This morning, I'm working on my syllabus for my online magazine publishing class. So far, I've divided up the semester into the following categories -- any suggestions for areas I've missed would be much appreciated. Sometimes you know this stuff so well, it's hard to see it clearly...
Online Magazine Publishing
- Unit One: Defining your vision
- Week 1 -- Compare and contrast with other magazines, print and online; review and devise detailed guidelines.
- Week 2 -- Respond to all query letters sent thus far. Review and upload detailed guidelines to website. Publicize guidelines online.
Kent Brewster, "So You Want to Start a Magazine"; Mary Anne Mohanraj, "So You Want to Start a Magazine"
- Unit Two: Management procedures and magazine structure
- Unit Three: Designing for the web and elsewhere
- Week 4 -- The Non-Designer's Design Book
- Week 5 -- Basic HTML, intro to web design programs. Continue to work on design, being sure to consider issues of accessiblity. "A Beginner's Guide to HTML"
- Unit Four: Finances and Grant Applications
- Week 6 -- City of Chicago website -> City Departments -> Cultural Affairs -> Programs & Services -- read through the various grants available, paying special attention to the Community Arts Assistance Program.
Also research State of Illinois arts grants.
- Week 7 -- Discuss fundraising and other avenues for financial viability.
- Unit Five: Selecting and Editing Material
- Week 8 -- Read submissions and edit. Skim Making Book, excluding the "On Copyediting" chapter.
- Week 9 -- Read submissions and edit.
- Week 10 -- Read submissions and edit.
- Week 11 -- Finalize issue contents. Upload draft.
- Unit Six: Copyediting and Proofreading
- Unit Seven: Publishing
- Week 14 -- Review of process and assessment
- Week 15 -- Discuss vision for next year of the magazine.
Well perhaps this goes without saying, but is it worth spending time on/thinking about who will be the audience for the magazine as well as what you do once it is published?
(for example, helping promote the magazine via various awards it might qualify for etc.)
I’d also think that looking at past examples you’ve done you do considersome of these post-publication opportunities as you organize the magazine – for example via setting the rates for Strange Horizons to qualify as “pro” rates.
For any magazine whether small or large the readers are, I’d argue, as important as the writers and editors – over time if you succeed the readership helps expand the writers (and in many cases readers help directly or indirectly with funding the publication).
So I might add towards week 12-15 sometime a bit of exploration of what your published work would qualify for as well as how you might go about promoting it to readers. And early in the process as you look at other magazines you might also want to consider the various requirements in the field – for awards, for consideration as a “professional” etc and look at what you can do to within your budget/time constraints meet those requirements.
back to my packing…