Travis Griffith shares about the post-contract realities of publication.
A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the writing process and the inspiration for my children’s book, “Your Father Forever.” (You can refresh your memory by reading that blog here.)
The process of actually getting a contract to sign is tedious and at times, downright vicious. Yet once it’s signed, the author just sits back and waits for the publication date. Right? If an author has ever had it that easy, my hat goes off to him or her for mastering the craft of writing and providing exactly what an editor or publisher wanted right off the bat. That certainly wasn’t how it happened in my case.
It’s all downhill from here, right?
The manuscript I sent to the publisher was, in my mind, absolute perfection. I mean, that’s why I sent it in the first place. So I was a little taken aback by one of the questions they asked as they were determining if my book was right for them: Are you open to working with us on editing your book?
Of course I said yes. But in my mind, I was wondering why such a masterpiece would even NEED editing.
Editing and Layout
Well, the editing process took a full 12 months. During that time I learned a lot about the cadence of my words, how they would be laid out on the page and how they would sound when read aloud. The finished book also had to fit in with the vision of the publishing company, Illumination Arts, which publishes inspirational children’s books to inspire the mind, touch the heart, and uplift the spirit. I exchanged e-mails and phone calls directly with the publisher and slowly polished the manuscript into what it is today.
Once the publisher and I were happy with the placement and use of literally every word, I signed off on the copy which was then sent to a talented illustrator in Brazil named Raquel Abreu. And that’s where the magic of the book really happened. The illustrating process took another 12 months or so, during which time Raquel first created pencil drawings for each spread and submitted them to the publisher. Those drawings were shared with me and I gave my feedback. Adjustments were made and then Raquel created the full color, beautiful illustrations that brought the book to life.
A few months down the road and I had my first promotional copies to share with family and friends.
The Long Road
My book would never have been published if I hadn’t been willing to work with people and learn from them, or if I had been shut down to criticism. It took about two and a half years from the date of the contract to actual publication. It was well worth the work and the wait, as the book has touched a lot of people, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out.
Certainly short stories do not have exclusive rights to the magic of Story. Movies, novels, plays, and picture books use Story too – as does the world of art, dance and music. Ever listen to a country song? It’s all about Story. But in a Top Ten List Of Why We Love Short Stories I would be remiss if I didn’t say that first and foremost, what we love about the short story is that it is the golden nugget of Story.
9. Journey
What is the chief end of the short story? To take us on a journey and return us home before supper. All story forms take the reader for a ride, but only in the journey of something as brief as the short story can you recall the beginning, middle and end of the experience with equal delight.
8. Drama
If done well, the brevity of the journey naturally begets higher drama. And as drama is at the heart of all good stories, short stories are rife with it. It should be remembered here, that high drama is not always synonymous with fast action; there are slower stories so packed with drama that you hold your breath as tightly as you hold the page.
7. Twists
Closely related to the drama of the short story is the closing twist, typical of this length. The payoff in a longer genre usually comes with a certain amount of expectation, but in a short story, especially a short short story, the twist at the end is often the very thing we await.
6. Symbolism
Symbolism is another quality of fiction not exclusive to short stories. But again, because of the compact nature of this genre, the symbolism is often more tangible. It is not uncommon to linger over the symbolism in a short story long after the final word is read.
5. Intensity
The absolute intensity of this genre is one of my favorite characteristics. With great anticipation we settle in like a fanatic – short story in hand – eager to begin the raucous ride we know will follow.
4. Language
Perhaps my favorite truth about short stories is that its language is unsurpassed in the world of Story. With a poet’s tongue and a playwright’s passion, the language in a short story delights us in a way that no other genre can.
3. Rhythm
Akin to the poetic precision of the language in the short story is the rhythm of its phrasing that reminds us of the power of music. Like the movement of verse and chorus in a ballad, the rhythm of this genre flows measure by measure.
2. Connection
History tells us that mankind has long told stories around the communal campfire because stories connect us to ourselves and to the world around us. I think it can be argued that the compressed experience of the short story makes this connection as immediate as it comes.
