What I Learned Running a Literary Magazine

Writer: Nathan Nicolau

From 2021 to 2023, I ran an independent literary magazine called New Note Poetry. I had no prior experience running or editing a magazine. I relied purely on my own experience as a poet submitting to countless magazines, waiting anxiously for my submission on Submittable to turn green.

After two years of operation, I learned many lessons about being a writer while acting as an editor-in-chief. I would love to share a few that may be helpful.

(A disclaimer: I cannot speak for every literary magazine out there, but I have networked with other wonderful literary magazine editors who have shared similar sentiments.)

Read

To be a writer is to be a reader. Whether you are submitting to a magazine, website, or an agent, you must read their guidelines. Period. Not reading guidelines is simply a waste of your time and theirs. When submitting to any literary magazine, you also must read what they publish to see if they will actually publish your writing. New Note Poetry was an experimental poetry magazine. The amount of sappy, rhymed-meter romantic poems I got was concerning. These got rejected instantly, as well as submissions that did not follow very basic formatting guidelines. Increase your chances of publication by reading.

Let Your Work Speak For Itself

I was going through submissions one day and came across one with a long cover letter, at least 5 paragraphs. (Side note: the shorter, the better when it comes to cover/query letters). Three out of the five paragraphs read like the writer’s resume listing every award, degree, and trophy. It was impressive, but then I read their poetry, and it was not a fit for the magazine, sadly. A few days later, a new submission hit my inbox. All the cover letter said was “I am a 16-year-old high school student from South Korea. Thank you.” Their poetry was wonderful and way beyond their years, so I accepted it for publication.

It is great if you have an MFA/Ph.D. or if you are a Pushcart nominee, but literary magazines are not publishing brag sheets here. Sure, your track record will boost your credibility, but it is your work that should be at the forefront.

Know Your Worth

The most depressing cover letter I read began with “I’m a beginning writer, so I know my place.” New Note Poetry was never a high-profile magazine, so it was beyond disheartening to read this. Lessening yourself will not double your chances of publication. Just like what the last lesson said, magazines look at your work above everything else. They will call out talent as they see it. I most certainly did. Also, in my eyes, there are no “beginner writers.” If you write, you are now a writer. Full stop. Even if you are writing but not getting published yet, you are still working on your craft more than most people. Confidence, not self-deprecation, will get you far.

What Rejection Really Means

Now that I have been on both sides of the writing world, I have a better understanding of why some publications make the choices that they do. Some fantastic poems have hit my desk, but I had to take into consideration space, page count, theme consistency, and many other logistics that are not the writer’s fault. Because of this, I advise you to not take rejections personally and to keep submitting as much as possible. I understand that this is easier said than done but let me assure you to never think of a single rejection as “Never submit to us ever again.” Think of it as “Okay, what else you got?” And trust me, if there is any literary magazine out there telling you to never submit to them, they are not worth your time. That attitude is not respected within the literary magazine community. Keep on keeping on.

The most important lesson I will close with is this: “The worst they could say is ‘No.’” I know this because it was the worst I ever said as an editor. At the same time I ran New Note Poetry, I was diligently submitting my own writing to other magazines. My acceptance rate shot up tremendously. Does that mean writers should try their hand at editing or helming a publication to increase their odds? That is a discussion for a different time.

About the Writer

While most kids wanted to be astronauts or firefighters when they grew up, Nathan Nicolau wanted to be a writer. His fiction, poetry, and essays have been featured in Oddball Magazine, Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Red Ogre Review, Bridge Eight, and many others. He won second place in the Charlotte Writer’s Club 2022 Poetry Contest. His debut novel, TWO, releases on March 4th.

Website: nathannicolau.com