Interview with Matthew Ward, Editor of Skive Magazine

Today’s interview is with Matthew Ward who edited Skive Magazine. Its last issue, FAREWELL,  appeared in November 2013.  

First, here’s some background on him:  

Matthew was born and resides in inner city Newcastle NSW Australia. He has operated Mockfrog Design since 1996, designing websites and books, and also editing fiction. Co-edited Heist! Magazine, 1998-2002 (printed, literature). Published insomAniac Magazine, 1999, Skive Magazine, 2003-2013 . From 2000-2014, published books through his small presses: Mockfrog Design Press, Skive Magazine Press, Lucky Guitar Press, and Mary Celeste Press. He also likes photography and playing guitar.

SARETT:   There are thousands of literary magazines-- and, to my chagrin, they come and go.  Did you have a specific goal with Skive?  

WARD:   It was all about my love for the short story. I co-edited Heist! Magazine from 1998-2002 with a colleague of mine from Newcastle Uni (NSW Australia). We created a literary mag like our Dads had read when they were lads growing up in the ‘40s / ‘50s. It was full of tales of adventure, danger, of sport, hunting, espionage, courting ladies in an innocent sort of way, and tongue-in-cheek, clichéd advertisements. We were sent hundreds of story submissions from all over the English-speaking world to our university P.O. Box. But we were also sent poetry, a lot of badly-written / pretentious poetry. To tell you the truth, when I started Skive in 2003 I didn’t want to publish *any* poetry. Short Story writers are more reasonable to deal with.

So, as I implied earlier, I wanted to create an online monthly short story magazine, with short stories that thrilled me, made me laugh out loud, made me weep. Great writing from those who maybe had not even been published before. (Poems were added later to the printed mag, at first as fillers but then as stars in their own right.)

SARETT:   Skive was a print publication -- but you’ve also published digital versions. Do you feel that reading online places special burdens on readers?

WARD:   Some of the Skive issues have had electronic versions, and sales have been poor. Print has always sold much better than electronic. That said, free promo copies - secured with password so they couldn’t be printed - were downloaded by the thousand.

Personally, I cannot read a large book on a Kindle / phone - I have to be able to cuddle up on a lounge with cushions, read a real book that way - old fashioned I guess, but then again a lot of readers are.

SARETT:   I’m amazed that editors can read as much as they do-- and you not only have a magazine, but a publishing company.  In your mind, what are the ingredients that make a good editor?  

WARD:   Atention to detail (you’ll notice I spelled ‘Attention’ incorrectly there for effect :-)

A love of the language.

To be a writer as well, and to write.

To allow a writer to have a style of their own, and not create a perfect (exact), robotic piece of writing.

Also use the finger as a guide when editing; plus read out loud. These are great backup techniques.

SARETT:   I’ve noticed that lots of magazines say that “flash fiction” is their sweet spot.  Is it something about flash, or is it simply easier for editor to get through?
WARD:   I like bite-sized stories. They are closer to poetry in form - not the stanzas, they are just more concentrated, less ‘wandering into the woods’ for no reason / padding out. The editor / publisher can also get through them very quickly, yes.  Some writers like the 5,000 word story, but the first page has to thrill me or I will pass. This is common with publishers apparently. We seldom read every word of every submission.

SARETT:   I’ve heard that some writers who are rejected write back and argue with editors?  Does that actually happen or is that a myth?  

WARD:   It does. And they get angry. One told me to ‘Get F*cked’. In an email rejection I had said that unfortunately I had to pass as so many people had sent me stories that month. But what can one say? I was trying to be nice, encouraging him to send something next time. His story didn’t suck, and it wasn’t at the top either. (He earned a place in the ‘Pains in the Ar*e’ file, writers publishers block and will never publish :-)

What I liked was writers who’d email me back, thanking me for the email, were polite, professional. Writers who ignored my rejection, I didn’t like that - it was rude. There wasn’t anything personal - it was just that one person didn’t like their work. I’m a writer, I’d been rejected, I know what that is like. Writers have to be mature about their work, about their craft.

SARETT:   You’re also a writer. Has the process of being an editor has changed the way you approach your writing?  How?

WARD:  Since becoming an editor, I am now particular with word choice / style. My book Jake was written in a Kerouac, beat generation style, where I used a few points and added to them ‘on the run’ in the spirit of “spontaneous bop-prosidy”, something I was fond in my university years - Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg, all those guys. That changed with the short story book a couple of years later where I started meticulously planning stories and then ‘adding the meat to the bones’ as I went along.

