Literary Magazine Creation

What's all this, then?

2010-03-15T22:15:00.004-04:00

Mike, my Charisma co-adviser, and I were to travel to Columbia University this week and co-present a literary magazine session on how to advise publication students. Due to a number of factors, Mike is unable to join me in NYC. It's our hope that advisers will blog about the following ideas so that we may all rethink how our publication group runs for the betterment of the students. Advisers attending the Wednesday sessions: blog away! Others of the faithful who have been to Literary Magazine Creations before: you may blog away too! We'll all benefit from the input.
There's about 25 posts below. Have at it! Bob

Setting up: organization of the club

2010-03-15T22:09:00.004-04:00

Mike and I tell the editor each year that he or she (she for the past ten years, if not more) has the power to set up the staff as he or she sees fit. We tell the editor about the different configurations that we've had in the past: committees, one huge group, everone has a job, etc.
Usually the editor picks a literature editor, an art editor, a layout editor, and a fundraiser/PR person. The rest of the group chooses (or interviews for, or is assigned to) at least one editor. Mike and I state clearly that we are there to advise. And - off we go!

Setting up: how often should they meet?

2010-03-15T22:01:00.002-04:00

Charisma meets once a week, 3-5. Each year when we begin we ask the editor to choose meeting times. Monday evening is what's usually chosen. Two hours goes fast and allows us to do a lot of things. I think that meeting twice a week might be better. However, my schedule and the students' schedules don't usually allow a second weekly meeting. Mike and I don't do this group as a club that meets during Club Period (once a week) - in the past, students have been dumped into the club, and very little gets done when that happens. Also, we've talked about turning Charisma into a class, but then people wouldn't be able to grow up in it - some come in as Freshmen and do it all four years. In the past two years we added an online blog, but that has not been used to its potential.

Setting up: where should they meet?

2010-03-15T21:56:00.003-04:00

Literary magazine students are a little more fussy about where they meet than other student groups may be. They like to be around their computers, they like art rooms, especially if the rooms are big, and they like having objects on the walls that state their identity. We have printer's plates from the cover of a magazine created years ago, and we're thinking about putting up those plates. The room should also be a place with large tables so that work may be laid out for all to see. Natural lighting would be best. Quiet seems to be what the staff prefers - our bunch never asks for music to be played while we work.

Setting up: how are students selected for the publication?

2010-03-15T21:52:00.002-04:00

For the past few years, we've taken all the students we could get. It has been years since we've had a male on staff. It used to be that there was a literature team, an art team, a layout team; now, however, a number of the students do any and all jobs.
Back when we could be more selective, we used to have people fill out applications. The completed applications helped us place the student. Also, some students never completed applications - they were not made part of the magazine.

Setting up: leadership roles

2010-03-15T21:46:00.002-04:00

Mike and I really concern ourselves with only one leadership role: who is the editor? Still, we ask the staff to choose their editor, with the understanding that we may veto a choice that will end the magazine. It's also true that while we talk about whether an editor stays or goes at the end of each year, most editors stay on until they graduate. So, while Mike has worked with the literary magazine for four years, he's only worked with two editors. This may not be an optimal system.
The editor, then, picks his or her staff without much input from me and Mike. Editors are in charge of hiring and firing, and if the magazine isn't moving along, it's the editor who has to make changes. Just like in the real world. Lately, for the past three years, our staff has been so small that firing anyone has been unthinkable.

Helping them achieve their goal: phases of the year

2010-03-15T21:11:00.002-04:00

Each phase of the publications year has its own mood and motivation. We usually begin in September feeling ebullient and experimental. Lots of new faces at the meetings. Then we begin advertising the magazine in the fall, collect submissions, and try to focus the group on choosing a theme. Sometimes this works within weeks; other times . . . The theme is usually chosen by the end of November, and things suddenly become focused and workmanlike. At each meeting material requires evaluation. Our print rep comes in. Problems with the theme are discussed. How many pages will this magazine be? How many colors? Cover stock? Glossy? Then in January and February things rise to a fever pitch: we need a play! Does anyone have a picture that will fit with this poem? What is a colophon anyway? Then comes the day in February when the layout begins. March and the beginning of April are quiet as they layout genius creates his or her magic. Posters asking for submissions are taken down; students drift off and are never heard from again. Then in late April, early May: a magazine! Commercials run on the school news, lit mag members sell the new issue at lunch, in classes, at graduation practice. A few final meetings at which we prepare summer evaluation submissions and scheme for next year - those meetings are usually attended by only the most dedicated and those desiring plum positions in the next school year. That's the different phases at Big Spring.

Helping them meet their goal: Keeping them on-task

2010-03-15T21:05:00.002-04:00

One certainly couldn't say that our magazine is on task 100% of the time. Nevertheless, at times this past fall and winter the Art room where we meet has been silent, everyone working away: selecting, editing, entering text, planning. As an adviser, I like to gently nudge the staff and ask a lot of questions to my editor. Mike and I have tried deadlines, demands, threats - and I tried them before Mike came on board 4 years ago. Such demands don't usually wash well with literary magazine students. They seem to be more the kind of kids who like to try things and see what happens. More fishermen than CEOs. For the adviser, the old adage is true: flexibility is key.

Helping the students meet their goal: attrition

2010-03-15T21:01:00.002-04:00

How many years have I ended the year with about a third of the students coming to meetings than appeared in September? I think it's natural for some kids to stop coming, particularly if other activities come up, or if they haven't really committed to the group. I used to do more to keep kids coming back than I do now. Jobs and titles keep kids coming back; so does meaningful work and progress. On the other hand, our layout editor is finishing up the magazine right now, so while there is work they all could be doing (like planning how they will sell the magazine), mostly just one student is working away. Once she's done with the layout, Mike and I will make an effort to round up the rest of the staff, but some won't return.

