| mel
boring |
The Word of the Forum
today is "harangue." Want to look it up now?
|
| mel
boring |
The Tuesday afternoon
"Open Forum" will begin promptly at 4 Atlantic/CANADA, 3 p.m.
Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, 1 p.m. Mountain, and noon Pacific. While
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QUESTION button RIGHT BETWEEN THE YELLOW "MAP" AND THE RED QUESTION
MARK IN ICHAT to post some questions for the discussion group-two
minutes from now.
|
| mel
boring |
Good afternoon! Welcome
to this Tuesday afternoon's "Open Forum" session. I'm your
moderator, Mel Boring, and the Web Editor for this site. We're back
for an informal time of answering any questions you might like to
ask, on any subject. So feel free to ask what's on your mind--and
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|
| mel
boring |
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:
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Question" icon/button. (It looks like a thought bubble icon, RIGHT
NEXT TO THE RED QUESTION MARK.) The moderator (me, Mel Boring) will
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|
| mel
boring |
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|
| mel
boring |
Hello, and a SPECIAL
REQUEST today! Last week several people let me know
that...
|
| mel
boring |
people were chatting on
the screen. PLEASE, don't type into the slot at the bottom and send
out...
|
| mel
boring |
because it mixes in
with the questions and answers....
|
| mel
boring |
If you want to talk to
someone else here, PLEASE Private Message them, so it won't show up
on all of our screens--and THANK YOU!!!...
|
| mel
boring |
First, in answer to a
question left over last Tuesday:...
|
| mel
boring |
MEA CULPA from Mel:
I've used "prolly" without even thinking about it, and have just
been asked a good question: "What does it mean?" Sorry, and today
I'll let you know!
|
| mel
boring |
"MEA CULPA" means,
basically, "my apology," and...
|
| mel
boring |
I use "prolly" as an
abbreviation for "probably." But I WON'T use it anymore--promise,
omise, domise!
|
| mel
boring |
GOOD NEWS from
rosehips: I will be contributing a short story for children every
month to my church's newsletter. I'm so happy to have this
opportunity!
|
| mel
boring |
That is INDEED a GREAT
OPPORTUNITY, rosehips, and we are all PROUD of you,
friend!...
|
| mel
boring |
That will make you
published, and be a GREAT BOON to getting you on your way to FURTHER
publishing!!!
|
| mel
boring |
Marlene Moore of
Northwest Writers sent us this GOOD NEWS for newly and
self-published authors in the Northwest: We feature and help to
promote new and self-published books by the authors of Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Alaska & BC, Canada.
|
| mel
boring |
So, if you live in
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska or British Columbis, there is a
GOLDEN opportunity for you! AND THANK YOU, Marlene, for letting us
know!
|
| mel
boring |
Jo Wallace kindly let
us know about the 2006 Children Book Market we wondered about last
week: "Because there was a question on this, I wanted to let you
know that I have recieved my 2006 CHILDREN'S BOOK MARKET from the
Institute. It came yesterday after we had finished Open Forum. I
figured that you would want to past this on to the
others.
|
| mel
boring |
THANK YOU, Jo! If Jo
with a "W" last name received the book already,...
|
| mel
boring |
we "B's" should also
receive it soon! NO, they DON'T do it in alphabetical order! I'll be
eager to see MY copy!
|
| mel
boring |
The Word of the Forum
is "harangue." Want to send me the daffynition?
|
| mel
boring |
First
question:...
|
| mel
boring |
SS e-mailed to ask: I
was sent an e-mail by Tate Publishing. Do you know anything about
this publisher? Their Web Site says: "Tate Publishing &
Enterprises, LLC, is a Christian based, family owned, main-line
publishing organization with a mission to discover unknown authors,"
SS.
|
| mel
boring |
SS, I found NO specific
details of book deals on their Web Site,...
|
| mel
boring |
so I'm thinking they
must be SOME kind of "subsidy publisher," whereat you put up SOME of
the money,...
|
| mel
boring |
OR you take very little
or no money up front....
|
| mel
boring |
Their UNIQUEness is
that they are Christian based, as they say....
|
| mel
boring |
I'm sorry we can't get
more details, but YOU can, SS, by e-mailing them and
asking....
|
| mel
boring |
And will you PLEASE let
me know what you find out, so I can tell others here?
