Jan is Jan Fields, moderator of this interview with Dotti Enderle, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked Dotti.

Jan: Hi, and welcome to tonight's special event -- a chat with guest speaker, Dotti Enderle, author of Granny Gert and the Bunion Brothers. Welcome, Dotti -- I am so happy to have you here tonight!

Dotti: Glad to be here

Jan: So, Miss Dotti, tell us about Granny Gert and the Bunion Brothers...how did you come up with such a great title?

Dotti: I would like to give you a wonderful scenerio, but the truth is...it just popped into my head. I had the title first, then the story came later.

Jan: It sounds like a hoot...and the illustrations are terrific, too.

Dotti: Yeah...Joe did a fantastic job. And I was lucky enough to handpick him.

Jan: Hey, that is lucky...did you know him personally or just like his style?

Dotti: He was going to illustrate an ebook for me many years ago, and it fell through. I just remembered how much I loved his style, and how nice he was to want to help. Niceness pays off.

Jan: Wow, it's nice to see that kind of thing come around.So...what book number does this make for you? I have trouble keeping up.

Dotti: "Granny" is the 15th in print, and I have 3 more coming out.

Jan: Oh...terrific. The ones up-coming...picture books? novels?

Dotti: 2 picture books and a mg. [NOTE: MG = Middle Grade Novel, a book for school aged children who are fluent readers.] Next spring I have a pb coming out called Grandpa For Sale. The illos on that one are...different.

Jan: Who's publishing that one?

Dotti: Flashlight Press. They're great, by the way. Each illo will be a color/bw combo.

Jan: That sounds cool.

Dotti: For the longest I thought the sample illo wasn't finished. :-/ But it looks great.

Jan: I'll look forward to seeing that one...well, actually I look forward to seeing all of them as they come out. I'm a fan.

Dotti: I also have sequel to "Cotton Candy" coming out. It's called The Fat Stock Stampede at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Same illustrator...same mc. [NOTE: MC = Main Character.]

Jan: Sounds lively. Well, I have to let folks start asking questions now before they storm the gates.

Dotti: Shoot.

Dotti: Both. Not my pb, but my novels are mostly written scene to scene, however my latest wip is outlined.

Dotti: I have an agent. She's negotiated all my contract but one.

Dotti: I tell them. But it's pretty obvious.

Dotti: Tight sentences. Strong verbs. Kid-friendly. Lyrical. Always think of the shortest strongest way to structure the sentence and tell the story. But keep it lyrical so it doesn't sound like an outline.

Dotti: Thanks for bring that up! My first book, The Lost Girl, collected 17 rejects before a contract came through. I have enough rejections to paper the house. And I still get more rejections than acceptances.

Dotti: I started writing books in 1995, but didn't sell one until 2002. That book was written in 1999 and sold three years later.

Jan: How close did you come to quitting during those early book rejection days?

Dotti: Short answer...I came close MANY times. I actually became seriously depressed at one point. My self-esteem suffered. My family hated me. It would have been so much easier to quit. But I managed. I still get depressed over rejections. We're in a strange business. It's like a kid trying to please a lot of adults and falls short most of the time. But the more you learn about the business end, the less painful it becomes. And yes, after selling 18 books, you still let rejections get to you. It's really not the lottery. If you take the time to learn the craft and the business end, you're halfway there. Sell or even give your stuff away to small presses. It helps to see your name in print. You need that motivation.

Jan: Dotti, I know you had the series with Llewellyn, would you ever like to have another series? What would you like to see happen differently (other than selling millions of books)?

Dotti: First of all, if I had a time machine, I'd go back and rename that series. I've finally given up promoting it. But I'm writing a book right now that would be the first of a trilogy. And I never learn, so it's paranormal and full of controversy. But at least it's a YA, so that'll make it easier to swallow. The YA market sells better than mg anyway. [NOTE: YA = Young Adult]

Dotti: Novels. PBs are an entirely different genre unto themselves. It takes a different type of writing skill for them.

Dotti: I've been writing all my life. It just became easier in the mid 90s when I got my first PC with word processor. If I had to do the old typewriter method, I wouldn't be here tonight.

Dotti: ICL! Yep, I'm an alum. And I took a children's book writing class through the University of Oklahoma. Add the school of hard-knocks to that, and lots of self help books and reading lots of childrens books. LOTS! I took the basic course back in 1998. My teacher was Teri Martini. She was excellent, btw.

Dotti: My agent isn't reading this, right? :-) It depends. Not nearly as many as I could. Last year I wrote a novel (yet to be published) and a couple of pbs. I spent a lot of time revising old stuff. And sadly, the more you produce, the more time you spend promoting. That takes away a lot of writing time.

Dotti: I just went through this last year with an editor at a big time publisher. She loved my voice but sent a three page letter on the changes, including moving the story from 1961 to 1969. I had to write her a Looooooong email explaining why it was important to keep in in that year.If I'd had a contract, I would've done it differently, but she wanted changes on spec. She ended up rejecting it.

Dotti: I think it depends on whether you want to publish with a large publisher or not. All my books are with midsize and smaller presses, and they love publishing great picture books. All my friends lately are getting pbs published. It's not so bad. My experience is positive.

