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spent my reading hour this morning reading articles and blog posts about ordering essay collections. gonna file them away here as a thread in case it's of use to anyone else.
I started with @SejalShahWrites' post on her blog—subtitled "To Try & Try Again," which was a theme of the whole little research—which I appreciated in particular for the list of collections whose openings she studied: https://sejalshahdotcom.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/to-try-and-try-again-on-ordering-essay-and-story-collections/
Shah's post led me multiple places, firstly to Rebecca McClanahan's essay on the subject in @brevitymag, "Forest in the Trees," which emphasizes that there's a difference between a book of essays and a collection: a book is ordered with purpose: https://brevitymag.com/craft-essays/forest-in-the-trees/
McClanahan makes important points not only about ordering, but also about repeating necessary information (given that the order may not be chronological), paying attention to time—more questions than answers there—and revision (never enough reminders of its importance)
The post from @SejalShahWrites also led me to this piece from @nathansmcnamara for @ElectricLit, which is about story collections but is relevant to either and full of concrete examples: https://electricliterature.com/how-should-you-order-a-short-story-collection/#.m7p8my3sf
It opens with great advice that has been on my mind a lot lately:
"The first story in a short story collection should do two things:
1) Open strong to establish the writer’s authority
2) Prepare the reader for the rest of the collection"
"The first story in a short story collection should do two things:
1) Open strong to establish the writer’s authority
2) Prepare the reader for the rest of the collection"
...and includes the following quotation about mixtapes from High Fidelity: “You gotta kick it off with a killer to grab attention. Then you gotta take it up a notch, but you don’t want to blow your wad. So, then you gotta cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules…”
@SejalShahWrites's post also led me to this post by @vwagner at @AssayJournal, which repeats some of the questions from McClanahan's @brevitymag post (McClanahan was on the panel): "There can be several selves on the page colliding with each other.” https://assayjournal.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/awp2015-narrative-lyric-hybrid-crafting-essay-collections-into-books/
Also from @AssayJournal is this post by @HeidiCzerwiec where Jericho Parms says re: impossibility that "the individual essays sometimes tell you what the collection needs – where are the blank spaces around and between the essays? the negative capability?" https://assayjournal.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/assaynfn15-beyond-scaffolding-constructing-an-essay-collection/
@amyebutcher references this post, "Why Do Essay Collection Books Suck?", whose comments thread feels like that of a page i recently saw with dog owners asking questions about various ailments and a veterinarian either telling them to calm down or get help https://scottberkun.com/2010/why-do-essay-collection-books-suck/
At the end of the post, @HeidiCzerwiec references this essay from @poetswritersinc by Katrina Vandenberg going in-depth about the "Mixtape Strategy" to order a poetry book: https://www.pw.org/content/putting_your_poetry_order_mixtape_strategy
I also looked at @WildMelissaHart's essay in @TheWriterMag, which is a reminder that not every essay should make it into a book; some get cast off as "strays": https://www.writermag.com/get-published/the-publishing-industry/perfect-essay-collection/
Finally, missed the webinar on this very topic by @alexanderchee, but the 42 minutes of questions and answers are in this video:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGOHLWYIRd_/?igshid=knxh61vh7zjn
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGOHLWYIRd_/?igshid=knxh61vh7zjn
there you have my tiny archive. curious for any other recommendations or thoughts anyone might have.
