Don’t you waste your time dreaming
The first proof came in the mail today. WOW. The cover could not be more perfect. (Being the stickler that I am, I’m going to shift the title down and to the left just a touch before we submit for the 2nd proof. But otherwise… wow. A truly beautiful piece of work.
The inside looks great too. It has the lower-resolution versions of some of the images (since we didn’t have the hi-res ones when we ordered it) but they look pretty good anyway. Most importantly, the new layout came out brilliantly. I’m especially pleased with the new Table of Contents page, which prints up sharp and neat. The book is also noticeably heftier than past issues (66 pages of content). It’s truthfully as nice a first proof as we could have hoped for.
We’re still working on getting all the content edited and formatted. We have hi-res versions of all the art now, and they’re in their proper spots.
Still working on knocking off the last editing. Today was a bad day for it though, as I got slammed with other CG things - lots of correspondence, contracts, etc. I also dealt with some changes to the store, and addressed a question/problem with reprints.
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Note to artists: If you’re thinking of submitting artwork to us, great. Just please bear in mind: we don’t publish reprints, either writing or art. This includes work posted publicly on blogs and online portfolios! Don’t pluck something off your DeviantArt and send it to us. And don’t send us something new, and then post it on DeviantArt or Livejournal with the comment “Hey, look what I submitted to Crossed Genres!” These will be automatically rejected.
Yes, this is more strict than some other magazines out there. We know that. But it’s our policy. Publicly posting your work online counts as First Printing, meaning you can’t sell the First Print rights any more. We’re not the only market which requires First Print rights.
There are other markets which accept reprints, and if you have a problem with this policy, maybe they would be better markets to submit to. We’re not trying to be jerks; but better we be clear about this now than after you’ve submitted that new piece that just got a Daily Deviation, right? If you have something new that you want to submit to us, please do. Just… don’t post it anywhere until you hear back from us. Turnaround on responses is running around a month for art and short story submissions - that’s not too long to wait, is it?
We do on very rare occasion consider reprints. But we only do so very rarely, and only after the writer or artist has queried us for permission to send it in. We don’t say yes to all these queries, either. To be plain, we’ve yet to publish a reprint. It would have to really, really wow us.
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I’m about 1/3 of the way through the serial novel submission I mentioned in a recent post. So far: very impressed. It makes me want to stay up late reading more - that’s definitely a good sign.
Oh! And Kay, being the mad genius that she is, nailed down our next cover art. We’d had some bad luck trying to get the Action/Adventure cover art, and this is by FAR the latest we’ve left a cover unsettled. But it’s *KNOCK WOOD* taken care of now. And that feeling of unidentified anxiety I’ve had all day has gone away. How about that.
Tomorrow I’m setting aside all other crap and busting my butt to try and get the editing done. I want to spend the weekend going over the issue about a dozen times for tweaks to be made, then having Kay go through it, then going through it again myself. that would enable us to order the 2nd proof on Monday.
It feels like the Print edition is taking forever, although thanks to all our preparation it’s actually moving about normal pace. It’s just so… BIG. So much more to keep track of. But having the proof in hand really puts it in focus. I cannot WAIT for all of you to see this!
Originally published at Crossed Genres. You can comment here or there.