Starting a literary magazine involves choosing a format, considering the business side, and deciding on an angle. Print or web formats have different costs and design considerations. Choosing an ISSN allows for selling and listing in a library catalogue.
If you’ve always dreamed of starting your own literary magazine, there are many factors to keep in mind. In addition to the obvious steps of picking a stock and deciding on a format, you also need to consider the business side, including whether you might have to pay taxes on it.
When designing a literary magazine, you start with the basics. Decide whether to make a print-only, web-only or double magazine. If you’re on a budget, the internet may be your best bet, as it costs next to nothing to set up a basic website. If you’ve decided on a print format, however, you’re faced with basic issues like format, length, design (color or black and white), and quality. A literary magazine printed on glossy paper won’t cost you as much as one made from recycled pages.
A perfectly bound literary magazine has the look and feel of a real book, but it also has a similar price tag. Once you have a good idea of what you want in a literary magazine, you can start calling local print shops or researching online for quotes. Companies like Lulu.com let you print one copy at a time, which can be a lifesaver if you don’t have the money for a large print run.
The next step in creating a literary magazine is choosing an angle. Do you want to publish poems, novels or a combination of both? What about artwork or photography? Who will be your contributors? If you are planning to publish a call for proposals, you should create a list of suggestions for potential writers and decide how to make it publicly available.
If you plan to publish a literary journal for the long term, you should consider getting an ISSN, the revised version of the ISBN. ISSNs are available free of charge and can be obtained by mail after submitting an official form and a copy, or model, of the journal. Having an ISSN will allow you to sell your literary magazine through online retailers and list it in a library catalogue.
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