Life at Open Heart Publishing

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Hello again all,
First off I want to thank everyone who participated in the open call for submissions to our yearly anthology “An Honest Lie”, we had about 3,000 submissions this year, and the competition was fierce with so many wonderful interpretations of this year’s theme “Delusions of Insignificance”
With so many great stories to go through it was a hard decision, but luckily there were 10 new authors and three alumni authors from our first volume of An Honest Lie who fit our vision for this volume completely
So without further adieu, your Roster for volume 2 of “An Honest Lie” is as follow
Alumni Author: Eric Trant
Alumni Author: Bob Clark
Alumni Author: C.B. Calsing
~
Author: Raleigh Dugal
Author: Patrick Scalisi
Author: Terry Sanville
Author: Rob Rosen
Author: Claire Ibarra
Author: Jessica Sticklor
Author: Jessica Dunn
Author: Cynthia Witherspoon
Author: William Walton
Author: Dennis Thompson

Congratulations, to our chosen authors, and to those not chosen thank you for taking the time to submit your works to us. Now the real works begins. Who will be chosen as the next author to receive a publishing contract with Open Heart Publishing?
Go vote for the current authors of Volume 1 of An Honest Lie, the contest isn’t over yet, so head over to http://ahlvol1vote.debrincase.com and vote for your favorite volume 1 author today.
Volume 3 opens its doors for submissions in November 2010, with a brand new wacky theme, and I want to invite everyone that tried before, and those who have not tried just yet to be sure not to miss this opportunity when it opens up again.

So until the fall, I am sincerely wishing you all the best of success in everything you experience in your life, and a heartfelt well done to our contributing authors.

Debrin Case
Publisher: Open Heart Publishing

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference in Kerrville, Texas.

The first full day was hectic, since I participated in the Feature Writing and Copy Editing live competitions. That meant I arrived at noon to get my feature writing assignment, and had three hours to find a story and interview sources before reporting back for an hour of supervised writing. During one and a half of those three hours, though, I was tying for second place in the copy editing competition.

The next day, I ran for president of TIPA, and was elected! I’m very excited about the ideas the officers have already started implementing, such as working on a student portion of the TIPA website to encourage discussion between college newspapers year-round. I’m lucky to work with such a wonderful group of officers: Vice President Corey Benson, Secretary Jessica Huseman, and Parliamentarian Nahum Lopez.

Parliamentarian Nahum Lopez, Secretary Jessica Huseman, President Erin Marissa Russell, Vice President Corey Benson

The most memorable part of the TIPA conference, though, was the time I spent hanging out on the Guadalupe River with Brookhaven Courier Editor-in-Chief Kristin McKenzie, Courier Photo Editor Charlie Mills, and Eastfield College’s cartoonist and photographer Cody Richeson. When the sun went down, we found ourselves surrounded by birds making strange little shrieks. We soon realized the birds were bats, and watched them swooping and diving to eat insects from the river’s surface.

At the awards ceremony, Moulin Review, a literary journal I founded at Brookhaven College, was given an honorable mention for an essay by Elena Harding titled “Religious Disagreement” and for a short story by Brit Naylor titled “Hulking Leviathan the Sun.” The Brookhaven Courier was given 14 total awards, including an honorable mention for general excellence for Division 4.

Next year’s TIPA conference will be held in Fort Worth, TX. I know the other officers and I will be working hard in the meantime to make it a good one.

Here at OHP, I don’t write rejection letters … that task falls to Senior Editor ME Johnson. But at Moulin Review, I personally respond to every submission we receive.

As a writer myself, I’m painfully aware of what it feels like to get a rejection letter. First it’s disappointing (although as I’ve received more of them over time, they’ve become less disappointing), and then it’s just confusing. You want to call the editor up and ask, “Why not?” Some of the time, editors will reject an author but say that they like their work, and invite them to submit again. As a writer, you think, “If you liked it, why did you reject it?”

So the task of writing rejection letters has become my least favorite part of the position. I can’t help but imagine the person I’m writing to reading it.

Here at OHP, every rejection comes with a reason, whether it’s that the author’s technical skill needs to be further developed, the work does not apply to the requested theme, or just doesn’t fit.

I know from experience that the “doesn’t fit” is the most frustrating of reasons to receive. You wonder why it doesn’t fit and how you’re supposed to know what does. The best remedy for this situation is to thoroughly research the market you are submitting to before you choose what piece you will send them. You can only get a feel for what fits when you’ve read an example of the market’s taste.

