This Time We Mean It!
Big Changes Are Coming to The Haven!
Sorry about the premature newsletter emailed yesterday. There was a miscommunication among the editors, and what was just the beginning of a draft was emailed out to all our followers. Yikes! But (sh)it happens. Consider that one a teaser for this announcement.
Anyway, four years ago this month, I started The Haven on a whim, and it has succeeded far beyond my expectations. Actually, I had no expectations, so any success would have been beyond my expectations. But still. The Haven is now closing in on 10,000 followers and we receive hundreds of submissions every month.
The success of The Haven is due to our writers and followers. I want to thank all of you who read and write for The Haven for making the publication a success.
Until last summer, The Haven was more or less a one-person operation. I had backup if necessary, but on a day-to-day basis, I was doing all the editing. When I started to get overwhelmed, I put out a call for help which was answered by the amazing Christine Stevens. It became almost immediately apparent that Christine is smart and funny and that she totally “got” what I was attempting to do with The Haven.
Since Christine joined The Haven as an editor, she has taken on more and more responsibility for editing The Haven. Those of you who email us may notice that she is frequently the person who answers your emails, and behind the scenes, she has gradually become the primary editor for The Haven. We have both been helped by the addition of Terry Trueman as an editor. I want to thank both of them, but especially Christine, for making my life bearable over the last nine months.
Now that the pandemic is winding down (God, PLEASE let it be winding down), I’ve started to think about how I want to be spending my time when I’m able to leave my house. I’m fully vaccinated, an empty-nester (sort of — my daughter has been taking very expensive college classes from her bedroom for the last year), and I’m easing myself into an early retirement. I want to do a lot more traveling before I get too decrepit, and I want to be able to do more of my own writing. So, I came to the conclusion that I need to step back from managing The Haven.
When I made this decision, I notified Christine of my plans. I had the option of shutting down the publication, but my preference was to hand it over to a successor. I still think that The Haven occupies a unique and valuable niche on Medium. Much to my relief, Christine agreed to take over as editor-in-chief. So, thanks to Christine, The Haven will live to see more days.
While I won’t be managing The Haven anymore, I’ll still be around. I’ll remain the “owner” of the publication, but Christine will be the editor-in-chief and my involvement will be minimal. She will have full editorial control and will set all policies for submissions, adding writers, etc. So you can start complaining directly to her now. (Kidding!) I don’t know if she plans to make any changes. I’ll let her speak to that. I may pop in on an irregular basis, and will always be available to Christine if she needs anything. Like a vacation. And I hope you’ll see more of my writing on The Haven and elsewhere.
Anyway, thanks to all of you for your support over the last four years. I look forward to watching The Haven as it enters its next chapter. Good luck, Christine!
