After months of working on a local anthology, we finally
have it in print. Holding physical copies of Christmas Carroll and reading the stories and poems makes it all worthwhile.
It is a gift to our writers, artists, photographers and Carroll County,
Maryland.
How did this happen, you might ask? Well here is some of the
basic information.
Several of us in our critique group thought about producing
an anthology of works by Carroll County writers. This would give new writers in
groups an opportunity to see their name and their writing in print. We also
wanted to include published writers.
We thought about a holiday book and our coordinator Joelle
Jarvis came up with the name Christmas Carroll, a play on the county name and
our musical traditions. However, even with the emphasis on Christmas, we wanted
an anthology that provided variety, including other holidays, traditions and
winter stories.
We sent out invitations to critique members first, stressing
that this was an experiment and publication was not guaranteed. We requested
submissions from our friends in the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland
Writers Association and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Then we encouraged other writers we knew in Carroll County to submit various
holiday celebrations, winter stories, etc. We also sent everyone submission
guidelines and authorization forms.
We wanted to have the book out before Christmas. If this
happened, members volunteered to help sell it at various author and craft
events. Besides relatives and friends, the holiday book would make a nice gift.
Joelle, Mary Stojak and I volunteered to critique the
submitted works, to catch errors, and make suggestions for improvements, but we
did not require writers to change. It was their writings and we wanted to
respect their views. Not all writing nor photographs submitted were accepted,
but we considered the best.
A member of our group who is tech savvy, Mike Crowl, offered
to prepare the manuscript for CreateSpace. He took charge of the layout and
design and did a wonderful job. The front cover art is by Lona Queen, writer
and artist. The back cover art was from photographer Mary Anne Baker. Mike did
the design for both the front and back of the book.
It may not be a “Best of..” but it was a chance to showcase
some of the talent in our county and I am proud of everyone who submitted their
stories, memoirs or poems.
We also encouraged artists and photographers to submit
something to increase the book’s visual appeal. Shawn B. Lockhart,
well known artist and owner of Eclecticity, also provided us with some sketches.
My daughter submitted a memoir and my son let us use a
sketch he did when he was young to go along with one of my memoirs.
Funds raised may bring additional speakers and educational
programs to the county. If this project is successful, we may do another anthology
next year. Perhaps we will choose a broader topic and allow more time for
writers to write.
Putting this book together was a lot of work, but it also
was challenging, exciting and rewarding. I would encourage other writing groups
to try something like this to encourage their writers.
Including brief biographies and photos of the authors and
artists makes Christmas Carroll special. As it says on the back cover, “…this anthology
written by our writing family for yours.”
Check it out on www.amazon.com.
