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Inklings Issue 3.17
================================================================
i n k l i n g s
Inkspot's newsletter for Writers on the Net
Issue 3.17 Aug.20, 1997
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<http://www.inkspot.com/pub/inklings/ink0317.html>
* Over 18,000 subscribers! *
This issue features an interview with Jane Yolen, author of over
180 books for young people and adults, and advice about the
romance market by Judith Bowen (ASK THE ROMANCE WRITER).
This issue sponsored in part by:
================================================================
ON SPEC Magazine - Premiere Canadian Quarterly of Speculative
Writing...the best in Canadian SF, Fantasy, Horror and Magic
Realism. $2 off your subscription if you mention Inklings.
Email: onspec@earthling.net
================================================================
THE WRITER'S SOFTWARE COMPANION: multimedia software by Writer's
Digest's Nancy Kress. Uses advanced learning tech. and total
immersion to bypass years of trial-and-error, dramatically
accelerating a writer's progress. http://www.novalearn.com
================================================================
THE INTERNET WRITING JOURNAL(TM). "How to" articles, interviews,
product reviews, features and more. New from WRITERS WRITE(TM)
at http://writerswrite.com. http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/
THIS MONTH: Interview with bestselling author Gary Gach
================================================================
* Samurai Consulting * http://www.samurai.com
Services include internet consulting, WWW page design, electro-
nic newsletters, mailing lists, FTP sites, system maintenance,
training. Email: Bryan Fullerton <bryanf@samurai.com>
================================================================
ISSN 1205-6413. Copyright 1995-1997 Debbie Ridpath Ohi. For more
info about Inklings (how to subscribe/unsubscribe, change your
address, submit material, copyright, etc.) send any email message
to infoinklings@inkspot.com. For info on how you can become an
Inklings sponsor, send any email to ratecard@inkspot.com. No
attachments, please. Send comments to editor@inkspot.com (please
use a meaningful subject header!).
================================================================
| CONTENTS THIS ISSUE: |
| From The Editor's Desk |
| Fresh Ink and Market Information |
| Ask The Romance Writer |
| Interview With Jane Yolen |
| Writers' Classifieds |
================================================================
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK:
=======================
Inkspot (http://www.inkspot.com) is currently developing a
searchable online database of writers' guidelines. I welcome
input on how to make this resource as useful as possible to the
freelance writing community. What information is most useful to
you? What kind of user interface would you like to see? How would
you like to see the information categorized? If you are a paying
market interested in being listed in this database, please put
"paying market" in your subject header. Send all ideas and
suggestions to: suggestions@inkspot.com.
Thanks to Mary Bowman-Kruhm and Claudine Wirths for recommending
Inkspot in their book, _Onramp to the Internet: A Writer's Guide
to Getting Online_ (published by Children's Book Insider
http://www.write4kids.com/). Thanks also to Web Guide magazine
for recommending Inkspot in their premiere issue (p46).
Thanks also to D. Paul Henderson for mentioning Inkspot in
The Prague Post. If you see Inkspot or Inklings mentioned in
any hardcopy publication, I always appreciate knowing about it.
Please send the info to editor@inkspot.com, or clippings to
Inklings, 55 McCaul St., Box 123, Toronto, ON M5T 2W7.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I regret that I will not be able
to attend the Goldenrod Writers' Conference this year (Oct.17
through 19). :-( I hope to be able to attend next year.
Congratulations to Steve McDevitt <sgm@atl.mindspring.com>,
who
won a copy of Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages by Jean
Armour Polly (Osbourne, 1997)! The new giveaway is for The
Writer's Home Companion...see the Fresh Ink section for details.
A word on junk email: I hate it as much as you do. Please be
assured that I will never sell or give away the Inklings
subscriber list for *any reason*.
FRESH INK
=========
Win a copy of THE WRITER'S HOME COMPANION!
