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Event start time: |
Tue Apr 27 15:15:50 2004 |
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Event end time: |
Tue Apr 27 16:17:49 2004 |
Legend:
Questions from the Audience are presented in red.
Answers by the Speaker are in black.
The Moderator's comments are in blue.
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Hi! This is Mel's Tuesday Forum, only today, you're stuck with me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, because Mel is out of town. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I've published 3 SF novels, 4 Mysteries, and more than 60 short stories in multiple genres, as well as nonfiction. I'm here to answer any questions you have. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Here's your chance to ask questions about writing for adults, or Long Ridge, or whatever |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach me. |
| t green | and you are very late!! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Hi, T. Mel told me 1 to 2 pm. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Did I mess up? |
| mbvoelker | Welcome Mary. We were concened that something had happened when you didn't show up at 3 eastern. Then we figured that the time conversion got messed up. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Oh, sorry. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Apprently Mel and I had a miscommunication and it was probably my fault. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I thought he said 1 PM Pacific time, but I probably wrote it down wrong. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Oops. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I apologize. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Too much writing on my plate these days! The RAM is full! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Mel had thought he would forward me some questions ahead of time, but he didn't have time. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | So I'm open to anyting you want to talk about. |
| diar | What do you know about Scholastic? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | It's one of the larger publishers of childrens and YA books. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Including a lot of nonficiton. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I don't know any editors there personally. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I have just branched into YA fiction recently. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | While I can speak to publishing practices generally, most of my personal friendships with editors are in the adult side of the business. |
| diar | Is an agent required for Scholastic? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | They will tell you in their guidelines, diar. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You always MUST look up the writers guidelines before you submit to any publisher. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | They are available free for the price of a SASE from the publisher, and are usually available online or in various writers market books. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | The reason it is critical is that the large houses get LOTS of submissions. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And they will NOT look at a submission that violates thier submission rules. |
| sk8puss | I nkow your name, but can't think what you write? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Sk8, I write a lot of SF and some mystery, as well as the occasional mainstream piece. |
| mbvoelker | I'd like to recommend a book. Eats, Shoots & Leaves -- by Lynne Truss. Its punctuation made funny. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I heard a great review of that book recently, mb. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | It's on my 'buy this' list! |
| 2bornot2b | what's the best way to grab a reader's attention in the opening of a story |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | 2born, the best way to grab a reader's attention in the beginning of a story is with a strong hook. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Start with something compelling. An action, a strong dialogue, the image of disaster striking... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | you want to present the reader with something that they just HAVE to read to the end of. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Starting out with a lyrical description of your setting or the weather is really not the way to go about this. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If your reader knows you and is a fan and knows that you'll tell a good story, then the reader will stick with you through that slow start. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Which is why you see slow starts in some fiction by established names. :-) |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But if you are a new writer, the stronger your opening is, the more likely you are to sell your piece. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And that goes for nonfiction, too. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I have a lot of editor friends. Let me tell you how ALL of them read slush. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | (Slush is the pile of unsolicited ms from writers). |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | They start reading. If they are hooked at the end of paragraph 1, they read paragraph 2. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If they are STILL hooked at the end of paragraph 2, they read 3. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If they make it through three, your odds are better than 50/50 that you have sold the story. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I am not kidding. Opening paragraphs matter. |
| craig | how many conflicts should a 1000 to 2000 word story contain. I have 5 in mine. Is that too many |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Well, Craig, every story needs multiple conflicts. I can't really say whether your five is too many or not. That depends on how the story reads. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But even though a short story contains one climax...one high peak of conflict that is resolved to end the story... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | there are always smaller peaks of conflict that happen as we build to that climax. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Now if you mean five paralell plots that seems like a lot for anything shorter than a novel. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But you can include many conflicts in a short story. |
| sk8puss | Are you familiar with Lemony Snicket? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Oh of course. Haven't had a chance to meet the delightful and quirky author yet, but hopefully will run into him one of these days. |
| diar | What is your YA fiction about? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | It's YA Science fiction, diar. Targeting girls. |
| t green | do you know if editors read the "headlines" of each section of non-fiction? would those be enough to "hook" them through an article? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | 1 green, editors are looking for very specific things when they consider a nonfiction article. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If an editor likes your slant and the narrow focus of your topic, and feels that you are the right person to write this article, then that editor... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | has already decided to buy the article. Then he or she will look at the shape of your article -- the outline, the topic headers, or whatever. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If the topic organization doesn't suit, you will either be asked to change the article or you may be rejected after all. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But no, on the average, your editor will have made up his or her mind about buying your NF article before the headers are really considered. |
