Wait. What? That's not what I heard...

[maygra]

The No Stairway Anthology


To be upfront and honest, we're not quite ready for the reveal. Neither the comm nor the website are entirely ready, not all the process and procedures have been honed or tested, and our proposed staff have neither been allowed to review the project nor opted in on any level.

However, I seem to be doing a poor job of defining just what this project is and what it intends -- mostly because we've been using the procedure process to help refine our scope and better define our mission and goals -- but I did hear what people were saying and we did make note of their concerns. We can't guarantee this will satisfy everybody, but we do hope it at least gives people a place to start assessing what we plan on doing instead of what they think we are doing -- or even why.

People form opinions and take positions that are entirely valid to them -- and the information in the link below may change no one's mind, and it is as likely as not to generate more questions and possibly more concerns. Fair enough. But I'm sincerely hoping that at least some information -- as opposed to speculation -- might at least give the project a chance.

So, please go here: http://community.livejournal.com/nostairway/

at least this way, if you still think it's a bad idea, at least it will be the right bad idea.

*and for anyone keeping track, the "Anthology" part of the idea jumped in and wrestled us all to the ground around midnight Friday. *g*

Comments

[destina.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, you had downplayed the use of the word 'literary' to me, and now I see it's front and center in the description. But I have no idea what this means: "Please note that 'literary' in this instance refers to form and function and not to genre." So what, exactly, does 'literary' mean in this context? Form and function is such a nebulous definition; it's practically meaningless, if you don't outline some parameters of the type of form and function you actually mean. For instance, to some folks, 'literary' form means 'pretentious and artsy; pretty words without much of a point'. To me, the broader inference says some version of 'we only want people to submit if they are Very Serious about their writing'. So perhaps y'all could work on clarifying that.

Actually, I'm wondering why the inclusion of this term is important to what you're trying to do here at all.

[phantomas.livejournal.com]

I personally have no qualms with the use of 'literary' (been through extensive discussions for years, about literary fanfiction in The Professionals, and that's how Pros Lit came to be, and thus named ;) - it can scare some away or intimidate others, but it shouldn't. Can't please everyone.

I'd rather have a 50/50 percentage of 'already published' vs. 'unpublished', but it's not a requirement for enjoying the whole process and/or working for it.

[stormcloude]

Here's a couple of logistical questions:

Our Acquisitions Manager is responsible for ... encouraging talented new authors to participate in the Anthology.

Makes it sound like it could be "invitation only" or could lead to accusations of cronyism etc. I'm sure you can see all the negatives to this statement without me pointing them out.

No Stairway is not a greatest hits collection, but an anthology of work that values both style and substance, and a chance for readers to discover those unrenowned b-sides

Are you going to turn down stories with more than a certain number of comments or that have already been rec'd all over. How are you going to determine if something is a b-side or a greatest hit?

Relatedly, you've mentioned elsewhere about not getting enough submissions. Do you push back the release schedule or lower the standards if that happens? Publish less than 10 stories per volume? Start accepting "greatest hits"?


Also I'm confused as well by the use of the word "literary," but I am hoping to scope that out from reading other's discussions on it.

[esorlehcar.livejournal.com]

I'm a little confused by the name and stated purpose of the comm -- does this mean fandom classics are not eligible? When I asked about popular, well-known stories by popular, well-known authors in your first post on the subject, your response was that they were popular and well-known for a reason, which I took to mean they were welcome.

Or put another way, when someone submits the fannish version of Stairway to Heaven, will you say, "Sorry, the whole point of this anthology is to collect stories that are not already widely known and beloved?"