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 to our Writer's Retreat Workshop with the amazing Karen Hammond. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to share with us. I do have a question. You've been freelancing for a while now. How do you feel freelancing for magazines has changed in the last years. Do you find some areas less open than they once were? I don't follow grown-up magazines much anymore and I'd love to hear how you feel your life as a freelancer has changed with the financial pressures magazines are under.

Karen Hammond: Thanks, Jan. I'm happy to be here. Yes, things have certainly changed over the past few years with so many publications now published electronically instead of or in addition to print. It's a new style of writing when one writes for the Internet (and not always an improvement, in my opinion!). Some magazines have folded altogether, never a good thing when you make your living from them, of course, but over the last year or so I see a resurgence. I think we will see more and more publications published in both electronic and traditional printed form. That said, writers for the adult market do need to study what's out there, learn how to write for the electronic markets and have at least a passing knowledge of what's going on in cyberspace.

Jan Fields: At adult conferences, do you feel it tends to be all about books the way kidlit conferences are? Or do you feel your work as a freelancer is respected among adult writers?

Karen Hammond: Magazine writing, whether for print or electronic pubs, is well respected in the world of adult writing, so most conferences I attend have seminars for article and short fiction writing and for nonfiction books and novels. I think all are equally important in the eyes of professionals. And if someone wants to write a book, whether it's nonfiction or fiction, a track record of publishing articles or short stories can be a huge help in attracting the interest of an agent, editor, or publisher.

Londy: In the magazine market book, for several of the magazines it says they accept book reviews for submission for publication. My question is, what sorts of book reviews? Are they talking the most recently published best-selling books? Surely there would already be a lot of other reviews on that sort. Do they accept reviews for old, long-forgotten books? Maybe old classics? Do they want fiction or non-fiction reviews?

Karen Hammond: Usually publishers want reviews of current books, but not necessarily best sellers. Think of things like gardening books, for example, or a first-time novel by an unknown writer. These are not going to make the best-seller list, but if you found a book like this to be a "good read," chances are others would like to know about it. You would have to look at the specific publicaton to see whether they review fiction, nonfiction, or both. And by the way, book reviews can be a great way to get your foot in the door and sho the editor what you can do. So, go for it!

Jan Fields: Sometimes my students really fall in love with the essay, which doesn't sell so well in kidlit but I know it has a nice place in adult magazine writing. Since I know we have people who love them, can you give us some tips for what makes a really great essay?

Karen Hammond: Good question. The most important thing about essays is to decide where you are going with the essay you want to write. Writers tend to want to cover too much territory, when in reality the essay has to be very tightly focused. Remember that you'll often have as few as 750 words to work with, depending on the publication. A good essay needs to be organized with a beginning, a middle, and an ending, and at the end, it needs to make a universal point--something that readers can relate to.

Karen Hammond: I can give you a quick example from my own life. When my daughter was about 5, I took her ice-skating for the first time. I wrote about buying her her first pair of skates and showing her how to lace them, and then helping her with the inevitable falling down and dusting herself off that goes with learning how to maneuver on ice. Earlier that day we had been watching the winter Olympics and she was quite enchanted with the skaters. I grew up near a pond so I have always been able to skate, but I am certainly no expert. My "tricks" begin and end with being able to spin around once without falling down (usually!). When she saw that, my daughter said, "Mom, I think you must be the best skater in the whole world. You should be on television." It cracked me up. The point was that when our kids are little they think we are wonderful, no matter how limited our talents may be. I'm summarizing here, but the point is that the essay had a purpose. Without one, it would have just been a vignette about us going to the ice pond and probably not especially interesting. For would-be essayists out there, there are quite a few options in the adult markets.

Yaya: Do you think a person has to choose between genres? I like to think I can write in several genres. Do you think its possible to successfully work in more than one genre or, do you feel that it would be more prudent to zero-in on one?

Karen Hammond: To some extent it depends on the person and his or her interests and ability to multi-task. What some find challenging others find overwhelming. In the beginning, I think it's a good idea to branch out a bit and see what you like to write and what sells.That can help give you some direction for the future.

Yaya: at are your feelings concerning the Christian Romance Market? Is that an area that you have written for? If so, could you suggest the best way to break into that market?

