Writing magazines: To subscribe or not to subscribe

Old copies of Byline Magazine for writers

I’ve subscribed to a handful of writing journals and magazines over the years. Some, like Missouri Review and Glimmer Train, focus on fiction. I always love a good short story.

But my favorite writing magazines focus on writing itself. They have sections on poetry, general fiction, romance fiction, sci-fi, nonfiction, and other genres. They often have a handful of contests with small entry fees in each issue. I always told myself I’d enter one some day. So far, I haven’t.

As a matter of fact, I haven’t opened a writing magazine in at least seven years. I know this because that’s how long it’s been since my daughter was born, and I definitely haven’t done a whole lot of writing since I became a mom.

(Right now, even as I write this, my daughter is trying my patience by throwing a temper tantrum instead of cleaning her room. *sigh*)

Anyway … I’ve been thinking a lot about those writers’ magazines over the past couple of weeks. While I’m out of work, I don’t want to spend money unnecessarily, so starting a new subscription feels a little extravagant considering our current financial situation. However, I got a lot of value out of reading the articles, entries by contest winners, and interviews with published authors. And I enjoyed daydreaming about entering one of the contests and possibly winning one and pocketing a cool $100 or so.

So now I’m debating: Should I subscribe to one again? If so, which one? Writer’s Digest? The Writer? One I’ve never heard of before?

I’m interested in hearing from other writers. Do you subscribe to a magazine? Which is your favorite?

A side note: Byline was my favorite

When I was in college, I attended a writers workshop, during which a representative from Byline Magazine handed out the most recent issue to attendees and talked about the publication some. I subscribed right after that.

It wasn’t a huge publication, but it had a lot of features and about 10 contests going on at any given time. Another plus in my mind: It was owned by (and, I believe, was founded by) a fellow Oklahoma resident, author Marcia K. Preston. Over the next 15 years or so, I'd let my subscription lapse every now and then, but always came back to it eventually. It was just too good not to renew my subscription.

Around 2007, Byline changed hands, and the new owner made a lot of changes to the design but the heart of the magazine remained the same. The new owner seemed to be having some struggles with publication, as the issues were produced more sporadically and then stopped altogether. I toyed with the idea of offering to buy it from the new owner, bringing it back to Oklahoma and getting publication back on a regular schedule. But my husband and I didn’t have the funds to purchase it or the stomach for the potential losses.

Now that I’m unemployed, I find myself thinking about Byline and wondering yet again if there would be a way to bring it back to life. Could I make it the magazine I once enjoyed? Would the payoff be worth the risk?

Maybe one day, I’ll take a chance and find out.