I’m launching a litmag in November, 2021 called Scrawl Place. I’m not sure why. I doubt the world needs another litmag. If it does, it probably doesn’t need one from me.
But that’s what I love about the litmag universe. Most litmags aren’t launched out of necessity. There’s no great incentive or reward for running a litmag, except the pleasure you get from reading, writing and enjoying the company of other readers and writers. You start one because you want to.
That’s my take, anyway.
When I finally decided to go through with it, I made a few decisions about how it would be different from most litmags. My goals are:
- to pay writers something, as much as I can afford, and increase the payments when I can
- to never, ever have reading fees or contest entry fees
- to reply to submissions as quickly as possible
- to articulate an aesthetic as much as I’m able
- to make it easy as possible for people to sumit
- to find a sustainable business model over time, so writers keep getting paid and I don’t get burned out
These are the goals from the writer-side. I’ve also been thinking a lot about readers and what will bring them to the journal.
I’m giving myself three years to figure it out. If it’s going well, I’ll keep going with it. If not, I’ll say ‘good try, let it die.’
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