I was less likely to choose stories that were all over the place in my mag. Writers had a better chance of getting published if they planned carefully and the footsteps were brushed away’ as they say: A beginning, a crisis, crisis solved (or not), and ending (sudden or clean). Simple as that.

SARETT:   Would you ever think about a new magazine, or is it, been there, done that? Any projects you're working on?

WARD:   I am working with 2 business colleagues - one a publisher, the other an editor - on a Dominican Republic magazine / newspaper. My part with be the layout. For the time being that will suit me fine.

I want to finish a novel that started as a screenplay over 10 years ago and has been converted to novel form in part over the last few years. IF I can finish it, THEN I’ll have to find a major press to publish it. Those will be major tasks. I know some publishers, but I will still have to do the work, and write the bloody thing :-)

Blog Alert:  40% discount for limited time on Skive's Farewell Issue.  Limited time offer.

Find Matthew Online here:

• Skive Magazine
• Mockfrog Design
• Mary Celeste Press

• Twitter (Skive Magazine)
• Facebook (Skive Magazine)
• Facebook (Matthew Glenn Ward, writer)

BOOKS by MATTHEW GLENN WARD:

‘Jake With a Snarly Smile on His Chops’ (novella, 2004, Independent Jones Press, Sydney)

‘Her Mouth Looked Like a Cat’s Bum’ (short stories, 2006, World Audience Publishers, New York) O.O.P.

‘Cats Creep the Fire To Art’ (poetry, 2008, World Audience Publishers, New York) O.O.P.

‘JFK Lives in the Future’ (short stories, 2010, World Audience Publishers, New York)

Interview with Craig Hart, Editor of The Rusty Nail and Sweatshoppe Publications

Today’s interview is with Craig Hart who founded the magazine, The Rusty Nail as well as the publishing company Sweatshoppe Publications.  

First, here’s some background on Craig:

Craig Hart is a writer, editor, and publisher. Early in 2012 he founded The Rusty Nail literary magazine for which he serves as editor-in-chief. He is also the publisher for Sweatshoppe Publications. Hart lives in Rockford, Illinois with his wife Kimberly in a house owned by their cat, Gracie.

SARETT: There are thousands and thousands of literary magazines-- and they do come and go. What was your impetus for starting The Rusty Nail?  

HART: My hope for The Rusty Nail is for it to remain true to the tagline, “Your words, your way.” A lot of literary magazines become extensions of the staff. They choose what they like, edit them down, and the reader ends up with a sanitized version. I want to preserve the raw feeling of words directly from the writer’s mind.       

SARETT: As an editor, are you sensitive to the experience of reading online?  Do you feel that reading online places special burdens on stories?  

HART: I tend to be a traditional reader. I like paper copy, which is why The Rusty Nail offers a print version. However, I know that many people like reading online and it does increase the accessibility of the work. There’s a place for both.

SARETT:  I’m amazed that editors can read as much as they do-- and you not only have a magazine, but a publishing company.  In your mind, what are the ingredients that make a good editor?   

HART: An editor should know the audience. I think an editor does well to keep in mind not only what they like, but also what the outlet’s audience will like. There are pieces that have appeared in The Rusty Nail that, as a reader, I wouldn’t choose. But if I know there is an element of TRN’s audience that enjoys that form of writing, then it has a good chance of making it through.

SARETT: We all know that writers read literary magazines, or at least some writers like me do -- but is that the only audience for them? Or put another way, is there a way to make that audience more diverse?

HART: I agree that the biggest audience for literary magazines are writers or, at least, people with literary interests. The Rusty Nail has addressed this by offering a diverse range of selections. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a defined audience. I think one mistake other magazines have made is trying to be all things to all readers. It can’t be done. By trying to make sure everyone is equally represented and served, it’s easy to end up representing nobody, at least not well.

SARETT: You’re also a writer (although how you find the time baffles me.) Has the process of being an editor has changed the way you approach your writing?  How?

HART: It has caused me to be more cognizant of the errors I see in the writing that I go through on a regular basis. It’s easier to find faults in writing other than your own, of course, but I’ve made a concerted effort to practice my preaching. Having said that, I think it’s important to run your work past an outside source. Being an editor doesn’t necessarily make one qualified to edit one's own work.

SARETT: You’ve started a publishing company, Sweatshoppe Publications (love that name!). How would you describe its editorial focus?   Is there a specific type of writer you’d like to attract?

HART: So far, Sweatshoppe Publications has published mostly poetry and short story collections, with a couple of novels thrown in. We’ve been pleased to publish a couple of non-traditional novel forms and first-timers. The writing we tend to lean toward is intimate and, in the case of fiction, with fully developed characters. We love honest writers who write without reservation, without holding back.

