From the Editor... Goldfinch 2008 – Some Things You Should Know… However, some questions have arisen with regards to the copyright concerns and also just how the submission/editorial process actually works. Here is a brief explanation about each of those matters:
Goldfinch is a true print literary publication. What that means is that while the contents of Goldfinch are solely created by our member women, they are available to readers in the public, beyond the membership of Women Who Write. We send out copies to prospective members, we provide copies for sale at our sponsored readings and other special events and we make available for purchase copies of Goldfinch via our website. Therefore, you should be aware of the fact that when our guidelines specifically request unpublished manuscripts of poetry, prose or memoir, we are doing so for a reason: we are obtaining from you First North American Serial Rights, also known as First North American Rights or more simply, First Rights. A number of book publishers prefer to see publication history, because it lends credence and a pedigree to your writing. However, the large majority of magazines want only first publication rights, so if you are planning on submitting to other markets, please consider this point carefully. If, on the other hand, you wish to have a reprint work of yours published within (or by) Women Who Write, please give some thought to submitting the work to Goldfinch Online. This is our website publishing mechanism, and for that medium, we only want previously published material.
Starting on November 1st and continuing through December 17th, you will have the opportunity to submit previously unpublished works to Goldfinch, either through our website/email system or through the US Postal Service (snail mail.) Unpublished means just that – the work cannot have appeared in print (broadsides, chapbooks, books, postcards, t-shirts, etc.) or online in any format, except if the work was viewed solely by the members of a reading/critique group which is accessible by password and used only by that critique group. Once the submission period ends, the work of our staff begins. Each genre, prose and poetry, has three volunteer readers chosen from our membership. Our readers are selected by the Editor because each of them has a proven track record of writing and editing in (at least) their particular genre and they have very kindly offered their time for this important editorial position. Why? Because sometimes, a piece of writing takes on different meaning when read more than once. Readers are allowed to submit their writings to Goldfinch, too, but if any reader sees her own work or work she recognizes, she is requested to recuse herself from scoring those pieces, out of fairness to the women submitting their work. In fact, the only person who may not submit anything to Goldfinch (other than for an Editor’s preface) is the Editor. The reason for this is that the Editor is the only one who knows who submitted what, as well as the actual scores of all of the submissions, which obviously has the potential for creating a conflict of interest. When the reading period is over, the readers return all the raw scores to the Editor, who then compiles a database with each piece of poetry and each piece of prose by ranking. Because we try to give an equal amount of space in Goldfinch for poetry and for prose, and in addition, because we like very much to read old as well as new voices, we then perform a careful balancing act to select the work which eventually will be published. This, typically, takes the better part of the month of February, and the responsibility for this procedure falls squarely on the shoulders of the Editor. Once the final work for Goldfinch has been chosen, based on the above, the Editor drafts a layout of the magazine – and sends it to the President of Women Who Write (in this case, Karen Haefelein), and to the Production Manager (in this case, Laurie Wallmark.) Together, we all review the work, the layout and other salient features. In addition, the Editor, the President and the Production Manager work with the submitted artwork and/or photography for cover art and interior entry and exit art. And while this is going on, the Editor must correspond with all the writers whose work has been accepted for publication for three things – congratulations on having work accepted, a request for proofing of the original work to make sure that it should go into Goldfinch as originally submitted, and finally, an updated biography (if data has changed since the date of submission.) Those issues must be resolved before finalizing. But, we’re not finished yet! Once the penultimate layout for Goldfinch has been designed and executed, copies of the journal are then sent to three of our Women Who Write members who have agreed to perform proofreading services. If everything goes as planned, and happily, it usually does, Goldfinch will, at that time, be mailed to our members in late April or early May. I hope this explanation adequately addresses the questions and concerns of our contributors. Let me reiterate how pleased and happy I am to be a part of this fascinating project again. I am really looking forward to receiving your submissions. And on that note – cheers, and keep writing! -RJ Clarken, Editor, Goldfinch 2008 |