------------------------------------------
The Writer's Home Companion: An Anthology of the World's Best
Writing Advice, from Keats to Kunitz (edited by Joan Bolker,
Owl Books, 1997, paperback $14.95, 0-8050-4893-6). Send email
to giveaway@inkspot.com with your name and email address by
Friday, August 29. By entering, you agree to let Inklings and
Inkspot publish your name and email address if you win. Details
available at:
http://www.inkspot.com/admin/giveaway.html
The Book Of Zines
-----------------
Includes an Ezine and Zine Resource Guide with links to online
zines, interviews editors, guide to doing your own zine and
e-zine. Maintained by Chip Rowe.
http://www.zinebook.com/
National Writers Union Job Hotline
----------------------------------
Charges 10% finder's fee of first 4 months income. Users must
be Writers' Union members.
http://www.igc.apc.org/nwu/hotline/
Dog Writers' Association of America
-----------------------------------
Includes info about membership, writing contest.
http://www.prodogs.com/dwaa/index.htm
CROW: Capsule Reviews Of Original Work
--------------------------------------
Networking for writers and editors. Workshop area has some
interesting writing-related articles. Maintainer Kevin McCarthy
is offering this site for sale.
http://www.readersndex.com/crow/
Author Ring
-----------
Ring of websites for published authors online. Part of
eclectics.com, a good resource site for writers.
http://www.eclectics.com/authorring.html
Wordsmith's WebBook
-------------------
Maintained by Althea Sexton. Writing-related articles, genre
fiction pointers, networking and other online resources.
http://alfalfapress.com/ws/wswb.html
Essays, Articles, and Columns for Writers
-----------------------------------------
List of online collections of writing-related articles.
http://www.inkspot.com/craft/essays.html
Send Fresh Ink suggestions to freshink@inkspot.com.
================================================================
MARKET INFORMATION
==================
Please note: Inklings does its best to print only accurate market
info. However, it cannot be held responsible for lost postage,
time, etc. that you may incur due to inaccuracies. Do not send
submissions by email before inquiring first. You should get
current, detailed guidelines before submitting. Include SASE for
snailmail replies. More market info at:
http://www.inkspot.com/market/.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING MARKET SOURCES:
SCAVENGER'S NEWSLETTER
Monthly market info letter for sf/f/h/m writers & artists.
More info at: http://users.aol.com/Lemarchand/scavenger.html
THE GILA QUEEN'S GUIDE TO MARKETS
POB 97, Newton, NJ 07860-0097 Email:GilaQueen@aol.com
http://www.pacifier.com/~alecwest/gila/index.html
THE WRITE MARKETS REPORT
Markets magazine for writers. Email: dvrg19d@prodigy.com.
http://members.tripod.com/~deepsouth/index-writemkt.htm
CHILDREN'S WRITERS MARKET LIST (magazines only)
Available by e-mail or snailmail. Email shauers@inkspot.com.
For free sample, send any email to childmkt@inkspot.com
==-----------------------------------------------------==
"FNASR" = First North American Serial Rights, "SASE" =
self-addressed, stamped envelope, "simsubs" = simultaneous
submissions, "mss" = manuscript, "RT" = response time, "GL" =
guidelines, "wds" = words, "cc" = contributor's copy.
***If you are a *paying* market and would like your guidelines
included in a future issue of Inklings, please fill out the form
at: http://www.inkspot.com/market/mktpayform.html
FLESH AND BLOOD MAGAZINE - seeks fiction and poetry
---------------------------------------------------
Jack Fisher (Editor), 121 Joseph Street, Bayville, NJ 08721.
Flesh and Blood is a 30-50 pages, digest-sized horror magazine
seeking dark fantasy poetry and fiction. Snailmail submissions
only. No reprints. PAYMENT: Fiction max 3000 wds, 1/2c/wd. Poetry
max 3 pages $5. SEEKING: "...horror/dark fantasy fiction and
poetry that is chilling, disturbing and eerie. Submission should
include at least one of these elements. No submissions longer
than 3000 words (for poems; three pages) Accepted pieces of
writing will be bought at 1/2 cent a word and the author should
expect a check within three weeks from the date of acceptance."
