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

Jan: Hi, and welcome to tonight's special event -- a chat with guest speaker, Deborah Vetter. Welcome, Debby -- I am so happy to have you here tonight!

Debby: Glad to be here!

Jan: So tell me, what's the best YA book you've read lately?

Debby: THE SLEDDING HILL by Chris Crutcher

Jan: Oh oh...I'm behind in my Chris Crutcher books...eeek! What did you like best about it?

Debby: Crutcher's heroes are antiheroes; they question the status quo, which is something teens do. He's satirical and deals with serious issues in a dynamic way.

Jan: Ahhh...what are you editing right now? Any books?

Debby: Oh my goodness, I'm editing TONS of things. Let's see . . .I'm editing a really original fantasy by a brand-new author that's coming out in Fall 2007. Working with Barbara Seuling on more ROBERT books for beginning readers. Lots of CICADA mss.

Jan: The ROBERT books are such fun.

Debby: Oh, they are. And Barbara's such a pro!

Debby: Hi Apples. The books I've edited for YA readers run about 45,000 words, give or take 5,000, but a book should be as long or as short as it needs to be. For YA readers, it may be longer because of the complexity of the writing/plotting/characterization, etc. As for number of chapters, books I've worked on tend to run about 20 or 25 chapters, but again, there's no set rule. What's right for the book is what matters.

Debby: The important thing is to tell a good story, with strong characters, in a fresh way. Don't feel that you have to use slang or au courant language if that's not what the character would use. It's a question of voice.r There's nothing wrong with standard American English if that's what your character would use. And too much slang will date a book, probably before it's even published. Familiar stories are fine if you add a twist. For example, many books deal with dissolving old friendships and acquiring new friends and hurt feelings and boys, but if you make it fresh in some way, such as in THE PRINCESSES OF ATLANTIS in which the two girls, whose friendship was dissolving, are writing a novel together about the fall of Atlantis, and the novel mirrors their real-life relationships. Lisa Williams Kline wrote that book for Cricket Books, and it's selling really well.

Jan: What do you tend to notice first in a really good YA manuscript? I know some editors really love voice or humor -- what's your first love?

Debby: I love the voice! Characterization is the most important thing for me.

Debby: H'm. Ann Rinaldi is doing well, but we've found that it's not a particularly successful genre for Cricket Books. And it's too bad because historical fiction can be so enlightening.

Debby: No, I'm with the magazines and, at the end, books. Let's see "Writing for Children and Teenagers."

Debby: Hi, Shannon. That's an interesting question, and it has a two-part answer, so bear with me. First, the traditional road to publishing is through print. And you may want to try that avenue; if your book is picked up, you could mention the music. Oftentime, published books are picked up by audio book companies and professionally recorded; that's when the music could play a role to the narration. On the other hand, Laura Esquivel (LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE) has done something original with her book THE LAW OF LOVE. There's a CD that goes with it, and you read the book and then you hit some "graphic novel" pages, which are like cartoons with text, and THEN you're supposed to put on the CD and listen to the music while you read the graphic novel text . Cool, huh? Don't know who her American publisher is; my husband reads her in SPANISH. But usually, the audio book company would contact the publisher of the print version and the publisher would sell subsidiary rights to the audio book company, and the author would get a cut of the proceeds per the contract agreement.

Debby: Hi, Mudhen, I think it's superficiality, lack of depth and complexity of characterization.

Debby: You have a long question, Marcia, so let me read it and then respond. O.K., if you have a single plot line, then it's a short story. If you have a subplot or two, then it's a novel. In a magazine, the rules for the game would become a sidebar or a separate article. For a novel, they'd be organically folded into the novel so the reader picked the rules up almost without knowing it . . . sort of like Quidditch in let's see . . . what't the name of that blockbuster . . .?

Debby: We're focusing on chapter books for ages 6-9 and middle-grade novels for 10-14.

Jan: Ah...good news for the middle grade novelists.

Debby: Yes, I love middle-grade novels! It must be the CRICKET in me.