| t green | how does an editor decide if you are the "right person" to write an article? is that included in your cover letter? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Most of the time, nonfiction editors ask for a query first. But even if you are sending in the entire ms, you need to tell the editor why you are the right person, yes. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Editors want first-hand research, experience, or credentials for the most part. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Readers can do their own internet research. Now I'm talking magazines here, not textbooks! That is a different market. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | So a selling point to the editor for your 'zoo babies' book might be a: You are a zookeeper. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | B: You interviewed a zookeeper and got to spend the day with him/her. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | In one case, you are offering personal credentials. In the other, you are offering an interview/personal experience. |
| t green | i wrote an article on bat "radar" and moth "radar jamming". i have a back ground in the navy working on those specific systems, am i "qualified" enough to write that article? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Sure, as long as you slant the article to include navy radar. And that is a COOL slant!!! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You could do a very nice article that relates the way bats navigate to the radar airplanes are guided by and science teachers everywhere will thank you! Go for it! |
| paige | Hi Mary. Welcome. I would like to use the words "Moose McMuffin" in an article. Would that be acceptable without incurring the wrath of the Big Mc Marketers? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | YOu know, you actually might run into trouble, Paige. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I always keep my ears open for this kind of thing, and just yesterday hear a report that McD's sued a theater group... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | for using parodies of its menu item names. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | It very much depends on their company policy. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If they are only going after negative representations, then they might welcome a positive character in a children's book... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | with a McDonalds name. Free advertizing! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But if they have a blanket 'thou shalt not use' policy, yes your publisher might get a cease and desist letter,. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach me. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | This is Mel's Tuesday Forum, only today, you're stuck with me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, because Mel is out of town. |
| craig | let me make it clearer for you. Paul saves his teacher in a flood is the climax. They get trapped in the river separated twice by a current. The teavher hurts her hand when falls in her attempt to get to safety and finally Paul drags her to safety. Do I have too many conflicts here |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Sounds good to me,Craig. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | It's not a story you can cover in 500 words, but you could certainly do it in under 3000 and that should put you in the ballpark... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | for childrens magazines...if it comes in closer to 2000. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I would stay in Paul's POV here if I were you. I would resist the temptation to switch into the teacher's. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | The books that my young writing students seem to like the most are the books where the POV is a child their age rather than an adult. |
| 2bornot2b | I have a difficult time coming up with a good title, any tips? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Me, too, xborn! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Titles come naturally to some people, but not to me. I wish. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | But they are worthwhile. Remember that your book is on a store shelf with about 30 others... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | or in a magazine with a bunch of other stories. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You want to grab the reader's attention if possible. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | One way to do it is to think about the theme of your story. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | What is it about? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Friendship? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Sticking up for your sibling? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Being responsible? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Then see if you can find something...a phrase or a couple of words...that reflects that theme in some way. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Readers, even kid readers!, enjoy that 'aha' of suddenly figuring out where that enigmatic title came from. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Just don't be TOO obscure! |
| sk8puss | I get my tiltes from a key elemet of the conflict resolution |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | There you go, ska8. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That's the way to do it. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | A lot of YA titles used to be pretty straight foward. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Lost on Bald Mountain. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That seems to be changing. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And don't worry. Your editor will ask you to change it if she or he doens't like it! |
| 2bornot2b | When you feel a story brewing, is it a topic you like or one you "think" the audience would like? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | For a story, zborn, it is always something I want to write. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If I'm not having fun, it's not going to be good. If I don't care, it's not going to be good. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | BUT...that said...magazine editors have different tastes. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Once I have my story idea, I decide which magazine it would be best for and then I do intentionally write for that editor and magazine. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Now nonfiction is JUST the opposite, in both adult and YA. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You write very specifically for that magazine for that audience for that editor. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Start with your intended market and THEN craft the article. |
| t green | the titles are changing because all the good ones are taken!! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I don't know, t green. :-) Lost on Bald Mountain doesn't seem like a particularly good one to me! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Ferris Wheel Tango is much more interesting. :-) |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You know, a fun exercise that will really help you as a writer is to simply write a bunch of strong openings. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Once you realize that you don't have to write the rest of the story, you can just let go and enjoy that brief scene. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | See just how strong and brief you can make that opening. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You never know. One of those openings might well inspire a story. |
