Writing and Getting Published: Editor Claudia Sternbach speaks to LCW about Memoir Journal

Here's a long overdue post from a talk in September by Claudia Sternbach, Editor in Chief at Memoir Journal. The guest speaker at Left Coast Writers, a monthly literary salon hosted by Book Passage bookstore in Marin, Sternbach was a columnist and feature writer for 15 years before she became an editor at the literary journal.

Learning the ropes in her new position at age 59, she says overseeing the journal, formerly called Memoir (and), felt like having a second child: 'Is it getting out of control? Is it behaving?' she'd wonder as she lay awake at night, worrying.

Memoir: Prose, Poetry, Photography and More... publishes both established and emerging writers twice a year, but Sternbach's goal is to double that number. The journal now receives 6,000 submissions a year (!) with room for only 12 in what she calls a "slim collection." Publishing monthly would be ideal, she says, but they'd need enough subscriptions to defray the cost. So, subscribe! (Recent past issues included interviews with renowned writers Cheryl Strayed and Pam Houston -- both whom I've blogged about.)

The author of Now Breathe and Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses, Sternbach takes issue with those who claim that although you may have a story, it may not be worth writing.

Based on the belief that "everyone has a story to tell," the journal hosts the (In)Visible Memoirs Project, a grant-funded program of workshops in the SF Bay Area that, according to the website:

nurtures, publishes, and circulates memoirs that are too often excluded from dominant literary discourses. Our focus is on communities traditionally underserved by literary programming and underrepresented in contemporary literature. We recognize that the exclusion of so many voices from literary programming limits our understanding of the world in which we live and deprives us all.

Here's an excerpt from one participant, which I just love (for its irony and economical language):

"But I have one big problem: Language. I only said, "Good morning" and, "Good bye," but he gave me the job. Janitor, you know, easy job, sweep and mop."

- Eduardo Riviera

The Fortune Society, Long Island City, NY (Volume 6: I Carry With Me)

Memoir Journal's submission period is open now until noon on Feb. 16. Unlike most literary journals with an online submissions manager, there is no reading fee. Considering your stiff competition, make sure your subject matter - and style -- is original.

Sternbach says they're inundated with essays about cancer, bad breakups and being on the brink of a nervous breakdown -- and some submissions treat an editor like a sounding board or a therapist.

"It isn't always about chasing the publication dream, but getting it down on paper," she says, acknowledging that the act of writing can no doubt be cathartic.

Keep in mind that if your writing still expresses "a lot of angst," your work may not be ready for publication. If unsure, you can get a critique of your writing for a reasonable fee (ranging from $30-100 for 1,000-10,000 words of prose and $50-100 for 5-10 pages of poetry).

The Greg Mortenson Fact vs. Fiction Fiasco: Investigation or Sensationalism?

Have you heard all of the hullabaloo over the Greg Mortenson fact vs. fiction fiasco about his memoir Three Cups of Tea? If you haven't, check out last Sunday's "60 Minutes" expose and weigh in on the debate.

"Some of the most touching and harrowing tales [such as being kidnapped by the Taliban for 8 days] in Mortenson's books appear to have been greatly exaggerated or made up out of whole cloth," the show accused.

Greg Mortenson with Sitara “Star” schoolchildren. Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

"It's a beautiful story, and it's a lie," said Jon Krakauer, journalist and author of the books Into The Wild and Into Thin Air.

Krakauer followed up a day later with his 75-page "Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way" (with proceeds benefiting America Himalaya Foundation's Stop Girl Trafficking Project).

Supporting the Writing Life: Part 1

I've been thinking about all the ways we writers can strengthen our commitment to the work. So I've compiled a list of 12 things to do that support the writing life. Look forward to these in installments.

READ, READ, READ!

Read every day—it’ll strengthen your writing. Fit it in first thing in the morning, before going to bed at night, instead of watching TV, while climbing the stair master, or during your lunch break. Or get a book on tape/CD for the car. (I couldn’t wait to drive anywhere just to listen to Annie Proux’s That Old Ace in the Hole!) Read in the genre you’re writing in, read outside the genre to widen your span, and read about writing.

During my first full-time job the summer I was fourteen, I raced every day to the couch in the ladies’ lounge during each 15-minute break to devour A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. That book saved me from the monotony of paper pushing and swept me away into the wonderful world of the imagination.

I still read during my half-hour lunch breaks; reading gives me the separation I need and moves me slowly through the pile of books by my bedside (Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide; If the Buddha Married: Creating Enduring Relationships on a Spiritual Path; Real Knockouts: The Physical Feminism of Women’s Self-Defense; Seabiscuit: An American Legend).

What books have you read this year? What books are on your to-read list? When do you make time to read?

ATTEND A READING:

Listening to authors read excerpts and discuss their work can inspire you to read and write more. Often authors illuminate their writing process, their approach to crafting work or getting published. You can catch a glimpse of the life behind the pen, and feel camaraderie within your community. Check out listings at your local independent bookstore, university or café.

This year I only went to a few author readings, including Anne Lamott and Pam Houston. Both women were insightful, humorous and clearly accomplished in their craft and identities as writers. Sitting in packed rooms of eager audiences was akin to singing along with a favorite band at a concert, albeit quieter. Next week I’m going to a local book signing by my cousin, veteran YA author Ellen Schreiber of the Vampire Diaries series!

What author events have you attended? What readings will you listen to this year?

First Friday Author Feature: Pam Houston

photo credit: Russell Kaye 

At USF's Lone Mountain Reading series last month, Pam Houston read from her upcoming book Contents May Have Shifted (a title which may change)--a collection of 144 short stories in thematic sets of twelve. Deft with humor and insight, Houston was refreshingly frank about how her writing blurs the line between fiction and nonfiction--something that "still confuses" her after 25 years of honing the craft. "I was James Frey's 101 teacher, so it's my fault," she joked. "Everything begins with autobiography," whether from Houston's own personal life or something she witnessed. But she doesn't hesitate to fictionalize a piece through omissions or composites: "whatever the story demands for me to alter it for the truth."

When the Colorado-based author went on tour for her book Cowboys Are My Weakness, someone in the audience asked, "How much is autobiographical?" From then on she answered, "82%." What compels her to blur the boundaries of categories "we are now all slaves to"  is "not wanting anyone to think this really happened, but I also don't want them to believe I made it all up." One distinction she did make, however, was that fiction tends to render a sense of immediacy through scenes, while nonfiction often has a tone of retrospective knowledge.

The director of Creative Writing at U.C. Davis and program director of the annual Tomales Bay Workshops, Houston encouraged us to write "glimmers" and allow them to "sit next to each other" without forcing connections between them. With typical self-deprecating humor, the author admitted she's anti story arc: "If I suspect I have one, I do my best to work against it." Though she acknowledged a story's end must be "exponentially heavier" than its beginning, she believes "our unconscious is the driver if we're lucky." You can catch her Feb. 25-27 at the Iowa State Literary Festival or April 9-14 in Mallorca, Spain at La Serrania, Writing Between Life and Fiction.