One Chapter Ends

This is the final week of my internship with Santa Fe Writers Project. When I started looking into grad school programs, I wanted to pursue a program outside of education. I ended up enrolling in Bay Path University’s Creative Nonfiction Writing MFA program. I was very excited to begin my publishing track last fall. What I gained was a primer of knowledge on the basics of publishing. Our class was privileged to Zoom interview with Brigit Marmion (marketing), Andy Ross (literary agent), Kay Hardy Campbell (self-published indie author), Jacinta White (editor), and Mel Allen (magazine editor). At the helm was our professor Kate Whouley, leading us through with wisdom and expertise. When I started the course, I was interested in learning about the publishing industry as described in a syllabus. By the end of the entire process, including the interview with the wonderful Alyssa Hassan from Beacon Press, I have determined that this field of publishing is where I want to take my career next.

The sequel to the first course was an immersive publishing experience. Whenever I explained this course to those outside of BPU, I always described it as “an internship in publishing and blogging about it.” Building on the previous knowledge from the first semester, I thoroughly enjoyed reading and interacting with my classmates through their internship experiences while immersed in my own. I am delighted to have made connections that will hopefully transcend the conclusion of our time together and will carry on for many years. 

For the immersion experience, I sent an inquiry letter to Andrew Gifford, the founder of Santa Fe Writers Project. SFWP is an independent press that was founded in 1988 The press publishes exciting fiction and creative nonfiction of every genre, maintains an online literary journal, and runs an annual internationally-recognized awards program. I was initially drawn to the mission statement where it states that SFWP seeks to champion diverse voices. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are especially important to me, as I have sought to provide a diverse classroom library to my students so all feel represented in my class. This is especially poignant in the light of all of the book bans that have affected publishing over the last several years. I was delighted to find a host of diverse selections in the creative nonfiction genre, particularly in the SFWP quarterly publication. With the encouragement of my professor, I sent an inquiry letter to Andrew in hopes that my particular skill set would suit my internship responsibilities over the next semester. 

Since my internship was virtual, the majority of my interaction with my colleagues was through email. I have exchanged the most emails with Andrew, with whom I checked in on a weekly basis. When asked for more information on the other employees, Andrew said he was the only staff member. Lindsay is independently contracted to manage the social media channels for SFWP, and she is the person with whom I worked the most to create content leading up to AWP23. 

The vast majority of the work I did for SFWP was on Canva creating templates for social media. I was sent an initial list of books for which to create content, and I was given full creative license to create. Over the next few weeks, I created over 35 pieces of content that could be used on their social media. I created a collection of author spotlights, as well as two images per book featuring information to draw readers in. Each week leading up to AWP, I emailed back and forth with Lindsay to tweak and adjust the templates as requested. 

After establishing which authors would be attending AWP23, I asked Andrew if he would mind sending me physical copies of the books so I could begin creating content in video format to promote on Tiktok and Instagram Reels. He was more than happy to send them my way. Once all the books arrived, I spent a few hours batch-filming 15+ videos in one day. What started as a hobby through silly videos on Tiktok over the last three years has now become industry experience. I have been building my own social media platform working with publishers and authors to promote upcoming books. It is gratifying to know I can use something I am passionate about to further serve my purpose. I was so excited to find that the skills I have been honing on social media over the last few years would actually be useful in this new position. I’d been warned by my professor that as an intern, I would likely get the mundane jobs. I am grateful that I have transferable skills that I can use for my internship as I continue through the next few months. I am excited to pitch ideas for content and have them met with equal excitement, making adjustments and growing as I collaborate with my colleagues. 

A couple weeks into my internship, my professor suggested I might ask if I could help out with the SFWP booth at AWP. After lots of back and forth of a seemingly impossible task, we finally worked it out to where SFWP would pay for my badge if I could fund my own travel and lodging. The idea sparked that I might be able to go to the conference to assist with their booth. I love traveling, and the opportunity to meet up with long-time friends and bumping elbows within the publishing world seemed like the perfect opportunity to dive headfirst into the internship. 

Overall, this experience over the last year, especially culminating in my internship experience, immersed in publishing, has been one of the highlights of my year. I am exceedingly grateful to my classmates for their consistent encouragement and feedback. I am grateful to my professor for her expertise and wisdom and guidance. I am grateful to Santa Fe Writers Project and Andrew Gifford for allowing me the experience of dipping my toes and pushing. And for allowing me to run with the skills that I have honed to buy the last several years. I am more confident in my future as I use this experience as a launching pad for my career and publishing.

Another Chapter Begins

As I conclude my second year at BPU, I am preparing to launch into my final year where I will complete my thesis project. The goal is to complete 100 pages of edited material ready to send off for publication, if I so wish. My eventual goal is to write a memoir, but also to work within the publishing industry using my skills in social media marketing.