Helping them meet their goal: factions

2010-03-15T20:56:00.002-04:00

I've rarely worked with a staff that didn't have factions. It may be unavoidable: students come down different paths, and seek different things from the magazine (identity, something to do, a place to be after school, meeting people, etc.). From the past I've learned that, without taking time from the group, do as much team building as one can do. Team building has to be done differently with literary magazine kids than with the football team, or the dance team. Nevertheless it can be done. Food and T-shirts go a long way.

Helping students meet their goal: when they fight

2010-03-15T20:45:00.003-04:00

I've never witnessed fist fights in the literary magazine in the past 18 years. However, ugly rumors, yelling, crying, complaints, demands - I've heard all that. Usually it's one person or a group against another person. The dangerous thing is when a student leaves and takes half the staff with them - something similar happened this fall when three students stood up and left. I think the idea of advising students is best when this happens - let the editor handle things, and stay in the loop but out of the line of fire. It's also true that sometimes there is nothing one can do, and suddenly your publication staff is half of what it was. Such things happen in real world publications, too.

Interacting with Adults: helping students raise money

2010-03-15T20:38:00.002-04:00

Raising funds rarely goes well for the literary magazine at Big Spring: we're a small rural district with few businesses that we may solicit. The staff is constantly being asked to purchase something for a student organization. Nevertheless, we continue trying. Mike and I try to guide the students in their fundraising attempts, but sometimes - like this year - we're not successful: I was supposed to come up with a list of businesses from the yearbook, and I was supposed to help arrange for a sandwich sale, and neither plan has happened yet. Nevertheless, if an adviser was to offer structure, I think this is the place to do it. Help them write letters and create brochures (the brochure printing is actually happening this weekend). The business department may also be able to offer some tips regarding the best way to ask for donations.

Students interacting with Adults: English and Art teachers

2010-03-15T20:29:00.002-04:00

These folks certainly can make or break the literary magazine. Mike has a strong connection with the art teachers - he is the department head of Art at Big Spring, and currently is in a department of three. There are nine other English teachers at Big Spring. The magazine has asked for certain genres of work, and have asked that the magazine be shared for 15 minutes to a half-hour sometime during the year. Most of our requests from the English teachers have been ignored. Nevertheless, quality work continues to be written, and much of it finds its way to the magazine. I do find that I can say things ten times in department meetings, but when one of the students says something, the comment has a better chance of being heard.

Students interacting with adults: administrators

2010-03-15T20:25:00.002-04:00

The administrators at Big Spring, where Mike and I teach, take pride in the magazine and look forward every year to its publication. I think it's appropriate for the principal to know who the literary magazine editor is, and for the editor to keep the principal aware of developments. I think a good relationship between the magazine staff and the adminstration helps keep Prior Review away. As Billy Joel says, it's a matter of trust. Other opinions?

Interaction with adults: the print rep

2010-03-15T19:57:00.003-04:00

When should the printer representative come in? At our magazine, that time is just after the students establish the theme - so we hope to have the rep in before Christmas, before Hanukkah - maybe even before Thanksgiving. Who meets with the rep? We always have the entire staff meet with ours. Would it be easier if only the editor and the advisers met with him? Probably. But the number one concern is for student development, yes?

Students interacting with adults: middle school, junior high

2010-03-15T19:54:00.002-04:00

Do you really want to sell your magazine at the middle school? How many swears are in the magazine? How many adult situations? Or, does your literary magazine group wish to screen the content in the high school magazine so that it's appropriate for any thirteen-year-old? If the middle school kids never see a magazine, how will they know to join the staff when they come to the high school?

What the adviser can do: promote the magazine

2010-03-15T19:50:00.003-04:00

Sometimes administrators are great at listening to the students. Other times, it seems that the teacher is more likely to have the ear of the school board member. As adviser, you should also appropriately promote the magazine by telling those who won't hear about it any other way that your publication staff is fabulous, and that this year's magazine is awesome! Mention it while you're at the drug store or bowling. Make sure the chemistry teacher knows it's printed and ready to purchase. I don't need to go so far as wearing a sandwich board sign, but, well, maybe I do . . .

What the Adviser can do: stop them from disaster

2010-03-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

The responsible adviser does not allow a bad idea to come to fruition. Nor does he or she let the magazine spiral out of control and out of existence. Mike McVitty and I have said "Hold it!" to publication groups. How big should the problem swell before the adviser speaks? Some things should be nipped in the bud (impossible layouts, offensive material - what else?).

What the adviser can do: Push for USEFUL cutting-edge technology

2010-03-15T19:41:00.002-04:00

Does your publication need an oversized color printer to print off pre-proofs of the magazine? Sure it would be nice, but do you need it? Do you have enough digital cameras - or do you need just one? Does CS4 need to be purchased, or can you get by with CS3? Equipment purchases should be determined by need, not want. Having said that, what does one need to operate a strong publication? Can you take such requests to the school board? I think that equipment that allows students to produce the best magazine they can is necesarry.

What the adviser can do: award them

2010-03-15T19:38:00.003-04:00

Kids love awards. Do you hand out your own? Does your publication give out a Best Short Story award for the year, or Best Watercolor? Do you compete in state conferences or national evaluations? There's something about competitions that fires up kids.

Help move the magazine out beyond the walls of the school

2010-03-15T19:34:00.002-04:00

Even the most esoteric, myopic magazine shouldn't spend its entire life cooped up in the lit mag publication room. Someone in your district will be glad to read the literature and view the art of your students. Did you put a copy in Guidance? One in the office where the kids sit before talking with the principal (or where the parents sit before talking with the principal?)? Is there a copy in the district office where interviewees wait before being called in? We have no used bookstores or regular bookstores in our little hamlet (to borrow from Hitchcock), but we're contemplating selling the magazine in the local grocery store. Is a copy in your town library?

