Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Publication?
Shelly thinks I'm obsessed with publication. To an extent, I guess she's right. I'm very proud that I have an article forthcoming in the next issue of Family Law Quarterly (hm, I promised I'd write about that, and I haven't--oh well, now's not the time; I have another point to make). I've been looking for paper requirements rather than exam requirements in my classes because maybe I could submit them somewhere and get them published too. I took my Mormon Government Paper (see link at left) and submitted it to BYU Studies for publication. I think of myself as a thinker and a creator (even if I truly don't do a whole lot of either), and I really like the idea of my writing being out there. It's an ego trip for me, I guess. It all probably plays into the reasons why I have this blog, too. Even though I know not too many people read it, it's nice to know that my thoughts are out there for anyone to read.
So I got an email from BYU Studies today. Naturally, when I saw the email in my inbox, I thought a determination had been made on my article, and I was to find out whether or not I will be published. But as it turned out, the nice lady only asked me for my mailing address, and didn't say anything else. I emailed her back and gave her the requested information, but I put a little tag on the end saying if it's possible, I'd like to receive communication via email. If snail-mail is all they can do given some institutional procedure, that's fine, though. She emailed me back and said the following:
So I got an email from BYU Studies today. Naturally, when I saw the email in my inbox, I thought a determination had been made on my article, and I was to find out whether or not I will be published. But as it turned out, the nice lady only asked me for my mailing address, and didn't say anything else. I emailed her back and gave her the requested information, but I put a little tag on the end saying if it's possible, I'd like to receive communication via email. If snail-mail is all they can do given some institutional procedure, that's fine, though. She emailed me back and said the following:
Matt, Thank you for sending your mailing address. In the course of our work, there are occasions in which each type of communication is most appropriate to the circumstance and for quick or casual information, electronic correspondence is generally preferable. Certainly the happiest consequence from your standpoint, however, would include exactly such a physical posting as requires a mailing address! We will be in touch with you soon.
I confess I don't know what to make of this. Is she subtly intimating that a decision has been reached and I will be published? Or is she just being a nice BYU-type person, offering encouraging words that I might be published? It's that darn exclamation point she uses that really gets me. Is it a "hang in there, buckaroo!" exclamation point, or is it an exclamation point that could also be translated as ;) ? It's apparent that they accept publication via snail-mail, and reject via email. So I guess if I get a letter before I get an email, that's a good thing. Oh, the anxiousness...
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