Instititute of Children's Literature

Event start time:	Tue Sep 27 10:21:27 2005
Event end time:	Tue Sep 27 15:20:56 2005

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Questions from the Audience are presented in red.
Answers by the Speaker are in black.
The Moderator's comments are in blue.

mel boring	Join us this afternoon in the AUDITORIUM-Scheduled Events Room for an "Open Forum" with Web Editor Mel Boring. Mel has published some 25 magazine articles and stories, as well as eight books for the young readers market. He taught writing for 18 years, while being home husband and parent to two of his four children, and doing his own writing. He welcomes your questions on time management, getting started, writer's block, marketing, writing rights, writing earnings, or anything else you'd like to discuss. Bring your QUESTIONS to this open forum-in five minutes.
	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 you wait for the "Open Forum" to start, feel free to use your ASK A 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.
	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 I'll tell you what's on mine! First, please read these announcements, then we'll get started….
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mel boring	Judging from ALL the GOOD NEWS I've received, you children's writers have REALLY been busy!!!...
	GOOD NEWS from Marcia Berneger: I submitted a story I wrote for an ICL assignment to the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE and they just printed it last Sunday on the front page of a section called "Passages"! It was really great to finally see my name in print! Yeah! Thank you Pegi (my writing coach from ICL)!
mel boring	CONGRATULATIONS, Marcia!!! The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE is a BIG byline for you!!!...
	I also reminded Marcia when I answered her e-mail...
	that Pegi Deitz Shea will be our CHAT GUEST on Thursday, October 13--and I hope you can ALL be there for that!
mel boring	GOOD NEWS from Sarah Maury Swan: Thanks to your announcing "peanut's" call for recipes, my chocolate fruit dip will appear in JUST FOR MOM's fall recipe collection.
mel boring	HEARTY CONGRATS, Sarah! Your chocolate fruit dip sounds DEEEEEElicious! Way to go, and EARLY, soon after that announcement!
mel boring	TB has this GOOD NEWS: I just received my first submission/first reject back, it was an article for HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN. They had ticked off not suited to our present needs and too much description. BUT—then at the bottom in handwriting someone wrote “But thank you for thinking of us with your work.” Is this encouraging—or does HIGHLIGHTS like to make our rejects a little less painful, even though it was my first submission and therefore expected!? :0)
mel boring	TB may not have thought of this as GOOD NEWS, but it IS!...
	NO, neither HIGHLIGHTS nor any other children's magazine takes the time to write a note like that...
	unless they LIKE your work. So DO submit to them soon again, TB--and CONGRATULATIONS!
mel boring	Donna Marie West has done it AGAIN, with this GOOD NEWS: Last week I told you my article "When Your Horse is a Runaway Train" was in the latest issue of HORSEPOWER. What I didn't know then (I got a surprise when I received my copy of the magazine today) was that a second article, entitled, "A Case of Colic" is also in the same issue (one in the Riding section and the other in Health). That was a great surprise and the cheque was pretty nice, too!
	WAY TO GO THRICE, Donna Marie West!!!...
	GOOD NEWS can come in THREES, and even fours!...
	Donna is an expert about horses, as you've probably gathered. Keep up the GOOD NEWS, Donna!
mel boring	Julie Crabtree has this GOOD NEWS on TOP of GOOD NEWS: My SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE piece published today. What a fantastic, weird thing to see one's first byline! I seem to have proper star alignment or something today, as
	I also received word of acceptance from a magazine for another piece. The magazine is called MOTHERVERSE; it's fairly new to the magazine scene...think Brain, Child but a bit more accessible. I would suggest that others might try submitting to Motherverse before it gets too big and popular (and I believe it will, personally.). Anyway, a small feather for the hat, but a feather nonetheless. I'll take it!
mel boring	First, Julie gets a piece published in the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE today,...
	THEN gets news of acceptance at MOTHERVERSE. CONCONCONGRATULATIONS, Julie!...
	I didn't know of MOTHERVERSE, so I'm pleased you told us all about her! THANK YOU!!!