TIPS: "I'm not looking for typical horror fiction/poetry. No
cliches! Only snail mailed submissions, too. Response time is
within three days upon receipt. I do not reply through e-mail,
either. I have a certain system and if I were to reply via e-mail
the system would get messed up." (Info rec'd July 17/97)
Email: ahhh@webtv.net (queries only)
URL: http://angelfire.com/hi/zxcv/index.html
THE ROMANCE WRITER - seeks development ideas, research writers
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Romance Writer's Companion Page, 941 Fishburn Drive Brigham
City, UT 84302. Anne Marie Baugh, Editor. "The Romance Writer's
Companion Page is looking for how to find ideas on story
development, character development, and plot development. We pay
$5.00 for each idea that we publish. Ideas should not run more
than a paragraph. We are also looking for research writers
familiar with the Romance Writing Genre to put together five page
reports on a particular historical subject. We will sell the
reports from our site with 50% going to the writer." Pays on
publication. Email submissions okay. "Please look at our site to
understand what we are doing. Many writers are sending in actual
story ideas when in fact we want the "how or where" did you get
the story idea." For full guidelines, see website. (Info rec'd
July 24/97)
Email: internet@mail.vii.com
URL: http://www.vii.com/~internet/
THROUGH DARKLING GLASS - seeks fantasy fiction
----------------------------------------------
Robyn Enns (Editor), 15 Hardy Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA, R2M
5M5. Published every 5-6 weeks. PAYMENT: Poetry will be paid $2
dollars, prose $5. SEEKING: "High fantasy, sword and sorcery
types. I am also looking for good pieces with dragons, unicorns,
etc. but *no stereotypes please*. See my submission guidelines
for more specifics. Poems have no word limit, prose aprox. 25000
words (not firm). Payment is on publication." TIPS: "I am looking
for characters that are well-developed and not the usual
stereotypes of fantasy heroes. Your style as a whole should be
convincing and should completely emerse the reader in your world.
Glass is fast becoming well-known for its refreshing take on the
realm of high fantasy, and your work should reflect this. Again,
please check out previous issues to see what I am interested in
publishing - in particular: issue 1: "Rifarra", "Dragonlost", "In
My Dreams", issue 2: "The Happy Few". We like to think we are
bringing a new level of quality to internet magazines. In the
future, Glass will probably feature reviews and novel-sneak-peaks
in addition to the ever growing submissions of prose and poetry.
Artwork is also accepted (payment to be negotiated)."
Email: menns43@cc.umanitoba.ca
URL: http://www.dynamics.mb.ca/glass
WEBREFERENCE.COM - seeks articles
---------------------------------
WEBREFERENCE at http://www.webreference.com. "Webreference.com is
designed to be a gateway to Web and webmastering information. We
feature original articles on topics of interest to a range of
people from Net newbies to Web developers. Our audience is
primarily well-educated, well-compensated beginner to
intermediate HTML authors and webmasters." They are a paying
market ($200+ for articles), seeking submissions for the Feature
Articles and Developer's Corner sections. They would like to see
how-to's that are well-illustrated to show how the
software/service/etc. actually works. Send a synopsis of your
story idea via e-mail to aking@webreference.com. They respond in
2 days. For more information, see their complete guidelines at
http://www.webreference.com/writers.html. (from Writers Page
newsletter, email WritersPage-request@niestu.com with "subscribe"
in subject line for free subscription)
http://www.webreference.com
TIME FOR KIDS - seeks articles for children
-------------------------------------------
TIME FOR KIDS, 25th Floor, 1271 Sixth Avenue, New York NY 10020:
Claudia Wallis, Managing Editor. This publication is aimed at
junior age children. Write age level material about items similar
to that included in Time. There are no guidelines and are mainly
staff written. QUERY first. Other publications are also in the
works, including TIME FOR KIDS PRIMARY EDITION and IN TIME. The
latter is a grade 6-9 spin-off of TIME FOR KIDS and will include
an opinion section which will be more open to freelance than the
other magazines. (Source: Children's Writer's Market List)
STARLIGHT #2 - seeks sf stories
-------------------------------
Patrick Nielsen Hayden, editor, c/o Tor Books, 175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10010. Write "Starlight" on the outside of the
envelope. No email submissions, email queries okay, although you
need not query before submitting. EDITOR'S NOTE: "I'm extending
the Deadline for submissions to the second Starlight anthology.
It's now open until the end of 1997. Attached are the standard
Guidelines for Starlight. I would add to this that if you have
had a story sitting with me for what seems like a very long time,
feel free to query, but you aren't alone. I am a very slow and
very choosy market." SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Original sf anthology
series, pays 7.5c/wd. Published in hardcover and trade paperback
by Tor Books. "Starlight is a broad church; my notion of "sf"
encompasses hard sf, humanistic sf, edgy daring, outright
fantasy, and traditionalism with heart. It also encompasses those
mutants that defy easy categorization but which we know belong in
the "sf" or "fantasy" tents anyway." One submission at a time, no
submissions via fax or email. (Source: Scavenger's Newsletter,
Aug/97).
