Jan Fields is moderator of this interview/workshop, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked of our speaker.

Jan Fields: Welcome! I'm really looking forward to hear more about your interaction with the readers of Cricket and Cicada. I'd love to hear the kind of things the actual readers say when they're talking about the stories they want to see! After all, my experience is that young people can be pretty clear about what they like.

Debby Vetter: Thanks Jan!

Mikki: When you write a short story with a male MC, is it more acceptable for the boy to be a young teen...13, 14, maybe even 15...or to be older high school age? I know the obvious answer is...It depends upon the story...but what I really want to know is: Is it more likely that young boys (10 - 13 ) will read short stories with a 13-15 year old MC than with an older high school MC? The second part to that question is: Do older high school boys...16-18...read short stories at all, or very much, as compared to the novels they may read?

Debby Vetter: Good question because we get way too many stories with protagonists who are junior-high age or younger. This can work only if there's an adult tone to the piece, but we have a lot of older teens, including college students, reading the magazine, and I'd love to push the median age up to at least sixteen. Although I can't verify it, my impression is that more "underage" girls read CICADA than "underage" boys. We advertise CICADA as being for ages 14-23. We also publish fiction written by both teens and adults, which gives older readers, including boys, an opportunity to submit their own fiction and poetry. So that's an added motivation to read and write short fiction.

Mikki: Could you give us a sampling of some of the magazines, besides Boys Life and Boys Quest, that more or less specialize in short stories for boys?

Debby Vetter: The Cricket Magazine Group publications are for both boys and girls, so all I'm doing now is peeking at the index to Magazine Markets for Children's Writers. Under Boys' Magazines, I see BOYS' QUEST, BOYS' LIFE, CADET QUEST, JAKES MAGAZINE, and THRASHER. According to the guidelines, they all publish fiction. JAKES is a hunting magazine, and THRASHER is a skateboarding/snowboarding magazine, which are more "boy-oriented" sports. So that's another clue if you're looking for "mainly boy" publications. BREAKAWAY was a Christian magazine for teen boys; according the Web site (just Google Breakaway Magazine), they're in the process of transitioning from online to print. They used to publish fiction, but all I'm seeing on the site is ARTICLES, which means nonfiction. But check it out.

Jan Fields: Boys' Life JUST (in July 2010) added a note to their guidelines that they do NOT accept fiction submissions any more. They don't even queries for fiction. Guidelines say it's all assigned.

JLMB: Do teens like to read about how to resolve their conflicts? or is this too much realism for teens?

Debby Vetter: Plot and characterization come first, so what happens is a teen reader will find himself or herself caught up in the specific conflict facing a specific protagonist. The reader will care about the character and want to see how things turn out for him or her; of course, what happens in a story can inspire a reader to face a similar real-life issue in a positive way--or at least know that he or she is not alone, which can be comforting.

Shauna: Are you more likely to choose a story with a male MC over a female? Is there a demand for more stories with male MCs, or are you seeing an even amount of both coming across your desk?

Debby Vetter: Hi, Shauna. We need stories with male protagonists, and we need stories with female protagonists. The goal is to provide a good gender balance in each issue. Sometimes we tip in one direction or the other, because of available material, but the next issue will address that.I'm pretty much seeing an even amount of both--and that's what we're looking for. Of course, a story with a male protagonist might also feature a strong supporting female character, and vice versa. That's not mandatory, however.

Shauna: I heard that stories need to be timeless. So, with regards to dialogue, how do you stay current, yet timeless? For example, I’ve read a couple stories where the author has characters giving each other DAP. You know, that fist bump thingy. Do you shy away from stories with dialogue that can be dated to today, or is it a non issue?