And the Number One Reason is: Length
At long last, so to speak, we come to length. Nearly every other element has touched on the influence of length in this genre and therefore we come to the number one reason why we love the short story: its length. We live in a day and age when time is in demand and attention is not. If the near future resembles the recent past, the short story may well be the enormous little genre of the future. I hope so.
Next Week: Authors and Collections I Love
These days Stacy Barton is primarily a short story author and playwright. Her debut collection of short stories, Surviving Nashville, was released in 2007. Her stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of literary magazines including Potomac Review, Relief, Ruminate and Stonework and her fifth stage play, an adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, premiered in Orlando, Florida in 2006. In addition to short stories, plays, and poetry, Stacy is the author of a children's picture book and an animated short film. She is currently a free-lance scriptwriter for the Disney Company. Visit her at www.stacybarton.com
Last Friday, Stacy Barton presented the first part in a series about the wonderful short story. Since that day was surrounded by server chaos, we're choosing to repost the first part today and run the second and third installments over the next two weeks (on Fridays, of course). So, for those of you who didn't catch Stacy's blog last week, enjoy! For those of you wondering what's going on around Relief, we'll be posting a full update next week on Relief News Tuesday :-} Thanks for your patience and your prayers.
So without further ado,
Falling into Short Stories
When I told Relief Journal in an interview last week that, “short stories chose me,” they were curious about what I meant. They know me as a two-time Relief contributor and the author of the short story collection, Surviving Nashville (WordFarm 2007). In short, they only know me as a short story writer. But if you read my bio you’ll see that although I have published short stories, I’ve also published picture books, plays, poetry, an animated short film, and currently work as a free-lance scriptwriter for Disney. So how did I come to the genre of the short story?
I’ve always been a storyteller. At an early age I arranged blankets on the sofa and did shows with my friends. I also wrote stories. There’s one about a watermelon named Wally that my grandmother kept for years. You know the kind: school-grey paper, turquoise lines, Crayola illustrations. But the road I took to writing short stories is littered with other art forms like acting and directing; improvisation and comedy; poetry and motherhood.
I remember writing poetry in the tree of my parents’ front yard when I was twelve – newly discovering my passions and ideals. I remember writing stories about fairies when I was nine, curled up in the fort I had made of my grandmother’s closet. When I was sixteen I was told my free verse was not a valid form of poetry and so I stopped showing my writing to anyone. I became an actress instead.
But I didn’t stop writing. As a new mother, I wrote poetry on the back of envelopes and receipts and crumpled napkins I found on the floor of my minivan. In those days my life allowed just so much time to write things down. Somehow, out of those scraps of paper grew the courage to save my words, then the courage to let others read them and finally from those words came a few published poems, several scripts and awards, and a book for mothers called Mamma Dance that was never published. It was a collection of thoughts and poems on the sacred quality of motherhood. Back then, Shaw Books wanted it, but a New York City industry insider told them it was too risky, that it was “too sacred for the secular and too secular for the sacred.” But by then I had landed a free-lance job writing scripts for Disney and a contract with two other publishing houses. So I wrote a children’s book about cancer for Kregel Publishing and poems and liturgical dramas for Concordia Publishing House as well as a stage play for the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center – all while scripting theme park shows for Disney.
Then one day I was sitting on the beach – writing on a scrap of paper retrieved from the bottom of my tote bag – when I wrote a poem that was really more like a paragraph. The next day I wrote some more, finishing what the beach had inspired. A week or so later I took fifteen hundred words to a group of writers to find out what to do with them.
Turns out those fifteen hundred words formed a “literary short story.” But I had no idea what I was doing. My format was all wrong. I didn’t know where the commas went or how to punctuate the dialogue. I had only written poetry and scripts, not fiction, and nobody cares about a semicolon in a play. On top of that, I hadn’t gone to college and I had certainly never heard of a literary magazine. So I enrolled in a fiction workshop at an upcoming writers’ conference and sent in the story in as my writing sample. The instructor loved it so much that I wrote another. Immediately. I started when the children went to school and I didn’t get up from the computer until they came home eight hours later. Not even to pee. I sent it in to the man who would later become my mentor, and he said, “I think you’ve found your voice.”
He was right.