Model loving literary magazines, literature, art

2010-03-15T19:30:00.002-04:00

Some kids go nuts over literary magazines, but I find that many need to be fired up about what we're doing, especially given the disinterest of the student body. I search out other literary magazines (judging is a great way to obtain magazines regularly), make a fuss over cool layouts, and share great poems and artwork. Students may take this pursuit seriously if you do; if you don't, most of them won't.

Apologies

2009-07-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

Wow! Did the end of the school year sneak up on anyone else?

We didn’t even get through half of the topics that we wanted to this year. Our goal over the summer is to supply several articles that will gear up your publication for the coming school year. We would like to thank all of you that have been coming to the site. Keep coming back! We promise that more information will be coming.

Please help us out by spreading the word about our little site. As we grow the wealth of knowledge grows. Don’t be afraid to comment on any post. New for Fall 2009 - We have set up a gmail account for the blog. LitMagCreate@gmail.com This way you can contact us directly. If you have comments, suggestions, ideas, or would like to submit an article send it to us we wold love to hear from you.

Software Tip of the Month - April 2009

2009-04-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

This month’s tip is for Adobe InDesign.

In the Edit menu there is a handy tool called “Step and Repeat”. If you need to set a bunch of shapes or objects in a single row, single column or grid this tool can make it faster. To start create an object on the page. Once you have that object created make sure it is selected and go to Edit --> Step and Repeat. In the dialog box that pops up choose how many repeats you want (The repeats are in addition to the original shape), the horizontal offset (Spacing from the left edge of one object to the next, horizontally), and the vertical offset (Spacing from the left edge of on object to the next, vertically). So lets set up an example. You want to make a horizontal row of four, 1 inch squares and you want there to be a 1/4 inch gap between them. Make the first square, go to step and repeat and enter the following: Repeat count = 3, Horizontal Offset = 1.25 in, Vertical Offset = 0 inches. If you check the preview box you can see the results and make sure that they are what you need. To make a grid you simply select the row of boxes that were created and follow the same steps except for the offset values. Change the Horizontal Offset to zero and the Vertical Offset to 1.25 inches. This will create multiple rows of blocks. This gives you a four by four grid of squares.

Next month I’ll show you a cool way to use this to make interesting image graphics.

Software tip of the Month - March 2009

2009-03-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

So we at LMCB are starting a new monthly feature for the site. Over the past few years I have been to several conferences. I usually make it a point to make it to the InDesign or Photoshop sessions. I have learned what I know about these programs from these sessions, books, and talking with others who use the programs. So the Tip of the month will share some of that information.

This month’s tip is simple but extremely time saving. Did I say it’s simple? Alt key and Drag. Got it? Alt and drag. This combination in InDesign allows you to click on an element while holding the alt key and drag to make a duplicate immediately. It is actually faster that copy and pasting the old way. As I continued to play with this I found that it works in the OS as well. In OS X if you Alt drag it will make a copy of the file folder, etc. In XP if you hold control and drag it will do the same thing in the OS, but in In Design it should be Alt drag (I’m not a PC confident as Mac confident).

Death of Print?/Is Print Dying?

2009-03-25T22:58:00.001-04:00

Is Print Dying?

        I’m not talking about writing. There are more words being written now then in any other time in our history. Everyone writes a little. Do you text? Do you write on a Blog? Do you Facebook? Do you have a MySpace account? How about Twitter? Words, ideas, and opinions are alive and well in our country.
        Printing, the physical ink on paper, is waning. Prices have come down in off-set printing over the past years making printing more affordable, but how is that supposed to compete with the online forums that pop up overnight? It seems that this contest is a lot one sided. In the past few weeks I have heard about four newspapers that are in trouble. Three of them are merging into a single publication to hopefully stem the tide. The other ended up as a complete shock. One of the most well known papers in eastern PA is filing for chapter 11.

        I know that this is a blog about Lit Mags, but, if the papers are struggling how long until our magazines are in the same situation? What are we going to do five years from now? The possibility exists for high school lit mags that have a miniscule operational cost. Buy some software once, make everything digital, burn it to a $.10 CD. The cost will be more in time than financial resources. What if you run it on the web? You can keep updating material every week for a few hundred bucks a year.
        There are some of us that dread the day that the physical magazine becomes a thing of the past. I love holding the book, mag, paper, whatever, in my hands. I am as giddy as a school boy when the boxes of this year’s magazines is delivered and I can see all of our students hard work in bulk. All of those spins lined up. Nothing like it. I will miss that.

        So where does this leave us? The first amendment is alive and well. Words are everywhere. Paper may not be the preference in a few years. What are you going to do to deal with the changing times?

Talking to the Printer

2009-01-28T21:35:00.000-05:00

        In previous posts, Printing Options and Printing Time, we discussed the printing of a magazine. I would like to briefly revisit this as it is becoming the time of year when you should be talking to your printer in preparation for your magazine.

        I suggest talking to a printer at the beginning of your layout process so that you can avoid problems later on. If you take the time to layout a beautiful magazine only to find out that you can’t afford it you will be upset, to say the least. When you talk to a printer they can bring their experience to the table to help you problem solve. In our magazine, last year, we found that by making our page size 7 1/4 inches2 instead of the 8 inches2 we were originally going with, the printer saved us money because he could print 24 pages per signature (12 pages on each side) instead of the standard 16 pages (8 pages on each side). This allowed us to do a full 4 color magazine. If we hadn’t talked to the printer we would have had serious decisions to make before we went to press.

