Behind the Scenes with Beyond Thought

(Cover image by Natalie Hernandez)

So, what do we do here at Beyond Thought? That’s a question that a lot of our audience asks. What does it exactly mean to be a creative arts journal? What do we do to compile the magazine? How do we get our magazines out to our audience? If you’ve had these questions, then look no further than this blog post. 

Each semester at the Beyond Thought Journal, we produce a magazine of the most creative students of our generation from across the country. Whether it's poems from our home state of Nevada, or short stories from the American heartland, our journal showcases a wide variety of creative works. But how do we make our journal? Today, I’d like to share with you a sneak peek behind the pages of the Beyond Thought Creative Arts Journal.

First, we meet online during the winter or summer break (depending on the time of year). While others use this as a reprieve, we take it as an opportunity to plan out our upcoming semester. We don’t talk about classes or professors, rather, we talk about everything Beyond Thought related. With our group of officers, we think of all the things that we want to achieve this semester and how we can make the organization better. One of the first things that we come up with is the new magazine’s theme. With each magazine, we hope to find a theme that will challenge our submitters and entertain our audience. In the past, we have asked our submitters to explore the deep and mysterious ocean, the free and untamable wilderness, and even the cryptic and beloved nostalgia of the past. So, making a theme is an important step for not only the kind of magazine that we want to produce, but also the effect that we want to imprint on the art community. Though we don’t require our submitters to follow the theme, it is our responsibility to help guide them with ideas that are wide but interesting. 

We aim for our themes to be wide but concise. We do this by thinking of an image and what it represents for us. For example, last year we had a jungle theme. When our team members thought about what they relate jungles with, they came up with things like exploring, relaxation, and rejuvenation. With these words associated with an image, our Senior Editor begins making graphics. If you were following us back then, you may have noticed that our graphics at the time depicted images of the jungle. That’s just one example of the fun work that we put into our magazine!

Once we pick a theme, we then open our website for submissions. Next, we get the word out there. Since many submitters are located across the country, we have to be very conscientious about where we advertise.  We usually announce a new issue on our social media sites, such as our Instagram. During this time, our officers and members volunteer to post flyers around our college campus to let people know our theme and that we are open for submissions. The submitter campaign is a big effort, but well worth it. Each of us is motivated to get the word out so that we can make the magazine the best it can be.

Now that our audience knows that submissions are open, pieces slowly trickle in. This means that our members start reviewing. When we review, we divide the submissions that we get into categories. Categories include poetry, creative nonfiction, and so on. We then view the piece together, talk about it, then choose whether or not it gets put into the final journal. We do this every week at our team meetings. These meetings are my favorite part of being a member of the Beyond Thought Creative Arts Journal. Not only do they allow me to meet up with good friends, but I can also see all the awesome artwork that we get firsthand.

After submissions close, we tend to hold longer meetings than usual. This is because we get the most submissions right before we close, which leaves us with a lot to get through. Nevertheless, we always give each piece the time and respect it deserves to make the magazine the best it can be. 

Once we choose the pieces, we contact all our submitters. After getting in contact with them, our team begins to produce the magazine. This happens during the end of the semester. When we make the magazine, we give each available member a few pieces to make pages for.

Each piece gets a couple of pages specifically curated to it, which includes the art, a creator’s bio, and their picture if they choose to provide one. Our members work hard to make their designs mesh with the content that they are given. This gives each piece an individual atmospheric feel. Once everyone has made initial drafts, our Design Manager reviews everything to make the whole issue consistent. 

With the magazine finished, we go to publish. These finished issues can be found on our website, with physical copies available for purchase.

And that’s a usual semester here at Beyond Thought. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our story. If you are interested in contacting us to learn more, click here.