Advice From Editors Past

Stephen Johnson, Edited the print View for 8 years in the 1990’s

 All great things must come to an end, but every now and then these Great things simply get passed from one set of capable hands to another. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, taking ownership of the View from Valehaven from Clarinda Merripen in the early 1990s. With the patient and tireless help of my wife (then, my girlfriend) we typeset, printed, folded, stapled and mailed hundreds of View from Valehavens. The many people who have carried on the tradition of bringing the stories, poems, news and events of the Realms to the printed (or now, virtual) page have been a part of something far bigger than themselves. I am confident the work has touched them all in ways they might find difficult to easily explain.

 The past editors of The View were asked to chime in with advice for the newsletter's newest editors - Steve Matulewicz and Keith Cronyn. To be honest, both of these gentlemen are amazing, capable, distinguished and wise men. I find it hard to believe there's much I could tell them that would help but I'll do my best to try.

My thoughts:

Running the View is a lot of work. You are constantly putting effort and energy into something much bigger than yourself and you may not feel like that effort is appreciated. The truth is that it might not be appreciated but that doesn't make it any less important. You may be used to working for the betterment of your own corner of the Realms but working for the View is an opportunity to work on strengthening the bonds that hold everyone in the community together. There is simply no greater cause in the Realms than working for the benefit of everyone else without the slightest thought or care for where they live, what nation they belong to or who they are friends with.

Your challenge is not just to be selfless and nation-less. It is also to be willing to speak hard truths, to put on a show and entertain, to step up to the blackboard and teach, and to wax poetic if you have more than just prose in your repertoire. Creating content was for me always an important part of running the View. I didn't want to ask other people to spend hours working on material if I wasn't also willing to contribute my best efforts to the cause.

Your time as an editor of the View from Valehaven will not look like mine, John's, Clarinda's, Angie's or anyone else's. You don't have to write. You don't have to "herd cats" and work to track down new content creators and keep old contributors from fading away. What you need to do is figure out how to best bring your own inestimable talents and creativity to this challenge so that you can put your own stamp on this great tradition.

That said - I would urge you to try to keep it from being about you.

 Hold up the mirror.

Help to remind the community of why it is so incredibly amazing. Don't be afraid to point out problems, don't expect as many thanks as you'll probably deserve, and don't give up, because you can do this and you can do it every bit as well as anyone who has come before you.

John Berrini, Edited the print View from 1999-2002

Photo by Casey Lemay

If there was one take-away that I had in my experience running “The View” it would be that you can’t please everyone. It sounds metaphorical and something that can be glossed over, but really applies to life. I’ve come up with this exercise in my head; it worked for the view and is still applicable later in life. I grade on a bell curve.

When you’re producing a product for a group the majority of people in the middle don’t give feedback. Their experience was that it didn’t hit the bar of overall exuberance or turmoil and hatred that they felt the need to write to me about it. Of course this always comes to the outliers. These are the people that fall on the ends of that spectrum. It’s okay that a few people hate what you’ve written, but there should be an equal amount of people that love it. This is not to say that you dismiss either side. You should hear what they have to say and IF YOU AGREE make changes in the future. My last thought is this: Try not to be offended or change what you publish because someone wrote you an angry letter.

Doug Fisher,  Edited the print View from 2004-2008 

Photo by Deb Weldell

First and foremost, enjoy what you do; you're attracting and cultivating artistic talent from across the community. Accept all submissions and be encouraging to those submitting them. Run spell-check before posting. Photography and graphic artists should be be thanked personally, and credited if their work is used.

 There is a fairly high rate of burnout with View editors, as it really is a great deal of work. If you need to take a break once in a while, the community as a whole will understand. If you're able to take just short breaks and come back, that's wonderful, but don't rush headlong into the burnout stage.

Be as punctual as you can with holding to deadlines. If people get submissions in late, they might be able to be used in a multi-part series well enough. And lastly, again, have fun! That's what we're in the Realms for, after all.




Angela Earle Gray, Edited the print View 2004-2008 and the On-Line View from  2013-2016

Photo by Jesse Gifford

Welcome Steve and Keith!!  I’m always in awe of the fact that the View has existed since the early 1990’s. It’s older than many of our players. How amazing is that?!?  The fact that no ONE owns the View coupled with a myriad of amazing people stepping up to the helm is what makes it work.  Thank you for accepting this role. 

I’ve always seen the View as a forum for diverse voices from around the game. I highly encourage you to continue to let it to be that.  It means you’ll need to reach out personally and make requests for content. Keep an ear out for who writes, draws, does an amazing bardic and invite them to contribute. People say yes to personal requests to them more than to calls to the community. They also say yes to specific requests than to broad, “can you do something?”

Also, don’t expect to always like the content you put out.  Part of being open to submissions is getting some that express opinions you don’t like or don’t meet your quality standards.  Try as hard as you can to resist urges to censor in all but the most extreme circumstances. It’s a slippery slope.

You guys have a great team, count on each other for support, but don’t hesitate to reach out to the community as a whole. It’s easy to hear the critiques. Critical voices are always loud. You are, and the View is, appreciated, supported, and loved by many.