Dotti: Maybe that should be what DON'T I do. I do school presentations...booksignings...articles...email lists...bribing librarians... I'm supposed to type End, but that sounds like I actually have an end to my promoting!

Dotti: There is some historical nonfiction in my educational books. My advice is...you have to love writing historical nonfiction or you're going to burn out on writing!

Dotti: I don't usually research first. I get an idea and follow up on it. My current WIP involves lots of things I'm unfamiliar with like dead languages. I hit the internet first, then the library. I'm real good at improvising when I can't find the answer.

Dotti: Know what they publish! Know if they accept unsolicited or not. I don't check up on publishers as much anymore since my agent handles that, but networking is great because I do hear of editors at particular houses looking for particular items, and I pass it on to my agent.

Jan: A lot of folks are asking about agents. Can you tell us at what point you got your agent -- I know you'd been published in educational and magazines...did you sell the series by yourself?

Dotti: I was lucky. My agent was new, and recommended to me by a friend. I got in right before she closed to new clients. She took on my FTC series (which was just one single title then), and she sent it out. But when we found Llewellyn, I had to send it in myself because they have strange paperwork for the author to fill out. But once it sold, my agent negotiated the contract. Let me tell you how it sold as a series. My agent typed at the top right hand corner, "Possible Series." That way it was an option. I don't recommend this unless you absolutely have characters that lend themselves to a series. I strayed from the original question.

Dotti: Writing a pb is a different brain process for me. When I write novels, I just let the words flow. Writing pbs, even though they don't rhyme, is more like writing a song for me. The words are more sing-songy. And I know I don't have a lot of leeway for description since the illustrator is in charge of that. So I have compact the writing. I wish I knew a better way to explain it. I do cut it up and make a dummy (without illos) to see how it reads. I even put it in a folder so I can turn the pages.

Dotti: Only if the publisher has asked to see it again. If you've made MAJOR changes, then you might get by with sending it again, but no usually means no. Bugging an editor is the fastest way to rejection.

Dotti: When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt. I actually took a marker and dissected that book because I so wanted to write a book like that.

Dotti: Yes. I'm lucky enough to have an agent who'll let me do that. I've sold a few things on my own because she mostly deals with large publishers.

Dotti: I found them, but she negotiates. And she's priceless! I cringe to think of all the rights I'd have signed away without her. She does sell lots of books for her clients. I don't want you to get the wrong idea.

Dotti: As much as possible while still telling a great story. Usually if the book is carried by the illos, then the author is also the illustrator. When it's two different people, then it's usually a good blend.

Dotti: Strong characters first. Great story second. Have you read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer? Those are characters! btw, that strong characters first applies to SERIES! Single titles need a good blend of plot and characterization.

Jan: Okay...I'm going to let Dotti rest her fingers for just a minute. While I announce the winner of the drawing for Granny Gert and the Bunion Brothers. I want to thank everyone who "spread the word" about this chat and Dotti's book. We had over 75 different entries. And the winner is.............Linda Lawson!! I'll be connecting with Linda via email about receiving her book. Congratulations, Linda I thought about stuffing the ballot box so I would win, but I figured folks would figure it out during the winner announcement.

Dotti: From Zachary Beaver I wanted to emulate voice. I love all of Kimberly's books, but that one seriously hit home with me.

Dotti: Give them ticks. Different voice styles. Have them do things that would be unique to them. You're still going to need occasional tags, but assigning them different quirks helps a lot.

Dotti: Your voice is your writing fingerprint. It's uniquely you. And no matter how hard you try to hide it, you can't. Someone discovered that Richard Bachman was really Stephen King because Stephen couldn't hide his voice. Read a lot of books, and you'll see how differently they sound from author to author. Even if you write both humor and dark stuff...your voice will come out.

Dotti: I've honesly never plotted a picture book. They usually just come out of me. Get it down on paper, then worry about cutting and tightening. My pbs always start out too long. (sigh)

Dotti: Besides Kimberly Willis Holt, my other favorites write for adults. Christopher Moore, Janet Evanovich, and yes, Stephen King. I enjoy Katie Maxwell's YAs. She's a hoot.

Dotti: I personally don't have the brain power or concentration for more than two subplots. The reason I outlined by current WIP is because it has 5 main characters, and that means lots of extra subplots. But it's a major undertaking. I think teens like lite as well as heavy. If you're writing something dark, then maybe more subplots. Mysteries warrant this too. But mostly I think kids don't want to get muddled in a lot of plotlines.

Dotti: Right now, YAs, but when my agent went to NY last November then editors were saying that they're looking for strong mgs. The emphasis has been on YA for so long.

Jan: Neither one has a good shot at letting you quit your day job.

Dotti: Hahaha! I'm just waiting for a good income from any of my books! It all depends on the book itself. If it wins an award, etc. I think it takes lots of time and published books before you can quit your day job.

Dotti: I used to write for magazine a lot! I lost count somewhere over 100 magazine pieces. But I really don't have time now. I'm more into writing and promoting books. If I do write a magazine piece, it'll be for promotion. I do occasionally get a check from a publication reprinting something I originally sold years ago.

