… would be the title of this article if it was a clickbaity youtube video. Which it’s not.
It wasn’t a mistake as such.
I’ve been daydreaming about starting a literary journal on and off for a long time, but over the past six months – where it feels like I’ve done almost nothing but read submission guidelines, then send my stories off into the void – it’s become something that started to actually seem plausible for three reaons.
One: I now know absolutely everything there is to know about submission guidelines (or close enough) and how writers deserve to be treated. Which is with kindness and consideration and encouragement, even when you can’t find a home for their work.
Two: I had time. You submit something. You wait. And you wait. And then you wait some more. Sometimes I need a break from the writing and a break from the waiting. I definitely need to do something more constructive than checking my Submittable account twelve times a day just to confirm that nothing has changed colour yet, but it also feels like a bonus to keep my head in the game of literary journals.
Three: I cracked the logistics of it.
This last part was obviously the most important and the most challenging. But not only did I work out how all the boring stuff would work (I’ll spare you the details), but I also fiddled around in Not-Photoshop and managed to come up with a variety of cover and page templates which actually look good, incorporating incredible imagery from sources which have consciously placed them in the public domain without copyright restrictions.
In fact, my mocked-up templates were so good I was a bit blown away by some of them. Which is a bit gauche of me, but genuinely has nothing to do with my skill as a designer and everything to do with how impressive and user-friendly your average design programme has become these days.
Some template images below:
Above: proof-of-concept cover art and pages for DEGENERATE ART: Issue A
When I realised I would honestly pay money for a literary journal that looks like ^that^ (and that, in fact, it’s arguably better-looking than some of the mags I currently pay for) suddenly it all seemed possible.
As of last night, the Twitter account is launched (and proving surprisingly popular for a one-tweet account). The website will be next in a week or two. Then in, say, October 2021, DEGENERATE ART will be opening for submissions heading towards a Spring 2022 first issue. This will be a PDF-only issue to start with (although I may print a handful of copies as a thank you and memento for contributors during this initial period when unfortunately I can’t afford to pay anyone cold hard cash for their work), but I’m really very happy with the look of the thing.
Next steps: find some fascinating writers to fill DEGENERATE ART with interesting words!
More updates to come…
A ARBOR, AUGUST 2021