SARETT: Lots of us, including me, have chosen the self-publishing route.  What are the advantages, in your mind, of using a publisher like Sweatshoppe are versus self-publishing?

HART: One of the greatest benefits of self-publishing can also be its greatest flaw. Namely, the fact that anyone can do it. There are writers, like yourself, who are capable of putting out quality writing via self-publishing and I think that’s great. I’ve used self-publishing in the past myself.

The main advantages of a publisher like Sweatshoppe are that 1.) There is oversight. We don’t publish everything we get so if your work is accepted you can know that we’ve seen value in it. 2.) We don’t charge authors. The cost of design and getting the book onto the marketplace are assumed by Sweatshoppe. 3.) A lot of writers prefer to be able to say they’ve had their work accepted by an unbiased entity. It suggests an air of legitimacy.
None of this means that I think any less of those who self-publish, mind you. I love that industry. In fact, the parent company of Sweatshoppe Publications has begun a self-publishing option called Coffee Ring Publishing. You can find all our publishing options at: www.sweatshoppemedia.com

Available on Amazon

SARETT: You are a busy guy -- and I see that you’re also published a book on writing exercises. Are these exercises designed for the neophyte or the more advanced writer?  

HART: There is something in there for both. Some exercises are more complicated than others. The exercises address the most common writing issues I see as an editor/publisher, little things that can make the difference between acceptance and rejection.

SARETT: Have you used the exercises in your own book?  (Just checking!)

HART: Haha...I’ve used versions of them, yes. I wanted to make sure they worked, after all!

SARETT: Any other projects that you’d like to tell us about?

HART:  I am writing a novel entitled Mosquito Bay, which is about a boy named Jimmy who discovers troubling things about his family, including his mother’s death. It’s a gritty tale, but honest, as we watch Jimmy struggle to grow up in the shadow of his family’s dark past.

You can visit Craig on Facebook, Twitter. His blog is at http://craighartonline.com/

Interview with editor Jenny Catlin, formerly with Scissors and Spackle

Today’s interview is with the ex-editor and writer Jenny Catlin who founded the magazine, Scissors and Spackle.  

First, here’s some background on Jenny:

I am a reader and sometimes a poet. My work has appeared in many, mostly obscure print and online journals. Prior to founding S&S I worked with several journals and zines based out of Denver.

SARETT: There are thousands and thousands of literary magazines? What was your impetus for starting a new one?  And now that you’ve exited, do you expect it to change?

CATLIN: I don’t think that I had any notion of just how many journals there are today. I had worked exclusively in the print medium in both an editorial capacity and as a writer. I was very naive about the world of online journals. I am a nature girl at heart and I had only had access to a computer and the Internet for a few months prior to starting S&S.  When I was first exposed to the world of online lit. journals, it rekindled my inner teenage punk-rocker; I, mistakenly, associated the online journal community with the indie ‘zine scene of my wasted youth, and I wanted in. I was in love with the idea of a D.I.Y community whose mission was to expose quality writing without regard for pedigree or publishing experience.

I think that, unfortunately, the online writing community will have a darkest before the dawn moment. At the moment, it seems that every student, poet and writer feels a pull to start their own journal, which is great, but I think there is an unintended side effect of isolation that creates a non-supportive writing and publishing environment.  Maybe I am just projecting, but I believe that in the future more editors will band together to focus on creating widely read journals and, therefore, fewer splinter projects will exist. I am so saddened to see the number of high quality journals that have collapsed recently. It is such a tremendous amount of work to run a quality journal that I think that more inter-journal collaboration is imminent.

SARETT: As an editor, were you sensitive to the experience of reading online?  Do you feel that reading online places special burdens on stories?  

CATLIN: I was not, at first. In retrospect, I had no concept of what appeals to the online reader. I learned, quickly, that the online journal is a distant cousin to the print journal. Readers and writers, for that matter, have a different set of expectations.

The online reading experience, as I said, is almost unrelated to print reading. I think that there are different burdens in both mediums. In my experience, the online medium is more forgiving of format and grammar (not necessarily a positive); however, I think that the average online reader has less patience and a shorter attention span. This forces a story to be gripping in the first paragraph. Additionally, I think that longer fiction comes to the online market with something more to prove than its shorter counterparts.

SARETT:  I’ve noticed that lots of magazines say that “flash fiction” is their sweet spot.  Is it something about flash, or is it simply easier for editor to get through?

