Interview with rob mclennan
When did you start publishing? Why did you start publishing?
i started publishing because i didnt see the point in waiting for someone
else to get excited abt making a chapbook of mine. when i noticed how
relatively easy it was, i started asking for manuscripts from other
people. i made my first chapbook in 1992, & my first above/ground press
chapbook in the summer of 1993.
Briefly describe the type of work you publish.
i publish poetry chapbooks & STANZAS magazine, a chapbook-sized mag for
long poems &/or sequences.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions? How do you decide what to publish?
i always accept unsolicited, but i take forever to decide. i decide
basically from what interests or excites me. i cant usually take that
much, since im often behind on previous things, for lack of money.
How many chapbooks have you published? (both number of books & volume of books)
including chapbooks, magazines & broadsheets, ive published about three
hundred items since 1993. someday ill even publish that bibliography ive
been advertising for 3 years. my current backlist & new publications are
on my website
Any advice for people thinking of starting a small press?
not really, just start makin things & get them out to folk. be aware of
trades, & that handouts are important. its not necessary to be a stickler
abt getting yr four dollars. sometimes its more important to have that
reader. book fairs are good. im currently doing exchages with abt 6
chapbook presses around the country, & am usually into trades. i like to
see what other people are doing.
Additional comments?
if you have a small press & dont tell anyone about it, there really isnt
much point.
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above/ground press
