For as long as there is an aspiring writer or an avid reader alive in the world, there will be room for outstanding literary magazines. Among the thousands of attempts at publishing great magazines people make every day all over the world, it is usually the magazines that have a knack for discovering talents that will soon move over to the mainstream that survive.

Here are the things you need…

No. 1: A great editor

There is no good literary magazine without a truly great editor. Art is all about having good taste and a feel for sensing when someone or something is truly great. Literary taste is something that is only acquired after having read everything on the face of the Earth. Young editors may have a feel for what is modern and speaks to their generation, but chances are they will not have the knowledge and experience of an older professional. The key here is to strike a perfect balance between knowing what has been in the past and sensing what can become truly meaningful for the present and the future.

Whoever the editor is, they have to establish a defined profile for the magazine. This is the only way to engage an AUDIENCE.

No. 2: A clearly defined audience

A literary magazine tailored to retired citizens will be very different from one aimed at scholars or another one aimed at young literature students. As with any kind of magazine, niche is always a plus. You can create a magazine devoted exclusively to science fiction writing or haiku poetry; this will mean that the people interested in these types of writing will become your natural audience.

If you want to publish excellent writing of different genres and to be perceived as a medium for established talents, then you will need to interview a famous writer or get permission to print some hot texts, and your reviews have to be devoted to books and authors that are being recognized as “masters” all over the world. You can have a section or two dedicated to up-and-coming talents, but you have to find a way to make it clear that your publication is all about “serious” writing and writers; the kind that win the Booker or the Nobel prize.

The content defines the audience, and these are things you need to analyze very carefully, before launching your magazine.

No. 3: Precision–Short & powerful beats long and dull

As opposed to books, magazines have a limited space to captivate readers. A novel is not like a movie, where people will leave the room if nothing happens after the first 10 or 15 minutes, but a magazine kind of is.  If you fill half of your magazine´s pages with a nouvelle or an excerpt from a novel that doesn´t go anywhere, this may be a bad choice.

I remember I read one page by Orhan Pamuk in the New Yorker, and this made me buy one of his worse novels The Museum of Innocence; a lengthy book that lost all interest half-way through. What the New Yorker excerpt this was create a captivating setting; even when the novel would later be disappointing. When you publish a long poem or narrative, you have to be sure that the use of all those pages is truly justified. You should always prefer something short and powerful to something too long that may make you lose interest after a while.

No. 4: Design and printing for comfortable reading

 When starting a magazine, there are many considerations to be made regarding design and printing. In the case of literary magazines, a modern and sleek look always has to be accompanied by a layout that makes reading comfortable. This has to do with color schemes, font types and sizes, and spacing. Fonts are being used very creatively these days, and this is a good thing, but when your artsy fonts make reading difficult, you may be losing half your audience, because they will have a hard time reading your content.

Professional magazine printing will also ensure that everything looks exactly as you and your designer had planned it.

No. 5: Opportunities for aspiring writers

The bulk of your audience will generally be made up of people who have at least once tried their hand at writing themselves. One of the best ways to secure an audience and find great content at once is to keep an open call or even start a contest for aspiring writers.

Networking with literary departments at important universities can also improve your brand recognition, as well as provide you with access to emerging talents.

No. 6: Understand the ZEITGEIST

Unlike books, magazines are all about the moment when they are published. If the world is focusing on a certain topic, your chances of finding an audience will increase if, even from the cover, people can see that your magazine issue will deal with precisely the thing on their minds at the moment.

Editors can gear contributors towards themes that people living in the world, your country or even your town today will find relevant. Literature is only truly great when it trascends writing and becomes crucial to understand the world we are living in. When dealing with literary magazines, a sense of the Zeitgeist and a knack for disovering talent can make all the difference.

IMAGE BY Rachel Kramer Bussel , website Cupcakes Take the Cake

AUTHOR´s BOX:

Veronica is a writer and film producer born in Uruguay. She has a blog at The Wander Life and a Facebook Poetry page .
She just premiered her first feature film RAÚL about 2011 senior decathlon world champion
Raul Lopez, the fittest 77-year old man in the world.