Touch: The Journal of Healing Blog

Open for Issue 4 submissions

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:11:10 -0500

Submissions are now open for Issue 4, May 2010. The submission period for Issue 4 will close at midnight EDT, Monday, March 15, 2010. Please take a few moments to review our Submissions Guidelines before sending us your work for consideration.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

How to photograph the heart - limited quantity of author signed copies available. by Christine Klocek-Lim

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:27:39 -0500

We have a limited quantity of thirty (30) author signed copies of How to photograph the heart available for purchase on a first come, first serve basis. Please visit the webpage for ordering information to reserve your copy today. How to photograph the heart.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

The presses are rolling! How to photograph the heart by Christine Klocek-Lim

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:58:46 -0500

How to photograph the heart is now available for purchase. Please visit the webpage for ordering information. How to photograph the heart.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

How to photograph the heart in review by Christine Klocek-Lim

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:47:21 -0500

How to photograph the heart has received wonderful reviews from two critics. You’ll find the reviews on the chapbook webpage at How to photograph the heart.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

How to photograph the heart by Christine Klocek-Lim

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 22:36:24 -0500

The Lives You Touch Publications is pleased to announce the release of our first poetry chapbook penned by Christine Klocek-Lim titled How to photograph the heart.

The collection includes 20 poems and is available for pre-publication purchase now. Please visit the chapbook webpage at How to photograph the heart or our publishing site at The Lives You Touch Publications for details, information, and sample poems.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

The September 2009 Issue is now live

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 19:55:26 -0400

This evening the September 2009 Issue of Touch: The Journal of Healing went live.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Final call for submissions - Issue 2

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:55:19 -0400

This is the final call for submissions for Issue 2. The submission period will close at midnight EDT, Friday, July 31, 2009.

Please take a few moments to visit the journal site to become familiar with our submission guidelines before sending us your poetry, prose and graphics for consideration.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Our Selection Process

Sat, 16 May 2009 14:55:01 -0400

We wish to thank all the poets, writers, artists, and photographers who submitted their work for the debut issue of Touch: The Journal of Healing. In all, we received 125 submissions; 105 poems, 11 prose pieces, and 9 graphics.

It was a long process to review each literary piece and select the ones we felt best fit the philosophy of the journal and the voice we have tried to create. Each submission was reviewed using the selection criteria as stated in our submission guidelines. A grading scale of 1 to 3 was used for each category of Quality, Content, and Originality with an additional point assigned based on each editor's personal preference for a possible total of 20 points assigned to each piece. Any piece that received less than 5 points from either editor with a high score from the other editor was set aside to be reviewed again. Any piece that received 3 or less points from either editor was rejected with very few exceptions.

We debated many pieces, both of us had strong opinions on quite a few of the pieces, and a few times we were able to persuade or enlighten each other as to the merits of a particular piece, which was then added to the group of poems selected. If our powers of persuasion failed, then the piece was rejected without further consideration.

The next stage in the selection process was to again review the body of work we selected to try to create a voice from which the debut issue would speak. It soon became apparent which pieces seemed to flow and work best together and these are the pieces that were selected for the debut issue. We spent two weeks debating whether to include all the pieces we initially selected, but in the end, we stayed true to our mission to bring as wide a selection of works from as many authors as we possibly could to our first issue. At least half of the contributors who are included in the debut issue have one or more pieces that will be published in the second issue at the end of the summer. Please believe that it was not an easy process to work with so many different voices and writing styles and select just one work from each author.

In addition, there were many, many pieces we received that were wonderfully written, tight, creative, original, and brilliant, but did not fit the theme of the journal. It was very difficult to reject these and write to tell the authors we had to decline their work. Each of these authors was encouraged to submit their pieces to other journals in the hopes that they would find a home. Whenever we found potential in a piece that wasn't yet ready for publication, we explained to its author why we did not select it and encouraged them to continue to revise and polish the work.

For the graphics submissions, we reviewed the not only the aesthetic qualities, but also the quality of the submissions based on their reproducibility for publication. Any submission that was too small in file size (pixels) to reproduce, e.g. too grainy in appearance, was rejected. Many of the graphics rejections were based on small file size. We then tried to match the graphics to the literary pieces we selected. We are holding a few graphics submissions with the contributors' consent in the hopes we will receive a literary piece that will fit each of them.

Again, thank you one and all for allowing us to consider your work, and a special thanks goes out to those whose works were included in the debut issue.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

The Debut Issue is now live

Tue, 5 May 2009 13:40:51 -0400

This afternoon we went live with our debut issue. There were a few last minute graphics additions to the journal. The “Agreement of Terms” for these pieces came in this afternoon just as I was preparing to publish the first issue. We hope you enjoy your time with us.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Finishing Touches

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:56:02 -0400

Finishing touches are being made on the debut issue now. All authors will receive a proof of their work to review prior to publication during the course of the next week.

We have a wonderful selection of poetry and prose included in this issue and we’re very excited about its release.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Open for Issue 2 submissions

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:26:22 -0400

The call for submissions for the debut issue is now closed.

Submissions are now open for Issue 2, September 2009. Please take a few moments to review our Submissions Guidelines before sending us your work for consideration.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

A milestone

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 23:53:21 -0400

Today we received our 100th submission for our debut issue. When I first posted notices on various poetry boards just four weeks ago, I thought we might receive fifty submissions if we were lucky. Never did I think we'd reach 100!

Daniel and I are both impressed with the quality and depth of the works that have come in so far. It's only going to make our task of choosing which pieces to include in issue 1 all the more difficult.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am to the many poets and authors who have submitted their works, and I am also humbled by the trust they have all placed in our hands.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Debut Issue Submission Deadline

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:49:01 -0400

The call for submissions for the debut issue will close Sunday, April 12, 2009, noon (12:00:00 hours) EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). All submissions received after this time will be considered for Issue 2, September 2009.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

A day of prose

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:00:09 -0400

Daniel and I spent the afternoon reviewing some of the poetry and prose pieces. With a few of the prose consisting of nearly 5,000 words, it was time-consuming, but well worth it. I am so looking forward to publishing the first issue.

O.P.W. Fredericks, Editor

Home Page Amazon Widgets

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:50:14 -0400

After serious thought, I've removed the Amazon widgets and links from the home page. They detracted from the overall image a visitor would view when they first arrived at the site, and after all, this is a poetry and prose journal. The links can now be found on the Literary Resources page further down the Directory. In addition, I've added a few more books written by healthcare professionals and patients to the scroll bar.

O.P.W.