I had been looking forward to–and dreading–yesterday for some time. you see, I spent all afternoon behind a microphone, first for a deposition I was required to give, and second for an interview with our local NPR radio station about Maryland Voices, our creative nonfiction publication, and the Maryland Writing Project.

First, the deposition. Without going into too much detail, which I believe I cannot do, our school system is being sued by one of our former teachers for teaching in a hostile work environment, among other things (you can read the Washington Post article about the lawsuit here). I am listed as a witness in the lawsuit, and the deposition ran nearly two hours as I was asked many questions about lesson plans, sharing classrooms, and teachable moments. I found the whole event to be an opportunity to tell the truth in the judicial process before the trial begins later next month, and I am glad that I was able to contribute truthfully to this lawsuit, where I could get it on the record that I am proud and honored to teach at my school and in this system. I will say this, though: every word matters, and it is extremely important that the words you choose wisely in such a deposition are not misunderstood or misused later in the depo. I found that, on more than one occasion when a follow-up question was being asked (usually five to ten questions later), I needed to either clarify or correct a misunderstanding of a statement made earlier in the interview. If I had not been so careful with my words or had not listened intently to the interpretations of my original responses, I can see how easily I might have mispoke during those follow-up questions, based on assumptions that I had been understood or clear before.

The second interview was a totally opposite experience. We just released the fifth volume of our publication, Maryland Voices, last weekend, and we’re getting good press about it. One of my student editors had the opportunity to read an excerpt from her story on the air, and I was interviewed about the publication and about the Maryland Writing Project.

I wish I had the power to flip the time spent on each interview. I would have loved to have spent 10 minutes in the depo and two hours talking about writing!

Being in that radio environment, though, thrilled me. I’ve always wanted to own a small radio station. I love editing digital audio, and so I imagine I would enjoy being a producer more than an interviewer. Maybe when my book sells and I sell those million copies, right?
Anyway….If you are interested in hearing the interview with WYPR, just go to their website, WYPR.org, and go here to the Maryland Morning page. If you visit their site any time after today, they’ll archive the show for download, so just make sure you navigate to today’s date, May 30. If you read this post before 9:30, you can log on to the site and listen to the program live. Our segment airs at 9:40 a.m.

Over the past few days I’ve been refining some of the components to my blog; I hope you find them helpful.

The biggest addition is the publication and contest opportunity link that opens up a calendar of calls for submissions and contests where writers might be interested in submitting their work. You can find this link under a new column in my sidebar titled, “rusvw in-depth.”

I have also added a subscription service to my blog, so you can receive email alerts every time I post a new entry. Although this service will undoubtedly increase the flow of spam to my site, I think it’s worth it to offer this convenience to readers and writers who are too busy to click on myriad blogs, only to find there are no new updates. As much as I try to write every day, I know this is simply not a promise I can keep.

If you know of any publication opportunities or contests that you would like me to add to the calendar, please let me know.

Thanks, faithful readers!

First of all, I am guilty very guilty of not following my own advice.

I realized that earlier today when a wonderful colleague of mine who just moved down to Florida asked for some of my work on Daybooks and journals. When i went through my files to see what would be best to send her, I found several working drafts of articles that, with just a few extra hours, could be sent out to one of the national writing mags for serious consideration. A few more anecdotes, a little more documented research, and off it will go.

So, why didn’t I do it years ago when i began the pieces?

Simple. When I don’t remain immersed in the world of writing and publishing, I become timid about that final step when it comes to the business of writing.

We all have the ideas about great pieces, don’t we? We can see them played out in our minds like movies. We have exciting characters, a suspenseful plot, an on-your-edge-of-your-seat climax. We see it all, we have it all, up there in our heads.

Many of us write something about that idea down on paper. Some of us finish a draft. Fewer of us take it through the revising and editing stages. A small remaining number actually submit it for publication.

Why is this?

The path that leads to that ultimate goal of publishing gets pretty dense, pretty dark toward the end. It’s the area we know least about because we are here so infrequently. For every 100 ideas I may have in my head at that beginning stage, maybe 5 or 6 ever get submitted. It’s like running the bases in baseball. Everybody gets on first base now and then, but fewer get to second, a small number get to third, and it’s a big deal if your foot hits home plate.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Sending a piece in for consideration is easier than putting those ideas down on paper. It takes less time, it’s certainly less emotional, and there’s a stark finality to it when sending off your envelope.

It’s out of your hands. Time to resume work on another piece or, if you are lucky, something brand new.

So what’s the key?

I think it’s this: When you decide that you are taking a piece to publication (this usually occurs after you’ve jotted down the rough first draft), you need to start looking for a possible home for your work. Not only does it focus your writing a little more sharply, it also gives your left brain something to do to give your right brain a little break.

Here’s what you need to do once you’ve made the decision to seek publication.

1. Consider what markets might be interested in your work. Choose at least three pubs: a local rag that is likely to publish your piece; a regional journal that might consider it; and a national publication that, if the timing is right and the planets align, may just move your manuscript on the maybe pile. Make sure that all of the pubs are reputable, though; quantity is never better than quality when it comes to accumulating your clips.
2. Get the most recent info on those markets. Find out if they take email submissions, and if they do, whether they want your work sent in as an attachment. Learn the editors’ names that you will be wooing. Understand their audience, their guidelines–basically everything you can know about those publications.
3. Get the envelope ready, even before you’ve finished the piece. Have it all filled out and sitting on your desk, ready to be stuffed and mailed.

By doing these three easy steps, you remove all the anxiety from the aura of publishing. It’s really a simple process, and all it takes is a little left-brain, right-brain collaboration to put it all together.

Good luck!