Debby Vetter: Slang can date a story pretty quickly, so if you want your story to sound contemporary in five years, then watch the language. On the other hand, the occasional "fist bump thingy" or "slangy" phrase can pinpoint an urban setting or define a teen subculture, which may be exactly what you're aiming for. As a reader, and an editor, I just don't want to feel that the author is trying too hard to replicate authentic teen-speak, as that can be all sparkle at the expense of substance. Aim for the flavor.

kimber: I was wondering about language in a YA story. Is it okay for the teen characters to use what I consider the minor curse words (ie: crap, damn, hell)? What about douche? The teens around here call each other a douche all the time. "Stop being a douche and get in the car." Or "Where's Lauren? She stayed home. She's being a douche right now." I want my teens characters to use believable language but I don't want to step over a line either. So I guess my question is where is that line? Teens just don't often say "Oh my gosh" anymore. The minor curse words are actually mild in comparison to the language they actually DO use. I've been eavesdropping a lot lately trying to find those phrases that teens use that set their generation apart from the others (ie: cool beans, Oh snap, etc). There doesn't really seem to be any except possibly the word douche. Well, unless you count the "F word." Man, they use that word like crazy when adults aren't around (or when they don't THINK adults are around), much more than my generation did. That seems to be the most used word in a teenager's vocabulary these days. Of course, I'd never use that word in a story even if teens do use it alot. I'm pretty sure that would be over the line. But how far should you go to be realistic?

Debby Vetter: We avoid the F-word and the C-word, but we're not prissy. We're amenable to friggin', freakin', crap, damn, shit, hell, etc. as long the words are used in the proper context. I hadn't heard of "douche," but I"m guessing that's short for "douche bag," which I have heard of. (Such respect for women, huh?) I'd probably consider that a little crude and would either edit it out or ask an author to come up with a replacement. Just use your judgment, and if a word's not right for CICADA, but the story's great, we can work around the language.

Fancy: In terms of CICADA, what age range is considered a "teen reader?" What age range is good for the MC of a Teen story? What is the difference between a "Teen" and "Young adult" reader or story?

Debby Vetter: Hi, Fancy! Everyone has his or her own definition, especially when it comes to publishing. In terms of CICADA, we consider teens to be 13 through 19. For us, the more-encompassing term "young adult" edges up into people in their early twenties. Not everyone will agree with that. For protagonists, we really would like to see more sixteen-year-olds and older. Most authors seem to fixate on thirteen or fourteen, which is hitting the younger end of our readership.

Debby Vetter: I'm not sure there's a whole lot of difference between a teen and a young adult story since they both cover coming-of-age issues: (sexual) relationships, moving into the adult world and taking on adult responsibilities, stuff that won't really interest a ten year old. Junior-high fiction centers more on silly pranks or stories about shifting loyalties as a childhood friendship breaks up because one girl (usually a girl) is growing up faster than her BFF. That's too young for CICADA.

ColoradoKate: Is there a need for very short fiction, flash fiction, for teens? I know the word count for Cicada, for instance, is up to 5,000 words, but is there also a place for stories that are 1,000 words or less?

Debby Vetter: Only if it's flash fiction, a tightly constructed form that requires discipline to do well. We've run a handful of these over the years in CICADA; two appeared in the July/August 2010 issue. One was "Love Story" by Swedish author Hans-Eric Hellberg; the other was "Pass the Licorice" by teen Natalie Veenstra. They're more like vignettes, yet vignettes with a beginning, middle, and end. Two others I recall were by Kezi Matthews, whose outstanding short story "Black-Cherry Eyes" appears in Best of the Children's Market.

claudette: There's so much talk now about vampires, weres, etc. But do teens really only enjoy that particular genre to the exclusion of other subjects? Is that trend moving back into history or still charging into the future?

Debby Vetter: I've read the TWILIGHT books, which were so popular that I had to buy my own set because I could never find them at the library. Vampire/werewolf books are popular, no question. I just finished OTHER, an impressive debut novel by Karen Kincy, published by Flux (which is a relatively new YA imprint of Llewellyn). Vampires and werewolves have been part of folklore for centuries. Anne Rice's novels were popular years ago and still are, I imagine, even though she's no longer writing them. Stephenie Meyer revived the genre, but there's more out there for teens to read and enjoy--and they do. These days I keep hearing about THE HUNGER GAMES, although I confess I haven't read them; they sound so dark. In addition, I don't think we've ever published a vampire or werewolf story in CICADA.

claudette: I was wondering about graphic realism and how much is too much. And what kind of realism fits today's market within the mag world. Could you give us examples of how you choose to look at stories that use today's types of teen realities?

