It is to my embarrassing astonishment that I have been so utterly remiss in my Aurorean blog. I like to post at least once a month. As you can see, two months have completely slipped by. How time flies when you're having fun? Yes, and no.
On the yes side: We are having SO much fun sprinting to the Fall/Winter submission deadline of August 15th (we are buried in terrific poems). And we are beginning to become happily inundated with manuscripts for our new chapbook contest (check out http://www.encirclepub.com/chapbookcontest) with a deadline of September 1st.
On the no-fun side: I have been dealing with doctors' appointments, a giant insurance company and medication (and its side effects) around Lyme disease. If you are interested in checking out my more personal blog dealing with Lyme disease, visit http://writinglyme.blogspot.com.
But, no matter getting sidetracked, we are on-target as we should be for late-October release of our Fall/Winter issue. This is due in large part to the support and help I receive at home from my husband, and, on the office-front, from my Assistant Editor Devin McGuire. Who will be our Fall/Winter Featured Poets? Showcase Poets? Bookend poets? What fall (or winter) delight will readers see on our cover? Of course, I can't reveal those secrets now. But to make sure you don't miss out, reserve your copy at http://www.encirclepub.com/store/product/340.
As most of us are, I am well-practiced in being sidetracked by life, and over the course of almost sixteen years of publishing, I'm proud to say that the Aurorean has only become sidetracked from its publication date goals very rarely. I know what it's like to be overwhelmed with deadlines, so I try to eliminate that problem by continually reading for the next issue. Soon after one issue is released, any poems that may have been accepted for the next issue (due to seasonality) are typeset and proofs sent out. Then, we begin anew. There is always a "mock" Aurorean (an Aurorean-in-progress) sitting next to me. At any given point in a reading period, we know how many poems we have accepted and how many we still need to fill our pages. If I had to do it all at once, I couldn't do it—whether it be sending acceptances, returning/replying to the poems we can't use, typsetting poems/bios, making proof corrections, or managing the mailing list. Working in workable increments works well.
If we get thrown by anything unexpected, we can easily catch up and then make our to-the-printer target date. Our printer needs the digital files to be uploaded by the beginning of the month of publication for a late-month release (and I must admit, my husband helps greatly on the office-front too, as he works "computer magic" and uploads our files).
So onward we race to the next exciting compilation of fall/winter/New England/seasonal/meditaional/uplifting poetry! (In increments.)
