Breaking Into (and Out Of) Print—Part Two

Yesterday I suggested that in order to get published and begin to feel like a “real” writer, that you put away your current project and look at some alternatives. Today we continue with my final suggestions.

#4 Start a blog.
You don’t have to write a lot or every day but pick a theme and commit to it. Write regularly so your followers know that they can depend on you. Blogging allows the previously unpublished writer to have a platform and let the world know that you have a skill with words.If you manage to commit to it, you are also proving that you are dependable and, as I mentioned yesterday, can write to a deadline—even if the deadline is one you created.

I think blogging is one of the best things on the web. This option did not exist when we Write Sisters were getting started. Take advantage of this gift!

#5 a) Prepare a résumé.

If you haven’t been published yet, your résumé may include some related experience that you’ve had such as writing curriculum for a particular age group. Or, another way to break in is to send a writing sample. My publishing company, Apprentice Shop Books, specializes in non-fiction. We don’t accept freelance submissions as all of our series are developed in-house. So, how do you break in to this kind of publishing house? One writer studied our “America’s Notable Women” series. Each book tells the story of 25 outstanding women from a particular state. I generally hire 5 to 10 writers to complete each book. They write 1 to 5 of the profiles in any given book.

One person I did not know broke in by submitting an entry for a state that we had not yet covered. She modeled the word count, readability level, and required additional matter. I could see that she “got it.” I kept her work on file. Just a short time later, one of my writers faced an emergency and had to bow out of part of her assignment. I needed someone to complete two 550-word profiles in a very short turn-around time. Guess who got the job?


#5b) If you completed #2 above and managed to publish some short pieces, your résumé might include the clips you’ve started to accumulate. What if you’ve sold a piece but it hasn’t been published yet? Send a clean (unedited) copy of the work with a note that says, “This (article, story, filler) was purchased by Junior Traveler magazine for their September 2013 issue.”

So, in short, write something different. Doing so will serve a number of purposes. You will get some distance from the primary piece you’re creating. You’ll work some different parts of your brain. If you’re writing fiction, research some non-fiction topics. If you’re writing a novel, try some poetry. You’ll probably get to see your name in print much sooner and have the ability to feel like a “real” writer instead of a wanna-be.

Next week, I’ll put my publisher’s hat on and talk about how some writers shoot themselves in the foot and derail their careers.

Breaking Into (and Out Of) Print

You want to see your name in print. You’ve been working on a novel or picture book. You have submitted chapters and summaries or an entire manuscript. It takes forever to get an answer from the super-busy editors and their assistants.

What can you do in the mean time?

This week and next I’d like to share how-to-get-and-stay published information while wearing two hats: that of a published writer and also as a publisher.

First, Mur-the-writer:

I firmly believe that it is psychologically helpful to get some kind of by-line—even before that first big break. I remember being told that if I was going to be a writer, I had to think of myself as a writer. However, it’s not easy for many of us to do so because of conversations like the following:

“What do you do?”

“I’m a writer.”

“What have you written?”

The correct answer, of course, is, “Lots and lots of stuff that nobody’s printed yet.” But who wants to say that? To avoid that whole conversation, I used to tell people I did word-processing at home. It was true (I was using a word-processor) and the job sounded boring so no one ever asked me to elaborate. But there’s a way around that issue. Don’t limit yourself to one concept about the kind of writer you should be. Open yourself to other possibilities. That’s what the Write Sisters have done and following our suggestions just might work for you, too.

I’m going to start with suggestion #2 since I’m going to assume that if you’ve been following this blog you’re already doing # 1 (Writing). So….

#2 Collect some publishing credits or clips. Any credits. Any clips. If you have to, do it for free. It’ll make you feel like a writer.

a) Volunteer to write short articles for church bulletins (as I did), school or business newsletters.

b) Send fillers, sports team news, or press releases about school activities to your local newspapers. What do these pieces have to do with writing for kids? Sometimes, nothing, BUT you are proving that you can be counted on to complete a project. You are practicing your craft. You are working within a time limit. Some of Diane’s early clips included puzzles for the Christian Science Monitor’s children’s page. Puzzles are not picture books you say. True, but a by-line is a by-line is a by-line.

