A Way to Work with Everyone: The Page Seventeen Editorial Process ~ Guest Post by Tiggy Johnson [23.10.2009]
When it comes to selecting pieces for Page Seventeen, I’m never satisfied we’ve done the best we can.
Sure, we have pieces come in through different processes, including the annual competition, general submissions and for the first time with the soon-to-be released issue 7, two poems from spoken word events.
I love that we use these different processes (and we’ll include even more ‘performed’ poems next year), because having different people select pieces means we offer more variety of style, voices, and personal tastes for our readers. This means that while you might not love everything we include, you’re sure to find something appealing. It also means there is perhaps more opportunity for writers, with selection being made by people with varying tastes. We are, after all, all about encouraging people having a go.
I also like working with at least a few of the contributors to make sure their piece is as good as it can be before going to print. Of course, we can do this only with the general submissions and as the editorial committee are volunteers, limited time means we don’t get to work with everyone.
This year, almost every poem was returned to poets with editorial suggestions, which proved to be a success. Most poets accepted the majority of suggestions, with a handful commenting how such small changes can make such large (positive) differences. This was the first time we’ve worked like this with poets, as it was the first time we’ve had anyone on the team with enough experience in poetry to take it on.
We worked with four story writers to improve their work, with pieces going back and forth just once or until the day before the final layout had to be complete. We probably don’t have the best method when it comes to choosing which pieces we take through this process. Members of the editorial committee put their hand up to make editorial suggestions on the pieces they’re keen to see improved. Not everyone puts their hand up, and with everyone being a volunteer, I don’t push. When I do the last line edit, looking for typos, misspellings, other small errors, it’s common that I discover a piece that should have gone through this process, but of course we can’t get it perfect every time.
Comments like these help make the time and effort worthwhile: ‘I never would have thought of the suggestions you made, and when I read it over now I see how much better it is. Thanks a bunch.’
I’m already considering changes I might make to next year’s process to help ensure we can work with more writers in the editorial process. A first-time ed-comm member has already offered several promising suggestions, and I hope to quiz him some more so we might develop a new process together. Anything to offer our contributors more opportunity has to be good, so if we can find a way to work with everyone, that would be great. I might even offer him the opportunity to take charge.
Tiggy Johnson is a founding editor of Page Seventeen, which is produced annually and boasts work from several new writers in each issue. Her own writing has been published in several Australian journals and she maintains a personal blog at www.tiggyjohnson.blogspot.com.
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