By Caitlin Brown
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing the newest face in publishing, Alex Bestwick, editor-in-chief of Ram Eye Press. Originally from Derbyshire, Alex studied English Language at the University of York before heading over to York St John for his Publishing and Creative Writing MA. Alex is an avid fan of all things horror, with a particular interest in folklore, hence the creation of his horror magazine Middle of Nowhere. I asked Alex about what he learnt when starting his own press.
What inspired you to start Ram Eye Press?
I wanted to make a space for people who love horror as much as me. There are some great horror magazines out there already, but there’s definitely room for more, especially in the North and Midlands. I’d been toying with the idea of Ram Eye for a while, but it was a university talk from Imogen of Greenteeth Press about how she started the press while she was studying that showed me that it was definitely possible and finally inspired me to go for it.
Where did you get the name ‘Ram Eye Press’?
Sheep have creepy eyes, so it fits! Plus the ram is a symbol of Derbyshire, where I’m from, and at the time I was working on my own short story inspired by The Derby Ram, which is a ballad about a giant ram with eyes the size of footballs. The image of the ram eye stayed with me, so I had a go at making a logo, liked how it looked, and here we are!
How easy was it to start your own press?
I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it was nowhere near as hard as I thought. The biggest hurdle was just having the confidence to start because I was worried about making mistakes. I definitely have made mistakes along the way, but I’ve managed to muddle through, and now I won’t make those mistakes again (I hope).
How easy did you find the editorial process, especially on your own?
Editorial ended up being a lot easier than I expected, mostly because the quality of the work that came through was so high that there wasn’t much for me to improve! Even so, I felt a bit nervous about the editing process at first because I know how personal creative work can be and I was worried about overstepping. However, everybody was really open to the process and it felt like we were collaborating to turn something great into something even better.
What is a successful submission to you?
I didn’t go into reading submissions with any specific criteria in mind, but I found that the work that made it into the magazine was stuff that stayed with me long after my initial read. I also love when a piece has a strong emotional thread and explores the everyday struggles of our lives through a horror lens.
Where did you get the design ideas from for the magazine?
I really like designs which are simple but eye-catching – which is a good thing because I hadn’t done much design before this! I just spent ages playing around on InDesign and Canva and eventually get to something which felt right. I’m planning to carry some elements of the current design into the next issues, but with a few changes to keep things interesting and to suit the new themes.
What does the future look like for Ram Eye Press?
I’m planning to reopen for submissions with a brand new theme in early summer, so I’m really excited about that. I’d also love to release a series of anthologies one day. I already have an idea I’m working on, so hopefully that won’t be too far in the future. Beyond that, we’ll see what happens!
How will you measure the success of the magazine?
If even one or two people like the magazine, I’ll count that as a success. And I already love it, so mission achieved. When I started out I expected to only receive a few submissions and have to find a way to flesh it out into a full magazine, so just the fact that so many talented people trusted me with their incredible work makes me feel really proud.
What is one thing that you have learnt from this process?
How to use InDesign, except not really because it still confuses me. It’s also shown me how much I enjoy the whole publishing process. Since I was doing it all myself, I thought there would be parts I hated doing, but it’s just been really fun the whole way through.
Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of starting their own press?
I’d say if you have an idea, go for it! I was worried I didn’t know enough, but you’re never going to know how to start a press until you do it, so you might as well learn on the job!