Email: pnh@panix.com
URL: http://www.panix.com/~pnh (queries only)
HARPERCOLLINS AND OWL UPDATE
----------------------------
Margaret Shauers reports receiving info from the Authors Guild
(paraphrased): "Last month HarperCollins acknowledged cancelling
at least 106 book contracts and said it would pay advance
balances under those contracts. However, now it turns out that HC
is asking authors of cancelled works to sign waivers. One
version of these asks the author to repay a substantial portion
if the work is sold elsewhere. Plus, the author is asked to
report to HC twice yearly for 5 years about efforts made to
resell the work. Only by agreeing to these conditions and
waiving claims agains HC would authors receive balances of
advances due. Authors Guild goes on to write: 'Where it has
breached, HarperCollins is not entitled to recapture advances. If
you've been affected by HarperCollins' actions, we recommend that
you seek professional advice before signing any waiver.'" You can
contact Ed McCoyd at The Authors Guild at 29th Floor, 330 W. 42nd
St., New York, NY USA 10036-6902 for more information.
Telephone: (212) 563-5904. Email: staff@authorsguild.org.
Also, Margaret reports that OWL Communications has currently laid
off most of its staff."This affects Owl, Chickadee and Chirp. The
parent company has collapsed. Despite the bad news, President
Annabel Slaight hopes the magazines will soon be sold to another
company."
================================================================
Ask The Experts
---------------
*** Please put "inklings question" in the subject header. ***
Judith Bowen (ROMANCE WRITER) jbowen@max-net.com
David Breeden (POET) drpoetry@ktc.com
Charles Deemer (SCREENWRITER) cdeemer@teleport.com
Mark Fowler (LAWYER) askthelawyer@inkspot.com
Susan Graham (AGENT) slgraham@mindspring.com
Paula Guran (HORROR WRITER) DarkEcho@aol.com
Carol Henson (BOOK DOCTOR) UBKX12C@Prodigy.com
Ken Jenks (ELECTRONIC PUBLISHER) MindsEye@tale.com
David Leit (LAWYER) askthelawyer@inkspot.com
Bob Sablatura (JOURNALIST) bob.sablatura@reporters.net
Michelle Sagara (SF/FANTASY WRITER) Michelle.Sagara@sff.net
Lee Wardlaw (CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITER) Katknip2@aol.com
Marcia Yudkin (FREELANCE WRITER) send to yudkin@inkspot.com
Sharon Zukowski (MYSTERY/SPY WRITER) 76372.2252@CompuServe.COM
Columnists may be unable to reply privately to every message,
but will answer selected questions in future issues of Inklings.
================================================================
ASK THE ROMANCE WRITER
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Judith Bowen
<jbowen@max-net.com>
Labelling romance stories
-------------------------
In my query letters I categorize my mss as Contemporary Romances
but I feel this genre label is not totally accurate as each of my
novels have a second agenda - crime, mystery, even comedy. Is
there a better label?
A: I think your quandary is well-worth thinking through. Labels
are tough--and so important. Have you tried "labelling" your
romances with a crime or mystery element, for example, "romantic
suspense?" This is a button that's been hot for a number of
years. What about "screwball comedy" for your madcap funny
romances? Certainly, that's a label that perks interest, as
Hollywood likes to "play" romance this way, as in the Doris Day
and Rock Hudson era. Publishers and agents are well aware of
that interest.
Contemporary romance is a big label to market on and may be a bit
too general. There are long contemporaries, short contemporaries,
mainstream, women's fiction, romantic suspense...the latest buzz
word is relationship book. Where does yours fit in length-wise?
That could be one way to go. How about coining a new term for
your book--women's adventure, women's action, women's
detective...etc.
Labels can be bad, good and indifferent--you want yours to be
good! Think of the effort you put into giving your book the
right label as providing a mental shortcut for the agent or
publisher. An apt label will provide an "entry" for him or her
to start thinking about your manuscript. It never hurts to have
an editor or an agent go, "Hmm. Relationship book. Sort of like
Joanna Trollope, you say...well, send it in, I'll take a look."
Breaking into the historical romance market
-------------------------------------------
Q. I've written an historical romance. The majority of agents
I've contacted told me more or less that I was crazy to get into
this saturated market. I find it very discouraging. Is this
romance market entirely too difficult to break into?
A. I asked my good friend, Jo Beverley, four-time RITA winner
and author of SOMETHING WICKED (currently on the shelves from
Topaz) if this was true, and this is what she had to say:
"Historical is a tough area to sell into because there are
already many excellent writers, but that's true of all areas of
romance. New writers are being bought all the time. Be aware
that some times and locations are harder to sell than others--the
list is too long to mention here, but you can look at the most
popular settings on the shelves for hints--and that you've got to
write a really good book to break in. It helps if you can combine
a fresh, personal style with tried and true elements."
