Dear readers,
Of the many publication requests I receive, some affect me more than others. I am not talking here about the quality of the stories that I receive, but about some of the messages that come with the requests, which are often full of praise for the writers I choose to publish and Scribe's editorial line.
Here are some of them, received in recent days:
“I very much admire your commitment to bringing a strong writing community together and giving voice to so many gifted folks out there. Thanks for your work! It's this celebration and genuine care for other authors that makes me want to submit to Scribe.”
— Maureen Wolff
“I’m excited about joining Scribe because I enjoy reading honest writing. There is nothing better than reading raw words and seeing the blood and tears and smile of an author in a piece.”
— Austin Briggman
“While browsing through the content published in Scribe, I find myself resonating with a lot of the emotional complexities the writers have depicted. I think what's most important to me when delivering a poem is to leave some kind of emotional imprint on the reader, so I'm very drawn to the importance this publication places on emotion.”
— Edith Espinoza
A special issue of the newspaper le un, to which I subscribe, is dedicated to the profession of publisher. Sabine Wespieser, who worked as a publisher for 13 years at Actes Sud and now runs her own publishing house, answers the question "What is an editorial line?". Here is an excerpt from her answer:
“This is simply the Chinese portrait of the publisher. It is what creates coherence, what gives color to a house and, ultimately, constitutes a catalogue that other writers will want to join because they will feel at home there.”
I don't have the chance today to work as a publisher in a big publishing house, but as an editor on Medium, I can only agree with what Sabine Wespieser says.
Over time, I tried to build an editorial line with Scribe and I did everything I could to stick to it. This editorial line sometimes forces me to reject certain stories that are nevertheless of high quality, but it is exactly by doing this selection work that I have succeeded, thanks to all the writers and the readers, in giving a unique color to the publication. In addition, I have always tried to be fairly close to the writers I publish, trying to know their background, why they write and how they feel when they do so.
This color and proximity to the writers mean that today, and all the messages of support I receive prove it, the writers feel good at Scribe and many other talents want to join the publication every day.
If I had to remember two golden rules as an editor, it would be these:
1. Define an editorial line and stick to it.
2. Be as close as possible to your writers.
Pete Fromm's new novel has just been published (by Gallmeister here in France) and I think I'm going to throw myself at it! If you don't know this American writer, master of nature writing, don't wait any longer a second! I read his book The Names of The Stars, where he relates his month-long stay in a lost Bob Marshall Wilderness cabin, and I had a wonderful time.
I discovered a fabulous writer, with a writing style that does a lot of good to the head and heart. But be careful, reading Pete Fromm's books will surely make you want to leave everything behind to live in the heart of nature! Which wouldn't be a bad thing, anyway. Because today, nature would need to be taken care of...
Have a good weekend!
I’m interested in reading Pete Fromm’s books! Do you know where he sells his books? Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc? I’m going to a local book house here in Oklahoma City tomorrow and if they carry it I will pick up a copy of one of his books.