I spent the last week trying to come up with a playlist in order to suit the ever-fluctuating challenges of my moods. My most listened to artists range from heavy rock to the occasional rap artist, so trying to find a healthy mix of music that’ll still keep my interest was difficult to say the least. Those playlists you spend hours working on in order to get the right feeling are finally worth it once you’re laying in bed or going for a jog and you don’t need to skip song after song to find the right one. Different artists mix and mingle where you’d least expect them and somehow make a cohesive unit. It becomes something more than a list of songs: it becomes your source of inspiration.

Literary journals work in the same way. For those of you unacquainted with the artistry of such a publication, a literary journal, or literary magazine, is a collection of stories, poems, and art by a variety of writers and artists that meet the goals of the publication. Some literary magazines have a specific goal in mind; I’ve read magazines that focus on new writers that hope to break out onto the scene; I’ve flipped through pages that deal with environmental concerns in the form of poetry; I’ve nodded along to writings that rebel against the establishment and scream to be heard by any waiting fingers wanting to thumb through their pleas. Literary journals aren’t usually for profit, wanting simply for their readers to come away with a new outlook on life and read some damn good writing. Whether they publish only poetry or have a cohesive mix of fiction and nonfiction, the sheer variety of journals out there means that there’s one for just about everyone. No matter the goal, literary journals have been a way to read new stories for generations.

There are countless literary magazines out there today. With the advent of online publication, this number has only increased in the 21st century. I regularly converse with my writer friends who hoped to get published in the long-lasting McSweeney’s or the Kenyon Review. They want to be at the top of someone’s playlist.

People often forget about literary magazines, instead focusing on writers that they know won’t disappoint them. They then complain about their stagnation; they hem and haw about how they lack variety on their plate, how the same author feels stale, how they need something new but don’t know where to start.

Literary journals are the best way to stay up to date with current writings. Certain journals publish multiple times a year, allowing aspiring writers a slew of chances to submit their work for critique.

I’ve submitted works to some of these journals, only to receive a big, fat “no.” It’s heartbreaking to say the least. But if there’s one thing I learned from this, it’s that I need to keep trying. A lot of my ideas come from the multitude of short stories I read. Not only am I able to find inspiration in the literary journals I subscribe to, I feel like I’m a part of a bigger community of writers trying to make their stamp on the world.

This semester I’m lucky enough to say that I am working with a wonderful group of undergrads to publish on a SUNY-wide literary journal. Based in SUNY College at Geneseo, Gandy Dancer is in its fifth year of publication, accepting works of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry on a semester by semester basis across the SUNY system. Working as a fiction reader, I’m going to be flooded with creative pieces a mile long that cover topics hoping to get published.

This is the first time in my life that I hold the fate of someone’s work in my hands. I don’t know how to feel about it; to judge whether or not a piece is good enough to make it into a literary magazine. This person is just like me, pouring their lifeblood into a story that they hope to share with the world.

It’s time to make another playlist.