Karen Hammond: Althugh I do not write for this market myself, I have a friend who does and many of my Long Ridge students have targeted this market as well. The best advice for this market is true of most markets, and that is to know the publication well. That means reading several recent back issues with a writer's eye, rather than as a casual reader. By that I mean, consider the characters, the plots, the amount and depth of religious material, the publisher's requirements regarding romantic relationshiips, and so forth. A good first step is to obtain the writer's guidelines. These are usually on-line these days; if not, just send a one-line request to the editor at the address on the masthead and enclose an SASE. Guidelines are always free and give specific advice about breaking into the market in question.

claudette: How much planning needs to be done before tackling the adult magazine market? Sorry, but the second half of that question is--And how much scrambling really goes into keeping a steady flow of stories, poetry, articles, etc. moving from your printer to acceptance slips and checks to your bank account?

Karen Hammond: How much scrambling you need to do really depends on your goals. Are you writing for fun, considering it a part-time job, or trying to establish a full-time writing career? To compete successfully in today's markets, you do need to write regularly and treat your writing as job if you want to be published with any regularity and eventually move into bigger and better publications. There are simply no shortcuts, I'm afraid. It's hard work, whether you are trying to build a career in the large children's markets or in the adult markets.

claudette: I asked the question for for my sister's sake than my own. She thinks I'm getting a bit OCD regarding my writing. I'll just have her read your reply and then say, "See. I tried to tell you!"

Karen Hammond: I wanted to respond to this because I think many people share your sister's perception that writing should not be hard work. If someone is writing just for his or her personal amusement, it's fine to treat the whole thing casually and just have fun putting words on paper-- but those who want to write for publication and a possible career truly do need to treat their writing as they would any other job. It's a flaw in our educational system, I think, and exacerbated by the fact that now anyone can be a "writer" by paying to get their work published, that so many people have so little respect for writing. I lived in Europe for a while, where writers are treated just like other professionals and their hard work is acknowledged.

Jan Fields: I wanted to mention that when I wrote for grown-up magazines, I tended to target the ones I knew well because I already read them regularly. A magazine you know really well, will tend to be one you can write for best. It was for me. I sold most of what I queries about when I targetted grown-up magazines I'd been reading for some time.

claudette: How much of a difference does it really make to the new writer to gather a network of all types of writers, editors, etc.? Does it help with publication or simply become an energy and time drain for the writer?

Karen Hammond: Without editors and publishers there is no getting published, of course, so through query letters and face time at conferences and such, it's vital to make yourself known to those in a position to get your work into print. This is all part of marketing, which is a huge part of every successful writer's career. We all spend much more time on it than we ever anticipated when we started out.

claudette: I was thinking more on the lines of networking online when I asked my question. We're told constantly that without a good network system, we lessen our chances of success. I was wondering just how much of an impact the cyber networking really has on the long term success of a writer. I fully intend to start the conferences this year and the workshops. That's part of my goal setting for this year.

Karen Hammond: A cyber presence is pretty important these days, especially once your career gets going. A website is pretty much a necessity as a way to let editors trolling for a writer "find" you. But really, the first consideration should be to get a couple of things published, then develop a website, list your published works on it, and build from there. As for Twitter and such, even the most ardent users call it a major time drag. Again, starting out, I would put my energies into getting published and then take things one step at a time. By then something else will probably have replaced Twitter and you can decide whether it will work for you. Facebook and LinkedIn can both be helpful to establish a presence, but be sure to keep them professional.

claudette: How often do you do a slew of research, knowing at the time that you intend to use every scrap you can for as many articles for different markets as possible? Is this a normal way for a writer to work in the adult market world?

Karen Hammond: Like most writers, I always do way more research than I can use for a single article. Even with a firm slant in mind for a particular article, you will run across other information that could be worked into another piece, so be sure to save it. Working writers routinely figure on getting several articles out of one idea, so the "extra" research never goes to waste. I can see you are wise enough to realize that you don't have to -- and shouldn't -- try to get everything you know or learn into a single article or story. This is a difficult concept for some beginning writers.

Nancy: The official introduction says you have been published in an amazing array of magazines, including American Lawyer Magazine, Family Circle, and Wine Spectator. Are you a bit of an expert on a lot of things? If not, how do you get considered by such a diverse group of magazine publishers?

Karen Hammond: I'm the quintessential Liberal Arts major, I guess, curious about a lot of things. It's not for everyone in this age of specialization, but I enjoy being somewhat of a generalist. That said, I don't write about everything under the sun (no business, sports, finance, technology etc. in nonfiction; no sci-fi or horror in fiction, for example) and a lot of my interests tie in more than you might think at first glance.

