Jan is Jan Fields, moderator of this interview with Paula Morrow, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site.

Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked Paula Morrow.

Jan: We're honored to welcome Paula Morrow. For those who don't know our guest speaker --

Jan: Paula Morrow has been a children's literature specialist for 25 years and still enjoys each new day in the world of children's books and reading. Her life is filled with editing, manuscript critiquing, speaking at writers’ conferences, presenting workshops, book reviewing, and professional consulting related to children’s literature.

Jan: And she's INCREDIBLY nice too.

Jan: Hi Paula!

Paula: Hi, Jan, and thanks for such a sweet intro.

Jan: Awww...I'm going to jump right into questions, because folks have a lot they want to know And you have a lot of brain to tell them with.

Paula:Whew, just a minute while I process that question! You've included several different aspects of writing for kids and the question is scrolling off my screen as we go! First, I agree with you that factual accuracy is very important in fiction as well as in nonfiction and I always encourage authors to fact-check and research anything that might give young children misleading ideas about the way the world works. I can't speak for all editors, of course, but the ones I know have all shared this attitude.

Jan: I know that not all publications and even book publishers have the same procedures towards fact checking But the one who will ultimately LOOK bad for mistakes Is YOU -- the author -- so you need to fact check carefully.

Paula:Yes. We've seen an unfortunate example of how that works in the adult world recently.

Paula: The spark isn't in the cover letter, actually, it's in the manuscript itself. For me, it's a sense of joy or wonder, or a delightful turn of phrase, or something unique that makes me sit up and smile as I'm reading. It could be the language, or a surprise in the plot, or a joyful sense of "Wow!" in a nonfiction piece anything that lifts the manuscript from workmanlike to enthusiastic.

Paula: I look for several things, actually Age-appropriateness--is the piece going to appeal to the target audience;Accuracy (there's that word again). I don't always know the topic myself, but I turn to the bibliography (you DO always include a bib, don't you?) to see whether the sources are varied and credible Language, of course. I love manuscripts that love and respect English. Also, does the piece have a clear focus on a reasonably sized PART of the topic, or does it try to cover everything and turn into an encyclopedia wannabe?

Paula: Shall I mention voice and tone, too?

Jan: Yes, please.

Paula: Address kids with respect--no condescending or cutesiness-- it helps if you really know and like kids!

Paula: "Listen, my sweet little child, while I tell you a story about what a good little girl should do." [gag]

Jan: Or, "Michael held up his little pudgy hand until the teacher noticed him."

Paula: Good one! Obviously adult viewpoint here.

Jan: If Michael would not describe himself as little or pudgy...neither should we.

Paula: Amen!

Paula: To me, it would depend on how serious it is. If it's misinformation, a courteous letter (to the editor if a magazine, or to the publisher if a book) is a good place to start. If it's really petty, though ... well, I'm not real impressed when people write to tell me they've found a typo! I've also had folks write in to "correct" the grammar in a piece when the grammar was actually correct, just unusual.

Paula: Sure, dragonlady, if you were polite and positive in the note. :-)

Paula: Animals AS HUMANS would fall under the accuracy question headline, wouldn't it? Animals are NOT human. Even in clothes and all, the animals can still have animal characteristics. I've seen stories where a bear picks up something in his hands, for example, that's obviously wrong. Let bears have paws, even if they wear mittens over them. There are lots of ways to keep an animal authentic, even in a fantasy. Be true to the kind of animal you're writing about.

Paula: Ah, the rebus! Those are much harder than they look! A rebus needs to be a complete story with problem and resolution, beginning, middle, end and LOTS of concrete nouns to illustrate all in just a couple hundred words. Be careful about the nouns, by the way. Different publisher have different styles of presentation, so examine back issues of your target publication, but as a rule, use nouns that can be shown iconically rather than nouns with broad or vague meanings. "House" is much easier to show than "home."

Paula: A rebus is a story in which many (if not all) of the nouns are represented by icons rather than spelled out in text. Check back issues of Highlights, Ladybug, Chirp, many preschool and early elementary magazines use them. It's fun to compare and see the different styles.

Jan: Turtle, Clubhouse Jr....Wee Ones does some if you can contribute your own pictures -- Which leads us to the next question...

Paula: Yes, most magazines use their own artists. Check guidelines to be sure.

Paula: Depends on the publisher. Some of them follow the icon with the word in text so those have more latitude on what they can consider a rebus word. Others use only the icon, so the language needs to be more specific.

Paula: Not necessarily. Target ANY age within that gap When guidelines give a range, the editor knows that not every reader will read every piece in the magazine so there's usually something for everyone and the editor needs to cover all the ages. By targeting a narrow part of the overall range, the author increases his or her credibility with the editor.

Paula: For an infant--you have to please both the child and the parent who will be reading the poem fifty or sixty times! First priority is language. It must please the ear, even if the tot has no idea what the words mean. That's why Mother Goose has survived all these years. Repetition is good, as long as it's careful, purposeful repetition and of course rhythm and rhyme. My own personal prejudice is for perfect rhyme although other infant/toddler magazines use half rhyme or near rhyme and we've had some in Babybug, too. And don't forget that good old sense of joy!

