This month, I will dedicate my column to the needs of El Ojo del Lago. As editor-in-chief, I receive many emails each day from people who have questions and suggestions. I try my best to answer every respectful letter I receive. My daily average in emails is approximately 200/day.
People have asked if Mexicans ever write for the Ojo. Yes, we have several who write for the Ojo. One case in point is Sergio Casas who is writing in English, his second language. He tells stories about Little Martin—pronounced Mar-teen—and his papa. It is very difficult to write in a language that is not your own, and Sergio does a brilliant job.
Often people give ideas and ask questions. One frequent request is for a restaurant review. The Ojo does not print anything about restaurants. It is a conflict of interest for our publisher and unfair to other restaurant owners.
As editor, I am in constant search for feedback and suggestions. Some of the things I would like to find are: writers who will accept assignments. I need 600-800 words on a certain topic or an individual. Or someone who will write book reviews. We have many authors in Mexico whose books we could be reviewing for our readers to enjoy, but we seldom have people willing to write these reviews.
Something that is a bit of a surprise to our readers is that our writers are not paid. Since El Ojo del Lago is provided as a free publication to our readers, we have no budget for writers. They are rewarded not only by their work and publication, but by an annual party. This publication is expensive to produce, and the publisher does a lot on a minimal budget.
For various reasons, not every submission can be published. Some people choose topics inappropriate for our magazine’s content. Others don’t meet certain requirements or their pieces are too long, or too short. We ask that they try to stay between 600-800 words for an initial submission.
The covers for the magazine are selected by the publisher and come from many submissions from the readership. We can never have enough photos to choose from. So if you are a shutterbug and capture some brilliant photo which reflects life at Lakeside, please send it in and take a “shot” at our cover!
I would also like to thank the staff of the Ojo: the publisher, David Tingen, for his guidance and overall vision. The beauty of this magazine is the result of hard work by Roberto Rojas and his assistant, Diana Parra Morales; Sally Asante and her invaluable contributions as associate editor and proofreader; our special editors Mel Goldberg and Helen Gallagher; and Bruce Fraser and his assistant, Carmene Berner, who handle the advertising, without which there could be no magazine at all. You can contact me as editor at VictoriaASchmidt@gmail.com or send your questions to Chapala.com, elojodellago@gmail.com.
- Editor’s Page – December 2024 - November 30, 2024
- Editor’s Page – November 2024 - October 29, 2024
- Editor’s Page – October 2024 - September 28, 2024