July 2007 Archives
I'm slowly recovering from a fantastic weekend at the big netroots/blogger convention, YearlyKos, in Chicago. Despite increasingly pathetic volleys from Bill O'Reilly, myself and 1,500 other Kossacks participated in dozens of subject-matter sessions, social events, and other politically-themed activities. As part of the Creative Arts Alliance, a new group made up of DailyKos members interested in the arts, my main task between sessions was to sell as many copies of our arts anthology, "Art in a Liberal Frame" as possible. We managed to get our first-edition chapbook into the hands of just about every influential blogger--and some pundits and media figures as well. It was quite an experience. Most folks were amazed to see an overtly political literary compilation; hardcore politics is discouraged in most literary magazines, either as a matter of taste or a matter of financial survival in the age of meager grants and gunshy institutions. 
Art in a liberal frame is not a meticulously edited institutional literary magazine. It's beautiful to look at--oddly printed on waterproof paper with soy-based ink (our printer was both generous and loved to try nontraditional materials). Photographs and political cartoons burst off the page in full, luscious color. The poetry varies from items that wouldn't get read past the first line in a litmag slush pile (too political, too in-your-face) to elegant pieces that wouldn't be out of place in the North American Review. It wasn't edited carefully by a committee. My lead editor, Cosmic Debris (that's her screen name) used her gut instinct to place pieces throughout the book, and to decide what to keep and what to toss. We basically violated every rule of how you are supposed to put together a literary magazine, and frankly, the result was more exciting; you genuinely don't know what bizarre/obnoxious/eloquent/combination therof/bit of art you will find from one page to the next. As assistant editor, I helped shape the look of the book, its general artistic direction, logos and layout, and scraped it as clean of typos as I could.
If our printer decides to do a reprint I'll post a link to his online shop, but likely we'll be looking to next year, where we can get a grant based on this year's work for a new issue and a larger printing. But I'm proud to have been involved in a (sadly) somewhat unique literary experiment in a time.
As a writer hoping to break into the mainstream fiction publishing world in the next few years, I've spent some time researching the topic of "how to get published". Advice ranges from "get a good agent!" to "submit manuscripts directly! Slush piles are your friend!" and everything in between.
But the majority of the advice is dished out by people who haven't published anything I'd care to read. And those who are published well, in fiction, generally have no advice because they got published the old-fashioned way; by chance meetings and connections, or relentless submission of material over many years.
Neil Gaiman's blog does contain a nice set of resources for writers early on in their careers. It's the most reasonable-sounding advice I've heard so far, and the warning about agents from one of his associates, if true, contradicts much of what I've read elsewhere. Essentially, she says that an agent who will represent you without a firm offer from a publisher isn't the kind of agent who has your best interests in mind. See Gaiman's post here.
Susan McNerney is a writer based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Originally from the redwood country of northern California, Susan writes fiction and nonfiction set in a variety landscapes, including the far American West. Susan previously wrote and illustrated the Pesky the Rat political satire web site (2002-2005) and is now pursuing a master of fine arts degree. Mackerel Street is Susan's home on the web, and features commentary on literary trends, news, and the writing process. Susan also enjoys photography, which will be a staple of Mackerel Street in the months and years to come.
Email Susan at mackerelstreet (at) gmail (dot) com.
"Mackerelstreet" refers to the title of Susan's first full-length juvenile fiction novel, "Sunny Days on Mackerelstreet," not yet published. The book follows the bizarre discoveries of two young protagonists, Stuart and Annie, and takes place in a sparkling village on the Oregon Coast.
Summer in Minnesota is at its peak, and for me that means Yearly Kos is fast approaching. The gathering of bloggers affiliated with the nation's most popular political website, Daily Kos, in Chicago this year, promises to be far bigger and better even than the first event last year, and this time includes an artistic component.
I'm happy to be part of the first literary magazine to come out of a blogging convention--and probably the first to come out of any major political website. It's called "Art in a Liberal Frame" and will be published in limited quantities for sale at the convention. It's a gorgeous book, full color and full of political photographs, cartoons, poetry, and even an internet-themed short story by yours truly, titled "Another Thread". I also participated as an assistant editor. After the convention I'll post it here in readable form. It's a labor of love by Daily Kos members and is one of the most stridently political literary magazines you'll ever see. In a time when many litmags are dishrag nebulous, "Art in a Liberal Frame" is full of passionate, angry, witty folks. We're hoping it will be for sale online after the convention.
More writing news to come. Biography and sample work is on the way as well.
