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(Questions with responses from current host Margaret Chittenden.)

Ref 1. I have a terrible time finding time for my writing. Someone or something else always needs attention. Do you have any suggestions on ways I can overcome this before I wake up to discover that I'm 95 and unpublished?

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Ref 16. Response to ref 15. Difficult to say. Possibly whatever you can get on the Internet nowadays. I used to advertise in Romantic Times, but don't do that nowadays. It became cost prohibitive. I don't believe in spending huge amounts on advertising. I don't think it makes that much difference for category. I rely mostly on sending flyers to Waldenbooks romance experts and to all the bookstores whose addresses I can find. I add to my mailing list of readers and fans whenever I do a signing--putting out a notebook for them to write in their addresses. I send everyone a flyer or brochure or postcard that I make myself on my computer. I also let Romance Writers Report special sections--Sparks and Spice, Bookshelf, know that I have a book coming out. And I often do a small ad in RWR also. A small ad can be seen as well as a large one and is much cheaper. From then on, it's up to you how much you want to spend. Hope this helps. Good luck, Meg

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Ref 18. Meg,
I am writing a collection of short stories. There will be ten stories, and each will tell the life story of a couple. Before I interview these 10 couples, I need to know what kind of legal steps I will need to take. I do not yet have a publisher, nor am I in a position to be able to pay these people for the right to tell their stories. Is there any alternative? Should I draw up some kind of agreement in which they hand over the rights to their stories? Your advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Ref 19. What is the fundamental difference (regarding story structure) between writing a novel and a true story?

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Ref 20. What are the basic elements/contents that a package sent to a publisher for a potential manuscript sale should include?

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Ref 21. Response to Ref 18. This is a real tough one, and mostly outside my area of expertise. I deal only with fiction writing. You say this is a collection of short stories, but it sounds more like a collection of articles, as it deals with real people. You need to be covered legally with some kind of contract before beginning. And I doubt people will be willing to hand over all their rights. Any agreement would have to be okay as far as the law is concerned. In some states there is a group called (state name) lawyers for the arts. If such a group exists in your state, it should be listed in the yellow pages. Or you might find a similar group on the Internet. The Hollywood Network has a Hollywood Law Cybercenter on which you might find some help on copyright etc. Before spending the time involved and the legal fees that might be necessary, I'd consider working up a really good query letter and sending it to agents and/or publishers to see if there is any interest in such a project. It's hard at any time to sell a collection of short stories unless you are a name writer, or have published each story in a national magazine. Sorry I can't be more help. I wish you luck, Meg.

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Ref 22. Response to Ref 19. Well, the most funamental difference is that in a true story you have to tell the truth. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) As far as structure goes, there are nearly as many different novel structures as there are novels, so it's difficult to answer your letter. Some novels are told in a linear fashion--following a character from birth to death, for example. Others jump around back and forth in time. In writing a novel I often use non-fictional devices,(who, what, where, why and when) and in writing non-fiction it is possible to use novel devices--ways of showing characters in action, for example. I can't really point to any one "fundamental" difference, I'm afraid. I would suggest you look at a lot of novels and a lot of true stories and decide on a format that will work for the material you have in mind. If this doesn't quite answer your question, feel free to ask it in a more specific way.

Good luck, Meg.

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Ref 23. Response to Ref 20: The best approach is to first send a query letter to a named editor. See my response ref 9 to ref 6 above. If there is a positive response to that then a synopsis of the whole novel, written in present tense, covering major parts of the plot, including details of the ending, plus the first three chapters, comprise the package to be sent. This is known as a "book proposal." If the proposal is for a series of books, as in a mystery series, send also a list and description of continuing characters, plus a list and brief description of the plots of the next two or three books. Meg.

