Fred Bortz is fast gaining recognition as one of the nation's leading writers of science and technology for young people. In his books and personal appearances, he shares with his audience the joy of discovery that fueled his previous twenty-five year career in teaching and research in physics, engineering, and science education.
Reviewers have commended Fred's books for their clarity, energy, and high interest level. Few children's writers have achieved his combination of subject-matter expertise (he has a Ph.D. in physics), story-telling skills, and enthusiasm for knowledge.
In addition to writing books, Fred is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature, a consultant and author for the New Book of Knowledge encyclopedia, and a contributor to top magazines, especially Odyssey. He has been also been consulting editor of several issues of Odyssey, including September 1997's which has the theme "Imaging: From the Atom to the Cosmos."
Fred credits his accomplishments to a simple philosophy: "Success as a writer requires only a little natural talent. Hard work, determination, and a finely developed ability to learn from criticism and rejection are far more important. Most important of all is to love and respect your audience and the subject or story you want to share with them."
Fred lives in Monroeville, PA, with his wife Susan. They are the parents of two grown children.
Books by Fred Bortz include Martian Fossils on Earth? The Story of Meteorite ALH 84001; To the Young Scientist: Reflections on Doing and Living Science; Catastrophe! Great Engineering Failure--and Success; Mind Tools: The Science of Artificial Intelligence; and Superstuff! Materials that Have Changed Our Lives
1) It seems as if even nonfiction has to be entertaining. How do you tell a "story" with nonfiction?
The type of nonfiction I write best can be described as true-story writing. If there isn't something in it that can change a young reader's life, it's not worth writing about. Once I see the story in a subject, my techniques, I presume, are not very different from a good fiction writer's. I focus on the protagonist -- who may be my reader -- and the changes or issues that I view as important. The subtitles of all my books (listed below) indicate the stories within them, with one exception. Even the one with the matter-of-fact title contains many stories. The book titles follow:
Superstuff! Materials That Have Changed Our Lives (Franklin Watts, 1990)
Mind Tools: The Science of Artificial Intelligence (Franklin Watts, 1992)
Catastrophe! Great Engineering Failure -- and Success (W. H. Freeman, Scientific American Books for Young Readers, 1995)
To the Young Scientist: Reflections on Doing and Living Science (Franklin Watts, 1997)
Martian Fossils on Earth? The Story of Meteorite ALH 84001 (Millbrook, 1997)
2) Do you approach a nonfiction topic differently for a middle grade audience (8-12) than for young adults?
For younger readers, I use simpler vocabulary and sentence structure. My discussions are more concrete for younger readers and a bit more abstract for older ones. Still, concrete examples are important for readers of any age -- even adults. When I wrote Martian Fossils on Earth? (ages 8-12, my youngest book to date), I did the photo research because the striking images were both more concrete and more important to my writing than in my four previous books. In the other four, I made suggestions, but the publisher secured the photos and art.
3) Is it important to find a very specific slant to a broad nonfiction topic, as your titles seem to indicate you've done with your books?
Without a slant, you end up with "encyclopedic" writing, which covers too many topics and says too little about any of them. Even in my encyclopedia articles, I strive not to be encyclopedic. In my latest effort, "Light" for the New Book of Knowledge 1998 edition, I structured the article around Newton's original question about the particle or wave nature of light. By doing so, I was able to cover the broad subject of light, yet tie it together with a story line, specifically how important that question -- and its changing answers over the centuries -- has been to our scientific understanding not only of light but also of many other physical phenomena.
4) Can you write about a topic that interests you if you're not an expert? How would you suggest going about your research?
You can become an expert, at least in a little corner of the subject matter. As a scientist and science teacher, I saw how college students on research projects -- even undergraduates -- soon come to know more about the details of their own piece of the field than their professors do. Of course you need to understand the basics of a subject to get started. Once you do, the most important skill is learning to ask productive questions and pursuing them. The only "dumb" question is the one you never ask.
Still, you should respect the material enough to seek expert review. For three of my books, I suggested specific experts to use as concept readers or fact checkers, and the publisher was able to get them to review my work. For articles, you may be able to find an expert in a local university who cares enough about children to spend a few minutes reviewing your work gratis (the expert's consulting fee would probably be more than you would earn for the piece).