Karen Hammond: For example, I write a lot about women--caregiving, parenting, health, education, etc. And I write about travel, food and wine a lot these days. Think of the ways these interests converge. Safety for women traveling alone. Staying healthy in foreign countries and how do deal with things if you do get sick. On the road with small children. Caregiving for elderly parents and child-raising sumultaneously--how do women cope? Wine and health. Fun hotels for families. How to get your child to read this summer. And on and on.

Karen Hammond: Here's my second tip of the day: Forget the old advice to write what you know. Instead, write about what you want to know. There are always plenty of experts who will be happy to share their knowledge with you, and you, in turn, can share it with your readers. Again, some people prefer to specialize tightly and that's a perfectly good choice. I just like the chase, I guess!

Chee: I have a interest in writing about my hometown and local area for travel magazines. Do you have any suggestions on how to start such a project?

Karen Hammond: Travel writing is one of my specialties. You are doing the right thing by looking in your local area for ideas. Too many people think they have to travel to exotic places--or live in them--to write travel pieces. That's nice, of course, but there are plenty of interesting things in almost anyone's hometown. Look at state and regional publications to see if the article you have in mind might fit into one of them. These pubs are often easier to break into than the big national markets. And keep in mind that it's also easier to break in with a "short," such as a 200-word article on some special event. Once the editor knows you can produce good writing on time, she may assign a full-length feature next time.

Cat: Regarding poetry, is that an available field in the adult world? I'm so focused on children's writing that I'm a bit foggy on what is acceptable in adult writing. If so, what sort of poetry is recommended?

Karen Hammond: There are lots of publicatons out there that accept poetry, but this is such a subjective kind of writing that it's impossible to give you any firm guidance on what sells. You'd have to look at some markets that interest you and see if what you like to write would fit in with what they are publishing. For ideas, you might buy an issue or two of a publication like Poets and Writers, which will give you an idea of what's going on in the the poetry world. Let me know if you need more information.

Cat: What is the main difference between targeting adult readership as opposed to child readership? Is the difference just in the age level of the MC, or is it more in the content, language structure, etc.

Karen Hammond: Yes, yes, and yes! Age level, content, structure -- all of these and more are different when writing for adults. In terms of age, you're writing for a mature audience with a more developed vocabulary. As for content, some topics -- let's say healthy eating -- might be approrpriate for children and adults, but you would approach them very differently. You might write an article for early readers that tells them the importance of eating their veggies and includes a recipe for a simple salad, while for adults you might include statistics on how vegetables reduce the risk of some illnesses and include an elaborate recipe for a gourmet vegetable casserole. Overall structure is different, too, since adults can deal with longer sentences and paragraphs and, in general, a more complex approach and more ideas within a single article.

BlueDawg97: I have a question. It may be a tad off-topic though, but here goes: What are your views on self-publishing? It's certainly a a viable and easy option, and one of my former college instructors swears by it. But I know that, while that would make it easy for my book to be published, it would also present some marketing problems. So, what advice would you give me if I decided to do self-publishing? Maybe as a last resort, or something? Thanks a bunch!

Karen Hammond: You've asked one of the hottest questions in publishing today, so let's see if I can give you a good answer. The good news is that self-publishing means anyone can be a writer. The bad news is that self-publishing means anyone can be a writer. Let's think about that for a minute. Does putting unedited words on paper and paying to have them published make us "real" writers in the same way we think of professional writers who have earned their success over time? Does it make us the writers we aspire to be? By now you catch my drift, I think. My advice to beginners is to put your energy into learning your craft. Find out that the world doesn't end when you get rejections. Learn from editors who give you advice about improving your work. Learn to edit as well as to write, because this will add to your professionalism. Attend conferences and learn from the working writers and editors you'll meet there. That's a much better start to a professional career.

Karen Hammond: Most self-published works do not sell well and you need to think about that, too, in terms of whether it is a worthwhile endeavor if you can't even recover the money you've spent. Many bookstores won't carry these books, so you may end up storing them indefinitely or giving them away. That said, you may be surprised to find out that I do think self-pub has its place. For example, you may want to publish a cookbook of family recipes as a gift for your kids,cousins, aunts, etc. You know it's the kind of thing that no commercial publisher would touch, but your immediate family will love it. Self-pub is a great option here. Ditto with a family memoir to hand down to future generations. Even with personal publications like this, I urge you to budget the money for a professional editing job so that you will like the final result. In short, I'm not a big fan of self-publishing except in a few circumstances for personal books such as those I've listed. Others may disagree, but I feel there are no shortcuts to good writing no matter how much the vanity presses (ever wonder where they got THAT name?) would like to convince us otherwise.

