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Editor Interview: Not Your Mothers Breast Milk

This interview is provided for archival purposes. The listing is not currently active.

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

A: Art that nurtures souls

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

A: Hypertext Magazine is a really fantastic literary magazine for finding unique perspectives and experiences.

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

A: For writing, I absolutely love Michael Chabon. His work has so much depth to it and he never loses sight of his characters amidst the plot. For more intimate writing, Andre Aciman did outstanding work with Call Me By Your Name. For art, it's impossible to not adore Henri Cartier Bresson. Is images capture such personal, candid moments in a way that no other artist has.

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

A: We work with our artists. Most sites just reject pieces that aren't at publishable quality, but we like to provide feedback and help artists revise their work if we feel like there's really something there. Very few, if any, literary sites do that and I'm really proud that that's something we are able to provide the art/writing community.

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

A: Don't hesitate. Even if we don't feel like it is right for us at the time, it never hurts to get your work out there and in front of others.

Q: Describe the ideal submission.

A: I'd like to use our mission statement for this one as I think it describes the exact submissions we like to receive:
NYMBM is a home for art that nurtures the spirit and spirits that nurture art. Our focus is to give artists the opportunity to explore creative freedom, the opportunity to be truly vulnerable, and the opportunity to tell stories that have the ability to connect us with one another by breaking social barriers to get to what really unites us: truth and experience.

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

A: That we accept and immediately put your work on the site.

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

A: There's no need for cover letters, but we love to hear what inspired you to create your work. Not Your Mother's Breast Milk is a very artist driven site. We like to show that in the artists we include on the site.

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

A: We always read the whole piece. Just because the beginning doesn't catch you right away doesn't mean the story isn't good. Since we like to work with artists, we want to read the whole thing so we can provide good, knowledgeable feedback,

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

A: Does it fit our mission statement? Is there depth to it? What are the themes working within the piece? Is it fully told/shown or does the artist need to dig deeper?

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

A: I have a day job in the city so I usually come home from that, read some submissions our acquisitions team has accepted, check the publication schedule, set-up new pieces on the site, etc. We have such a strong team of individuals working on the site that it makes my job a lot easier.

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

A: The world is changing so quickly and it's important to stay relevant and a strong part of that is embracing technology. We try to stay active on social media platforms and connect with other artists that way.

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

A: Once we have worked with the artist to edit and revise the piece, we will usually do some line editing when setting up the piece to publish. We always want the author to feel like the piece on the site is still 100% theirs so any changes will always go through them before getting finalized.

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

A: We haven't yet since we're still so new, but it's definitely something we look out for.