        Now, for those of you who may not be able to go to the printers, you may still want to talk with a printer. They may be able to help you with some tips and tricks (If they help you pay them back by giving them a free listing in your patrons list, or a thank you in the acknowledgments). In the past a different printer actually bound the magazine for us, but we printed the guts. You never know what they might be able to help with.

Fundraising

2009-01-20T23:04:00.000-05:00

Fundraising!

        How many of you just cringed? How many of you wonder why I just asked that? In my experience as an adviser I have met a variety of staff situations. One magazine can walk out their school’s front door and see five different companies that will donate quite a bit of money. Another has to raise almost every penny on their own. When I joined our magazine 4 years ago, the district gave us $1000 for the year. We raised $400 to $600 in addition to that so we averaged a budget of $1500.
        What’s amazing to me is that the magazine has had success in the past despite the financial handicap. The year I came onto the staff we approached the school district for funds. The district had a grant that had $3000 dollars that could be used for our magazine. Instantly the print quality of the magazine matched the talent that was producing the magazines in the past. While we still had to consider money in the final decisions, the boundaries were closer to limitless.

        Unfortunately the old axiom “Money makes the world go ‘round” is just as true for magazines. While it is possible to produce a good magazine on an inkjet, the archival quality leaves a lot to be desired. Finding the money to produce a publication requires a lot of work and dedication. We have a position on our publication staff that is dedicated to fundraising. That student’s job is to call, write, or e-mail local businesses to solicit funds. Unfortunately the fewer students you have working on fundraising, the less they can canvas businesses.
        To be more efficient with raising money, start with anyone who has donated in the past. Chances are they will give again. Once you have exhausted that list, identify businesses in the area that have donated to other school functions. Ask you yearbook staff or adviser for a list of their patrons, but be sure that you don’t steal away patrons from them. Also try and Identify businesses that deal with publication, printing, books, etc. They may be more inclined to contribute to a school publication.

Using Grids

2008-12-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

        So, it has been a while since we talked about the layout of a magazine. Currently our staff is working on this years magazine layout. They have started with laying out the cover design which is a change. In the past three issues, the staff has designed the folio first and the cover became nothing more than an afterthought. I am interested to see how this approach works.

        One of the techniques that I approached the students with was the use of a grid system to divide up the page. One of the most common uses of a grid is the concept of “Rule-of-Thirds”. For those of you who don’t know what this is, the “Rule-of-Thirds” is a grid that photographers use to align their subject in the image. Imagine looking through a camera. Now imagine that there is a grid that divides your viewfinder into thirds vertically and horizontally. By lining up your subject, or the majority of your subject on one of the inner four corners or the edges of the inside rectangle, you create a stronger composition.

        Now take that rule-of-thirds idea and apply it to layout. By dividing the page up using a grid you force yourself to begin composing the page rather than throwing stuff on the page. The grid brings stability and strength to your layout composition. When applying this grid to a layout it does not need to be in thirds. It could be in fourths, eighths, sixteenths, etc. By dividing your pages you are giving yourself a rough template that makes the layout from page to page easier and faster.

        Obviously, if you have any layout experience, you have heard of people using columns to control layout. While this allows you to divide and work with the layout horizontally it doesn’t take care of the vertical aspects of your layout. It also allows you to begin the process of designing your folio in a much broader sense. For last year’s layout we began by dividing the page into fourths and filling in blocks in different arrangements.

        This forced us to think about where the written and visual information of the folio would happen in the layout. (Yes, for those of you who noticed, our layout last year involved a folio that, vertically, was almost 1/4 of the page.) By working this way we could actually start laying out the pages without having the folio design done, or even started.

        Try using the grid as a way to govern your pages. It may seem, at first, that you are going to drive your design into a rut. It’s okay to think that. I think that you will find that the grid is actually quite flexible and can help your designs. See how it works for you.

St. Louis II

2008-11-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

It was great to meet all of the Lit Mag people in St. Louis this morning. Bob and I had a great time, and really enjoyed being able to present . We had 70 people in attendance! We will be working on making the presentation into a movie/podcast. We will be posting it either here or on the PSPA website.

Again it was great to meet all of you.

Press Organizations

2008-11-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

        Does your state have a student press association? Do you belong to it? Did you know that there are several national student press associations? Do you belong to any of them?

        With the JEA/NSPA conference in less than a week, I have been thinking about what we are trying to do with this blog and what resources are out there. One of the best ways to get help with you publications, other than this blog, is to join your state organization. These organizations are structured differently from state to state, however, they all work to help advisers and publication staff to develop their magazines. They also give you a network of people who are passionate about publications as well. I have mentioned this topic before, but as I become more involved with these organizations, I see the potential that they provide for networking and guidance.
        Bob and I are on the eve of becoming the President (Bob) and Vice President (Mike) of the Pennsylvania School Press Association. We work with a group of professionals that are passionate about publications and spreading our knowledge throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. We are also on the eve of presenting in St. Louis. We helped with the JEA/NSPA conference in Philadelphia last year. All of these things have given us the chance to share and learn from a lot of people from around our state and nation. These interactions have helped us with our publication as much as any help we were able to provide.

        Become a member of a press organization! Get involved! You will meet a lot of other great advisers and professionals. You can avail yourself of the resources that a press organization can provide.

        If you would like to learn more about PSPA check us out online at www.paschoolpress.org

Presentation In St. Louis

2008-10-09T22:54:00.001-04:00

Dear readers,

Robert Hankes and I will be presenting at the Fall JEA/NSPA conference that is in St. Louis. The conference is running from the 13th to 16th of November. If you are going to be at the conference stop in. We would love to see you. We are going to spend our time discussing how our magazine evolved last year. We will be doing some show and tell and some group participation activities.

