February 2007: An Anniversary (cont.)

In responding to those different demands, they grow as writers. In fact, they take great leaps. Every single residency I listen to our students’ graduating readings and glow with pride. What most of them accomplish in four semesters, five residencies is astounding!

I have also come to understand more clearly why a program such as ours is needed. When I entered the juvenile market more than thirty years ago, it was open to promising beginners. That was possible, because editors were allowed time to groom writers, allowed the financial latitude to take on writers whose work wasn’t yet fully formed in the hope that stronger work was coming. Often today—and more than one editor has told me this—if a manuscript isn’t 90% there in the first draft submitted, editors cannot take the risk of committing either resources or time to that writer.

So we are bringing our students, many of our students, through to that first 90% of a solid manuscript...or even beyond. We are also giving them the tools to go on producing those solid manuscripts after they leave our oversight. And I have discovered that while publishers may have little interest in degrees, they have come to have a great deal of interest in Vermont College. Several support us with scholarships. Many have an open- door policy for manuscripts from our students and graduates.