THANKS!
|
| mel
boring |
Meanwhile, SS, here is
a heads-up e-mail from gladys1, who has checked into Tate
Publishing:...
|
| gladys1 |
Mel Tate Publishing is a
vanity publication. I found that out a while ago. They say they are
not but they are
|
| mel
boring |
By that "vanity" term,
gladys1 means that YOU as the author subsidize the publishing of
your book...
|
| mel
boring |
In the days BEFORE the
RECENT advances in self-publishing,...
|
| mel
boring |
wherein some publishers
pay you a small fee for your book,...
|
| mel
boring |
or otherwise help you
financially, publishing was totally expensive,...
|
| mel
boring |
and a book cost about
five thousand to ten thousand dollars to
publish....
|
| mel
boring |
therefore, they were
called "vanity publishers," because only people who would put up so
much money became published,...
|
| mel
boring |
and they were said to
be "vain," going to "vanity publishers."...
|
| mel
boring |
HOWEVER, today, with
advances in printing technology, there are OTHER alternatives that
are NOT vain....
|
| mel
boring |
Such as, a publisher
footing the entire publishing expense,...
|
| mel
boring |
and even paying modest
royalties sometimes.
|
| mel
boring |
rls wants to know: When
submitting a manuscript to an editor, where does the author put
their name? Right under the title? on every page submitted? Should
the
|
| on every
page |
|
| mel
boring |
First of all, rls, your
name goes in the UPPER LEFT corner of page 1....
|
| mel
boring |
Then, just below the
TITLE, it should say "by..." with your name....
|
| mel
boring |
Then on EVERY page in
the UPPER LEFT corner should go...
|
| mel
boring |
BOTH your NAME and the
TITLE of the book or story or article....
|
| mel
boring |
And the reason WHY your
name should go on every page is,...
|
| mel
boring |
since manuscript pages
are not stapled or clipped,...
|
| mel
boring |
if they fall to the
floor, they won't lose track of WHO you are, with your name on every
page.
|
| mel
boring |
Now, about
"harangue"...
|
| spotslover2 |
Harangue is what I'm
doing to my bank, because they messed up our bank account. It means
to scold or berate.
|
| southpaw |
Hi mel it means a long,
blustering speech, tirade
|
| mewf |
Harangue I could harangue
all day long, but know we are short on time. (lengthy speech,
especially a pompous ir bombastic one,)
|
| caq |
Harangue to scold,
criticize, berate. I am haranguing that stupid blue paint in my new
house because it won't come off!!!!! Good thing it can't sass
back.
|
| mel
boring |
YOU ALL have GOT
it!...
|
| mel
boring |
Meanwhile, I'll try NOT
to harangue here!!! No long, blustering tirades!
|
| mel
boring |
Here's more about Tate
Publishing from others:...
|
| caq |
I thought I heard Tate
connected with vanity press also.
|
| crabby
j |
Mel - Tate is a vanity
press for sure
|
| wenscritters |
I met an author who used
Tate, she put up no moneyto publish
|
| mel
boring |
So check Tate out, SS,
and if they don't ask for money up front, they may be the one for
you!...
|
| mel
boring |
And THANK YOU, caq,
crabby j and wenscritters for your help!!!
|
| mewf |
Mel, I have a question
for those of us that haven't received our CHILDREN'S BOOK MARKET yet
with out course instructions. Will we get the new 2006 book when it
is time to get our thrid set of course-work?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, you WILL, mewf,
since ICL always sends the LATEST marketing books with that course
part.
|
| mel
boring |
LH needs to know: I
recently signed a work for hire contract with a local newspaper
|
| healthcare pieces
I do for them monthly. The |
|
| request a change
in rights for individual stories after publication. The stories run
in the newspaper's lifestyle magazine and are posted on their Web
Site. Now I'd like to get one of the stories reprinted |
|
| I just be asking
to own the reprint rights at |
|
|
|
| mel
boring |
FIRST of all, LH,
CONGRATULATIONS on your GOOD NEWS!!!...
|
| mel
boring |
It looks like you are
giving Gannett ONLY First Rights and Electronic
Rights,...
|
| mel
boring |
since they publish your
pieces in their hard copy magazine and on their Web
Site....
|
| mel
boring |
So that means they
could reassign all OTHER rights to you....
|
| mel
boring |
First of all, yes, DO
ask for Reprint Rights--or they're also sometimes called Second
Rights....
|
| mel
boring |
That will allow you to
REsell your articles as MANY times as you can....
|
| mel
boring |
Also, I would suggest
asking Gannett if their Electronic Rights are ONLY
first-time-only...
