Roxanne Hanna of Sunscribe Publishers

This past Friday, my critique group had the pleasure of hosting Roxanne Hanna, publisher and CEO of Sunscribe Publishers, a new South Carolina publisher with children’s, adult nonfiction and poetry, and adult fiction imprints. During her presentation, Ms. Hanna discussed the submission process “From Polish to Publish,” and shared advice, wisdom, and encouragement for writers who are serious about publication.

First and foremost, Ms. Hanna encouraged us to honor our commitment to ourselves as writers, and to take the steps necessary to turn our dreams into reality. To do this, she advised writers to: know your manuscript, know the submission process, know your market, know your publication options, and know your expectations, or your “Happily Ever After” as a writer. Ms. Hanna expanded on each point, offering advice on editing and polishing a manuscript until it sings, finding the right literary home for your work, and elaborating on current publication guidelines, among (many) other topics pertinent to today’s publishing market.  

Ms. Hanna also talked about the experience of starting her own publishing company, giving attendees a unique behind-the-scenes peek into the conception and launch of Sunscribe. A veteran editor and ghost writer with many years of experience in the publishing industry, Ms. Hanna has approached this task with dedication and precision. She and her talented team are also strong literacy advocates, and are working to make Sunscribe “Forward Focused” in all aspects of operation, from interactions with authors and artists to community outreach. I am excited to see what this fledgling publishing house will accomplish, as a local SC business and as a new entity in the vast publishing world!

Because I *know* you all want to know, here are some specifics about Sunscribe:

• Sunscribe is a traditional publisher with three imprints: Dancing Squirrel Press (children’s picture book through young adult), Java Creek (nonfiction and poetry), and Sandalwood Press (fiction).
• The submissions department had a trial run for requested submissions in 2013, and their debut publication list was selected from this batch of submissions.
• They plan to officially open for submissions this fall, and will be open to agented and unagented submissions. (YAY!)

I just had to include a pic of the Sunscribe kisses!

For more information, and to sign up for Sunscribe’s newsletter inSCRIBE, you can visit their website at: http://sunscribe.net/.

And be sure to check out these opportunities to connect with Sunscribe:

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Google+

LinkedIn

 

Finally, you can follow Ms. Hanna’s blog here. Her topics touch on all aspects of the publishing industry, and her blog is always a fun and informative read!

Please feel free to share this post with anyone you think might be interested. This is definitely a company to watch!

Stay cool, have a wonderful week, and Happy Writing!

Sunscribe™ and imprints are divisions of Silver Sun Publishers, LLC.

POETRY FRIDAY: “The Barefoot Boy” by John Greenleaf Whittier

In my search for poems about summer, I came upon this beautiful piece by John Greenleaf Whittier, a Quaker poet from Massachusetts. Although it has a charming, old-timey feel (I especially love the word “pantaloons” in the first stanza), Whittier’s poem is a timeless reminder of happy childhood summers and a call to hold those memories close.

The Barefoot Boy
by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

Blessings on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistled tunes;
With thy red lip, redder still
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brim’s jaunty grace;
From my heart I give thee joy,—
I was once a barefoot boy!
To read the rest of this poem, click here.

I can completely identify with the sentiments in this poem; growing up, I spent many summer days traipsing through my grandparents’ fields in rural South Carolina or running barefoot in the yard with my sisters. With the overabundance of planned summer activities and access to electronics, computers, etc., I worry that my boys don’t get enough “barefoot time.” So this year we have lots of family camping trips planned, and we’ll hopefully take some walks through those same grassy fields (which now belong to my parents). And our back yard will definitely see plenty of “barefoot time this year, if I have my way!

I hope you enjoyed this poem as much as I did. Happy Friday, and Happy Writing! ☺

Busy, busy, busy!

No, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth—life has just been crazy lately (in a good way!). My sweet little boys have “graduated” from fifth grade, swim team is in full swing, and we’ve already been on our first family camping trip of the summer. School is out and the fun has *definitely* begun!

Ben and Will on graduation day!

In spite of all the busyness, writing IS happening in the odds and ends of time that I can sneak here and there. My summers are always productive, but in a less tangible way than during the school year, when I have hours to myself instead of minutes. But that is OK—my boys are growing up fast, and I plan to enjoy each summer that they are still “mine.” I have a few specific writing goals for the next three months; to complete the first draft of a new picture book and jump back into a middle grade novel I started last year. If I can get some solid work done on these projects, enjoy my summer, and gather some great story ideas along the way, I will be happy!

What are your writing goals for this summer? Happy Summer, and Happy Writing!