Blog 21: Publication Venue Presentation

Handout

After much researching and browsing, I think I finally found a place of publication. Let me tell you all about it.

Essay: As of this moment I have two essays that are related to the theme of the next issue's magazine. I am torn between two of my essays, "The Shell Smashing Speech" and "Just Jump."

• "The Shell Smashing Speech" is my essay that talks about how i overcame my fear of public speaking. it wasn't always easy for me to stand in front of a room and talk. I used to be a very very shy person, and now i can't keep quiet. the content of my essay involves three seperate stories of when i had to make a presentation. It goes from one of the horrible times to a presentation where it took guts and creativity to pull off.


• "Just Jump" is the second essay that i have written. This one is about a time i wanted to jump off the diving boards. One of the diviving boards was higher than the other. Well the lower diving board was packed, and so i went over to the higher one. I climbed to the top, and well....you can probably guess what happened next.

Place of Publication: The place i chose to send one of my two essays is to a magazine called Slice Magazine. (http://www.slicemagazine.org/index.php) They are a Brooklyn based nonprofit magazine, who understand that it's not easy to have your voice heard. Well-known writers and emerging writers are encouraged.

A quote from their site...."We're looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share--basically any work that really knocks our socks off."

Reading that quote gave me hope and also made me excited because it seems like I have a shot. I always say at least try because if you don't try, how will you truly know the outcome? They seem friendly, easy-going, and welcoming.

Subject Matter: Each of their issues are dedicated to a special theme. In their first issue, the theme was New Beginnings. The theme of their second issue was Heroes. For their third issue, the theme was in translation. Submissions for their fourth issue has ended, and so they did not mention the theme. The theme for their fifth issue is Fear. Seeing how their theme is fear, i immeditaely thought "Hey my first two essays are about fears, Perfect!"

Voice: The voice of this magazine is easy-going, compelling, and fun. i feel my essay fits with the voice of the magazine because my essays have some humor to them even though they are serious.

Modes of Writing

Form: The form of the magazines is short stories, poetry, interviews, fiction, nonfiction, and novellas.

Length: This was the tricky part. There was no mention of length. Browsing their online site, i came across a question asked by someone whose piece was 8,750 words. they were told while it may be too long for their blog, they can send it to the magazine. Now my essays fall in between 2,000- 3,000 words, so i will stick to the magazine.

Politics: The political and cultural orientation of the venue is general. They welcome established writers as well as emergining writers.

Characterization of the niche

The audience of Slice Magazine are people from all over the world.

The purpose, according to Slice Magazine is, "We aim to spark a dialogue between emerging and established writers. In each issue, a specific cultural theme becomes the catalyst for short stories, articles, interviews, and poems from renowned writers and lesser known voices alike."

Submission dates: Submissions will be taken from February 1st to April 1st of 2009. They ask to wait two to three months for a reply. They also ask to include detailed contact information. There is no fee

Manuscript Form: Submissions are to be sent electronically, in the body of an email. Manuscripts that are sent as attachments will not be looked at.

My essay in terms of the publication venue

After i decided to go with Slice Magazine, I browsed through some pieces that already exist. However, in order to browse some articles I had to subscribe. I saw Blog at the top of the site and so i clicked on it. My curiosity led me their blog site which had actual stories. I included an exerpt from their blog site.

"Welcome to our “Slices of Life” blog. The concept is simple: we want to take the time to focus on the little things in life that we normally would let pass us by, but that are actually the details that make the world extraordinary. We’ll be posting entries every few days from folks across the globe describing something they observe that makes them pause and smile or ponder their surroundings. We hope these everyday observations allow you to see the world in a new way. Enjoy!"

Some of the blog essays that I came across were called "Moods of New York" "Beer Goggles" 'Passing " and more. I know im steering away from the magazine, but i couldnt find any articles on the magazine site. This blog site is affiliated with the magazine. My essay itself differentiates from the others. It is unique and it talks about something we are all familiar with, diving boards and swimming pools, mentioned in my second essay.