Monday, November 19
7-8 PM at International Affairs Building 407
A panel of writers and editors took the questions of the audiences, the enthusiast writers, about how to publish their writings. Co-hosted by the Columbia University Muslim Students Association and the Undergraduate Writing Program, the event has been an eye opener on media publication entrance process.
Let’s get the ball rolling…
Understanding the media is the first task a writer has to do. Reading the magazines, papers, or latest catalog of publishing companies is a way to understand the “taste” of the editors.
Ideally, the writers should also check out the submission guidelines on each magazines, papers, or publishing companies. Make sure the writings content and layout feeds their hunger.
Pitch! Secondly, a writer should understand on how to sell him/herself before he/she sells his/her writings. Sound like a high class prostitution? Could be! The point is, that the editors are gonna read the writer’s cover letter (in this this era: cover email) before looking for the attached writings. Writer’s pitch should answer basically three editor to-ask-list: (1) why do you write the idea?, (2) why should it be written by you?, and last but not least (3) why should your writing be on their media?
Next, don’t sweat the small stuff. A genius and brilliant and cutting-edge writing most probably ends up in a trash if the writer put the wrong name/publisher on the cover letter.
A few Q&As came from the audience were:
Q: Do we have to wait for a “moment” to send our writing to the media?
A: NO! The media takes a lot of times (1-6 months) to read our writing. We never know when the “moment” comes. Write a lot, send a lot, (and get rejection letter a lot!).
Q: If we got rejected, what should we do?
A: Read the comment from the editor, edit the writings, and send them right away to another media. Ohya, never throw away the rejection letter from the editor. Once you get succeed someday, show the editors who have rejected you that they are wrong. What a sweet revenge huh!
Q: What’s the easiest way to enter a media publication?
A: Any, but “book reviews” has been being considered as one of the fast track for new writers to put their name published in the media.
The editors and writers who came:
Charles Berret is a PhD candidate in communications at Columbia University. He researches the cultural and technological history of typographic media, specifically during the invention and development of digital typography. He previously worked as a journalist in Cairo and a book reviewer for several literary journals.
Emily Cooke is a freelance writer and the literary editor of the New Inquiry, an online journal of criticism. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, n+1, and the Millions. She holds an MFA from Columbia University.
Glenn M. Gordon is the assistant director at the Undergraduate Writing at Columbia University. He was the editor-in-chief of RedersDigest.com and a senior editor at Self and Child magazines. His writings has appeared in numerous publications, including New York, Time Out New York, Self, Huffington Post, Seventeen, Departures, and Reader’sDigest. He wrote frequently on men’s health and sexuality topics for WebMD and CNN.com. He has appeared as a guest on several TV news programs and cooked live in The Food Network.
Alexander Landfair is a former nonfiction editor of Narrative magazine, where he worked with previously unpublished writers as well as celebrated authors. He has also worked in editorial capacities at the Columbia Journal of Arts and Literature and The New Yorker. His own work has appeared in the Boston Review, Publisher Weekly, and the Western Humanities Review, and he has received awards and recognition from the Spoon River Poetry Review and Poetry Magazine.
Craig Moreau received his MFA from NYU. His first collection of poetry, Cheslea Boy, was published by Cheslea Station Editions 2011. The collection is currently featured for forthcoming collaborations by Emotive Fruition and Warner Photography. He has been published or worked with Tin House, The Iowa Review, BOXCAR Poetry Review, Lambda Literary, and Electric Literature and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is originally from Iowa.
Aaron Ritzenberg is Associate Director of First-Year Writing at Columbia University. His scholarly writing focuses on the relationship between literature and social change in the United States. His book, called The Sentimental Touch, is coming out soon.
Tana Wojczuk is a lecturer in the Undergraduate Writing Program at Columbia University, collaborating with other UW faculty to develop a pilot theme-based course in American Studies. She is an essayist and critic whose work has been published in Tin House, The Believer, Lapham’s Quarterly, the New York Times (letters), Guernica, Narrative Magazine, The Rumpus and elsewhere. She is a nonfiction editor at Guernica Magazine and a graduate of Columbia’s MFA program in creative nonfiction writing.