Here is the current information:
Lit Mag Theme Development Exposé
Friday Nov. 14 9:00 am
America’s Center (Convention Center) Room 104

Here is the blurb that is in the Pre-conference brochure:
What really happens when a dozen varied students plan out a theme for the literary magazine? What is the role of the advisers when things are going south? And when does one give up? Robert Hankes and Mike McVitty will review how last year's edition of Charisma turned "40".

An approach to developing the Theme

2008-09-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

        One of the key components to your magazine will be the theme. In the magazines that I have worked on the theme has taken on several forms. In the first magazine, Surfaces, the theme was based around different surface textures. That was carried into the arrangement of the content in the magazine from soft textures to hard or rough textures. The literature followed the sections with the lighter happier things in the front, soft section, and the deeper harder things, like death in the end. It is the only of the magazines I have worked on that used sections.
        We moved onto a concept that the theme could be based on a simple shape or design. We started with the exclamation point. “!”, that’s it. We based the design, and even the final size of the magazine on the exclamation point. Last year’s was based on squares, and a folio design that disappeared as you flip through the book. This allowed for us to try and connect the 40th edition with a theme that disappeared, tying into fading memories.

        So where does this leave us now? Our last magazine didn’t fair, nationally, as we had hoped. In retrospect, we did not tie the design and the theme together as well as we could have. Now we are starting from square one. Literally! As my cohort has alluded to in the previous post, we are looking at redesigning the magazine from square one. We are learning from our current staff that our magazine, while strong with design, is not appealing to the student body. We have discussed the fact that we need to make a magazine that the students want to pick up and look at. We want them to need to have this magazine.
        The staff has begun to think about what we need. In the preliminary discussions they feel that there needs to be a little bit of mystery to the cover. They think that if we make the cover design mysterious and intriguing, students will want to pick it up. The students are thinking that the redesign of the magazine is really going to rely on the theme.

        When Bob and I began tossing this idea of redesigning the magazine, we were thinking that the design of the magazine and the theme can be separated. In our minds there can be an underlying design that permeates throughout each year’s magazine. There are pieces of the magazine that can be similar from magazine to magazine. The page, or spread, can be divided the same each year. The folio can be located in the same area and the magazine can be the same physical dimensions.
        As we talked with the students, Bob and I came to the realization that the students are not seeing the difference in what he and I are talking about and the theme. As I am writing this what I am realizing is that what the advisers are talking about are the starting points of the theme. These are the decisions that have to be the first things that you think about when putting your theme, and the magazine, together. We ran into a problem years ago with the Surfaces edition of Charisma. We decided to use 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages, but they were on their side. Instead of Tabloid we had a spread that was 22 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches tall. We wanted the magazine perfect bound, but the cost of the paper that was needed for this doubled the cost of the cover.

        By setting the size of the spread and page size, you can get an idea of cost from the start. Dividing the pages up, using a grid system, similarly will lend a style for the magazine. If you stylize your magazines title and cover design, to an extent, you can develop a standard for your magazine. This is not to say that the magazine should look identical from year to year. Setting a standard that will be used every year, you can focus on the content of the magazine. This is where our magazine has mainly faltered in the past few years. So there are benefits to taking one set of decisions out of the mix and allowing the staff to focus on other things.

        So what is the moral of this? The design of the magazine needs to grab the attention of the consumer. The theme, while being a major part of that, can have an underlying construct that guides how parts of the magazine will look from year to year. As we work through this idea of a redesign, we are going to be looking at every aspect of the magazine. A successful magazine has to do this every few years. If you don’t revisit this your magazine becomes stagnant and loses its appeal.

diversity

2008-09-14T15:01:00.002-04:00

Now a new wrinkle has been introduced to this year's magazine: we have a very diverse group. Of course looking at them one wouldn't think that - they're all White, all female, and all the same age - but they come from a variety of backgrounds, and all have their own ideas about what a literary magazine should be.

I've asked the students to redesign the magazine this year. We need to sell more copies, or we can't really say that we're representing the students and their work. I imagine though that they all have different ideas about what a revised magazine will look like.

How will this fadge? as Viola says in Twelfth Night. I guess we'll find out.

Back to basics

2008-09-07T11:24:00.001-04:00

“Sadly, our school doesn't even have a literary magazine. I'm very interested in starting one, and I've already talked to my English teacher about it. She seems very enthusiastic about the idea. The only problem is that I don't know where to start. I understand that I'll have to advertise and recruit staff members. But to be honest, I've only heard the idea of a literary magazine - I've never actually seen one nor do I understand what it takes to operate one. I know this type of ignorance isn't preferred in someone who wants to start a literary magazine, but I'm trying to do research. Really, though, I'm so confused. And I'm sorry to hijack the post like this, but if there's just some basic information you can share, I'd really appreciate it.” -Lynda

        This comment left by Lynda on the previous post Magazine Staff-Revisited woke me up to the fact that we haven’t defined what a Literary Magazine is. Most of us labor every year in creating our magazines, but how often do you stop and think about what it means to be a literary magazine?
        My understanding of this genre is that we publish less frequently than a newspaper, but publish at least once a year. A Literary Magazine, or Literary Arts Magazine, should contain original student writing and student art. Think of them as an anthology of the best student work for that time period (Year, Half-Year, Quarter-Year). In my time as a lit-mag adviser and dealing with the state and national competitions, I feel that we are really publishing an anthology book, not a magazine. We publish once a year with a perfect bound book. That’s how the printer refers to it, and in turn how we refer to it. So are we publishing a book or a magazine?
        The push right now seems to be more of a book style rather than magazine. I mean to say that the competitions seem to look down on magazines that are published on thinner paper or newsprint. The binding can make a difference as well. I want to make sure that it is understood that this is the impression that I have of the system. I got his impression from an experience with a lit mag that someone was judging. I was looking at a pile of magazines for judging (I wasn’t judging them), and I came across a booklet that I thought was a state standardized test. I made a comment that the judge had a test mixed in with his magazines. He said, “Look at it again.” I was amazed that this, in fact, was a lit mag that was printed on newsprint, used grayscale, and looked like a test booklet. It included the bubbles for the multiple choice answers. It was great. I didn’t delve into the writing or art, but the overall appearance was neat. They didn’t have a lot of money, but they seemed to use that to their advantage. the judging ripped apart the quality of the magazine.
        Now that is an extreme example, and I am positive that there is not a lot of this going on, but it gives me pause. My hope is that there is more of a push for quality within the bounds of a publications means. Quality should always be the first concern of any publication. Building a magazine takes time. Quality is not always attainable in the first few years. You have to build the staff and knowledge of the new software. Quality comes with time.

