Student expands online literary magazine started in class

Editor's note: Lucy Nalen is a Collegian staff member. 

Lucy Nalen, a junior studying journalism, began her online literary magazine, “And So Yeah,” after creating it as a final project in an editing and publishing course with English professor Brian Henry. 

“After the course ended, it started out as my own blog where I would publish poetry,” Nalen said.

Once Nalen decided to expand the literary magazine as an online publication, she created a separate email for submissions from any and all possible candidates. 

“I find online platforms that people use to submit their work, and I’ll advertise my magazine with a link to the page and my email,” she said.

The submission link is kept open for three months, and then 15 pieces are published in an issue of the magazine, Nalen said. 

“When I choose pieces from the submissions that I receive, I’m looking at the work itself and not the bios of the artists who submit them,” she said.

Nalen publishes all the content for “And So Yeah” independently to keep the page original to its primary design but also personal, she said. 

“My favorite pieces to publish are micro-fictions," she said. "I find them really engaging, and by the end, I’m amazed."

Nalen takes all the photography from free-image websites in order to create a color theme and be consistent throughout the website, she said.

The response Nalen receives from the artists she publishes is encouraging and reminds her of how effective her magazine can be, she said. She plans on eventually expanding the magazine so that she can publish more content and reach out to other successful literary magazines as well, she said.

“If someone is hoping to start a literary magazine, my advice would be to throw out their link on a call-for-submissions page because there are so many great writers who will submit their work,” Nalen said.

As “And So Yeah” progresses in the online literary world, Nalen’s priority is still to publish the talented voices that haven’t been heard, she said.

“My ultimate goal for this magazine is to provide a starting platform for people who necessarily haven’t been published somewhere huge," Nalen said. "No background is needed. Talent is the key."

The third issue of "And So Yeah" was published in February and can be found here.

Contact lifestyle writer Emma Phelps at emma.phelps@richmond.edu.