FOREWORD
Welcome to the Summer Issue II of Samjoko Magazine. We are a year and a half into publishing, and are excited for our second anniversary coming this Winter.
We would like to send our heartfelt thanks to our first patron, B&B Bookstore, located in central Taiwan. We are always pleased when our magazine content is complimented, but it means so much to us when someone puts their hard earned money behind their words.
Readers can support us for as little as $3, but since thousands of visitors to our site in the last 18 months have opted not to, we are truly grateful that B&B Bookstore decided to support Samjoko Magazine and the writers we publish.
Which brings us to our second point. We appreciate everyone who submits to us, but when looking at the author bios in the cover letters, we have noticed that there is a similarity in their backgrounds.
We would like to see more writing from non-professionals, defined as those working jobs where college degrees are not a requirement. Famously, Quentin Tarantino worked at a video store before he got his big break with Reservoir Dogs. We, too, once worked non-professional jobs. We know the type of creatives who fill these industries, and we’re sure there are writers among them.
We would like to see more submissions from people who work in food service, night entertainment, sanitation; people who work in parks, construction, drive busses, taxis, baristas, casino dealers; who do deliveries, clean bathrooms, etc.
We know there are creators of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, art and photography within these occupations, but we feel that our submissions call is not reaching the corners of the internet where these individuals visit. So we have decided to do the next best thing with our first Theme Issue.
Those who currently submit to us overwhelmingly work professional jobs, but we figure that was not always the case. So we ask those who are interested in writing for the Theme to dig back into your memory files and write something inspired from the time when you waited tables, worked the door at clubs, slung burgers, mopped floors, folded clothes, bartended, etc. We would love to see what you come up.
Since this is a Theme Call, we will raise the contributor’s payment to $30 per accepted piece. We probably will only publish a handful unless we get more Patreons or individuals to Buy Us a Coffee. If only 10% of the thousands of visitors to Samjoko Magazine supported us with $3/month, we would be able to increase the contributor’s payment, as well as publish a greater number of people each season.
Our regular submissions are open at the same time as the Theme Call, so if you cannot think of something for the Theme, simply send us a piece that fits in the regular submission guidelines.
For pieces to be considered for the Theme, subject headlines must be formatted as such: THEME [TITLE, Author’s Name - Genre - Word Count].
For Example: THEME [CLERKS, Kevin Smith - Comedy - 4000 words)
Once again, please consider supporting us, and enjoy the Summer Issue II 2023 of Samjoko Magazine.
