English 576: Practical Publishing
Instructor: Jenny Minniti- Shippey
Email: jmshippey@mail.sdsu.edu
Meeting Time: MW 2:00-3:15 pm
Office Hours: M 12:30-1:30 pm and by appt.
Room: AH 2103
Office: AL 220
Course Prerequisites:
Six lower division units in courses in literature and/or creative writing,
including Engl. 280.
Course Description:
If you’re interested in a career in publishing & editing, then you need to
leave this university with experience in multiple facets of the industry and with a
string of publication credits to your name. This course is designed to give you
that experience and those credentials.
We’ll attempt two projects simultaneously: first, a how-to survey of
various aspects of the publishing industry, including small presses, literary
magazines, online publications such as web magazines and blogs, book reviews,
and literary criticism. We’ll study the ways that these literary ventures succeed,
in terms of quality of work, marketing, and design. Second, you will create and
edit online literary journals, tailoring the genre and content to your group’s
literary interests.
In addition to these efforts, we’ll play host to an array of industry
professionals, who’ll share their experience on everything from small press startup, to what literary agents really do, to how to land a publishing internship.
We’ll also have tutorials on InDesign, SEO writing, and copyediting.
** Disclaimer: This syllabus, and the course itself, is subject to evolution and
revolution at short notice. Your interests and goals will help to shape it, and our
work may lead us down tangential paths, in which case we will revise as
necessary.
Course Objectives:
* Develop understanding of professional opportunities in literary publishing &
editing
* Curate an online magazine as part of an editorial board
* Acquire and apply current professional tools, editorial standards, and media
platforms
* Evaluate and implement literary industry standards for book reviews and
editorials
* Develop a basic understanding of print design elements in literary publications
* Develop and apply copyediting skills to literary texts
1
Required Texts and Materials:
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor's Handbook, any Ed. UC Press.
Grading
For a “C” in the course:
* Complete the group literary publication with satisfactory work.
* Complete all assignments with satisfactory work.
* Miss no more than five classes, and participate in class.
For a “B” in the course:
* Complete all “C” work.
* Miss no more than three classes, and participate consistently in class.
* Complete one of the “B” projects (descriptions follow).
For an “A” in the course:
* Complete all “B” work, including one “B” project.
* Miss no more than two classes, and participate actively in class.
* Complete one of the “A” projects (descriptions follow).
* A Note on Evaluations: “A” students will demonstrate: a professional
engagement with the class projects; consistent excellence in their written and inclass work; leadership and initiative in the group project; and an articulate
understanding of the responsibilities each project entails.
Course Elements:
Group Project, Literary Publication:
You will work in a group of four or five people to create an online literary
review. This review will publish two volumes over the course of the semester.
Volume One will go live on March 25th, and Volume Two will go live on May 6th.
Your group will determine the theme or focus of your publication, design the
online layout and formatting of your publication, and create the content for it.
You are in complete control over what genre(s) your journal represents, but there
are elements that will be present in each publication.
* Each member of the editorial board will write two book reviews for
publication, with one review published in each volume.
* Each member of the editorial board will write a minimum of one
commentary piece for publication. This will be published in either volume one
or two.
2
* Each member of the editorial board will write a minimum of one event
review for publication. This will be published in the volume in which your
commentary piece does not appear.
* Each member of the editorial board will create one interview with an
industry professional.
* Each editorial board will create and manage social media platforms to
support and advertise their publication, including Facebook and Twitter
accounts. Each member will spend at least one week as the “voice” of their
journal’s social media; additionally, each member will participate in a social
media research & application project.
Your editorial group will give various updates and presentations
throughout the semester.
We’ll discuss the requirements of each of these elements, and study ways
to create well-organized, engaging, timely content for your journal.
I know that group projects can be tricky, especially since this is the
primary requirement to pass the course. We’ll use Blackboard almost exclusively
for editorial group discussions, brainstorming, and content editing. Further,
each member of the editorial board will be evaluated by their fellow editors
anonymously, after the launch of each volume.
