The Coffee Bean, 606 2nd Ave
You’ll often see the Pubslush team working here, incidentally on this blog post. The Coffee Bean has both booths and lounge chairs, along with tables and chairs to help you focus on your writing.
There tends to be a shortage of outlets, but you can always find a seat (provided they’re not taken up by the Pubslush team), surrounded by plenty of other people either working on their own writing, or studying. It’s a quaint café that can sometimes get a little crowded, but otherwise a great place to write.
Tea Lounge, 837 Union Street
There is plenty of comfortable seating here to accommodate many people. The place tends to get pretty packed, but the drinks are delicious, and the environment makes it easy to work on that elusive novel of yours.
And hey, once you’ve finished writing as much as you can for the day, they have a second bar that serves alcohol—everything you need in one place!
Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street
Doubling as a bookstore and a café, the atmosphere in Housing Works is extremely quiet, making it the perfect place to concentrate on your writing. Housing Works is run by volunteers, and all of the profits made go to AIDS research and helping the homeless, so you can get the coffee you need to keep working on your writing, and feel great about doing it at the same time.
Housing Works isn’t just a café either: they serve coffee and tea as well as beer and wine. And while you’re here, you can always pick up some of the reasonably priced books. Triple win.
Think Coffee, 248 Mercer Street
The perfect literary café. Not only does the environment condone writers sitting on the comfortable armchairs and couches for hours on end, pecking away at their work, Think Coffee also hosts Scrabble tournaments and book readings, giving you a great reason to pack up your laptop and have some fun.
With great coffee and plenty of outlets throughout the store to get you through the day, Think Coffee provides an environment that helps you keep your focus for as long as you need it (well, you know, until the Scrabble tournament get going anyways).
‘sNice, 315 5th Avenue
Plenty of both small individual tables as well as large communal ones make it so you will always find a place to get your creativity flowing. This café is very clearly filled with a literary crowd, and their book reading events definitely mirror their clientele. ‘sNice also has a full menu of great food and plenty of coffee options instead of just pastries and snacks, setting it apart from other coffee shops.
It does get a little crowded and outlets tend to be hard to come by, but even though it might be difficult to work here for an entire day, ‘sNice’s charm and literary community will still keep you coming back.
Argo Tea, 1792 Broadway
The Midtown West location tends to get a little busy, but you can almost always find a place to sit.
Great baristas let you try something before you commit to a whole drink, and there are outlets for your laptop everywhere. The food and drinks are delicious and are the perfect fuel for your brain.
If you don’t mind the noise during busy hours, the layout of the tables and seating is perfectly conducive to working and writing. You can either have your own private table, or work at one of the community ones for as long as you have the creativity and tea or coffee to keep you going!
Birch Coffee, 56 7th Avenue
With plenty of seating and a library upstairs filled with books, this coffee shop fulfills all of the atmospheric requirements of a writer’s haven. It is also a very community-oriented place: they hold readings and events for readers and writers on a regular basis.
There are also plenty of outlets throughout the shop, so the battery life on your laptop will never be an issue. The only downside is you only receive one hour of free Wi-Fi with each purchase, but that can also be a great help when the only thing you want to focus on is writing. Friendly baristas, great coffee, and delicious cookies will keep you coming back to this cozy home away from home in Flatiron.
Meghan Ward
1. What was the impetus or inspiration for you to write your story?
After spending nine years working as a fashion model at the height of the supermodel craze in the late 80s and early 90s—I spent a lot of time answering questions like, “Did you meet any supermodels?” “Do all models have eating disorders?” “Did you make a ton of money?” “Do all models do drugs?” I decided to write a memoir to answer those questions and to give women and girls an insider’s look at what it’s really like to work as a high fashion model in Europe and Japan.
2. Is there a place, routine, or ritual that you have when writing? Is there an environment that allows you to be the most creative?
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I work at the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, which is a wonderful, supportive environment for writers. I have a quiet office where I write and the opportunity to dine with accomplished authors at lunchtime. It’s the perfect synthesis of calm and community. On weekends, I write in my garage-turned-office, where I sit on a sofa with my laptop and gaze out the window at the deer munching all the flowers in my backyard.
