Plot the Course for Your Writing

New year. New beginning. What a wonderful time to plot the course for your writing. 

List the projects you completed last year. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done. You COMPLETED the project whether it was garnered a contract or not. You followed through with an idea. Celebrate the victory. 

If you did not get a contract, it’s decision time: Do you keep revising or start anew with another project? The decision is yours. If you feel the 2015 project has commercial potential, give it the best opportunity for a contract by polishing it until the sheen twinkles. If you’re simply tired of working on it, file it and start with another. You can always go back and work on the first project at a later date and that might be a good thing. The distance from the project will later allow you to have a better perspective on what does and does not work. In 2015, I pulled out a chapter book I had worked on a few years prior, completely revised it, and got a contract.  

If you had several projects in 2015 that did not interest editors, review them to determine which has the most potential. Show them to your writer or critique group. Feedback from informed readers is like winning the lottery. 

Are you ready, pen? Start writing.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Magic Dragon. A quarterly publication, presents writing and art created by children in the elementary school grades in a magazine of quality four-color printing and graphic display.

Submission guidelines at http://www.magicdragonmagazine.com/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

American Girl. A bimonthly, four-color magazine for girls 8+. Looking for contemporary and historical fiction. The protagonist should be a girl between 8 and 12. No science fiction, fantasy, or first-romance stories. Up to 2,300 words. Allow 12 weeks for a reply.

Submission guidelines at http://www.americangirl.com/corporate/writers-guidelines

Happy New Year Greetings for Writers

2016 offers hope for old dreams and new beginnings, choice words with fresh voice, and a blank page to write. May the new year bring the joy of seeing your writing sparkle.

This blog will continue with writing information goodies in January 2016.

Let’s Talk Picture Books, Part 6

It’s important to know what to write to get a picture book contract, and it’s just as important to know what NOT to write. Slice of life stories seldom get smiled upon by agents or editors, but they have become a little more popular after 9/11. When editors state that a manuscript is quiet or is a mood book, she means the story doesn’t have enough tension. These stories are a glimpse into a character’s life (slice of life). There is little action but the story makes the reader feel good. GOODNIGHT MOON is an example.

Mood or quiet stories are vignettes that involve a character in an activity with no conflict. Example: Billy goes for a ride on his bike. He sees a friend. They play a game of basketball. He rides to the ballgame and plays all afternoon. On his way home he meets his sister and gives her a ride on his bike. His day has been fun and now he’s ready to settle in for the night.

One of my early submissions years ago was a slice-of-life story about a day in the life of a young girl. An editor wrote in the rejection letter that nothing was happening to interest or intrigue the reader. She said my story was “too quiet.”

If you have written such a story, analyze it to discover a weakness or flaw in the character. In the example I gave, maybe the boy could have a fight with his friend, or maybe he could be afraid of the ball and his teammates blame him for losing the game. Within the story you just might find a hidden gem of a story waiting to unfold.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Launch Pad. A bimonthly magazine dedicated to publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and artwork written and created by children ages 6-12.

Submission guidelines at http://www.launchpadmag.com/write/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Jack and Jill (Ages 7-12).

FICTION: We accept full manuscripts of 600-800 words. The tone of the stories should be fun and engaging. Stories should hook readers right from the get-go and pull them through the story. Humor is very important! Dialogue should be witty instead of just furthering the plot. The story should convey some kind of positive message. Possible themes could include self-reliance, being kind to others, appreciating other cultures, and so on. There are a million positive messages, so get creative! Kids can see preachy coming from a mile away, though, so please focus on telling a good story over teaching a lesson. The message—if there is one—should come organically from the story and not feel tacked on.

NONFICTION: We accept nonfiction manuscripts of 700 words or less. We are especially interested in features or Q&As with regular kids (or groups of kids) in the Jack and Jill age group who are engaged in unusual, challenging, or interesting activities. No celebrity pieces please.

POETRY: We accept poems of up to 30 lines. Poems should include unique topics that appeal to kids like sports, pets, friendship, seasonal activities, vacations, and school activities.

PUZZLES, ACTIVITIES & GAMES: In general, we prefer to use in-house generated material for this category but on occasion we do receive unique and fun puzzles, games or activities through submissions. Please make sure you are submitting a truly unique activity for our consideration.

Let’s Talk Picture Books, Part 5

In earlier blogs, I have mentioned that editors did not often swoon when receiving submissions written in rhyme. Often, writers force the rhyme at the expense of the plot or add unnecessary words to keep the rhyme. Exceptions are always possible so just because it hasn’t been done often doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

Stories about inanimate objects that come to life are difficult to write and difficult to nab a contract, also. Two train stories have become popular: THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD and THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE. THE GIVING TREE is also a classic about an inanimate object, but a book about a window that won’t open or a rock that can’t roll will probably not garner more than a rejection letter. Children want stories in which action impacts plot, where something happens. It is difficult to develop an inanimate object as the main character in a picture book. This works better in videos where sound and motion work together to build the character. THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT is also another example that inanimate objects can work, but it doesn’t seem to happen often in the publishing world.

Dolls and toys as the main characters can work. Children relate to these, such as the VELVETEEN RABBIT. Dolls look like people and it’s easy to imagine them become real.

What works best as main characters are children and animals, because a young child relates to both. By attributing human frailties to animals make them seem real. Kids identify with the characters’ weaknesses and mistakes. Many popular picture books showcase imperfect characters that grow and learn. Engaging, humorous stories that inspire and can withstand multiple readings are always searched for by editors and agents. 

Call for Submissions for Young and Adult Writers:

Kiki Magazine is an independent magazine owned and operated by women who care about girls. Kiki uses the college fashion design curriculum to tap into girls' creativity, including business, fine art, craft, history, world culture, math, and even chemistry. The publication accepts submissions of illustrations, artwork, photos, or articles from all ages.