Debby Vetter: Hi, Claudette! Stark realism can be pretty gritty and depressing; for example, we receive submissions about cutting, anorexia, suicide, rape, drinking and driving, etc. While these are realities many teens struggle with, many of the stories tend to be "issue stories" that focus on a particular problem, and they can really weigh a reader down. Early on, all we could find was depressing short stories, and because that's all we could find, that's what we published. Our teens sent letters complaining about all that darkness. As one of our male readers said, "Even teens need their daily dose of humor." So while we don't shy away from serious issues, we prefer character-driven fiction, rather than problem-driven fiction. We also want to show the resilience of the human spirit as the protagonist takes a step forward at the end.

ColoradoKate: If you had to list ten words that would describe the perfect YA short story, what would they be? Thanks!

Debby Vetter: Complex, thought-provoking, nuanced characterization, hopeful, humorous, intelligent, authentic, emotionally resonant -- I'm glad you gave me ten words instead of six

Okami: I'm wondering how you work with writers after accepting a story. I ask because even though we writers get told excessively to not submit until our work's "finished" my idea of finished may not jive with what an editor sees as "finished." As the editor, how do you know when something's finished enough to take on, even if you feel more revision is needed before publication? I know it depends on the story, but there must be some way to tell, right?

Debby Vetter: How do you know when you've done the best you can? As an editor, I know it's time to pass something on when I find myself changing a word here and a word there, and then going and changing them back again. (Even editors need editors.) In other words, when you find yourself fussing, it's a sign that you've done all you can until someone else takes a look at it. This is where writer's groups or an astute literary friend can help out, but it can also be time for an editor to take a look. No two readers will respond to a work in the same way, and no two editors will edit a story or a book the same way. However, an editor knows what will work for his or her magazine, or publishing house if it's a book. What I look for is a well-developed character, one I can sympathize with and care about. He or she can be flawed; after all, that's what the growth moment at the end is for. I look for a meaningful conflict, whether a teen is coming to terms with childhood abandonment by a parent, resisting unrealistic expectations to become someone he or she isn't, surviving in a dysfunctional family unit, being an outsider/different, questioning authority, etc. Mechanics are also important: spelling, a grasp of dialogue punctuation, judicious use of adverbs/adjectives, etc. It's also important to write from a single character's point of view. Editors are trained to see the potential in a manuscript, but the structure needs to be there. If the basic mechanics aren't sound, chances are the rest isn't, either.

Okami: I know it's common to hear over and over that girls read more than boys and will read more widely than boys, but how true is that, really? Whether for magazines or books?

Debby Vetter: Honestly, I'm not cued into the wider world in terms of what boys read or don't read. Teachers and librarians would have a better feel for that. Our demographics do show that more girls than boys subscribe to our fiction magazines. That said, we have loyal CICADA readers who are male. Furthermore, my feeling is that the males who read CICADA and who submit to CICADA are probably guys like you were and still are. Ditto the male editors and art directors. (You aren't in this business if you don't love reading.) So that's my reality, and it seems perfectly normal to me. My one impression is that CICADA readers who are guys are really into fantasy.

Pippi: Do good teen stories typically contain multiple subplots? I normally write stories for middle-graders and below. So my plots tend to be simpler - one central theme with the main character resolving both an internal and external conflict as we're taught at ICL. For the teen market though, I'm assuming the plot needs to be a lot more complex?

Debby Vetter: Hi, Pippi. Complex plots, yes. Multiple subplots--probably not. The secret, I think, is in complex characterization as the protagonist "comes of age" in some form or fashion. We see him or her wrestling with internal/external conflicts, interacting with others, and finally taking a step forward, often via a moment of realization rather than an act of derring-do. You can show more of the messiness of life in a YA story. Voice is important, too; most YA authors write in first person (I) and often in present tense. Read good teen fiction; you can find short story anthologies at the library. Editors include Michael Cart and Donald R. Gallo. If you write fantasy, check out titles edited by Sharyn November or Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. I think as you read more teen fiction, Pippi, you'll get a feel for YA writing.

mmmgood: When it comes to short stories, I write for middle grade or younger. That's what I enjoy most, and feel most comfortable with. However, I've discovered a deep love for writing poetry for children and adults. Teens? Whole different animal. I don't have a handle on what they like. I keep hearing (and believing) that teens are not into poetry unless they've penned it themselves. Usually it's dark, dank, and dramatic in teen poetry rooms. *shudder* Do you have any fun poetry/short-story avenues to pursue for teens? I'm hoping there is this whole other world out there that you can point me to.

