Open Forum, April 1, 2003

Tue Apr 01 12:27:51 2003

Event end time:

Tue Apr 01 16:04:18 2003

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

I am VERY happy to be back with you again...

mel boring

after being away for two weeks!...

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I have been to a town in Iowa, to Chicago, and here in Michigan...

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doing school programs. The children ALWAYS give me great new writing ideas!...

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One idea is a nonfiction book about KINGS AND QUEENS,...

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which a third-grade girl gave me in Marengo, Iowa....

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So IT WILL BE one of my next projects, covering all the ceremony, jewels, castles and rich foods of royalty!...

mel boring

In Chicago, I worked with first and second graders who were advanced very far. ...

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They had already been writing books, and it was easy pie to teach them more....

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In Flint, Michigan, over 300 kids in grades 1 to 6 came for a Young Authors Conference....

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They were SO full of questions, I ONLY answered their questions--and THAT was a treat....

mel boring

By the way, I can only work in JAVA from here at my sister-by-marriage's computer, so I may be limited....

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IF I get knocked off the Net, don't worry, I'll HURRY back on, friends! (-+}

lizr

Welcome Back Mel !

mel boring

THANK YOU, lizr!!!

canoe

Mr. Boring, It sounds like you had a wonderful, if not inspiring time! Welcome back home! (smiles) (-:}

mel boring

Yes, I DID, canoe, and thank YOU too. The children never fail to inspire me. After all,...

mel boring

THEY are the reason we write!

lizr

how did you get booked for these school visits? was it in promoting your books?

mel boring

lizr, I belong to Authors and Illustrators Who Visit Schools....

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You can visit them by using those search words to see what their program is like....

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It costs a year to join, and for that you get about ten or twenty e-mails a week with opportunities....

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Some may be FAR away, and others close....

mel boring

I have the opportunity to go to RUSSIA April 23 because of AIVS.

mel boring

Though I did talk about , my books, I didn't really promote them....

mel boring

What happens is that the schools or libraries buy the books and then I autograph them--GREAT LOTS OF FUN!!! (-:}

mel boring

Here is the first question, one that was pre-mailed to me:...

mel boring

I'm working on a rough draft of a non-fiction picture book about a German WWII POW held captive in Iowa who organized the completion of a nativity scene within the prison camp, along with help from fellow prisoners.

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(The nativity is still open for public viewing today.) I'm making very little reference to the actual war, it's mainly how one man headed this project and brought the Christian spirit to the prison camp.

mel boring

I don't see it as a biography. Would it just be considered a history book? Do I need permission from the man's family to mention his name?

mel boring

I'm not sure how to classify it, or do you even think this is an appropriate book for 4-8 yr. olds? Also, if I can get this manuscript completed by April 15, I can have it critiqued at a conference by a NY editor. Does it need to be fairly polished before I pay for a critique?

mel boring

I'll take it one part at a time....

mel boring

First of all, it's a GOOD idea, because children have a heightened interest in war, and especially WWII right now....

mel boring

And the organization of the nativity scene is an excellent "vehicle" to use in a book set in a war time....

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And your plans to NOT refer to the actual war are excellent. Keeping it on the Christian project will not only make it a POSITIVE book,...

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but it will ALSO have a CHRISTMAS THEME--a real PLUS for any children's book....

mel boring

And the emphasis on Christmas and the nativity arises very naturally out of this book idea....

mel boring

No, it wouldn't be a biography, and I wouldn't even use the real names of the people involved. So no, you DON'T then need permission from the man's family....

mel boring

Yes, I think it WOULD be a very appropriate book for ages 4 to 8....

mel boring

What you'll need for the conference is as POLISHED a manuscript as you have time to make it before April 15....

mel boring

Editors there will understand if it is not as polished as you WILL make it. GOOD WRITING LUCK, and let us know what happens after April 15, will you, please?

mel boring

lizr just looked up the URL for AIVS--THANK YIOU,lizr!:

lizr

I just looked it up on Google -- the URL is http://www.authorsillustrators.com/

mel boring

Here is a second presubmitted question before I turn to YOUR questions....

mel boring

Did you have any information on how to submit a manuscript for chapter

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books? For instance, I rec'd guidelines from Random House for their

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Step into Reading series.

