Editor's Notes

Mission Statement

Literary Potpourri's mission isn't complicated. It is to print the best literary and artistic work it can find for the pleasure of its readers.

In my opinion, writers have a thankless job. They are underpaid, (if paid at all,) and when submitting work, they sometimes wait months and even years to receive a rejection which usually comes in an impersonal form-letter. And to add insult to injury, writers are asked to not submit simultaneously to more than one publisher.

My staff and I are bending over backwards to read submissions quickly and thoroughly, returning them with a response as soon as humanly possible. At this point in time, that is usually within days or (but not often) weeks. This is my small way of paying respect to the labors of writers who honor us with submissions.

Being a writer myself, irked by the discourtesy and apathy of so many publications today, I look back nostalgically to yesteryear's models of all but forgotten editorial standards. The contributions of Maxwell Perkins and his ilk are legend, for they cared about their writers, groomed them with encouragement and support. The real joy in being an editor is precisely that--to find talent, promote it and support it to maturity. We live in a different world today, but I don't think 'abuse' and disrespect should be excused in any generation. When submissions get so heavy that a reasonable response time is impossible, we shall change our Guidelines to narrow the field and increase our reading staff or get out of the business.

Meanwhile, I'm inspired and delighted with much of the work we receive, especially warmed by the opportunity to provide a first publishing experience for up and coming writers. But our base continues to be the extraordinary work of seasoned professionals, and for their continued generosity I am grateful.

Read Notes below for our plans to find funding for the contributors to Literary Potpourri.

APRIL 2002 ISSUE #5

Greetings!

'Notes' is a new page in Literary Potpourri - and long overdue. We are still brainstorming, ironing out wrinkles and gazing out windows looking for answers to the difficult questions, but it's time to share our thoughts with you.

KUDOS

Every month, when a new issue of Literary Potpourri appears on my screen, I feel a thrill of pride for all the work involved, not only by the publishing staff of LP, but for all the artists' and writers' incredible contributions which are fast making this e-zine a favorite with readers. I thank each and every one of them. They are the heart of this whole venture, and promoting their talent is a privilege.

In addition, we have received many compliments on the 'look' of LP - the Cover graphics and layout. This is due to the talents of William Coleman, our graphics editor, without whom I would have been publishing something that looked like a preschooler's coloring book. Every technical and artistic success is due to Bill's amazing talents and his unflinching 'eye.' I learn from him daily, and try to capture his vision. I cannot praise him enough.

But the Bravos! are not the only message this month.

DREAMS & GOALS

I would like readers, writers and artists alike to know that we are working on finding ways to produce revenue, in order that we can pay for submissions of work, and grow into a respected, viable presence on the Web.

At the moment, people are literally giving us their work, with nothing in return but the exposure to a public readership. This is common practice in small zines and print journals. But it is not our intention to maintain that practice. We would like to pay people at least a small stipend until such time that we can afford higher fees.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

How will we go about this? Given that we have no interest in commercial advertising, and those bothersome, ugly 'pop up' ads, we are challenged to find ways to raise revenues. (Actually, we would LOVE to advertise literature-related products but that has yet to be explored. And no pop ups, regardless!)

BOOK SALES

1. We have a book page where readers are invited (urged?) to buy ALL their purchases of books via our site, whereby we receive a tiny commission from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, proceeds of which is ALL being saved toward our "Contributor's Fund." Every book order helps, but needless to say, we're in competition with many other sites who also offer books. Still, if you've a mind to support this e-zine, we'd encourage you to bookmark this page for all your online purchases:

BOOKS WE LIKE

PRINT MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS

2. We are currently investigating ways that we can go to hard print with each issue, and sell subscriptions. The work involved in this proposition is considerable, however it is being explored right now.

LIT POT© CHAPBOOKS

3. We are also looking at an alternative to hard print issues, and offer individual stories, or 'chapbooks' of poetry and flashes from each issue, bound in cover-stock that matches our online cover. These little booklets would be called "Lit Pots©" and made up to order.

E-BOOKS

4. We also are considering 'selling' ebooks from our site. So far we have had nobody inquire about this, but it's one of the things we are willing to consider. We would take a small commission on the sale, thus raising revenues and hopefully helping the sales of writers' books.

If you have any suggestions, comments or encouragement about any of the above ideas, we'd love to hear your thoughts (with no strings attached, natch. We're just eager for feedback on what appeals.)

Contact us by EMAIL

WANT A WEBSITE? PUT ME TO WORK!

One final option for raising a bit of money might be Website-Building.

Literary Potpourri has been created without any kind of design software or templates. I decided to build a website on my own, without spending one penny, except to purchase the Url, literarypotpourri.com. I wanted to learn html from the ground up, so that I KNEW how things worked, and could change and control the look of the publication at will. I didn't want to be 'stuck' with one look, one formula. The e-zine breathes and grows with each issue, and thus the editorial change of mind or mood can be reflected easily. Obviously I couldn't have done this without learning, learning, learning from the basics up, as much html as I could digest, and was further buoyed on the shoulders of a master technician (see Kudos above), Bill Coleman, who has worked with me, (without payment), selflessly for months now. As a result, I have some knowledge, and I would like to use it to raise revenues for our Contributors' Fund.

People who do not have html skills might want to promote their work on a website of their own, or have a 'family' website with photos, or even a commercial website for a small business. It occurred to me that I might be a partner for folks who wanted a website, but didn't know how to go about it.

I don't purport to be the greatest webmaster, but then my rates probably would fall far below those professionals who write javascript in their dreams.

ALL of such revenues would go directly to the "Contributor's Fund."

Here's an example of a site I did for a writer who has a new novel coming out, as a sample: Maryanne Stahl's Website.

If you have any interest, contact me by EMAIL


Thank you for your readership. We love hearing from you, so don't hold back your comments. Your criticisms and praise keep us working to make LP a zine you'll come back to again and again. Give us your suggestions, reactions and complaints. We welcome them.

Don't forget to sign up for our 30-second newsletter. (The shortest newsletter on the web!) It will remind you when new material is being published, and you don't want to miss it!


Yours, sincerely,

Beverly Jackson
Editor-in-Chief
PO Box 1034
Blue Lake, CA 95525

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