We sang, we sold and drank slurry deep into the night…
June 04
In no small way, the EWF kicked off for the sixth time last week, with the mainstays of the program taking place over the weekend. Meanjin was there to roll in all the dirt, grime and folly, taking part in Page Parlour at Fed Square and The Pitch at the Melbourne Town Hall.
At Page Parlour, small words, independent zines, hand-drawn covers and scrabble jewellery ran riot. The kids from stop drop and roll hunkered down nearby the crew from harvest and Meanjindug plots with a few of the members of SPUNC right at the mouth of the wind tunnel that was the Atrium. I imagine that after a while, one gets weary of all the festival clichés and upbeat ‘wasn’t that great!’ attitude. But in truth it was nice to be in the company of like-minded fellows. Not everyone was perfect, or willing to take on the world, but everyone was certainly into words, into writing, and still fresh and new enough to be taking risks. Most of all, I was struck by the fact that many zines and mags were doing this all out of their own pockets, sans funding, sans certainties, for no other reason than the fact that they wanted to.
The Pitch took place the day before and the program summed it up like so: ‘the art of pitching your work told by Publishers as they pitch how they would like to be pitched to’. And that’s exactly how it fell, with eleven publications – from broad-reaching nationals with heart like the Big Issue to growing bulbs (also with heart) such as Tango – gathering in the Swanston Room to take part. In this spirit, I thought I’d share with you some of the suggestions that were bandied about that afternoon, for those who might have missed the session or lost their notes. This is by no means an exhaustive list and some points may not be relevant to all, but like the session itself, it’s meant in the spirit of helpfulness and good use.
1. Read the submission guidelines.
2. Read the submission guidelines
For many, this will seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people forget to do this. The guidelines are not there because publishers want to toy with you – in actual fact they help us read and process submissions a lot faster. The more you help us, the faster we can get back to you and the happier we will be to receive your work. Remember, editors are a strange species of human who love wide margins, double-spacing, paper clips, east-on-the-eye fonts and bright yellow SSAEs (indeed we get tingles just thinking about these things, we would give them as Christmas presents if we could).
3. Know the publication and what they like
This is basically about finding the right place for your work. You are 10 times more likely to place a genre short story (such as sci-fi or fantasy) in say a publication that specialises in that field, than you are if you submit it to a journal that has an express interest in contemporary politics.
4. Be nice
This is because we’d like to be nice to you and it’s very difficult to do that in the face of angry emails or outraged phone calls.
5. Be patient
I know that it can be nerve-wracking waiting to hear back from a publisher, but we receive hundreds of submissions each week and are a very small team. If we were like Hermione in Harry Potter and had that hour-glass time-turner thingy, life would be a lot easier, but we don’t and it’s not. We will get back to you as soon as we can. If you’re ever anxious or feel you’ve waited longer than usual, send a polite email and we’ll follow up.
6. Keep it simple
At the end of the day, your writing will speak for itself. Don’t feel you need to dress up your submission with fancy paper, long publications histories or outrageous bios. As Chris Flynn from Torpedo said on the weekend, all you really need to say is: ‘Hello. Here I am. I’m submitting this story, I hope you like it. Thank you’.
7. Don’t serially submit
Of course we love writing, and your work is what we thrive on. But don’t send 6 pieces every fortnight – just send one, once in a while, and make it your best one. This just shows that you’re savvy to the fact that it’s not about churning out oodles of words, but about that 1 great story or essay that will really count.
JA
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Comments
04 Jun 09 at 12:52
And most of all, don't forget the meaning of the word 'submit'.
...04 Jun 09 at 18:08
Hi JA,
Your Hermione reference flew straight over my head. This is because I don't read Harry Potter. I haven't seen the Harry Potter films. Apparently, according to SOMEONE I spoke to about it on the week, this either makes me: a) ignorant, or b) high and mighty. Funny, cos I just thought I didn't really like Harry Potter.
...04 Jun 09 at 19:56
Sam - No one just 'doesn't like Harry Potter'. Either a) you haven't really given it a chance, or b) you do love it, deep down, and are just saying otherwise to appear sufficiently snooty. Case in point, think how much richer your life would be, had you understood said time-thingy reference.
...04 Jun 09 at 21:27
Aww, I totally missed out by not attending. There was probably cake there, too.
...05 Jun 09 at 11:40
Hi Jessica,
What is Meanjin's stance on simultaneous submisson? Don't do it? Is simultaneous submission to magazines a bad thing in general?
...05 Jun 09 at 12:13
Hi Simon,
Generally, I'd say it's not a good idea to simultaneously submit. If your story/essay gets accepted by 2 journals at once, you are ultimately going to have to write to one and withdraw it - this happens to us quite often and ends up being a waste of everyone's time. That said, I know that waiting for a reply can be frustrating - if you've been left waiting for more than 3 months you should feel free to email and let us know you're considering submitting elsewhere, also to hurry us along.
Hope that helps.
...05 Jun 09 at 14:36
Yes, that makes sense. Thanks very much, Jessica.
...05 Jun 09 at 19:44
Two questions, Sophie. Firstly what is Meanjin's policy on accepting work that has or continues to appear in personal blogs and why? And secondly, instead of talking what writer's need to do, what makes a good editor?
...06 Jun 09 at 13:45
The blogs we've cross-posted (well,so far there has only been 2 of them) haven't been 'submitted' or 'accepted'. They've been posts I've read, and liked, and thought would be of interest to Spike readers. I've asked for and been given permission by the authors of the post. The logic behind it is that I assume people will get bored always hearing from me, or Jess and I want more variety on the blog. As well, some weeks we're so busy on the print version of Meanjin we haven't time to pay enough attention to the blog. So, that's the reasoning behind it.
This post on what 'writer's need to do', as you put it, is
because writers often ask us that question. As for what makes a
good editor, I have written articles and talked at various events
on that question, but in terms of putting ourselves under the same
spotlight we're putting writers under - that's how I read your
comment, anyway -I think it's for others to say what they think a
good editor is, or isn't. If I did that on this blog I'd just sound
as if I was pontificating.
07 Jun 09 at 7:50
Oh no, sorry. I didn't mean here in your blog, I meant in the journal itself. The distinction between a blog and a journal is rapidly blurring, as evidenced by the confusion. It's interesting that the word 'journal' and the word 'blog' originally had the same meaning, a diary or record and I think they are gradually becoming the same thing again.
I shall have to go looking for your thoughts on being a good editor. I have been asking a lot of editors and as the editor of our most prestigious journal, I think you probably have the right to pontificate.
Generally the answers so far have been personal qualities that one might find in any good CEO or sporting coach, vision, commitment and so on. I am patiently waiting for someone to say, 'the ability to make the distinction between the writer and the work.'
Have a lovely Sunday, and keep up the good work. I'm enjoying your bloggedy blog enormously.
...07 Jun 09 at 19:00
Ah - well we do have rules about not reusing material in the print journal though have broken that rule occasionally. Basically we don't republish already published pieces. However Newsreel often uses blog posts. However now we actually have a blog I can see that the nature of that section of the magazine will need to change, to ensure the kind of distinction you're talking about. This is something we've been talking about in at the office. Other exceptions have been one story (Abigail Ulman's piece last year had been published in a US magazine) and one design piece (Ampersand Duck's essay on covers, also last year, began life as a blog post).
...