In this post, we’re hearing from Galen Gower, writer and founder of Toad Shade Zine based in Memphis TN. Galen tells us about his creative process, shares his wisdom on incorporating feedback to develop as a creative writer, and gives us a sneak peek at an upcoming publishing venture.
Galen, you’ve started a Zine! What inspired you to launch the independent magazine, Toad Shade Zine? Tell us how it’s been going so far.
I literally decided I wanted to do a zine, bought the domain, blundered through making the website, and started sharing the submission call all in about three hours. I started out not telling anyone it was me doing it in case I really pet the rabbit with it, but it turned out pretty well.
I mentioned this in the second submission call, but the world really is full of things because people decide to do them and decide not to let fear or common sense stop them. I’ve never let not knowing what I’m doing stop me. Sometimes the results are disastrous, of course, but I’d rather go down swinging, you know?
I only shared the first call in a few places and the reception overall was positive. I’m anticipating more submissions for the second issue now that I’ve put out the first one and it at least looks like I know what I’m doing. I’ve got some new people involved in the judging this time, too, since I had to stand over my co-workers and coerce the reading.
I’m really happy with how the first one turned out and, most importantly, I’ve had fun and learned a lot in the process.
How do you decide on each issue’s theme?
We’ve only got two issues underway, but the first theme was a spur of the moment decision. I literally went with the first thing that popped into my head for a prompt and I don’t think it turned out badly.
I decided on Black & White for the second issue because I think there are some really wide-open places writers and artists can both go with that, literally and symbolically. A big motivator, too, is that black and white is much easier and cheaper to print.
Galen, what does your writing routine look like? How do you balance managing a Zine with devoting time to your writing projects?
I’ve been extremely fortunate to have an incredibly supportive partner in my wife Caroline, so essentially, I sit down to write when an idea pops up, or when I’ve entered a new contest.
I also draft quickly, so that helps in getting multiple things done in a day. At any one time, I guess I have four or five things I’m working on, so I just focus on whatever grabs my interest first.
The zine’s demands on my time aren’t as much as you’d imagine, at least not until the submissions close and it’s time to get them read and decided on. I think we’ve all been through the wait between the time when the submission call closes and you get results, so I was very conscientious to get word back to the writers and artists who submitted quickly. I don’t want to make anyone wait for months to hear back.
Although it’s newly-formed, Toad Shade Zine pays contributors—that’s exciting! What can members of the literary community do to help support the Zine?
I offer a printed and mailed copy of the zine on the website for $3. After supplies, printing, and postage, we’re not exactly profiting, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to put that little bit back into the business so to speak. I think the most important support we can get right now, though, is participation. I’m not trying to get rich on this, especially since the money I pay to the winner and other contributors just comes out of my pocket, but the long-term goal is for Toad Shade to support itself somehow. I haven’t really thought that out, obviously.
People sharing the submission call, sending in submissions, and being excited to see the results will go a long way.
What has been the most surprising thing about managing the Zine so far?
The most surprising thing is how much fun it is. Also, how bad I am at layout for the printing. That part will get easier, but I found myself with a lot of empty space to fill and had to improvise.
But really, the processes involved: collecting submissions, having the judges read blindly, and the finished product have been quite a lot of enjoyment. It was really gratifying to print up that first copy and read through it, knowing that I was responsible for it (and didn’t end up petting the rabbit).
Galen, your writing spans multiple genres—science-fiction, horror, and comedy to name a few. And you consistently present the reader with something fresh and unexpected. What inspires your writing? What strategies have you implemented to ensure that you can approach your work-in-progress with enthusiasm?
There are two I know I’m good at with writing so far and that’s brainstorming and drafting. I will turn off the critical part of my mind for brainstorming and come up with ideas, regardless of whether they’re any good. Something I really enjoy doing is engaging with someone who says they can’t come up with an idea for a contest with their prompts. I’ll make a list of story ideas for them, and they are usually outlandish and terrible. So far, I’ve had 100% success rate inspiring good ideas doing this, and it’s a lot of fun.
But as far as my own inspiration goes, I generally take my own experiences and observations of just how absurd the world around us really is and apply them to whatever I’m working on. Not filtering myself helps, plus I just enjoy coming up with ideas that seem too silly to be workable and then turning them into stories anyway. It doesn’t always work, and I’ve written some truly awful stories, but this does tie into my next point.
