Catching up post NaNoWriMo

The dust has settled on NaNoWriMo, it's time to get back to the business of publishing a magazine. Next year, I'm hoping to finish up Crimson Rivers Magazine 2010 a week before its release as opposed to working right up to the release date. Rolling out of the bed of publishing and into straight writing made for an exhausting October and November, but in the end, it was still worth it.

So with CRM 2009 and NaNo both behind me, I want to focus on the next issue of SSM: ALMIA. Since the staff is 80% in place, I want to work with coming up with a standard practice from doing everything from commenting on manuscripts to writing articles. I have a great team in place and I'm looking forward to receiving their input on the magazine, website and anything else they think can strengthen FSP. I appreciate the help. It means a lot.

Looking at the next issue of SSM: ALMIA, it looks like poetry will dominate the issue. It's no surprise since poetry submission outweigh fiction 75:1. I need to figure out how to get more (quality) fiction through the door. I have a group of hungry fiction editors and no juicy manuscripts with which to feed them. In January, I will send out a call for submissions and create some fliers to put up in bookstores, libraries, etc.

First Step Press Online is also going to receive some minor tweaks to present the information in an easier to read format. I think I want too much too soon with the site. I need to focus on keeping the content fresh and easy to read. With that thinking, I want to get the staff's input on the site; see what features they would like to see. The fun part comes when it's time to implement some of the ideas.

I'm going to keep this post short. There's a lot I want to talk about, but I think each subject deserves its own post. One thing readers will see is an increased (but focused) online presence. I tried the shotgun approach this year and, while it worked to some degree, it didn't achieve the results for which I was hoping. Next year it will be about building our presence in specific areas and making sure to firmly establish ourselves. Our online presence should pull readers to the site, which is the central hub of FSP, not compete with it.

Thinking like this keeps me motivated

Did you know if you if write for free you're stupid? Neither did I. However, a self-proclaimed multi-million dollar professional wrote that to me in an e-mail recently. Apparently, First Step Press is a waste of a professional writer's time and that we sit in our garage, "stapling pages of text together and calling it a newsletter or newspaper or whatever, and sending it out to equally other illiterate individuals who also haven't a clue as to what the word professional means…"

First, both FSP magazines are electronic publications. Hey, why kill trees when you don't have to. Second, we work from various locations across the US. Third, I don't own a garage, I park on the street.

Is First Step Press a large publishing house running on a million-dollar budget? No, but it would be nice. FSP is a small group of dedicated individuals who, like me and like you, appreciate the written word and write because it is in them to do. First Step Press was born out of a love of writing, not of making money. In truth, there isn't much money to be made in the lit mag business.

Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe writers should be compensated for their efforts. I send my work to plenty of places in hopes of making a few bucks. However, I also write many projects gratis; that is, for free. Why do I write guest blogs? Why do I write news reports for some sites? Why did I write a birthday poem for a friend the other day? I do it to get my name out there and to continue practice my craft.

Between the few checks that trickle in through the mail, I write many things without payment. It helps to provide others with content for their publications or websites. Both professional and novice writers do the same for First Step Press. Why? Because at the most, they support what we do and believe in what we do. At the very least, they look at publishing with us is free advertising.

Are these groups of people stupid for submitting their work as the self-lauded professional suggests? No. In fact, I think both groups should be applauded for their contributions to the writing community.

Professional writers don't only make money with their words, they make money through exposure of those words to people who want to buy their books or to subscribe to their blogs. There can never be too much exposure for a professional writer. Whether a guest post on a blog in a non-competing market, an editorial in a newspaper or a 30-second byte on radio, the professional writer knows that exposure equals sales. So what if they write a few pieces for little or no or no charge, they believe the revenue to be gained from writing the complimentary copy is worth the effort.

Exposure for the amateur writer is equally important, however, unlike their professional counterparts, many lack the experience or the resume to break into big publications. While nothing is guaranteed, larger publishers will take a longer look at a manuscript from a well-known then they would for an unknown. (Though there are exceptions.) Establishing a name for themselves with reputable publications helps to legitimize the writer in the eyes of the bigwigs and gives them a little more meat in their bios and resumes.

The philosophy behind First Step Press isn't to cater to the literary elite. The press was created out of a need to have a place for writers to experiment with their trades. Their experience weighs less than the quality of their work. Whether sending your first piece of writing or one thousandth, we focus more on the body of work than on the writer's publishing history.

Too many times small press pubs like FSP are knocked because we can't offer payment to writers appearing in our publication. Does that make use any less worthy of being a quality publication? No. FSP does not receive funding to publish. The staff doesn't receive any compensation for their efforts. There are no endowments, government subsidies or university backing. The occasional donation and money I make from writing subsidize First Step Press. (There is irony in there I just know it.)

So if there is no money to be made from the venture, why do we bother? In one word...love. We love the written word. We love writing those words on the page. We enjoy reading those words on the pages of others. Our experiences are different, but we are all brought together by a common love of the written word. From a publishing perspective, there is a deep sense of pride knowing that a writer's career began with appearing in Stepping Stones or Crimson Rivers.