3. How do you see writing as an empowering experience for yourself and other women?
Throughout history, women have been denied a voice. (Women have had the right to vote for just 93 years, less than half of our country’s 237-year history.) Memoir and personal essay, which I write, empower women to tell their stories—whether they be of love, heartbreak, adventure, joy, parenting, careers, or struggles—and to share those stories with others.
4. What was the publishing process like for you? How were you able to bring your book to life?
My book is still in the fetal stage. It’s with an agent and on submission to publishers, and I hope to see it born into this world the way my daughter and son were three and five years ago.
5. If you had to describe yourself in three words only, what would they be?
Creative, Hardworking, Determined
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
I’ve done a lot of traveling—throughout Europe and Asia and to Central and South America—but there are two places I haven’t been yet that I want to go: Africa and Antarctica. While on my honeymoon in Patagonia, I met a man who had taken a cruise from Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia to Antarctica. I want to do that. And I’ve always wanted to go to Africa—both to the island of Mauritius and to Egypt and Kenya. There is so much to see in the world!
www.facebook.com/meghan.ward.author
@meghancward
“News of the world. Formalistic experimentation and an ineluctable sense of the human. I love to be brought to wonder when I read, to be shaken, to be reminded of what it means to be a person. But most of all I want to leave my skull and be in communion, intimately, briefly with another living mind. Something we don’t often do outside of art and love.” — BR Fiction Editor Junot Díaz answers the question “What, in your opinion, makes for a powerful piece of writing?” in his interview with Pubslush. (via bostonreview)
Save paper. Go digital. Happy Earth Day!
We all need a vacation. But there are some destinations around the world that could actually get you out of your writing slump. Everyone needs that room-of-one’s-own, but sitting in that silent, dark room with a pot of coffee can only keep those creative juices flowing for so long.
So, if you’re looking for a change of scenery, a spark of inspiration, or just a quiet place to sit down and write to escape from all the distractions, there are plenty of great places around the world to travel to that will give you that missing piece in whatever you’re working on. And it justifies a vacation, so who can say no to that?
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville seems like a small town in North Carolina, but it’s actually home to a massive artistic population. Writers, performers, and artists flock to Asheville for the artistic scene it is now known for. You will be surrounded by other writers and be immersed in a community that can only help the creative process.
The inspiration you need could be hiding in the art museums, in the mountain peaks of the wilderness surrounding Asheville, or just on any one of the street corners.
Lord Howe Island, Australia
Completely cut off from Australia, Lord Howe Island is located two hours off the mainland, and is the perfect getaway for a writer in need of some quiet inspiration. The virtually empty and pristine beaches have been untouched by masses of people and huge buildings, keeping out any distraction that might take away from your creative process.
Lord Howe Island is actually an escape from all those pesky things like the stress of your job, your phone, and endless procrastination websites (hello, Pinterest!) that keep you from writing. And who wouldn’t be inspired sitting on a beautiful empty beach with the only distractions around you being the sound of the ocean and that cold drink inevitably in your hand?
Prague
Prague is painted with history in literature, performance, and music alike. With their first president a renowned playwright, the importance of literature should not come as a surprise. Just walking through the city, you are surrounded by gorgeous ancient architecture and with bookstores on every corner, the importance of the arts and literature shines through.
With plenty of quiet places to get out of the noisy city, Prague provides writers with the experiences needed to write along with somewhere to put those experiences on paper and create something beautiful.
Paris
As the home of countless classic authors, the mysteries of the beautiful streets of Paris consistently provide fresh inspiration to writers through the history of the city itself.
Whether you get your ideas walking down the quiet, open pathways along the Seine River or by putting yourself right in the middle of the excitement of the city and French culture, Paris has everything a writer needs.
Edinburgh
With a pub or café on virtually every corner throughout the city, Edinburgh provides the perfect atmosphere to write.
Cobblestone streets and almost impossible-to-climb hills lined with beautiful houses and storefronts make up the face of Edinburgh, putting you in an entirely different world, filled with the same sights that motivated the minds of authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and JK Rowling.
Vicki Addesso
1. At what age did you begin writing? Is writing your sole career or do you have other jobs in addition to being an author?
