I had the pleasure of interviewing the senior writer, Meagan Franks. Thanks so much for joining me on my blog.
How did books make a difference come to life?
Karen Pavlicin-Fragnito, the publisher of Books Make a Difference magazine has had the idea in her head for
several years. She is a book publishing executive who was an editor of
magazines for nearly 15 years. She knows
firsthand the difference books make in people’s lives, and she has been
inspired to celebrate and share the stories behind the stories. What inspired you to start the magazine?
I became involved with the magazine initially writing some of
the articles about authors and illustrators who have interesting stories. What
we thought would be a place to showcase the ways books have made a difference
in creators’ lives has evolved into an all-encompassing book conversation. We realized that there are some awesome
non-profit groups doing great things to promote books and literacy. We wanted to tell their stories. There are a
million ways books are shared and, in the sharing of the books, lives are
changed. We wanted to tell those stories too. Plus, there is a vibrant on-line
community expanding every single day where writers, illustrators, cover designers,
formatters, publishers, agents, publicists, and readers are engaging at a level
that has never before existed. We are
thrilled to be a part of that blossoming conversation.
Where do you find your stories?
We get our stories in a number of places. We each have some
pretty great connections through our own experiences, and then I do a lot of
research too. We meet for our editorial calendar planning, and we map out ideas
for compelling stories. I track down
people who we think would be interesting to cover. Sometimes I write the
articles myself, and sometimes I assign them to a freelance writer who is a
part of our team. I go to book fairs, networking meetings, and I float around
in online chatrooms regularly. We are establishing a presence on both Twitter
(@booksmake) and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ReadTheDifference and
through both of those outlets we have found some great stories. What is something you would like your readers to know about you and your magazine?
Being a part of this magazine feels like a great celebratory adventure.
We are inspired by the power of books...the stories of those who create them,
read them, and share them. We know we’ll never be able to read everything...nor
cover everyone, so instead of quantity we aim for quality of coverage. We want
to provide a more in-depth and intimate look at the inner workings of the book
world and the people who populate it.
There is a lot of chatter available to folks who are interested in
books, we want to offer a slower pace to the book conversation. Instead of the fast-food drive-through
coffee...we want to sit by the fire with readers and slowly sip from a steaming
mug. That’s how we want our magazine to feel. It is truly awe-inspiring to be a
part of it.
What does your Readers Write email offer subscribers?
Those people who subscribe to our free Readers Write email
receive content from us monthly. The
magazine is published bi-monthly, but only subscribers to the email receive the
content that we publish every month. Subscribers
have a chance to engage in conversation that is a part of the Readers Write
column published in the magazine.
Subscribers have access to exclusive content that is not published on
the magazine and there are occasional opportunities to win prizes.Where can readers find your magazine and how do they subscribe?
The magazine is found at http://booksmakeadifference.com/ and
they can subscribe to the Readers Write email here: http://booksmakeadifference.com/subscribe/
If anyone has advertising/sponsorship questions they can contact
Karen: Karen@booksmakeadifference.com
I
can be reached at Meagan@booksmakeadifference.comThanks so much for joining us. Books Makes a Difference will be making a wonderful difference in the literary world.