	This GOOD NEWS from Chris Weigand: I just wanted to share with all of you something that God, myself and some very beautiful women have been working on for the last couple of months. Recently I recieved an email from a new online magazine entitled Hope For Women. The magazine will have its debut issue on October 2005 and I will have articles in the January and June 2006 issues as well as being the spotlight woman in June. I have also been asked to be a contributing writer so hopefully more of my stuff will be seen on this publication. The website which just recently launched is www.hopeforwomenmag.com. The editor, publisher, staff and writers along with myself and God are very excited about this endeavor and hope that you will go to the site, subscribe and then read the magazine after our launch in October. If you enjoy the publication then I hope you will share it with everyone you know and help to spread God's wonderful words with the world. Thank you for your time and I'll be talking to all of you soon.
mel boring	CONGRATULATIONS, Chris!!! Your STRONG editorial abilities are obviously being recognized all over the Internet!...
	I'll be looking for HOPE FOR WOMEN, which I hadn't heard about till you told us...
	And we'll ESPECIALLY be looking for your articles there in 2006!!! CONGRATULATIONS!
mel boring	Here is a follow-up to the question caq asked previously about the Children's Literary Agency....
	Chitra Soundar is a contributor of articles to our ICL Web Site, and KINDly sent this response to caq's good question:...
	Chitra Soundar sent us some hands-on information about the Children's Literary Agency, which we talked about in Monday's announcement Q&As: I didn't know what CLA was when I approached them. But I knew there was nothing called free lunch. Anyway, I sent them a mail according to the advertisement and I got a note back. Then I had a specific question and they asked me to submit my manuscript etc. Until then, I was still not sure and looking for the catch. And then the next mail came back with the catch - you pay so much and they review your manuscript and send it out etc., and I stopped right there.
mel boring	Now, not only do we have info from the Children's Literary Agency being put on a black list,...
	but some PERSONAL EXPERIENCE about them from Chitra. THANK YOU, Chitra!
mel boring	Before I forget (AGAIN!) here is the Word of the Forum for today:...
	It is "odious." Anyone know what it means? Message me and let me know.
harm	Hi Mel, just wondering, if all graduates from the course are immediately offered a place in the advanced program or if indeed this is just for the top percentage of students.
mel boring	This is one of the questions I'm not really qualified to answer,...
	because I no longer am a course instructor,...
	but I did tell harm, and I'll tell others, that answers to course questions like this can be gotten from e-mailing this e-mail addy:...
	informationservices@institutechildrenslit.com
	Since I haven't taught the courses for five years now, I'm really to not qualified answer accurately.
casey	Good News: Yesterday I submitted an article to Kidwritermag and in the time I took to eat a sandwich and read the paper, it was accepted for the November issue.
mel boring	MORE GOOD NEWS, and MORE GOOD NEWS from casey!!!...
	CONGRATULATIONS, casey!!! That eat-a-meal acceptance was QUICK!...
	We are very proud of you, casey! And you know WHAT?...
	I am ESPECIALLY PERSONALLY PROUD of you because of the concern and care I KNOW you give other children's writers!!!....
	THAT is a GREAT VIRTUE, casey--and we ALL appreciate you for it! I’ll be looking to read the November issue of KidWriterMag to see your article, friend!
dell	I have good news to share. I finally have my web site up and running. It's www.DellaRossFerreri.com if you'd like to have a look. Thanks!
mel boring	HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS, dell!!!...
	I'll be visiting your Web Site as soon as I can....
	and here is a VERY positive recommendation for your book, HOW WILL I EVER SLEEP IN THIS BED?...
caq	Mel, I just want to tell everyone that Dell’s book,“How .... Will I Ever Sleep In This Bed” is truly wonderful!!!! ... I am not saying that simply because she is an.... ICL student, although I believe in supporting this group.... I have purchased 3; 1 for myself, 1 for my ... daughter-in-law (first yr teaching kindergarten) ... and 1 for my 1 yr old great niece. This is truly a funny .. entertaining book. I whole-heartedly recommend ... you all buy this book. I just can’t say enough good ... things about it. I love it.







mel boring	THANK YOU, caq--a recommendation like that from you we can take to the bank!...
	And CONGRATULATIONS again, Dell, from ALL of us!!!
crabby j	Hi Mel! When a publisher asks for clips/writing samples...
	what physical form should these take? Copies of the...
	published piece directly from the publication, or...
	an "original" printed-out version that notes the publication
	it appeared in/date?
mel boring	"Clips" is the name for actual "clippings" of pieces you've had published, crabby j....
