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Q: Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.
A: Weird and beautiful shiz!
Q: What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?
A: I am in love with 212 Magazine-- from the content and layout to the paper they use for publishing-- everything about 212 is worth the read. The staff really did a good job. *waving at 212 Magazine and giving a thumbs up*
Q: If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?
A: I respect and love every submission we put on the magazine. I have a hard time rejecting people; it breaks my heart. It's really hard deciding which ones are my favorite. But if I were to choose my fave writer (in the current issue), it would be Avra Margariti. She's our featured contributor for issue 6. As for the artists, I can't choose! They're all too good.
Q: What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?
A: I can't seem to tell yet. Maybe the fact that it's an online magazine. This is our second year and we're planning to do a lot of things like, growing our staff. We're excited to do print and that's something we're looking forward to. Right now you have to download it or read it on Issuu.
Q: What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?
A: We get lots of emails every time we open our submissions bucket. Other than connecting your story with the quarter's theme, we encourage people to make a short description of their fiction story. If it catches our attention then there is a BIG possibility for your work to be prioritized, read and accepted. Although, you don't need to worry because we read every single email.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: Other than having an awesome story? The ones that follow the format. Haha. That means it should contain the number of words, description of the story and writer's bio.
Q: What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?
A: I have people emailing and asking me where they can send the money so we can publish their story. We don't do that. We pay you!
Q: How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?
A: It doesn't really matter who and what you are but I have to say that I love reading writer's bio when it's a little playful. You know, the ones that don't mention their previous publications and just do a silly bio like talking about their daily routine and mentioning other things they're fond of. Waving to Tony Koval right now, if she's reading this:
"Tony Koval lives in Alaska with her three children and her husband. She spends her time pretending to be a ballerina or a rockstar while she cooks tacos. Sometimes she gets distracted and accidentally burns things. One time, she broke her toe leaping across her kitchen while dancing."
Reading cover letters like these bring a smile to my face.
Q: If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?
A: It actually depends.
We make sure to read everything all the time. Although we can tell the story is going to be good from the first few sentences or paragraph. There will be submissions where we can tell it's already a 'no' simply because of sentence structure, grammar or the story isn't that interesting at all. *nervous smile
Q: What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?
A: Very important: it wasn't published anywhere else. We do first electronic rights so NRM should be the first place where your piece is published.
Q: What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?
A: Coffee fuels our team so getting the first cup of coffee is essential.
A huge part of my day is basically talking to the NRM writers and sharing creative juices and brain farts (or sharing memes). My team dubbed me 'Alexa' because other than being the editor, I'm in charge of playing music so I'm totally grateful to whoever brought Spotify into this world. I do lots of tasks in between reading submissions like researching artist profiles, editing writers' works, keeping up with our social media presence, etc.
My favorite thing to do is probably procrastinating. Ha!
Q: How important do you feel it is for publishers to embrace modern technologies?
A: I think it's inevitable and no matter how much we try to resist modern technology, it's already there and people will always make use of it. These things are actually making it easier for people to connect or build an audience. Although it's hard to let go of the nostalgic feeling in doing prints or remaining traditional and I guess that's why it's difficult for people to accept the changes technology brings.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: We don't make any major edits. I do basic proofreading and keeping an eye on typos. I want the story to be as authentic as possible.
Q: Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?
A: I have not and thank you for that idea.
Maybe I will start today.