Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

24
e Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors 2012

Transcript of Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Page 1: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

The Sorin Oak ReviewHandbook for Editors

2012

Page 2: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

IntroductionCongratulations on your selection as the new Editor of the Sorin Oak Review. As Editor, you are continuing the growth of an award-winning magazine at Saint Edward’s University that acknowledges and encourages the creativity of our community. This art and literary magazine gives many a first time to publish their work, and it gives you a chance to show off your skills as a leader. Through its decades of publication, the Sorin Oak Review has developed a tradition that you are now a part of.

You will carry all of the responsibilities and ultimately, the success of the magazine will be due to your hard work. This handbook will help guide you through the responsibilities of evaluating and picking submissions, designing the magazine, running the meetings, and releasing the magazine. The handbook highlights the most important parts of the process and uses examples where needed.

Good luck on your year as Editor of this esteemed publication!

1

Page 3: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Table of Contents

Continuing a Tradition The timeline and budget ....................................................................................................................................................3 Using the website and email account .......................................................................................................................... 3Getting the Job done Working with the faculty advisor ............................................................................................................................... 4 Pick a committed staff ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Setting up the meetings ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Run unbiased meetings ........................................................................................................................................................ 5Submission Process Making decisions about submissions ..............................................................................................................................5 guidelines and forms ...........................................................................................................................................................5 Example of submission guidelines ...................................................................................................................................6 Soliciting submissions and advertising ........................................................................................................................8 Organizing submissions .......................................................................................................................................................9 Reviewing submissions .......................................................................................................................................................10 Discussing submissions ......................................................................................................................................................10 Selecting final submissions .............................................................................................................................................10 Notifying submitters .........................................................................................................................................................11 Editing submissions .............................................................................................................................................................12Designing an Attractive Magazine Working with the layout editor ..................................................................................................................................12 Developing a theme ............................................................................................................................................................13 Sizing the magazine ............................................................................................................................................................14 Font selection ......................................................................................................................................................................14 Ghosting back ......................................................................................................................................................................14 Copyrighting the magazine ............................................................................................................................................15 Listing the staff ..................................................................................................................................................................16 Listing the content ............................................................................................................................................................16 Writing a letter from the editor ................................................................................................................................17 Collecting staff and contributor biographies ......................................................................................................17 Past achievements ...............................................................................................................................................................18 Acknowledging the printer, paper company, and programs page ......................................................................19 Laying out the pieces .........................................................................................................................................................19 Proofreading ........................................................................................................................................................................19Developing a relationship with your printer Picking a printer .................................................................................................................................................................20 Touring the company .........................................................................................................................................................20 Printing the magazine ......................................................................................................................................................20 Allowing time to print .....................................................................................................................................................21 Delivering and paying for the magazine ....................................................................................................................21Releasing the magazine Planning a fun party .........................................................................................................................................................22 Attracting people to the party ....................................................................................................................................22 Submitting to the American Scholastic Press Association ................................................................................23 Wrapping up your year as editor ..................................................................................................................................23

List of Figures: Figure 1 - Committment Form Figure 2 - Guidelines Figure 3 - Submission Form Figure 4 - Spreadsheets Figure 5 - Notification Emails Figure 6 - Copyright Page Figure 7 - Awards Highlights Figure 8 - Magazine Credits 2

Page 4: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Continuing a Tradition

The Timeline and Budget

Timing is absolutely crucial for the production of the magazine. In the past, bad planning and scheduling have caused failure to release the magazine. You must have at least a general schedule for the first semester. Meeting with the staff should average about once a month during the first semester. A month or more should be allowed for advertising so submitters can gather and edit their work before submitting their pieces.

A more specific time line is needed for the second semester. The staff should meet around every two weeks in order to judge all the submissions and allow extra time to review the submissions that were questionable the during the initial meetings. You and your Layout Editor will have to decide on a schedule that works best for each of you to layout the format of the magazine. Traditionally, the magazine has come out at the end of April, but you need to allow the printer at least two weeks to print and return the magazine.

