Thursday, May 22 -- Harold Underdown
"Down the Publishing Path"
Harold Underdown, editor and writer of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books will be with us to help us understand all the steps along the publishing path and how to walk it more smoothly. To learn more about Harold, check out http://www.underdown.org

May 22, 2008:

“Down the Publishing Path" with Harold Underdown

Remember, to send any questions for Harold, just drop an email to
jan.fields@forums.institutechildrenslit.com or WebEditor@institutechildrenslit.com.
Come and hear Harold:
Thursday evening, May 22, 2008
9-11 p.m. Atlantic
8-10 p.m. Eastern
7-9 p.m. Central
6-8 p.m. Mountain
5-7 p.m. Pacific

NOTE: All transcripts are archived! The archive contains more than six years' worth of full-length interview transcripts on topics such as "Writing Mysteries," "Writing Biographies for Young People," "Writing About Animals," "Sports Stories for Kids," "Creating Characters," "Turning Interviews into Sales," "Creating Successful Critique Groups," "How to Get the Most out of Your Writer's Conference," "How to Jump-Start Your Writing," "Writing Wild and Wonderful Nonfiction," "Writing for Children in Many Genres" and much other good advice and many tips for writers.

All Open Forums are now Open Topic -- So bring in all writing questions you might have and moderator Jan Fields will do her best to find answers for you!
NEW TRANSCRIPTS THIS WEEK Newest Open Forum Transcript for April 25th: http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws09/200804252100_stage1_event.shtml

AFTERNOON OPEN FORUM
Tuesday, May 13
One Hour
11Am Pacific
12NOON Mountain
1PM Central
2PM Eastern
3PM Atlantic.

NIGHT FORUM
Friday, May 30
NIGHT FORUM runs for one hour, beginning at
6 PM Pacific
7 PM Mountain
8 PM Central
9 PM Eastern
10 PM Atlantic.

In the chat room.

6. Blog

The YA NOVEL AND ME

http://notjazz.livejournal.com/

This is Gail Giles journal and she's an amazing writer, so it's great for that reason. And she and I had the same agent for a while (not that she knows that) but that makes us practically sisters -- okay, not really, but I don't have that much to brag about these days. But the blog is great and well worth the read.

7. MARKET NEWS

MY LIGHT
http://mylightmagazine.tripod.com/ A new Catholic-themed magazine for children to age 12. From editor, Jennifer Gladen: "I'm aiming for the first issue to come out in August, but could use some contributors. It is a non paying market as of now. I hope to change that as the magazine becomes a success. If you could pass this information on to your readers, I'd appreciate it. Thank you for your time."

8. ARTICLE: THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING FOR CHILDREN

One of the off-putting thing about writing for children is the general perception that you're doing it because you aren't "ready" to write for adults. As someone who has published for both children and adults -- let me say that children's writing is not easier. In many ways it is much harder. When an adult writes for adults, he is assuming a readership that is similar to him in many ways. An adult writer can focus virtually all of his energy on the article or story content. When you are writing for children, you are writing for an audience that is fundamentally different from yourself.

Children have different perceptions, different vocabularies and different social styles than adults. And a child today exists in a different culture than the child you remember being. The world of a child is not identical to the world of an adult. Therefore, writing for children is similar to writing for a different culture. Saying that children's writing is a stepping stone to writing for adults is like saying that playing professional soccer is a stepping stone to playing professional basketball. Despite surface similarities, you are dealing with two totally different things. When writing for children, the writer faces all the challenges of a writer for adults - good story, good characterization, strong plot, compelling conflict, logical presentation - but adds in the difficulties of reaching a group with little personal history, and somewhat limited reading ability. Into that add, incredibly tight word counts. Can you imagine requiring Michael Crichton to write a story that is just as compelling, just as well researched, with as much character depth and plot levels - but to do it in 1/3 the word count? Suddenly, you are asking a writer not just to scrutinize his plot, characters and pacing; but also to look critically at every single word. That is the dilemma of a children's writer.

If you are certain that children's writing is something you want passionately to do, be prepared for real work. Unless you happen to be a Hollywood celebrity, publication is challenging and requires determination and professionalism, and there are few short cuts. First, you begin by reading. Truly great writers have one absolute thing in common - they read. To be a great children's writer means that you read children's books. Vague memories of the books you loved as a child will not suffice in today's market. Although there is still plenty of room for the classics, today's publishers want books reflecting today's marketing needs. And you follow up by writing. Writing even when the first things you write do not sell, because writing is part of what makes you a better writer. A writer isn't defined by the hope to be published, a writer is defined by writing.

Okay, it's a stressful journey. Is there any good news? Why do people stay in this business? The pay is generally lower than writing for adults. You get more rejection than a teenager at prom time. Why do writers do it?

Children's writing is an incredibly important field. Whether the general population appreciates children's writers or not - the children do. Many children's writers can remember books from their own childhoods that opened new worlds and taught them new secrets about themselves. Children's books touch readers who are totally open to new experiences, new information and new ideas. Children's books educate, entertain and transport their readers. The children's book is one of the last bits of magic left in the world and true children's writers feel both honored and awed to be able to contribute to this special body of literature. Simply put, we do it for the readers and because we cannot imagine not doing it.

It's not easy, but after having trained in and published in the easier adult field, I cannot imagine going back to it. What other profession offers me a chance to give such a gift to the future? I hold children's writers in high esteem and I'm honored to have a small place in their ranks. I hope you are too.

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9. REMINDERS

OPEN FORUMS: Open Forums with Jan Fields occur in the Auditorium "room" of our chat.

For help in using the CHAT ROOM, you can check out the CHAT ROOM FAQ or go straight to the article: I WANT TO CHAT -- SHOW ME HOW! If you're still stumped, you can use The Help Desk for a direct connection to our technician, Frank Ball, for help with your particular computer system.

Catch "Friends Waiting for You" by Anne Marie Pace about how to use the WRITER'S RETREAT, ICL's discussion board, to visit with other children's writers.

To Unsubscribe from the email version of Childrens Writer eNews, go to the following URL (or paste it into your browser): http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/email_updates_unsubscribe.shtml

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