5) Do you send a proposal for your new books, or do you write the entire manuscript before submitting it to a publisher? Do you have any tips for writing nonfiction proposals?
I sell on the basis of proposals. At this point, I can sometimes get away without writing a sample chapter, but only if I know the editor well. My proposals usually have an introduction, my credentials, a complete table of contents, a narrative summary of each chapter or major section, and enough references to convince an editorial meeting that I have researched the topic well. If you want to write a good proposal, don't look for short-cuts. Put in the effort to produce a thorough, professional looking piece. Editors will judge your ability to complete the book by the level of effort they perceive in the proposal.
6) Realizing how very difficult it is to get a first book published, would you recommend submitting a story to a magazine rather than to a book publisher? If this story was published in a magazine, can it still be considered for book publication at a later date, or does that magazine now own it?
Some magazine publishers buy all rights, but many buy only one-time or first serial rights. If you think an article may become part of a book or collection you hope to write, make sure you keep the copyright and book rights.
7) Did you ever join a writer's group when you first began writing? If you did, how did you go about finding a group? The groups I have seen advertised in my area seem to be an adult fiction group. Is this a good way to learn from others or is it too different from children's fiction to help a new writer much?
As a nonfiction writer, I am an anomaly in such groups. I know lots of people who benefit from such groups, but they write fiction. I currently lead a critique group in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. Even though most of the participants are primarily interested in fiction, I've had a bit of an impact. Some are now thinking of historical fiction or family stories. The only other published writer in the group also has sold mainly nonfiction. There's a message in that!
When I was starting out, I didn't benefit from such a group, but I benefited by getting to know the people who took part in such groups. The most important things we learned from each other were how to read rejection slips and how to market our ideas. I also attended every children's book activity I could and still do. I also introduced myself to local children's librarians and the owner of our recently closed children's bookstore. Western Pennsylvania now has a very active chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Anyone who dreams of writing for children should join SCBWI.
8) What do you do about writer's block? -- Young Author at 11
I have a mind that needs to jump around a lot. Besides having more than one active manuscript at a time, I also have to think about marketing, teaching by correspondence, and consulting on science for children. If I find myself blocked, I simply move onto something else.
Still, I often become totally wrapped up in a project. That intensity often leads me into a block. I thrash around with my writing and ideas quite a bit and may get frustrated with it. That's when I finally recognize that I am blocked and decide I need to change projects.
9) Did you use any special tricks or devices to land a literary agent? How many queries did you send before getting that agent in your corner? Did you submit only one project at a time to your agent or did you unload all your ideas at once?
You need to have experience marketing your work and some success with sales before you can speak an agent's language. Then you have to decide what you want that agent to do for you. If you know enough to tell an agent what kind of help you need -- and if your writing is marketable -- you will have little trouble finding an agent to work with you.
However, you should be aware that many successful authors do not have agents. I didn't look for an agent until after my first book contract. In the mid-1980s, I was writing a book about the inner workings of a computer. In a typical publishing horror story, I completed the manuscript, revised it the editor's request, revised it again after requesting and getting assurance that it would indeed be published, and then watched its publication date slip and slip and slip some more as the market became glutted with bad books about computers. Then my editor left the company and the project died. In the end, I had to fight to get the second half of my advance. It took a letter to the President of the company with a copy of my editor's yes-we-will-publish letter, at which point I received a courteous apology and a check.
After that, I decided I would rather have an agent handle my negotiations. I chose to focus on the literary side of my relationship to the publisher and my editor and leave the business aspects to my agent.
10) Can you make up dialogue or fictional scenes in nonfiction, or do you need to stick with everything that can be actually documented?
I don't think that approach is good for the youngest readers who are purely concrete thinkers. They can't understand the abstract notion of speculation. For older readers, say age nine and above, you might try it, but only if you clearly note that you are inventing or speculating. Sometimes there are gaps in the factual record, and you decide to fill in the holes by speculating based on your research. As long as you clearly label speculation and lay out your personal biases for the readers, that speculation may be useful in helping them understand your subject.
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