Since the magazine budget is no longer under Student Life, the Humanities department determines the budget. The budget in the past has been around $6000. You will want to save at least $200 for the release party and advertisements, but it is a good idea to save more if you can.

Using the Website and Email Account

Both of these are a great way to help you advertise and deal with submissions. Unfortunately, working with IT to change dates and submission forms on the website is extremely frustrating. It makes the deadline unclear because many people look up the deadline on the website and get confused, causing some to submit their pieces late. You should talk to IT before you decide on a deadline and submission forms, but be aware that IT may never change the website. There is an effort to put the website under the Editor’s control and to build content, but it is not an easy task. Hopefully, the website will be functioning and manageable within the next few months. The email is a great help, and you don’t have to deal with IT. In the past, the sign-in name has been sorinoak and the password has been 2share. The Faculty Advisor will give you this information. You will want to put this email on the submission forms for questions and electronic submissions so your personal email account will not get cluttered. The only downside to the email account is that it gets many junk emails. You will want to check it regularly throughout the entire year to clear junk out It is a great idea to create a Facebook page for your volume of Sorin Oak. Creating an event online is a good way to make sure people stay aware of the submission deadline. Facebook is the easiest way to generate awareness and it will reach a lot of people who want to submit.

3

Page 5: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Getting the Job Done

Working with the Faculty Advisor

While the magazine is student-led, the Faculty Advisor needs to know the status of the magazine. It is easy to forget to keep him or her informed, but he or she makes the ultimate decisions. More importantly, the Faculty Advisor is a resource for you. His or her authority status can be useful when dealing with information about the budget, IT, or the printing company. You should remember that his or her name will appear in the magazine too, so he or she has a right to know what goes on during the magazine’s production.

Pick a Committed Staff

The opinions of your staff matter. It is helpful to have a variety of majors, especially writing, art, and photography, represented. The staff size generally ranges from twelve to fifteen people, but it is up to you to decide how many people you want to manage. You will also decide what responsibilities the staff will have. In the past, the staff has been responsible for advertising, critiquing the submissions, coming to the staff meetings to discuss to discuss and select the submissions (the staff ’s most important job), editing, and helping organize the release party.

You and the Faculty Advisor have the right to fire a staff member if he or she is not doing the job. Editors have used commitment forms; these work as a contract so all staff members know that if they do not fulfill their responsibilities, their names will not appear in the magazine. The commitment forms emphasize the importance of the staff members and the responsibilities the staff has. Figure 1 shows how you can structure a simple yet effective commitment form.

I, ______________ agree to follow the timeline set by the Editor of the magazine in order to complete this project. I agree that my duties include the following:

___ Soliciting submissions for the magazine ___ Reading and rating the submissions on my own time ___ Attending meetings to discuss the ratings ___ Aiding the Editor in planning the release party

If I do not participate in any or all of the above conditions, I understand that I may not recieve credit for working on the magazine.

____________________________ ________________________Signature Date

Figure 1: Use this commitment form to make sure the staff is responsible. 4

Page 6: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Setting up the Meetings

Running meetings will be up to the Editor and the Committee Leaders. It is best to assign Committee Leaders to collect votes and communicate with the other staff members to decide on a time for the committee to meet. The Committee Leader should also reserve a room for the meetings to take place in and work closely with the Editor to keep the staff informed.

Run Unbiased Meetings

Perhaps one of the reasons why people feel comfortable submitting their work is because they know their pieces will be judged anonymously. You must maintain the anonymity each submitter expects. In addition, you have to be fair during the judging. It is easy to get caught up in the comments made by some staffers. Simply remind the staffers that it could be their work that gets judged. It takes guts to submit a piece for publication, and while some pieces may not meet the standards, all submitters deserve respect. Maintain your status as the leader and keep meetings running smoothly.

