Editors Day

On Thursday I received an email from my local SCBWI chapter that Off Campus Writers’ Workshop was hosting an Editors Day about an hour from where I live on Friday. It was only $10, so I scrambled to find a sitter for the next morning.
The editors featured were Wendy McClure from Albert Whitman Publishing (I had just sent a manuscript to her last month, so I primarily went to hear her speak), Sharon Woodhouse from Lake Claremont Press, David Gecic of Puddin’Head Press, and Sarah Lange of The Writer Magazine.
Unfortunately Wendy McClure had gotten her days mixed up and wasn’t present (I was so disappointed!), but I did get some good insights into publishing from the other editors.
Sarah Lange, the Associate Editor of Writer Magazine, gave the following advice about landing assignments at Writer magazine (and other magazines).
Be familiar with the magazine. Read recent issues.
Read Editor’s notes.
Read staff blogs.
Read and follow submission guidelines.
Don’t query on a topic recently done.
Write a compelling query.
-Get idea across quickly.
-Have an intriguing hook.
- State benefits of the article for the reader.
-Give a brief bio and include notable publishing credits
-Offer to send clips of previously published articles
Be willing to revise

Sharon Woodhouse, who happened to be a friend of my sister’s, spoke next. She was very friendly and approachable. Lake Claremont Press publishes nonfiction books about Chicago. She mentioned that out of 500 proposals she receives a year, only 30 are competitive, and they choose about 8 a year to publish. She stated that she receives so many proposals or manuscripts that is not related to what their company publishes. This is obviously a waste of time for the author and the publisher. Remember to do your homework about each publisher when sending out your manuscripts.
Dave Gecic started Puddin’Head Books in 1985. They publish 3-4 poetry books for adults a year. He said that he is looking for active poets that are willing to read their poetry publicly and are active in other journals, magazines, chapbooks. He is looking for collections that are narrative and descriptive, but no haiku collections.


REMNDER: Postage stamps go up today!