|
| mel
boring |
If so, you could sell
the pieces to other Web Sites....
|
| mel
boring |
But MY guess is that an
organization like Gannett would have purchased ALL Electronic
Rights....
|
| mel
boring |
But REPRINT RIGHTS are
all you really need to give further life to your articles,
LH!
|
| caq |
Mel, I am on lesson 10
and hope to continue on with the book or Beyond Basic if
recommended. Should I hold off purchasing the 2006 book and magazine
guides? Do they come with either of those courses?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, I would hold off,
caq, because the book DOES come with the Book
Course....
|
| mel
boring |
And I think also with
the Beyond the Basics course also, my friend.
|
| susan
ralston |
how to find types of
stories in a mag. for past few yrs.
|
| susan
ralston |
Ex: dog stories in
Highlights for past 1-3 yrs.
|
| mel
boring |
First, HIGHLIGHTS. At
the end of the year, they USED to include with the December
issue...
|
| mel
boring |
a listing of all the
stories and articles and poems published in the previous
year....
|
| mel
boring |
But check that out,
susan, by looking at past December issues of
HIGHLIGHTS....
|
| mel
boring |
In the reference
section of LARGER libraries, they'll have an annual big book that
lists ALL the stories and articles published...
|
| mel
boring |
in children's
magazines. I haven't used it for a LONG time,...
|
| mel
boring |
but a reference
librarian will know what you want if you explain it to them,
susan.
|
| mel
boring |
ANOTHER happy reader of
our Dell's PICTURE BOOK with a recommendation:...
|
| rosehips |
Mel, I recommend dell's
book to all! I just love it.
|
| mel
boring |
Dell, if you're here,
can you remind me of the TITLE of your book so I can tell chatsters,
please?
|
| caq |
If you resell an article
because you kept Reprint or Second Rights, what rights do you sell
then? They aren't first rights and you will still want to ratain the
Rerpint RIghts when you sell to the second publisher, so what rights
do they purchase?
|
| mel
boring |
You can sell Reprint
Rights as MANY times as you can, caq....
|
| mel
boring |
Technically, Second
Rights are the publishing of the piece for the SECOND
TIME....
|
| mel
boring |
But that term is
passing out of use in favor of REPRINT RIGHTS...
|
| mel
boring |
So if a company offered
you just SECOND RIGHTS back for your story or article, as them to
reassign you (it's called) Reprint Rights.
|
| mel
boring |
Reprint Rights are the
rights you sell whenEVER the piece is REprinted....
|
| mel
boring |
Publishers understand
that, and of course REprint rights are like "printing money," when
you continue to sell the piece to be REprinted.
|
| caq |
Mel, I just sent my third
copy of Dell's book, "How Will I Ever Sleep In This Bed" to my
great-niece this morning. Can't wait til she gets it. My niece will
love the humor and my 18 mos great niece will love the illustrations
now and the humor later.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, caq, and for
that great recommendation!....
|
| mel
boring |
HOW WILL I EVER SLEEP
IN THIS BED is the title, and there are GREAT illustrations and
humor!
|
| mel
boring |
Another word about Tate
Publishing, proving that All of Us Are Smarter than Any of
Us!...
|
| crabby
j |
Mel - Tate is a vanity
press for sure
|
| mel
boring |
Thank you,
cj!
|
| arnalda |
Hi, Mel! If I have photos
to submit along with an article,
|
| arnalda |
how should I label them?
On the back of the photo?
|
| arnalda |
Should I use a special
pen?
|
| mel
boring |
Hi, arnalda! Yes, label
the photos on the BACK,...
|
| mel
boring |
and use a SPECIAL pen.
Ask for it at a LARGER stationers, one that writes withOUT making
dents that show on the front of the photo...
|
| mel
boring |
THEY will know what you
mean, and either have it or can order you one.
|
| wee willie
winkie |
Is there a certain amount
of time between reprinting?
|
| mel
boring |
No, there isn't, wee
willie winkie...
|
| mel
boring |
because the publishers
who buy Reprint Rights are USUALLY NONoverlapping, don't publish in
each other's territory. So they can come quite close
together....
|
| mel
boring |
and those I've sold
have come as close as, let's see, one year apart, if I remember
right.
|
| pjhausman |
Mel, arnalda should check
publisher's gguidelines about ...
|
| pjhausman |
photos. Some publishers
want digital now.
