Ally, Ally Oxen Free! or An Editor Attempts to Locate an Author

Here’s how it happens. I’m reading through one of the many print literary journals I subscribe to, and I come across wonderful work. A poem that haunts me, or a short story with characters I think of for days. Or, most often (for me), I read an essay with a voice so unique that I feel I must meet this author. I must publish this author. I will publish this author, I think, if only I can find her.

Twice in the past few months I've read outstanding essays in literary journals and have wanted to contact the authors to solicit work from them for Relief. But in both cases, no search engine on the worldwide web was able to sniff them out. I couldn’t contact them. I couldn’t publish them. This is so frustrating for an editor. Why, why aren’t you guys making yourselves easy to find out there in the writing world?

The two essays I’m thinking of were truly outstanding. Neither author had yet published a first book. What if a literary agent went through the same process I did and came up empty? Or an acquisitions editor?

It is foolish for the writer who hopes to further his career not to have a web presence. By web presence, I mean having your name and contact information up somewhere where an editor, agent, publisher, or fan can easily find contact information for you via an Internet search engine.

The most professional way to do this is to establish your own writing website by claiming (and paying for) your domain name. I grabbed up lisaohlenharris.com years ago, before I’d published much, because I read a horror story from Annie Dillard about some Internet smarty pants reserving anniedillard.com, putting up porn on the website, then bribing the author to redeem her domain name for a ridiculous sum. I doubt anyone would ever have thought to snatch up my domain name and post nasty pictures, but now I’ll never know. I pay about seven dollars a month to keep my lisaohlenharris.com G-rated, and there are cheaper deals out there. Having your own website is not the only way to be easy to find, though.

My friend and fellow writer Jill Noel Kandel opened a free blog account with Xanga.com in order to give herself a web presence with minimal expense and effort. She had a publications history and so was able to apply for Poets & Writers online directory. When she published a piece online, she included an email contact in her bio. When Jill gets discovered on the page, she will not be in hiding. Smart cookie.

If finances are too tight for you to establish your domain yet, and if you can’t stomach the thought of setting up a blog, do this: leave comments on the blogs you read. Leave comments on this blog. When you comment, include your email address as part of your signature. Do a vanity Google every few weeks to make sure that if I search for you I’ll be able to find you. It’s classier than writing your name and number on a bathroom wall, and when I read your work in a journal and want to contact you, I’ll be able to virtually find you.

Now about the public email address. Yes, I’ve heard that some writers are very private and don’t want their email address offered up to the demons of spam by publishing it on a website. That’s fine. Don’t publicize your primary email address. You can open a supplemental G-mail or Yahoo account for free, and the email software will sort your spam for you. Check the account once a week or so, and you may just be surprised. Maybe you’ll get an email from me, soliciting work for Relief. Maybe you’ll hear from an agent. Maybe you’ll make a new writing friend, one who will someday be as famous as Annie Dillard and will write a jazzy blurb for your book.

And when you do get those acceptances and have work published, use your bio to include a URL or email address, so I can find you!

For those of you who don’t know, almost every editor at Relief is out-of-town this week—that is, every editor except me.  That’s right. Heather is manning the fort (haha I can blog about whatever I want!).  Ben and Kim are in Orlando. Alan is in Daytona. Lisa is somewhere in Colorado and Brad was in Louisville, KY (though I think he’s back now). So I’m here, alone, revisiting the memories of how I’ve spent my vacation time for the year—visiting scenic Northwest Community Hospital.

If you’ve been following my updates on twitter, you know that I am one of the unfortunate people who have been infected with Salmonella in Illinois this past month (hey…I ’m a statistic on the news!). And before you start feeling sorry for me, I should say that despite the agony and the constant sprints to the toilet, it was kind of nice to just lie there and be responsible for absolutely nothing but replenishing fluids. It allowed me to think of things and people that I’ve been neglecting for far too long (like that friend of mine out in California that I haven’t talked to in two years… I’m so sorry Ken!).  So, for all of you who are like us Relief folk (working constantly, that is) I recommend taking a break to just lie there and let God speak to you, reminding you of things that are far more important than work. And learn from me, if you don’t stop to take a break now and then to re-center, God will find a way to make you stop… like Salmonella.