Debby Vetter: H'm, an interesting question. While there's clearly children's poetry and adult poetry, I'm not sure there's such a thing as teen poetry. Teens are reading adult poets--in addition to writing poetry themselves. Log on to www.cicadamag.com/thisissue to sample poems from recent issues. In May/June 2010, you'll find "Reasons" by Molly Fessler; in March/April 2010, you'll find "The Missing Moment" by Fredrick Zydek; in November/December 2009, you'll see the affirming "Alphabet of Birds" by Brendan O'Brien; and in September/October 2009, we posted "Estes Park" by Ann Pedtke. Ann Pedtke began submitting poetry for CRICKET when she was fourteen, and we published her--she was that good. She's in her twenties now and still writing poetry. Brendan O'Brien and Molly Fessler are both talented young writers in their teens or early twenties. I mentioned Maine poet Ethel Pochocki in an earlier post. We've also reprinted works by award-winning poets such as Billy Collins, Nikki Giovanni, and Naomi Shihab Nye. You can find anthologies with their works in your library. That's what we're looking for!

Jan Fields: As someone who has heard from the readers, seen the letters. Can you tell us a couple things teens ask for in a story. Humor? Action? Issues? And can you tell us something you see a lot in story submissions that teens never seem to mention as something they want to read?

Debby Vetter: Thanks for reminding me about this one, Jan! Teens want humor, we know that, and they want fantasy. They've also told us they enjoy the classics (really!), so we include stories by authors such as Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, O. Henry, Saki, Edith Wharton, Susan Glaspell, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. We're finding that readers write fewer and fewer letters these days because they're so busy writing and submitting their own poetry, fiction, and Expressions. (They'll include a compliment or two in their cover letters, but don't go into much detail as to exactly why they love CICADA.) If what they write is indicative of what they want to read, my guess is that they're into love and relationships, fantasy,contemporary realistic fiction, satire, stories that explore grown-up issues such as going to war, etc. In fact, one of our most popular reprints was "I Had Seen Castles" by Cynthia Rylant. That really struck a chord. Many teens also seem stressed out by their overscheduled lives, feeling that they have to spend every waking minute being productive and beefing up that resume for college.

Debby Vetter: In answer to your second question about what teens like but don't mention, I'd say sophisticated writing--adult-level writing. My feeling is that many (not all!) adults view teens as mainly texting, hanging out in the mall, saying OMG, wearing tattoos, showing off body piercings. Teen are really very perceptive and intelligent and into standing up for what they believe is right. Our readers often get things adults don't. I mentioned "I Had Seen Castles" above. This story engendered many letters from adults and teens. The adults were appalled at a brief mention of "making love" (the protagonist was heading off to war and didn't know if he'd be back), while the teens caught on to the fact that war is not glorious, war is not parades and banners and patriotic slogans--war is where real people get maimed or die or come home with psychological scars. The adults who wrote us missed the point of the story, and actually the more graphic bits; the teens totally got it. As one college student wrote: "I've taken the comics poster of the tall woman with two glocks down off my desktop, and I don't know if I'll put it up anymore. The realities of war are too hard to kill."

Debby Vetter: My advice: don't underestimate teens.

Pippi: In stories for younger readers, adults often play minimal roles. Is this the case with teen stories as well? Maybe it depends on the story line.... I guess I'm wondering if "coming of age" teen interest includes themes like relationships with grandparents and parents maybe with a multicultural twist like bicultural angst... Or do they prefer to read about their own age group with little adult involvement? I'll definitely go check out some stories at the library too. Thanks so much!

Debby Vetter: Adults are just fine in YA literature, especially as teens often experience parental pressures and need to work out rocky relationships with the grownups in their lives. And, yes, bicultural angst is a good topic for a YA story: my parents came from India, and I'm 100% American, and I feel caught between two cultures.

Jan Fields: I know humor is something Cicada is really looking for in a story...along with a "coming of age" element. So can you give us some examples of books that get "teen humor" exactly right? Sometimes I think it's easy to confuse middle grade humor (which, for example, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid seems to be) and teen humor. Or is it all the same? Inquiring minds want to know.