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The step 4 said max. characters per line were 40, max word count 2000.

mel boring

Does that mean I submit my manuscript with shortened margins to reflect the max characters of 40?

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Or, submit with normal margins and formatting to those specs will come later as the final outcome? What has been your experience in regards to formatting a manuscript for a reading level for a 6 - 9 year old?

mel boring

I scanned that link and didn't see anything referencing this question.

mel boring

GOOD question, again! Firstly, yes, you WILL need to limit your lines to 40 characters per line....

mel boring

You can do that (in MSWORD, for instance, by going to the "File" -> "Page Setup" settings, and experimenting with shorter or longer lines till there are ABOUT 40 characters per line....

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Otgherwise, just format the manuscript as you would any other ms, except for the 40-character lines. You will begin a new chapter on a new page, of course. For the 6-9'ers, who are just starting with chapter books, it will need to be kept simple--the story or article--AND DO ADHERE to the ONLY 2000 words!...

mel boring

THUYNPING GOOD LUCK with this project, and come back and let us know how it goes, will you, please?'

mel boring

P.S.: You can also go to the URL for words you can use in elementary grades that I sent out with last weeks Friday Update, which will help you with vocabulary.

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

For those of you who joined us after we started, 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--the sky isn’t even the limit!

mel boring

Here is another pre-submitted question:...

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You know that several childrens' magazines as well as book publishers say that they accept folk tales from around the world.

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Since these tales are so old and

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varied since they were often passed on by word of mouth, what is considered a legitimate source for

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a folk story?

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We find many books in bookstores and libraries like "Tibetan folk tales", "Stories and legends of Normandy" and so on.

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Can a writer rework a story from any of these books and offer them to a publication or would there be a clash of copyright?

mel boring

Folk tales have continued to be a genre of children's books and stories that they enJOY....

mel boring

ANY source is legitimate for finding them, and you will, of course, find many differing versions of the same tale....

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The only caution you must take is not to copy AANY particular version, but to put it in YOUR OWN words. The published version of any folk tale is most likely copyrighted, so therefore you can't copy even large portions of it....

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But ANY way you write it is acceptable, as long as it is UNlike any other author's version...

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Even if YOU have heard the story by word of mouth, you can write it from that source....

mel boring

I wouldn't even think about "reworking" one of these folk tales, but put the written copies aside, and word it entirely on your own, having inemory the bare bones of how the story goes....

mel boring

Any BOOK you read folk tales out of will have a copyright. If the copyright has RUN OUT, then you could, of course, copy it freely, but I wouldn't. Instead, write a totally fresh version of the tale that is YOUR OWN....

mel boring

Here is a second part of the same question:...

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Another related question is, how are translations of these folk tales handled?

mel boring

For example if I had a book of Indian folk tales published in Hindi, would it

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be all right for me to translate a story from this English or another language and consider it my work?

mel boring

Translations are usually done AFTER the book is contracted, so YOU as the author may not even be involved in the translation....

mel boring

IF y ou ARE fluent in a language the publishers want to translate your book to, then--and if you let them know that--I'm sure they will want YOU to a;sp translate it, for example, to Hindi....

mel boring

If you translated a story, YES, it would still be your work....

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A publisher usually lists the author and translator separately....

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For instance, the title page might read: "Written by Hasmita Chander" and "Translated by Hasmita Chander."

canoe

Mel, have the vocabulary words for todays' text books/story books changed any from say, the 40's or 50's vocabulary words?

mel boring

Great question, canoe!...

mel boring

Yes, they have, and basically, vocabularies have become more limited, and limited to simpler words....

mel boring

In the 50's, for example, a word like "cabbage" might be used. (I remember that word in my first-grade primer, for example, in the 1940's)....

mel boring

But today, a word as difficult to decode as "cabbage" might be avoiced, canoe. AND there is not so much e,phasis on LIMITING vocabulary today, for the MOST part.

ekuffmom

Although I am writing and submitting to childrens magazines, my daughter is also a great writer. How can we find out where to submit her stories to.

mel boring

Find the book from Writer's Digest Magazine that is put out annually, ekuffmom,...