	And they should be COPIES of the original--keep the original so you can copy it again....
	If you are submitting ONE sample, then I suggest sending the entire piece, all pages...
	If you have MORE samples to submit, say three or more,....
	then I suggest you only send a copy of THE FIRST PAGE of each of them....
	An editor just wants to catch the flavor of your writing, so incomplete pieces are perfectly OK.
	But don't send an original printed-out version, because it won't have the authenticity of a clip, crabby j.
gladys1	MEl does MOTHERVERSE have a website and if it does what is it please?
mel boring	Yes, it does, gladys1, and THANK YOU for asking for ALL of us!...
	MotherVerse is at: http://www.motherverse.com/
gladys1	Mel that is the one I asked you about and sent you something about it.
mel boring	THANK YOU, gladys1--GOOD to find out which one it is--GOOD for ME, too!
caq	Mel, I just want people to know that I have no intention of doing anything with CLA, someone on chat asked and I told them about the predators and they were going to do it anyway. I was just looking for more information so please no more private messages urging me to run the other way!!! LOL I appreciate the thoughts though.
mel boring	It wasn't really a private message, caq,...
	because so MANY people have asked about the CLA, though not as eloquently as YOU asked about it, friend....
	CLA has come up before, and even I didn't remember what was said about them,...
	so it's GOOD for ALL OF US that the word is out--and THANKS to YOU!
mel boring	Here is the Word of the Forum defined:
arnalda	Odious - Oh, that's disgusting!!!!!
mewf	Odious is another word for hateful, or detestable.
mel boring	arnalda, PERFECT response!!!...
mel boring	and you're absolutely right, mewf, odious is a very negative word!
grandy1983	I am in the revision stages of my novel, on lesson 7 in the book course, and I just wondered when I should stop revising and send it to my instructor? I know it will go through many other rewrites, but how much revision could I possibly do? I would be revising forever!
mel boring	Submit it NOW, grandy1983!...
	You will have more revision, you are right,...
	but let your instructor HELP on those revisions....
	You have worked LONG and HARD on this novel, I KNOW....
	So send it to your instructor, and let them help!
arnalda	arnalda e-mailed to ask: I'm in the process of writing an educational article on a fascinating, yet ordinary sea-creature. I intend to gear it to 2 to 5 year-olds, and thought it might be appropriate for the up-coming CHILDREN’S WRITER Contest. But the rules state that the subject matter should be "related to their (2 to 5 year-old's) neighborhood." Would a sea-creature story qualify? It's not part of the home, not a family member (though Darwin may think otherwise - heehee), it would only be in a seashore backyard, and would be in ANY ocean neighborhood. It's something that a 2 - 5 year old can EASILY observe while on vacation at a seashore. Should I submit it? Or maybe skip it and send to a magazine instead? hmmmm.




mel boring	arnalda, I THINK the CHILDREN'S WRITER contest has in mind the CLOSE home to the child,...
	their family, their back yard, their neighborhood at the farthest...
	And I don't think they would consider the sea creature part of the child's "home," being that the children are VERY young, age 2 to 5.
mel boring	arnalda also needs to know: I was looking at Crinkles Magazine website (www.crinkles.com ) and couldn't find out
	I found their address in my "Children's Writer Guide to 2005," where it suggested we look up their theme list. It looks like a fun magazine, so I want to do some digging. Do you know any more about them? Or if they no longer accept submissions?
mel boring	THANK YOU, arnalda, for telling me about this magazine I didn't know about, friend!!!...
	And I'm going to ask other people here: Do you know about CRINKLES MAGAZINE?...
	It has a MARVELOUS name, I think!...
	If anyone knows about it, let me know so I can let everyone know, OK?
	P.S.: I just went to CRINKLES' Web Site, arnalda, and I don't see any submissions guidelines either!
mel boring	ondevine asked some time ago, but we didn't answer the question: If a newspaper buys my article, can I still sell it to a magazine or are they considered the same medium?
	I began to answer this question, ondevine, but didn't finish, as I remember...
	YES, you can resell a newspaper article to a magazine....
	They are NOT the same medium, and SOMEtimes magazines DO pick up articles from newspapers to print...