I began writing when I began reading. I love reading. I remember being very young, and watching my father sit at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. I saw all the marks - which were letters - but did not know what they were yet. I felt like my father knew the secret to a wonderful mystery - I couldn’t wait until I learned that secret also. Learning to read was amazing!
When I opened a book, I was in another world. It did not matter what the book was about, but knowing what letters were and that they made words and words told stories - that was so exciting for me. So, it was a natural transition from being a reader to becoming a writer. Of course, as a child I wrote stories that imitated what I was reading. In my early teens, I began to keep a journal - not so much a diary, more like a depository of emotions and questions and ideas. Im my journal, I did toy with writing fiction, jotting down the beginnings of stories I hoped to one day write.
But my writing remained personal, and secret, for a very long time. I was too inhibited, insecure, to share my stories with anyone else. I thought they weren’t good enough.
So, in college I choose a major in art history. I continued to read voraciously. And I continued to write in my journal and hoped that one day I would figure out how to be a “real writer.”
I worked at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, NY for ten years, as Education Associate and then Coordinator of Public Programs. When I married and gave birth to my first child (I have two sons), I left my full-time career and took on a variety of part-time jobs. I worked in a book store, as a dental office receptionist, and did data entry for a home decorating company.
Obviously, writing is not my sole career. For the past fifteen years I have worked as a Personal Assistant to the founder and director of the Treeture Environmental Education Program.
In 1998, I registered for a memoir writing class at the Hudson Valley Writers Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY. That was the beginning of my “career” as a writer - meaning, it was then that I allowed myself to believe I could write something of interest and worth to share with others. I took many workshop classes at the center, and met some wonderfully supportive writers.
In 2006, I and three other women from the writers center started meeting on our own, every Thursday morning - we each were writing different material: fiction, journalism, memoir. We would bring in what we had been working on during the week, read it to each other, and critique the work.
During the first year or so, we continued to pursue our separate goals, but at some point , we began to bring in pieces about our relationships with our mothers. The subject of the mother/daughter dynamic became a focus, and we eventually decided to collaborate on a book about that subject.
2. What approach did you use in publishing your book—self, traditional, etc.? What is your involvement in the pre- and post-promotion of your work?
After we had finished writing all our pieces about our mother/daughter relationships, we worked for some time on the format of the book. Once we had put it all together, we wrote a proposal and began to search for an agent. Surprisingly, we found one rather quickly and for a year or so worked with her to reshape the book. Our agent had a different vision for it - she wanted to incorporate our writing group experience into the framework of the collaborative memoirs of our mothers. When we completed that transformation, she shopped the book out to large publishing houses. Rejection after rejection began coming back to us. It was discouraging, but very educational. We realized that the vision our agent held for the book was not the path we truly believed we should take. So, we went back to the beginning, worked on restructuring our book once again, and let our contract with our agent expire. It was then that we approached smaller, independent publishers. After about another year, we were picked up by Big Table Publishing (Boston, MA), a very small press. The editor there loved our book; she had the same vision for it that we had, so we moved forward.
Because Big Table Publishing is such a small press, there is no PR department. We decided to invest in a PR firm to help us promote our book. We found a local firm (here in Westchester County, NY) and negotiated a contract that we could handle financially. However, the time is limited and soon we will have to take up our book’s promotion on our own.
3. What is the role of social media in your publishing process? Who are your greatest fans, what are their demographics, and what social media platform do you find most useful in communicating with them?
We have had to school ourselves regarding social media. I have been on Facebook for several years and felt very comfortable utilizing that area for outreach. I now also use Twitter and Tumblr. I and my three co-authors schedule posts and tweets about our book. Our PR firm set up a Facebook page and Twitter feed for our book and post/tweet 3x a week. I also blog and post to SheWrites.