Submission Process

Making Decisions about Submissions

In one of the first meetings, you and your staff need to decide who can submit, what can be submitted, and how many pieces can be submitted. Most staffs have allowed anybody associated with the university to submit including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

The easiest way to explain what people can submit is to say that anything that can be printed can be submitted. Past issues have included sculptures (a picture of the piece), music compositions, plays, and the traditional, poems, photographs, and paintings. It is up to you and your staff to decide what can and cannot be submitted. You do not have to have a limit on the number of pieces submitted, but remember that you have to organize all the submissions. You want to give your staff a reasonable amount of submissions so they can give an appropriate amount of time to judge each piece.

For the 2011 issue, the staff decided that people could only submit a particular number of submissions in each genre: five visual, two prose, and three poetry submissions. So a person could submit 10 works if they submitted the maximum amount to each genre. Also, the written submissions have a word limit. Be conscious of your layout. These decisions are all up to you and your staff.

Guidelines and Forms

You want the submitter to have as few questions as possible. The submission forms should have all the answers you would ask if you were a submitter. It will be easier for you to organize the submissions if you have separate submission forms for visual and written work. The cost for printing the submission forms should be calculated in the budget, and there are resources to print the forms and guidelines on campus. Include a space for the submitter’s name, the name of the pieces, the type of pieces he or she is submitting, directions on how to submit, and most importantly, the deadline. Give them all the contact information he or she will need, such as the email address. Figures 2 and 3 are examples of the guidelines and submission forms.

5

Page 7: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Example of Submission Guidelines

1. Submissions must be entered by December 1, 2011. 2. The Sorin Oak Review welcomes submissions from any current or former SEU student, faculty, and staff.3. All submissions must be received with your name (not on the work itself), title of work(s), genre of work, and a small picture of you accompanied with a short biography.4. No anonymous or untitled work will be accepted.5. All works must be submitted to [email protected]. 6. No more than five visual, three poetry, or two prose submissions in each genre, but you could submit a total of ten submissions if submitting to every category.

All literary submissions have a 2,500 word maximum limit, in black ink and in a .Doc format. The font must be in Times New Roman and 12pt. font.

All visual submissions must be in .jpg format and a maximum dimensions of 6x9 inches @ 300dpi.

Notification: You will receive confirmation via email when we receive your submission, and you will be notified by email next semester about whether your work was accepted by Sorin Oak Review. Please note that no items will be returned.

ContactsEditor (email address)Faculty Advisor (email address)Lead Designer (email address)Assistant EditorAssistant Designer

Figure 2: Give these guidelines to submitters. 6

Page 8: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Example of a Submission Form for Visual Work

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________Phone Number: ________________________ Email: ______________________________________________

3-5 sentence biographical statement:

Title of Work (No Untitled work): ______________________________________________________________

Select one:

Photography Drawing Painting Sculpture Other

Please submit this form along with your piece by December 1, 2011. All files must be formatted to fit 6x9 inches at 300dpi. All files must be submitted as a .jpg.

You will be notified by email next semester about whether your work was accepted to the Sorin Oak Review. Please note that no items will be returned.

Thank you, Sorin Oak Review Staff

ContactsEditor (email address)Faculty Advisor (email address)Lead Designer (email address)Assistant EditorAssistant Designer

Figure 3: This visual work submission form tells the submitter what he or she needs to do to submit. 7

Page 9: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Soliciting Submissions and Advertising

Advertising has always been an issue for the magazine. While most writing majors know about the magazine, the majority of campus does not. Although there are many ways to advertise, one traditional way that always works is to create an interesting flyer. Once you have designed a flyer, you must go through certain steps in order to advertise on campus. You can access the rules to advertise from the Student Life manual from their website.

1. Do not exceed the size regulation. The flier can be no bigger than 11” x 17”. All the information and design you include must fit within this limit, or Student Life will remove your flier.

2. Put all the necessary information on the flier. Student Life requires that you include the name of the organization and contact information for that organization on the flier. If you choose to put more information for that organization on the flier, it must agree with the school’s mission and principles. But remember that you may not have room to include more information.

