Jocelyn and I are going to research other courses which will aid any other students looking to develop their publishing skills and knowledge. We will also be looking at what is available in Eureka and Arcata, any workshops, groups etc. that are available. However, we have yet to put our information together. Over the weekend we've been working on copyediting the accepted submissions, and Jocelyn went out of town as well so we were unable to meet on Friday and converse further about the project. I've already made a list of a few courses that seem useful and emailed a couple professors in order to learn more about what the courses actually offer in relation to publishing, as well as asking them about any advice they have to give for inquiring students. I have yet to hear back from the professors, hopefully I will soon after midterms are finished.
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After having a chance to browse through various literary journals online and in the Toyon room, I've been able to compose a short list of what I found works or doesn't.
What was done in the past week:
-Meet with Jocelyn on Friday to begin working with InDesign for a couple hours, as well as watched some of the tutorials in how to use the program. -We looked at other journals and wrote down ideas for how we'd like to format the upcoming issue. -Kept up with blog posts. -Read/reviewed the "Chicago Manual of Style" and "The Copyeditor's Handbook". -Placed markers for things I don't quite understand so I can ask questions during the class. Also, I placed markers for important pages (list of editing symbols, etc.) to easily flip back to them when needed. -Fixed some issues with previous blog posts. -Reviewed what a copyeditor is/ isn't responsible for when reading a contributor's work, and the symbols used during the process. -Practiced the copyediting a short story and did fairly well. I learned that keeping a dictionary nearby is very useful to always check the spelling, as well as the usage of any word, that I am not 100% positive is correct. It was a good learning experience, which helped me understand what my strengths are, and where I need to improve. -On Sunday I met again with Jocelyn to play around more with InDesign, and experiment with different types of layouts for the journal. -In addition, we began brainstorming ideas for our research project- what type of information or resources we're looking for, how to get this information, what is actually valuable to the future of Toyon and it's staff, etc. We will be meeting again to finalize who is doing what and begin accumulating our data on Friday. Accomplishments for the past week:
-Split up the genres between Angela, Jocelyn, and I, then sent out the submissions to the rest of the staff for the reviewing process. -Created an editorial statement. -Looked over other literary journals and the different styles they have, in order to generate ideas about designing the next spring issue. -Kept up with readings and blog posts. -After talking with Jocelyn we decided to meet in the Toyon room on Friday and begin using the InDesign / getting familiar with using the program. The Toyon is a multilingual journal which receives submissions from around the globe. Our journal is an outlet for the creative thinkers and readers to indulge in whenever they need inspiration or entertainment. It offers a space where experienced authors, as well as new authors taking their first steps, can showcase their work to the public and gain experience with the submission/publication process. You'll find a variety of works within the journal, which range from comments on society to social and environmental justice, to works derived for pure entertainment. The contributed pieces are just as diverse as the community supporting the magazine. As our community grows, Toyon grows with it.
Accomplishments for the week:
-Kept up with readings for the class, as well as blog posts. -I have read more of the Copyeditors Handbook. -After doing my readings I had a new idea for Toyon to try out, and will mention it to the staff on Monday to get their input. -In class we came up with evaluating criteria for reviewers to use as they read through submissions. -I took the staff photo on Monday, and once I finish making minor edits I will either upload the photo to the staff drive of email it to our staff advisor directly. When reading Herbert Leibowitz’s article in “Paper Dreams” a particular sentence stood out to me. It mentioned that editors must be able to decipher the intellectuality, laziness, accuracy, and sloppiness of an author’s submission (270). This is one of the stronger criteria in which I look for when evaluating a submission. A written work must be saying something, or making a comment in some way that compels the reader to respond/reflect in any way. It’s harder to create an idea or emotion within the reader if the writing lacks focus and more so, if it’s poorly written. As for the intellectuality of a piece, there is a difference when you’re reading a work that is complex because the idea is one of complexity, versus reading an overcomplicated written submission with a not so complex idea. By this I mean reading a piece that makes you feel as if the majority was fluff/unnecessary for understanding or complicates understanding for no particular reason. I keep an eye out strictly for pieces that seem to be written solely to give the impression of looking complex or profound, without the content actually being either of these things. This is not to say that the author truly felt that what they were saying isn't profound, or was trying to talk big to look big, but that sometimes what we write isn't as profound as we think it is, or just isn't communicated in a way that reflects what makes the piece profound to the author, profound to the reader.
Another aspect I take into consideration when evaluating submissions is, has it been done before, and if so is the author bringing anything new to the table? To expand upon this sentence, is the author telling us something in such a way that causes the reader to reflect in a new light on a common topic. One thing I want Toyon to avoid is publishing the same material over and over again in each issue, especially when it comes to poetry. Literary journals need variety in not only genres, but also the content these genres produce. Asking yourself if this particular idea has been done before, is overdone, or has been done before but in a considerably new way, works to create variety amongst the works published. Lastly, a major criteria I use for evaluation is the form. This aspect is mainly geared toward evaluating poetry, spoken word, and visual art, but know it can/does apply to all genres. When looking at poetry form can be the sole purpose, or affect how it is to be read/understood. This may seem to contradict the criteria of, is the piece saying something but it does not. While the words themselves may appear to be pointless, the form steps in and gives the poem its power or message. Form is just as important as the content itself, and demands just as much of the intellectual process to perform successfully. Despite this, I feel it’s one of the more underrated aspects of visual or literary art, and tends to be forgotten when reviewing submissions. A good amount of poetry relies on its form, and if you’re not aware of this you could be tossing one of the better written pieces because you didn’t understand how the author is using form to make his or her point. Sometimes the poem, spoken word, or visual art piece, is all about form and the words/image are the backlight which make it visible. So, when I evaluate these art forms and I can’t understand the point the words or images are making, I look to the form and see if that’s where it is, or that's what hammers in the nail. I want to reiterate that form can be just as complex and beautiful as the writing or image itself, and should be taken into account during all evaluations. This account of form will also transform the type of works published in Toyon as it will recognize the varying ways commenting on society, politics, life experiences, etc., can appear in literary and visual art. |
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December 2016
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