"How to Choose the BEST Markets and Write Winning Query Letters for Your Children's Writing" with Tammy Ruggles

Mel: is Mel Boring, moderator of this chat with Tammy Ruggles, and editor of the ICL web site.

Tammy: is Tammy Ruggles, a children's writer and a writer for adults as well. Her writing career only started when, at age 40, she was forced to retire from her social work job because of visual impairment. But, as you'll see from this sharpshooting interview, Tammy has more than taken that impairment in stride, in a business that demands constant and up-close eyesight. Tammy's published children's books include Oliver The Owl And Elvis The Elephant, Joey's Week On The Farm, Sneaky Snake & Snoozy Snail, and My Life As A Shawl. Tammy Ruggles also publishes on-line children's stories. Tammy published 37 stories and articles in the first year of her new writing career, 2002. Already in 2003 she has published 28 pieces, including "Courtroom Etiquette: Do's And Don'ts" in the January issue of Metro Seven Magazine. She also publishes movie reviews, such as for the Warner Brothers film, "Starsky & Hutch." Tammy Ruggles has also published poetry. Tammy just recently started writing screenplays, too, and already has two screenplays under option.

Green shows the usernames of the people who asked questions of Tammy Ruggles.

Interviews are held every other Thursday evening for two hours, beginning at 9 CANADA/ Atlantic Time, 8 Eastern Time, 7 Central Time, 6 Mountain Time, and 5 Pacific Time.

Mel: I am very pleased to welcome Tammy Ruggles to the ICL Chat Room this evening, October 16. Shortly after we published her article, "Lightbulb!", on our web site, I invited Tammy to come share with us her vast expertise in marketing and querying in her freelance writing career for both adults and children. Tammy Ruggles writes articles and short stories for children and for adults. She also publishes on-line children's stories, and, of recent times, screenplays. Tammy's children's books include Oliver The Owl And Elvis The Elephant, Joey's Week On The Farm, Sneaky Snake & Snoozy Snail, and My Life As A Shawl. She has also written The Troll Under My Bed, Ruff The Rescue Dog, The Purple Puppy, Twins, Robbie's Rhyming Words, Puppy Points And Kitty Bits, Our Five Senses, My New Baby Brother, and Animal Homes, all waiting to be published. Tammy, a WARM WELCOME to the chat room!

Tammy: Thanks, Mel. It's really nice to be here. This is my first time as a chat guest!

Mel: Tammy, you're an EXPERT on freelance writing now. But you weren't ALWAYS a writer. How did you get to be a writer?

Tammy: Well, I was a social worker for about 10 years in mental health, hospice, and child and adult abuse investigations and then my visual impairment prevented me from continuing in my chosen field. Since accommodations couldn't be made for me to continue in this job, I had to retire and wondered what I was going to do, since I was just 40. I'd always liked to write a few stories and poems, but didn't think it would ever lead to a second career. But I took a chance on writing and it worked out.

Mel: I would say it worked out FABULOUSLY, judging from ALL you've had published, Tammy!

Tammy: Thanks, Mel. Sometimes it seems like a genie has granted me a wish.

Mel: Did you decide to write for children right away when you changed careers, or did you write first for adults?

Tammy: The first few things I wrote were for children, but I like to write for any or all age groups. I wrote children's stories for my son when he was little.

Mel: So you have a family that had to be considered, too, when you changed careers at age 40?

Tammy: Yes, I was a single mom at the time.

Tammy: I had to retire in 2001, started querying in April of 2002, so it took a couple of months to get my first piece published. I'm still working at it, still have a lot to learn, learning more all the time about how to improve writing, what editors want, learning about markets. It's competitive, but I like it.

Mel: And you published 37 pieces in 2002--and have already published 28 here in 2003!!! Did you ever have a writing mentor?

Tammy: Back in my college days I had an instructor that opened my eyes to writing and literature. She always said write in your true voice, not everyone will like it, but if you do, then someone else probably will too. She helped me understand the classic poets and writers. I hadn't had any mentoring before that.

Mel: Tammy, how did you FIRST start querying in your new career then, or did you start by querying publishers?

Tammy: Well, I bought a copy of WRITER'S MARKET and I asked my local newspaper if they would print a couple of articles if I wrote them. The paper said yes, and published a couple of things. This gave me a few clips to use when I queried the magazines from WRITER'S MARKET. I wrote something called "10 Ways To Be A Kid Volunteer," queried DISCOVERY TRAILS and they accepted it.

silverdove: Tammy, did you take writing courses to learn how to write when you began, or just wing it?

Tammy: I haven't taken any formal writing courses but I enjoyed composition classes, literature classes, and technical writing classes in college.

Mel: Tammy, what do you put in a query letter?