As our book just came out (March 1, 2013), so far our greatest fans are family and friends. However, we are doing many readings and events over the next three months, in Westchester as well as Manhattan and Brooklyn. Several local publications have featured stories about each of us and our book. NY/Metro Parents Magazine, which has a circulation of 400,000, featured an article about our book and an interview with us in their March issue. Appearances and interviews in other publication, and on television and radio, are pending. So, we are hoping, and expecting, our fan base to grow. Obviously, as the book is about the mother/daughter relationship, it is assumed that women would be most interested in our book. However, as a collaborative memoir about family, growing up, and relationships, we know our audience does not have to be limited to one gender, or even demographic.
I have found Facebook to be very useful. The connections that are made as friends share posts with their friends, and so on, snowballs. Twitter, also, allows for networking. With both platforms, I find that connecting our book to another’s work or interests is so important. It is not always the best route to “toot your own horn”, so often I will post and tweet about subjects not related to our book, simply to make connections and interact.
4. If you had to describe yourself in three words only, what would they be?
Optimistic shy extrovert.
5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
I would love to visit Iceland. The geography of that land is so interesting - it seems primordial. It seems so different from where I have always lived. And I love the music that Bjork creates, and that is her home. I imagine that place as a reflection of her creativity.
6. Tell us about your latest book.
If by my latest book you mean STILL HERE THINKING OF YOU - A Second Chance With Our Mothers, it is my first published book. It is a collaborative memoir. My co-authors are Susan Hodara, Joan Potter, Lori Toppel. From our press release:
In the book, the four of us, each from very different backgrounds, remember our mothers in a unique and captivating way: together. Having joined forces in a writing group in 2006, we began writing about our relationships with our mothers. In the process, not only did our understanding of one another deepen, but our perceptions of our mothers slowly transformed and crystallized. The book opens with “The Writers,” where we each describe the circumstances that led us to the writing group. “The Stories” then presents our four separate mother memoirs. In the epilogue, “Still Here,” we reflect on how sharing our memories affected us. Revealing pain, humor, tenderness, and, finally, empathy, Still Here Thinking of You taps into that universal pulse that never stops beating, the bond between mother and daughter.
Currently, I am at work on a collection of short stories. I have always wanted to write fiction. I think that writing the memoir about my mother and me was freeing - we had had a very close and complicated relationship. After her death in 1997, I knew I had to explore that subject. Now, I am ready to continue writing, as a career.
The collection I am working on (I have three stories completed so far) will be connected - they are based in the present, but reflect back on the 1970’s. I find myself doing a lot of research, as the stories relate to events such as the Vietnam War and the Women’s Movement, as well as the social changes of that era, and how those experiences follow the stories’ characters into the present.
www.stillherethinkingofyou.com
@VickiAddesso
Blogging. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Goodreads. Amazon. There are so many online platforms to promote yourself as an author. It’s a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?
Despite the array of platforms available for authors to create an online presence, they all link back to the most important facet of online promotion: having an amazing author website.
Sounds like a lot of work though, right? Luckily, it’s not! Wix.com is a free, easy to use website creator that provides everyone (even non-tech savvy authors) with the opportunity to create a beautiful and engaging website!
Pubslush had the chance to talk to Ashely Gallman Williams, the Client Relations and Events Manager at Wix Lounge in New York City. Learn more about Wix and the great services they provide below!
1. What services does Wix provide?
Wix.com enables anyone to design, publish and host stunning websites. No coding or previous design skills are needed! You can build something as simple as a one-page website or as complex as an online shop. Users can easily add text, images, galleries, videos and more to their sites, and our app market allows even greater functionality such as customized contact forms, live chat, and beyond. With Wix you can create an online hub for your business or project that is easy to build and beautiful.
2. What does Wix provide that sets it apart from other website builders?
While Wix is drag-and-drop and very easy, it is also very customizable. We like to refer to our templates as design suggestions because they are in no way rigid or confining. You can make each template 100% your own or start from scratch. This Wix blog post shows you how completely you can transform our templates: http://www.wix.com/blog/2013/02/own-it/
3. How can Wix be a starting point for artists looking to build an audience?
The most successful artists are those that effectively engage and connect with their audience. Social Media is of course one of the best ways to do this, and Wix allows you to create a one-stop hub for all these channels. Fans don’t have to hunt down each individual twitter, facebook, and blog site. They can just visit your website and easily connect with you on each of these platforms from one location.