	So by all means, ondevine, submit the piece to a magazine!
mel boring	JC needs to know: I am currently seeking permission to cite from several sources. This is my first venture into this arena. The responses I have gotten have made my poor little rookie-writer head swirl with questions. Specifically: they all request a "tear sheet." Is this just a copy of the article, if it is published? Another said "lifted" info. is fine, just no verbatim text. Does this mean I can paraphrase and reword? Lastly, if a source (a web site in this instance) does not respond, but their information is necessary to the piece, what is one to do? I can't cite them without permission, right?
mel boring	Here is a VERY needful question for anyone venturing into nonfiction writing....
	First of all you do NOT need to get permission SIMPLY for mentioning an article or a book or such....
	All you need permission for is when you QUOTE the piece directly....
	The one that said "no verbatim text" was hinting at this....
	that you need to get permission for using extensive passages from any one souce....
	Actually, the newest copyright law allows you go quote up to 50 words without permission...
	What you MIGHT be thinking of is CREDIT rather than PERMISSION, JC... rather than PERMISSION, ch
	So instead of writing everyone to ask permission, only ask permission from those you quote more extensively than just FIFTY words....
	And CREDIT any source you use....
	Credit is given by listing each source in a bibliography at the end of your article or book....
	That tells the world that you used that book or that article or that pamphlet....
	But PERMISSION isn't needed unless you quote extensively from one source OR use a picture from a source. I hope this helps.
arnalda	Thanks, Mel! I have to run, now - just broke my 2nd pair of glasses—oops!
mel boring	Oh no, I hope you can get replacements, arnalda!
caq	Mel Crinkiles is reorganizing. I talked to them about 4 months ago. Email Deborah Levitov, Managing Editor Crinkles, deborah.levitov@greenwood.com 402-261-4502 3401 Stockwell St., Lilncoln, NE 68506 as of 5/25/05
mel boring	THANK YOU, caq, for that word about CRINKLES! It'll be in the transcript of this forum, too.
mel boring	Here is MORE and VERY INTERESTING info about our Word of the Forum: "odious":...
tkat_2	a word well used in A "Christmas Carol" odious
casey	Odious - In the Bible Euodias and Syntyche couldn't get along - Paul had to straighten them out. I'll betcha Euodias needed a good long soak in a hot bath.
mel boring	THANK YOU, tkat_2! I didn't remember the word being in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, but Dickens was SURE to use it!...
mel boring	And casey, THANK YOU for that INTERESTING derivation of "odious"!...
mel boring	And just by that NAME, I am SURE Euodias needed that bath!!!
writermom	Just a reminder to all writers Just for Mom is always looking for unpublished parents with works of fiction, nonfiction or poetry they would like to see published as well as published parents that have fiction for kids or adults, 1000 words or less to be put in Timeout for Parents just check out the submission guidelines at justformom.com and send your submittals to me Ms. Chris Weigand at timeout@justformom.com
mel boring	I am ALWAYS happy to pass news like this along...
mel boring	because it spells O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y for us writers...
mel boring	and opportunity to publish is what we need. THANK YOU, Chris!
crabby j	Thanks Mel-very helpful. And the "tear" sheet?
mel boring	The "tear sheet" is named for the fact that authors used to (believe it or not!) TEAR their stories and articles out of magazines to show editors what they'd published....
	Nowadays, we don't have to tear our pieces out of their publications....
	Just COPY any article you've had published and send just a COPY....
	If you haven''t publshed yet, you CAN send an editor the printed-out text of something you've written....
	In that case, the editor will understand it's not published, but still get the FLAVOR of your writing.
gladys1	How much fact must be in a fiction story?
mel boring	None at all HAS to be in a fiction, story, gladys1....
mel boring	But if the fiction is HISTORICAL fiction--such as the book ACROSS FIVE APRILS,...
mel boring	then the facts of the SETTING and BACKGROUND of the book should be there....
mel boring	ACROSS FIVE APRILS was an award-winning novel about the Civil War....
mel boring	and the author included the FACTS of that war,...
mel boring	not that it was a NONfiction book about the Civil War,...
mel boring	but because she wanted the facts to be accurate, even though her story was fiction, about incidents that never really happened in that war,..
mel boring	she (Irene Hunt) wanted the background and settings to be factually accurate....
mel boring	I hope this answers your question, gladys1. If not, PLEASE ask again, OK?
mel boring	JW wrote to ask: I have a question for you of the chicken-and-egg variety. When is the appropriate time to ask permission to write about a well known person? Before a query seems too soon; the query may be rejected -- many times -- may never be accepted! After the query, there is the egg-on-face possibility with the editor if the subject says no. In the event that the article is written, accepted and edited by an editor, and approval request made to subject -- what if the subject declines, or asks for changes?
mel boring	I would suggest you contact the SUBJECT first, before contacting editors in this case, JW....
