The number one question we’ve been asked is “What makes The Glass Coin so different?” And like most things, the answer to that question is in the way it’s made. Every coin in your pocket started off in a minting house and has maybe millions of duplicates. The Glass Coin’s minting process is slightly more unique.
THE COIN NAME
The Glass Coin is so named for its split themes and sets of twos. We have two editors, Sairah Saddal and myself. Each month we have a theme with two sides – like every coin has two sides. But our coin is made of glass, because sometimes the spit-themes are opposites, as though reflected in a mirror. Other times they go together and our only separated by a window. Always, one side of the theme reveals more about the other, like my glasses help me see.
Although, our fist issue is still months away, production is already working overtime. We’re open for submissions, reading and emailing authors, and planning for June. And while what that first issue is going to look like may be a mystery to our readers, we’ve signed off on the design.
THE COIN ISSUES
Each month The Glass coin will focus on one theme, split in two. These “two sides of the coin” could be opposites, like our first issue BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS, or connected imagery, like DOOR & WINDOW. We could be breaking apart a cliché like FAME & FORTUNE, or opening ourselves to possibilities beyond clichés, like with our TRADITIONS & CELEBRATIONS issue. The banner will change to represent both sides of the theme for the month and Sairah and I will each pick a side to argue, explore or simply editorialize.
Then each week that month, we will publish two pieces, one for each side of the theme. These could be by different writers, in different styles, but they will always be opposite sides of the theme. At the end of the month, the banner will change and the works will be collected into one month’s issue and the whole process will begin again.
THE COIN WRITERS
Writers can find upcoming themes in the side bar with the dates each theme will close for submissions. When we receive a piece of writing that follows our guidelines and fits one side of a theme, we will read it. If it makes us feel something or affects us so we’re still thinking about it the next day, we will write the author and offer them publication. In some cases we may request revisions because of length, grammar or in some cases content. But these changes will never be drastic. We will respond to the authors within the two weeks following any theme deadline – check upcoming themes for specific dates.
The month the writer’s work appears, their bio will be added to our Contributors page and remain there for the year. A writer may include a link to their website or a brief “about” to let our readers at The Glass Coin learn more about them. We will also follow the writer on Twitter and hope they will join our Facebook fan page to maximize their promotion.
THE COIN VISION
At The Glass Coin, our primary goal is two sided. We want to promote new writers by bringing traffic to their WebPages and adding numbers to their readers. And we hope to facilitate the writer’s community, connecting poets with storytellers and essay writers – bringing us all together as friends and colleagues.
So, that’s what goes into minting The Glass Coin. A big idea, a lot of writers and a little faith in the power of the written word.
THE COIN COLLECTORS
Do you want to become a part of the minting process? Join our contributors; all issues are still open for submissions. Become a Collector and help us reach our goal of financially rewarding our contributors. Keep watching the site between now and June for more posts by Sairah and myself, and join us in June for our first issue, BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS.
