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This past semester I gave all my writing classes a choice for their final project. They could write me piece of creative writing in any style, or we could create a magazine together as a class. They would do all the writing and basic article designs (one article per student) and I would put it all together and get it professionally printed. It turns out only one class, Class 095 (one of my best and most adventurous classes) was interested in creating a magazine. The other classes wanted the path of least resistance, and they knew what to expect from a creative writing piece.

Well, I think Class 095 would all quickly agree that creating the magazine was a much harder job, even though it was a lot less writing. But I think they would also agree that the other classes missed out on a more interesting experience. First of all they quickly found that writing something shorter is not easier when you are trying to do it well, and secondly they found out that design does not mean slapping a couple of pictures and a title on an article. Yes, you may look at this and say, “Well, that is not very professionally designed, and there are lots of mistakes.” I’m sorry you couldn’t see all the work the students put into this then, because in the process you would see the improvements through multiple drafts and how much they learned with each one. These are mostly students who had never written an “article” before, and they certainly had never designed one. 

I will be truthful and say that I was disappointed in a number of them for being lazy with their articles at the beginning (and yes a couple of them made it through to the end being lazy), but I really pushed them and made them realize that because I had a lot of experience with creating a magazine I wasn’t going to let them off easy. Then they put in the work, although I hear they bitched about me a lot online and in their dorm rooms. Anyway, I think they were very proud of the final product and I’m proud of them for following through and trying something new. Although, I am really glad only one class chose to do it because it was a hell of a lot of extra work for me. 

NOTE: In typical Chinese fashion a lot of students just ripped their images off from the internet, but I at least tried to enforce that they had legitimate credits for all of the images they used (and they learned that a www. or website name is not an art credit). But I am very happy to point out that a number of students created their own photographs or artwork. All the big photos and the cover art are student work! 

Good Ol’ Class 095!

I’m in the process of moving from New Hampshire to North Carolina, and things will be crazy around here until we get settled in. I’ll be running some oldie-but-goodie posts on the blog until I’m back to work. Enjoy!

In January, I wrote a post called I Just Got an Assignment. Holy Crap! Now What?, where I walk writers through what to do once you land an assignment, from negotiating deadlines to asking for the assignment specs from the editor.

So you got the assignment, you followed all the tips in my previous blog post, you wrote the article — and now you’re wondering what to do to wrap up the assignment. Here’s my advice:

Compile the Source List

Almost every editor will expect a source list so that the fact checker can contact your sources to check their quotes — or at the very least, to send them copies of the magazine if it’s not on the newsstands. You’ll need to include for each of your sources:

Name
Mailing address
E-mail address
Phone number

In addition, you’ll need to include sourcing information for every study you mention. For example, if you quoted from a study you found on PubMed.gov, you’ll need to include the URL.

Some writers send the source list as a separate document attached to the e-mail, but I prefer to just paste mine in after the end of the article. I title the section “SOURCES,” and if the magazine is not on the newsstands, after this heading I write, “Can you please send them copies of the magazine when it’s out? Thanks!” Editors have usually been happy to do this. (If the magazine is on the newsstands, sources can buy their own copy.)

Create an Annotated File

Your editor will let you know ahead of time if she expects an annotated article. I’ve had only one or two magazine clients that wanted this. If yours does, you’ll need to either use the footnoting feature in Microsoft Word or make up your own similar system to give backup for each fact you include in the article.

I like to create my source list, including expert source contact information and URLs of studies I cite, and give each source or study a number. Then, I go through the article and tag each fact with the number that corresponds to the source or study I got it from. For example, it might look something like this:

Vitamin C has been proven to whiten teeth [1], freshen breath [2], cure athlete’s foot [1], and promote healthy sleep [3].

SOURCES (this comes at the end of the article)

[1] Study “Vitamin C’s Effects on Athlete’s Foot and Tooth Whitening,” Journal of Medical Quackery, www.pubmed.gov/78932ny3891.

[2] Dr. Ima Dentist
[contact info]

[3] Study “Vitamin C and Sleep,” Sleep Disorders Research Journal, www.sleepdisordersresearch.org/vitaminC.

Spell Check It

Don’t rely on the spell check feature in your word processing program, which doesn’t know that you accidentally typed “you’re” instead of “your.” Go over it with your own eyes. Print it out if you have to; some people tend to miss mistakes if they read their articles on-screen.

Send It In

Once you’re sure your article is perfect (well, as perfect as it can get — we all make mistakes) and you have your source list done, you can send your article to the editor. I like to both attach the arti

Can pick up a copy at the conference. If you receive this by mail. We are waiting for it to come back from the printers.

Talk Tomorrow,

Kathy

Varoom – illustration, culture, society
Knowledge

For Varoom 15 we have travelled  from the Land of Blind Faith, through Imagination County and ended up at Resolution Mountains. Lost? Don’t worry, follow the map on Marian Bantjes’ beautiful illustration for our Knowledge issue. Also, Airside agency show us How To Do How To Do films with illustrative wit; we learn five lessons from the comics festival in Angoulême, and Des McCannon shows us the educational, intellectual and practical value of using illustration across all disciplines in school.

All this and more. Welcome to the Knowledge issue.

Illustrators featured in Varoom 15 include: William Goldsmith, Jon McNaught, Edward Gorey, Paul Davis, Marian Bantjes, Art Spiegelman, Baru, Dominique Goblet, Norman Rockwell, Luke Best, Alan Baker, David Foldvari, Marion Deuchars, Agnes Decourchelle, Slawa Harasymowicz, Michael Gillette, Masumi Briozzo, Laura Carlin, Luis Scafati, Stuart Murray, Neal Fox, Richard Dinnis and Lorenzo Chiavini.
Exclusive cover by Christoph Niemann. Varoom available in selective stores from late April, or issues and subscriptions at varoomlab.com now.

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I recently submitted a short story to a literary magazine and received a positive rejection:

Great submission. I loved the colorful voice and vivid, detailed scenes. Not really a TMR [The Missouri Review] style story, but good luck publishing it elsewhere.

Any time an editor takes the time to handwrite a note like this it’s a good sign. Most writers receive form rejections (the same worded rejection sent to all others rejected by a publication). The rejection I received gave me hope that my story could be published in another literary journal. I need to research more to find one that’s a better fit.

I had a story published in a literary journal years ago and would be thrilled to sell another. Typically, I write for children, but I also enjoy writing fiction and nonfiction for adults, both literary and commercial. Among the genres I’ve written in are mystery, adventure, romance, inspirational, and humor. I’m a “little writer,” one without a string of New York Times bestsellers or contractual obligations to write so many books a year. I’m free to write what I want. While big writers focus on developing a “brand” (a kind of writing they’re known for), I’m free to experiment. No pressures. No deadlines. No limits.

Years ago a friend and fellow author, Charlotte Adelsperger, said to me, “Little writers have more fun.”

Wise words.