your chances of
DOUBLING your fortune will be in submitting them to two different
mags.
|
| crabby
j |
What is the specific age
group "'tween?"...
|
| crabby
j |
A submission I'm working
on asks the writing to be geared to
|
| crabby
j |
the 'tween
group...
|
| mel
boring |
I've heard "tweeners"
of the "tween" group described as ANY age of
children...
|
| mel
boring |
who fall "in between"
two "standard" age groups....
|
| mel
boring |
For example, "tween"
might refer to those kids who are...
|
| mel
boring |
in between the standard
age 7-9 group and the 8-12 group....
|
| mel
boring |
So those "tweeners"
might be about 9 and 10....
|
| mel
boring |
That term has risen
because the "standard" age groups...
|
| mel
boring |
are "deteriorating,"
and it's almost as if you're writing for ONE single age now, the
7'ers or the 11'ers or the 15'ers....
|
| mel
boring |
And SOME magazines
"specialize" in certain in-between age groups, crabby
j....
|
| mel
boring |
By the way, I'll bet
you're no more CRABBY than I am BORING! (-:}
|
| latona |
Once you have won a
writing contest, is it a clip, then?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, latona, MOST
DEFINITELY!...
|
| mel
boring |
and you would tell the
publisher you send it to about the contest.
|
| doug |
Mel Tweens are typically
the 10-14 yr olds- in between childhood and full blown
adolescence
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, doug! That
makes sense!
|
| casey |
ladybird39pm is trying to
ask a question.
|
| casey |
ladybird39 pm is asking
about contests. If you look in the back of the 2005 Magazine Market
for Children's Writers I noticed the contest fee is from -
|
| mel
boring |
The sounds very
reasonable, and maybe the contest is to cover a WIDER range of
publishing/publicizing the contest....
|
| mel
boring |
So the wouldn't
automatically be out of line, but I'd want to know WHY it is that
much, ladybird39.
|
| doug |
Mel-wouldn't it be best
to send a query with the topic and ASK which age group the editor
wants?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, it WOULD be, doug.
And if they give it in a marketing guide,...
|
| mel
boring |
you can find it there.
But if it isn't given, or it's called the "in betweener" or
"tweens," then YES, writing and asking would be a GOOD
IDEA.
|
| ekuffmom |
A true incedent turned
into a story, is this nonfiction?
|
| mel
boring |
A STORY is,
technically, FICTION, ekuffmom....
|
| mel
boring |
That is part of the
very definition of STORY....
|
| mel
boring |
So if a true incident
is turned into a STORY, then it is NOT
nonfiction....
|
| mel
boring |
Now, SOMEtimes, people
call articles "stories," though they are technically
articles....
|
| mel
boring |
But if you take a true
incident, fictionalize it, turning it into a STORY, then it is
FICTION.
|
| mel
boring |
I don't know these
authors, but spotslover 2 offers this
suggestion:...
|
| spotslover2 |
Good examples of creative
non-fiction are books by Jacqueline Briggs Martin or Kathleen
Karr.
|
| latona |
Yippee!
|
| mel
boring |
YIPPEE, too,
latona!
|
| caq |
Mel, you told tolkienlvr
to send the article to two different magazines. Is that because they
are for two different age groups, even though the same article
redone? It would be like to different articles then? Could you
clarify this for us?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, it's because they
are for two different age groups.
|
| dell |
On June 11, 2005, the 9th
Annual Upstate NY Conference for Writers and Illustrators presents
WHAT A TRIP AMBER BROWN dedicated to the memory of Paula Danziger.
This is a wonderful opportunity to hear editors and authors speak
about the world of children's writing. For more info and/or to
register, check out the web site :
http://www.scbwi-upny.org/home/home.php
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS,
dell!...
|
| mel
boring |
I would HIGHLY
RECOMMEND that conference,...
|
| mel
boring |
even though this is the
first I've known about it....
|
| mel
boring |
But to have known Paula
Danziger is ENOUGH to be able to recommend what sounds like a
MARVELOUS conference!
|
| crabby
j |
So would Tween and YA
more or less overlap grouping-wise?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, they would, crabby
j....
|
| mel
boring |
And in TODAY's market,
there is MUCH overlapping....
|
| mel
boring |
About 25 years ago,
even, the age groups of 4-6, 7-9, 8-12, 13-15 and 16-19 were VERY
definitive and separate....
|
| mel
boring |
But the lines have been
blurred nowadays....
|
| mel
boring |
There are MANY YA kids
reading ADULT books....
|
| mel
boring |
There are many ADULTS
reading picture books...
|
| mel
boring |
So it's a kind of
different world.
|
| mel
boring |
Here's an
insight:...
|
| spotslover2 |
The best understanding of
creative nonfiction that I've been able to come up with, is that is
a factual telling of an event that reads like a
story.
|
| ladybird39pm |
k mel it was for non
members the members fee was from southwest writers workshop
writerscontest
|
| mel
boring |
That makes sense,
ladybird 39pm,...
|
| mel
boring |
that it would cost
NONmembers more....
|
| mel
boring |
And that sounds very
reasonable.
|
| ladybird39pm |
sorry that was
45.Skipping Stones Awards entry free is
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS for the
update!
|
| spotslover2 |
Remember also that SCBWI
is sponsoring an Amber Brown scholarship in Paula's honor. Check the
SCBWI website for details.
|
| doug |
Mel the query ques I had
was for the article (tolkienlvr) idea with two age groups- the tween
response was for a different ques.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, doug, for
clarifying that!
|
| mel
boring |
I've had questions
about ICL's Beyond the Basics writing course....
|
| mel
boring |
and I can say that what
it allows you to do is...
|
| mel
boring |
work on ONE piece for
MORE than one assignment,...
|
| mel
boring |
in order to bring it to
more saleability....
|
| mel
boring |
I'm sure some of you
here have taken that Beyond the Basics Course. Would you like to
comment on it, if you have?
|
| mel
boring |
I mentioned that on May
12, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, whose novel SHILOH, won a Newbery
Medal,...
|
| mel
boring |
will be our Chat Guest.
Phyllis told me this morning in an e-mail the number of REJECTIONS
that she's received....
|
| mel
boring |
Want to guess how many
before I tell you?
|
| soradina |
I've taken the Beyond the
Basics writing for magazines
|
| soradina |
and it does allow the
student to concentrate more on a
|
| soradina |
particular aspect of
writing -- say revision or marketing.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS,
soradina!
|
| spotslover2 |
My instructor is helping
dig down to a more emotional level in my characters, so I would say
the course is being helpful.
|
| mel
boring |
Thank you, too,
spotslover2!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is how many
rejections Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has received:...
|
| mel
boring |
10,443 rejection
slips!
|
| mel
boring |
She has written since
1960.
|
| mel
boring |
Isn't that an AMAZING
number?
|
| spotslover2 |
So we're still pikers,
huh Mel?
|
| mel
boring |
YUP!
|
| ladybird39pm |
I have taken that course
about 10 yrs ago. I learned so much as I knew nothng of writing . I
also took "Writing for Children and Teenagers which broadened my
scope
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU,
ladybird39pm!
|
| mel
boring |
I must stop now, THANK
YOU ALL for being here, and what you have done for MY LIFE AND
WRITING today, friends!
|
| caq |
Gee, Mel, I have 10,441
rejection letters to go to catch up!
|
| brenbo |
Phyllis has the patience
of a saint!
|
| mel
boring |
You are RIGHT, brenbo,
and we'll hear her talk about rejections on May
12....
|
| mel
boring |
BYE for
now!@
|