Fees, Business Models, Publishing, Oh My!

It may be worth a mention that when I set the submission fees for the print edition, I consulted with a marketing expert with more years of experience in his field than I've been alive. My initial thought was $5 across the board, and he balked at this. He urged us to go for $20, but I knew that was too high.

He offered his reasoning for this, which essentially entailed weeding out not-very-dedicated submitters, where the idea was to encourage a higher quality of submissions, and to let people know the print edition should be taken seriously. His line of reasoning is that people realize they get what they pay for, and having a fee on the higher end would provide the image of a higher quality publication.

Thinking about this, I considered the existing identity of the online journal, with an ackowledgement that any print edition would be associated with the online journal right out of the gate. We've always been free, and the only time a fee has been charged was for a competition for which, yes, there was a prize and print publication, with complimentary copies being awarded in tiers, from the Grand Prize winner through honorable mentions. But competitions are different from a standard print issue and therefore are based on a different model.

Updates that will be posted to the print submission guidelines are:

* That a complimentary issue is provided for all submitters
* Adjustment to the fees
* Removal of fees for reviews
* That published authors will receive compensation, TBD

I do take issue with Robert Swartwood saying that the business model is a bad decision. I am far from Narrative's greatest fan, but they are essentially doing the same thing. This doesn't make it right, but it doesn't make it wrong, either. Has it worked for them? Obviously, yes. That is neither to say that it would work for me, nor that our fee structure is based off of theirs. The reason I divulged how I came up with the fee structure in the first place was to show that it was not based off anything anyone else was doing, but by consulting with someone who knows what he's talking about, and by taking into consideration the current incarnations of the journal.

The bottom line is this: if you don't like the fees, don't submit to the journal. Soon they will look a lot friendlier, and then some other schmuck will likely come along and whine that we don't pay enough to our contributors... and the cycle goes on.

Ignorance Breeds Contempt

Is Prick of the Spindle experiencing growing pains? Maybe. Since its inception in March 2007, the journal has come a long way. It went from being a fledgling online publication to becoming the first literary journal available as a Kindle magazine, and then to branching off into the print arm, Aqueous Books, which publishes novel- and novella-length works of fiction and nonfiction.

The journal's dedication to literature continues. In the interest of opening up yet another avenue for our readership, we recently launched submissions for a print edition, which is to be a biannual publication. We are charging submission fees, which will allow us to pay contributors and cover costs of printing.

However, not everyone is taking kindly to this. Check out this blog, courtesy of Robert Swartwood: http://www.robertswartwood.com/insights/scam-of-the-spindle/


Thanks for the PR, Mr. Swartwood!

We are not greedy, but if we were, we wouldn't pay our contributors. The contributor compensation is TBA, because it really depends on how many submissions we receive, the cost of printing the issue (which will depend on how much content is included), and so on. Call them growing pains. This is a new venture, and with several print issues of the journal under our belts, we'll doubtless be able to provide a solid contributor compensation list. We do not receive financial support from any person or institution. And because we currently have a 501(c)(3) application pending, we are not yet able to apply for grants.

It may be worth noting that Prick of the Spindle editors are volunteers, and have been since the beginning. None of us receive any compensation, and the monthly web hosting fees (and any other associated costs) come from my very own (not very deep) pockets, and have from day one. To call any of us greedy is laughable, and just plain ignorant. We are not Narrative.

Please feel free to weigh in. What do you think are fair fees for submitting to a journal that will provide compensation? I recently read with interest several Facebook posts on this subject, and would love to hear your thoughts. We're not against listening to our readers--after all, we've dedicated the last four years to reading your work. What do you think?

Aqueous Books Update

As of May 31, 2010, Aqueous Books' debut publication, Michael J. Atwood's HiStory of Santa Monica, is available. It is available through Aqueous Books, as an Amazon Kindle edition, from Barnes & Noble, and through the Ingram online distribution catalog. View the Press Kit here.

It has been a long process, to which many of my publishing acquaintances can attest, putting together and sending out press releases and notifications, establishing contact with booksellers and libraries, registering Aqueous Books with various online sources, and yes, even the occasional amount of legwork.

Has it been worth it? It's been worth every ounce of energy, blood, and tears, and even worth every Benjamin Franklin spent (and trust me, there have been many! Ouch!)

I am looking forward to our upcoming publications: by Alec Bryan, Heather Fowler, Aaron Polson, and quite a few others.

This is only the beginning of a very long journey that I hope will last longer than I do, and I think we're off to a great start. I have the honor and privilege to work with some very fine, talented authors, and my right-hand lady, the very talented editor Erin McKnight, who has been an amazing asset throughout all of the processes.

Time to celebrate? Not yet--there's still work to be done!

~

The Indie Book Awards

I'm so pleased to announce that my first book--How to Write & Publish a Successful Children's Book: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Atlantic Publishing, 2010)--landed a finalist spot in the Writing & Publishing Category in the Indie Book Awards!

I owe a big "thank you" to my careful editors at Atlantic Publishing--Kimberly Fulscher and Marilee Griffin, and to the publisher, Doug Brown, for allowing me the freedom to include my illustrations in the book. I'm as happy as if I'd won the award!

I'm looking forward to my next nonfiction title's debut, due at the end of June, on publishing for the Kindle. It will be the first book to describe the process of publishing a magazine and newspaper for the Kindle. It's good to try to have some sort of corner on the market!