3. Get the Student Life stamp. You cannot use paper advertisements on campus that Student Life has not approved of. You must have the Student Life stamp on your flier, and you will want to get this stamp on your flier before you make copies. Otherwise, you will have to get stamps on every copy you use.

4. Budget your money for copies. If it costs money to make copies, charge it to the magazine. When you make copies, put down the Faculty Advisor’s name on the form. The Humanities office will reimburse the Faculty Advisor.

5. Make Copies. You will need to make as many copies of the fliers as you plan to hang (you can either make sixteen copies or more, depending on who will hang them).

6. Hang the fliers. You can do this in two ways: a. Student Life hangs the fliers. If you choose this option, they will only hang sixteen fliers. The advantage of this is you will not have to take time to hang the fliers yourself. b. You can hang the fliers. If you choose this option, you can hang up more fliers. You can access the list of approved places to hang fliers through Student Life manual from their homepage.

7. Stuff fliers in mailboxes. The process of this step is identical to getting approval for a regular sized flier. a. Make a smaller version of your flier. This size should allow four little fliers to fit on one sheet of paper. b. When you get approval, take the mini-flyers to the copy center and tell them what you want to do. They will make the 828 copies and give them to the post office.

There are other ways aside from fliers to advertise. The Faculty Advisor is in charge of distributing the previous year’s issue to the Freshman Studies Program. Another way is to get a list of classes, times, and professors. Ask your staffers to email a certain number of professors and go, armed with submission forms, and have them announce it to different classes. You can easily get creative with advertising. The 2007 staff had shirts printed. The hardest part is getting those who do not live on campus know about the magazine. Have each e-newsletter announce all the information a submitter would need. Remember to check the Student Life manual to make sure that you are not breaking any rules. All fliers, posters, and t-shirt designs have to be approved by Student Life.

8

Page 10: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Organizing Submissions

The best way to organize the submissions for you and your staff is up to the editor. In the past, spreadsheets have been used or simple notes. In the case of spreadsheets, it is easier to use two separate documents.

The first should have all of the contact information of each submitter, the number in each genre he or she sub-mits, and the titles of his or her pieces for your use.

Last Name First Name Phone # Email Type of Work TitleJones Bob xxx-xxx-xxxx xxxxx@sted-

wards.edu2 short stories, 1 poem

Kitten Mittens, Tap Shoes, Ink Stain

Jane Smith xxx-xxx-xxxx [email protected]

2 photos, 1 play Entertainment 720, Cup, Indie Boredom

The other spreadsheet could be the one that you and your staff use to rate the submissions.

Do not put the names the submitters or any of their contact information on the document that you hand out to the staff. It is a good idea to give the staff a place to write down comments so that they are able to remember what it was about the piece that they did or did not like.

Type of Work Title Rating CommentsPoem Kitten MittensShort Story Tap ShoesShort Story Ink Stain

Photograph Entertainment 720Photograph CupPlay Indie Boredom

Figure 4: These spreadsheets should help you organize information effectively. 9

Page 11: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Reviewing Submissions

Because the staff members will come from different majors, it is helpful to get guidelines from professors of poetry, both fiction and creative non-fiction, photography, and art in general. MISSING PAGE 13?!?!

Discussing Submissions

The most important thing to remember about discussing submissions is that you must remain unbiased. You are the only one who knows which pieces belong to which submitters. You have to maintain a professional setting. Some staffers may make fun of a piece, and it is easy to get caught up in it. Simply remind the staffers that it takes courage to submit pieces for judging, and they would not want to have their work made fun of. You can find a balance between maintaining a professional setting and having fun.

You can discuss the submissions in any order. It might be more useful to discuss the longer or visual pieces first. It is based on how you feel the staff will be most productive. The Editor decides how the discussion will flow during meetings and how the votes will be counted. The amount of debate and conversation regarding the pieces also depends on how the Editor decides to set up the meetings. In the 2010-2011 year, the poetry committee voted ahead of time and only discussed the poems that were tied or had some confusion regarding them. This saved a lot of time for the volunteer staff members and made sure that the pieces that people did not agree on were discussed.

