Publishing 101

The Pitfalls of Stating a Literary Magazine

If you are running or starting a literary magazine, consider the following problems. Am I the number 1 authority on the internet on this subject? No. Have I owned and operated successful literary magazines and writer’s sites for the last 22 years? Yes. Have I made many mistakes and earned myself a ton of headaches? Yes. Please read this article and do it better than I did.

 Problem 1: Too much work

Literary magazine editors can use less work. Literary magazines are very labor intensive. You may get 10s, 100s, or even 1000s submissions. You will be expected to respond to all of them. Publish someone, and you are their hero. Reject a writer, and you can get a furry of slurs. Here are a few things you can do to limit the work:

1. Get a design template and stick with it. Make it easy for yourself to publish the site. Think it all out first, and then basically cut and paste.

2. Should you use a blog? It might make it easier in many ways, but you should start with a website and add a blog.

3 . Write a form letter for responses. It’ll save a ton of headaches and offense. I’ve had editors send back a rejection like, “Ah, didn’t do it for me.” The magazine I got this from initially did very well and then faltered. They wanted to keep it personal, but you hurt yourself. This answer was the result, I guess, of an editor who sent out too much mail. Maybe they didn’t care if I returned, but it was more like just being tired of dealing with people. I only revisited the site once I heard they were having trouble. I never submitted anything else to them. A form letter might seem impersonal, but it will save you from making a jerk of yourself on the day your dog died, and your girl ran off

4. Try to get some help. If you go into it as a group, it is beneficial. If it is just you, it’ll be a lot of work.

Number 2: Too little reward

Right now, dealing with a bunch of artists and writers and being able to publish their work sounds like a lot of fun, but six months from now, you’ll think, “What the heck am I don’t this?” Do yourself a big favor and understand the following:

1. Make sure you love this going in. If you are doing it for any other reason than you love writing and want to support writing, walk away now. If you love writing and you can create something unique in the writing world, do it.

2. Should you make money off a literary magazine? Many writers think you shouldn’t, but if you say it this way: Should you pay for other people to publish their work? Most people would say no. You should love it, but you shouldn’t have to pay. You should at least want to break even; if you are courageous, you should think you can make money.

Number 3: I can’t make money on a literary magazine or website

1. Bull. Yes, you can make money on a literary magazine. It is much easier to make money on a literary magazine or literary site than most people think.

2. Literary, writing, book publishing, and bookselling sites were and are some of the most profitable sites on the web. Amazon is one of the top literary companies that started by selling books. Self-publishing book companies, magazine sellers, and many other “literary” type sites do very well, and they will pay you to put ads on your site or sell their products. DO NOT go into this thinking that your goal is to quit your day job, but you can make it easier on yourself if you decide right now to at least get the site to pay for itself and supplement your income. That is entirely possible.

3. Literary magazines can sell well because they build a loyal readership. Namely, the people you publish will sign up for your mailing list and even come back from month to month to read the magazine.

4. You will not usually make money by charging for content, but you can run ads or promote other products.

5. You should now decide to run the site like a business. It will save a lot of time, energy, and headache.

Number 4: More hours in the day.

Remember, many people who start a literary magazine are also writers, and I often hear that it will take time away from your writing. It’s true. It will, but if you set up a schedule and limit your time online, it will help. It will not cure the disease in the end, but it can help keep you writing. 

We have an extensive listing of literary magazines if you would like get ideas and look at examples.

Holy rusted metal, Batman! They want more. They really want more! It almost seems surreal, like a dream and a cruel joke all at once because what started as angst over waiting for a literary agent to respond to your query has suddenly turned into a mountain of anxiety in waiting to see if your work measures up. You’ve perfected your pitch, nailed the brown-nosing and first pages, but now everything you’ve poured your heart and soul into for the last {insert ungodly amount of time} is under the scope of the gatekeepers. It’s what you always wanted. It’s what you always feared. So…what do you do now?