==------------------------------------------==
Judith Bowen is an award-winning romance author who currently
teaches classes on writing popular fiction in Vancouver, Canada,
and on-line with Writers on the Net <www.writers.com>. The
first
book in her "Men of Glory" series, THE RANCHER'S RUNAWAY BRIDE,
Harlequin Superromance #739, was a May, 1997, release and her
second, LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, is slated for June, 1998.
Copyright (c) 1997 Judith Bowen.
================================================================
INTERVIEW WITH JANE YOLEN
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
<editor@inkspot.com>
Jane Yolen is an award-winning author of over 180 books for young
people and adults, as well as hundreds of stories and poems.
You can find a bibliography at:
http://www.inkspot.com/author/a-yolen.html
How did you make your first sale?
---------------------------------
How did I make my first sale? That's a tough question. Do you
mean:
1. My first by-lined piece? That was poetry, and for free. I won
a Scholastic poetry contest in high school and I had poetry in
the high school literary magazine. (Also articles in the high
school newspaper.)
2. My first paid-for by-lined piece? That was a newspaper article
when I was a cub reporter on the Bridgeport Ct. Sunday Herald
between my freshman and sophomore years in college.
3. My first paid-for by-lined piece in a national venue? I wrote
a piece about my kite-flying father for This Week magazine my
senior year in college.
4. My first paid-for hardcover book? I ghost-wrote my father's
YOUNG SPORTSMAN'S GUIDE TO KITE FLYING and had my name after the
first chapter, though not on the cover.
5. My first paid-for by-lined hardcover book? I sold PIRATES IN
PETTICOATS, a non-fiction book about women pirates, from an
outline to David McKay Co. Before I finished writing it, I had
sold David McKay Co. a picture book called SEE THIS LITTLE LINE.
They both came out in different seasons in 1963.
Did you have an agent at the time?
----------------------------------
I sold my first five books without an agent. As I was working in
book publishing at the time--first as a manuscript editor for
Gold Medal Paperback Books, then as Associate Editor for the
packager Rutledge Press, and finally as assistant children's book
editor for Knopf--I really didn't think I needed an agent. But
when my husband and I decided to camp for the year throughout
Europe and the Middle East, I really felt the need of someone to
take care of business at home for me.
I got Marilyn Marlow, the best agent in the business then. She
is still the best, and we are still together, 32 years later.
How useful is the Internet to you as a writer?
----------------------------------------------
I keep in touch with fellow writers, have tracked editors,
prizes, etc. Found out about some anthologies through online
discussions and made several sales thereby. Answered fan mail.
Since I don't yet have web capability, I can't say that it has
been more than just a *little* useful. But in the fall, I expect
things to pick up when we upgrade. Then I can do some research
here as well.
You have produced an amazing amount of material.
Do you ever get writer's block? If so, how do you overcome it?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, I work on many projects at the same time so if anything
gets stuck, I simply move onward (or perhaps sidewards) to a
different book. So I have never actually been blocked.
What are your writing habits? (where, when, how often,
daily goals, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------
I work every day at writing something. Though that something may
not be *at* the keyboard or *on* a book. I get up between 6 and 7
every morning, sometimes even earlier, and start with email. And
then I segue right into writing. Will often stay at the keyboard
in my upstairs attic workroom until late in the afternoon.
I do not write in the evening except at our house in Scotland in
the summer where it stays light until 11 pm!
You must get a lot more writing done in Scotland, then. :-) Does
the locale influence your writing while you're there?
----------------------------------------------------------------
I do get a lot of writing done there, but not *more* than at home
because Scotland is, after all, vacation time, too. But I do a
lot of absorbing of local color. My writing voice changes in
Scotland because I am surrounding by people speaking a different
kind and color of English.
Do you ever get bad reviews and/or rejections? How do you handle
them?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Of course I get bad reviews and I handle them pretty much like
anyone does. I get angry if they are stupid bad reviews; sad if
they are correct bad reviews; or I get perplexed if they are
way-off-the-point bad reviews.
How much preparation do you do before starting a novel? Do you
outline, for example? Prepare character sheets?
---------------------------------------------------------------
I usually have a general idea where a book is going. Often I even
have the ending. And usually that ending changes completely by
the time I have lived with the characters for several hundred
pages!
Of the books you've written, which is your favourite and why?
------------------------------------------------------------
The books already written and published are in my past and I
rarely really think about them. The ones that are my favorites
are what I am working on at the moment.