#3 Educate yourself about available markets.

a) Subscribe to newsletters like the SCBWI Bulletin and the Children’s Writer.
While reading one of these newsletters, I noticed that Capstone Press was looking for writers. I put together a package of clips. I included pieces written for various age groups. A few weeks later, I got a call and an assignment.

b) Read current children’s magazines. Pay attention to style, word count, types of articles. Early in her career, Kathy sold some rebus stories to Highlights. I sold a health puzzle to Jack & Jill. These fillers are an important part of a magazine’s monthly output. Child readers need breaks between longer stories. Puzzles, games, poems, and short fillers give kids that break.

c) Pay attention to themes. Magazine themes are usually planned a year in advance. Holiday pieces need to be sent 6 months to a year ahead of publication. Do you have an unusual holiday craft, tradition, or recipe? Write it up. Have you traveled somewhere interesting? Write it up.

d) Use your research and writing activities more than once. Say you’re writing a picture book about black bears. Your book is fiction but you’ve done some research on what black bears eat. Maybe you can produce a short piece on some of the odd things these omnivores have been known to eat. When I was writing my Sarah Hale biography, I sold a story about Hale’s determination to get a national Thanksgiving holiday to Highlights. I sold a piece on her methods of editing to Writers’ Digest.

More on this topic tomorrow.

Poetry Friday--"The Rules of Evidence"

We've all heard that there are only seven basic plots in all of literature. But, even if there are more, they've all been written, haven't they? And yet, we keep on writing (and reading) novels.

There are only 26 letters to the alphabet--every combination of letters must surely be a word by now? And yet, with each new edition, The Oxford English Dictionary contains thousands of new words.

Is there anything new under the sun? Is there anything that hasn't be thought, said, or presented as evidence?

The Rules of Evidence
by Lee Robinson

What you want to say most
is inadmissible.
Say it anyway.
Say it again.
What they tell you is irrelevant
can't be denied and will
eventually be heard.
Every question
is a leading question.
Ask it anyway, then expect
what you won't get.
There is no such thing
as the original
so you'll have to make do
with a reasonable facsimile.

The history of the world
is hearsay. Hear it.
The whole truth
is unspeakable
and nothing but the truth
is a lie.
I swear this.
My oath is a kiss.
I swear
by everything
incredible.

Hearsay by Lee Robinson, Fordham U. Press, 2004.

Head over to Karen Edmisten's blog for this week's Poetry Friday Round-Up.

--Diane

Women of Wednesday--Ask Yourself

Step into the cafeteria of a high school in 1947. Was this really the way that kids talked? And, was this really the way that high schools kids were instructed? I can't imagine that this wasn't completely laughable even back then.



Why is it that the girl who parks in cars with boys is the only one who needs a life lesson? None of the guys who accompanied her were told that taking advantage of someone is not the thing a "popular" person does. Why was that?

Now ask yourself, have things changed over the last 60 years? Hmmm. If you think so, take a look at this article about the portrayal of women in the film, The Social Network, which was released last year. I saw the film and did notice that the women were mostly heavy drinkers who were "hungry," if you know what I mean, but, I never gave it a second thought. This is how women are routinely portrayed. Good grief, have I become totally oblivious? What about you?

--Diane

The film is in the public domain and comes courtesy of the Prelinger Archives portion of Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is one of my favorite resources!

Mentor Monday--Writing History

The Write Sisters have been writing history in the America's Notable Women series profiles that we have worked on. Researching the women and their historical context has been fascinating. Condensing everything into approximately 550 words has not been as much fun. There's always been the conundrum of making the profiles readable for a 4th grade audience, while still including the relevant facts about each individual. So much is involved in writing history that it's a wonder that there are so few writing how-tos on the subject.

A few weeks ago, American Historical Association's blog released a round-up of "The Art of History" series of articles from the Association's journal Perspectives on History. The series has been delving into history writing as an art. Although written for historians, the articles have relevance for children's writers since we also do research, and we write for a particular audience.

I'd particularly like to recommend one article, "The Poetics of History from Below" by Marcus Rediker. In it, Rediker talks about his grandfather who although not a professional historian, was "a master storyteller." Rediker says of his grandfather,

His stories were vivid, complex, passionate, and somehow always practical. They featured apocalyptic Biblical language (a lot of hell-fire), long silences (with fateful stares), and curse words that were normally forbidden in our house (son-of-a-bitchin’ this and that). He always managed to tell a big story within a little story.

And this, my friends, is the key to writing history, or even science for that matter--be a masterful storyteller! Of course, you can't use "curse words" in books that kids will be reading in elementary school, but you can use colorful and musical language. Practice the craft of storytelling and you will certainly be on your way to creating the art of history.

Read a few of the other articles mentioned in the round-up. Despite not being a historian, I found most of the ones I read to be of interest, if not of practical use.

--Diane