Okami: What are your thoughts on short stories? For me, I've always struggled with them. It's just plain hard for me to tell complete stories in under 1,000 words.

Karen Hammond: Keeping the word count under control is a challenge for a lot of writers, whether they write for the adult or children's markets. Just keep in mind that it can be done. A very short story demands a relatively simple plot, a limited number of characters, and a tight focus. When you edit, make every word count. For example, most of us use too many adjectives, so when you are trying to cut back on words, adjectives are a good place to begin. You may be able to eliminate all or most of them. There's almost never a reason to use more than one adjective before a noun. This simple trick can help and you may be surprised at how much your work will be improved, as well as shortened!

Karen Hammond: As for publishing, persistence is key. Here's a tip: Watch for new magazines. They are often easier to break into than those that have been around for awhile because the editors will be looking to establish their own stable of writers. Keep writing. That's the real key to success.

Londy: What are your secrets to finding the perfect publishing match (be it magazine or otherwise) for your works?

Karen Hammond: There are no secrets, really. If you want to write for magazines, you need to study several recent issues and ask yourself who the magazine is targeted to and what kinds of articles that audience is reading. Then ask yourself if you can write something that will interest that audience. Here's my tip: a good way to get a handle on who reads a magazine is to look at the ads. A magazine full of ads for baby food and diapers appeals to a very different audience from one flled with ads for vacations in Bali or expensive spa treatments. This can give you a quick idea of who the magazine is geared to even before you read the articles.

CAT: How do you feel is the best way to study the markets? Is is good to check out the website, print out guidelines, review what the magazine market is looking for? Or do you think it's better to get a magazine sample and read it through?

Karen Hammond: Cat, it's really best to do all of these. The website can give you good information, and today, with many magazines publishing different content in their print and on-line publications, it's essential to know which you are writing for and gear your pitch according. Guidelines are very helpful because they are always kept up to date and can give great tips as to what the editors are looking for and how to approach them. And reading the actual magazine is a must, I feel. Holding it in your hand and reading the articles always gives me a real "feel" for whether my work would fit in there.

ColoradoKate: I'm wondering about markets for adult short stories. I know there are literary mags, and mags like "The New Yorker" that publish best-selling-type writers, but what about the rest of us? There are tons of nonpaying ezines, but are there enough attainable, paying markets to make it worth looking into?

Karen Hammond: You've asked a very good question. Short fiction for adults is difficult to break into, no question. Unfortunately we do not have a good track record in the US of supporting fiction magazines for the general public. You are right that most short fiction is published in small literary magazines published by universities and there is a lot of competition to get into them. That said, you shouldn't hesitate to try if fiction is what you want to write. Check out the many books out there that focus on marketing short fiction for ideas. Also, look around you for local, state, and regional publications that may publish short stories. These are often easier to break into and the editors usually like to promote local talent. It's not easy, but with persistence, you can break into the fiction markets. Also, I urge any writers with interest in short fiction to subscribe to at least one fiction publication. In that way, we keep the markets alive and help each other.

Cat: Oh, I never thought about that. I'll have to look into fiction sites. Are there any that you'd recommend?

Karen Hammond: You are probably familiar with Writer's Market, the annual book of markets for freelancers. The same company puts out an annual book that is specific for fiction writers, listing lots and lots of publications looking for fiction. You can find it any bookstore or library. Of course ICL's sister school, Long Ridge, has a great course in writing short fiction and nonfiction, which might be an option for you down the road. It can also be helpful to go to one of the major bookstores and browse the magazine racks. You never know what you'll come across and sometimes actually seeing the magazine is more effective than just reading about it. Journals of literary fiction can sometimes be found in bookstores, but if you have a college or university near you, their library is sure to have a good assortment.

claudette: This might be an off-the-wall question, but approx. how many hours a week does a good freelancer put in to make a living wage. Not a superior wage, just one for a modest living?