|
| mel
boring |
A GOOD point,
pjhausman! And THANKS for mentioning it!...
|
| mel
boring |
MOST of the publishers
I've dealt with in the past FIVE years wanted DIGITAL
photos....
|
| mel
boring |
Digital photos are
simply electronically produced, and you can...
|
| mel
boring |
send them via e-mail,
VERY easily....
|
| mel
boring |
If someone wants
DIGITAL photos, it's good to ask them WHAT RESOLUTION they want, by
the way....
|
| mel
boring |
The ones I've most
recently sent wanted this resolution: .JPG, 600
DPI....
|
| mel
boring |
What that means is the
FORMAT is .JPG (there are also .BMP and .GIF, but .JPG is most
common.)...
|
| mel
boring |
And the 600 DPI means
"600 dots per inch," or a FAIRLY high
resolution....
|
| mel
boring |
600 is not the HIGHEST
resolution, but high enough for reproduction....
|
| mel
boring |
Also, 600 DPI images
are EASIER to send via e-mail....
|
| mel
boring |
Images take longer to
send, and HIGHEST RESOLUTION images take the
longest.
|
| mel
boring |
I hope this all helps,
arnalda!
|
| mel
boring |
Here is a long but GOOD
passage of advice from crabby j, who has had a VERY enlightening
publishing experience:...
|
| crabby
j |
I wanted to share a
personal experience that is relevant
|
| crabby
j |
to all us writers new to
the marketing/business side of
|
| crabby
j |
writing...I had been
waiting nearly 2 weeks for my
|
| crabby
j |
payment for my story in
the San Francisco Chronicle Mag. -
|
| crabby
j |
finally, I emailed the
editor w/ a polite inquiry. She
|
| crabby
j |
asked me when I'd
"invoiced" her...oops. I thought the
|
| crabby
j |
check would just show up!
Anyway, she mentored me a bit
|
| crabby
j |
and told me to always
ask, as soon as a sale occurs,
|
| crabby
j |
to cofirm payment amount,
ask should an invoice be sent,
|
| crabby
j |
and if a W-9/other info
in relevant to the publisher for the
|
| crabby
j |
transaction. She said new
authors' biggest mistake
|
| crabby
j |
is failing to learn the
"non-writing", business side...
|
| crabby
j |
getting paid. Sorry this
is so long, but I wanted others to
|
| crabby
j |
hear my
story...
|
| crabby
j |
Excel has excellent
invoice templates...
|
| mel
boring |
NO PROBLEM, the lengty,
crabby j!...
|
| mel
boring |
And THANK YOU for
sharing!...
|
| mel
boring |
Invoicing is quite
common with LARGE newspapers like the Chronicle,...
|
| mel
boring |
AND with LARGE
companies, period. By the by, crabby j, CONGRATULATIONS again on
that WHALE OF A SALE, friend!
|
| omalizzie |
How do I outline a PB? Is
it the same as an article or story?
|
| mel
boring |
It's the same as a
story, omalizzie,...
|
| mel
boring |
and what is best is a
SENTENCE OUTLINE,...
|
| mel
boring |
rather than a "Roman
Numeral" outline....
|
| mel
boring |
The sentence outline of
a picture book will be a precis, or shorter telling of the story
line. GOOD question!
|
| arnalda |
Thanks again,
Mel!
|
| mel
boring |
You are WARMLY WELCOME,
arnalda, and we have ALL learned because of your good
question!
|
| wvstoryteller |
Arnalda also needs to see
if negative are preferred.
|
| mel
boring |
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT,
wvstoryteller! And THANKS!...
|
| mel
boring |
With SOME publishers,
their reproduction/bookmaking processes uses the NEGATIVES of
photos, rather than the regular print photos.
|
| caq |
On Tate Publishing's
website they say they are NOT a vanity press ONLY because they don't
accept every manuscript, they fail to say they don't expect the
author to pay anything towards the publishing of the book. Very open
to interpretation if you ask me. Vanity press is menitoned on their
site by them and only denied because of not accepting all
manuscripts.
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, caq, GOOD
sleuthing! Probably the only way to find out details is to submit a
manuscript to them,...
|
| mel
boring |
and a writer would
prolly not want to do that....
|
| mel
boring |
One other "clue" that
occurs to me. THe question asker said they HEARD FROM
Tate...
|
| mel
boring |
and I think that
NON-subsidy publishers would probably NOT contact you
FIRST.
|
| gladys1 |
thanks Mel I didn't know
any of that. appreciate the info about picture
sending
|
| mel
boring |
You are WARMLY WELCOME,
gladys1!
|
| arnalda |
Yes, it helps, Mel!
