Starting a magazine is more than the look. There is a concept to consider, how you are going to make money from it, who will want to read it and how to get those people to read it

Here are some steps to starting a magazine:

1. Conceptualize your magazine – what is its editorial voice, what types of information should it have, who should it be for
2. Determine how large (or small) your target audience – this can help you determine the viability of your idea. You don’t want to start a magazine where only you and 2 friends would be interested in
3. Decide your revenue model – should it be by subscription or should it be by advertising, or both
4. Write your business plan to help you think through your idea
5. Gather a team to help you create your magazine (ad sales, layout, editorial team, printing, etc.) and decide whether to outsource or do in-house some of the processes involved.
6. Raise financing
7. Start production

I suggest you go through the following resources:

• Magazine Publishers of America http://www.magazine.org
• MagazineLaunch.com http://www.magazinelaunch.com
• 10 Tips on How to Launch a Magazine http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/2004/11/16/10tips
• The Surviving Small Press http://www.laughingbear.com/magazine.htm

Some books you need to read:

• Launch Your Own Magazine: A Guide For Succeeding in Today’s Marketplace by Samir Husni
• The Magazine: Everything You Need to Know to Make It in the Magazine Business, by Leonard Mogel
• The Magazine: From Cover to Cover, by Johnson, Sammye; Prijatel, Patricia
• Career Opportunities in Magazine Publishing by Monti, Ralph
• Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine by Woodard, Cheryl