Karen Hammond: Oh, gosh, this is really difficult to answer. I can tell you that most writers who depend entirely on their freelancing income put in a regular 40-hour work week or more--sometimes much more. But many other writers work that much and earn very little. Much depends on how fast you write and who you are writing for, since fees can vary from a few cents per word to two or three dollars per word. And needless to say, what constitutes a livable income for one person might not for another. So, there are a lot of variables here. Of course there are also many writers who write part time to supplement income from another source. That's a good and safe way to start, and as your contacts and freelance income increase you can evaluate where you are in terms of going freelance full time.

Claudette: I'd figured on the variability, but I also wanted to be able to teach those not in the writing field that to succeed at this game, the hours and committment must be constant for this is a job if we wish it to be.

Karen Hammond: You are absolutely right about the necessity of treating writing as you would any other job if you want to be successful at it. I have a feeling that you are running across what so many writers run across, which is the perception of others that "anyone can write, so what's the big deal?" Unfortunately, now that anyone can pay to get their words into print and become an instant "published author," this misconception is only being fostered more. Trust me, editors at major publications and publishing houses are much more impressed with good writing from an unpublished author than they are with a book from someone who has paid to be published. (OK, yes, there is an occasional exception. Some self-pub books are well written and edited. But there is a reason most of them didn't find a commercial publisher and sell very few copies. That pretty much says it all.)

Okami: In your answer to my question about short stories, you said keeping the story simpler will help keep the word count down. I know what you mean in regards to having few characters and stuff, but adjetives aside, my biggest problem with my writing in general is simplicity. How do you keep things simple for either younger readers and teens or adults without inadvertently insulting their intelligence?

Karen Hammond: Simplicity is difficult, I agree. I hope you are reading lots of books or articles appropriate for the age group you want to write for. Doing so will give you some ideas of how to target your writing to your readers.Think how different, for example, a story about the first day of school would be for an early reader first grader, someone starting middle school, and a young adult. Language, sentence structure, plot, characters--all would increase in complexity.

Karen Hammond: It's a very common trait to want to include everything we know in one story or article, so please don't think you are alone there. Many of the magazines for writers run or advertise short-short writing contests. You might find it fun to submit a story to one of these and to read the winning pieces to see how other writers tackle this challenge.

Chippy: I would like to know the do's and don'ts of and where to start with adult writing. Is Romance a good starting point? Horror? What is the best way to get a publishers interest?

Karen Hammond: If you like to write nonfiction, probably the most widely sought-after piece is the "How-to" do almost anything from building a birdfeeder to keeping your marriage fresh after 30 years. There's a vast need for these articles from print and on-line magazines of all kinds.

Karen Hammond: In fiction, romance is probably somewhat easier to break into than some other kinds of writing, which is not to say it's a cinch. And it's imperative that you read a variety of romance articles or books first so that you understand the difference kinds of romance, from historical to Gothic to erotic and all that lie in between! Different publishers publish different kinds of romance works, so you need to study the markets carefully. And of course, as with any writing, pursue this only if you love reading romance yourself and have a great interest in writing it. Otherwise, it will be tedious and you'll soon lose interest.

yaya: I was just wondering if you think a person should lean more to magazine markets or more to book markets when writing for adults?

Karen Hammond: If you are currently unpublished, I' d suggest trying to get some things published in on-line or print magazines first because this will give you credibility with book agents and editors. Have a happy and healthy day!

yaya: Do you have a certain number of hours you apply towards your writing each day? Perhaps you prefer setting a goal of 'X' number of words?

Karen Hammond: I work full-time as a freelancer, so every day I "commute" up the stairs to my office, coffee cup in hand, and go to work. I'm not a morning person, so when I get up I go for a run, come back and shower and get dressed and do a few household chores before starting my work day around 10 AM. I break for lunch around 1 and then put in a full afternoon, which is my peak working time. After dinner, I usually work another hour or two as this balances out my late start in the morning.

Karen Hammond: Please don't feel you have to emulate this schedule! You may be bright-eyed at 6 AM and if so, your peak writing time may be when I am trying to wake up during my morning jog. We're all different and we all have to find the schedule that works for us.

Karen Hammond: To answer your specific question, I probably work about 40 hours a week, similar to any other job, and sometimes more when I have a tight deadline.

yaya: I spent a great deal of time in both Maine and Boston, as a child, and always loved the beauty of the whole New England area, as well as being intrigued by the people. My grandparents were from a small town in Maine and also lived in Boston. Do you feel that there are magazines or newspapers who would be interested in a writer's viewpoint if the writer were not living in that area? Thank you so much for your input.