Wix also offers a number of community-focused apps: DaPulse allows you to create a community forum, Social Sweepstakes lets you create contests, Social Polls Contest gives you the option to feature polls, and there are so many more. Other apps give you the ability to integrate your Tumblr or Blogger into your site seamlessly.
4. What’s the importance of having an online presence?
In the age of Google and Social Media, you can safely assume your audience is online and looking for you and having a stunning website is the ideal way to be found.
For ideas of how Wix can help you, check out these lovely literature related Wix websites:
http://oladokunalexander.wix.com/acrux-manor
http://www.pagestreetpublishing.com/
Twitter might be a place for some to post pictures of cats and endless updates about their daily lives, but it also has invaluable writing advice and links to connect writers with everything happening in the literary world. That’s the beauty of social media—you can make countless invaluable connections from the comfort of your own home, all while wearing your pink bunny slippers and bathrobe. (Or is that just me?)
Here’s a rundown of ten Twitter accounts all writers should follow.
Goodreads – Not only do they link you to great books you should be reading, but they also give you quotes to help you with your own writing and keep you updated on all things in the literary world. @goodreads
Winning Writers – A seemingly unending supply of links to opportunities to publish your work, contests, samples of other writer’s works, and tips on how to submit everything you’ve created. @winningwriters
Writer’s Digest – Tips, tips, and more tips! Everything Writer’s Digest posts gives you suggestions on how to make your own work better, along with chances to submit your work for publication. @WritersDigest
Duotrope – Listings, interviews, and reviews to keep you connected with the literary world. @Duotrope
Pen and Muse – Hilarious? Definitely. Pen and muse uses lighthearted sarcasm mixed with real advice to help you make your writing better. As a bonus, they tweet suggestions on how to keep those creative juices flowing. @PenandMuse
Grammarly – Tips on how to correct grammar and fix those little mistakes in your writing. Not to mention the nerdy and hilarious voice behind every tweet. @grammarly
Writing Secrets – Helps take your writing to the next level with ideas on how to stop that pesky writer’s block and suggestions on character development, dialogue, and description. @writingsecrets
One Wild Word – Resources given by a fellow writer, Carly Sandifer, to help spark creativity. Sandifer believes “sometimes all it takes is one wild word to make a poem sing or a sentence fly,” so she helps you find those words in her own tweets. @onewildword
Writer Unboxed – “Lessons in the art of storytelling,” updates in literature for authors, and suggestions for overcoming the difficulties of publishing. Writer Unboxed gives you the perfect links that will help you make your writing better. @WriterUnboxed
PubPerspectives – Daily updates on everything happening in the wide world of publishing. Links to endless articles relating to the changes in publishing, tips on writing, and a couple of jokes thrown in for good measure. @pubperspectives
So what are you waiting for? Get some Twitter in your own writing.
Alexandra Caselle
1. What was the impetus or inspiration for you to begin writing?
I always have said that I held a pen in my hand while I nursed a sippy cup in the other. Writing has always been a part of me. It allows my imagination to have full reign. As a child and still as an adult, I have had an active imagination. Whenever there was a thunderstorm in sunny Jacksonville, I pretended that I was in a war. The thunder was the cannons firing off. I would huddle my stuff animals under my spread behind a fortress of pillows, and I would tell them stories about the war going on. Writing offers me an escape from my reality. It allows me to connect the dissonant parts within me and the world and construct them into a whole, a composite of experience and meaning-making.
2. What were some of the struggles that you faced in the writing process? How were you able to overcome them?
When inspiration strikes, I get a barrage of images, emotions, and characters all at once. I try to fit it all together into a seamless narrative. When I try to force the ideas into a frame that I deem to be necessary, the characters fight with me. The words do not flow as freely, and I struggle with the story. But when I submit to the characters and let them guide me through the story, the narrative becomes seamless and effortless. I have learned when the writing stagnates, I need to stop and reconnect to the characters and let my “third eye” or the muse show me the way. Usually when I go for a walk along the beach or in the park, the ideas start to flow. Lately, I struggle with my memory. I had an illness in 2009 that resulted in temporary memory loss. After recovery, I still have migraines and memory/cogitation problems. So it may take me a little longer to find the right word or to create the right image to resonate with the reader. My mantra helps me overcome any struggle in the writing process: create despite circumstances.
