From Nylon Nostalgia to Write or Die Dreams
On the importance of design in creating community through writing.
The way a lit mag looks matters. Stand-out publications pay attention to their design and layout to create an inviting reading experience. Everything from typography, color scheme, and graphics to overall presentation should enhance the content and showcase the work of writers you publish. This is nothing new.
As a teen, when Borders was a bookstore, afterschool bliss meant sipping mom-bought hot chocolate while browsing YA and listening to CD samples through chunky headphones. Then I'd grab armfuls of fashion & music magazines and nestle into a leather cafe sofa to culture myself. Magazines were my obsession. Life was good.
My favorite magazine was Nylon. It was a rebel fashion magazine at the time, a sort of mix tape of music features, celebrity interviews, fashion editorials, and cultural commentary. With an edgy and playful aesthetic, it gave off the DIY feel of the punk zines of the 70s and 80s, while remaining colorful, vibrant, and youthful. The magazine had energy. It felt alive.
While it still exists today on the web, it is forever romanticized in my brain as the pinnacle of an aesthetically pleasing, aspirational print magazine. So much so, I cut all my issues to shreds and collaged an entire wall of my teen bedroom, my closet doors, around my mirror, and most of my composition notebook diaries.
This is all to say that I’m having something of a full circle moment as the editor-in-chief of Write or Die magazine. And while I’m not comparing it to Nylon (two different categories after all), I do find it interesting how often the obsessions of our youth come back to haunt us as adults.
When Write or Die merged with Chill Subs, we got a fresh new look. I told our designer, Nikita, about my love of collages (yes, even digital ones), and he confidently told me that they were overdone and outdated (Nikita will tell it to you straight). And obviously, he was right, because look what he came up with. More than I could have imagined in my outdated collage brain, that’s for sure.
The Chill team and I sort of sat back in wonder as Nikita’s magic unfolded. He took what Write or Die was and expanded upon it tenfold. Every design choice- color choice, graphics, layout- had a purpose, a reason, and an intention. It wasn’t just about making it pretty. It was about creating an experience as a magazine. There were a lot of Slack messages like this.
When I think of myself waiting impatiently for my copy of Nylon to arrive in the mailbox each month, so I could whisk it away to the privacy of my bedroom, I realize that magazine was my community. Full of things that I cared about- art, movie stars, music, books, fashion- written and designed by people who cared about the same things. As a young girl in a small town who didn’t have immediate access to a lot of those things, the magazine created little sparks of inspiration to rattle around my adolescent brain.
If I could have liked, shared, and reposted every page, I would have but all I had was a pair of scissors, scotch tape and any bare, flat surface that was unfortunate enough to meet my enthusiasm. I want to recreate that same energy and inspiration within every aspect of Write or Die.
As the editor, I have to think a lot about aesthetics, from what’s posted on the website each day to what we are prompting on social media. Again, I have help. Shelby, the social media curator for Chill Subs, has taught me a lot about algorithms and the impact of social media posts, from what people will read, what they will share, and what they won’t. It's a LOT to consider, and I regularly call Shelby an angel for helping me navigate this on top of all my other tasks. (and hers!)
Right now, we have a new designer on board, Jacelyn, who is working with me to create original imagery for each Feature and Essay posts. While stock photos are fine, they aren’t ideal for how I envision the magazine. Sometimes I can’t find a licensed photo that accurately captures the piece we are publishing. Cover photos matter! They absolutely can deter someone from clicking on an essay or an article, and therefore, that writer’s work doesn’t get the love it deserves.
I provide each writer that we publish a little media kit with graphics to use on their own social profiles. Even though we can’t post every article or interview or essay to our main feeds (there is a strategy in place. There has to be in the ever-changing world of social media), I make sure to highlight their publications on our Instagram, Twitter or Threads accounts. These graphics also allow them to showcase their own work in a, you guessed, aesthetically organized way. I want everyone who gets their work published on Write or Die to feel special, to be highlighted and to be proud to share it.
It takes forever to get published. And when you finally do, what can be more deflating than having a magazine slap your story/essay/poem on their ad-stuffed website and call it a day?
If we publish you, we will be shouting it from the rooftops along with you. And in this digital age, that means posting something to social media that will make someone pause while scrolling and think, damn, that looks cool. Or, hopefully, how we respond to Nikita:
It's not always easy. Sometimes I worry too much about our social presence. Are links being clicked, posts being read and shared, and liked enough? Why don’t we have more followers? What does that mean? Do we suck?? I worry about the website too. Did I choose the right stock photo? Did I just fuck up the feed if I didn’t? Are our writers feeling the love? (If you have read any of my other guest posts here, you know I worry a lot.)
As a teen, Nylon magazine inspired me to create. And even if that was just another collage or Sharpied angsty song lyrics on the spines of my composition notebook diaries, it was art. It was a reminder of my own creativity and a call to action to utilize it. That's my goal for Write or Die.
I want it to be a place where you go to feel creatively energized. To feel rebellious in a world that can make art feel pointless or “unproductive.”
To be reminded of your value as a writer and the need for your voice.
Write or Die - a call to arms (but arms with pens!)
We are currently open for submissions! Right now, we are looking for your nonfiction: We publish first-person narrative essays that explore the intersection of writing and life (whatever that means to you). We are always interested in essays that illuminate the strange, obsessive, spiritual/magical ways that writing and reading shape our reality.
To submit: email your pieces or pitches to our associate editor Shelby Hinte at shelby@writeordiemag.com
Subs open until Sept 15th
Pays: $20