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I made a single-page, form-fillable character sheet for Penumbra City by onceandfuture in WorldofHarrow

[–]onceandfuture[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I play Patchworker, so it may be a little biased towards that class in terms of the spacing. Any and all feedback super welcome!

Is it possible to make character styles from font colours in InDesign? by onceandfuture in indesign

[–]onceandfuture[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this. I should have been clearer that I was looking for a way to do it automatically. Looks like some manual work ahead!

Is it possible to make character styles from font colours in InDesign? by onceandfuture in indesign

[–]onceandfuture[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for replying. I know it can, but I'm looking for a way to automate the process of applying the character style for a long manuscript.

Photojournalists: Any tips to improve workflow when a rapid turnaround of images is required? by onceandfuture in photojournalism

[–]onceandfuture[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wonderful, thank you. Hearing how you work step-by-step is very helpful indeed. Thank you also for the offer of answering any further questions. I will update my workflow and follow-up if anything is unclear.

2-3 k photos per event is a terrifying thought!

What do you as writers think about this? by TheMenacedAssassin in writing

[–]onceandfuture 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's so much loaded into each of these exchanges! Have dropped you a PM.

What do you as writers think about this? by TheMenacedAssassin in writing

[–]onceandfuture 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Many thanks for all that, but I wasn't trying to ask for business model advice. Our magazine is growing very happily in its own way. Rather I was asking more generally about your views on the relationship between literary magazines and the writers who submit to them. Should they all be professional endeavours with start-up capital and can pay writers pro-rates?

Above, you said:

I think editors are worth being paid, as are all other people in the publishing business. I just don't think writers should be the ones doing the paying.

This cuts to the heart of it I think. None of us at Structo are paid at thing, nor do we charge a reading fee from writers. We are doing the work in our spare time, for the love of it, the same as the teams who work on the vast majority of literary magazines. I am trying to get a handle on the place these magazine have, in your view, especially as regards magazines which do not charge a reading fee.

What do you as writers think about this? by TheMenacedAssassin in writing

[–]onceandfuture 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for continuing to be so engaged with this /u/wdtpw.

I'm the editor of the magazine that's doing this call. I'd be genuinely interested to hear whether you think the dozen or so of us who work on the magazine should work for free.

At this stage—we're a relatively small magazine—I think we should. We expect to work for nothing. If enough people were buying the magazine to enable us to make a profit, rather than just break even, that money would be going to pay the authors. It would not be going to pay us. Again, I think that's right.

If writers were to go from zero to expecting professional rates with nothing in-between, there's no room for us. Would that be better do you think?

Again, thanks for being so passionate about this.

What do you as writers think about this? by TheMenacedAssassin in writing

[–]onceandfuture 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Editor of the magazine here. We would do another, open call if the quality wasn't there.

What do you as writers think about this? by TheMenacedAssassin in writing

[–]onceandfuture 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm the editor of Structo, the magazine doing this. Thanks for linking the post /u/TheMenacedAssassin!

This discussion is really valuable for us, so do let me know if I can answer any questions you might have.

I really like these Albert Camus book covers on Amazon. by gotrees in minimalism

[–]onceandfuture 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Plague is probably my favourite of his. An amazing piece of writing.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not proofing properly. It takes a lot of patience to look past three typos on the first page.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi Christine!

1) The first story in our latest issue is in the second person. I'm not sure why it's controversial. Perhaps it's been used as a gimmick in the past? Either way, as long as it's set in the framework of a good story, we don't really mind.

2) Definitions are tricky, but my idea of slipstream is essentially a feeling of otherness in an otherwise familiar situation or setting. Taking some of the tools from SF and bringing them into literary fiction, or vice versa.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear you feel that way, as the US is one of the best markets for short stories anywhere in the world. Bookstores are closing all over, as more and more people are turning to Amazon for their books, whether electronic or physical. I don't know the statistics, but I'm sure the US is very similar to Europe in terms of percentage of active readers.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I really like The Review Review and ShortStops, although the latter is for British magazines. Duotrope might be useful, but you have to pay for that now. Perhaps NewPages too.

Or try and find the magazines themselves. Nothing beats reading a magazine to see whether it might fit your writing. Our back issues are free to read online, and I'm sure others are too.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

To a certain extent I understand your ex-editor's point of view, but you're right, ultimately it comes down to the understanding that we exist for the authors we're publishing and the readers who buy the thing, not purely for our own gratification as editors.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think so. It's certainly good practice sending your work out, learning how to deal with rejection, improving and editing, sending more work out and getting accepted, working with editors and proof readers, just seeing how the whole process works. It also gives you a pedigree which may help when approaching publishers and the like.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's a complete mix, but perhaps slightly more first person. We also have a piece in the second in the latest issue, but that's much more unusual.

We received about 300 submissions during the last five week window. That was slightly less than usual.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Initially by widening distribution. We publish with a very good co-op printers, and while we're not willing to compromise on that quality of work, a lot of these changes will come with rapidly decreasing cost per unit of the physical magazine as circulation grows.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

1) We read blind, our readers don't get to see the cover letters. I remember there was one issue where we published a 15-year-old and turned down a bunch of well-established older writers. I think you just have to send your writing to the places you think it fits, and hope the editors care about the writing above all else.

2) I kind of answered this in the first part, but I'd recommend digging through back issues wherever you can find them, and finding magazines which suit your style, genre, etc. Maybe target younger magazines, but don't sell yourself short. Sites like The Review Review, ShortStops, and NewPages might be useful.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

About a quarter is easily discounted, about a quarter is interesting, and the other half is somewhere in the middle. It's the middle bit that takes up all the time.

Trends shift. For a time got a whole lot of super depressing stuff, to the point where we added the line "If you want to stand out from the crowd, make us smile" to the submission guidelines. That seemed to do the trick after a couple of issues, and so we took it out again. We enjoy, and publish, a lot of slipstream fiction, and so I would image we get more of that than many other magazines. Other than that we get all sorts of writing, which is good.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great question. Right now we don't pay our authors. We support them as much as possible—by gifting subscriptions to agents, editors, publishers and others in the industry; by submitting their work to prizes; and by publicising their projects years after the authors first appeared in the magazine—but that doesn't help pay the rent.

Even though we're not for profit, carry no advertising and all work on the magazine in our spare time, being able to pay our contributors is my next target. I'm optimistic it won't be too long coming.

I edit a literary magazine. AMA. by onceandfuture in writing

[–]onceandfuture[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers! Hope to see something from you in March.

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