| paige | An editor asked if I could provide related links with an online article, preferably one with games or crafts. If I find such links, how can I be certain they are kidsafe? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That is difficult, paige. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | We recently had a link to an author's website that had a bad link on it. When the author had originally posted the link.. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | it had been to a Romance website. That domaine name was taken over by a porn site. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | When I told the author about it, he was horrfied. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You need to go to the site and try every link on it. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And, if you really want to be safe, you need to try all the links on the pages that link leads to. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | As you can see, this can become an enormous headache! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I would certainly try all the links on the page your are going to link to directly, make sure no porn sites have assumed once-legit domaine names. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And tell the editor the limits of your checking. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Let the editor decide if that is safe enough or not. |
| 2bornot2b | sometimes I have astrong opening then my ending is a dud-then I wonder were I went wrong |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That is SO common, 2b. (Cool name, btw)... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Most of the time the problem actually lies in the beginning. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | The end grows out of the beginning. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And if you get off the track early on, start off on a tangent, then the end you meant to use may no longer fit. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Your may not realize what the central conflict of the story really is. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Sometimes it is not the conflict you think it is. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Try asking yourself what needs to be resolved here. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | What is the problem that needs to be solved? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That answer needs to be part of your ending. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | This is the Tuesday Forum with me, Mary Rosenblum, the Long Ridge Web Editor. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question to reach me. |
| t green | i started out a novel with an italicized sentence, and had my main char. respond to it... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That's a very good start, t green. :-) |
| sk8puss | you would need to include a disclaime for the links |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you tell the editor the limits of your serach, sk8, he or she will put that into the form that ezine or publication normally uses. |
| mamalee | /ask How do you include sidebar ideas?... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Most editors prefer sidebars on a separate sheet of paper if you are submitting by snail mail. The reason for this is that the sidebar is formatted and laid out separately from your main article. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Depending on the layout, that sidebar may be anywhere on the page. Now if you are submitting to an ezine that will very likely not be the case. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You need to read specific guidelines for online submissions. Some ezines want attached files and ms format. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Others want the piece in the body of an email in wordpad. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | There is a lot of variation there. |
| mamalee | /ask from mamalee do you suggest them or wirte them out? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you are writing a query, mamalee, you suggest them. If you are sending in the whole ms, you include the sidebar and call the editor's attention to it... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | in the cover letter that accompanies the ms. |
| bobbiejo | Is there a resource that is available to those of us new to the writing world who would like to not duplicate a title? I mean, shouldn't there be a database so we don't duplicate? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | bobbie, titles aren't copyrighted. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You can use any title you want, although I wouldn't use something that is VERY familiar, like Gone With The Wind. |
| t green | is that a decent opening? enough to catch a young reader to want to know what the italics were? and why my mc is talking to "it"? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Taht totally depends on what that italicized opening is, t green! If it is something that instantly grabs the reader "I am an alien'. "My brother is a wolf". then it can be a fine opening. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If it is "I like brusselsprouts" or "School is really nice," then I have my doubts, to be honest... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Remember in fiction, it is not the FORM that matters, it is the content. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | You can break every 'rule' there is about writing fiction and have a blockbuster best seller that really grabs readers. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | The only REAL rule in fiction is 'the story must work'. |
| t green | how about "It's almost time, Flair!" |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | That could work quite well if we go on to do something exciting and interesting as Flair answers. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Here is one of those many placles where you ask yourself...what will excite my reader? What will hold her attention? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Think about that kid. What will interest him or her? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | What is cool? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | What will hold his or her attention? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Always worry about content first in fiction. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you've ever read to kids, you've noticed how some books hold your kids' attention all the way through, while other books... |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | have your child hopping off the sofa after four pages. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Pay attention to that. Why is this book better than that book? |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If you have a child reader in your family, ask his or her opinion and then listen to what that child says. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And don't forget that kids are curious. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | There is so much that we take for granted that is new and wonderful out there. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Make use of that curiosity. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Well, we're about at the end of our hour. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | And unlike my LR Forums, I'll have to cut this off at a 'real' hour as opposed to my usual 'Oregon hours'. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Any last questions? |
| 2bornot2b | thanks Mary, you've been a real help ;) |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | I'm glad I could help, 2b. And thank you all for coming. |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | If Mel has to ask me again, I'll be sure to get my clock straight next time! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | See you all! |
| Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor | Have a good week! |
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