Katelyn Thomas's Blog
Posted by Katelyn Thomas
A reader asks, "Which comes first,promotion,printing of first copy or licensing of your magazine?"
For me, it was promotion. I mocked up a four page zine and a rate card to show around. When I got enough ads to cover printing, I laid out, edited and printed the mag.
Once your magazine is finished, you can register it for an ISSN. This is the last step because you need to send an actual sample of the mag in and I found it easier to send a published copy instead of creating a whole new sample. I had already registered the online version of the magazine before I started the print version.
Posted by Katelyn Thomas
I've had quite a few people ask about magazine publishing recently and thought I'd address a few of the questions. One person asked whether a subscription based or free magazine was better. The short answer is that it depends. Now, for the long answer.
When someone is producing a children's magazine, it usually is subscription based, as are many of the special interest publications, such as skateboarding or art mags. This is either because these periodical publishers want to have much more content than advertising or they can't attract a wide pool of advertisers for a magazine with a limited readership.
For someone who is creating a regional magazine, offering the publication to local residents free of charge often means the ability to attract more advertisers, since readership is much higher. I've heard of a few regional mags that do charge a subscription because they feel it makes people take the publication more seriously, but they probably have a tough time getting subscribers for something most people expect to be free.
A third option is to offer a magazine free to local residents and provide subscription service for people who've moved outside of your region and miss reading the mag.
Posted by Katelyn Thomas
This week, I wrote an article that discussed where to put a home office. It can be tough to find space when you've already got a lot going on in your home, but I've always managed to carve out a niche, even if I had to go into the yard. My RV office was probably my favorite, although it had an annoying leak that we were never able to patch. Gallons of patching stuff went on that roof, but the leak persisted and I finally moved inside and into a spare room.
When I decided I needed a spare room bed, I moved my office down to the former living room. It is an immense area, but I wanted extra room to put kits for the art classes I teach together. Of course, this isn't an option for most people, but we always use the family room anyway and it was just a matter of getting rid of a few stuffy pieces of furniture.
Where is your home office?
Posted by Katelyn Thomas
If you've been thinking about taking a seminar, now is the time to sign up. You have a short window of opportunity before holiday shopping starts up and you should feel some extra motivation as all the kids head back to school.
Not sure what to take? Check out your local library and SBA. Our library does free classes on all sorts of computer skills and has a small business department that offers programming like how to manage effectively on a regular basis.
Check online, too. I've noticed free classes from HP on all sorts of business related topics.
Posted by Katelyn Thomas
Today, I bought a new computer for business use. I hated to do it because it was such a big expenditure. However, my old laptop had issues that were really affecting my productivity and the necessary repairs were going to involve several hundred dollars and several weeks of a life without my laptop. I had just spent almost two hundred dollars on repairs for the same computer less than two months before, too. For me, a new computer was actually cheaper than the repairs and lost time and income..
However, there are times when fixing your computer is a smarter choice. If it is under warranty or if the part is relatively inexpensive, you may want to have the repair done. In fact, I did a repair on our children's game computer myself the other day for the price of $20. It needed a new cpu fan. If only my laptop would have had a problem like this!
To decide whether your computer is ready to go to the great internet cafe in the sky, get a repair estimate, including the time involved. Add up the repair costs and the cost of your lost time and compare it to the cost of a new computer. If the two totals are fairly close, you probably want to opt for the new computer, complete with warranty.