And that, at least for me, is payment enough.

Growing by leaps and bounds

When I took over First Step Press, it was a one-person operation. With printing cost out of control and the physical and emotional toll working such long hours on the magazine while juggling a college schedule and working fulltime (Did I mention I also have a family?)

Time passed, I took a break from school to focus on the job and family. However, the desire to bring Stepping Stones and Crimson Rivers to readers remained with me. It's like having an idea stuck in your head so bad, you can't function until you get it out on the page.

Therefore, I dusted off the computer--more like rebuilt one--and started on the publishing path with renewed energy. I found myself learning updated versions of Quark and Photoshop. I knew nothing about building a website; HTML and CSS were about as foreign to me as trying to read Hebrew. However, what made the experience fun was that I was no longer working on the project alone.

Within months of republishing Stepping Stones, the solo operation became a team of six. While people dropped in and out as their schedules allowed, there were at least three staff members working to publish the magazine at any one time. However, with an increasing readership and the demands with promoting the press (blog writing, tweeting and social networking) I thought it was time to expand again.

If I knew the positive response I was to receive when I put out an ad in Craigslist, I would have done so a year ago. The show of support from people who wanted to help make FSP better was overwhelming. For the first time, we had to pull our ad early to look over the candidates. Surprisingly, there were many with advance degrees in writing, editing and the like. (Wonder if they realize that this is a volunteer venture?)

It's encouraging that the current group of four will grow to almost 20 by the end of 2009. From there, I would eventually like to break the staff into a core staff for Stepping Stones and a staff for Crimson Rivers. Right now, I think we will be able to handle both publications, but as the magazine continues to change who knows what could happen.

Right now, it’s about getting everyone in place, while continuing to get the magazine out on time. From there, we'll keep our options open. I will say, however, that with FSP expanding the way we are, expect us to be around for a little while.

Poll: Vote for Issue 1 Silver Pen Award winner

First Step Press will present its "Silver Pen Award" to the writer who receives the most votes our end-issue poll. In the Spotlight candidates and staff members are ineligible. Voters can vote for as many works as they wish, though they can only vote for one body of work once. The link to the poll is listed below. In the event of a tie, the tying works will be placed on the website for a final read and vote. The winner will receive a silver pen set. Voting will end on October 1, 2009. We will announce the winner both here and in issue number two of SSM: ALMIA.

Poll: Vote for the works you like best in SSM: ALMIA Vol. 2 Issue 1. You can vote for as many works as you wish, though you can only vote for a particular piece once.

No rest for the publishing weary

When we wrapped up the first issue of SSM: ALMIA, I thought a break was in order. It had been a grueling six -week rush. When you hear about team efforts, this one fit the bill. Due to scheduling conflict, we worked short staff. At full staff, we're over 12 strong. However, we worked the issue with four editors (including yours truly). In the 13th hour, we were plowing through the final read and ready to upload the magazine to the website. Another deadline met; time to celebrate and relax, right?

Wrong.

If you thought putting together a magazine was tough, try your hand at promoting it. Whether it is hitting the social networks, talking in person, or getting the word out via e-mail, promoting SSM: ALMIA is a job itself. (FYI, Ping.fm + all your social networks=promotion blitz!) I've spent on average of three hours per night on promotional work alone. (What do you mean you haven't heard of First Step Press?)

Not surprisingly, the process for publishing a magazine is the similar to writing a novel. You start with an idea. You nourish that idea and put in countless hours to produce something memorable. When you're finished, then it's time to market your hard work to someone who shares the same vision you do. That's where promotion comes into play. Writers submit their works to publishers and we publishers submit out works to the public. After that, it's pretty much a waiting game to see how the work is received.

However, one issue does not a magazine make, so while we're waiting on feedback, it's time to begin he next issue.

Making the blog…well…a blog

When I first started writing a blog, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to say. I knew the purpose of the blog was to talk about First Step Press and our publications, but I found myself moving more away from the personal connection that a blog has with its readers and turning it into more of a news site. Well, the news can go on FSP's main site. I am taking back the blog to talk about what goes into producing a site, online magazines and my general thoughts and feelings about writing and publishing in general. Oh, be sure if I need to comment on a news item (before it hits the main site) that you will read it hear; however, I want this to be a forum where I can not only talk about FSP, but about my goals as both a publisher and a fellow writer. So as the weeks roll on toward our official launch, I will be updating the blog as frequently as I am able. I hope existing readers will continue to enjoy the blog. To new readers: welcome...stick around for a bit.

Amazon.com claims responsibility in LGBT book debacle

Amid the clamoring of heated bloggers from all corners of the globe, Amazon.com is claiming responsibility for glitch this past Easter weekend, that saw thousands of books (many with LGBT themes) suddenly disappear from the sites ranking system.

"This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection," Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith released in her statement to the press. Smith also noted that more than 57,000 books comprising of a large selection of categories from Health, Reproductive and Sexual Medicine were unintentionally omitted from the rankings.
Despite claims from a hacker going by the moniker Weev, Amazon.com says it is solely responsible for the glitch.

As of this writing, the error seems to have been corrected.