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Ref 24. Hi I find I want to write and Ihave the urge but lack the confidence when Ishow other people and Iworry I am a failure. What can I do about this

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Ref 25.
Response to Ref 24: Most writers feel a lack of confidence in the beginning. I certainly did, and still do quite often. Maybe you aren't ready to show other people what you have written. Maybe you need to take more time with the learning process. Most of us think in the beginning that all we have to do is sit down and write, but that's not so. If you had the feeling you wanted to play the violin you would know that you would need to practice, practice, practice before appearing in public. It's the same with writing. Check your local library for books on writing. Study them carefully. Do whatever exercises are presented. Try to find how-to books that are fairly recent. all you can do after that is write and rewrite and write again until you feel you have something ready to show to someone. If you can find a writing course at a local community college, that would be helpful in getting criticism of your work. Criticism from friends or relatives, unless they are writers, is not always helpful. My first children's book was turned down by 25 publishers. My first short stories were turned down by everyone. Most writers go through periods of rejection, but the only way to succeed is to keep trying, keep improving, keep studying.

Good luck, Meg

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Ref 26. When you have an idea what is the first thing that you do? Write a table of contents? Write about each character? Write about the story structure? I mean, what are the steps that you follow to write a book?
Thank you for your response.

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Ref 27. What are the best publishers for children books? Also do you know any agents that represent writers with children's books?
Appreciated.

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Ref 28. I am trying to find the Literary Market Place online in hopes of adding more publishers to the list my agent is already submitting to. Is this a good place to search, and if so, do you know of an address for it? Thank you.

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Ref 30. Response to Ref.26. It's impossible for me to answer your questions fully in the space available to me here. I recently finished a book titled "How To Write YOUR Novel," published by The Writer INc. that would answer you more completely--but it's almost 300 pages long and it took me six months to write. (For more info on that book, see my web page.) I'll try to give you a brief summary, okay? For a novel, no I wouldn't write a table of contents. I would for a non-fiction book. When I get my idea, I let it germinate like a seed for a while. Don't rush to write a book the minute you get an idea, let it grow and produce some characters and some plot ideas. Write down everything that comes. Prod the idea with who, what, where, when, why, how and write down the answers. As your plot develops, make notes about your characters. As your characters grow and develop, make notes about your plot. Take your time. Develop your story fully. Some writers say they take an idea and run with it, but far more develop a full synopsis, or summary of the story, before beginning to write. This is the way I work. A recent idea came to me when I was watching television. There was a commercial on for a perfume. I thought, what if there was a perfume that REALLY made a woman irresistible? I wrote this down. Questions came up. Who is the woman. Where does she get the perfume. What happens to her when she becomes irresistible. Where is the story set. Who finds her irresistible. I spend a lot of time answering such questions. Only when I have a full synopsis and the characters are walking around in my head and talking to me and to one another do I start the actual writing. While I'm working on the synopsis, I'm also traveling in the place where my book is going to be set. I'm reading everything I can find about the place and about perfume and I'm making notes of everything that comes to me that seems to be related to this story.

Does any of that help?

Once I've written the book, I also rewrite and rewrite and rewrite until the book is as good as I can get it. It may not be as good as someone else could get it, but it's the best I can do before I send it out.

Writing a novel is not easy. It is very hard work. Take your time. Go to the library and find books on writing. Study them. See if there is a course on novel writing in your local community college.
Try to find a critique group who will read your stuff and tell you what's right with it and what's wrong with it.

And don't give up. >>>Meg

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Ref 31. Response to Ref 27. The best way to find publishers for children's books is to go to your library, visit the children's section. Look for the age group in which you are writing. Find the books that are being published that seem something like the one you are writing. Write to the publisher and ask for their catalog. You can also find The Writers Market for the current year at any good library. Publishers are listed in there along with the kinds of books they publish. There is also a list of agents. Literary Market Place will tell you about publishers needs and agents requirements. It is also available in libraries.

I haven't written for children in many years, so I'm out of touch with the market, but it will also help for you to go to bookstores that publish children's books and talk to the store owner--look for independent stores rather than chainstores. Ask what is popular, look at the books, see who publishes them. Then you can look up the addresses in Literary Market Place or Writers Market.

Good luck. Meg.