Tammy: My query letters are short and simple. Usually they turn out to be about a half a page. I put the salutation, story idea, word length, publishing credits, and a bit of background, plus a link to my website so they can view more detailed publishing credits if they want to.

Mel: A HALF PAGE sounds like "impossible" to most of us! How do you do it in just a half page?

Tammy: Well, it goes like this: Dear Mr. Boring, Would you be interested in publishing my 500-word article for writers titled "10 Markets For The Children's Writer"? It lists 10 markets for children's writers, including editor's name, guidelines, and contact information. I've had about 60 articles, short stories, and online children's stories published. I can e-mail or snail-mail the article to you if you'd like to see it. Thanks for your time. Then I add my name, contact information, and website.

Mel: I can tell that you are SUPER at "thinking on your feet," Tammy! Have you been that way since you first began writing, or did you find it more difficult at first?

Tammy: I think it's in my nature as a social worker. I had to be ready for anything! I did a lot of writing for work too, so I was used to it.

Mel: Did you find that the classes you took in college, on composition, literature and technical writing, served you well when you began writing as a profession? Have you taken other courses since then?

Tammy: Whatever writing I do well, I owe it to my composition, literature and technical writing classes. I really didn't know what I was doing until then. They taught me how to write good papers.

c3zh: I am in a similar situation to you. I am in my early 30s and had some surgeries go wrong which made it necessary for me to quit my job. I am trying to get out there writing. I have several picture books, articles (for kids and adults), a biography and some adult book proposals out to publishers and getting worked on. I feel like I'm spinning in all directions. Do you have suggestions on how to focus? Do you write articles before you query and just keep sending them out?

Tammy: I usually write the article first, then query. That way I can get it to the editor quickly and they don't have to wait. I would say to you to keep querying with what you have, and always work on something new. It sounds like you've finished a lot of work; now all you need to do is query like crazy. What one editor declines, another may pick up. Just because a piece is rejected, it doesn't mean the writing isn't good. It just means you probably haven't found the right fit. It's a lot like matchmaking. I would say to give heed to editors' suggestions for improving, too, if they offer any.

Mel: Here are two questions at once about similar topics, Tammy:

izzy: Do you enclose clippings with your query letters?

Tammy: No, I don't send clips unless they ask for some, or unless the guidelines say to.

silverdove: You have been published many times. What is the ratio of your rejections to your published works?

Tammy: In the beginning I was rejected a lot. I just didn't have any published clips. But once a few got published, it became easier. I still get rejected, but I just move on to the next one. I'd say the ratio is about half and half now.

mayuri: Do you recommend simultaneous submissions as a good rule of thumb to minimize time to (hopefully) publication?

Tammy: Definitely, unless the guidelines advise against it. Sometimes I'll send five queries out on the same piece, get four rejections and one taker.

lasmithm2000: What do you consider your greatest achievement in your writing career?

Tammy: It would have to be my first published piece. I'm really proud of that. It told me I had a chance of making it into a career, somehow it worked.

Mel: What did you say again was your first published piece, Tammy?

Tammy: "10 Ways To Be A Kid Volunteer," and it was published in DISCOVERY TRAILS.

silverdove: Are your on-line stories from out-of-print stories that you submit to Internet publications?

Tammy: Sometimes the magazine will do both a print version and an on-line version of a story. Sometimes it's just print. And of course the on-line stories are just on-line.

c3zh: I proposed a topic to an editor and she suggested a different angle, then told me to submit it "on speculation." Do I send a query letter as if it's new and just thank her and refer to the phone conversation where she asked for the article?

Tammy: I would also mention her suggestion for change.

Nancy: Which publisher(s) were your stories (as they appeared in the Interview Announcement) from Oliver Owl, to My Life as a Shawl, published by?

Tammy: Childrenzbooks published those.

Nancy: And the others waiting to be published, The Troll Under My Bed, to Animal Homes, are you seeking publishers for them?

Nancy: Were your stories assigned, or did you submit them "unsolicited"?

Tammy: I queried them first, then they asked to read them.

winged_life: What advice were you given that was most helpful to you?

Tammy: Write tight. I try to keep it in the back of my mind.

Mel: Short and sweet! Tammy, can you tell us any Internet sites where you yourself find freelance writing work to do for payment?

Mel: Are there any other Internet sites where you find writing assignments?

Mel: I found that I can use the phrases you just gave us as search words on the Internet and find them easily. THANKS for the great tips, Tammy!

Tammy: You're welcome. I do a lot of searches for print and on-line publications alike.

izzy: I'm taught to write using strong verbs. Avoid adjectives and and adverbs. But when I read magazine articles accepted by the magazines, I see adjectives and adverbs. What is a new writer to think about submitting?

