SQF: Why did you start this website?
Lauren Jonik: The idea for the site came to fruition while Andrea and I were graduate school classmates. TheRefresh.co began as a project in a data analytics course of all things. We soon realized that we both felt strongly about providing a place where stories for and by women could find a home and we decided to continue the work we had started. The site will celebrate its 2nd "birthday" in November.
Andrea Crowley-Hughes: What Lauren said! When we were working on the graduate school project that started it all, we used a demographic analysis tool to find out what interests our social media followers share, and planned some content that would reflect those interests. Once our site debuted, however, it quickly took on a unique personality no analysis tool could have predicted. Personal essays by women on how they move through the world, for example, can span several "content categories" and transcend them all. We're proud of how TheRefresh.co has evolved while maintaining our original vision.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
LJ: 1. Every piece should tell a story and have a strong narrative arc-- this includes reported pieces. Writers should endeavor to take readers on a journey. The hope is that when a reader invests time in reading a piece, he or she leaves feeling that his or her day has been improved or enhanced in some way-- either emotionally, spiritually or intellectually. We all want to have our breath taken away a little bit-- either via laughter or tears, so that we may find it again as if for the first time.
2. Authenticity is another vital element. We publish writers from diverse backgrounds and are proud to give a platform to voices that often have been marginalized. We work with both emerging and well established writers. They hail from multiple countries across the globe. To date, our youngest contributor is a teenager and our oldest is in her mid-60s. What matters is whether the writer is willing to dig deep to mine the words that will convey the strongest narrative. I work very closely with each of our writers and offer guidance when needed, so it's not a process a writer goes through totally alone. Some writing skills-- like grammar or cadence (alter your sentence length!)-- can be taught. Authenticity, on the other hand, never can be faked. As a reader, you can feel it.
3. I look for a writer to have a clear voice, even if it is one that is still being developed. To quote my former writing professor, Susan Shapiro, "Tell the story that only you can tell." (Side note: Sue has a great new book that just came out about writing for publication. It's called The Byline Bible.) I also enjoy when a writer has a strong command of language and says things in interesting or poetic ways. Usually, there is an element of simplicity that makes it work. As James Baldwin wisely said, "You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. That is the goal."
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
LJ: One thing that is an immediate turn off is if a writer doesn't honor our word count range. Most of our pieces run between 800 and 1500 words. There is a little bit of flexibility, but if a writer sends a piece that's 3,500 words, I'm going to be hitting my head on the desk. ;) And then, I am going to ask the writer to edit and revise. It delays the process of getting the piece to the point of being ready for publication--which doesn't serve anyone, especially if the topic is timely. I genuinely want to see our writers succeed, not just in terms of what they publish with us, but in their careers in general. Fortunately, the majority of our writers have been wonderful about adhering to our parameters.
ACH: It is also a turn-off if a piece is mainly promotional without including elements that extend the piece's reach and resonance with our readership. We've are proud to feature authors with new books out, for example, when they write in more detail about the themes or settings of their work, or their own relationships with the book's characters. Historical fiction writers often explore the time periods in which their stories take place, and food writers share tips and recipes our readers can use in their everyday lives.
SQF: What magazines/zines do you read on a “regular” basis?
LJ: I'm a voracious reader, so there are many that I enjoy. Right now, I have a stack of print magazines that threaten to reach my knees if I don't tackle them soon. (Though, to be fair, I'm not a very tall person, so it's actually not that far off of the ground.) A few favorites are: The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Fast Company, Wired, Inc., and New York. I also ready a variety of women's magazines. As for online media, I read Ravishly, Narratively, OZY, Quartz and a bunch of sites related to health/wellness, history and genealogy. My weak spot, though, is anything to do with animals and nature. If there's a headline about dancing lemurs in Madagascar, it's a sure bet that I'll be clicking on it.
ACH: Magazines have become a crucial part of my self care, but I've gone analog. While there's nothing like plugging into The Establishment or Model View Culture (RIP), I have recently enjoyed flipping through the vibrant pages of Teen Vogue (also RIP, at least in print) or even a Real Simple or "women's magazine." It has been interesting to see many of these magazines tackle political topics in this era of resistance.
LJ: Thanks for taking the time to interview us-- we appreciate it! We look forward to hearing from writers who want to pitch us and to connecting with anyone who would like to follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refreshweekly.
Thank you, Lauren and Andrea. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
Does Refresh pay for contributions
ReplyDeleteHI, JSL. You might want to contact the editors directly at rfrshmail@gmail.com with this question
ReplyDelete