As the first anniversary of the Literary Journal Institute (LJI) approaches, we thought the best way to share the program's impact with you was to ask a handful of participants to offer their impressions. The magazines we asked represent a cross section of those that attended the first two LJI workshops.

LJI Atlanta (February 1999) was geared to magazines with circulations under 3000 and covered the gamut of literary publishing topics from writing an effective mission statement to streamlining operations. LJI San Francisco (May 1999) was designed for larger circulation magazines and focused primarily on strategic planning for long-term fiscal health.

The two workshops were different in focus and in the material covered, but inspired very similar reactions in many of the magazine editors and directors who attended. We were pleased by how many of the magazines went away from these workshops ready to start or restart essential organizational projects. People left reenergized and enthusiastic about some of the ostensibly drier sides of putting out a literary magazine.

We should mention that all of the magazines quoted here used some of that energy to successfully apply for the first round of the LJI One-on-One Consulting program. The consultations began this fall and will provide magazines with four days of counsel and training with a publishing or fundraising expert.

The Kenyon Review

"Timing is everything, and so far the timing of LJI has been fortuitous for The Kenyon Review. The LJI San Francisco workshop covered three broad areas of concern: strategic planning, fundraising, and marketing. Obviously, no magazine is going to be ready to take on new initiatives in all three of these areas at once, but luckily we discovered that The Kenyon Review was pretty well ahead of the game in fundraising and strategic planning.

When it came to marketing, however, the analyses, presentations and specific suggestions couldn't have been more helpful for us. And I say this as an editor and writer, not a marketing director! For example, though sending seven renewal notices rather than three—in effect badgering the reader—is counter-intuitive to me, looking at the figures and graphs is pretty convincing. It works—and learning how to make it work for us was and will be invaluable. At one moment, I leaned back in my chair and declared: "What I hate most about all of this...is how interesting I'm finding it."

We've qualified for subsidized consultations this fall, and I'm truly excited. With a little luck, we'll have enough of the new renewal system and other marketing projects in place to make the most out of fine-tuning with a consultant. LJI has proven to be the kind of specific, flexible, supportive assistance that makes CLMP so valuable to organizations such as ours."

—David Lynn, Editor

Salamander

"LJI has been most helpful in keeping us motivated to meet the challenges of increasing our readership and enlarging our yearly budget. LJI Atlanta presented technical information on marketing, renewals, mission, and board development in a format that helped Salamander determine which avenues we should pursue next.

The peer interaction at the meeting was equally valuable: exchanging information on short-run printers, sampling and single-issue sales, and the importance of persistence in building a reader base. After talking with editors whose magazines had institutional affiliations, I was much better informed when we began negotiating our potential affiliation with a local college.

I came back from Atlanta very motivated to take action on issues I had previously only thought about—revamping our mailing list and subscription database, increasing the number of renewal efforts, and more proactive marketing.

I believe that my increased motivation has been an asset to the organization. We have plunged into new projects with vigor: using Ebsco's sample program, developing a web site, and taking on a second distributor. Of course, my strongest personal memory of LJI Atlanta will always be re-working Salamander's mission statement every night! I am pleased to report that our new mission statement has already stood us in good stead in focusing our 1999 grant applications and our redesigned brochure."

—Nancy Spargo, Managing Editor

Hayden's Ferry Review

"For several years, CLMP has been my main resource for the information I've needed to manage the magazine. I've benefited from the Monograph series and the Literary Magazine sessions held during the annual AWP conferences. The Literary Journal Institute goes one step further by giving me the opportunity to personally consult with professionals in the field and exchange information with my peers.

The Atlanta workshop was a tremendous boost to me professionally. It gave me not only the luxury of time to really think about and plan what needs to be done at Hayden's Ferry, but a valuable understanding of how to put those plans into place. Another real plus from the workshop was the sense of community that I felt during the sessions. Feelings of isolation diminished as I listened to my colleagues discuss the same concerns I have.

I returned from the conference with renewed enthusiasm for our future, and with specific, realistic goals that have produced immediate results. I look forward to the consulting stage of the program, when we will address the growth of the magazine (increasing publication to three times per year) and deal specifically with managing subscriber data, developing efficient record-keeping systems, and improved renewals."

—Salima Keegan, Managing Editor

CALYX

"After 23 years of publishing CALYX, the pressure can feel overwhelming and I can lose sight of the vision with which we began. So I was delighted to participate in the LJI San Francisco workshop, though what the consultants there had to say was a bit surprising.

"''Responsible loss publishing!' the consultants informed us. Yes !'Literary magazines are not going to make money (we know that), are not likely to break even (right), so how to lose a minimum amount of money responsibly?' We looked around the room and laughed while some among us objected. In quest of responsible losses, we went over planning, renewal rates, how to improve them—the consultants intoned: 'conversion, renewal, long-term renewal.' We discussed the electronic world—email, web sites. We considered 'institutional memory.'' Who has it? We went over mission statements, circulation, prioritizing, modeling, fundraising. And we took breaks and exchanged ideas.

"I left San Francisco energized and revitalized, armed to strengthen CALYX Journal for the new millennium."

—Margarita Donnelly, Director

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