Meditation\/Writing Retreat!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This fall (October 21-28), Juanita Rockwell will facilitate a meditation and writing retreat at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, open to all faculty, students and alumni. You will receive a separate email with details and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lennon & Mooney on Working Together<\/h2>\n\n\n\nA Conversation with Unexpected Turns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Two longstanding faculty members come together for publication. J. Michael Lennon, co-founder of our creative writing program, archivist, biographer and master of non-fiction, paired with Robert Mooney, wordsmith connoisseur, fiction genius and creator of time-shifting worlds? It feels improbable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in the fall of 2022, we shall all bear witness to this brilliant duo\u2019s efforts as Etruscan Press<\/a> releases Lennon\u2019s book, edited by Mooney. And from the Zoom conversations we\u2019ve had, it sounds like our two mentors will not disappoint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversations with Phil Brady led to behind-the-scenes planning with Mooney, and the two founders of Etruscan Press offered to publish Lennon\u2019s work. Isn\u2019t that the opposite of how the publishing world works? Bravo! Lennon, well done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mooney and Lennon remind me that they\u2019ve had a warm friendship for over fifteen years, and this is not the first time they\u2019ve reviewed\/edited each other\u2019s work. Sharing writing, asking for feedback is a common practice among faculty. It is because of this writers\u2019 community that Phil Brady played a critical role in orchestrating Mike Lennon\u2019s book for publication and suggested Bob Mooney\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about the working title of this book, Lennon and Mooney\u2019s answers reveal the nature of their partnership. \u201cWe haven\u2019t nailed it down,\u201d Lennon says. \u201cThe longest essay in the book, Mailer\u2019s Last Days,<\/em> is a working title. It\u2019s kind of a valedictory work. The whole collection ranges through time. But a lot of pieces focus on the last five, six years of Mailer\u2019s life. It\u2019s the longest piece in the book. And as Mooney suggested, it\u2019s \u2018New and Selected Essays\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mooney\u2019s fidgety, with a thoughtful wrinkle on his brow, oozing sincerity when he says, \u201cActually, I was trying to work on something more like New and Selected Remembrances of a Life in Literature <\/em>because of the fine reviews and essays and pieces on Mailer. And it\u2019s a memoir of yours, on your life, not only in the world, but in literature as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI like that,\u201d Lennon says, leaning back, satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Half of the book consists of essays and reviews that are in some way linked to Mailer. The other half of the book is various published and unpublished memoir pieces that provide the connective tissue that weaves the work together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMike, you call it a ragbag,\u201d Mooney says, about the work in progress. \u201cWe just needed to find a shape, and we did that pretty quickly. It\u2019s what brings all of these different genres together . . . these seemingly disparate moments of an interesting life, which is of course, what all memoirs need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about his role as editor, Mooney, who\u2019s editing a number of books, says his approach is different with each writer, just as it is when he teaches creative writing: \u201c\u2026to figure out what\u2019s this person\u2019s vision? What\u2019s her voice? What\u2019s this fiction trying to become or what is it interested in philosophically and psychologically? And then to deal with young writers and seasoned writers like Mike on their terms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, Mooney adds more on the topic of being an editor. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating an atmosphere of trust, where writers can trust you with intimate details that they don\u2019t know would work. The friendship has helped to open things up and your readiness, Mike, to take the challenges I\u2019ve given you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so it\u2019s under the gaze of Mooney\u2019s watchful eye (through Zoom) that Mike shares what it\u2019s like to be on the receiving end of this process. \u201cBob said to me, \u2018We want to see how these stories knit together in a larger narrative that grows out of your life. We want the memoir pieces to be foregrounded more, and we want more of them.\u2019 I\u2019ve always felt resistance about writing about myself. Bob really pushed me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s apparent Mooney is thrilled to be working with Lennon. His eyes sparkle as they did during residency when he taught a lesson on transitions in fiction and when he spoke about the creation of story. Mooney refers to Lennon\u2019s readings at Wilkes with that same magical gaze. \u201cMike\u2019s memoir really moved me. I would think of scenes that Mike had read [during residency] weeks later. The way he creates the world he grew up in\u2014Fall River. You can smell it. You can feel it. Mike and I have a lot in common with heritage, and that resonates. But he really brings you into his life. It feels substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sense the push and pull of this collaboration will result in a finely crafted book. Mooney wants more memoir. Lennon wants more reviews and essays. Both will win, and so will we. