The Need to Read

MOIRA FORSYTH explains the significance behind the development of the Sandstone Press’s Vistas series of short novels.

‘You’re involved in publishing, aren’t you?’ Mary asked me. ‘With Northwords magazine?’

‘I’m the fiction editor,’ I said, but I’m also involved with publishing in another way.’  I told her about Sandstone Press, a new literary publishing house just being established in Highland.  And then Mary asked if we would be interested in publishing short novels for emergent readers.
 

However, finding authors wasn’t the first thing we had to do.  The first thing, Mary assured me, was to submit a bid to the Highland Adult Literacy Partnership for funding.  And so the Vista Group was born, and the first Vista series of novels.

“We didn’t think it was good enough, however, to be enthusiastic about them ourselves.  What mattered was that they worked for the audience we had in mind.”

The books they produced were each quite different in subject, style and atmosphere.  You can find out more about them on the Sandstone Press website: Isla’s The Cherry Sundae Company; Des’s The Blue Hen, and Suhayl’s The White Cliffs.  They are perfect as books for emergent readers – novella length, with strong characters in strong stories, simply told.  But they are also excellent short reads – for a train journey, a waiting room, a lunch hour or two.

We didn’t think it was good enough, however, to be enthusiastic about them ourselves.  What mattered was that they worked for the audience we had in mind.  Each novella, therefore, was given to Adult Basic Education tutors to test with a sample group of readers for comment and input. 

We tested not just the stories, but the paper colour, type face, and dust jackets, with the sample groups, realising that all these things have an impact on readers.  Dyslexic readers, for instance, register words more readily on cream paper than on white.  The warm response of the sample group made us feel we’d got it right at last!

“I was privileged to have such professional people to work with.”

THIS WAS after the editing process, most of which was conducted by email between the authors and me, with some phone calls for clarification now and then.  The writers were provided with guidelines which we had drawn up before we approached any of them.  While bearing in mind the needs of our readers, we were also clear that we didn’t want to impose restrictions on the writers unnecessarily. 

All three produced superb stories, so the changes were on the whole textual ones, and agreed between the writer and myself.  Editing someone else’s work has to be done with sensitivity, and careful attention to that writer’s style.  I was privileged to have such professional people to work with.

It was an exciting project, from that first conversation, through to the launch, a year later.  I enjoyed it all, despite the inevitable delays and frustrations which anyone involved in a joint project, particularly one which breaks new ground, will understand only too well.  But we had good support from the public sector funding us, an imaginative and flexible graphic designer to produce our dust jackets, a careful proof reader, and of course good Scottish writers to produce the books we wanted.  We also had tremendous feedback from our sample groups – what more could we ask for? 

We’re looking forward to the next series of Vistas.  When the writers are confirmed later this year, visitors to the website will be able to find out more, and can already buy the current series.

Moira Forsyth is the editor of the Vistas series.

© Moira Forsyth, 2004

Related Link

• Sandstone Press website