• Take a breath. You’ve made it past some pretty huge hurdles. Go out and celebrate this accomplishment because it’s a big deal and you deserve it. Statistically, most writers never even finish an entire novel. Bask in the realization that you’ve risen to the task and didn’t give up.
• Keep querying. The eggs-in-one-basket metaphor applies really well here. Rejections on full requests are still likely from a numbers standpoint. The great news is, you know your query is working, so keep casting the net out there. You only need that one agent to make an offer, but it can take a few tries to find them.
• Don’t obsess. Resist the urge to go back into your manuscript and make changes before hearing back from the interested agent. And while you’re at it, try to avoid stalking their Tweets. You’ll drive yourself crazy reading into their #10queries. You’ve chewed all the fingernails you can chew. Just let it rest until the final verdict comes back.
• Follow submission instructions. Just like you did for the initial query, send them exactly what they ask for. Don’t add in your graphics or pitches for other things you’re working on. Just send that full or partial in the right format and stay professional.
• Keep reading. I’d tell you to stop refreshing your inbox like you’ve developed a new tic, but we both know that’s not gonna happen. So, after reading this article, check your email again, and then dive into a new novel or a great classic to take your mind off of your dreams for a day or two. Get lost in a story. Hell, reading is why we write anyway, right?
• Keep writing. Starting a new project might be the very best advice on this list, hands down. Maybe you’ve got a treasure chest full of ideas. Pick one and get it rolling. If you’re feeling weary, take a break or have some fun with short stories or writing prompts through the writing communities online. You may think your last idea was your best one, but experience only makes you better. Might as well make the most of your time off and hone those skills for revisions a legitimate agent WILL ask you to do, eventually.

It’s really easy to become discouraged and play all sorts of scenarios in your head, so don’t hesitate to reach out to fellow writers in our community for support. Most of us are kind-hearted and understanding. We’re all on the same journey, taking on the world through literature, superheroes in disguise. And it’s not been easy. But, you did it. You caught the eye of an agent, and that’s no small task. Give yourself a break and a celebratory plate of carbs and sangria (milk, if you prefer). Keep moving forward. And, never, ever stop.

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Berkley. Harlequin. Entangled. A six-figure book deal with Feiwel and Friends. An incredible sales record on any literary agent’s résumé. Feel that rush? My thoughts exactly when I signed the dotted line with my dream agent. I’ve fought in the query trenches and lost more battles than I care to admit, but I more than survived. Like Katniss Everdeen, my time in the arena wasn’t without heartache and a good measure of cement around my feelings. The benefit to making nearly every rookie mistake in the unwritten rules is that I now kinda know what I’m doing. My journey to signing with my amazing agent might look different than others and, in fact, should in a business this subjective. That being said, there are a few things that, had I known them at the beginning of my journey, might have spared me some literary scars.

1. Beta That Query: No one would give a second thought to having their novel read by at least three test readers before those final edits, but it’s alarming how many of us wing our pitch ability, a detrimental mistake that could keep those agents from even looking at our brilliant writing chops. A pitch-length synopsis is a very different animal from a novel, and, just because it’s short, doesn’t make it easy. Narrowing down 100k words to a 250-word summary with a solid hook is harder than it sounds and deserves a few eyes before sending it off with all of our hopes and dreams.
2. Research & Research Again: Top agents continually refer in their tweets to the hopeful souls who have received a rejection for simply being unable to follow query instructions. Anything from being unaware of expectations for debut authors on word count to submitting in the right format can mean the difference between a rejection and a request. The big offender: wrong genre. Yes, it takes time. And, yes, agents shift their tastes from time to time, but do yourself a favor and read those bios to at least decide if an agent and their agency are a good fit for your novel. While you’re at it, go ahead and check those sales records and online reviews. It’s worth the preparation and really helps in personalizing the pitch.
3. Create Several Drafts: All of the advice I received said to send out my queries in small batches of ten, taking feedback and testing hooks as I did so. But my first book (not the one that’s currently represented) was remarkable, destined to impress each agent that received it. They were sure to be fighting over me within days. So, I sent about fifty of my dream agents my own version of a query, disregarding nearly every piece of advice out there. I wanted to stand out, and I’m sure I did… right before they hit the reject button. By the time I reentered the trenches with my newest novel and query nine months later, I’d learned my lesson.
4. Test That Opening Scene: Don’t be afraid to rewrite the entire first scene if you’re not getting any bites. Some agents will send feedback in their rejections, some don’t. It depends on how much they enjoyed the concept and, of course, how busy they are. I’ve scratched prologues and rewritten openers until I finally started getting requests on two different manuscripts. Yes, I had betas look at the newest versions each time. It’s a dance. Learn the steps.
5. Narrow It Down: Practice writing your pitch for Twitter or, even more challenging, in one sentence. That’s your hook, and it needs to do just that. Decide what your story is really about, and make that your opening statement. What’s the conflict? What’s your main character’s goal? If you don’t know what the main point of your story is, no one else will either.

It took me a year and a half and two manuscripts to really narrow down how to work the pitching process, honing my writing skills all the while. If you’re willing to learn, you’re destined to grow, and if you’re still moving forward, it’s impossible to fail. The very best advice I received was to take each rejection as an opportunity. Take the compliments. Hold onto them. Take the criticism. Make your work better. If you start feeling the heat, take a step back and remember that one very annoying but true tagline in every form rejection: This is a subjective business. Just wait. It could all change tomorrow. We’ll be ready for that, too.

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