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI came to agree with Mike,\u201d Mooney says. \u201cThese reviews should be in the book. Mike\u2019s insight into literature and the people he chooses to write about are among my favorites. He\u2019s got the eye of what Mailer called a first-rate reader. He\u2019s able to translate that into language that is not academic. It\u2019s from one interested smart reader to another, going right to the heart of the issues that a work of fiction is calling forth and what that might mean to us. And how that vision might be shaped. Only a writer of Mike\u2019s caliber can do that. And then to turn the camera on himself is what I wanted. Mike didn\u2019t realize the extent to which his life and his eye, his pen in his hand count for something huge here. Like a conductor\u2014I am saying, give me more Lennon!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike Lennon responds with a grin underneath his mustache. He\u2019s worked with five different publishing houses over the years and a number of editors. \u201cEvery editor has their own style. I\u2019ve never had any issues. But the difference with Bob is that I\u2019ve known him for years. The others I knew because of the writing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bob Mooney\u2019s eyes appear to be searching the corners of his mind. Deep thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter I finished the biography,\u201d Lennon says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to do. So I began writing memoirs, essays, and reviews because I had to write. Most of the stuff in the book has been written in the last five years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mooney leans forward. He has contemplated the topic of their friendship. \u201cI think it has helped the editorial process for me and the writing process for you,\u201d he says to Lennon. \u201cBecause we chat like this and you tell me about your grandfather and your father, and I can tell you\u2014\u201d Mooney smiles as he points with such strength it feels like a jolt of electricity might come through the screen. \u201c\u2014that right there is what we need!\u201d Did the lights just flicker? \u201cThere\u2019s intimacy. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019d feel as comfortable opening up to some guy in a suit in New York City. I can see the lights going on in your head, and you\u2019re following this thread, and I\u2019m going \u2018Yeah, that!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All writers recognize that this is part of our dream, our goal\u2014this is what we want. But it cannot be the most important reason why you\u2019re writing, or writing is going to be hell\u2014and you\u2019re going to be disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask yourself, why are you writing this book? If it\u2019s because you\u2019re trying to figure things out about being human in this world and that you see this as a powerful thought process\u2014then get it right. Write the book you want because you want to write and then open the floodgates for that other part of your ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writers write because they have a compulsion to write. To figure things out in language to shape an understanding out of the confusions out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you get it right and it\u2019s good, then it shouldn\u2019t be so much I want to publish, I want to be read<\/em> but I want to share this with anybody who is interested. I\u2019m going to give this part of myself to strangers, and maybe they\u2019ll get something out of it.<\/em> Entertainment for sure, but also to give them some thoughts of a different way to look at their lives. If you see it more holistically like that then it becomes\u2014I\u2019m sharing part of myself. I\u2019m giving blood here because I want to figure things out and share. After that, let the Random Houses of the world figure out how to get it into as many hands as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t know until I began working in this program sixteen years ago when we started it how important a literary community is in helping you fulfill your dreams as a writer. I did not know exactly how much I would come to rely on it, how much I would enjoy it, and how much it would help me go forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The books that I\u2019ve written in the last 15 years have been connected in one way or another to my literary community, and the heart of my literary community has been at Wilkes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Build a community for yourself of people you know and trust and that you are also committed to helping in any way you can\u2014by reading their manuscripts, sending them books in the mail, sending them quotes. I\u2019ve been helped enormously by half a dozen or so people in this program to realize what I wanted to do as a writer. So build your literary community. Build it carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll have an inner circle of people that you rely on in a regular way, a next circle that you rely on for different things like genre or experts. The circles overlap, and you\u2019ve got to know who to talk to about what, and to not be promiscuous about sending everything. But don\u2019t be afraid to share at the same time and let others know if you can\u2019t help. You\u2019ve got to do it out of the spirit of generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More Lennon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a teenage mother, Jen McLaughlin found inspiration from the Twilight Series<\/em> and took a non-traditional path to education, after first becoming