Class Participation/ Reading Assignments:
Class participation will be vital to the success of this class, since I fully intend to
learn as much from you as you learn from me. Please plan to be active and
engaged with the various reading assignments and class discussions. This is
especially true of the publishing salons—it’s up to you to make sure you get what you
want from our various class guests. I may give in-class reading quizzes. We will
workshop various production elements of the group project; you can’t expect
thoughtful comments from your peers if you are not willing to take the time to
give the same consideration. We’ll discuss workshop etiquette as necessary.
Please bring a positive and respectful attitude to class.
“B” Projects:
You must complete one of the following projects to be considered for a B in the
class. These projects are designed to give you a chance to develop creative
content for your group’s publication, so please undertake them with thought and
care. These projects are due no later than Monday, May 11th.
Option One
Create a “broadside” of a poem or short piece of prose. We will study
broadsides and art books during the semester. Generally, however, a broadside
gives you the opportunity to translate a poem (or literary work) that you love
into a new, non-text form, be it as part of a painting, collage, graffiti, song, etc.
How you choose to interpret the poem is up to you. This option also requires a
3
class presentation of the broadside during our finals meeting, so be prepared to
talk about why you chose the poem / text, where the material was sourced, and
what creative choices you made as you created your broadside. If you want, you
can also post a digital file of your broadside to your group publication.
Option Two
Translate a poem, write an imitation of a work, satirize a news column; this
option is fairly open, but requires you to create an original written work. This
project should be a minimum of 500 words, and should fit in to the genre or area
of literature on which your literary publication focuses. You must email me a 50100 word “proposal” or project description no later than April 27th. This option
requires a class presentation during our finals meeting, and you may choose to
publish it in your literary journal as well.
“A” Projects:
You must complete one of the following two projects to be considered for an A in
the class. These projects are designed to help you broaden your marketable skills
in the publishing industry, so please undertake them with thought, care,
professionalism, and perfectionism. Both of these projects must be in progress
during the semester, so decide now what kind of grade you want, and plan your
work accordingly.
Option One
Create and edit a print chapbook of original content, either written by you, or by
authors that you solicit. You will determine the theme or focus of your
publication, distribute a call for submissions, manage submissions, and design
the layout and order of your final project. You’ll use InDesign to format the
chapbook, and you’ll be responsible for designing the cover, proofreading, and
printing the chapbook. The chapbook should be approximately 12-16 interior
pages, plus the front & back covers. You must print at least 2 copies of the book.
We’ll have an InDesign tutorial during the first half of the semester, but you
should begin generating content for this chapbook early. The final project is due
Monday, May 11th.
Option Two
Work with a partner to coordinate one publishing salon over the course of the
semester. We’ll be opening a few of our guest lectures to the SDSU community.
If you choose to be on an event team as your A project, you’ll be responsible for:
advertising the event, both online and in print; communicating with the guest as
the event approaches; preparing an introduction for the featured guest;
managing logistics, such as parking passes, etc; you’ll also have the opportunity
4
to make friends with an industry professional! Finally, you’ll provide a one-page
write up of your experiences: what you learned, what mistakes were made, and
what you’d correct for future events. The dates and featured guests are posted
on Blackboard; you must join an event group no later than the second week of
class.
Additional Class Policies:
 Class Conduct: A relaxed, professional atmosphere will be maintained at
all times. You are expected to be respectful of the opinions and voices of
your classmates inside the classroom and in all class-related activities.
 Attendance: I will use the attendance requirements described in the contract
grading section of the syllabus to inform your final grade. Further, three tardy
arrivals to class will count as an absence. Please don’t prevent yourself
from earning the grade you want.
 Late Work: You are responsible for turning in your work on time. I will
not accept any late pieces. I will not accept emailed works, unless
otherwise specified.