~

Another Installment of Angry Rejection Mail

We (meaning I and the majority of the staff at Prick of the Spindle) think the gross majority of e-mails sent in angry, impulsive response to rejections (even the nicest and most helpful of rejections) are largely hilarious.

A while back (don't ask me how long ago) I posted an article I wrote featuring some of the best hilarity-inducing e-mails. Due to the more or less steady influx of such letters (which I attribute to the more or less steady stream of rejections we send), I think featuring these every now and then might be good for a larf.

One note, however: we have noticed a strong trend. Since implementing the Submishmash submission manager, we have noticed that both a) the decrease in overall submissions received and b) the increase in quality of submissions received has coincided with a sharp decrease in the number of angry rejection mail (ARM). Coincidence? Perhaps. Or...not so much.

Without further ado, ARM #1 of this installment:

You would have found everything that you suggested if you read the story slowly. Not every story can be understood, even if it is written simply and expecially if it is more complex than it initially appears, if it is quickly read. But today's editors are more than often too overwhelmed with and desensitized by submissions to read them any other way. Thus, contemporary literature has become like so many other things in this country--a cheap product to be quickly consumed in vast quantities.

As for the parotting dialogue, that is the character's personality, a personality strongly based on a real person.

Writer X

5. "expecially" should provide some idea of the quality of writing we're dealing with here
4. "Today's editors." Yeah. I'll let that one stand on its own.
3. Submissions don't desensitize me--this work is my passion. I am, however, becoming better at analyzing the volumes of work that come in and determing whether something can be "rescued" by editing, or if it is flawed at its very heart and the result of a writer not yet developed.
2. Yeah, we're all about that "cheap product." We're Wal-Mart shoppers. Faded Glory over Gucci.

And the best one yet...
1. Oh yes, fiction is always best when it imitates life and actual people and events closely. After all, that's what fiction's all about--staying true to the events, not the story. Nonfiction is for the birds!

~

The Producers

It's hard to believe it's been more than a month and a half since my last blog post. For shame! I slap my own hand.

It's a day that's threatening rain and perfect weather to write. But on the agenda for this weekend is a whole lot of reading. I have read through many manuscripts for Aqueous Books, and still have many more to read through, including going through final edits for our first publication, Michael J. Atwood's interlinked short story collection, HiStory of Santa Monica.

In other exciting news, on Monday, April 12, I met with Jerry Ahillen, Pensacola Little Theatre Artistic Director, and Michelle Hancock, the Little Theatre's Beyond Boundaries Program Coordinator, to discuss my Outreach Initiative for Youth Drama idea. I am excited to provide the results of that meeting in the following press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Prick of the Spindle literary journal partners with the Pensacola Little Theatre to produce plays for youth in the Fall of 2010

Pensacola, FL, April 23, 2010 ― International nonprofit literary journal Prick of the Spindle announced a new partnership with the Pensacola Little Theatre, who will be producing plays for area youth through the journal's Outreach Initiative for Youth Drama competition. Prick of the Spindle is hosting a competition open to international dramatists for youth in three categories. Playwrights can submit work for children in age groups 4-8 years old; 8-12 years; and 12 and up. View the guidelines.

This initiative promises to continue the impact on area youth that the Pensacola Little Theatre is known for. A winning play from each category will be produced in the fall of 2010 through the Pensacola Little Theatre's Beyond Boundaries program. The program, managed by Coordinator Michelle Hancock, brings drama into schools, assisted living facilities, and community centers in an effort to provide a cultural experience to people from all backgrounds. The journal's vision aligns neatly with that of the theatre. "It has been my vision from day one to promote quality work from writers of all backgrounds," says Prick of the Spindle Editor-in-Chief and founder Cynthia Reeser. Both organizations are poised to offer top-level material to the community at large.

The Pensacola Little Theatre was founded in 1926, according to their Website, on the closing of The Opera House. The Board of Managers (later to become the Board of Directors) brought the theatre successfully through the Great Depression, and have been serving the community ever since. Now midway through its 73rd season, the Little Theatre is host to such stage shows as Little Shop of Horrors, The Producers, Victor Victoria, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 12 Angry Jurors, and more.

Prick of the Spindle is a Pensacola-based nonprofit organization founded in 2007. It is the first literary journal to establish a presence as a Kindle magazine on Amazon.com, and has seen a rapid increase in its readership since its inception. It is one of the few literary journals publishing drama, and has interviewed a variety of established and up-and-coming authors and editors. Authors published in the journal have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the StorySouth Million Writers Award, Best of the Net Anthology, Best of the Web Anthology, and more. The journal is hosting a reading featuring published poets, fiction, and nonfiction authors on June 19, 2010 at Dolce Vita on South Reus Street in Pensacola; the event is a fundraiser whose profits benefit a youth art program.

For additional information, contact Cynthia Reeser at pseditor@prickofthespindle.com.

Visit Prick of the Spindle and the Pensacola Little Theatre online.



We're looking for playwrights! Folks, send me your best work. I can't wait to read it. Guidelines are here.

Paintings Afire.

I am so very pleased to have sold "Blue Staircase" (quite honestly, it's a heartbroken sort of pleased) and to have placed "Intrinsic," which I sold in 2008 at auction, for the cover of a poetry chapbook forthcoming by Stacy Julin from Tiger's Eye Press.

I suppose I should keep painting.