Debby: You don't need an agent. They help you get your books read by publishers who don't read unsolicited mss but many authors don't bother with agents (who get a cut of the advance) until they can no longer handle the paperwork themselves.

Debby: Yes, it would. But please query first. I guess I'm the one you'd query.

Debby: Oy, oy, oy, such confusion there has been. You can address letters to me if you've done so in the past. Please send all submissions to the bug magazines to the Peru, Illinois, address at least through the end of the year. Everything is being read . . . albeit a bit slowly.

Jan: Does Cricket do any fantasy books? The Cricket books I've read were all pretty serious, literary REAL novels.

Debby: Yes, we do fantasy. Nancy Etchemendy's THE POWER OF UN has done very well, and I'm editing a fantasy novel for Fall 2007 . . . CRICKET-age readers LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fantasy.

Debby: Oh, poor you! Do I hide my head in shame? I love your article, and as soon as I can saddle up and get on it, I'm doing it. But yours has fallen prey to the Move and Change of Editors and I'm so sorry, because I really love that piece. Normally, from acceptance to publication is one to two years. From acceptance to the author getting to approve the edited copy before it's assigned is about six months. That's what we aim for but life gets crazy sometimes.

Debby: Whew, I like that impatiently patient!

Debby: We know that our magazine readers are mostly girls, so what does that say about boys? Gary Paulsen and Walter Dean Myers and J. K . Rowling are all popular with boys . . . so it depends on the topic.

Debby: Now that the reorganization is ALMOST over, we're getting new editors in place, but I don't think they've announced anyone officially yet . . . so I'd best not let any cats out of any bags. I'm going to be editing CICADA yet for a while, and I'm happy about that!

Jan: We have a couple different questioners with pieces at one of the bugs in various states...we know what the "normal" response time is...do you know if folks who sent stuff or queries since the first of the year might be hearing back soon?

Debby: I would certainly hope so . . . wait another month, and if you haven't heard anything, you might want to submit again. I'm really sorry about this!

Debby: Oh, I am SO glad you asked that question. We need humor, realistic contemporary fiction, contemporary stories about different cultures and countries, adventure (outdoor adventure), mysteries (why do we never get any mysteries? we would even serialize a good mystery). Oh, one more thing, we need science articles. not natural science but chemistry, phsyics, astronomy, geology, dinosaurs, meterology . . .

Debby: Hi, Teriabc, I realized that I didn't fully answer your question. I don't know what to say. What you COULD do, and this is a good idea, is go to conferences or conventions where you know these people will be. Speakers at conferences often will read submissions from attendees -- that's one of the perks for attending -- or if you get a critique from an editor at a conference, that's another in. Does this help? OR do you know someone who's published in this genre? Can they pry a door open for you?

Jan: And sometimes you have to be open to skipping over your #1 publisher choice if they are just a closed house, but I do know not all houses are closed to goth fantasy since it sells well even if some folks are beginning to feel the market is a little full. At first glance, it looks like a lot of houses are closed, but that's because first glance tends to be toward the very biggest houses. At first glance, it looks like a lot of houses are closed, but that's because first glance tends to be toward the very biggest houses. But there are a lot of publishers. And sometimes closed to submissions are still open to queries.

Debby: Yes, that's a good point, too, Jan.

Debby: It's doing well, but I suspect that fantasy is doing just as well . . . write what you love, though!

Debby: The magazines are open to free verse, but please keep it to one or two pages in length -- up to 25 lines for CRICKET; up to 50 lines for CICADA. Cricket Books is not open to free verse novels or poetry collections right now. Sigh.

Debby: We'd much prefer to see original material. If you've written one or more excellent ones, you know you can write more excellent ones!

Debby: I've been so busy editing for the past twenty years that I haven't had time for anything but editorials, book reviews, and Cricket League contests . . . but I have tons of ideas . . . when I retire?

Jan: You mentioned humor as something you'd like to see for Cricket...same for Cicada? How about for the chapter books? Does humor semi-rule for that age reader?

Debby: Oh, would I like to see humor for CICADA? I would WEEP with joy to see humor for our teens!!!!!!! For chapter books, humor does semi-rule. Yes, indeed, but you still need substance. Eve Bunting and Barbara Seuling are both really good at combing both elements.