Selecting Final Submissions

Unfortunately, you can only print a limited number of submissions. Your selection will mainly depend on the quality of the pieces, having an equal representation of written and visual work, and the amount of pages your issue will have.

You and your staff will make most of the final decisions together. If a decision cannot be reached, ask the Faculty Advisor for his or her input. Present what he or she said to the staff and make a decision using that feedback. There may be pieces that you personally do not like, but it is a collective decision.

Even if a piece meets the standards, there may not be enough room to print it. Because of this, you will not be able to make a final selection until you have done at least a basic layout. Your Layout Editor can help you decide which pieces fit together and if a piece contributes to the overall tone of the magazine.

10

Page 12: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Notifying Submitters

Notifying submitters is a delicate situation. While telling a submitter that his or her piece will be printed is easy, telling a submitter that his or her piece will not be printed is awkward. In your email, you can tell submitters that their submissions were greatly appreciated, remind them that there is a limited amount of room, and encourage them to submit next year.

Congratulations! Your work has been selected for publication in the 2012 issue of the Sorin Oak Review. We hope to have the journal out by mid-April, so you can look forward to seeing your piece in print before the end of the semester. Please remember that we have the right to edit any grammatical or tense issues. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us. Once again, thank you for your submissions and congratulations!

Best, The Sorin Oak Staff

Thank you for your submission. We had almost 150 submissions this year, so it was very competitive. Unfortunately, due to space limitations, we will not be able to print your work this year. We really enjoyed reviewing your submissions, and we hope you continue to create interesting pieces. The staff greatly appreciates your submissions, and we look forward to seeing your work again in the future.

Best,The Sorin Oak Staff

Figure 5: These notification emails will help you delicately inform submitters about their work. 11

Page 13: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Editing Submissions

In order to create a professional magazine, you need to be meticulous about editing. Remember that you can only edit for grammar and tense; you may not change the tone, voice, style, or message of a written work. If you are unsure if you can edit something or not, approach the author. Let him or her know specifically which part of his or her piece you are confused about. Ask the author about what he or she was trying to say and let him or her make a suggestion.

Because this is such a crucial part to the success of the magazine, it is a good idea to get help from staff members who volunteer for the job. You can break up the volunteers into groups so that one may catch mistakes that another might miss. After each group has finished, it is helpful to go over each written piece as a group. The basic idea is to get as many people as possible to review each written piece.

Designing an Attractive Magazine

Working with a Layout Editor

By the time you start layout, you will be fairly acquainted with your Layout Editor. This should make the job easier. Even though you may have your own ideas about the layout, the Layout Editor will most likely have experience with graphic design and will have more knowledge about creating a layout. Further, he or she will have his or her own creative thoughts about the layout.

12

Page 14: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Developing a Theme

The cover and design of a magazine reflect your creativity. You will want to have a cover that not only attracts readers, but is unique as well.

Past issues have used the Sorin Oak as part of the design. Many Editors want to keep the connection between the magazine and the tree in their issues. In addition, you want the cover to show that the magazine contains both literary and art pieces. The cover includes the name and year. The binding has to include the name, year, and volume number. It is helpful to start designing the cover during the fall semester because then you will have more time to make changes to it during the spring semester.

The back cover is just as crucial to the design as the front cover. The blurb has traditionally included information about the tree. Whether you decide to write about the tree or the magazine itself, the blurb should offer some interesting fact that the reader may not know about the magazine.

No matter how you design the covers, the entire magazine has to include the theme. Whatever theme you decide on, you have to remain consistent throughout the entire magazine.

13

Page 15: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Sizing the Magazine

It is a good idea to talk to your printing company about the specifics of printing before you being to layout the magazine.

Traditionally, the magazine has been printed in a 6x9” format. You are free to change this size and format the magazine as you like, but consult your printer first. You do not want to format the magazine in a style that will cost you more money, limiting the number of submissions you can print.