A Glimpse into SFWP

While working at AWP23 last month, I had the opportunity to work with Monica Prince, professor, activist, playwright, author, and managing editor of Santa Fe Writers Project. Her published works include How to Exterminate the Black Woman: A Choreopoem, Letters from the Other Woman, and upcoming Roadmap: A Choreopoem, set to publish this summer. While working at AWP together, I witnessed Monica sell out of the advanced copies of Roadmap, donning matching earrings modeled after her cover. I only got a small glimpse at Monica over the two days we worked together, but already I could tell that she puts in the work with SFWP. Since returning from AWP, I had the opportunity to discuss with Monica a little more about what her role is with SFWP.

Monica Prince at the SFWP booth for AWP23

Santa Fe Writers Project was founded by Andrew Gifford, the sole full-time employee of the press. However, there are several contracted employees that help to keep everything running. Monica Prince began working with the press in 2016 as a book reviewer after meeting Andrew at AWP. After contributing voluntarily for a year, the managing editor of SFWP’s quarterly publication asked Monica if she’d like to be paid for her work. “I was like, oh that’s fun. I would like to be paid. Let’s do that thing,” she told me. From there, Monica started writing interviews, book reviews, and culture rants for the quarterly. In the spring of 2018, Monica herself stepped into the role of managing editor for the quarterly. Since then, she also fills the role of editor and managing editor for the entire press. “Mainly that means I take over when Andrew is unreachable or doing other stuff for the press,” she said. 

Her job at SFWP mostly entails supporting a team of authors and developmental editors, overseeing the quarterly literary magazine, and managing all the interns. In addition, she also acts as developmental editor for the manuscripts she chooses from their large influx of submissions, which is usually open year-round. “We actually are closed right now because I’m trying to revamp the quarterly, so I have all this stuff I’ve got to do,” she explained. In the past, authors could submit year-round with no submission fee, but with the rising costs on Submittable, they’ve had to introduce a fee. SFWP Quarterly accepts all prose, in nonfiction and fiction, and just started accepting poetry, book reviews, and author interviews. A reading board of interns usually handles the first reads of all submissions to narrow down selections, offer detailed comments, and try to provide meaningful feedback to as many writers as possible. If an author’s work is accepted, Monica sends out congratulatory emails and asks for updated drafts. The drafts are then sent to copy edits, then to the authors for approval, before finally being published on the website. Authors provide a bio and a quote from their piece to draw the attention of readers and to use for social media marketing. The best of the best from the year are also selected to be published in a printed publication called The Annual. “The print version gets authors extra play for their work, which I think they appreciate,” she told me. 

I was curious how The Annual differs from the SFWP Literary Awards and found it’s actually two completely different projects. The Literary Awards actually happen every other year, and it’s a publication contest for full manuscripts. Usually submissions open in December and close in July. Submissions cost $30 for the authors, and they have to submit answers to a small questionnaire to explain what their book is about. “You’d be surprised at how many authors cannot tell you what their book is about. They think they are the only person who’s ever written on whatever subject they’re writing about. People have written about literally everything, and just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You need to read more,” she concludes. For 2022, SFWP received 1200 submissions to the contest, and the team read every one. “If you don’t like this by 25 pages, vote it down and move on. But if at 25 you want to keep reading, then vote it up,” she explained. The contest seemed to me like an insurmountable task because they try to give meaningful feedback to every single submission. Sometimes authors revise and resubmit based on the feedback they receive. “We do unpublished manuscripts, previously published manuscripts that were self published or were published by micro or hybrid press that didn’t receive adequate promotional support,” she said. They prefer submissions by unrepresented authors, as opposed to authors with literary agents, because the process is simpler to sell subrights. “Agents tend to fuck it up, putting it nicely,” she confessed. Prize money and accolades draw authors, and SFWP aims to fill out their publication schedule with the contest submissions. From the 2022 contest, SFWP plans to publish six or seven of the works at their press over the next three years. 

Although I am a writer, I am interested in learning what it takes to get into the publisher side of the industry. When asked for advice, Monica recommended joining reader boards. Most journals are actively looking for volunteers to read submissions, and some are willing to pay. Another way is to write book reviews of recent books or books about to be published. “You can literally email just about any publisher and ask if they have any books coming out in the next twelve months. They will send you free books to read, and you write the reviews. It’s a lot of fun. It exposes you to a lot of different types of writing, but you also better understand what is popular and what people are reading,” she said. Another benefit to writing reviews is that it can connect you with authors. Many presses are looking for reviewers to interview their authors to help support their work. “It’s a really good way to get everyone excited about the work,” she said. 

Monica Prince and Jennifer Beard find the Swap Ape at AWP23

 

“Monica Prince teaches activist and performance writing and serves as Director of Africana Studies at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. She is the author of Roadmap: A Choreopoem, How to Exterminate the Black Woman: A Choreopoem, and Letters from the Other Woman. She is the managing editor of Santa Fe Writers Project and the co-author of the suffrage play, Pageant of Agitating Women, with Anna Andes. Her work appears in Wildness, The Missouri Review, The Texas Review, The Rumpus, MadCap Review, American Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee obsessed with maxi skirts with pockets and yoga, Prince writes, teaches, and performs choreopoems across the nation.”

http://monicaprince.com