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iola magazine

How to publish a magazine – find out how…

  • January 31, 2019February 2, 2019

I’m asked how do you publish a magazine frequently, so here is a post to answer that question in the way that we do it at iola magazine. I hope that this helps you if you are thinking of publishing a magazine. Scroll down to get free magazine planning worksheets and resource list. This post contains affiliate links to services and products that I use and recommend.

iola magazine

Printing or publishing?

When I’m asked “How do you publish a magazine?”, usually, what people really want to know is ‘how do you get it printed?’ The short answer to this question is Amazon. Initially, I used a print on demand service called Createspace which is now Amazon’s kdp select. This is for a few reasons but one of the main ones being it is a print on demand service which means I don’t have to have a garage full of magazines that I have bought up front. I upload my files to kdp, then order however many I want and it is then also listed on Amazon for purchase.

How to publish a magazine

If you ask that question but really do mean how to publish a magazine? well then let’s break that down. Publishing means – sourcing content, editing, design and layout, marketing, printing, and distribution.

Magazine publishing

Magazine Content

I had quite a clear idea of the kind of content we needed based upon who the reader for this magazine is and what they want to read. This is the first step of any creative project: decide who it is for, and what it is for.

Many of the writers are members of a writing community (hope*writers – they have the best training for working writers) I floated the idea to them and others. A few were keen to write articles for the project and be involved. In return I could offer to share and support their writing, and offer them reduced copies to sell and share with their readers.

I open the magazine up for submissions from writers that are writing regularly, building a readership and want to be published in a beautiful magazine to share with their readers.

If you would like to know more about writing for iola then you can find out more here.

If you are wondering how to publish a magazine you can get worksheets to help you answer the questions you’ll need to consider and a list of resources here:

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    Magazine editing

    Each issue has a one-word theme. When choosing which of the submissions for the issue I am aware of the reader, what they want, and what this issue can offer them. That makes choosing which submissions to use easier. I am also looking for pieces that are written well, and have some kind of story arc to them.

    Within each issue there is also an order that the articles and other content need to run in. There’s a reason and conscious decision for that order. I print out each article to read, make notes on them and then decide on the order I want them to run in.

    Pile of submissions to read through

    I write to each writer that has submitted their articles and let them know either way. As we are small I can still do this and I am aware of how hard rejections can be, so I try to respond encouragingly to each person. It might be that the article is not a good fit or is too similar to others.

    Magazine copy-editing

    I will then do the layout for the magazine, I like to see articles in situ before copy editing them. It is then printed for editing on paper.

    Magazine design

    The inside pages and cover are templated. Typefaces and text styles are set. Headers and graphics have a feature colour for each issue. The overall design of iola is one that includes large photo pages and lots of white space, these are integral parts to the overall look and feel. iola magazine is premium so everything needs to look and feel high quality and considered.

    Each cover has a photo of a bouquet of flowers that is held by someone. We are currently keeping this look consistent as we want the magazine to be considered like a gift of a bunch of flowers. We want the magazine to be a gift, and flowers on the cover make it feel like a gift. The magazine offers words of encouragement, comfort and inspiration from real people, so the flowers are held by someone.

    The choice of photos for the magazine are of flowers and nature as these are ones that we feel feed the soul through their beauty.

    Magazine layout

    I use Adobe Indesign for layout. Each page uses a three column grid and each article starts on the right hand side with a set look for the header and text start height. The layout for iola is intentionally more book-like than busy magazine layout, that’s because we want a calm feel as the magazine means to provide an overall feeling of calm through the photos, articles, creativity, space.

    We take photos submissions and also we use photo libraries. Sources such as istockphoto, creative market and unsplash. Photos are used as full pages or as half pages. Sometimes illustrations feature. Each issue has one landscape as a double page spread. We choose the photos to go with the theme and the articles and the overall look and feel that is iola.

    Magazine marketing

    Many would think of marketing as the part that comes next. As the part after creating the magazine and now telling people about it. But that is advertising. Everything that I have just shared with you above is marketing. Marketing is creating something for a market to buy.

    [Side note: marketing is not bad. Marketers get a bad rap, as if they are all evil and out to get you, con you and swizzle you out of your hard earned cash. But it’s not true of everyone.]

    We created iola magazine. It is good. iola was created because we would love to read something like this. We’d love to tell you about it. You might enjoy it so we want to share it with you. It costs money and time to create it and run a website for it, so it needs to generate some income towards those costs. You don’t have to buy it. It is not for everyone, but for the people that it will serve we want you to buy it and enjoy it.

    iola magazine back covers

    As part of sharing iola I email my list of people who want to hear about it. I have an email service provider where I can collect email addresses and create emails called Convertkit. We share about iola and the writers and photographers who helped to create it on Instagram and Facebook. Articles are also shared on the iola website. We also are running advertising campaigns on Amazon and Pinterest. iola is also sold at events.

    Magazine printing and distribution

    As mentioned before, Amazon is my printer. I choose Amazon at this point because they print on demand. Which means that they print a run, they hold stock and I can buy however many I want. It also means that I can ship internationally more easily. Our writers and photographers are from Canada, the US, and the UK. Through Amazon I can print and send contributors copies in Canada and the US. US and Canadian based customers can buy copies on Amazon if they prefer. UK based customers can buy copies on Amazon.

    I have found the print quality to be as good as anything I could source from a local printer. In fact, I think the print quality improved after Createspace went over to KDP.

    It does mean that production costs are high which means the price can be high but that keeps the focus on creating great content high too.

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      I hope that this article has helped to answer your questions on how to publish a magazine. If you have any more questions then do email me them.

