E-Panel: November Literary Journal Editor

The following is the November Literary Journal Editor E-Panel (the word panel is rather loosely used here), with an interview of 1 editor of a great Literary Journal. There have now been 75 journals represented by their editors in these E-panels this year! 

Those participating this time around are:

Danna Sides – Salt Flats Annual
www.saltflatsannual.com

Dan:

Thanks for taking some time out of what must be a busy schedule to get the word out about Literary Journals!

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

Thanks for inviting me to participate.

Dan:

I know some of you took over positions and others founded their journals.  What exactly led to your taking on the position you currently hold with your Literary Journal?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

I founded the Salt Flats Annual last spring, so it's been a frenetic wild ride.  Content decisions were finalized in July, we went to press in September, and debuted the first week of October in time for the Great Salt Lake Book Festival.  I'm happy to say we have a much more relaxed timeline for Issue Two.

What led to the creation of the Salt Flats Annual was that one of the boards I serve on asked if I'd be interested in creating a journal for its membership.  It became apparent very early in the process that my vision for the journal was much, much broader and very different from the board's mission or needs, so I took the Salt Flats private.  It was very amicable, in case you're wondering.

Dan:

I don’t know if you can hear the collective laughter over the internet, but is it safe to say you do this out of love, and it wasn’t some get rich quick scheme?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

It's absolutely a labor of love. And insanity.

Dan:

In order to run a Literary Journal, do you believe you need to have knowledge of literature, or business, or some mixture of the two?  Would it be helpful if more truly business astute people were involved in the running of such journals?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

A mixture of both is important.  I'm an artist and a writer, so the business end has been a very steep learning process.  I'm still learning.  I think in this business it's important to love literature and writers.  It's thrilling to read a submission from a writer you've never heard of before and discover that the work has you by the throat. This is the best part of the work, but in order to thrive, it's imperative to learn the business side and pay attention to the bottom line.

Dan:

Where does the funding for your journal come from?  A university?  Patrons?  Subscribers?  Fundraisers?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

So far, the majority of our funding has come from patrons, subscriptions, and personal funds.  We're pursuing grants, as well.

Dan:

How do you decide how many issues to publish of each issue?  Does the greater percentage get sent off to subscribers?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

A small percentage of the journals are allotted for contributor copies and contributor gift issues for friends and family, but essentially, printer price cuts for higher quantity print runs and projected subscription and bookstore sales determined the number of issues we went with.  It's all pretty abstract at this point, but I think we made the right decision going with a higher run to cover subscription, distribution, and promotional needs. Of course we'll have a better idea next year once we build our subscription base and see how the year plays out.

Dan:

How do you get bookstores to carry your journal?  Do you target independent stores, or big chains, or just regional stores?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

We're at this juncture of the process right now.  We started by placing journals in local independent bookstores, and then in national independent bookstores our contributors suggested.  We're working on securing one of the large distributors, and we're projecting the journal will be in national bookstores by the holidays.  Amazon is another option we're exploring. Plus, our website is an excellent source to get the journal in reader's hands as well.

Dan:

Do you consider your journal to be a regional journal or not?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

Although the journal takes its name from Utah's salt flats, a truly spectacular geological feature, the Salt Flats Annual is a national journal with a mix of local, national, and international writers.  I believe it is important to be a literary force in your local and regional community, but it makes sense to seek a broader community of readers.

Dan:

With so much technology available these days, do you believe a staff member needs to live in the area the journal is published from?  Or is it possible to be productive and live elsewhere, maybe visiting once or twice per issue?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

I don't think it's necessary for staff to live in the area where the journal is published, especially since the Internet makes communication so fluid.  That said, all of my editors, save my contributing editor, live in the Salt Lake City area.  I personally like being able to meet my staff for dinner.  In addition to getting work done, we have a great time.

Dan:

Does the journal solicit stories/essays?  If so, have you ever had to kick back a story or an essay for editorial reasons?  If so, how difficult is that to do?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

As a new journal, we wrote stacks of solicitation letters for our first issue, and then stacks of rejection letters. These letters were unpleasant to write, and in a few instances, simply excruciating.  I do think writers understand that rejection is part of the process, though. Knowing this doesn't make it any easier.

Dan:

Does the journal actively search the slush pile to look for new writers?  Does the journal consider it a priority to discover newcomers to the world of being published?  What sort of percentage of stories, essays and/or poems published come from previously unpublished writers?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

We don't have the traditional slush pile.  We take our mission to discover emerging writers seriously. As a small press, it's an incredibly wonderful opportunity to publish an unknown or a writer who is on the cusp of becoming a major literary force. I think we've accomplished this with our first issue.

Dan:

Does it help an author at all to have an agent when it comes to publishing in your journal?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

No, but you can bet the cover letter and presentation is going to be stunning.

Dan:

How does your journal pay those who are published?  In copies?  In cash?  By page?  Or simply with the privilege of being published?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

We pay with contributor copies, plus we offer one back page per contributor to advertise published novels or collections. When we have a few extra coins to rub together, we will pay our contributors small honorariums.

Dan:

Does your journal accept electronic submissions?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

Yes, and this is new for Issue Two.  Starting this month, we will only accept electronic submissions for our general submissions.   For our 2006 Emerging Writers Fiction Contest we'll accept traditional post submissions only during the month of January.

Dan:

How about simultaneous submissions?  Do you feel it’s fair for an author to have a story out there for up to six months with a journal without submitting it to others at the same time?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

We accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that we be contacted immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere.

Dan:

How important do you consider your internet presence?  Does your website allow for the reading of select stories from the current issue?  How about past issues?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

We reach a much larger audience and community of readers via our website.  In addition, we're anticipating building our subscription base by piquing reader interest with the website. Since we're an annual, we're going to have to be very creative to keep reader interest.  Towards that end, we're planning on featuring different contributors each month, as well as featuring various artists we're considering for the cover of Issue Two. 
Also, we're sponsoring a "Novelistas All Call," "Flash Us," and "Poetry Cafe" in our book o' salt page.  If it works the way we've planned, anyone who visits the site may choose from one or all of the categories and write a micro novel, a flash piece, or poem, email them to us and then we'll post our favorites every month. Our goal is that our website be constantly changing and evolving, so that each time a reader visits, there's something new to engage them.

Dan:

What is the purpose of Literary Journals having annual editor’s awards?  Simply for recognition for the authors, or is there something else?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

It's a nice perk for a writer. I think editor's awards bring recognition and validation to writers.  Our plan is to award an Editor's Choice Emerging Writer award to a contributor from each issue.  We'll feature the winner on our website and publish an announcement in the next issue.

Dan:

If you could get one simple message out to potential readers of your journal, what would it be?

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

Our mantra is voice, vision, verve.  We hope we live up to this and we want to hear from our readers.

Dan:

Thanks again for your participation in this.  I hope it brings some more readers your way!

Danna Sides - Salt Flats Annual:

It's been my pleasure. Thank you for asking us to join the E-panel, Dan.

Comments

[steven gillis]

as usual dan, another great interview. nice to hear from danna and get a feel for an editor working to start and run what is already a wonderful lit jounral. best - steve