I Make My Own Magazine, and You Can Too!

I Make My Own Magazine, and You Can Too!

Who Said Print Media Is Dead?

This is the third year of making my own magazine,  Woolgathering, a quarterly publication about the seasons. Realizing that we are growing more and more disconnected from nature, I wanted to create a magazine that connects the reader to a practice of  seasonal mindfulness, and  so, Woolgathering was born! 

I often get asked how I make my magazine. So, I created a short tutorial to help you get started on making your own!  Making your magazine is a fantastic and intimate way to get your big ideas out into the world. It can be a great way to develop readers, and by working through an iterative process, you can help to accelerate your own growth as a writer!

Making Your Own Magazine

Reasons for publishing your own magazine:

  1. You have big ideas that you’d like to share with the world in an intimate way. This format works well for literary content, comic books, recipes, almanacs, and so much more. This is also a good way to tackle a big project, like a book, in small chunks.
  2. You respond well to deadlines.
  3. You want to foster a community of dedicated readers.
  4. Don’t get lost in the scroll! You would like to present an alternative to digital content. Who said print media is dead?
  5. You would like to be paid via subscriptions for your content.
Content Creation:After you’ve determine what your magazine is about, who it is for, and what you hope it will accomplish, it’s time to start writing your content. I like to write first drafts in an actual notebook. Content creation may also mean collecting from other contributors. I sometimes include essays by outside contributors in my magazine, but most of the content comes from me. Don’t overlook kids, too. They are creation machines and can offer wonderful comics, pictures, and poems!

Image Creation:I like to illustrate my images – usually by working in ink and watercolors; but you could make your images in anyway you would like. Taking your own photos is probably the easiest but just make sure the quality is high enough for print, or you might want to invest in stock images. Or perhaps no images!

Digitizing Your Content:If you haven’t already typed your written content, now is the time to do that. For your images, you can scan or photograph original artworks to turn them into ones and zeros. Just make sure you are scanning and photographing your art at a high enough quality for print. I usually scan my pieces at a 600 dpi. Save your images as a .jpg or a .png .

Editing Your Content:This is where your best efforts should be made. Read and reread any written content to polish and eliminate errors. I find it helpful to do this tedious and sometimes painful task over days. I also have help to catch grammar and spelling mistakes. Also, you can use editing software to touch up photos and/or scanned images. ​
Draft Your Layout:I like to draft with real paper. It helps me to visualize all of the parts. For this process sticky notes are very helpful. I begin by folding paper to my desired amount of pages. I even number them. Then I write on sticky notes the titles of the pieces and the amount of pages they will require. The sticky notes allow me to easily maneuver and swap content around my pages until I have achieved a balanced layout with good flow.
Formalize Your Layout:Draft your finalized layout using editing software, or you can finalize your layout using the design tool on your printing service. I use Printing Center USA (www.printingcenterusa.com), and while they provide design templates, borders, backgrounds, and clipart, I choose the “design your own” option, which allows me to freestyle my magazine. ​
Printing Your Magazine:Choose your prefered binding, paper, and pages for your magazine. At Printing Center USA, I choose the saddle stitched booklet, with gloss paper, full color, 8 pages, and the expanded cover, which allows you to design the insides of the covers.
Mailing Your Magazine:
Once your printed magazines arrive at your door, It’s time to slip them into addressed envelopes (I use catalog envelopes) and hit the post office. Shipping usually costs about $1.30 – $1.40 to ship within the United States. If you have 200 or more subscribers, you can qualify for bulk shipping, at which the price per unit goes down.
If you are looking to build your subscribers, I suggest mailing out a free issues to give potential subscribers a free sample of your publication.

Extra Opportunities:What else can you send with your publication? I like to send extras along with my magazine like free postcards, coloring sheets, stickers, greeting cards, original art, etc. Think of extra bonuses that may delight your reader, build trust, and provide extra value. This is also an opportunity for cross-marketing with another business or product that your readers might be interested in knowing about.
Creating
​Subscription Packages:If you plan on charging for your magazine, consider putting together subscription packages. I have a quarterly publication. So, I sell packages of four magazines annually. You could publish as frequently or infrequently as you wish, and your packages could include other goods or services too.