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Ref 32. Response to Ref28. Your best bet is to go to your closest good library and find the book Literary Marketplace (LMP). . The web address of LMP is http://lmp.bookwire.com. However, if your agent is a good one s/he will have a complete list of publishers and will know which ones to submit your particular material to. Good luck, Meg

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Ref 33. Hi, my name is Pamela. I am a young writer with many ideas! The problem is, is that I live in a small town. I need to know where to find a publisher!

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Ref 34.
Response to Ref 33. Hi Pamela. Treasure your ideas, make sure you write them down right away when you get them, before they slip away. I live in a small town too, though it's a resort area and gets pretty crowded in summer and on weekends. But living in a big town isn't much of an advantage if you're looking for a publisher, unless your town is New York, which is where most of the book publishers are.

However, before you worry about finding a publisher, you need to develop your ideas into something that would interest a publisher. You might like to read my response #24 and #29 for some help on that. visit your local library and find some books on writing. I don't know what kind of writing you are having ideas for, but you need to know. If it's non-fiction, it's a whole different approach from fiction. Short fiction is not the same market as long fiction (novels) Once you've decided the kind of writing your ideas fit into, then study the books on that kind of writing. Read those kinds of books, see how other authors do it, not to copy, but to learn. Don't expect to just write something and sell it. It rarely happens that way. Most writers go through a period of rejection. Write and rewrite until you are sure whatever you are writing is the best you can do. Then check on a book at your library called Writer's Market. It is updated every year, so look for the most recent one. It will tell you where the publishers are and what they publish. There's another called Literary Marketplace, or LMP, that is also very helpful. You'll find help on various phases of writing if you read all the preceding questions and answers on this bulletin board.

Good luck, Meg

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Ref 35. I like to write poetry for children and adults. I have a collection and would like to know what magazines or publishers would like to handle newer authors?
Mindy

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Ref 36. I like to write poetry for children and adults. I have a collection and would like to know what magazines or publishers would like to handle newer authors?
Mindy

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Ref 37.
Response to Ref 36 I don't have an easy answer for you, I'm afraid. It is very difficult to publish poetry. It's difficult to publish anything, but poetry is almost impossible. My best advice to you is to look in Writers Market at your nearest good library. Find the most recent year they have. You will find lists of magazines and the sort of things they publish in this book. Try to find out which editor handles poetry for the magazines you want to try. If the name isn't listed, call the magazine and ask which editor you can submit poetry to. Then send a properly typed poem to that editor. Only one. If you are also asking about publishing a collection of poems as a book, that is also very difficult. Usually collections are published only for well-known poets, and most of the poems have been pre-published in magazines. I am not a poet, so you are outside my area of expertise. I do know that many poets have their poetry printed in book form at their own expense and distribute them to friends and family. If you want to try your luck in the commercial market, Writers Market is your best bet, and also Literary Market Place.
Good luck, Meg

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Ref 38. I have several short stories and poems appropriate for children and
familiy reading. I've written and have a big collection and have won an award for my writing once but would like to know what publishers would be interested in prose for children

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Ref 39.
Response to Ref 38. A lot depends on which age group you are writing for. Short stories for children are published in several magazines directed to various age groups. Kindergarten and younger, whose stories are read to them, grades one and two--beginning to read type stories, and so on. I'm afraid there is no short answer to your question.

Also, you will need to decide if your stories are short stories suitable for magazines, or if you mean them more as picture books or begin-to read books. In which case, each story would become a book, if it were to be published. It is not easy to get work for children published, it has to be really, really good.

Your best bet is to go to your nearest good library and find a copy of Writers Market--in the latest edition they have. This book lists all the publishers. Magazine and book. Each entry tells what kind of thing that publisher is looking for. Another book called Literary Market Place, or LMP, is also usually available in good libraries and will give you information.

My specialty is in novels and I haven't written for children in years, so I'm not totally up to date in the various markets, but either one of those books will help you decide where to try your work. It's also a good idea to study what is being published for children today--again, your library should have a good selection, and talk to the children's librarian, she will be able to tell you what is popular for the age group you are writing for.

Good luck, Meg.

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