        The last thing I want to talk about in this post is in reference to inexperience. We all had to learn at some time. I had the luxury of a co-adviser who had worked with our magazine for more than a decade. There are resources available to the new advisers. The best place to start, other then this blog (I know shameless promotion), is your state press association. I am a board member and future vice-president of the Pennsylvania School Press Association. I was brought on the board by my co-adviser, and co-contributer to this blog. He and I are working in PA to bring the lit mag presence in the state to the levels of yearbook and newspaper. PSPA has also started a mentoring program for our memebers. If you are a new adviser in PA and would like to participate, go to the PSPA website and look for the informaiton.
        We are also beginning to try and get a national presences as well. the National Scholastic Press Association also has a few resources. NSPA co-sponsors a national convention in the spring and fall (one on the west coast and one on the east coast). We are going to be at the fall conference in St. Louis. We are supposed to be speaking at the conference (I will put more info up closer to the dates). Conferences are a great place to find presentations on InDesign, Photoshop, and some lit mag stuff. They are also a great place to meet other advisers and form friendships.
        I also want to say that, no matter your level of experience, the fact that you want to start or started a magazine is a great start. As I said before, we all had to learn at some point. We all should still be learning something while working with our magazines or we’re not doing something right. If you need help contact your state organization. If that doesn’t produce results contact me. I will try to help you as best I can.

        P.S.        Here are some examples I found online. I will be working on getting some examples up of our magazine on the web somewhere. The links below are from the National Scholastic Press Association. The first link has several pages from the Pacemaker winner from 2006. The pacemaker is the premier magazine from that year. It is my understanding that they do not always have the pacemaker. The second link is to one of our staffer’s awards. It shows you a single layout from the magazine that year.

2006 NSPA Pacemaker Magazine Winner
Design of the Year/Layout of the Year Winner

Magazine Staff-Revisited

2008-08-22T00:58:00.000-04:00

        So, I have spent a lot of time over the summer thinking about what I am going to talk about in the blog this year. Last year I wrote as we were going through things so you might notice a sort of progression of the ideas. This year there may be a progression in the end, but I actually worked on a list of topics for the year. They may or may not follow the year’s progression. I hope to get these posts out around the time that you might need them.
        I also want to encourage you, the reader, to interact with the blog. I look forward to seeing comments posted from readers. I had one person, who I have never met, post comments and start a discussion in the blog. I can’t even describe how exciting it was. It really encouraged me to keep up with this project. I want more encouragement. Won’t you please help me out.

        So on that note I am going to ask you to contribute to the first official post of the year.

        In one of the first posts to this blog dealt with the organization of a literary magazine staff (http://litmagcreation.blogspot.com/2007/09/organization.html). Boy, when I look back over it I see that there isn’t a lot there. So it’s a good thing that I start with this again. The organization of your staff may be the most helpful thing for a successful magazine. If no one knows what anyone else is doing then nothing gets done. The question that I have been wrestling with is, “Is there such a thing as too much organization?”
        We all know that there is definitely such a thing as not enough organization. A lot of us deal with this in our everyday lives. Little or no organization leads to so many problems that it is often enough to bring down an organization, group, or even a publication. Nothing gets done and things are rushed. The details that refine a magazine are lost in the mix. This is a sure way to turn out a mediocre publication. My concern is that I, personally, may fixate too much on the organization of the staff and not on what the magazine needs. This stems from the fact that I can spend hours developing a staff organization, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee that the jobs will be performed to expectation. As an adviser, I should be concerned with keeping the structure there, but I have found that by the end of the publication cycle for the year, the staff miraculously dwindles to a handful doing the work. This makes me think that we should whittle the staff down to the core of people that we are left with at the end of the year. This is where the idea of “too much organization“ comes from. I hate to see members get positions in on the staff, but not take initiative to get their part of the job done.

        This is the dilemma that I am going to pose to my co-adviser as well as the editor-in-chief for the coming year. How can we more effectively run the magazine? This is where you, the reader, comes in. I would like to know how you organize your staff? How do you get people to do what they sign on for?

Summer Message

2008-06-22T21:33:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wish all of your a restful and rejuvenating summer. I am going to be working on the blog over the summer. I am hoping to get a post or two up over the summer, but I will mainly be working on a list of articles and topics to write about this coming year.

Sales

2008-03-30T22:45:00.004-04:00

"I was wondering if your group sells copies of your magazine once they are printed to raise money? If you do, how much do you charge and how successful is it? In the past we've tried to sell some but never sold more than a few copies at graduation." -Lars

Yes we do sell the magazine. In the two years that I have been involved in selling the magazine we have sold it for $5 and then the following year $7. This year we are talking about selling it for $10. Our problem has been, and always will be, No matter what we sell it at we will never reclaim the cost of publishing. This year's price is an attempt to maximize the amount of money that we can get.
We print 200 to 250 copies of the magazine. We sell 60 copies on average. We feel that we can sell the higher quality magazine to the same 60 people at $10 instead of $5 or $7. In this way we can gain a little more revenue to put towards next year. This is only a theory. Time will tell if it works.