The number of pages will depend on how many submissions you print. As noted before, you may find that some submissions you selected for print will not fit in the magazine, due to font size and other layout issues to be discussed later. Again, talk to you printer. For example, the 2007 issue had 120 issues (that includes all submissions, table of contents, Editor’s Note, ect.). Both covers added another four pages (each cover has a front and a back), totaling 124 pages. Other printing companies might have different specifications. Do not begin layout without talking to them first.

Font Selection

You may not think that fonts are important, but they help develop the theme and factor in to the readability of the magazine. You should not use too many different types of fonts, and you should pick ones that go along with your cover. The key is consistency.

In the 2011 issue, the editors used Goudy Modern and LHF Old Block. Remember that you will have to send the fonts to the printing company, and you have to credit the fonts on the last page of the magazine. This page will be discussed later.

Margins, placement of titles and authors, and spaces between titles and names and the piece are important to the look of your magazine. Your Layout Editor will have experience with these things. When you think of margins, it is helpful to think of the margins in a book. Unfortunately, the margins in the 2007 issue ended up being too small. As you know, white space is crucial to readability.

When you decide how much space you want between the titles, authors, and text, you need to make this consistent. Your Layout Editor will have more technical knowledge if you are unsure.

Ghosting Back

Ghosting back the cover for the title page of the magazine is optional. You can choose to ghost back your cover. If you decide to do this, the easiest way is to turn the cover into a black and white copy. You can use the grey-scale option in Photoshop to make it as light or dark as you want.

There is certain information that you must include on the title page. You must have the title of the magazine that includes:

St. Edward’s University Literary and Artistic Journal Year Volume Number Address Phone Number Website of school 14

Page 16: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Copyrighting the Magazine

You must copyright your issue, and you will need a separate page to do this just like any other book. You have to make it clear that neither the magazine nor the university share the same views as the authors and artists. The address and phone number should be restated. The printing company and the city it is located in have to be credited on the copyright page. The figure below shows you how to copyright the issue.

Figure 6: The copyright page gives you and the school the legal right to publish the magazine.

Copyright © 2011 St. Edward’s UniversityALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Sorin Oak Review is an annual publication of St. Edward’s University. The views expressed in this journal are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor, staff, or the university. To receive more information or to contact the current editor, email [email protected].

St. Edward’s University3001 South Congress AvenueAustin, Texas 78704 512 448 8400

2007 Sorin Oak Review printed by Capital Printing Co., Austin, Texas.

15

Page 17: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Listing the Staff

Your staff has done a great job. You will need to make a separate page to list all of the people involved and the part each played; you will need headings for Editor, Assistant Editor, Layout and Design Editor, Staff, and the Faculty Advisor.

Listing the content

The Table of Contents is important because many people will use it to find pieces they created or pieces their friends or family created. You can organize the Table of Contents however you feel will be the most reader friendly.

Once you have decided how you will organize the categories, you have to decide how you organize the pieces within each category. You can organize by the last name of the author, but it might make the Table of Contents easier to access if you organize the pieces by page numbers.

The format and fonts are just as important as the organization. The format will depend on how many pieces you have. You do not want to overwhelm the reader by putting too many pieces on one page. You need to consider the alignment of titles and decide where you will place the authors’ names.

You must decide if you want to include the Editor’s Notes page in your Table of Contents. All of these decisions are up to include the Editor’s Notes page in your Table of Contents. All of these decisions are up to you and your Layout Editor.

16

Page 18: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Writing a Letter from the Editor

This is your opportunity to let your own voice shine. Be as creative as possible, and make the letter sound like you. Let the reader know that your staff worked hard, and the magazine is worth reading.

The letter is also your chance to thank all of those who helped you, like the Faculty Advisor and the former Editor. You have to once again credit the printing company, but for the editor’s notes, you have to include the person who helped you directly and the paper company the printer used. The printer will tell you which paper company they use.

