Hello mama's does anyone have experience on starting or working at magazine?
What would I need to get started and what are the pro's and con's of starting one? What do you think the cost would be?
I would like to create one for young adults....
Did you notice that Borders has just closed it's doors? People are not buying printed material at the same rates they used to.
Perhaps you should consider an on-line magazine version for teens and young adults. That age group in particular is more likely to down load than purchase paper nowadays.
I honestly wouldn't be leaping into this business right now. I have been a writer for 20 years now, including many years as a writer and editor at a publisher. I was in charge of a start-up publication and I can tell you it's a whole lot of work and risk, even if you have an audience lined up to begin with (we were spinning off a specialty area of our main publication, so we had the audience/mailing list). That publisher eventually switched to doing online newsletters and now focuses primarily on research.
It's not a good time in the publishing business. Reporters and editors are being laid off left and right.
Before you start anything, I'd hire a research firm to investigate your target audience and really see if there's demand for your idea. You also need to understand your competition, pricing structures, production and printing costs, staffing costs, mailing list acquisition costs and potential ad revenue sources.
Your best bet may be to develop a business plan and pitch it to an established publisher in a similar niche.
I formerly worked at a publishing company that did magazines for businesses and chambers of commerce. You may want to approach a company like that who could help you get something started. It takes a lot of hard work and time to get a new magazine off the ground, and going alone would not be the best way in my opinion to get started. They have the tools, knowledge and staff to guide you in your quest. Just my two cents! Sounds like a great concept! Good luck!
Wow, big task. I worked on newspapers in high school and college. I know for that we had special software that allowed us to put things in column form. When we did an annual magazine, we did story boards. We would fit type, graphics, ads, and pictures with captions onto specialized oversized cardboard pages. The pages would be delivered to the printing press and turned into a magazine for us. Then we distributed them around campus. SInce you can't hand deliver yous, you would need a publisher. Maybe you can do 1st edition as an example of what you are going for and shop that around to differant magazine publishers.
Find out your print out cost and it's important who your cometition is. What kind of magazine? What's your target market? Is it free? Will it be for local businesses to advertise? The biggest fees are the printing companies, quality of the paper, paying the writers, lots of marketing advisors to sell the adds, supermarkets charge you about $5,000 a month for a display at the entrance ( high end supermarket in fl - publix) You can make good money, one full page advertisement for several months could cost $$$$$ especially if you are connected with huge local companies. Are you thinking local or nation wide? Pm if you need more info.
I wanted to once upon a time, and actually took a How To Start A Magazine class at a community college. The guy scared us all with the fact that most magazines fail, so you need to have a lot of passion and do a lot of homework. No matter what: do a business plan. Even if you don't need to obtain funding, it will help you clarify your vision and create an action plan for yourself and anyone else working with you. You can find some sample ones online, and see if there is a local chapter of SCORES in your area, which is retired business men giving free advice. You need to get to know your competition, and develop a sense of what will set you apart and how you will run (where do you get content, subscription vs newsstand price, ad sales, etc). Research paper and printing costs in your area. You could probably start one for a few hundred dollars but if you want it to be sustainable and successful you need to think through every contingency: where will the printing costs come from next issue, and the one after that...
I had a partner in my endeavor, which helped tremendously as he was more money oriented and I was prepared to do the creative. He eventually moved out of the country and I never went back to it. But I think it could be a lot of fun and very satisfying if you have the drive. Good luck to you!