I can't remember where I heard the idea, or who mentioned it; however, there is an idea floating around about the possibility of selling the magazines on Amazon or eBay. We haven't seriously pursued the idea, but it is an avenue that we are going to be looking into. At this point in the game, we (As lit mag people) are going to have to come up with some creative solutions to this problem.

Unfortunately, I cannot ever see a high school literary magazine being published and paid for through sales. Sponsorships, patrons, and donations are always going to have to be a part of the equation. I hope that I will be proved wrong in the future.

Printing Time

2008-03-18T16:42:00.002-04:00

So we have gotten to the time of year when the printer comes around. I would be interested to here from you how your magazine is printed. Do you do it yourself? Do you use an Internet printer? Do you use a local printer?
Our philosophy (The advisers) is to use a local printer. We feel it is important to keep our business in the area. In the past, we have had problems with a local printer, only to have another local printer come to our rescue. After that company was bought out we found another local print shop and we are now working with them for a second year.
We met with our account representative from the printer last evening. He came to the school to talk with us. We outlined our ideas with the rep and looked at samples. I cannot tell you how important it is to be able to have a face to face. We were able to see and touch actual samples of the cover stock and text stock that we wanted to use in this years mag. We were able to talk about the paper size and the colors we wanted to use.
The other benefit that we found, with our present printer, is the technological aspect of printing. We are able to work on our file in Adobe InDesign CS at school, burn it on a CD and send it to them. They pull it into their system and we have a proof in a few days. Now it's gotten better! The have an FTP site that we can upload the file to! That means that when we are finished we send it to their server and they pull it down. The amount of time that this saves us, from even two years ago, is staggering. Going from printing our magazine completely ourselves, to sending the file electronically, in less than three years?!

Find a printer that will talk to you. Better yet find a printer that will sit down and show you printing and paper samples. The printer has probably done this for a while and can help you with problems as they arise.

Pushing the Envelope

2008-02-15T20:56:00.003-05:00

How far can you push the design envelope? Is it possible to have the concept of your magazine's layout go over the reader's head?
Before I go on about this topic I want to make two things perfectly clear: I tend to design on the conservative side and this topic came about because of our scores in this year's competitions. I don't want you to think that this is anything other than constructive criticism/reflection on my part.

Two and a half years ago, when I first joined Charisma, we crated Surfaces. The magazine had a fairly conservative layout. There were a few twists, but not many. The major twist was the fact that we chose to layout the magazine on 8 1/2 x 11 paper in the landscape orientation. That meant that the magazine was bound on the short side (I would not recommend this due to printing issues). The spread was divided into either four or six columns or a combination of each on a page.
Last year's magazine ! (that's right "!"), went in a completely different direction. There wasn't a spread that was similar. The only thing that tied the pages together was the folio, and the use of an exclamation point in some manner. We went from 4 color ink-jet printing on Surfaces to Duotone professional printing. The print quality was extraordinary and the magazine looked good.

The second magazine that I was involved with was hard for me to get my head around at first. It went against my philosophy of design, but I came to love it. Now that we have gotten three of our four competition results back, we have been less than thrilled.
As my colleague and I have let this sink in and we have discussed it, we are coming to the realization that the design concept for ! may have been too much. There are a lot of things that are happening from page to page and even on the page. For some this may be too hard to get their head around, and can end up overwhelming the reader. It distracts them from reading or enjoying the art.

So the moral of the story here? Take risks in your layout, but make sure that what you are doing does not overpower the content. I am by no means saying that conservative is the way to go. After last year's magazine I have begun to appreciate less conservative layout ideas. I have, however, come to appreciate that the cutting edge can be dangerous.

Submissions: Feast or Famine

2008-01-20T13:54:00.001-05:00

"However, there is one problem we have run into: a lack of submissions. Has your magazine experienced this? If so, then how did you deal with it?" -Lars

Lars, I would guess that this is one of the biggest issues that plagues a majority of Lit Mags. I wish that I could give you a clear cut solution. Our publication is in a similar situation.
One of the things that We have done (being that I am an art teacher) to increase the Art Submissions, is to work with our high school Art Club. Our Art Club takes images of students work to put on the district web site. We have begun having one of the Art Club members also be a member of the staff. They help to take the images and can pull pieces they think could be used. If you have an Art Club that is a great avenue to getting Art submissions.
As for Literary submissions, English teachers are the best avenue. Have the staff talk to their English teachers and ask for students who are good writers. Search out those students and ask them for some of their writing. If you know someone who likes to write ask them for work.

Finally, Advertise! Put up posters, run ads in the school newspaper, and run commercials on the school television news (If you have one). Get the word out!

Printing Options

2007-12-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

So, now onto Part II of the response.

"I'm an editor of the literary magazine at Aspen High School in Colorado. Our litmag team has a theme (Spectrum), but we are short on ideas for layout and overall design. I'm also interested in cheaper methods of printing, having gone far over budget on our last two editions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated." -Lars

To discuss the second part of this comment. Printing, I think, is the biggest headache in publishing. In the short time that I have been involved with the printing part of the magazine I have seen a lot of stuff. We have gone from having the mag cover and binding pulled out from under us, to having the printer that we were working with being bought out.
In last year's magazine ! (Yep that's it "!"), we stumbled onto Duotone. This is a photoshop tool that can make a grayscale image appear to have a single color in it. You convert the image to grayscale and select a pantone color. It is hard to explain with out looking at an image or Photoshop. By doing this you give the impression of color in grayscale images, without the cost of 4-color. In your layout software, you can also create swatches using the pantone color that you used for the duotone image. This means that you are only going to be printing in black and one color. Pantone inks are the same, no matter what printer you go to. Pantone colors take the place of one of the inks that are part of CMYK. So you are only printing in two colors.