an established romance novelist. Nisha Sharma is an attorney who worked for Fortune 15 organizations. So, what do alums McLaughlin and Sharma have in common? Quite a bit, as I found out. They are prolific writers, beloved teachers, lovers of romance novels, and savvy business-women\u2014impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McLaughlin<\/a> has published forty-nine books in contemporary romance and new adult genres. She\u2019s a New York Times<\/em> bestselling author who has worked with James Patterson on three books. In addition to authoring numerous novels for Entangled Publishing, a MacMillan imprint, Jen has also written for Penguin Random House (the Sons of Steel<\/em> Row<\/em> series earned starred reviews from Publisher\u2019s Weekly<\/a>) and Little Brown. Additionally, she has produced a few indie projects with enough breakout success to garner attention from Forbes and Publishers Weekly<\/a>. She\u2019s also written YA and middle-grade books, which are currently out for consideration for publication through her agent, Louise Fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharma\u2019s YA romance, My So-Called Bollywood Life<\/em><\/a> is a RITA winner for best YA and has been made into a feature film. Nisha\u2019s writing has been praised by NPR, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Hypable, and more. With film options, three books published, and five more scheduled for publication, Nisha\u2019s wrapping up the Adult Romance Singh Family Trilogy. And as her website hints, her first book from the series If Shakespeare was an Aunty <\/em>will be released in January 2022. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n McLaughlin and Sharma, passionate about writing and how the romance industry has evolved, generously took time from their writing and teaching schedules for a candid conversation that came with some \u201cAha!\u201d moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni<\/strong>: My perception of romance is that it\u2019s a genre with a specific formula that the writer must follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha (smiles):<\/strong> Calling romance formulaic is actually a misconception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> So, it\u2019s more complex. What is needed for the work to be considered a romance novel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> It has to end happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> Jen is right. The hallmark for a novel in the romance genre vs. a love story is that there is a happy for now or the happily forever after. The romance genre developed because it was about empowering women to push boundaries, to have agency, and to focus on the female experience. Now romance is significantly more diverse. It\u2019s not as gendered. It\u2019s not focused so much on the female experience, but on the experience of the characters involved and how they overcome an emotional arc in order to achieve a sense of happiness at the end of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> That formula of the meet-cute, the couple finds love, falls apart, and then ends up back together in the end, that\u2019s a relic from the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> Some romances are still made that way. Some Harlequin imprints want that pattern. But outside of that, you\u2019ll see a much broader spectrum. There\u2019s usually a dark moment. Every romance has a dark moment. Your job as a romance writer is to create a story where the characters push and pull and fall in love. A romance reader knows it\u2019s going to end happy. The challenge of the writer is to make the reader doubt<\/em> that certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> The romance genre is so much more than it used to be. It\u2019s an antiquated concept to think the characters\u2019 only focus is love. A lot of these stories have incredibly rich world building. It\u2019s often a journey to overcome trauma, psychological or physical. That\u2019s why I hesitate to even call romance a genre anymore. It\u2019s more like a category because there are so many genres within romance. Thriller, fantasy, horror, inspirational, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> About your writing career, Jen, tell us about your pen name Diane Alberts and the transition to using Jen McLaughlin? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> Okay, so when I had my youngest daughter and didn\u2019t sleep during the night, I read my way through the Twilight<\/em> Series. At the end of the book, the author\u2019s bio mentioned she was a stay-at-home mom. And I thought, I always wanted to be a writer, why don\u2019t I do that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n My first book, Reclaimed, <\/em>I sent out and got rejections with words of advice. It\u2019s called a revise and resubmit. If you get those, it\u2019s quite the compliment because they aren\u2019t buying the book, but they care enough to write to you. I kept revising and resending. Two years later, Reclaimed<\/em> was accepted by a small online publisher. That kickstarted my career writing as Diane Alberts. After my fifth book was published, I acquired an agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, I self-published my new adult series\u2014hired an editor, a book cover graphic artist, and a publicist with my agent\u2019s full support. I wrote the book in a month, and had it out a few weeks after that. I chose to release the book under Jen McLaughlin because I thought it was going to bomb. I didn\u2019t want to ruin the Diane Alberts name, which I had already established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the new adult book hit the New York Times<\/em> best seller list and the Out of Line<\/em> series