	Ask the subject about their willingness to cooperate, and find out about what manuscript approval they may require...
	USUALLY most subjects are willing to be written about, but it's a good idea to find out first....
	You CAN, of course, write about ANY well known person, withOUT permission....
	Once they are "public property," anyone may write about them...
	But because the subject knows not everyone will write about them as they'd like...
	it's a good idea to contact them at the outset. Then, if they say they won't help you, or want TOO MUCH manuscript approval, you can write about them anyway.
mel boring	LR wants to know: Do I have to send a list of references to the editor along with my article submitted?
mel boring	Yes, when you are just QUERYING, LR, editors do NOT expect references...
	but when you are submitting the entire article, references are required...
	Many editors check the references after only glancing at the article, and deciding they like it....
	But they will want to find out where you got your facts, and how dependable the sources are.
mel boring	LR also wants to know: Is it acceptable to mention the title and author of another book in my article?
mel boring	Yes, perfectly okay, LR! You can say, "Judy Blume's book, TALES OF A FOURTH-GRADE NOTHING" in the article you write with NO violation of copyright....
	You can't QUOTE from a book extensively, of course, without permission as we were saying,...
	but you CAN CERTAINLY mention the title and author of ANY published book.
mel boring	LR would also like to know: I have done a lot of research online and I cannot seem to find a lot of information on the subject. Does this mean that because there is not a lot of information that the subject is not a legitimate one?
mel boring	No info on the Internet is RARE, LR, for sure...
	It either means the subject is TOO NEW, OR that there is no interest in it....
	What I would suggest is that you ask a Reference Librarian in a larger library for help in finding info. They are EXPERTS, and so GLAD to help!
mel boring	WD has a question about needing or not needing a bibliography: I am working on a story for the 2-5yr old group. My story has the little boy to go in the garage and find a bug. His mom is with him and helps him to learn more about the bug. I looked up details about the bug on the net and backed it up with a book from the library. The story is very basic knowledge and a fictional tale. Do you think that I need to make a reference? If I do need to reference, how do I put the reference unnoticeably in the story without intruding on the story?

mel boring	No you DON'T need a reference in this case, WD....'
	What I would suggest is that, IF the book is a children's book, you could list it at the end under FURTHER READING, which editors are always glad to find out about--and sometimes include with the story.
mel boring	CH needs to know this about poetry: I am trying to find any special rules concerning quotation marks in dialog in poetry. While I can find examples, I don't see any writing rules about this. Can you direct me?
mel boring	The rules for using quote marks in poetry are the SAME, CH,..
	WITH the EXCEPTION of KEEPING the poetic form...
	SO the quotation marks must be WITHIN the correct form for the poem....
	They should not CHANGE the form/layout of the poem's form.
grandy1983	I was told by my instructor that the climax in the novel is just a tiny bit weak. How could I strengthen it? He thinks the novel itself is cohesive and has a good beginning, middle, and end, but the climax needs a bit more. Any suggestions?
mel boring	I would suggest you study J.K. Rowling's climaxes in the Harry Potter books, grandy1983....
	She is an EXPERT at thrilling climaxes, and study of her books would be a PLUS for you...
	Also, it's possible the book just goes on too long. You may want to consider ending it earlier if the climax is weak....
	Also, print out JUST the climax, grandy1983....
	and look at it BY ITSELF. That might could help you see ways to strengthen it....
	By the way, your questions about your novel in progress have been GOOD for US here too, friend!
mel boring	I have to stop now, I'm afraid. This hour is more like 60 seconds, it seems to me! THANK YOU for being here, and if you've asked a question there wasn't time for, remember I will use it in the Q&As in the Monday Announcements!
mel boring	One added word about CRINKLES:...
caq	the Guidelines for crinkles are being updated.
mel boring	Bye for this week!

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