Next Week: The Top Ten Reasons Why We Love the Short Story
These days Stacy Barton is primarily a short story author and playwright. Her debut collection of short stories, Surviving Nashville, was released in 2007. Her stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of literary magazines including Potomac Review, Relief, Ruminate and Stonework and her fifth stage play, an adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, premiered in Orlando, Florida last year. In addition to short stories, plays, and poetry, Stacy is the author of a children's picture book and an animated short film. She is currently a free-lance scriptwriter for the Disney Company. Visit her at www.stacybarton.com
Relief Author Margot Starbuck provides us some insight into working with some of the most important people in the publishing world--editors!
I don’t presume to know a lot. What I know about working with editors I share with you.
1. Know What An Editor Wants and Needs
You’ve heard it so many times that it’s hardly worth repeating. “Read the magazine.” Sorry, I repeated it. My dirty little secret is that I hadn’t read every magazine to which I submitted work. (Don’t tell.) I did, though, use my keenly honed detective skills to find out what these publications wanted. I read it in their online guidelines. I caught wind of needs through an online writer’s group. I listened at writer’s conferences. Let an editor know that you can deliver writing which is valuable to her readers. Then do it.
2. Be Professional
The only contact an editor has with you may be a brief cover letter or email. Make it count. Double-check spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Respond to an editor’s communication in a timely manner. Don’t over-communicate—an editor might not have time to hold your hand. If you give an editor the confidence that you can do the job, she’ll most likely be more willing to work with you should unexpected snafus arise.
3. Incorporate An Editor’s Feedback
When an editor makes a suggestion, follow it. Ultimately, she’s the gatekeeper of whatever publication or publishing house for which you’re writing. When her vision and your vision fail to match up, guess who wins? It just takes a little creativity on your end to produce something which is mutually satisfying to you both. (Hint: It’s going to end up being a better piece, too!)
4. Overperform
If an editor asks for three sources for a journalism piece, go after five. If you’ve been given a deadline, beat it. If you’re in regular conversation with an editor about an article, suggest submitting the material early. That way, if there’s a discrepancy between your vision and hers you can offer to tweak it to her specs. Aim to give an editor more than she’s expecting. In a nutshell, you want to make the editor’s job as easy as possible. Make it your aim to wow ‘em!
Assistant Editor Lisa Ohlen Harris shares and opportunity with Relief poets.
In the course of my browsing, I came across this neat call for submissions and thought I'd pass it on to the poets in Relief's writing community. I like the premise and would love to see some Relief authors submit work for the project. Make sure to drop us a line if your work is accepted--we love good news as much as the next guy!
Woodrow Hall Editions announces a new Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf project with the theme Lines in the Sand. Poems are sought that reach across territorial, cultural or interpersonal boundaries to break old rules and assumptions. Those that also address the recovery of nearly-lost chances will be especially welcome. Selected poems will be paired with the abstract art of Midwestern artist Sarah Spencer, then produced on quality stock postcards and distributed for free by libraries and art galleries in two Western states and in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Previously published poems invited with mention of prior credit. Submit any number of poems no wider than 3-1/2 inches with a 27-line maximum that includes title, spaces, byline and credit. Each selected contributor receives ten of their own postcards plus a sampling of the others. EMAIL SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE READ. Send submission with an SASE to:
Woodrow Hall Editions Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf PO Box 260026 Madison, WI 53726
Questions? Contact <shoshaunashy(at)yahoo.com> (replace (at) with @) More info about this program can be found at PoetryJumpsOfftheShelf.com THIS CALL ENDS NEW YEAR'S DAY 2009.
Travis Griffith shares about the post-contract realities of publication. 
The Top Ten Reasons Why We Love The Short Story
Last Friday, Stacy Barton presented the first part in a series about the wonderful short story. Since that day was surrounded by server chaos, we're choosing to repost the first part today and run the second and third installments over the next two weeks (on Fridays, of course). So, for those of you who didn't catch Stacy's blog last week, enjoy! For those of you wondering what's going on around Relief, we'll be posting a full update next week on Relief News Tuesday :-} Thanks for your patience and your prayers.
Relief Author Margot Starbuck provides us some insight into working with some of the most important people in the publishing world--editors! 
Assistant Editor Lisa Ohlen Harris shares and opportunity with Relief poets.