Paula: Not usually. Folks think they're easy to do but often they're clumsy and derivative. It's hard to be truly original with a variant on something familiar. Having said that, though I've seen some delightful ones. If you can pull it off, more power to you!"

Paula: Of course it's OK to go to an adult with a problem! In real life that's often the BEST (and sometimes the ONLY) solution. In children's fiction, though, there's a fine line between going to an adult for help and having the adult descend and deliver help unasked. A writer should first tweak the problem itself, so that it has at least some element that's within the child's control. Then let the child take the initiative in identifying the problem thinking about it, figuring out what she/he can or cannot do and asking the adult to help with the parts that the child can't handle. That way, the child is still active rather than passive and readers get a model of appropriate problem-solving, to boot.

Paula: Well, at Ladybug we invented our own term. :-) we just call it "World Around You." That covers a multitude of articles! For selling such articles I'd just recommend studying your target market. It doesn't matter so much what they call it as how they do it. and you can pick up on the editor's attitudes from what's been published.

Jan: But the key to stories like that is that they are STORIES as well as learning vehicles.

Paula: Absolutely! They still need an interesting plot. Otherwise, might as well just write an article and let it go at that.

Jan: Kids are not fooled by talking heads. Where an adults tells the child all about the world or potato bugs or something.

Paula: Nope. We also call those "kitchen table" stories because everyone just sits around the table talking. Boring!

Paula: Yes, someone does count words! And no, you can't go over the limit, at least for the Cricket mags. There's a good reason for that, and it's not just meanness. :-) The number of words affects how many pages the piece will need in the magazine as well as how much space will be available for art. A magazine has a finite number of pages ... and a limited budget so if a manuscript is too long, it affects a lot of other elements. Sure, an editor can cut a couple hundred words but we'd much prefer that the author do that before submitting It usually makes for a much cleaner manuscript, too.

Jan: And if the story goes over the word limit and it's fantastic...you're going to have to cut it anyway, usually before getting an acceptance.

Paula: Yup! Honestly, I've never seen a manuscript I couldn't cut.

Jan: And if it goes over and it's on the edge, it could net you a rejection.

Paula: True. The editor has to weigh not only the merits of the manuscript itself but also consider "how much time do I want to spend fixing this?" Sometimes the decision, sadly, is "I like this, but it's not worth all that time."

Paula: Not unless you're a professional illustrator yourself.

Paula: I suppose they're popular in some circles, but as with variations on popular song (above), they're hard to pull of successfully. At the Cricket group, there are LOTS of submissions that are retellings but most of them are rejected as not having that "spark" mentioned above.

Jan: Did y'all require sources?

Paula: Yes, we require sources. My philosophy is that the would-be reteller should research like crazy and read ALL the possible variants of a story. Really internalize it. What is the story really saying? What drives the protagonist? Read not for the superficial details but for the underlying message or myth. Why did early people develop this story in the first place? Then, when you've completely absorbed the story, set all your sources aside and do the retelling from deep within yourself so that you're true not just to the plot or cast of characters but to the ESSENCE of the story.

Paula: Well, the rejection doesn't say anything about your piece, only about the competition so whether you continue to edit depends on whether you think the piece is perfect as is. But of course, you wouldn't have submitted it in the first place if it weren't as good as you could make it, right?

Jan: Though, it's always good to read the manuscript...sometimes I loved the story when I subbed it and hate it when it comes back. Time can be very revealling."

Paula: Yes, it can, which is why I always recommend setting a manuscript aside for several weeks, if not months,before submitting it for the first time.

Jan: Good advice...so hard to do :-)

Paula: Harder when writing to a themes list with deadlines! LOL!

Paula: Check guidelines. Some of them specify six months or eight months or whatever. If they don't specify, they probably accept seasonal material anytime. At the Cricket group, for example, a good story is a good story regardless of season and the wait between acceptance and publication is likely to be a couple of years, anyway so it doesn't matter when you submit.

Paula: I'm gonna sound boring, but check guidelines Some places would be pleased to have a joint submission others, no. At Cricket group, ALL art is by assignment so the way to go would be to submit text and if it's accepted, then mention that your husband would like to be considered to illustrate the piece He would have to send art samples for the Art Director's files. But when the author makes a request like that, the editor usually tries to accommodate it.

Paula: For young readers, it would be very difficult to cover a famous person's entire life but much more accessible to select some outstanding characteristic or theme and explore that in some depth. For example you couldn't cover everything Thomas Edison invented, and everyone has heard about the phonograph (or was it telephone? or both) over and over so I'd pick something interesting / unusual about the man himself, and then follow that thread through the article, relating it to inventions, anecdotes, whatever to develop a focused article.

Paula: Gosh, dell, sorry about your submissions! But I guarantee there was nothing left from September, so you might wait a bit (to let the new editor settle in) and then resubmit. For the time being, submissions are still being handled at the downstate office -- address is in the guidelines on the web site.