Dotti: Crossover clauses that state you have to earn out the advance on all of the books in a series before you can get your royalties on the first. Media rights. The stuff that's all greek to me.

Jan: I cannot imagine anything harder than trying to write to a series of pre-created illustrations. I tried to do that once just for a short story and I was totally stumped.

Dotti: I don't know... It sounds like fun! Ever tried to write a story from Chris Van Allsburg's "Mysteries of Harris Burdock"? (I think that's the name of the book).

Jan: I haven't seen that one...maybe I'll try it. It could be it just has to be really good illustrations :-) Did you try it?

Dotti: Stephen King wrote the story "The House on Maple Street" based on one of the illos in that book. I haven't tried it.

Jan: Right, maybe I could do it with just one illustration...where the illustrator wasn't making up a plotline.

Dotti: Double-spaced. Pretty much like you'd send in a story or novel. And you can occasionally add an art note if there's something specific that an illustrator needs to know. But not more than a couple.

Jan: You don't need to break it down by pages or anything like that.

Dotti: My stories? I prefer writing mysteries. Although humor is fun... dang! Now I'm not sure.

Dotti: I NEVER write to send a statement or moral. Kids want to be entertained. That's all I worry about.

Dotti: Keep writing. Write, write, write. It develops itself.

Dotti: Under 1000 words.

Dotti: Start looking for ideas. Here's a clue. You know those teen magazines that have the "my most embarrassing moments" in them? I'm not sure if kids really send those in or they're written inhouse, but they make great fodder for midgrades and YA! I cut them out of the magazines (even Cosmo) and keep them in a file. But don't tell everyone. I don't want them stealing my "embarrassing moment" ideas. ;-)

Dotti: I think you have to actually have an income, but I'm not sure. I filed the first year I made money, which was just a little over I use one of those expanding envelope files, label the sections, and drop receipts in until the end of the year

Dotti: More money. More challenging. I think if I wrote nonfiction it would be different.

Dotti: Try www.agentquery.com, but only after you've written the best possible novel you can write with no less than two critiques from writers who know what to look for. Since I've only had one agent I'm not sure what to tell you to look for. But even if the agent becomes your friend, it's business first. Look for someone who's excited about your writing skills and your work and can't wait to send it to editors. That' still a lame answer, but I think you get the drift. I know people who are on their fourth or fifth agent. If it doesn't work, then say goodbye. A bad agent relationship is worse than no agent at all.

Dotti: It depends on the agent and agency. My agent had around 50 clients at last count, and it may be more now. She won't tell me because she knows how needy I am and I don't like sharing her :-)

Dotti: Ah, the old option clause! Yes, quite common. I recommend scratching that clause if at all possible.

Dotti: Other kid mysteries. Not the old stuff like Nancy Drew. Check out the mystery section at the bookstore. And I'd stay away from series. Read the single title mysteries. Other than that. Read lots of writing how-to books. I can't remember reading one specifically for mysteries, but they they're out there.

Dotti: Sure. But not as main characters. Just as pets. Granny Gert is always threatening to sic Mad Dog on the Bunion Brothers.

Dotti: Oh yeah. A lot. It has to do with experience. But after all this time, my agent still accuses me of overwriting. Overwriting is easy to revise. Underwriting is tough!

Dotti: I think it depends on the contract. Usually in involves a thirty day notice...I think. Unless you're in with the mafia. That works too. ;-) I've never fired an agent.

Jan: So, now that you have an agent that you really trust...do you do revisions by her suggestion before sending things out?

Dotti: Yes, but I let other people critique it first. I want her to see the best possible manuscript. No one writes alone, btw. Everyone needs critique groups or support partners. Even the famous writers bounce ideas around with other writers.

Dotti: Not much to tell. I don't have time to critique novels, but I charge for manuscripts under 500 words, and for manuscripts between 500 and 1,000 words. I don't critique pbs over 1,000 words, and I don't critique rhyming pbs.

Dotti: Both. I recently did a manuscript exchange with two YA authors. One sent me a 27,000 word YA, the other sent me a 65,000+ word "tween" YA.

Dotti: This varies. It all depends on the book. I have a book right now that editors just love, but always find some little something to reject it. It's heartbreaking. These are all editors from big houses. I feel confident that it will eventually sell. But selling time varies from book to book. My agent gets it out there to the editors she thinks it's suited for. That's all anyone can do.

Dotti: www.dottienderle.com. I also have a myspace page.www.myspace.com/dottienderle. And I have a site for my Fortune Tellers Club series. www.fortunetellersclub.com

Dotti: Mostly stories that have a moral and are preachy. Stop that! Kids want to be entertained. If you have a message, hide it in the theme of the story. You don't have to be so "in your face" with lessons. Now if we can just teach that to the celebrity authors, life would be good.

Jan: Thank you, Dotti, for joining us tonight and for answering so many questions.

Dotti: I just hope everyone got something from it. Thank you! I had a great time. It's really been an honor.

Jan: Thanks again -- I know folks were helped. And thank you to everyone to turned out tonight -- see ya next time!