      If creating a magazine is a dream of yours you may like these articles:

      When following your dreams feels ridiculous 

      How to find the time to write or be creative

      How to create a stop motion for Instagram

      • iola: even in the deep

        £9.00
        Buy iola: deep
      • iola magazine

        iola magazine: tulip issue

        £9.00
        Buy iola: tulip
      • iola magazine bloom edition

        iola: bloom

        £9.00
        Buy iola: bloom

      When ‘following your dreams’ feels ridiculous

      • January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

      It felt like I was giving it all up, dreams, fun, pursuing being paid for something I believed worthwhile and was good at. – ‘How do you follow your dreams?’

      The pressure to leave what I felt drawn to do, loved to do and found purpose in, came from all sides. I had to take a job that meant less time to do the things I loved and felt called to. Would I let it go? Who did I think I was anyway? Did I have to bury my dream and watch it die? 

      But as I was pushed from all sides I found after a while new growth happened. I found strength and focus. A new clarity where once things felt vague. The pressure and limitations made me focus on the essential. Determination to chase the fun and the plans God had for me birthed something new and uncovered an old dream.

      Buried dreams

      A dream needs to be buried to grow, left to germinate in the soil, the difficulties become redirections not dead ends. The critics forge a determination to do the next right thing. The external pressure builds around until your internal pressure can’t not grow. Something pushes through like a shoot from a buried bulb.

      Whilst I know that God sometimes equips us to do the impossible, he also uses the everyday pressures and movements of our life if we allow him. To shape us, move us forwards and turn us to what he has us to do for him and for others. He can take the gifts he gave us, the education we had, the skills we honed and people we serve and we get to honour him and others with those. There are gifts that he has given us and we get to decide what to do with them.

      Maybe you see a pattern in your life, a calling forward in a certain area.

      Perhaps there is something buried in the soil of your heart that is growing.

      Maybe there’s a dream that needs training, pruning and watering with prayer. Surrender it to the soil of your heart and God and see what God does.

      A dream buried may be the very thing it needs to come alive.

      follow your dreams tulips

      What dreams have you buried? Could you make a small step towards growing them? Who could help you? Who could you serve with your dream? What is God growing in you? 

      Following your dreams?

      You are not alone in this, we need you to share your gift with us. The world needs you to come alive. Bring your gift, your voice, mind, art and hands. There are more of us for you than against.

      If you need some further encouragement – look at this:

      even in the deep issue

      This magazine was a buried dream, long-forgotten, it took time, misdirection, training, knowledge, surrender, prayer, pruning and watering. I never thought it would happen either – but here it is. iola magazine

      follow your dreams

      You may also find these posts helpful:

      It’s time for creative block to leave the room.

      For when you wonder what do I do with my life?

      How to find time to write

      How to find the time to write or be…

      • October 25, 2018October 25, 2018

      How to find the time to write or be creative

      How to find the time to write or be creative is the thing people tell me often that they struggle with. I get it, either it feels indulgent and there are too many other things to do, or, (hard truth time) sometimes it’s that we simply don’t want to be creative. That is ok, for a while, but eventually, we may feel we need to express our selves creatively because it is the way we work out problems or find our freedom.

      We get sucked into the latest series on Netflix or scroll through Instagram easily. But the benefits of finding the time to be creative are scientifically proven. It is true that we can find slithers of time throughout our day to fit in some creative time, but for larger creative endeavours or projects we don’t ‘find’ the time like lost keys, we ‘make’ the time. We schedule it, we prioritise it and we reward ourselves for being creative.

      creative when overwhelmed

      Making time

      Creativity on demand is not always easy, it ebbs and flows. With any creative passion project if we want to get to a certain point then we have to make the time and give ourselves deadlines. With iola magazine I have to schedule in my own time to be creative or it won’t get done and I have writers and readers to serve. I have the drive to do so because I love it and I feel alive when I get to express myself creatively. That’s not to say that there aren’t times when it feels like hard work but anything worth doing will have times of resistance. That is when rewarding yourself for the effort is essential.

      Creativity as a lifestyle

      I have also made creativity part of my daily lifestyle, I make time for noticing things and being more mindful of the moments. I write down notes and thoughts or turns of phrases, if I see some design I love or colour combinations I note them or photograph them or pin them. This, in turn, inspires creativity in other areas.

      Planning for creativity

      However much I love working on iola magazine I know that I need to schedule the plan for it. I have different ways of planning my time and although I like a loose-ish schedule and like to go with what I feel like doing within that time period, I still have deadlines to meet. For example the deadline for submissions for the next issue is coming up. Then there will be a period of time where I consider the articles, work out an order for them, then I’ll need to allow so many hours for layout and design, picture research, then marketing creation and general admin. All so that the issue is ready to buy when I have told people it will be ready. I use this Moleskin diary notebook (affiliate link) for my week to week work plan, it has a week to view on one page and notes on the other. For my overall month plan I like to have a month to view for the whole year with all the deadlines marked in. For the iola schedule I use a paper copy of a month to view. I find that writing things down as opposed to typing them helps me to remember them better.

      I made a pretty monthly planner to use and I’ll send you your own printable version if you click here

       

      What to do when you feel stuck creatively

      Creativity to order is hard, sometimes we just get stuck, however much time we have allowed ourselves. It’s a slippery thing, the creative vibe and it seems counterintuitive to do the things that are needed to spark inspiration again. But here’s my best advice, take a break, a rest, go somewhere that makes your soul breathe. Release yourself from the pressure to produce. Then when the creative idea sparks, run with it for a while, even if it feels like a bad idea to start with. You’ll find your way again!

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