Kindle Spirits

 

My Kindle and I have known each other for exactly 44 days, 2 hours and – okay about 6 weeks – and I am falling in love.

First let me explain how I got to be the lucky owner of a Kindle. My husband, Tod is a BlackBerry-toting gadget geek. Besides the BlackBerry, he owns an iPod, a Thump, a Sling Box, and a Sirius radio player. He’s totally into the feed, if you know what I mean. So when Kindle first arrived on the scene, I sent him a link to the demo and wrote: “this looks pretty cool”.

I haven’t bought an ebook reader because I thought they were too expensive and too limited in functionality. For $300 and up, I just thought an ebook reader should do more than store and display books. I didn’t want to lug around an iPod, an ebook reader, a cell phone, and a Palm. Well I don’t own a cellphone so that took care of that. I got a Palm instead. I can jot notes, make lists, play games and music, access the internet, and read ebooks. Problem is, reading ebooks on my Palm is a pain in the eyes. Plus the battery has the lifespan of gnat.

I wasn’t at all sure I wanted a Kindle. I just thought it looked cool and did lots of things. But at $399, I thought it was way too spendy. Tod ordered one for me anyway. During the 3 weeks I waited for it to arrive, I fretted that I wouldn’t like it, then decided I could always try it out and send it back.

When my Kindle finally showed up I felt apprehensive. I hate the learning curve that comes with new gadgets or software. So I set aside 2 hours and put my Kindle to the test.

The relationship began clumsily. My Kindle slid too easily out of the bookish-feeling, black and gray cover. So I decided to read the User’s Guide sans cover. But my thumbs got in the way. On the right side of the device is a long page forward button, and on the left the previous page button. So whenever I accidentally pressed my thumbs down I jumped all around the text. Gah. I put the dang thing back in the bookish cover and magically returned to my previous place in the User’s Guide – near the beginning.

Wait a minute. I paused to comprehend what just happened. The Kindle remembered where I left off in the text before my thumbs got in the way. Impressive.

The User’s Guide was really easy to read. No doubt it was written by geniuses who get that I don’t have a lot of time, I want my questions answered right away, I want to be able to click and learn at the same time, and once I’ve done all that I want to retain what I just learned because I learned by doing and not just reading a manual.

Plop. Damn Kindle slid out of the book cover onto the floor. Grrr …

I was all thumbs and the cover seemed useless. Had it not been for Mike Elgan’s opinion piece, Why Amazon’s Kindle is revolutionary: Surprising facts about Amazon’s new Kindle e-book reader, which I read before my Kindle arrived, that would have been the end of it for me and my Kindle. However his article intrigued me and I didn’t want to hurt Tod’s feelings, so I decided to press on.

Four hours later I had finished reading the User’s Guide, surfed the internet, purchased and downloaded a book, subscribed to a periodical, wrote and saved a memo, and sent a file from my computer to my Kindle. How’s that for fast and easy? Ok. So maybe it took longer than I allowed for, but at the end of those 4 hours I totally knew how to use the thing. I was infatuated.

Besides doing all that stuff, the Kindle is an MP3 player. I can listen to music on speakers or via headphones. I can also listen and read at the same time. Or I can download and listen to audio books. For a quick guide to the oodles of Kindle features, please do read Elgan’s opinion, Why Amazon’s Kindle is revolutionary. I can’t explain its functionality any better than he did. And he’s right about everything.

I was concerned about the PDF issue. Currently Amazon claims they are working on PDF compatibility. They advise users to send PDFs to their Kindle and see what happens, but there might be a formatting problem. This week I got a free PDF from Write4Kids.com. I wanted to put it on my Kindle so I sent it from my computer to my Kindle address. Voila. It came right through, formatting and all. No problem.

Gotta love it.

Let me explain exactly what that means to a writer like me. Kindle is Word compatible. That means I can send the file of this review – or any manuscript – to my Kindle, then read and edit it on the device. I edited this review on my Kindle – while listening to Afro Celt Sound System. So tragically hip. Okay. I admit. It’s a bit rudimentary as a handheld computer. But to be able to read and edit a file away from my desktop impresses the living daylights out of me. Yes I do have a laptop but the Kindle is way smaller and easier to lug around – and it’s energy efficient. Ding.

Also, it’s easy on the eyes. Ding-ding-ding.

The battery life seems similar to the BlackBerry. I get hours and hours of use especially if I turn off the Whispernet and use it only when I need it to buy and/or download content, which is also really easy. A dangerous thing for an Amazon junkie like me.

I’m too starry-eyed to claim downsides at this point. Let’s just say my Kindle and I do have some issues. I finally found the most comfortable way to hold it while reading is to place it in the bookish cover. I glued a Velcro strip on the inside of the cover and one to the back of the device, which has solved the slipping problem.

Amazon offers a limited selection of newspapers, magazines and journals, and blogs. However I’m not jumping at the chance to pay $1.99/month for a subscription to The Onion blog, when I can read it online for free. For someone who’s on the go a lot, the convenience is probably worth the price. At $3.49/month, a subscription to Salon via Kindle is nearly twice as much as the online subscription rate. The Nation is more reasonable at $1.49/month. But The Nation is weekly and Salon is daily. There again, I guess it’s the convenience thing. Amazon needs to offer more selections in newspapers, magazines and journals, and blogs. And they need to lower the price. Or perhaps I need to travel more.

Kindle doesn’t do email but that’s okay with me. I need to spend less time on email, especially when I’m reading.

