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Editor Interview: Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing

Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

A: Words & photos that heal

Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?

A: The Sun, Rattle, Torch. Also, Press 53.

Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?

A: We publish both and it's hard to name one or two. We publish only those whose work we fall in love with.

Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

A: We publishing emerging and established writers. Some have their first poem published with us and others come with a list of awards. We make ourselves accessible in that way. We also publish previously published work if the writer owns the right (and we say where it was originally published). We don't believe that if it was published before that it can't still be read by different audiences at a different time. And though there are literary publications that may include photography, we focus on one photography whose photos we use throughout that issue. Also, and maybe most importantly, our mission is to show the connection between art and healing, so what you see in our journals is directly or indirectly tied to healing.

Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?

A: Read the guidelines and read at least one of our issues. If you don't get a feel for us before you submit you risk not having your work included. There is no guarantee that you're be published if you do, but it helps to know more about us that way. If you've submitted and you weren't selected, make sure you read an issue before resubmitting. We want diverse voices but you might need to see that to know better what we mean.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: The ideal submission is one that abides our guidelines (does not exceed word or page count, etc), has everything correct (doesn't send us a revision later) before the closing date, says in their cover letter why they want to be included (makes a connection), let's us know IMMEDIATELY if they need to withdraw, helps promote us if we publish them.

Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?

A: This isn't something we see a lot of but it's something I definitely feel submitters need to be careful about: having the wrong publication name in the cover letter! We do see and can easily tell when a submitter hasn't taken the time to read our guidelines! Typos happen but when it happens in every line, it's a turnoff.

Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?

A: Cover letters matter to us but not so much their publishing history. We don't care if you've been published all over the world (though that is impressive) or if this is your first time out there (congrats). We do care about why you've chosen us and/or the theme. We want to know about you in that way. The quality of the work you submitted will speak to us in ways credentials can't.

Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

A: We have two editors who read and they have their own style. If they see immediately that the guidelines haven't been followed, they won't read it. For the most part, they read to the end -- unless it's just too hard to get through due to grammatical errors, poor writing, etc.

Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?

A: Selection is based on the quality of the work. We also pay attention to the connection the work has to the theme and how the pieces compare and contrast. So you may have a wonderfully written piece but if it's offering the same perspective as three others that have been chosen, we may not pick it. That's why we allow up to three poems per person -- to allow for your voice to been heard (read) in different ways.

Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

A: Each editor (poetry and creative nonfiction) reads what comes into them in about a three week period. They vote and make comments, editorial suggestions, etc. After that, I take a look and what they've selected or what questions they may have. The majority of the time I'm in agreement, but I may have a question or a concern about their selection, which we then talk about.

Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?

A: Since we're electronically-based, it's hard to imagine not embracing technology. I guess it's about your readership (some would prefer we were print) and who you're targeting. For us, it's more economical and eco-friendly to be electronic. We offer our subscriptions the option of downloading and printing the journal on their on, if they prefer, however. We could improve our social media footprint, which is our goal for 2020.

Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?

A: We don't edit much. We may have follow-up questions or suggestions but that's only if we're okay with publishing the piece as is. We give the writer the opportunity to accept what we're saying or not. If it's too confusing for us or too many typos or edits, we pass. We're volunteer-based with full-time jobs so, unfortunately, we don't have as much as we would like to work with writers in that way.

Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?

A: We haven't yet. As writers ourselves, we know how important it is to have your work supported and recognized in this way. It's something we plan to do in the future.