7-8 PM at International Affairs Building 407
A panel of writers and editors took the questions of the audiences, the enthusiast writers, about how to publish their writings. Co-hosted by the Columbia University Muslim Students Association and the Undergraduate Writing Program, the event has been an eye opener on media publication entrance process.
Let’s get the ball rolling…
Understanding the media is the first task a writer has to do. Reading the magazines, papers, or latest catalog of publishing companies is a way to understand the “taste” of the editors.
Ideally, the writers should also check out the submission guidelines on each magazines, papers, or publishing companies. Make sure the writings content and layout feeds their hunger.
Pitch! Secondly, a writer should understand on how to sell him/herself before he/she sells his/her writings. Sound like a high class prostitution? Could be! The point is, that the editors are gonna read the writer’s cover letter (in this this era: cover email) before looking for the attached writings. Writer’s pitch should answer basically three editor to-ask-list: (1) why do you write the idea?, (2) why should it be written by you?, and last but not least (3) why should your writing be on their media?
Next, don’t sweat the small stuff. A genius and brilliant and cutting-edge writing most probably ends up in a trash if the writer put the wrong name/publisher on the cover letter.
A few Q&As came from the audience were:
Q: Do we have to wait for a “moment” to send our writing to the media?
A: NO! The media takes a lot of times (1-6 months) to read our writing. We never know when the “moment” comes. Write a lot, send a lot, (and get rejection letter a lot!).
Q: If we got rejected, what should we do?
A: Read the comment from the editor, edit the writings, and send them right away to another media. Ohya, never throw away the rejection letter from the editor. Once you get succeed someday, show the editors who have rejected you that they are wrong. What a sweet revenge huh!
Q: What’s the easiest way to enter a media publication?
A: Any, but “book reviews” has been being considered as one of the fast track for new writers to put their name published in the media.
The editors and writers who came:
Charles Berret is a PhD candidate in communications at Columbia University. He researches the cultural and technological history of typographic media, specifically during the invention and development of digital typography. He previously worked as a journalist in Cairo and a book reviewer for several literary journals.
Emily Cooke is a freelance writer and the literary editor of the New Inquiry, an online journal of criticism. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, n+1, and the Millions. She holds an MFA from Columbia University.
Glenn M. Gordon is the assistant director at the Undergraduate Writing at Columbia University. He was the editor-in-chief of RedersDigest.com and a senior editor at Self and Child magazines. His writings has appeared in numerous publications, including New York, Time Out New York, Self, Huffington Post, Seventeen, Departures, and Reader’sDigest. He wrote frequently on men’s health and sexuality topics for WebMD and CNN.com. He has appeared as a guest on several TV news programs and cooked live in The Food Network.
Alexander Landfair is a former nonfiction editor of Narrative magazine, where he worked with previously unpublished writers as well as celebrated authors. He has also worked in editorial capacities at the Columbia Journal of Arts and Literature and The New Yorker. His own work has appeared in the Boston Review, Publisher Weekly, and the Western Humanities Review, and he has received awards and recognition from the Spoon River Poetry Review and Poetry Magazine.
Craig Moreau received his MFA from NYU. His first collection of poetry, Cheslea Boy, was published by Cheslea Station Editions 2011. The collection is currently featured for forthcoming collaborations by Emotive Fruition and Warner Photography. He has been published or worked with Tin House, The Iowa Review, BOXCAR Poetry Review, Lambda Literary, and Electric Literature and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is originally from Iowa.
Aaron Ritzenberg is Associate Director of First-Year Writing at Columbia University. His scholarly writing focuses on the relationship between literature and social change in the United States. His book, called The Sentimental Touch, is coming out soon.
Tana Wojczuk is a lecturer in the Undergraduate Writing Program at Columbia University, collaborating with other UW faculty to develop a pilot theme-based course in American Studies. She is an essayist and critic whose work has been published in Tin House, The Believer, Lapham’s Quarterly, the New York Times (letters), Guernica, Narrative Magazine, The Rumpus and elsewhere. She is a nonfiction editor at Guernica Magazine and a graduate of Columbia’s MFA program in creative nonfiction writing.