 CATLIN: This ties into my previous answer. Unfortunately, the online reader seems conditioned by social media (etc.) to want everything to be like a pyrotechnics show – beautiful but brief. Because people have a different set of expectations for online fiction, flash, in my experience, has the largest readership. But, yes, it is also easier for the editor. There are issues of storage space and site format; however, more than that, I think there are a lot of editors that don’t want to take the time to wade through lengthy submissions, which is a shame. Although I suppose that is a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario – which came first the impatient reader or the impatient editor?  That’s not to say that flash journals or writers are lazy, often quite the contrary. It is simply that the online community, in and of itself, demands brevity.

SARETT:  I’m always amazed that editors can read as much as they do.  In your mind, what are the ingredient that make a good magazine editor?   

CATLIN: Wow, that’s a tricky question. I think that the most important trait, as you mentioned, is the desire to read A LOT, most of which is bad. I think that the desire to work for the writer is probably one of the most important qualities in a good editor. Perhaps that wouldn’t matter for a journal that was helping someone to pay their rent, but for most editors it is important to remember how hard the writer works on their craft. For the editor, a story or poem is pretty much in and out of their consciousness, but for the writer, it is a permanent fixture of their identity that they are – let’s face it – donating to the journal. It mystifies me the number of jerk-y editors that are out there, who are writers themselves. I do not get it.

Maybe what is more important, is what an editor is not. I think that it is important to stay away from the notion that editors are taken more seriously if they are aloof and even a little mean. Sending out negative feedback, altering someone’s work without permission, never responding to submissions – these things are unacceptable. Occasionally there is a pompous writer who acts like a righteous ass, but they are the exception. Additionally, a huge slice of the readership pie comes from the writers. Never piss off someone who has 10,000 twitter followers and a popular blog. In the world of online journals, your contributors hold your fate in their hands. In my experience, if you work for the writer, the writer will work for you.

SARETT:  Obviously, there are a lot of writers who read literary magazines -- is that the only audience for them? Or put another way, is there a way to make that audience more diverse?

CATLIN: Ah, the million dollar question. To be honest, no I don’t think so but that has always been the case. I think even the most successful print journals are read, fairly exclusively, by people who daydream about one day having their work published in them. I think the only way to diversify readership is to create a larger base of people who want to read, period, and that is a whole different ball of yarn.

SARETT: Did you check how many people visited the magazine online or was what irrelevant?  Did you get clues about which stories worked best in that regard (if you can share those)?    

CATLIN: Yes, I was kind of compulsive about it. I was never able to make heads or tails of why the site got 50,000 hit one month and 1,000 the next. I suspect, as I mentioned, that it had a great deal to do with the writers. It’s not a writer’s responsibility to promote, but I think that it makes a big difference.

SARETT:  I’ve heard that some writers who are rejected actually write back and argue with editors?  Does that actually happen or is that a myth?  

CATLIN: Yes. It absolutely happens. I had a man, granted I think that he was unwell, reply to a rejection with a twenty page story about someone named Jenny who ran a lit. journal who was such a “feminazi (expletive)” that aliens killed her. More often though, we got a lot of repeat submitters…people who would just send more and more material, seemingly convinced that you would eventually see it their way.

SARETT:  Did you feel that the process of being an editor changed the way you approach your writing?  How?

CATLIN: Yes, it changed it immensely. One of the reasons, though not one of the primary reasons, that I decided to ‘retire’, was because editing was sucking the joy out of writing for me. I think that it gave me a great deal of perspective on what to do and what not to do, it also made me think of everything I wrote as publishable or unpublishable. I have never aspired to be a career writer. I have always written for the pure joy of the experience with publication as a pleasant side effect. I saw that dwindling and it terrified me. I don’t think that my experience is typical, most of the other editors that I know have had the exact opposite experience.

SARETT: Would you ever think about a new magazine, or is it, been there, done that?

CATLIN: I don’t think that I would do it again unless I was in a position to pay the writers. I always felt exploitative not paying for people’s work, even though that is how it works. If someday I was in a position to start a well-organized 501c I would consider it. I have always wanted to start a journal that focused on the work of marginalized populations: prisoners, homeless, etc. So, yeah, I suppose I defiantly would.

SARETT: What are you working on now?

CATLIN: I am dragging myself through finishing school, finally. Which leaves me with a lot of time to explain to twenty-one year olds that I am not the professor. I am working full time as an English tutor at a community college in the heart of L.A., which is surprisingly rewarding and challenging. I have been refocusing on the writing process and, therefore, haven’t published in a while. Maybe someday.