Collecting Staff and Contributor Biographies

Each member of the staff and each contributor gets to write his or her own biography. Submitters give their biographies with their submissions, and you should give your staffers a deadline as well. You do not want to be adding things to the layout at the last minute. Even one small paragraph can change the entire layout. If someone is having trouble coming up with a biography, you can suggest that he or she include how they became involved with the staff, inspiration for the piece, major, or interests. He or she must write the biography in the third person. You must fix the point of view if a biography is not written correctly. You also reserve the right to edit for mistakes, content, and space. You should make separate sections for staff and contributor biographies, and you should list the biographies alphabetically by last name. Bold the names of each person to make it easy to find a particular person.

17

Page 19: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Recognizing Past Achievements

The magazine has received numerous awards from the American Scholastic Press Association, and each issue acknowledges those awards. You must include a separate page following the biographies. This page will include as many issues as you can fit on one page starting with the previous year. You will list the year, followed by the volume you will put the award the issue received and American Scholastic Press Association underneath the year and volume number.

Previous Awards

2010, Vol. 20 First Place American Scholastic Press Association2009, Vol. 19 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2008, Vol. 18 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2007, Vol. 17 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2006, Vol. 16 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association 2005, Vol. 15 Best College Literary Art Magazine First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2004, Vol. 14 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2003, Vol. 13 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2002, Vol. 12 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association2001, Vol. 11 First Place with Special Merit American Scholastic Press Association

Figure 7: The previous awards highlights the magazine’s accomplishments. 18

Page 20: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Acknowledging the Printer, Paper Company, and Programs Page

The last page of the magazine should include information about the printer, paper company, and the programs you used to create the magazine. You need to include the year, the names of the companies, how many copies were printer, and the paper the pages and covers were printed on (the printer will give you this information). You must also include the programs you used and specify which fonts were used for titles and text.

The 2011 Sorin Oak Review was printed by Capital Printing Company Uncited images from the St. Edward’s Archives. Typeset in Goudy Modern and LHF Old Block. Cover Stock: II0# DTC Straw Mohawk Recycled. 80# Endurance Silk FSC for 24 pages (4 color) 80# Exact Opaque White for 112 pages (black)

Laying Out the Pieces

There is more to this job than simply placing random pieces on random pages. Although you could put any piece on any page, it most likely will not result in a readable magazine. When you and your Layout Editor are layout out the magazine, try to have the mindset of a reader.

Throughout the magazine, you should place the shorter pieces between the longer pieces. It is best to keep the longer pieces away from each other. As a reader, you would not want to read three or four long stories in a row and then seven poems. You want variety.

Proofreading

This step is one of the most important steps and probably the one given the least amount of time. You, your Layout Editor, and the Faculty Advisor must proofread every single page including the copyrights page, biographies, awards pages, ect. Simple mistakes look unprofessional. Mistakes in names and titles are especially unprofessional because it looks as if you did not care enough about a particular contributor or his or her piece. You should proofread as many times as you can. You will have to proofread again with your printer.

Figure 8: The last page of the magazine credits the companies, and the programs and fonts used. 19

Page 21: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Developing a Relationship with your Printer

Picking a Printer

You should begin looking for a printer to work with in February. The printer with the smallest costs may not be the best option. These printers are obviously doing the job to get a tax write off (remind the printers of this as you shop around) and are not making a profit. Some printers may not be the most friendly to work with or they may give your magazine little attention because they don’t make a profit. Pick the printer that seems most willing to work with you.

Capital Printing Co. has been the printer for the past few years. This company is aware of the procedure of the magazine. They take care of finding a paper company that will give a discount as well, and they let you know which paper company you will use. They will also find a company to bind the magazine. Although this company has given Editors a few problems, Capital Printing Co. is willing to work with you. It is your decision.

Touring the Company

Even if you don’t use Capital Printing Co., who requires that at least you if not both you and your Layout Editor take a tour of the company, it is helpful to take a tour of whichever company you use. They will show you how the machines print the magazine, how magazines and brochures are folded, and they will introduce you to different people in the company. You should take the opportunity to see how a printing company operates.

