Back to basics

“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