Times with the Editor

The Whyville Times has been up and running since the spring of 1999 with the help of none other than the wonderful Times Editor! Oh, and you can't forget the citizens who write all the awesome articles.

But the Times didn't used to have very many articles every week. In fact, the first issue of the Whyville Times only had one article, titled, "Welcome to Whyville!", by City Hall. Even a year later, only a small handful ever get their articles published.

But now, more than five years after it began, the Times is completely different! Why don't we find out even more from our beloved Editor. =)

Penny305: Hey, Editor, thanks for answering my questions.
Times Editor: And thank you for leaving me this nice space to fill in my response to your nice questions! :)

Penny305: How many articles do you receive a week?
Times Editor: I get about 1,000 emails every week. That includes a lot of spam and articles sent in the wrong format, but even so, there's still a LOT of articles for this one fellow to go through! (Want to know what the right format is? Check out "How to Write for the Times"!)

Penny305: How do you go about deciding which articles to publish?
Times Editor: Well, the guidelines I work by fluctuate from time to time, but this is how it goes these days: First and foremost, I consider the themes and events that are most "newsworthy". Did it happen this week? Do Whyvillians need to know about it? Top priority go to big Whyville events. And since Whyville is at its heart an educational site, I like to take a good science/history/etc article or two. Lately, there's been a big push to increase the number of fashion articles, which I've historically resisted because they didn't seem as valuable as help articles, or even poetry. :) What do you think?

When I talk about topics, let's not forget that good writing is absolutely imperative -- but that doesn't mean you have to be the next Dickens to get into the Times. Is your point unique, or expressed in a new and unusual way? And even if we've heard it a million times -- be nice to newbies, keep your password & personal info safe, don't discriminate and please understand why WhyPasses are important! -- reminders are important, especially since there are new readers out there every day.

Penny305: Lets say you got a really good article, and you wanted to publish it, but the person listed as the author wasn't a citizen of Whyville (like ooglybub or something). What would you do?
Times Editor: More than likely, I'd publish it, either under the name given, or as "unknown author". That label usually means the person didn't put their username on the article -- while I often recognize our regular contributors (even the ones who rarely or never get published!), I don't like to guess. It's not nice if I get it wrong.

Penny305: I think a lot of people would like to know: What's it like to work at Whyville? Do you just come to work everyday and edit articles? Or is there some big Whyville party that we're missing?
Times Editor: LOL! I wouldn't say it's a party -- some days I think we all wish we worked for a big, hearty company, so we could really take care of our families like they deserve... but in the end it's extremely rewarding to help kids learn, whatever the pay is. We like each other a lot, too... at least, I think so! We actually all work from home, so you never know for sure what folks think of you!! Heehee, just kidding.

Penny305: What are some common reasons that you can't publish an article?
Times Editor: When the grammar's so atrocious I just can't figure out what they're trying to say, or I know it would give me a six-Advil migraine to edit, I've just got to send it to deep storage. Articles that are pure opinion, especially when they don't say anything new, don't go anywhere with me. Every week we get a plagiarist, someone who thinks that they can copy and paste the words of another person and get published. Sigh. And like I said earlier, there's a bunch of email that gets deleted because it looks like spam -- but if you follow the submission rules, you won't have to worry about that.

Penny305: What would you tell someone who told you that they kept sending in articles but they never get published?
Times Editor: Take a peek at the folks who get published all the time. Try to scoop them on the news, borrow their techniques, figure out what they're doing that makes them successful... and then do it better! The Times is not a regular newspaper, so developing your *own* voice is very very important to me, though that doesn't mean you should be super opinionated... it just means you write colorfully, in an interesting way. I also strongly approve of those who can write with such a clear voice that they fade into the background, and the story, the news, the event itself leaps forward and grabs the reader because it's so well-described. So at heart, it's about having *control* over your voice.


Thanks a bunch, Editor! I'm sure everyone enjoyed learning a bit more about the Times and how it works.