Printing the Magazine

The staff traditionally prints 1,500 copies of the magazine. There are always many copies left over, so you may choose to print fewer copies to save money. If you choose to print less than 1,500, you need to remember everyone who will receive copies. Discuss with the Faculty Advisor how many copies were leftover from the year before to determine how many copies to print.

This is one of the least stressful jobs because the job falls on the printer and not you. You will have to give the printer a CD of the fonts, pictures, InDesign files, and PDF files of your layout and covers. You should give the printer these CDs at the end of March or at the beginning of April because you and the printer will need time to proofread and correct mistakes.

The printer will make a low-resolution print in the actual size of the magazine. You and the printer will proofread this together. Do not assume anything. You cannot assume that an obvious mistake, like a badly printed picture or an uncentered back cover will automatically be fixed. Note every single mistake that you catch. If you catch these mistakes later and change them, it will cost you more money. If there are mistakes, it is your responsibility to correct them. There are a few mistakes the printer can fix, but the majority are your responsibility. You need to allow time for this.

20

Page 22: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Allowing Time to Print

You must allow at least two week s for the printer to print the magazine. You need to be aware of this when you begin layout. Let the printer know when you are planning to have the release party. The printer might be able to print the magazine in less than two weeks, but you do not want them to rush it. You want the magazine to look presentable.

Delivering and Paying for the Magazine

The printing company will take care of the delivery. Talk to the Faculty Advisor about the place to deliver the copies. One place to consider is the Faculty Advisor’s office. The copies will end up in the hands of the Faculty Advisor, so it might be best to deliver them there.

The Faculty Advisor is in charge of paying for the copies. The bill should be sent to them. The bill should break down exactly what you are paying for.

21

Page 23: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Releasing the Magazine

Planning a Fun Party

You will want as many people as possible to come to the release party. You ask your staff if they have any ideas of how to release the magazine. Some past ideas have included live music and giving away free food.

You will need to pick a place on campus. Because you want a place that many people will notice, it is a good idea to have the party on Ragsdale Lawn. Other places to consider are the Mabee Ballrooms, the coffee shop, and the Maloney Room.

Once again, you need to get approval from Student Life. It usually takes about two weeks for Student Life to approve of an event. Once you have decided on a date to release the magazine, fill out the Student Life forms immediately.

Attracting People to the Party

The best way to figure out how to attract people is to figure out what would attract you to a table.

Free food always attracts college students. The magazine is not well known but free food is. Remind people as they wait in line to get their free copy of the magazine. You can hand out copies as they wait in line. Music also helps draw attention; Student Life has a stereo and speakers that can be borrowed. You should make a poster to tape to your table. The most important information to highlight is that the magazine and the food are free.

You will not have as much time to advertise because you will not know the release date until the middle of April. Announce it in the e-newsletters. It is a nice gesture to send a separate invitation to your staff and contributors. You may also consider sending this invitation to the professors of the writing, art, and photography departments. Other ways to advertise include setting up an event on Facebook and sharing it with as many students as possible.

Releasing the magazine with the Arete staff is a good option to consider. You can divide the costs and the work between both staffs. In addition, it will attract more people to the party. Contact the Editor of Arete early. You will have to decide on a date that works for both magazines.

22

Page 24: Sorin Oak Review Handbook for Editors

Submitting to the American Scholastic Press Association

The American Scholastic Press Association judges college magazines and newspapers from across the nation. It is an honor to win an award from them.

Submitting usually takes place during the summer. To submit the magazine, you must fill out the necessary forms. The Faculty Advisor will help you with this. The form will ask you about the process of putting the magazine together along with questions about printing. Either you or the Faculty Advisor can mail it off. You should hear back at the beginning of the fall semester.

Wrapping up Your Year as Editor

After you submit to the A.S.P.A., your job is over. You should email your staff to thank them for all their hard work at the end of the spring semester and again when you get the results from A.S.P.A. Make sure to return all the materials, like the handbook, back to the Faculty Advisor. You should try to be available for the next Editor, because as you know, the job is very difficult and requires help.

Enjoy your issue!

23