As an author, if you want more detailed feedback on your work, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Some writers are not responsive to criticism, so it can’t hurt to add “I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts,” at the end of your submission letter. You’ll still invariably get form letters, tons of them if you’re doing it right.

But remember when you get them that they’re as hard to send as they are to read.

We’re talking with Dorayne Breedlove, Youth and Family Ministry Director at the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas, TX. Open Heart Publishing worked with Dorayne and the children at the Center for Spiritual Living to create “The Cave of Colors,” the first release of the Opportunity Project. The Opportunity Project works hand in hand with youth organizations to instruct future generations about the positive changes they can make in the world around them, as well as the limitless opportunity their lives will offer them so long as they are willing to look for those opportunities. Through the crafts of writing, art, editing, marketing, and publishing, these groups create a book the children sell, and 100% of the profits benefit a charity of the children’s choosing.

Thanks for joining us, Dorayne. Tell me about what you do at the Center for Spiritual Living.

I am the Youth and Family Ministry Director. I am responsible for all children, youth, and parenting programs, which include our Sunday school classes, spiritual parenting classes, and special family events through out the year.

What would you say is the most rewarding thing about your life’s work, and what is the hardest thing?

The most rewarding thing about my life’s work is that I am with children every single day. I learn how to be a better teacher, better parent, and better person when I am with children. They are my greatest teacher. The hardest thing is to remember that I do not have all the answers and am willing to to seek help.

You said the children are your greatest teacher. What is the most important thing we can learn from children?

When we are most aware of the gifts children bring to our lives, we learn the importance of “allowing”. So often we, as teachers, caregivers, and parents, tend to direct, manipulate, and coerce our will on children. By allowing the multiplicity of ideas to flow, to be as inclusive as possible, to work together as a team, we create a synergy that would not have otherwise existed if we were only set on our own agenda. Allowing children to express their creativity, thoughts, and ideas helps to bring a higher level of relationship between children and the adults who care for them.

The children you work with had an chance to express their creativity in the Opportunity Project. Tell me about the story the kids wrote, “The Cave of Colors.”

The Cave of Colors is a story written by our children in grades 1-3. During the past year, they worked together to create an original story based on their ideas and input. The Cave of Colors is the magical world that resides inside of everyone. In this place we decide, through our thoughts, to live in light and beauty.

That’s a very valuable message. How do the kids feel about writing their own book?

The best word is “pride”. During the months of developing the story, the gathering of ideas, the unfolding of characters and plot, the children were part of a process that developed many skills like listening, including, creating, and deciding. After all that, they have a final product that they can own as theirs and feel a sense of pride in their accomplishment.

It sounds like it was a lot of fun. Tell me about the writing/publishing workshops that the Opportunity Project did?

The Opportunity Project was an amazing experience for the kids of Jr. Church. Debrin began the Opportunity Project as a way to help kids have a creative voice in the world at large. Over the past year, Debrin inspired the kids with interactive lessons tailored to the age group that touched on story craft, writing, publishing, art, and creative teamwork.

Do you know what charity the children have chosen to benefit from “The Cave of Colors” sales? Why was this one chosen?

The children have chosen 3 charities so we can touch the world globally, locally, and also within our own community. In order to touch the world globally, we chose “Pennies for Peace.” To impact our world locally, we decided to donate to a program here in Dallas known as “Preventing Violence in Children,” a program dedicated to teaching alternative solutions to violence to kids in Dallas area schools, and of course the kids also wanted to help build our own resources here at the YFM program at CSL.

If you had the opportunity to speak to yourself as a child, what would you say? Do you think your child self would listen?

I would simply say, “I love you dearly. You are a magnificent child of God, and I adore you.” I would hope that my child self would listen and know this to be the absolute truth.

Dorayne Breedlove is the Youth and Family Ministry Director for the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas, a professional storyteller, and a music and drama teacher. She offers multicultural stories, educational programs, and training for teachers through her company “A Slice of Rainbow“, and has performed her arts and education programs for more 15 years in many states including Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Georgia, Maryland and even Delaware. A product of a military family, she learned at a young age how diverse, interesting, and fun cultures can be and incorporates that into her stories, music and drama classes. You can visit Dorayne’s website at www.alsliceofrainbow.com.