3. What is the most important piece of advice you can give to aspiring female authors?
Well, I consider myself an aspiring female author, so I guess I would offer the same advice that I use to motivate myself. Remember why you fell in love with writing. Let those reasons sustain you as you navigate the humbling road to publication. Along the way, you are going to face rejections, closed doors, and writing blocks. Keep your pen in motion. Never let your fingers leave the keyboard. The muse gave you a talent for a reason: to write in truth in order to be of service to others. Your writing will touch at least one person. You have to keep writing despite your circumstances because that one person needs it to enrich his or her life.
4. If you had to describe yourself in three words only, what would they be?
Visionary. Literary Maven. Survivor.
5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
I would travel to Jamaica. As a child, I had many talents in the arts area. I loved writing, of course. But I loved acting, performing, drawing,and dancing. I watched Fame, Soul Train, and BET/MTV music videos and studied and practiced the choreography. I loved Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. I wanted to be a choregrapher like Fatima, or Debbie Allen or work with the Alvin Ailey group. Reggae music is my favorite type of music. My body manipulated the melodic beat of the music just like my pen manipulated words into beautiful images. I would love to experience the culture and beauty of the island. Of course, thanks to my imagination, I always envisioned myself riding on a horse along the beach with the man of my dreams sitting behind me.
6. What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future? Do you have any exciting plans or projects coming up?
I have a couple of projects in motion. I am beginning to research the cultural and historical influences of the 1950s & 1960s in Florida and in Mississippi. I have an idea for a novel that will explore the following questions: 1) Can love be an all-healing salve? 2) What happens when the boundaries of love are tested over and over again? 3) Whose love is the all-healing salve: self-love or romantic love? It offers a new twist on the commonly used conflict of love triangles.
The second project delves into a genre held closely to my heart, young adult literature. It is a paranormal novel that will expand the boundaries of the supernatural and romance and provide a unique representation of how adolescents can manipulate magic and their own personal power to assert themselves in the world.
On my blogs, Womanlution: Inside the Mind of Alexandra Caselle & Rhet Effects, I will have serialized stories, flash fiction stories, and other types of posts that will be used to teach different literary, writing, and reading concepts.
I hope to leave my mark on the literary world, one reader, one story, one poem at a time.
https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.caselle
https://twitter.com/AlexandraCasell
http://womanlution.wordpress.com
http://rheteffects.wordpress.com
http://www.shewrites.com/profile/AlexandraCaselle?xg_source=activity
Oh, Amazon. At it again. As many of you know, the corporation bought Goodreads last week, creating a new literary lovechild. A good ol’ literary scandal.
With Amazon purchasing many of the big websites today, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’ve recently merged with Goodreads, a book recommendation community for readers. As a platform to recommend books, Goodreads is an ideal place for book sales (i.e. perfect for Amazon).
This new merger will still keep much of the layout of the website the same and preserve the Goodreads community. The only major changes to the site will be in customizations for Kindle users and their new ability to preview books and purchase directly from the website. For users reading on all other kinds of e-readers and in print, the rest of the site’s navigation and the social aspect of sharing books will stay.
There will still be links to other retailers besides Amazon because of the variety of users, and according to both Amazon and Goodreads, the site will still remain a place to share books, but now with the ability to start reading them directly on the site without going to a third party.
So, the site will remain the same for the most part. The only major difference will be behind the scenes—Amazon will have access to all the books you’ve read, are reading, or want to read. Perfect for a website that’s trying to sell you books, no?
Are some users going to leave the site in an active boycott of Amazon? Definitely. Has Amazon gone a little “Big Brother” in the literary world? Yup. But the more important question is will Goodreads remain the same online literary community it has been? Looks like it.
Under the Gum Tree is a new micro-magazine that publishes creative non-fiction and visual art. Learn more about the magazine and what they publish below. For more, be sure to check out their website!