Karen Hammond: Yes, of course, depending on your slant. A New England publication might love your reminiscences of a childhood spent on your grandpa's Maine farm for example. On the other hand, I wouldn't suggest writing a travel article about Boston if you haven't been there in years because such an article would need to be totally up-to-date.

Karen Hammond: I'm glad you like New England. You might like to check out my website at karenhammond.com and follow the progress of the book I'm writing, Backroads and Byways of New England, which will be out next spring. Needless to say, I love New England as well!

yaya: I agree that it wouldn't be wise for me to try and write about current events. The last time I was in New England was possibly forty years ago. I'm pretty sure there have been many, many changes in that space of time. Among other things, my grandparents worked with leather, creating magical art and useful supplies for the young and the young at heart... 'specially, me.

Karen Hammond: Look into some of the reminiscence publications as well--those that look back on the "good old days." These may be easier to break into and your article about your grandparents sounds like it could be a good fit.

Yaya: Do you feel that you put an equal amount of time into being published for fun AND profit? What I mean is, do you feel that you have had to sacrifice one for the other... either way?

Karen Hammond: If by fun you mean writing for my own amusement, no, I just about never do that. I do write and publish poetry, which as I'm sure you know is very low paying although I love doing it....but that's about as much not-for-profit writing as I do.Anything else I write is done with an eye toward profit. This is, after all, my job and not many of us are interested in going to work every day and coming home with no paycheck at the end of the week!

yaya: Do you find that you are involved with other writers very much?

Karen Hammond: Writing is a solitary life, but I attend or speak at conferences, belong to professional writers' organizations, and of course have friends in the business. If I lived in a city I'm sure there would be more opportunities to see other writers face-to-face.

yaya: I know that some people would struggle with the time it takes to be alone in order to succeed as a writer. May I ask if you are ever bothered by many hours alone?

Karen Hammond: No, I enjoy being alone to work. I realized long ago that I did not have a 9 to 5 office personality, which I think is true of a lot of freelancers. And, I have a lot of outside interests that put me in touch with people who are not writers, so it's not as if I'm closeted away from the world

yaya: Do you have a set structure to your work day, a certain amount of time you spend on writing, marketing, etc each day?

Karen Hammond: No, I really can't structure my days that way because each day is so different. I may write all day one day, research most the day another day, and spend a couple of days marketing. Some days may require that I do a little of each. It really all depends on what I'm working on.

yaya: Are there times when you spend so much time researching that you are unable to write for several days, on end?

Karen Hammond: That would be an unusual day because I usually do some research, write up a section of what I'm working on, go back and do more research, then more writing, and so on.

Karen Hammond: I'm writing a book about New England, as you know, and it would be very easy to go off on all kinds of tangents reading about history and other interesting things about the area. But that's where self-discipline comes in. It would be the same if you were in an office. It might be fun to chat at the water cooler, but you know you need to stick at the task at hand and get the job done.

Cat: What is the best way to really get a story/article drafted? Do you write more what YOU want to write, or do you study the markets, find what's hot, and write what the world wants to read? I feel that, a lot of times, everything I right is just not suited for publication. I feel frustrated sometimes, like I need to write to please everyone else except me.

Karen Hammond: This really works both ways. If there is an article you want to write, chances are there is a market for it and you'll just have to persevere and find it. And, if you see a trend developing--for example, some new health breakthrough has just happened and you know magazines are going to be running pieces about it--you may want to give the market what it wants.

Karen Hammond: I would just say, though, not to write something that you know that market wants if the topic does not interest you in the least. I once wrote a technology article on a breaking development because I knew the editor and she "really, really" wanted me to write it. I did it, and it turned out OK, but it was a long slog and I couldn't wait to finish it and get back to writing about topics that interested me.

Cat: So, the trick is to do both? Write what you want, AND what the world wants? Sounds like a can-do

Karen Hammond: Yes, that's pretty much the approach for most writers, I think. Of course the best of both worlds comes when something you want to write is also what the markets are looking for. This happens more often than you might think if you stay on top of trends and what's going on in the world. I really can't over-emphasize the importance of all aspects of marketing, including staying tuned in to what's new in areas that you want to write about--whether it's trends in fiction or new happenings in the fields of business, health, education, travel, or whatever. Do this, and you'll have lovely "Aha!" moments when you can say, "Hey, that's something the magazine wants and something I'm interested in writing."