Jan: So..what's the word count look like for Chapter Books?

Debby: Ew . . . I forgot to check that. I'm guessing around 15,000 to 20,000 words.

Debby: I really vote for magazines. There are so many out there and you can write all kinds of articles and stories to submit and, did you know this, book publishers READ magazines and if they see something they like, they contact the author to ask for more . . . or to ask if a magazine story can become a picture book.

Jan: I went around badgering agents and editors once at a conference (because I'm like that) and asked what magazines they find most impressive as credits and they ALL mention the bugs (and Boys' Life.) So, y'all are hot!

Debby: Wow!

Debby: Let me add something: Persistence is the key. Don't give up, no matter what. It's like the acting profession -- first you get rejected . . . then you get callbacks (personal notes on rejects, suggestions for revisions on spec) and then you get a part (or a story accepted) . . . one successful author I know has wallpapered her bathroom in reject letters another throws a party every time she garners 100 rejections . . . and boy do her friends egg her on . . . when's our next party? But she's honing her craft, she's being persistent, and she's gotten more and more acceptances as the years go on.

Jan: And read a lot too...Linda Sue Park says there is nothing more important than pumping yourself full of brilliant words...she said if you count the years she spent READING in preparation for writing, her first book took something like 20 years to be ready.

Debby: And Linda's brilliant. We've got an original story by her in an upcoming issue of CICADA, and I was awe, but she's really down-to-earth real folks.

Debby: That's for the kids--actually for anybuggy of any age. We have a poetry or story or art contest each month on a certain theme, and winners get their work published in CRICKET.

Jan: one of our chatters want to know what a chapter book...she's confusing it with a serialized story I think. Can you explain the two things?

Debby: I'll sure try. A chapter book is between picture books/early readers and middle-grade novels. It's the first "long" text-heavy book a child ages 6-9 will read . . . such as the ROBERT books by Barbara Seuling . . . It's between 15,000-20,000 words, often with pictures sprinkled throughout to make the reading easier.

Jan: Whereas a serialize story is a long story broken up and published in a magazine over several issues -- right?

Debby: Oh, I forgot about serialized stories, which Jan just explained bee-yoo-ti-fully.

Debby: I'm sure many do. I don't have time, alas.

Debby: Sometimes stories just can't be told in 2,000 words, which is CRICKET's maximum but they're really good, so we offer to break them up into two or three (or four) parts and serialize them . . . the hardest part for the editor is writing the intros to each part. They have to be short and contain EVERYTHING a reader needs to know to understand the next episode.

Debby: Some authors just automatically submit every six to eight weeks . . . and I personally have no problem with that.

Debby: Not exactly. A chapter book is for young readers and a novella is a short novel, usually for older readers, such as CICADA's teens. In fact, every month we run a longer story, up to 15,000 words, that we call our "novella." That's probably a bit short for a true novella, but close enough!

Debby: Any and all credits have validity!

Jan: Actually the word credibility made me think of a question: what kinds of things do you like to see in a bibliography?

Debby: Glad you asked! We don't want to see any encyclopedias, and keep books for children down to a minimum. Nor do we want a splatter of Web sites. What we want is primary sources, scholarly books, books for adults, . . . interviews with experts. We really like those!

Debby: That's a good question! Just submit the story and let us read it on its own merits . . . we're pretty adept at breaking it into parts. If you're really clever, try sticking in a cliffhanger every 2,000 words or so.

Jan: Um...back to the bibliography. About interviews with experts -- would y'all like to have a transcript of the whole interview for fact checking?

Debby: I never heard of such a thing, but of course I'd LOVE that! What we usually like to know is that the person interviewed a real, live, working professional and that the professional vetted the article and would be willing to answer any questions and maybe provide photos.

Debby: We used to a couple of years ago when Marc Aronson was our publisher. Now it's strictly fiction.

Debby: We just did one on a woman airplane pilot, so the answer is yes. We've also done musicians and scientists, and if you can combine a career piece with a profile of an interesting person , that's a plus.

