The DREAM MAG Workshop Series

Your concept is your everything. It’s what will ground your magazine, driving its aesthetic look, themes and purpose. This one seems like a no-brainer, but before you can start a magazine you have to develop an idea for one. Your mag should have a strong concept, one that is memorable, fresh and offers something unique in one or more areas. The more specific your concept is, the better, as it gives your to-be fanbase something solid to grasp onto.

Obviously anyone can read your magazine, but what kinds of individuals are you accepting work from? These things matter, and you should know this before you launch your magazine

Before you make that Instagram account and start posting, you should gauge some interest.

Launching your own magazine is a multi-step process, but we're providing the best tools for attacking this task!

You might feel as though running your own magazine is a task you’re willing to take on by yourself, but the truth of the matter is, most publications need many hands on deck. After launching your magazine, it’s time to start hiring for it. Even smaller, more intimate mags often require collaborative work.

So you’ve got your staff, an amazing group of individuals who are passionate about the work you’re doing and eager to get started. This team will be your rock during the entire process of building your magazine; lean on them, support them, and uplift them.

Things are really moving now! You’ve launched your magazine, hired staff members, and gotten training out of the way. Now it’s time to open submissions, which is one of, if not the most important aspects of a magazine. What exactly does it mean to open submissions?

Opening submissions is one of the most important things a magazine can do; you’re going to want to get as many as you can (so that you have plenty to choose from), which means promoting and marketing the fuck out of your publication!

One of the things to be thinking about when you start your magazine is who you’d like to collaborate with. This doesn’t have to be a super thought out thing (especially at first), but it pays to make connections with like-minded brands, content creators and other magazines. Like you, they also have dreams and aspirations that could be mutually beneficial.

You are working hard to make quality work. You are creative and talented. You are determined and ambitious. Numbers aren’t everything!