Debby Vetter: Joan Bauer is good (lots of books to choose from), as is Chris Crutcher. David LaRochelle wrote a hysterically funny story entitled "Taking Alice to the Prom." It appeared in CICADA, and he later developed it into a novel entitled Absolutely Positively Not. Satire is good, having a sense of the absurd, seeing the (dry) humor in a lousy situation. "So here I am, strictly forbidden to see Liz again. And there's Mom, zooming off to disaster with Mr. Wrong. When I told her curfew was 11:00, she told me to buzz off. I ask you, who's the grownup here? It's not Mom."

Okami: In you answer to my question about editors, you said it's important to write from a single character's viewpoint. I know it's important in short stories especially because of the strict word count limit demands you not overextend your story. But in novels, can you have more than one character's viewpoint? I've read quite a few books that do this and when it works it can be an enriching experience. That said, I know it makes things more complex, but what if you need the reader to know or see certain things about the story and it's world the MC can't, how else can you do it?

Debby Vetter: You asked a good question. Many fantasy authors do write from multiple viewpoints. They include J. R. R. Tolkien, Raymond Feist, and Cornelia Funke. Even J. K. Rowling slipped away from Harry Potter's POV to visit the Dark Side. That said, I think you can write from a single-character's POV. For example, what if your fourteen-year-old protagonist (let's call him Okami) is a servant at a seedy inn in the East Kingdom. He can learn an awful lot just by listening to travelers' tales as he sweeps up moldy straw, chicken bones, and spittle. He might learn about the North Kingdom, even though he's never been there:

Debby Vetter: The merchant took a deep draught of ale, then wiped the foam from his bristling red mustache. I stopped sweeping and listened as he began to speak. "The kingdom lies in a valley with mountains that ring it like a fortress, rising tall and jagged. Shrouded in mists, they are. A river rages through the valley, and on a barren island looms a stone fortress. The people are like the fortress itself: grim and stern. Unforgiving of any slight. Joykillers, I call them."

Debby Vetter: If you need to show what's outside Okami's cottage window, you might try this: I take such joy in the willow whose branches spread in the stream that rushes down to the mill. Even now I hear the mill wheel creaking and groaning as it grinds wheat into flour, the flour my mother will use to bake bannock cake for my supper.

Debby Vetter: Or if you need to explain the political situation: I burst into the cottage to find Mother replacing a brick on the hearth. She whirled, a leather pouch clutched to her breast, then relaxed when she saw it was me. "The king's men will be here in a seven-night to collect the taxes," she said. "Pah! Rob us of our few coins is more like it. 'Tis said that the king is the vizier's puppet, and the council are foolish sheep with the vizier nipping at their heels like a wolf."

Debby Vetter: Does this help to show how you can impart familar and unfamiliar information to your reader from a single-character POV?

ColoradoKate: First, thank you for reopening for adult subs, and then for extending the window. How's that going? Are you getting what you wanted? Is there any chance that you will extend the window again, or is it too soon to know? Also, is a business-size envelope big enough for the SASE? I try to indicate to the nice folks at various magazines that the envelope is just for a response and that my ms, if not wanted, can be recycled, but I usually get the whole ms back, stuffed into that small envelope. Finally, I always assume that if I get a form rejection from a Carus mag in less than two months, it's been rejected by the first reader (oops... ouch... ) and that if it's held much longer, then at least it made it past that hurdle and is being considered by someone in the office. Is that a valid assumption, or just, well, a bit of hope-springs-eternal? Is a longer wait because a piece is being considered, or more likely because no one has had a chance to get to it yet?

Debby Vetter: Submissions for CICADA are open until December 31, 2010, and we may well extend that again. It all depends on how our coffers refill. Because of the time lag, I haven't seen too many submissions pass across my desk. (I'm waiting anxiously!) What happens is the manuscript goes out to the first reader, and if it has potential, the first reader will return it to the office for a second read. If it passes muster, it is set up and routed around for multiple reads. So if you hear in two months, chances are the first reader is the one returning your manuscript to you. Longer than that may indeed be a sign of hope. Because of our small staff, and all the day-to-day deadlines, it can take up to several months to read, discuss, and make a final decision.

Debby Vetter: Just for general information: you can find adult submission information at www.cricketmag.com. Click on Contact Us and scroll down to General Submissions. That will take you to a page with fourteen magazines, including CICADA. Click on CICADA for guidelines.