The Light Bulb is a new interview series by The Lumiere Review. This month, our Editor-in-Chief, Jessica Kim, will be interviewing editors of various regional, national, and international literary magazines to shed some light on the work they are doing. Many editors are writers themselves, and we hope that these conversations bridge the gap between these two identities by giving editors a chance to discuss their contributions and motivations and writers a chance to learn about the editorial process, preferences, and interests behind these magazines. We believe in amplifying a diverse range of publications and editors in the ever-expanding literary scene through this series.
This time round, we have Robert James Russell, founder and editor-in-chief of Cheap Pop Lit, an online literary journal focusing on stories, 500 words or less, that pop—stories that, regardless of their short nature, stick with you. Stories that are unforgettable.
I am obsessed with the work Cheap Pop is doing! How did you get the inspiration to start Cheap Pop and what has fueled you to continue running it?
I co-founded the literary journal Midwestern Gothic in 2010 with Jeff Pfaller as a way to help catalog my home, the Midwest, and all the writing being done here, the wealth of important voices. MG was designed to be a print journal, and after a few years I was craving the immediacy of online content. I got the hankering to do something that could be consumed quickly, small bits you could read on your lunch break or in between projects, so I settled on flash (500 words or less). Soon after, I drove by a sign advertising “cheap pop” at a corner store and couldn’t get the phrase out of my head, and we launched and started publishing stories in 2014. The goal was always for CP to be a home for writing that pops and excites and inspires, that might be uncategorizable, that lingers for days or weeks after and gets you thinking, alters your perception.
What fuels me is the community: the CHEAP POP team, the authors we publish, the readers. The compassion, the kindness—it’s a very heartening experience, seeing how folks are there for each other, lift one another up. What people are willing to trust us with—their art, their souls on the page—is something I take very seriously, and I feel indebted to everyone who submits to us. Ultimately, this is a family, a celebration, and that continues to inspire me and keep me going.
Community does play an essential part in running a literary magazine. Tell me something about Cheap Pop that can’t be found on your “About” page.
The Tasmanian devil is our (unofficial) mascot!
Is there anything that distinguishes Cheap Pop from other journals?
I’ll say, perhaps, our publication schedule and the type of content we publish. We’ve gone through a few iterations, and now we only open for submissions twice a year for a month, and then have two seasons of stories that come out each Tuesday and Thursday. Personally, I really like the schedule—that we can deliver content consistently so there’s always something to look forward to.
When CP first started, we accepted only fiction, but we’ve pivoted slightly: we will now take any sub-genre other than poetry (I love poetry, but there are many other great journals out there for it). We’ve published literary fiction, nonfiction, fiction-nonfiction hybrids, sci-fi and speculative, fairy tale, horror, and everything in between. We aren’t looking for something concrete, but something special—voice, writing style, tone, how the author subverts expectations. Because of this, I don’t believe CP can be easily pinned down, and yet, people still have an idea of what would make a good CP story. This is absolutely because we’ve been fortunate to publish consistently good work since our inception, from both first-time and established authors alike. That’s the underlying thread: excellent writing, above all else.
Excellent writing is, well, excellent. Then, what do you look for in submissions? Do you have any advice for writers who submit to your magazine?
We’re not looking for specific genres or voices or writing styles; we want freshness, something we haven’t seen before—a new way into a familiar story or setting, a new perspective, and we want people taking chances and exciting us with their work. My advice to writers is to trust yourself: don’t write what you think we want to see, since that’s so hard to pin down, anyway, but write what excites you, however it excites you, and own it.
Could you elaborate on Cheap Pop’s editorial process? How do you and your team determine the acceptance or rejection of a submission?
Since we only publish twice a week for a few months a year, we actually don’t publish many stories (our acceptance rate waffles between 6 – 8%). It’s a challenge and we always have to say no to pieces we love. When we receive submissions, all editors read and vote and have a chance to explain their reasoning. At the end of the submission cycle, editors list out favorite pieces, and Hannah Gordon (CP Managing Editor) and I go through all submissions and accept pieces based on majority vote. This is a long process, and the hardest part is that we inevitably have to turn away pieces we adore. But that majority vote is important to us so everyone gets a fair shake. Also, every piece, whether it’s the first we receive in a submission cycle or the last one in five minutes before it closes, gets the same attention.
What has given you joy or fulfillment as an editor? Conversely, what has been the greatest challenge you faced while running Cheap Pop?
Recognizing my own privilege, I have vowed to use CHEAP POP (and any publishing platform I’m a part of) to help lift all voices. Giving space to marginalized voices and publishing first-time writers brings me tremendous fulfillment. My goal with CP is to make sure we’re always cutting through expectations: there is no right way to get published, no secret formula. If a piece of writing works, we want it. That’s what CP means to me: a safe haven for everyone, a place to discover writers and stories you might not see otherwise.
I suppose my greatest challenge is continually finding ways to best serve the writing community—we must continue to learn, adapt and change—and time constraints. We’ve been doing this for over six years, and while I don’t have quite the flexibility I did at the outset, CP is still a priority, so carving out time to do it—and do it right—will always be a challenge.
I feel that. You’re a talented writer yourself, so which came first, editing or writing? Is there a particular role you prioritize? Or do both positions come hand-in-hand?
That’s so kind of you—thanks! Writing definitely came first, but editing has made me a better writer. As editors, we surround ourselves with the best stories, the best work, writing that floors us…CHEAP POP brings me truckloads of inspiration and helps give me permission to try new things (writing styles, genres). Frankly, I credit any success I’ve had as a writer to being an editor for so many years. We never stop learning, never stop growing as artists, so the best thing you can do is surround yourself with great art and keep pushing yourself. Earlier on, I think I prioritized editorial work over my own writing. Now, I’ve learned to ask for help—I owe so much to the CP staff, all that they do—so I can prioritize my own work. I can still give CP and editorial work my all, while making sure I give myself the time I need to create the art I dream about so I can feel that fulfillment, too.
Who are some of your favorite writers?
Ooh, that’s a tough question! If you don’t mind, instead, I’m going to rattle off a list of folks whose work I’ve been obsessing over/coming back to lately, work I can’t stop thinking about: Vievee Francis, Melissa Faliveno, Michael Ondaatje, Emily Bernard, Bruce Chatwin, C Pam Zhang, Anne Valente, Ted Kooser, Lydia Millet, and Yoko Ogawa, among many, many others.
What a lovely list. Finally, what do you do outside of writing?
Pre-COVID, my first answer would be travel, which isn’t super possible right now, so I’ve been spending more time drawing and creating art—to be honest, I’ve explored my art more in 2020 than I ever have in my life. My day job is as an academic success coach at a university, and it’s very socially demanding—albeit fulfilling—work, so taking time to listen to music and draw or paint with watercolors has been very, very good for my soul.
Robert James Russell is the author of the novellas Mesilla (Dock Street Press) and Sea of Trees (Winter Goose Publishing), and the chapbook Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out (WhiskeyPaper Press). He is a founding editor of the literary journals Midwestern Gothic and CHEAP POP. You can find his illustrations and writing at robertjamesrussell.com, or on Twitter/Instagram at @robhollywood.
Interviewed by Jessica Kim, edited by Lou Willmott.