Debby: The word count range for CRICKET fiction is 1,500 to 2,000 words; for nonfiction, it's 1,200 to 1,500 words and we like disability fiction submissions as long as it's a story about someone who just happens to have a disability and not about the disability itself ... h'm, is that distinction sort of clear?

Jan: Sounds clear to me.

Debby: Gillian Richardson, a Canadian author, is great at this. She'll write a fiction story that has a semi-documentary feel . . .about an animal eluding a predator, or escaping a fire and she's writing factually but it's fiction. Don't use a fictional story as a vehicle for teaching, though, for example, a child goes to visit Grandpa, who takes the opportunity to teach him all about tarantulas . . . in that case, a nonfiction article would be MUCH better. Less artificial.

Debby: That is a question that has occupied great minds for centuries. It's all over the map -- as low as ten, believe it or not! Jan suggested 12 and up; for CICADA we say 14 and up, it seems to be, realistically, young teens, but I think it should be more 15 or 16. It's not cast in stone.

Debby: Sure, why not? Are we assuming that the author of the article is the author of the mid-grade novel . . . or was just inspired by a nonfiction article? Inspiration can come from lots of sources, including what is read.

Debby: CRICKET magazine doesn't accept queries; we prefer to see the whole story or article. For Cricket Books I love something really complete: a synopsis, two or three sample chapters, a letter mentioning possible markets . . . anything that gives you, as the author, special expertise in the subject matter in the novel . . .the more you can offer to give a complete, yet succinct, picture is good.

Jan: So...tell me, what is your favorite thing about editing stuff for teens?

Debby: Characterization, have I said that before? I love the complexity of the plotting, characterization, and the voice that appeals to teens . . . edgy, satirical, irreverent, humorous . . . or just dealing with issues we've all faced, such as boy/girl relations, social injustice . . . coming of age . . . you can write for teens at an adult level . . . the sophistication appeals to me.

Jan: So what kinds of letters do you get from your readers at Cicada -- what do they say they want?

Debby: They want humor ("Even teens need their daily dose of humor," said one reader.) We've also got a really active debate going on in our Letters pages about censorship . . . some think we should clean up the language and references to SEX but most realize that teens need to learn about these adult issues . . . and want us to present reality in CICADA because they need to know in order to be functioning adults.

Debby: We hope our authors are reading the Letterbox pages and paying attention! And, yes, we keep our antennae up for things are readers ask for. Right now many of them want stories about "Christendom," not in a heavy religious sense but in the form of historical fiction or history . . . such as the lives of saints . . . or a confronation between a king and a pope . . .our Christian readers say we need to give equal time to them because we do lots of Jewish and Muslim stories . . . so pay attention, authors : )

Debby: Our readers feel it's important to talk about homosexuality in CICADA, and we've run fiction from time to time that deals with lesbi-gay issues. Again, we're looking for strong fiction with good characterization . . . many teens are struggling with gender issues, and we respect all our readers enormously. So yes for CICADA, no for the younger magazines because they're really not ready to deal with sexual issues.

Debby: Every year the editors sit around a big table with lots of food and plan the next year's issues--roughly speaking. However, we don't share this secret information with our authors because we want them to write what excites them, not write to order and there's an amazing thing that happens . . . we always have stories and articles that fall neatly into themes . . . it works like a dream!

Jan: But some of the larger Cricket group do have very specific themes -- the Cobblestone leg...and um...Click and Ask I think. Do you know when they get shared with the scribbling masses?

Debby: Oh, yes! We do do other magazines, don't we? I don't know . . . check the Web site: www.cricketmag.com.

Debby: An excellent question! Thanks for asking. We like characters to be 15 or 16--in the middle of our readership range. We get too many stories with 14 year olds. Think higher, older.

Jan: And that brings us to the end of the this session of "stump the editor" -- and you did a brilliant job. Jeopardy level or higher. I'm so glad you came.

Debby: Wow, thanks. I'm speechless. Thanks to you all. You've been GREAT--terrific questions.

Jan: Yes, I'd like to thank everyone for coming and for sending in such great questions.