The Literary Journal Institute

LJI Main | LJI Toolkit | Participants | Circulation Database Template

In the fall of 1998, CLMP and the National Endowment for the Arts launched the Literary Journal Institute, a national initiative to help literary magazines thrive in an increasingly competitive and commercial marketplace. Through intensive weekend-long workshops, one-on-one consultations, and a peer support network, LJI's mandate was to arm magazines with the tools and training to strengthen operations and stabilize finances.

At the conclusion of the program in September 2000, more than 125 literary magazines (of every conceivable genre and size) from 41 states had participated in LJI. Judging from participant program evaluations as well as more casual feedback, the program was successful in providing this large group with essential information and training on streamlining operations, increasing (or, at the very least, sustaining) subscription and sales income, as well as identifying new ways to attract donors.

LJI launched activities in Atlanta in February 1999, with a two-and-a-half day workshop geared towards magazines with paid circulations of 3,000 or less. Developed and facilitated by experienced magazine publishing professionals, the workshop addressed everything from clarifying the "mission statement" to subscriber retention to cost-effective "new business" marketing campaigns. Most of the 21 participants were awarded travel stipends, which enabled magazines from all over the countryãfrom Hawaii to Maineãto attend. Throughout the subsequent 14 months, three more intensive weekend workshops designed to address the needs of magazines of various sizes and capacities were held in San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Boston. In addition, LJI hosted two three-hour workshops, which were free to participants, at the April 2000 Associated Writing Programs Conference in Kansas City, MO.

Many of the workshop participants went on to apply to LJI's One-on-One Consulting Program, in which magazines were paired with publishing and/or fundraising experts to work on self-designed projects. In all, 22 magazines were awarded 32 hours each of consulting time, plus travel stipends, which allowed for important face-to-face meetings. In many ways, these consultations were the cornerstone of LJI and provided magazines with the unique opportunity to consider solutions to their most pressing operational dilemmas.

While many of the participating magazines received training and assistance through LJI's workshops and one-on-one consultations, just as many have participated solely through the Peer Support program, which included the presentation of organizational case studies at the Kansas City AWP conference as well as the peer-driven LJI email list, litmagsLJI. LitmagsLJI, an online forum where LJI graduates facilitate an ongoing dialogue among more than 80 literary magazine editors and staff people, has helped guide magazines through production planning, finding distributors and venues for online sales, event planning, and much more. CLMP hopes to continue litmagsLJI for as long as there is a demonstrated need for the forum.

In response to the stated need of many LJI participants, LJI also developed the Circulation Database Template, which is currently helping dozens of magazines better manage their subscriber records, customer service, marketing campaigns, and accounting of earned income. The Template, designed by literary magazine editors with software programming experience, was beta tested by three magazines in an effort to detect bugs and/or enhance its user-friendliness. In addition to the software, a 36-page user manual guides magazines through the data conversion process, general data entry and file maintenance, and reporting. For magazines that once stored subscription records on outmoded databases, or with software not designed for data management (such as Microsoft Word), or on index cards in a Rolodex, the comprehensive Circulation Database Template is just short of revolutionary.

Perhaps LJI's most meaningful achievement was providing venues and forums for more interaction and information sharing among literary magazine editors nationwide. Lynx Eye, based in Los Angeles, was able to talk marketing strategies with Agni, based in Boston. Calyx, based in Corvallis, OR, was able to share fundraising strategies with Heart (PA), Prairie Schooner (NE), and Nimrod (OK). Magazines working in the same citiesãsuch as Other Voices and Another Chicago Magazineãwere able to exchange information on local vendors and resources relevant to magazine publishing. We anticipate that the many connections made through LJI will comprise the program's greatest legacy.