Paula: Yes, nonfiction with flawless documented research is worth its weight in gold! all the magazines welcome that! For the younger magazines, you can also break in more easily with activities than with fiction or poetry.and Cicada is hungry for upbeat, humorous stories told in an authentic teen voice.Why does everyone assume doom and gloom for the YA market? (hypothetical question here, with a sigh!)

Jan: Because we are all very very scared of teens.

Paula: Oh, good answer, Jan!

Paula: Yes, fun voice, warm tone, narrative presentation that uses some of the fictional techniques, so that it reads like a story that just happens to be true.

Paula: First, does the publisher state a turnaround time? If so, I'd add about ten percent to that (because publishers typically underestimate how long it will take) .. and then send a polite inquiry. If the publisher does NOT state a turnaround time, you're kind of groping in the dark here. The 18 months with your previous submissionis too long but 6 months doesn't sound overly unreasonable to me because a manuscript is put through so many hoops before being accepted. You could always send a letter thanking the publisher for her/his interest, then say something like "this will be an exclusive submission until xx" (pick a date probably another 2 months or so) after which I will submit to additional selected publishers. That gives the first publisher some leeway but also encourages a response. Good luck with the submission, Sharon! Hope you hear back positively!

Paula: No, Carus group is WIDE open to first-time authors ... as long as they're good writers. One of the items on the founder's mission statement is something like "to find and foster new writers" ... or words tothat effect. Lots of famous children's writers got their start with Cricket. Artists, too.

Jan: One of my daughter's FAVORITE illustrators did quite a bit for Cricket -- Brian Lies!"

Paula: Oh, I love Brian! Have you looked at his web site recently? He has a great presentation about how he did a Cricket cover, from assignment to publication.

Jan: Yes, I saw that...so cool.

Paula: Honestly, omalizzie, I haven't a clue. It's almost a complete staff turnover, and I'm not sure anyone knows at this point.

Paula: Multitasking! I'm working on a dissertation at Northern Illinois U -- English lit and my Bob and I just bought a house that needs a LOT of work before we can move in (downsizing from a 6-bedroom empty nest to a cozy 2-bedroom) and I'm launching an independent editorial service critiques, conferences, workshops, that sort of thing.

Jan: What will your URL be when you go live online with the editing service?

Paula: it's going to be paulamorrow.com. I don't know if it's live yet.

Jan: An easy one to remember...and you'll do crits, copyediting and content editing...can you tell us the difference between copyediting and content editing?

Paula: Right ... whatever is most appropriate for the individual ms.

Paula: Copyediting assures that grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other technical aspects of the manuscript are correct, flags any unclear language or facts to document, and gives a final polishing for submission or self-publication. Substantive editing is a comprehensive manuscript analysis for structure, plot, pacing, language, research, organization, and other content issues, with clear, specific suggestions for revising or rewriting.

Paula: Sure! Think of Charlotte’s Web! In fact, animals and people even talk to each other in a fantasy such as Winnie the Pooh. The issue isn’t who talks to whom, it’s how convincing the conversation will be to readers--so the author’s challenge is to create a believable world in which the conversation can take place between convincing characters.

Paula: I love you! that means more room for pictures! Remember, it's okay to be succinct with a young audience. (Older audiences appreciate it, too.)

Paula: Oh my. I've seen so MANY stories on drinking and driving. Does someone cause a wreck, and someone else get killed?

Paula: First, check for other similar stories, then find a way to make yours different. If you have a positive ending (forgiveness, atonement, something) you might try the inspirational market I don' think Cicada would be interested, unfortunately.

Jan: But understand, the ending must be UPBEAT for Listen...

Paula: That's helpful to know.

Jan: They are *inspiring* kids not to drink...

Paula: as opposed to scaring them, right?

Jan: So they don't want downer pieces and the editor says she gets HUNDREDS of "I drank, they died, what can I do now?" stories.

Paula: H'm. I remember seeing an unusual one many years ago where it was a child who was killed, the parents forgave the driver, and the families got together to do something positive. It was an adult magazine, I think but it's possible to do something good even after a tragedy.

Paula: Both have advantages and disadvantages. First consideration is whether the author can pull off an authentic first-person voice. If so consider the POV you want, remembering that in first person, the reader will know everything the narrator knows. .So if you're looking for suspense or mystery, third person will let you build tension in a different way. Third person is more common, and readers are more used to it so if you don't have a strong reason for going first person, I'd usually stick with third. it's really the author's call, though. How do you hear the story in your own mind? Do what feels right!

Paula: Is this a magazine story or a picture book manuscript? There are striking differences between the two forms. One of the best ways to decide is to study examples of both and identify how they work plotting, pacing, characterization. If you're an institute student, look at "From Inspiration to Publication," chapter 13 the section on "is it a pic bk or mag story" (page 178).

Paula: You're welcome, Freckles!

Paula: What fun! My first signup! Thanks!

Jan: And I thank you too...A million times.