Writer's Digest

I read the April 2008 edition of Writer’s Digest. Writer’s Digest is published by F+W Publications bimonthly, and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. This literary magazine also has a website, located at www.writersdigest.com. This magazine includes tips for prospective writers, contests and competitions, interviews with published authors, articles about the writing process, book reviews, and columns about recently published authors. This particular issue focused on pop fiction, with a feature article on the five main categories of pop fiction which includes mystery/crime, romance, horror, thriller/suspense, and science fiction/fantasy.
The cover of the magazine is nothing to write home about, but the title is well-respected. A subscription to this magazine costs $19.96 for one year. I wouldn’t assume it to be an expensive magazine based solely on physically appearance, but there is high quality content within the text on the pages. The pages of this magazine aren’t overly glossy, but there is color on just about every page. There are photographs and colorful texts throughout the issue. It does not stand out too much from the other magazines on the shelf. It is of average size and length with lackluster covers each month.
After reading this magazine, I must say I was inspired. This journal is an encouraging piece of literature for anyone who is looking to become a writer. It is loaded with inspirational stories of authors who pushed through struggles and finally made it to success. At the beginning of the issue, there was a letter from the editor promising that “reading this issue is a treat.” She did not let me down. I devoured page after page of wittily written articles about the trials and tribulations of writing. There were also insightful essays on techniques of writing and the different genres of fiction.
I particularly enjoyed the feature article of this issue on pop fiction. This article covered each genre in depth with inserts from authors of each genre discussing their experience working in that genre. In the middle of the article, there was a large picture of a genre tree which was fascinating. It explored the many subcategories of fiction which can open so many doors for new ideas!
I also really enjoyed a piece called “Location, Location, I forget the third thing.” This is a column written by a humor author about good places to write. It lists the pros and cons of each described potential writing location. The reason I enjoyed this piece was because I found myself actually laughing out loud as I read through it. Sarcastic humor in writing is always a pleasure.
There was one piece on anti-religious writing that was boring. I noticed my mind beginning to drift and my eyes starting to skim as I read. This essay discussed the authors of hot atheist books, their platforms, and why they decided to write such books. The article dragged on longer than the others and didn’t particularly spark my interest. I take this as a sign to stay away from such books.
After reading Writer’s Digest cover to cover, I notice that I am more motivated to write. I’ll take this as a sign that this was a good magazine that successfully did its job. Not only would I read another issue in the future, but I would be honored to one day be published in such a well respected literary journal.