The Reality of Publishing A Magazine on Your Own

As mentioned before.. WIC is a labor of love and literally entirely curated and created by me. It means a lot to me when people have great feedback, sign up for newsletters or take a business card to follow us, or even spend their money on having a magazine of their own! Those are all proofs of concept, and signs to keep going.. but before I did my first marketplace in Camden at the end of September, I was TERRIFIED. And I haven’t stopped being terrified.

Fast forward to last year when I planned my first WIC event. No one came. Only 6 people, and I wasted £100 on the venue. I was embarrassed and traumatized. Since then I’m always scared that no one will show. But as time has gone on, more and more people have shown up. But even still, that’s not enough to prevent me from being scared. When you do this fully alone, you have no one to share that initial embarrassment with. And everything is personal. EVERYTHING.

I did a second marketplace the following week after my first one, in Brixton, and then did a Launch Par in London Bridge to celebrate the issue finally being out. People showed their support and for that I am indescribably grateful. More magazines were sold, and vibes were good. But still, I am scared. I have another marketplace coming up at the end of November.. and am still scared. I’m submitting WIC to stockists and am scared. I am putting myself completely out there online and am SCARED. But it’s just the feeling of being scared. I’m not actually scared.

One thing that I realized is a major issue is that I am visualizing WIC as something that is so much bigger than it is right now. In my head, I am 10 years down the road. But in reality, I’m at the start. And I think that’s what makes it so so embarrassing. It sounds crazy to type into words... but it’s like “I can’t believe only 20 people showed up when it was supposed to be 2,500”. LOL. Really. But WIC is more than a magazine. It’s more than a “thing for the culture”. Its a media powerhouse that champions a certain demographic of people and makes sure that overlooked talent get their spots in the industry. Its a fuck you to the current fashion industry that I’ve grown to resent over the years. It’s a fresh eye and a different perspective of Blackness. One that comes from a very very unique perspective that only I know, because it comes from my life and my experiences. It’s a world in itself. And this is only stage 1. I can’t wait for you to see everything I’ve been dreaming of since day one.