1. Under the Gum Tree is a micro-magazine. Sounds fancy! Can you tell us what that means?
Absolutely — the term “micro-magazine” comes from Seth Godin and the concept is that, because of the technology available today, publications can cater to a small audience and be successful. For Under the Gum Tree, that means our goal is to have 1,000 paying subscribers.
2. In one sentence, tell us what you’re all about.
Under the Gum Tree is a digital literary arts magazine publishing creative nonfiction and visual art because we are interested in the power of personal storytelling.
3. Why did you choose to publish only creative non-fiction?
Funny, my editor’s letter in our new issue addresses this question. Aside from the fact that I write creative nonfiction, the genre is compelling to me because of the vulnerability involved. Many people who write other genres argue that any type of writing requires vulnerability, and I agree, but to me there is something more intimate with nonfiction — when authors share an experience and tell their readers, “This really happened to me,” it is somehow more personal and creates a special authentic connection. I believe that the power of personal storytelling is how we connect to each other.
4. Is the visual art component intended to supplement the writing that’s published or stand apart from it?
There’s no intended connection. We solicit the artwork independent from the stories that we select, but often we find that themes overlap. I think that’s the nature of art — we are all attempting to express the truth of our experiences.
5. As a new company, how have you found your audience?
We are primarily a digital magazine, so we find our audience mostly through online outlets. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, the usual social media suspects. But also through sites like thereviewreview.com and thelitpub.com that are devoted to literature and writing.
6. Any advice to authors seeking publication in your magazine?
We get a lot of “when I was a kid” or “coming of age” stories. Those stories are important and most are well-written. But we aim to include one food-, music-, and film-themed piece in every issue. We also aim to include one flash piece in every issue. Those are the submissions we need the most, so for writers who have those stories, the chances of getting published with us are much higher! Otherwise, of course read a past issue to get a feel for our aesthetic.
Elisabeth Kinsey
1. At what age did you begin writing? Is writing your sole career or do you have other jobs in addition to being an author?
I wrote my first story called “How California Got Its Name” about a Calif who was sad and travelled to a magical land called Ornia. That won me the Young Author’s Award in sixth grade. The rest is history. If you get praised for writing at a young age, you’ll do anything to keep going.
Writing is not my sole career but I would love to earn more with my writing. I teach writing online through Regis University and feel it is my calling besides writing. I learn a lot from my students. I also teach writing workshops. My plan is to convert these into an online forum.
2. Is there a place, routine, or ritual that you have when writing? Is there
an environment that allows you to be the most creative?
I meet so many writers who want to get together to write. I can’t do that. I need my coffee, silence or something quiet going in the background like Rachmaninoff, and my office with all my Yay-team writing snippets above my computer. It’s also nice if I have my full library to access other writers for inspiration. I write every morning for at least three hours. But, sometimes I’ll only get a page out of that if I’m editing.
3. How and when did you decide to become a writer?
I actually wanted to be an actress, even though I’ve written since I was 8. When I realized how “in my face” my acting colleagues were, I dropped out. I needed space. I went full force, taking writing classes in my twenties.
4. How do you see writing as an empowering experience for yourself and other women?
Women need to voice their every day lives! Through writing we create community. Through our stories, we are heard. I particularly believe that if we continue to tell our stories, all women will be able to have a voice: the down trodden, abused, nearly dead in Africa. This will take the normalization away from violence and belittlement of women.
5. If you had to describe yourself in three words only, what would they be?
Mercurial. Outsider. Tenacious.
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
Right now, it would be Altopascio, Italy to look up my Grandmother’s cousins and finish her line in the family tree. I’ve started a fiction work based on her life and would be able to gather stories that I could convert.
Look for my memoir - hopefully I’ll obtain an agent soon: The Holy Ghost Goes to Bed at Midnight: Half a Mormon Life.
Elisabeth Kinsey received her BA in Writing at Metropolitan State College of Denver and her Masters in Creative Writing at Regis University. She has published poetry in Wazee Journal, Metrosphere, Apogee, Emergency Online Journal, and creative non-fiction in The Rambler, YourHub.com, The Metropolitan, and Ask Me About My Divorce (Seal Press, 2009). She is working on three novels concurrently while fostering a hobby for birding. She lives on the road with her husband’s job, and totes a menagerie of pets with her.