 Cell Phones: Please, be respectful and courteous. Turn cell-phones off
prior to entering the classroom.
 Material: Due to the nature of literature, some material may be
objectionable. Please let me know if you have any questions about the
readings; I am happy to make alternate reading arrangements.
• Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious offense. You are plagiarizing if you
represent the ideas of words of another person as your own. Copying
directly from another source or even paraphrasing it without citing the
author’s name is plagiarism. I am happy to answer any questions you may
have about appropriate citations, and we will discuss plagiarism more
extensively in class. Any plagiarized work can result in failure of the
course and even severer punishments. See the General Catalog or see me
if you have any concerns about this policy.
* SDS: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student
Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of
your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as
soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and
that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have
received an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your
cooperation is appreciated.
5
Engl. 576 Course Calendar: UPDATED 1/20/2015
ALL READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE THE DAY THEY ARE
LISTED. THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND ADDITION.
W
*
M
1/21 Introduction to Engl. 576
1/26 Editorial boards, mission statements.
The Wardrobe: A Journal of Science Fiction & Fantasy
Hinged: Journal of Converging Arts
Crossroads Literary Journal
W
1/28 Drafting mission statements
*
M
2/2
W
2/4
Book Reviews
Read two poetry reviews (TBD)
Read two fiction reviews (TBD)
*
M
2/9
Book Review Structure assignment due
W
2/11 Wordpress Tutorial. Meet in lab TBD.
*
M
W
*
M
Online Journals / Copyediting
Copyediting: rd. through p. 56 of CopyEditor’s Handbook
** Guest Lecture: Editors of The Wardrobe, Crossroads, The Shed **
2/16 Interviews: read at least two from each source
Poetry International Blog
California Journal of Poetics
The Rumpus
2/18 Commentary & Event Reviews
Reading TBD
2/23 Interviews / Reviews / Copyediting
Please skim Punctuation, Spelling & Hyphenation sections of the
CE Handbook.
Launch Wordpress & Social Media Platforms. Please bring laptops.
6
W
2/25 ***Publishing Salon #1: Emily Vizzo, Freelance Editor***
*
M
3/2
Literary Journals, Small Presses
Please visit Los Angeles Review website
W
3/4
Literary Agents: Query Letters
*
M
3/9
InDesign Tutorial. Meet in computer lab, TBD.
W
3/11 ***Publishing Salon #2: Carly Miller, Editor at LA Review***
*
M
3/16 Editing Session: please bring draft of book review (2 copies)
W
3/18 Editorial board work.
*
M
3/23 ***Publishing Salon #3: Katie Ford, Poet**
**7 pm: Katie Ford Reading, Scripps Cottage**
W
3/25 Volume One Live! Presentations.
*
M
3/30 SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS
W
4/1
SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS: work on your A & B projects.
*
M
4/6
Broadsides, Artist Books, Zines: MEET in Special Collections, Love
Library.
W
4/8
In class site editing
*
M
W
4/13 Anthologies / Small Presses / Internships
Visit Alice James Books Website
Social Media practicum, part one, begins.
4/15 **Publishing Salon #4: Michael Waters & Mihaela Moscaliuc**
* 7pm: Michael Waters & Mihaela Moscaliuc Reading in Scripps Cottage
7
*
M
4/20 Internships / Literary Agencies.
Visit the Zack Company Website.
Social Media practicum part two begins.
Internship interview tutorial.
W
4/22 ***Publishing Salon #5: Andy Zack, of The Zack Company***
*
M
4/27 In class work
W
4/28 **Publishing Salon #6: James Raney, Indie Author***
*
M
5/5
Lab work day, location TBD
W
5/7
Volume Two Live! Presentations.
Final Exam Period: Monday, May 11th, 1:00-3:00 pm.
All course work due.
All “A” projects due.
All “B” projects due.
Presentations & party!
8