Tammy: Sometimes you just have to write what feels good and looks good to you. A few adjectives don't hurt. I wouldn't overload anything with them though. Active voice is always advised. Too much of anything is too much; moderation is a good rule of thumb.

lasmithm2000: I like the idea of working on your own! Can you give me some tips about doing that?

Tammy: Just sit down at your computer and start e-mailing editors with your story ideas and see if they want to look at them. That's the first step in working on your own.

Mel: What if I, for example, come up with an idea for a dinosaur article, say, about a recent discovery of an important bone somewhere, how do I go about finding out where that article might be marketable?

Tammy: I would think about who your audience is first. If it's a children's piece you might pitch the idea to a children's science, archaeology or education publication like Dig, or Spider or Girls' Life or Boys' Life. If it's going to be something written for adults you might try National Geographic, the Smithsonian, or American Archaeology. It's matchmaking.

gira: Tammy, is it unusual that a magazine may want both a query and the complete manuscript together?

Tammy: Not at all, sometimes a publication will want both at the same time. That makes it easier. Faster too.

Mel: How many queries do you send out for one article, on average, Tammy?

Tammy: Sometimes it depends on the type of story or article. If it's a narrow topic like "When Adoptions Fail," there won't be that many because there aren't that many publications that print that type of material. I will send out four or five queries in that case. If it's a more general topic, like "Flag Etiquette," I might send out ten or fifteen, because there are more places to send them to.

c3zh: If an editor wants sources for your research, where do you put them? In the query letter?

Tammy: I give details like that only when requested by an editor.

Mel: Do you always write the entire article before you send out queries? Would there be a time when we should hold off writing the entire article before querying?

Tammy: I've never held off before, but I did have to change the slant of a piece once. You might want to hold off if it's an especially long or involved piece, but I don't see any reason to do that, if you know the general word-length the guidelines specify.

Mel: Could you ESTIMATE how much time it takes you to write an average article--though I know as a writer there aren't any average articles?

Tammy: About an hour, sometimes more depending on what goes into one, sometimes as long as a day or two if I get interviews, quotes, statistics, and include links and contact information.

Mel: I think I heard a collective "GASP!" from our chatsters, to hear it only takes you an hour to write an article--or even a day or two makes THIS writer gasp! (-:}

Tammy: My fast writing comes from my days as a social worker. I had to write fast, so it just carried over. I was so busy, and still am.

Mel: Do you query by e-mail, or snailmail, or both--and about what percentage of each?

Tammy: I do about 90% e-query, but I'm starting to do more snailmail queries.

Mel: Are your e-queries any different from your snailmail queries, Tammy?

Tammy: No, they're exactly the same.

Mel: How long does it take you to write a children's STORY?

Tammy: Well, the short children's stories go in about 30 minutes. Ruff The Rescue Dog took about three hours.

Mel: Is it okay to write for free?

Tammy: Sure! I still do, if it's a publication I particularly like. I did it several times when I first started, to build clips.

izzy: How many words for one of your articles on average?

Tammy: They're pretty short, that's another reason it only takes an hour, usually about 800 words.

c3zh: How many articles should you send with a query to magazines? I've heard never more than two at a time. If I query a parenting article one month to five magazines, can I query two more to the same magazine a month or two later? The turnaround is usually three months so I can usually get three decent articles (at least) written in that time. What's the etiquette on that?

Tammy: I don't know if there's an etiquette on that, but I've sent multiple story ideas to the same publication. Then I wait a couple of months, send out another. It's something you should do continuously, unless they tell you not to!

winged_life: Are you ever asked to take or send photos with articles too?

Tammy: Not yet. I've found that editors like putting photos with your work. They like professional photos. I don't have a photographer, so the magazines usually do that for writers anyway.

silverdove: Have you done any school or organization speeches?

Tammy: No, I'd be too nervous for that!

Mel: You sure don't appear to be nervous here on the chat site! J

silverdove: Did you design your own website or hire a professional?

Tammy: My son and his friend helped me. They do a good job. I had some input, though.

Mel: Who is your favorite children's author, Tammy?

Tammy: Dr. Seuss always has and will always be my favorite children's author. I like his simplicity, humor, and imagination.

Mel: What were your favorite kind of children's stories when you were young--besides Dr. Seuss?

Tammy: I enjoyed stories about dogs and horses, Chalou and Old Yeller, Little Black, A Pony, The Red Pony.

Mel: You have touched on this before, but do you get assignments from editors out of the blue, without even querying them?

Tammy: Yes, as a matter of fact, after Ad Astra published my first article for them they contacted me and asked if I would write two or three more. I said yes. They assigned me the ideas.

Parcon: How do you get interviews for articles?

Tammy: I call people who have expertise in the area I'm writing about. Most people are quite nice about giving interviews. I use them to give a personable touch to the writing, something to stir up the monotony of a narrative that can sometimes read like a book report. I've learned to include anecdotes, quotes, statistics, links--it keeps things moving on the page.