Binding is also something that can save you money. Look at several printers in your area. Talk to them and explain what you are doing. Perfect binding is one expensive option. You can go with a stapled binding as well. It really depends on what you want. Ask the printers for examples of their printing and their binding.

The last option, that I have to be honest I have little knowledge of, is online printing. Do a Google search and go from there.

I hope that this post, and the previous post, help to answer your questions Lars.

Developing the Theme

2007-12-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

Thank you to Lars for the post. Let's look at the first part here.

"I'm an editor of the literary magazine at Aspen High School in Colorado. Our lit mag team has a theme (Spectrum), but we are short on ideas for layout and overall design. I'm also interested in cheaper methods of printing, having gone far over budget on our last two editions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
-Lars

Once the idea for a theme is there, you hit a wall. It is one of the hardest parts of the magazine. You have an idea and everywhere to go with it. It can be daunting. Our staff has actually had to go back to scratch after our first idea really wouldn't pan out. So we are at the same point that Spectrum is.

At this point you need to look at what possibilities your theme can offer you. It doesn't need to be an exhaustive list, but don't stop at the first idea. This is not the same list that I talked about before.
I am an art teacher. I drive my students crazy with thumbnail sketches. For those non-artists out there, these are very basic sketches that help to organize the artist's thoughts as they develop an idea. I tell my students all of the time that their first idea is very rarely going to be the best.
Start your list of ideas. The list can be doodles, words, what ever helps to get the ideas out on paper. Then review the list and see what ideas have the most potential. Our staff is actually doing some research to help develop an idea that we are pursuing. They are bringing their ideas back to the group at our next meeting. We will go from there.
Don't be afraid to scrap an idea that you have worked on for a while. Sometimes things get published that should have been scrapped before publishing. It's a hard thing to realize and harder thing to actually do something about.

Once you have an inkling about where to go start looking at how the layout can be tied into the theme. The ideas that you just came up with should be a guide for the design. Can your theme be reflected in a folio? Should it be part of the folio or should the folio be simple? What colors are you going to use (Spectrum really opens the color realm, but that may not be how you want to go with this.)? Sections or no sections?

Above are the things to keep in mind as you design. If you're still nervous about the idea it can't hurt to start developing things in the computer. You may stumble onto something as you begin creating.

The Theme

2007-09-30T00:49:00.001-04:00

So the next thing that we are working on is the theme for this year's magazine. The theme is the soul of the magazine. It controls the look and feel of the magazine. In some cases it may even dictate the submissions that are put in the magazine. The theme can be as simple as a shape or graphic element or as multi-layered as surfaces. The theme should be your first decision before anything else can be done. So what goes into the theme?
When I am trying to come up with an idea I create a list of things. The staff sits around and generates a list of ideas for possible themes. It starts off really random, but the more random the better. The longer the list, the better. From that list the staff discusses and narrows down the big list to a few choices.
In theory the items that are on the small list (Hopefully four or five ideas) are expanded. What I mean is, those ideas should be developed a little. Sketch out a concept for the cover, sections (If you use them), a folio line and anything else that comes with the development discussion.
With those ideas fleshed out a little, a decision needs to be made final. It is important that the theme that is chosen will flow through the magazine. It will help to bring the pages together and create a gestalt for your magazine.

Stuck for ideas? Take a look at magazines from home. You can use these layouts as a style guide, but more importantly you can use them to give your magazine a modern edge. It also helps to communicate with other high school literary magazines. Exchange copies of your magazines. See what they are doing. Ask them how they are creating the effects and themes. It is OK to borrow ideas but not to copy them.

Organization

2007-09-23T17:04:00.001-04:00

So today I thought, "I guess the best place to start is organization." Now my colleague and I have a little bit of a difference in organizational philosophies when dealing with files and papers and whatnot. However, that is not what I mean. The way you set up your staff can work for you or against you.
The most important thing in building your team is to have an editor-in-chief that will oversee the operations of the magazine. He/She has to understand, up front, that they make the decisions and are responsible for others completing their jobs. People doing their jobs leads to success.
So here's our line up:
-Editor-in-Chief
-Assistant to the Editor
-Production Supervisor (Money person)
-Layout Editor
-Literary Editor
-Art Editor

Others that join the magazine that don't have one of the jobs listed are put onto teams that support these positions. Those teams are:
-Production Team (Money/Sponsors)
-Lit Team (Collection/review of lit submissions)
-Art Team (Collection/review of art submissions)

So that is the organizational make up of our magazine. For as many magazines, there are as many variations on staff organization. The key to a good staff ends up being the editor-in-chief.

Welcome to our Mystery Co-Contributer

2007-09-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I tried to keep him away from this blog, but he found it way to fast! :-)

The co-contributer and I will be filling this blog with a lot of information. Some of it is great, some not so great, but it will show you what goes into making the magazine.

Doesn't he have anything else to do?

2007-09-16T19:19:00.000-04:00

Seriously though I enjoy these blogs and even literary magazines sometimes. The fact that Charisma for this year has been lost somewhere out in the midwest rather than being judged for the PSPA contest has not dampened my spirits. I think literary magazines are cool, and Mr. McVitty is cool too.

The Beginning

2007-09-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

The point of this blog is to discuss, hopefully in an interactive way, what it takes to build a high school literary magazine from beginning to end. This blog will be updated weekly, but I will not promise a blogging schedule.
Feel free to add comments about our topics and posts, but be aware that I am moderating the comments.
I hope that this site will be just one resource for other publication advisers around the country.