First Letter From the Editor. Ever.

To Our Dear and Cherished Readers,

Welcome to the new and improved burnsidewriterscollective.com.

A month ago, Don, David (our graphic designer) and I sat in a brewpub in Grand Rapids and, like mentally deficient versions of Bobby Fischer, plotted our next moves.

Some of the changes we planned that day are already evident: you may have noticed the ads on the left sides of the stories, or you might have seen our new comment boxes. Here, I’ll lay out everything we’ve changed and everything yet to change.

Advertising: As a fledgling company, our entire income has been based on book sales, both over the internet and at Don Miller’s book readings. This slim source of income is fine, it narrowly pays the bills, but, to be honest, we don’t get paid very much. I’m not complaining…I love every bit of what I do with the Burnside Writer’s Collective…but we have dreams to fulfill. Initially, we are running Google Ads. Because these ads are based off of the Google search engine, we have no control over what is posted. You may be aware that this lack of control results in some very humorous ads. We are working on a more advanced ad system. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, click on those links every once in a while. We get, like, $0.00001 for each click.

Comment Board: This was a long-debated addition. On one hand, we want the site to be open for Socratic discussion, disagreements and the like, and we want our readers to feel they are a part of the action. On the other, comment boards are often the worst and stupidest forms of communication. We all know that people get dumb on these things.

As a compromise, control of the message board will be under benevolent dictatorial rule. We will decide what is posted, and we will be picky. Differing opinions are welcome, but your comment must be clear and intelligent. Also, no emoticons. We hate emoticons. If you use an emoticon, we will either ignore your comment, or we will post it in the most humiliating way possible. (For instance, if you use “LOL,” we will change that to “Oh my gosh, I’m laughing out loud like a freaking idiot! Most people don’t laugh out loud at their computer desks, but I do it ALL. THE. TIME.”)

I know, I know, we sound old and grumpy when it comes to emoticons, but they smack of Newspeak, and, being a collective of writers, we want to promote beautiful use of language.

Our more noticeable changes are to the main page. We have decided to add three new sections, which means more articles and more stuff to read when you should be filling out spreadsheets at work.

The Sporting Life: Since around 50% of the articles we receive are sports related, we’ve made a space for them. Jonathan Adams, a friend of ours from Vancouver, British Columbia, will be editing for us. The goal with the stories is to portray the beauty of sports without taking it too seriously and staying away from the cliched, ESPN-mold commentator.

Letters to the Editor: This is one of the most widely-read sections in any magazine. The comment boxes allow some feedback, but the letter to the editor will be a chance for readers to explain their opposition, support or commentary in full. All letters should pertain to the site.

Letter from the Editors: Our last new section was built so that we could improve interaction, letting readers know about new developments, events and more personal stuff without breaking into the actual articles to do so.

Art Criticism: Burnside’s resident designer, David Allen, is adding a new column in which he will review a a painting in a few words. He is an actual art critic, so he will be right all of the time.

Also, we are ALWAYS looking for new writers, so don’t be shy about emailing your articles/reviews to reviews@burnsidewriterscollective.com.

Our June 1st issue has some great content. I particularly recommend Chad Gibbs’ brilliant essay on his home state of Alabama. Also, in search of commentaries on living simply, Penny has gone straight to the source: Hollywood actresses. How many Christian literary magazines can boast a Baywatch babe as one of their writers? I submit to you that there are none. Besides us, of course.

Lastly, check out our friend Brad Fruhauff’s review of Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, which is on my reading list and which has accomplished the rare feat of being critically lauded and selling well.

We hope you enjoy the new look, and thank you for reading our site. Just to let you know, we officially launch at midnight PST on the 1st and 15th of every month.

Sincerely,
Jordan Green
The Burnside Writer’s Collective