Mel: Do you do most interviews in person, Tammy, or by phone, or by e-mail? Or is there any usual way for you to do interviews?

Tammy: I do interviews all ways.

paige: Your visual impairment has obviously not affected your ability to read and write much quicker than most, which is interesting because it cost you your job. How have you managed to overcome your sight problem and succeed so well in a business that requires the constant use of your eyes?

Tammy: I have my son here to help me with typing and reading whatever I can't enlarge. I use large fonts, and Windows XP has a Magnifier, plus a Narrator for especially long chunks of text. I use a combination of everything that is available.

Mel: Please thank your son for his help for us, Tammy!

Tammy: I will, thanks!

silverdove: Did you pay for your domain name?

Tammy: No, it's a free site.

Mel: You also do movie reviews, do you not? How did you get started in that?

Tammy: I'm a big movie fan, and so it seemed natural to write about them.

Mel: Is it more time-consuming for you to write movie reviews?

Tammy: No, about a half hour to an hour, depending on the length.

Mel: You're already nicely anticipated this next question, Tammy, but perhaps you might like to add to it, maybe tell if there were other writers in your family:

parcon: Do you have a writing background (educational or otherwise)?

Tammy: Not that I recall, but my son dabbles in song lyrics, and my nephew wrote for his school paper. I have a writing background as far as having it for a hobby and wondering what it would be like to be published some day.

regina: Are most of your published pieces nonfiction?

Tammy: Yes, it seems that most of my published work so far is nonfiction.

Mel: A question I may have missed asking when we talked about queries: How fast is the return of the usual e-mail query as compared with snailmail?

Tammy: A response for an e-query comes back in three, four days, sometimes a week. A snailmail query can take a few weeks to a few months.

Mel: I know you've written screenplays. Where did you learn to write them?

Tammy: I found the format in a "Rocky" screenplay, and just copied the style. Style of format, I should say.

Mel: Were they assigned the screenplays, or did you submit them "unsolicited"?

Tammy: I queried producers with a logline, a lot like querying for stories and articles; it's a very similar process.

Mel: What exactly are movie PRODUCERS, and how can I find out their contact addresses?

Tammy: Producers are the people who can pull together the finances, actors, studios, and script. They're like the foreman. They do most of the decision-making.

Mel: How does one figure out where to send a screenplay to, or what kind of screenplay is needed?

Tammy: I found a list of producers at Done Deal and at MovieBytes, and started querying them. I've had a lot of rejection in this area, but I keep plugging. Hopefully, it's like matchmaking.

Mel: So if we used the search words "Done Deal" and/or "MovieBytes" on the Internet, will we find that list of movie producers?

Tammy: Yes, the sites will have lots of categories. Just search for producers, or scripts wanted, or writers needed, something like that.

Mel: Is the format for a screenplay really that much different from that of a story or article?

Tammy: Lord, yes! I didn't know just how different till I opened the Rocky script. Screenplays should be mostly dialogue and action, very little narrative. The dialogue and action (of the actors) drive the story.

Mel: Is there any particular book that would teach me how to write screenplays?

Tammy: I can't think of a specific title right offhand, but I'd like to get the one titled something like "The First 10 Pages" because the first 10 pages of a script are the most important.

Mel: Why is that?

Tammy: If you don't grab an audience (or a script reader) in ten pages, you're sunk.

Mel: You've had two acceptances of screenplays, gotten options on them, what does that "option" mean?

Tammy: It's a temporary arrangement. The producer agrees to try to produce the script within a certain amount of time. If it makes it as a movie, great, if not, I get the rights and the script back.

Mel: One final question, Tammy: What do you think of children's literature today?

Tammy: I think children's literature today is fine. Children like simple stories, and they like complicated ones. If it makes them think, feel, and imagine, it's worth the effort.

Mel: Here are some WELL DESERVED praises for you, Tammy!:

Nancy: Thanks for sharing your expertise, and congratulations to you for "recycling your career" and becoming such a successful, productive writer!

Mel: Tammy, our guest chats always seem too short; but this evening our time with you has seemed even shorter than usual. We really appreciate all your clear and patient answers, and the easy and warm way you've responded to all of our questions. We now have a much better understanding of marketing and querying because you've been with us—plus even screenwriting! There are questions left over, which means that we'd sure like you to return to our chat room to guest again sometime. Will you do that, please, Tammy?

Tammy: Mel, I was nervous about coming here. I've never been a chat guest before, but you put me at ease, and so did the chatsters. I'd love to come back and hear more from them too. Thanks and good night!

Mel: Tammy Ruggles, you did EXCELLENTLY tonight! THANK YOU so MUCH for the wealth of information you've added to our writing lives! And goodnight, everychildren'swriter!

Tammy: Good night to the chatsters!