Submission guidelines at submissions@kikimag.com

At this year’s Kentucky Book Fair, I met a writer, James Ray Coffman, who is just beginning his journey in the publishing world. He illustrates and writes graphic short stories for middle grade and young adult readers. His three volume series, ARAURA, is a hero’s journey and challenges the reader’s view of right and wrong.

What I gleaned from the conversation with James:

A positive approach serves as motivation. He is extremely motivated to learn more about the industry and his upbeat attitude is contagious. I’m motivated to write every morning at 8:00 whether I feel like it or not, whether I know what I want to write or not. I just do it. It’s habit. It’s routine. It’s productive.

Writers need to believe in themselves. It’s so easy to get bogged down by rejection letters, but beginning writers haven’t dealt with years of “No, thank yous” so they believe publishers will want their work. It’s refreshing to meet these writers who WILL make their dreams come true for a number of reasons: talent, perseverance, hard work, and a strong commitment to follow a dream.

Enjoy what you do. James certainly enjoys his craft. He worked on an illustration during slow moments, which were few, at the book fair, but the attendees saw his work in various stages of production. People love demonstrations by illustrators, and they flocked to his table to talk with him. If writers are not enjoying the process, readers probably will not either.

Find ways to stay positive, believe that you will succeed, and most of all, enjoy the journey.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Ember is a semiannual journal of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for all age groups. Submissions for and by readers aged 10 to 18 are strongly encouraged.

Poetry

Most forms are considered, both metered and unmetered, traditional and experimental. Poems from 3 to 100 lines have the best chance of acceptance. You may submit up to three poems at a time, but a separate submission form must be completed for each poem.

Short Stories up to 12,000 words will be considered. However, more important than word count is the quality of your work: we are looking for excellent, polished writing that pulls us into an engaging story.

Flash Fiction. The ideal length for Flash Fiction submissions is about 500 to 750 words, but pieces up to 1500 words may be submitted in this category. Remember that Flash Fiction is not the same as “vignette;” even very short works should still present an interesting and compelling story.

Creative Non-Fiction is the beautiful union of exposition and literature. Tell us a true story, and tell it well. Word count limits are the same as for Short Stories.

Submission guidelines at http://emberjournal.org/submission-guidelines/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

 Highlights for Children. Fiction should have an engaging plot, strong characterization, a specific setting and lively language. No series or continuing stories.

·         Stories for younger readers (ages 3 to 7) should have 500 words or fewer and should not seem babyish to older readers.

·         Stories for older readers (ages 8 to 12) should have 800 words or fewer and should be appealing to younger readers if read aloud.

·         Frequent needs include humor, mystery, sports, holiday and adventure stories; retellings of traditional tales; stories with urban settings; and stories that feature world cultures.

·         For stories that require research, such as historical fiction, please send photocopies of key pages in references and of any correspondence with experts.

·         We prefer characters that set a positive example.

·         We avoid stories that preach.

·         We avoid suggestions of crime and violence.

·         We seldom buy rhyming stories.

Submission guidelines at https://www2.highlights.com/contributor-guidelines

Communicating with Authors

Last week at the Kentucky Book Fair, I had the good fortune to meet Newbery Award winner Vince Vawter, who wrote THE PAPERBOY. Talking with writers is always inspiring for me, especially when they talk about the process of writing, marketing their books, or how they interact with young readers.

What I gleaned from the conversation with Vince and his wonderful wife:

Write what you know. Vince’s book is autographical. He wrote about a boy who stutters. Vince had a stuttering problem as a child. The setting is Tennessee, where he continues to live. By writing what you know, the strong emotion is evident in the writing and a writer can draw upon the emotions in an instant.

The first book doesn’t guarantee the second book will be easier to write. Each book has its own journey from beginning to end.

Revision is the key to good writing. Much about the publishing world is out of the control of the writer so if rejection slips haunt you, keep on writing and revising. Every manuscript improves with revision.

I came away from the conversations reenergized and ready to tackle new projects. Figure out what works for you to energize your own writing endeavors. The goal is to keep on keeping on.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Bazoof Magazine. Youth Story. Become a published writer by sending in a story that you've written for school or just for fun. You can write it with a friend, or do it on your own. A parent or teacher can assist you. It needs to be 1,000 words or less. And remember, we'll help you out once you send us something, so no worries!

Submission guidelines at http://bazoofmag.com/for-grown-ups.php?bp=3168

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Humpty Dumpty Magazine (ages 2-6)

FICTION: We accept full manuscripts of 600-800 words. The tone of the stories should be fun and engaging. Stories should hook readers right from the get-go and pull them through the story. Humor is very important! Dialogue should be witty instead of just furthering the plot. The story should convey some kind of positive message. Possible themes could include self-reliance, being kind to others, appreciating other cultures, and so on. There are a million positive messages, so get creative! Kids can see preachy coming from a mile away, though, so please focus on telling a good story over teaching a lesson. The message—if there is one—should come organically from the story and not feel tacked on.

NONFICTION: We accept nonfiction manuscripts of 700 words or less. We are especially interested in features or Q&As with regular kids (or groups of kids) in the Jack and Jill age group who are engaged in unusual, challenging, or interesting activities. No celebrity pieces please.

POETRY: We accept poems of up to 30 lines. Poems should include unique topics that appeal to kids like sports, pets, friendship, seasonal activities, vacations, and school activities.

PUZZLES, ACTIVITIES & GAMES: In general, we prefer to use in-house generated material for this category but on occasion we do receive unique and fun puzzles, games or activities through submissions. Please make sure you are submitting a truly unique activity for our consideration.

Submission guidelines at http://www.uskidsmags.com/writers-guidelines/