became the bestselling series I\u2019ve ever written\u2014it\u2019s also the highest earning series I\u2019ve ever written, and still continues to be optioned for foreign rights in countries around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> I loved that series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> I\u2019m curious about the If Shakespeare was an Aunty<\/em> series mentioned on your website, Nisha. But I also want to know about your experience as a student at Wilkes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> I had sold a book to Harlequin, but the deal fell through when the person that started the acquisition process got laid off. So I started at Wilkes during this weird crossroad in my career when I wasn\u2019t sure what to do. I never intended to go to Wilkes to learn how to write. I already knew how to write. I\u2019d had some success with small novellas. I knew I\u2019d continue that journey, and I already had an agent. I enrolled in Wilkes to expand my network and explore teaching opportunities, and to challenge myself in the process. Wilkes definitely challenged me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Laughing). I was incredibly pompous about romance, and I still believe that Romance is the best. It\u2019s a billion-dollar industry. But the way that I approach romance has drastically changed because of the great influence of the faculty at Wilkes. The way that I approach my craft is significantly different after my time at Wilkes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> I want to jump in and say, me too.<\/em> I joined the program knowing how to write. My romance writing has absolutely deepened and become so much better after the program, which I did not expect because I\u2019d already had forty-five books published. I entered this program to teach, something every faculty member at Wilkes knows by now, and I hope to one day be a mentor in this very program. I have a lot of lessons learned in publishing, marketing, writing, plotting, revising and so much more to pass on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> In the program I wrote My So-Called Bollywood Life<\/em>. Susan Cartsonis, a producer on the faculty, acquired the film rights before I sold the book to Random House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then because of my success with Bollywood<\/em>, Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins (another publisher) wanted a contemporary trilogy, The Singh Family trilogy, and then later acquired a romcom trilogy. If Shakespeare was an Aunty<\/em> is a trilogy in answer to that. Each of the books is a reimagination of a Shakespeare comedy. The first book is Taming of the Shrew<\/em> reimagined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> I love the conversations about the speed to completion. I\u2019ve read your works\u2014to write well and do that so expeditiously is another spectacular feat that you\u2019ve both accomplished. How long does it take to produce a polished manuscript?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> I\u2019m a slow writer. I take six months to write and polish a romance novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> When I was writing full time, when I wasn\u2019t teaching, or in grad school, I would write a book in a month. I would aim for six to ten thousand words a day. And I could do that. Now, I usually get about six pages a week written\u2014and I workshop those pages with some of my cohort members from the program, even though we\u2019ve been out of the program for quite some time. Those friendships we talk about in the program, they really last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> I think why Jen and I are so prolific, compared to literary fiction authors in the program, is because we focus on story, where a lot of literary fiction focuses on language as well, or the vehicle to story. Our sentences are important, they\u2019re strong, and they\u2019re clean, but we\u2019re writing with a wide screen lens and that\u2019s because we\u2019re incredibly aware of what our readers expect from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of romance readers fall between the ages of 25 to 64 with more than half with college degrees or higher, and employed in professional positions. We want to be able to connect with them quickly because their lives are so engaged in other areas. They are not coming to us so they can enjoy every sentence, every moment, and every word. They want to fall in love and quickly engage or disengage in an experience. We\u2019re in the market of creating an experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> Talk to us about connecting quickly with the reader and getting the first pages right. What are your words of wisdom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> Have a really killer first line. Introduce your main character first. Give the reader insight into what your character wants. Show us who your character is, not just what they look like, but who<\/em> they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> On beginnings, I always rewrite after I get to the end, because by then I know my characters and how they react. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> I fast draft and go back and add internal reactions because you do know your character better once you\u2019ve gotten to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> Can you share your experience with the Bollywood<\/em> movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> Before Susan Cartsonis bought the film rights, I remember her calling me and telling me she had notes for me. I was so surprised because she is so busy. She was always on location for shooting, and she took the time to give me notes. I felt really blessed. She gave me specific notes on how the story would appear on screen, and how she envisioned it. That helped my pacing significantly. The way that I now approach my revisions to any of my projects is the way that Susan had given me guidance on how the story unfolds on screen. Whenever I approach a project, I approach it like screenwriting versus drafting a novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> I agree. One of the most beneficial courses I took in my Foundations [semester] was screenwriting. I look at my writing differently. It taught me how to compress things and to make the story more immediate. I highly recommend learning screenwriting while you\u2019re in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> What was it like working with James Patterson?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen<\/strong>: Amazing. He\u2019s brilliant and nice. He\u2019s got great methods. I still outline the way I did for him. I use his format all the time, and am very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> You both have prolific writing careers and yet you\u2019re equally as passionate about teaching the craft of writing. Why are you called to teach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jen:<\/strong> I always wanted to be a teacher and a writer. Being a young single teenage mother, I had a lot of things to overcome. But I got there. I teach at Wilkes in the Honors Program, 100- and 300-level creative writing courses, and I also teach workshops. Helping people understand writing is a huge passion of mine, because as much as it is an art\u2026it\u2019s also a science. There are things you need to know and understand to do it properly. It\u2019s about showing what you need to show when you need to show it, and not showing things when it\u2019s needed, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nisha:<\/strong> I\u2019m similar. I always wanted to teach and write. Writing is a solitary venture. Teaching gives me the opportunity to connect with other people who may be as passionate about the written word like I am. I like to help students develop their ability to connect with others through story. I teach YA fiction at Muhlenberg, and I am a faculty mentor in the creative writing program at Wilkes. Teaching experiences help reinforce the foundational elements in my writing as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have two pieces of advice. My first one is important for the Wilkes community. You are your own best advocate. In order to be a professional writer, you have to consider yourself a businessperson as well. You can write and focus on your craft, but you must also develop your professional presence as well. Focus on developing yourself as a brand in order to push through publishing opportunities\u2014whether indie or traditional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My second piece of advice is don\u2019t write the story that you think others are going to buy. Write the story that feels authentic and true to you, because people are going to be able to tell if your heart is not there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to everybody. Don\u2019t be shy. Get to know everybody. Email people. Talk to them at the residency. Writers are introverts. We\u2019re shy. I\u2019m shy. Get outside of your book. Especially when you\u2019re at the residencies. Pretend like you\u2019re a character in your book and don\u2019t be shy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And PLOT. I\u2019m a huge proponent of plotting. I have a workshop I\u2019ve given in the past through the program. People have asked for it, and I\u2019ll be offering it again in the future. We\u2019re told to outline, and plot, but there\u2019s very little focus on how<\/em> to do so, and I hope to someday be able to pass my knowledge onto my future mentees in a graduate program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni: <\/strong>Sign me up for Jen\u2019s Plot like a Pro! workshop and Nisha\u2019s Diverse Narrative session. Who would like to join me? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why not? You\u2019re old enough, experienced enough, and you might even be good enough. But you\u2019ll never know unless you try. Who, what, where . . . and why would anybody want to interrupt the flow of words landing on the page of their project for a submission or two (or more)? Michael Hardin, who is currently drafting his way through CW 520, is a constant submitter\u2014and that has captured the attention of his peers as well as the higher-ups at Wilkes. As Michael\u2019s publishing credits grow, we took some time off from our writing duties to talk about submitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> You tend to submit to literary journals and other venues. Can you elaborate on that\u2014and talk about what types of pieces you submit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> I write poetry, and since I have been at Wilkes, I have started working on a memoir. Poetry is easy to submit: simply find 3-5 poems and poof, you have a submission. Memoir is more complicated; to be publishable, a piece needs to stand alone, and only a few of my chapters so far have been self-contained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I came to Wilkes, I was my only reader, so I had to decide when I thought a poem was ready to send out. Now that I\u2019ve met some fellow poets, we workshop pieces once a month, so I get a better sense of what is ready. I also have a friend read my memoir chapters, so that too is vetted before I submit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And since submitting is anonymous (not always literally, but if an editor doesn\u2019t know who you are, it might as well be), I don\u2019t take rejection personally. I submit everything that I think is at least good\u2014a poem does not have to be great for me to submit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> Why do you feel it\u2019s important for writers to submit their work into the world? What can a person possibly gain from actively participating in this process? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> Writing is hard work, and I don\u2019t write for myself alone. I want to be read, and unless I get published somewhere, that is not going to happen. A lot of my writing deals with trauma, so getting published is a validation of what I went through, and maybe someone else can find something worthwhile in my experience. And I have an ego\u2014it feels good to look at my bookshelf at all the journals, magazines, and books that have my work in them. For that reason, I prefer sending my work to print journals, but I have published online as well\u2014online publications have the advantage of a greater readership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> How much time do you expend submitting your work each week? Are you also creating new work for submissions or regurgitating previously penned poems and essays?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> Unfortunately, this semester has been slow for me. Since I have been finishing my memoir, I have not been working on poems, and have not had free time to convert individual chapters into self-contained entities. Last semester, I would spend about a couple hours of my writing time each week submitting poetry and memoir chapters. This interview is making me feel lazy now; I think I\u2019ll spend a few hours over the weekend getting stuff sent out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I send out new and old stuff simultaneously. If I think a piece is good, I\u2019ll send it out until it finds a home. I\u2019m looking forward to the summer break to work on getting some of my memoir chapters into submittable form and maybe working on some new poems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> How do you find places to submit your work? Where do you recommend us \u201crookie\u201d submitters begin our journey?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael: <\/strong>Go to Poets and Writers (P&W). It\u2019s online and has a free list of magazines and journals that are looking for submissions. That\u2019s where I started thirty years ago, back before the internet\u2014I had a print subscription to P&W. Starting with places that are actively advertising for submissions will give you a better chance of getting into the magazine. It means they are not already swamped with submissions. My first publications all came from the back of P&W and after I had a handful of acceptances (it took years\u2014it\u2019s still not easy), I began submitting to more prestigious journals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> What process do you use to track your submissions, and do you recommend multiple submissions? It\u2019s a numbers game right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> I use Submittable. Most journals require it\u2014they keep track of your submissions, and if something is taken, it is easy to withdraw it from the other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Definitely multiple submissions. I usually have everything I\u2019ve written at five different places. Journals are okay with this as long as you withdraw immediately once your submission is accepted elsewhere. I have never kept track of how many times I submit a piece before it is taken, but I\u2019m sure it\u2019s at least five to twenty\u2014more if I am submitting to top journals. After twenty submissions, I start to think maybe the piece isn\u2019t as good as I thought it was and put it in my \u201cRevise\u201d file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> About how many rejections have you experienced from this process, and approximately how many publishing credits do you have? And you\u2019ve been doing this submitting \u201cthing\u201d for how long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> Hundreds of rejections. I don\u2019t count or I\u2019d get too depressed. But the acceptances make it all worthwhile. I\u2019ve published about fifty poems, twenty of which are in well-respected journals. I\u2019ve published three chapters from my memoir. And I\u2019ve published about fifty essays of literary criticism (back when I was an English professor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I submitted my first poems when I was a senior in college, thirty years ago, but I have had dry spells in between, sometimes five to ten years where I haven\u2019t written or submitted anything. But I always come back to writing and submitting\u2014I can\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> What is your earliest memory of submitting your writing and receiving an acceptance for publication?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> I had been submitting for about a year, and then I got an acceptance. It was a small, new journal listed in the back of P&W, but I took the letter and taped it to the wall above my desk. That letter proved to me I was a poet. That became my acceptance routine. I still have the copy of the journal with my poem in it, which I don\u2019t think remained in publication for more than a few issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> What is your best advice for anybody who wants to begin submitting their writing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> Look at the magazine before you submit. Read a few of the pieces in it and see if your work fits the editorial style. Otherwise, you\u2019re just submitting blindly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roni:<\/strong> Any final words of wisdom? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael:<\/strong> Don\u2019t worry about rejection. Magazines get tons of good submissions and can only take a tiny fraction. I have had poems rejected by average magazines and later taken by top journals. It often is just a matter of taste on the editor\u2019s part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after the publication of our last newsletter, on February 25, 2021, our longtime supporter and generous donor, Beverly Hiscox, passed away. She was loved and cherished by all, and will be sorely missed. Following the announcement of her passing, members of the Wilkes Creative Writing community generously donated over $6,000 to continue the scholarship in her name, which is awarded to one of our Creative Writing students each year. Here is co-founder\/former director Bonnie Culver\u2019s memorial:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRecently, we shared the sad news that Beverly Hiscox, one of our most generous and avid program supporters, passed away. Mike and I had the honor of being part of the Wilkes administration as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean, respectively, which meant we were part of the quarterly Board of Trustees meetings. No single person on the board championed the arts and this program more than Beverly. In fact, when she heard our idea about the program, she offered to serve on our original Board of Advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only did Bev champion the program early on when there was resistance to investing in it, she and her family also donated a generous annual scholarship in her name. The Beverly Blakeslee Hiscox scholarship was awarded annually, beginning in 2007; the recipients of that award included the following: Walter Lansberry, Richard Fellinger, Amye Barrese Archer, Laura E. J. Moran, Jason Carney, Joshua Horwitz, Thomas Simko, John Winston, Ronnie Stephens, Andre Carter, Rodney Annis, Juliette Dunn, Monique Franz, and Joshua Holycross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She and her husband Harry rarely missed a program banquet and they never missed an opportunity to meet the recipient of the Hiscox scholarship. Bev and Harry enjoyed spending time with the faculty as well; Bev called every year to ask about what alums, faculty, and current students were doing with their writing, their lives, and their classwork. When Marlon James won the Man Booker prize, Bev called to tell us how proud she was of him and what the program had accomplished. Last week, Harry said that \u201cof all Bev\u2019s projects at Wilkes, she was most proud of this program and working with us to make it a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The family has requested that all gifts in Beverly\u2019s memory be donations to the scholarship fund her family created in her honor. Mike and I have pledged to donate $1000 each in honor of our dear personal and program friend. We encourage you to donate whatever you can. No gift is too small. Our goal is to honor her friendship, dedication, good humor, and kind, supportive spirit of Beverly with these gifts. Mike and I know such outpouring will mean much to Harry and the entire Hiscox family in their time of grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret Steele, Chief Development Officer, will accept all donations on behalf of Wilkes University. You can send Margaret a check made out to \u201cWilkes University\u2014Hiscox Scholarship\u201d and send it to: Mrs. Margaret Steele, Office of Advancement, 84 South St., Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA or you can donate online at: www.wilkes.edu\/give<\/a>. If you have any questions, you may email Margaret at margaret.steele@wilkes.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you, in advance, for being part of this special program and offering a token of thanks to Beverly Hiscox for helping us build this community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Mike Lennon and Bonnie Culver, Program Co-founders<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We write to heal, learn, and share, to be seen or heard, to offer another way to look at the world, to impact or persuade people, to open hearts and in turn open our minds. Most of us have a compulsion to write, and because of that, sharing our written words is a topic worth… Read More »On Writing and Publishing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Words of Wisdom on Publishing from Bob Mooney<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mooney_250px.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMike Lennon\u2019s Wisdom and Advice:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"J.](\"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/j_michael_lennon_200.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOne Final Note<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Success in Romance with Jen McLaughlin & Nisha Sharma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advice from Nisha Sharma<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Nisha](\"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/nisha-sharma.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAdvice from Jen McLaughlin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Jen](\"https:\/\/revisethis.wilkes.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jen.McLaughlin.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nShould You Submit During Grad School?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Faculty News<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Alumni News<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In Memory of Beverly Hiscox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n