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Bringing it all together
Published: August 1, 2003 Magazines come together in bits and pieces. Only in an editorial dream world does this process of assembling words and art flow uninterruptedly in anything resembling a linear fashion. But who has time to dream?
For example, while I'm writing this column, our October issue is cookin' in the art department, November is percolating in the background, and December is in the early stages of preparation. In the next few days, we'll be editing stories and selecting art for at least three different issues. We never really see the entire magazine until we check our final proof. Even though we've been working with the material for weeks, this is a fresh view. At last, we're looking at the whole rather than disparate parts. And maybe, before we get back into the fray, we'll stop a minute to take some pride in what we've produced.
This issue, for example, answers a call we got from readers for more articles about getting published. We've worked hard to make our third annual guide to book publishing bigger and more comprehensive than ever. You'll find a roster of 133 major and university presses (Markets, page 53) with submission details.
You'll also find a package of articles that will help you succeed as a book author.
Novelist David Poyer, who has 27 books to his credit, is a 25-year veteran of the writing game. Don't miss his savvy, practical and wise pointers on sustaining a long, successful career ("Blueprint for writers," page 32).
If you have a book about to be released or one lingering in bookstores, you'll find expert advice on how to create a buzz around your title. Self-marketing expert Jessica Hatchigan ("Bestsellers are made, not born," page 37) tells how popular author Terry McMillan might have languished in obscurity if it hadn't been for her own publicity efforts for her first novel, Mama.
Whether trying to get published or to craft a sentence that sings, writers need all the backbone and heart they can muster, says Natalie Goldberg, whose Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within is a bible for legions. Her essay ("Pen, paper and the mind," page 17) will instruct and inspire you on your chosen path.
You have in your hands some of the best and wisest voices in writing. It's a great feeling to have had a part in delivering them to your door.
--Posted Aug. 1, 2003 |
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