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Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Art about life's journey
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: Paper Darts for their well crafted visual layout; River Styx for their dedication to the written word; Boston Review for their in depth and timely reporting.
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: D. Nurkse, Nick Flynn, John Haines, Robinson Jeffers, William Blake, Samuel Tyler Coleridge, Bill Holm, Kevin Kling, and Arthur Rimbaud.
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: We select photographs from our own library for each written piece, or include photographs from the author. We feature an artist each issue with a highlight of their work along with a personalized interview.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: Everyone says to read previous issues, which is important, but only to a certain point. If you have something edgy, something you are not sure about, send it to us. We have no theme in mind for each issue, but are looking for original work, written and visual, that takes readers on a journey down the street, or beyond what we can see.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: An ideal submission is within the guidelines for the genre, includes a short 3 to 4 sentence bio with a cover letter, and includes the artists confidence in their work. They feel it is their best work and they feel it is what we are looking for.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: I think our guidelines for number of pieces and length is generous and covers what most people send. About 5% of our submissions come in via email and not the submission form we have. That creates a bit more work for us and can delay getting a proper response to a submission.
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: I want to know very little beyond name, email, a website/blog if they have one. The bio statement with previous publications is used if we select the work. For the reading and review process, the less I know the better.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: That depends on technical issues such as starting a form and changing or the piece getting lost within the form. If that happens early, I feel I cannot fairly judge the piece. I was reading a collection of poems for a book review, but had to stop half way through the book. There were many editing and technical errors that were in the way of a potentially great book with a positive message. Beyond that I will get to the end of a piece and make a decision, or if my gut does not go with a yes or no, I will set it aside and read again in a couple of weeks.
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: For written submissions that are not chapbooks, the evaluation is pretty straight-forward. For chapbooks and visual submissions, the other editor of Stone Path Review is consulted and we make the decisions together.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: When I receive notification of a new submission I briefly look at the genre and cover letter and set it aside. I have set times each week where I will spend hours of uninterrupted time on what is waiting for review. If I am reviewing a book for an issue or the website, I will read it in the shortest time possible. If after the first read, I am intrigued and really want others to know about the book, I will read it again, taking notes, and highlighting what I feel is important and worth sharing. Books reviews are posted to our website and amazon.com if applicable. About a month before an issue is set to go-live, I stop reading submissions and concentrate on the work that has been selected. For each issue, we create a PDF downloadable version as well as a print version. Along with that we create a website that contains more content, extended author bio, and links to various social media sites. After an issue is out, we start on the next issue and begin reviewing work that is in the queue.
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: In order to reach an audience across generations, a publisher has to have a print version, a website, and know how to use social media successfully. More and more people are connected and through that can share with their friends more quickly if they like something. We use Facebook and Pinterest to expand our reach and use on-demnad printing through HP Mag Cloud for those that would like to hold and smell a real magazine.