So, in the meantime, I’m asking a favor from all you Relief readers. For me, and all the other Relief editors (I know it sounds like they’re on vacation… but no… they’re actually working while out-of-town), tell me all about your summer plans by leaving us a comment below. Where are you going? What will you be doing? Who will you be visiting? Since my vacation time is gone, I really need to live vicariously through you.

Thanks,
Heather

Today's blog brought to you by the letter L and firemen who rescue small animals out of trees. And now, Coach Culbertson, Relief's resident tech guy and Editor-in-Chief of Coach's Midnight Diner, brings you his latest analog rebellion in today's Relief Recommends!

I have to tell you about my latest obsession. I've got this whole hyper-focus thing going on (the exact opposite of ADD, but not quite OCD), and in reality I can really only do one thing at a time. I'm a lousy multitasker. So keeping a decent notebook has been pretty vital to keep random and focused thoughts from escaping. I've had many notebook flings- the Moleskine , the HipsterPDA , but it's been hard to keep a stable relationship with them. Then I stumbled onto the Circa notebook. I think it might be love. 

This thing is completely brilliant --BRILLIANT I say! Take some paper, add some unbelievably simple plastics rings, and holy golly gee willkers you've got a notebook that's actually useful. Add some of your own Moleskine-style hacks and away you go. The cool factor to these notebooks is the fact that you can rearrange pages, mix and match papers, get a Circa punch and put in your own stuff. 

An open secret to Levenger's Circa is that it's licensed from Rollabind, but the creative folks at Levenger have put their own luxurious touches on it. Rollabind's products have been rumored to float in and out of Staples, although there's no mention of it on their website. 

Pretty Cheap to Pretty Pricey 

The notebooks themselves go anywhere from $10 up to $118 for the leather-bound types. If you can get to a Levenger store, the friendly sales associates will be happy to make you a free sample notebook- -just enough to get you hooked. It's a gateway drug, yes, but one that makes you more productive, not less. 

And why do I speak so highly of said notebook? Yes, I own one. Ok, actually, I own three. I've got one that serves as a writer's notebook (because I have SO much time to write as an editor and tech guy, but I'm trying to keep the faith that someday I will finish my novel ), one for Relief/Diner stuff, and one for work. And I bought the paper punch so I can print my own stuff from Doug Johnstons' site diyplanner.com or print my own personalized Cornell notes (dudes, you gotta try it --hit the advanced options and do it up Ted-style!)  or when I feel scrap-booky (doh! somebody just took a punch out of my man-card!) and want to add in weird stuff like movie tickets, business cards, etc. Levenger sells some nice 60 lb. paper pre-punched, too, for those who are less into the whole DIY thing . But I freakin' love it all. 

 Being able to rearrange and add in whatever and whenever necessary just flips my trigger. I have a bad habit of writing stuff down in whatever notebook or paper I have on hand to make sure I don't miss a possible stroke of genius. But then, it just sat in a notebook, lost and languishing, never to fulfill its purpose. Now after scratching down said genius on any piece of paper , I break out my Circa punch , and three clicks later I'm popping that baby into the appropriate spot in the apropros Circa (although I have yet to try it out on a cocktail napkin yet, which we all know is the paper of choice for genuises everywhere). 

Now Levenger is one of those high-end executive-style vendors that some folks will find to be a little outrageous in price for some items . That's okay, I find it a little high in price, too, but that doesn't mean I can't dream of someday furnishing my entire office in Levenger gear. And for those of you who are wondering, no, Levenger did not pay us to rave about their stuff. This is Relief Recommends, not Relief Sells Out (not that we're above that, mind you, or at least I'm not ). 

Here's another video how the Rollabind/Circa method works.  View it, love it, get ya some of this Circa lovin'.