Cat: How do you stay up on the trends? How do you stay current with the market?

Karen Hammond: you've asked a good question. You probably subscribe to magazines in your fields of interest--perhaps a parenting magazine and one on home decorating, for example. These can alert you to trends such as the increasing prevalence of diabetes in children or the color orange being hot for this summer. Think of what you could do with just these two ideas:
--Diabetes: Is Your Child at Risk?
--Always Tired; Always Hungry: Could Your Child Have Diabetes?
--Ten Foods Every Child Should Eat to Stay Healthy
--Orange for Spring: How Much is Too Much?
--Orange: Is it the Right Color for You?
--Decorate Your Baby's Room with Spring's Hottest Color
These are off the top of my head, of course, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Karen Hammond: Also, although I know reading the newspaper is almost a thing of the past these days, you can get a lot of ideas from either the paper or on-line versions. Something on the finance page might give you an idea for an article on single moms and financial security, or a piece in the food page about the trend toward comfort food might inspire you to write an article about old-fashioned holiday desserts.

Okami: I get overwhelmed by the marketing end of things, especially query letters.

Karen Hammond: I think you are getting overwhelmed when you should be tackling things one step at a time. Try to find a local or regional market to approach with an idea or a short story that interests you. If you are sending fiction, a query is usually not needed. Just send in the story with a brief cover letter indicating that you are enclosing the story and look forward to hearing from the editor. (When the time comes that you have some clips, you can of course mention them, too.)

Karen Hammond: If you're pitching nonfiction, you usually need a query letter. The bio part isn't scary. Just let the editor know why you are a good person to write the article. Let's say you're writing a piece on plants that attract butterflies to the garden. You could mention that you transformed your small yard into a butterfly haven that is the envy of the neighborhood and perhaps enclose a photo that shows how successful you were. Mostly, remember....take it one step at a time as you would any job, and work your way up.

Okami: Have you ever submitted something even when those you've shown it to beforehand think it's "Potential, but you should do more to it" because you've honestly felt you did all you could. Do you eventually just do it, just submit? And what about bios -- how do I make it sound like I'm something more than a writer who never got anything published?

Karen Hammond: I think you've answered your own question. Sometimes you do just have to jump in. Critique groups can be helpful, but writing is so subjective that sometimes you just need to trust your own instincts and send the piece out. When you get feedback from an agent or editor, however, it's a good idea to heed it. These are the people in the best position to tell you what a manuscript needs. Try to focus on those who specialize in the kind of book you want to write. This might help cut back on form rejections and get you some personal input into what you might do to improve your chances. An agent can offer good advice and also help open doors for you.

Karen Hammond: There's no question that nonfiction is easier to sell, but if your heart is not in it, you might be better off focusing on your fiction. That's really a decision only you can make. If you can sell a short story or two, perhaps to a local market, that can go a long way toward impressing an agent. As for bios, there's a misconception that you have to be a certified expert to sell something. That's not the case. You just need to get across why you are a good person to write this article or that novel. This can range from the examples I gave earlier to "I lived in Germany for three years and the inspiration for the setting of my novel came from being the only American in town." Don't overly sweat the bio. Just keep getting your work out and try to attend some professional level conferences if you can. They can be a tremendous help with the kinds of questions you're asking.

Belle: Quick question. When writing an article or essay, how much information does one normally have to gather before you can begin writing? And when do you know if you have too much?

Karen Hammond: First decide on the focus of slant of your article. That will help you target your research. Along the way you will come across material that is interesting but doesn't quite fit your slant. You might want to save it or take note of it for future articles but your first priority should be the piece you are currently working on.

Karen Hammond: At some point, you should have enough material to begin, but you'll no doubt have to do additional research as you work on the piece in order to develop some aspects of it. So, don't feel that you have to have all the research in place before you can start typing. Just jump in and begin and the additional research you need to do will soon present itself.

Jan Fields: Thanks for sharing your time and wisdom with us for the last three days. It's been great and I know everyone has appreciated getting a peek at an area of writing we may not have considered. You're a peach and I really appreciate your time.

Karen Hammond: Thanks to everyone for your warm welcome and your interesting questions. I wish you all the best, whether you stay exclusively with writing for children or branch out into the adult markets. Good luck one and all and I'll hope to talk with you all again at some future time.