Back in college, I once shared a conversation with a group of friends about our future goals and dreams. As literary journalism students (and if you don't know what literary journalism is, look it up), we discussed how awesome it would be to start our own magazine.
As gonzo students (with a variety of other talents), our make-believe magazine would be full of well written, interesting, worth-the-read stories. They wouldn't be capped at 10-15 inches like they are in papers. These stories would be in-depth, creative, witty. What I like to a call a-fan-fucking-tastic-read.
The magazine would be vibrant. We would take photos. We would create beautifully designed layouts. We would incorporate all of our talents into one publication. It would be brilliant.
Too bad we were just undergrads with a vision. No one had the money to launch a magazine from the ground up. And it was unlikely we would get anyone interested to invest in such an idea.
We all eventually graduated and walked down our separate paths. Sadly, all of my friends don't even use their Lit-J degrees. I'm the only one in the field.
Not only do I feel lucky work in the field I invested in during college, but I am proud to write I recently published an alternative magazine in the Santa Clarita Valley.
That dream I had in college came true.
Last Sunday, altSCV finally made its debut. After months of back-and-forth between management, the publication finally made its way into this world and (hopefully) it is here to stay.
The magazine is the SCV's first alternative publication, and it's my fucking baby. I have never worked so hard for anything at The Signal. Writing for the publication is open to anyone interested in submitting material. It just so happens 99% of the people who write for the it are my friends. Or at least people I have met through the Internets and can now call them friends.
As soon as I was named publisher of the thing, I had complete control over pretty much everything. That's when the game changed. As an editor of a publication, I don't have complete power of what I can and cannot run. I have to watch out for red flags and then ask the appropriate people for approval.
Most of my other publication also have rules. They have a specific purpose or a specific audience to cater to.
Not with altSCV. Guess who can do whatever her little heart desires? This bitch.
If another source wants to reprint anything printed in altSCV, guess who it has to ask for permission to republish? This bitch.
If the designer wants to put a dildo in the publication, guess who gives him the go ahead? That's right! This bitch.
(Which we totally did for the upcoming issue coming out this Sunday.)
altSCV is my perfect baby. I have complete control. Of what runs inside. Of what topics to cover. Of what language I can permit. Of how it looks.
This is more than a dream come true. It is an opportunity to expose the type of journalist I internally am. I don't have to follow those silly daily journalism rules. I don't have to worry about pissing off subscribers because there are none! It's a free publication. You don't like it, don't read it.
I am excited to have the opportunity to publish stories and opinions that would be denied in The Signal or my other publications. And as an advocate of the gays, I am the most excited to finally give the LGBT community a voice. It's about damn time.
The goal of altSCV is to provide SCV residents a publication with intelligent content, that is pretty to look at (as pretty as it can be given it is being printed on really old machines) and that readers get a laugh when flipping through the pages.
So far, so good.
I want to thank those who have supported me in putting this together. I appreciate the kind and supportive words throughout the rollercoaster ride. And of course, this publication would be shit without out my brilliant writers (aka friends!) Thank you for being a part of a my dream come true.
Oh and watch out for my gnome, Addyson. He will appear in each issue.
#win
