From the first spark of an idea to the finished product, I’m excited to demystify the process of starting a literary magazine or journal. For many writers, the dream of starting their own literary journal may seem beyond reach.
Often, I find the idea of a creative endeavor to be too big on its own. However, breaking anything down into manageable steps allows me to navigate the process with realistic deadlines and goals.
The journey may not always be instantaneous or without challenge, but reaching that destination is entirely worth it.
Inspired by the way I tackle my projects, I am going to take you step-by-step through the beginning stages of starting your very own magazine, journal, or press.
1.) Ask yourself WHY
Knowing why you want to start your magazine not only carries you through any setbacks that may occur along the way, but it allows future writers and readers to understand what sets you apart.
For my first collective, Pages Penned in Pandemic, I was already running a featured interview series on my blog where contributors shared their experience writing during the pandemic. As I compiled and posted those interviews, I became increasingly interested in reading those written works. Our vision was clear. Whether poetry, short story, flash fiction, novel excerpt, or essay, the work needed to be written during 2020, though it did not need to be about the pandemic.
Understanding our vision allowed us to conceptualize the end product before opening submissions.
Throughout those early days of the interview series, my favorite answer to read had to do with advice to young writers. During quarantine and isolation, I worried those writers didn’t have anyone to remind them their stories mattered. From this, I knew all proceeds could be donated to 826 National to support young writers.
For The Elpis Pages, the vision was a bit different, but the why was clear. I wanted to give a voice to self-identifying women, donating all proceeds to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund to support reproductive rights. After all, women’s rights are human rights. While I am still in the submission process of this second collective, I keep my why clear daily.
2.) Ask yourself HOW
Once you’ve clarified your why, you will need to figure out how you will run your magazine.
Will you tackle this project solo or will you be bringing on additional editors, assistants, or admins?
Whether working alone or starting with friends or a team, implementing clear goals and responsibilities from the start is something that can prevent overwhelm or bruised egos in the future.
You will also want to have a clear idea of whether you will be publishing work digitally or in print, as this will affect decisions later in the process.
How much of a financial commitment will you be undertaking? Will you be using a free website platform? Will you charge for submissions to fund your project? Will you be able to pay contributors?
For Pages Penned in Pandemic, I reached out to my best friend, Justin Maher, with a big idea for a print collective, wanting him by my side through it all. This seemed like the perfect way to stay connected during tough times.
In the past, I was a contributing editor for One For One Thousand, so I was used to working with a team. As the Editor-in-Chief for this first collective, I tackled admin responsibilities, social media, branding, cover design, interior book design, and author outreach. Together, we read and discussed all submissions, split emails, and worked on the final layout.
For The Elpis Pages, I decided to take on this project solo, as I felt it was my responsibility as a woman to provide a safe and comfortable submission process for self-identifying women. It also helps that I have the experience of one previously published collective to guide this next endeavor.
Maybe you won’t know how the workflow will be implemented. And that’s okay. It might be trial and error as you begin this new project. But having a general idea of how your magazine or press will run is crucial to future success.
3.) Branding
While the granular elements of font and color scheme are important, ensuring you have a consistent and understandable call to action and editorial approach are also integral to creating brand recognition.
So how do you know your brand? Combining your WHY and HOW will inform the development of your magazine.
If you find yourself struggling, take a look at other literary magazines and journals to discover what you love, what you like, and things you would change with your own brand.
While this may seem overwhelming, remember to take it one step at a time. Start with the name, then the aesthetic, then the overall voice of your press.
Coming from a background in marketing, this is something that feels like second nature for me. However, I still found places to research before launching each of my collectives.
If you are interested in knowing the specifics of how I created a recognizable brand for both Pages Penned in Pandemic and The Elpis Pages, let me know in the comments below.
4.) Social Media
While there are many fantastic videos already on Authortube about building your author platform, it is important to build the social media presence for your press as well.
To begin, I would look at which platforms you’re already comfortable using, or perhaps places where you’ve previously found submission opportunities.
For myself, I knew this was going to be Instagram and Twitter, as many of the places I’ve submitted my poetry and short stories to in the past were found on both platforms.
Since you’ve already determined your why, how, and brand, it will make the creation of your social media profiles easier.
From personal experience, I find it helpful to launch profiles prior to submissions opening. This allows you to start building your community, getting the word out, and building a persona future writers can trust.
5.) Submission Guidelines
As submissions are a major component of any literary magazine, press, or journal, ensuring you understand your guidelines before you launch will help your vision remain clear to future writers.
Some details to consider are general guidelines:
How many pieces will you accept?
What genre are you looking to read?
Will you be featuring a certain demographic or age range of writers?
Do you have a specific word count you’re looking to feature?
Will you accept previously published work and simultaneous submissions?
How will you handle pieces being withdrawn?
Will you have rolling submissions or specific deadlines?
Making sure what you’re looking for is clear can ensure you find the work you want to read and feature. But it’s just as important to note what you’re not looking for as well. This protects you from interacting with potentially harmful writers or situations.
Though beginning this type of project opens you up to new interactions, at the end of the day, your mental health and well-being needs to be prioritized.
In addition, it will be helpful for you to notes the author rights, payment, promotion, and response times.
I always find that detailed information protects both editor and writer from harmful or uncomfortable situations or unnecessary questions.
6.) Publication Schedule
Once you understand your submission guidelines, you just have one more step to take before you can begin designing marketing and branding materials and ultimately launching your new endeavor.
Knowing whether you will be publishing weekly, monthly, quarterly, or by special edition is something that will help guide your workflow and encourage your future contributors and readers to connect with you!
That’s all for part one of the Editor Diaries. I hope you’ll join me for the next part of this series where I dive into the submission process. I’ll be breaking down how I organize my submissions, how I navigate acceptances and rejections, and how I handle each writer’s work with care.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe. And remember, no matter where the day takes you, dream big!