There is what I call an integration factor. Since this is my first real ebook reader I have to adjust my reading habits to make room for Kindle. I am still finding ways to use it. Every week I learn something new it can do for me. My Kindle and I definitely have a future together.

Because I’m not using it all the time, Tod and I can share it. He can download files and ebooks and read while I’m not using it. When we start fighting over it, he can get his own Kindle and transfer all his stuff. But for now we are Kindle spirits.

OBTW, the Kindle travel case and the Mighty Bright Light are the 2 must-have accessories.

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Fun for Kidz Magazine Markets

The Fun for Kidz Magazine group includes three magazines: Hopscotch for Girls, Boys’ Quest, Fun for Kidz.

These magazines publish 6 issues per year, so their editorial needs are limited. However they do welcome contributions from published and unpublished writers. Each issue of each magazine is themed, so it’s possible they will hang onto your submission for several months and/or publication may be scheduled years ahead . I sold an activity piece to Hopscotch for Girls which was published four years after they accepted it.

Payment is 5 cents/word or $10 per poem or puzzle, upon publication. So you may have to wait awhile for the check. However they only buy first American serial rights, which means after publication, you still own the rights a can sell your article as a reprint.

The target age group for all three magazines is 8-10 year olds. Their stated philosophy is dear to any children’s writer’s heart: “Our point of view is that every child deserves the right to be a child for a number of years before she becomes a young adult.”  Who can’t get behind that?

Fun for Kidz Magazine publishes 500-word activity articles, plus puzzles, poems, recipes, carpentry projects, jokes, riddles, and crafts.

Hopscotch for Girls and Boys’ Quest publish fiction (1,000 words or less), nonfiction (500 words), and poetry. Topics include pets, nature, hobbies, science, games, sports, careers, and recipes.

With such a broad range of possibilities, you can go through your files and look for a piece that fit their needs. Take the time to review your work. Punch it up a little. Make sure it meets their guidelines, then submit it!

Below is a direct link to the submission guidelines for each magazine. As always, please read the guidelines carefully and make sure your submission meets those guidelines.

Fun For Kidz Magazines Submission Guidelines

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What is a fair contract for a first-time author?

I need your help. A small publisher wants to publish my children’s picture book. The contract says I will be paid an advance of $500 and 5% royalties. This is a first for me so I don’t know whether this is a good offer or not. And if not, should I try to negotiate for more? What is a fair contract for a first-time author?

Congratulations on your first sale!

I wish I could say there’s a fair and reasonable, across-the-board standard in children’s publishing, but there’s no such a thing. Publishers differ. And I can’t really point to any trends in children’s publishing contracts, except to say the income for children’s writers hasn’t improved much over the past 20 years.

Before you get bogged down in dollars and percents, be sure you understand all aspects of the contract. What rights do they assume? Do they offer free copies or discounts? Are the royalties based on wholesale or retail sales? Children’s book author Darcy Pattison dives into the nitty gritty of contract negotiations in her article, Contract Savvy. She also provides an excellent glossary of contract language – a must read for every writer.

In her article, Negotiating Your Book Contract: 20 “Must” Topics to Talk About, Brenda Warneka offers a step-by-step guide to reading and understanding your book contract. She explains each section in detail.

Now back to the dollars and percents. If you’re a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) you can access “Answers to Some Questions About Contracts on the Publications” page.

Publishers generally offer three types of contracts:

Standard advance royalty: For new writers advances can be anywhere from $100 to $3000, but seldom more than that. A common advance figure is $1000. Royalties are usually 7% of net sales, but sometimes lower than that.

Royalty only: No advance, the publisher pays royalties on net sales, anywhere from 2% to 40%.

Flat fee: Anywhere from $1000 to $5000. With flat fee contracts the writer is often asked for all rights.

Be sure to read Harold Underdown’s Purple Crayon Blog for a discussion about book advances (scroll down the page).

All things considered, your contract falls within general publishing standards. Since it never hurts to ask, you are within your rights to negotiate for a higher advance or royalty. I would advise negotiating for one or the other – not both.

Keep in mind since this is your first book and you are beginning a new relationship with this publisher, you could accept the terms this time around, make a name for yourself by promoting and marketing your book, then ask for more with your next book.

For even more information, these books contain chapters on book contracts:

Writing Children’s Books for Dummies

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books

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What are the daily responsibilities of a children’s book editor?

I have just graduated from Cambridge University in English Literature. I am interested in the editing side of children’s literature and would be really grateful for some advice. What are the daily responsibilities of a children’s book editor? I am keen to find out more before applying for jobs.

I’m not a children’s book editor, therefore I can’t really advise you on the daily responsibilities or duties. However I am certain that these differ from one publishing house to another. As far as I know most children’s book editors start out as editorial assistants. Robin Friedman has interviewed children’s book editors from such popular children’s book publishers as Simon & Schuster, Viking, and Dutton. She asks each editor to describe a typical day. You’ll be surprised at all the different responses. You can find the full text of these fascinating interviews at her web site. Go to Robin Friedman’s website, click on Interviews.

Warning: Allow yourself plenty of time, because you’ll really get hooked on reading what these editors have to say about the business.

If you’re planning to work in the children’s book industry, it’s a good idea to get to know the business. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold Underdown, is a good place to start. He covers all the layers of children’s publishing, and offers a lot of excellent advice for beginners. Olga Litowinsky is a former children’s book editor, agent, and publisher. Her book, It’s a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Today’s Competitive Children’s Book Market is an insider’s look into the world of children’s book publishing today, and told with tongue-in-cheek good humor.

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