Thanks! Unfortunately, I have an old
|
| arnalda |
Nikon and I'm horribly
un-technical! I have a lot to learn!
|
| arnalda |
OK, I have another
photo-related question...
|
| arnalda |
If I put a series of
pic's on a CD (allowing the editor to
|
| arnalda |
see a variety on the same
subject), is this a pain
|
| arnalda |
in the neck for editors?
I heard an art director comment
|
| arnalda |
that she dosn't like
artwork to be sent on CD's
|
| mel
boring |
Putting PHOTOS or
images on a CD would not be a problem...
|
| mel
boring |
for most editors,
unless they don't have a CD player (and that has only happened to me
ONCE, arnalda!)...
|
| mel
boring |
but ARTWORK would be
different, because it could be distorted on the
CD....
|
| mel
boring |
It's VERY difficult to
create an image of artwork that is not the artwork
itself...
|
| mel
boring |
THAT is why that art
director would not want artwork on CD....
|
| mel
boring |
But for photos/images,
they usually LOVE it, because THEY are not
distorted.
|
| caq |
Mel, Is it normal for an
inteviewee to want to see the article to okay it before submitting?
I can see why one of my psychologists I interviewed would want that
because their name is attached to it, but what happens if a
publisher buys it then wants edits done? Does the interviewee then
get the article again to approve?
|
| mel
boring |
It's not what I would
call
|
| mel
boring |
"normal.
|
| mel
boring |
caq, and that is
why...
|
| mel
boring |
I NEVER offer to let
them okay a manuscript....
|
| mel
boring |
If they ASK, then I
will comply, telling them that I'll do it
PROVIDING...
|
| mel
boring |
that they can hold to
the deadline at which I must submit....
|
| mel
boring |
I have only had ONE
interviewee in 35 years ASK to be allowed to OK...
|
| mel
boring |
SO it's best not to
mention it, but do meet them halfway if they DO ask on their
own...
|
| mel
boring |
IF there is, say,
technical info, they might HAVE to have "OK
Rights."...
|
| mel
boring |
and you might WANT them
to, for accuracy's sake....
|
| mel
boring |
And yes, if the editor
changes things, it must go back to the person...
|
| mel
boring |
who got OK Rights to be
reviewed again....
|
| mel
boring |
But I have seen VERY
little of this in my time, caq.
|
| arnalda |
Ditto for
editors?
|
| mel
boring |
Yes, ditto what I said
for editors, arnalda.
|
| omalizzie |
Some of Carus Publishings
Magazines ask that your manuscript be sent on floppy disc in Mac or
Word text only...what does this mean today...I don't have a mac
computer and no floppy disc drive...Isn't Word, text only, what my
manuscript is written in with Microsoft Word?
|
| mel
boring |
THANKS, omalizzie, GOOD
experience to share with us, friend!...
|
| mel
boring |
And GOOD
question!...
|
| mel
boring |
SOME offices have Macs
and others (most of them) have PC computers....
|
| mel
boring |
If they have a PC, they
will want WORD....
|
| mel
boring |
You MIGHT be able to
CONVERT Word files ON YOUR PC....
|
| mel
boring |
Microsoft Word has
conversion processes on their word processing
programs...
|
| mel
boring |
But I haven't done that
in a long time, so check Word's Helps files,
omalizzie.
|
| mel
boring |
What you could ALSO do,
is ask a friend with a Mac to put your manuscript on a CD or floppy
disk using their Mac....
|
| mel
boring |
No, Word is NOT just
text; it has all kinds of symbols in the programming which must be
read...
|
| mel
boring |
But check out your Word
program to see if you have
|
| mel
boring |
"conversion files" to
use.
|
| mel
boring |
I have to leave, I'm
sorry. THANK YOU for being here, and for ALL the GREAT info you've
shared today!...
|
| mel
boring |
No harangues here,
folks, just HURRAHS for all you've done!...
|
| mel
boring |
THIS Thursday evening,
Pegi Deitz Shea will be our Chat Guest,....
|
| mel
boring |
about writing
historical and biographical picture books,...
|
| mel
boring |
which she is WELL
published in doing!...
|
| mel
boring |
Hope to "see you"
Thursday, and THANKS for
coming!
|