What books are you working on now?
----------------------------------
I have just finished THE ONE ARMED QUEEN, an adult fantasy novel
which comes after SISTER LIGHT/SISTER DARK and WHITE JENNA. I
didn't mean to write a trilogy. In fact I killed off everyone at
the end of the second book so that couldn't happen. Well, it did!
So I get to kill them off again about halfway through the new
novel.
I am also working on a book of winter poems, waiting on the
second revision letter for ARMEGEDDON SUMMER, a YA novel I wrote
with Bruce Coville, a rhymed picture book called WHERE HAVE THE
UNICORNS GONE? and a book of ghost stories and poems called HERE
THERE BE GHOSTS. There are about a half dozen other things I am
also working on, but they have not been sold yet or are at the
stage where I'd rather not talk about them.
And who were your favourite authors as a child?
-----------------------------------------------
Lots: Andrew Lang for the Color Fairy Books, Louisa May Alcott,
James Thurber, E. B. White and T.H. White (I used to think of
them as the White Brothers, though they were not related), Robert
Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling. And--to my shame now--Walter
Farley and Albert Payson Terhune, not for any literary merit but
because if it had a horse or a dog in it, I would read the book!
Did you have a writing mentor early in your career? If so, how
did he/she help you?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My parents modelled writing for me as they were both writers. My
best mentors, though, were the books I read. And I was
*constantly* reading.
What are your views on censorship?
----------------------------------
On Sept 14, 1994 a group calling themselves "Christians Act Now"
took three books out of the public library including Briar Rose
and set up a hibachi on the steps of the Kansas City Board of
Education. And there they proceeded to barbecue the books,
breaking two public ordinances at the same time: destroying
library property and burning trash without a permit!
What reasons did they give? They objected to the "unnatural"
practices mentioned in the three books: One was a book about gay
men and women in history; the second was Magic Johnson's What You
Can Do to Avoid Aids; and the third book was my novel Briar Rose
which has a gay character in it. My novel is about the Holocaust.
I was not unmoved by the irony.
I give many speeches against censorship around the country. But I
am always reminded of something poet Joseph Brodsky said: "There
are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading
them."
What advice do you have for an author whose book is being
threatened with censorship?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Just as creepy crawlies under a rock flee when the rock is lifted
and light pours down, we must shed light on any censorship
attempts. So--contact the local newspapers with your pov. Make
sure the teachers, librarians, principal or superintendent know
you are willing to stand by (and for) your book. If you cannot go
to the place where the censorship is going on, make sure letters
from you are sent, phone calls, talks to reporters, AP wire etc.
Any local authors who might help.
You are in the unique position of being both an author and a
children's book editor. Have your experiences as a writer
influenced your editorial perspective?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
And vice versa. As a writer being an editor, I tried to be
responsive within a quick amount of time, was very alert to each
sentence, and could often suggest a viable solution to a problem.
I
did, however, have to be careful to keep my hands off someone
else's prose and not try to turn it into my own.
As an editor being a writer, I know when a book is not do-able,
have an idea about how to illustrate or who would do a fine
jacket, and I am conscious of time spans in the whole editing
process. But I have to be careful not to impose too many *you
can't* strictures on myself, and must try to stretch or cross
boundries that the editor-self would not otherwise want to allow.
What makes a good editor?
-------------------------
Someone who reads well, who loves the written word, can
articulate what is wrong with a book (without rewriting it for
you) and who is responsive and responsible. Someone with broad
knowledge of literature and the specific genre in which you are
writing. Someone who gets to revisions in a timely fashion and
who--if a phone call or letter is promised--delivers.
Why do you write?
-----------------
I cannot answer this because I cannot conceive of a world in
which I don't write. Writing--telling a story--is part of my
every day respiration. To stop writing for me is to die.
What advice do you have for authors hoping to break into the
children's book market?
------------------------------------------------------------
There is no magic pill, silver bullet, wizard's wand.. It takes
hard work and study. Talent is but a small part of what makes
someone an author. Write every day. Read what is out there in the
market. Don't take no for an answer.
Copyright (c) 1997 Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
================================================================
C L A S S I F I E D S
================================================================
GOLDENROD XV WRITERS CONFERENCE: Oct 17-19, 1997. Morgantown,
West Virginia. Workshops, mss critiques, presentations, literary
and book exhibits. Email: George Lies <glies@wvu.edu>.
URL: http://www.inkspot.com/network/goldenrod.html
================================================================
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