The most important strategy I have implemented is also one of the simplest there is— don’t be afraid to fail. It’s not like if the thing I write today sucks that’s the last thing I’m allowed to write. I’ll just try again tomorrow. If it sucks again tomorrow, there’s always Thursday, right?
What are your all-time favourite books? Which contemporary author(s) do you recommend checking out?
This is a tough one. I grew up reading above my grade level and that has not turned out to be as critical to adult success as I had hoped. I’ve read so many different things at so many different times in my life that I think any kind of favorites list would just be a very long list full of really odd things, like the novelization of The Funhouse (I literally just found out this was written by Dean Koontz under a pen name) that I read when I about 8 years old.
For contemporary authors, I cannot recommend Bora Chang enough. I have always loved short story collections and her book Your Utopia is the most enjoyable thing I’ve read in quite a long time.
I have also re-read Dennis E. Taylor’s Bobiverse series about five times now. Approximately half of each book is hand-waves and raised eyebrows and he breaks every rule about writing I’ve ever read, but there’s so much in them that appeals to me on so many levels, even if the last one was a giant letdown.
When writing for publication, an important consideration is that the public may not respond to your work in the way you imagined. Galen, what advice do you have for emerging writers about receiving feedback?
The first thing I do, once I’ve calmed down and picked everything up after dramatically turning my desk over of course, is ask myself whether the feedback is true and accurate. It can be especially painful to receive feedback sometimes, especially when it’s anonymous and people are giving you the unfiltered truth. More often than not, the feedback is accurate, and you just have to find enough of a remove from the effort you put in to accept it.
You will also find feedback you simply disagree with, but it’s important to find that medium ground. Even if you disagree, is the feedback accurate and valid? It’s a difficult balance, but if it’s given in good faith, it’s crucially important to be able to accept and apply it to your writing. If we can’t learn and improve, we’re probably not destined for success in writing, or anything else, either. But if you walk around believing your writing is perfect, you probably aren’t reading this.
Submitting writing for consideration in anthologies seems to be a burgeoning trend. Many of these submission calls promise to pay writers for their work, if accepted. You’ve had some experience with this. What recommendations and cautions can you share with fellow writers on this subject?
This is a tough one, since most of us are going to be hobby authors. There are legitimate venues out there paying not very much money. Out of all 5 stories I’ve ever had published, I’m not $100 richer, not to mention the more expensive contests like NYC Midnight. I don’t like to think about how much money I’ve spent on contests and workshops and other things.
I’ve sort of reconciled myself to the fact that it’s unlikely I’m ever going to be a huge commercial success, but even still, the work I put into my writing is still work. Yours is, too. I feel like creative people should be paid for their work. It’s a very straightforward idea to me. Creative work is vitally important and needs to be valued as highly as possible, especially now where it feels like tech companies are doing everything they can to eliminate or replace human creativity.
It is still sort of funny to see a submission call citing best-selling authors as the type of story they want and saying ‘Send us your best work! We mean it! Edit fifty times and make it the best it can possibly be! We are the number one destination for writing of any kind, and you should feel lucky we’re doing this! BEST STORIES ONLY, 5,000 word minimum! $5 on acceptance.’
But ultimately, this is something we’re all doing because we enjoy writing, right? Even if I never sell another story, I’ll keep writing stories because I enjoy doing it, or until the machines replace us completely.
Galen, what can we expect to see from you in the near future?
Expect more weird (hopefully coherent) fiction, more Toad Shade Zine, and I’ve also started an LLC with Melanie Mayer to focus on helping people self-publish, put out anthologies, and generally indulge in our own quirkiness without worrying too much about fitting the mold of what someone else is looking for. We named our venture Sloth & Envy Press and we’ve got a modest slate of projects planned for 2025.
I don’t have a definite plan for it yet, but I’m going to host a writing contest next year to fund Toad Shade, at least partially, so I can pay more people for more arts and stories. I’m completely unqualified for such a thing, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve gotten really great at ignoring the voice of reason in my mind.
Is there anything else you’d like to share or promote?
My friend Jason Teatreault who did the artwork on the first issue of Toad Shade is illustrating his own zine that will be ready for release in 2025. It’s titled Handy Game Machine and it’s all illustrations he’s done based on early Nintendo and Gameboy games. He’s an incredible artist and I’m dying to see the finished product!
More Galen Gower:
Website: ToadShadeZine.com
Sloth and Envy Press: SlothandEnvy.com
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Pauline Shen 