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but instead of WRITER'S MARKET, it is called...

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CHILDREN'S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS MARKET....

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I have seen an OCCASIONAL market to which children ONLY can submit in that book....

mel boring

ALSO, the CRICKET Fafamily magazines and HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN accept children's submissions from time to time. GOOD FORTUNE to your daughter, and PLEASE let us know how she does!

ekuffmom

I submitted question 2115, I forgot to say she is 12 years old.

mel boring

THANKS, ekuffmom, and 12 is certainly a good age to submit! Tell her hello for me!

canoe

Mr. Boring, in regards to Folk Tales/Stories...I write what I call 'New Folklore or New Native American Folklore' I do not base my stories on stories I've been told, but rather 'make up my own,' done in the same method as those of my ancestors. Is it 'right' for me to call my stories 'Folklore' ?

mel boring

Yes it is, canoe, as long as they contain the elements of folklore or folktales....

mel boring

For example, if there is a fox that tries to rob the nests of fowls, those are "folktale ingredients." The JUNGLE BOOK has excellent examples of the elements of "folktalery." (-:}

lizr

- a related website to the folktale question - Shen's Books -- click on the link - Cinderella on the left - they specialize in Cinderella stories from many countries http://www.shens.com

mel boring

EXCELLENT suggestion, lizr--MIGHTY THANKS to you, friend!

vernaculady

Just read a recently-published folktale, ALI AND THE MAGIC STEW, beautifully illustrated by my librarian and wonderful artist, Winslow Pels. It's worth checking-out.

mel boring

THANKS TO YOU TOO, vernaculady, and I WILL check that one out!

mel boring

Do you want to tell us more about your librarian, vernaculady? If so, send it on to me.

paige

In writing historical fiction, would one use vocabulary of the time, or present day language with

paige

without slang or very modern forms of expression?

mel boring

You would use the language of the times you're portraying, paige, yes....

mel boring

Any present-day s;ang just wouldn't fit. BUT you can use slang of the times you are writing about....

mel boring

If you were writing about American Civil War times, for example, using the term "goober peas" for peanuts would be, well, tasty! (-:}

spudsie

Is there a place where kids can submit cartoons, too?

mel boring

I don't know of any, spudsie. I THINK HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN might consider them....

mel boring

By the way, I recently saw a letter about HFC and its editors, and I am going to send that along sometime. It tells what each editor is looking for.

mel boring

Here's some more GOOD info about vernaculady's librarian:...

vernaculady

She's been a wonderful mentor for my writing and I recently lucked-out with the chance to be one of seven students in her local art class

mel boring

Lucky indeed, vernaculady, but I'm sure you are also very talented, and being modest.

lizr

Thanks Mel - for the HFC editor info! ;o)

mel boring

You are welcome, lizr, and I'm GLAD to do it!

mel boring

By the way, as we get near the end here, I want to tell you that from April 23 to May 4...

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I am going to Russia, to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, to do school book programs....

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and I'll get to take our daughter, Katy (who is 15) along....

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During the time I'm gone, Kristi Holl will be back with you. I KNOW you'll enjoy that.

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THANKS for your responses, friends!!! For example...

vernaculady

tries to curtsy. Trips

lizr

- enjoy your trip!

canoe

That's Great Mr. Boring! What a wonderful opportunity!

mel boring

Here is more about vernaculady's marvelous librarian (vernaculady who just curtsied! (-:})...

vernaculady

Winslow Pinney Pels wrote and illustrated several children's stories. They may be in others' local libraries. She's an incredibly talented yet modest person

fred

Mel, don't drimk the water when you are there. Unless you take a portable filter with you.

mel boring

THANKS, Fred!

mel boring

THANK YOU ALL, I'll see you next Tuesday--AND this Thursday evening when Betty Erickson will be our guest--BYE from Michigan!