When I launched my latest magazine, many people made comments about how ‘brave’ it was; many more asked questions such as: ‘Where will you get contributions from?’ or ‘How will you let people know about it?’
I felt surprised by some of the things people said, because I felt that what I was doing was mainly common sense and not rocket science. However, on reflection, I came to think that, although much of it was commonplace to me, this was probably because I was taking for granted the experience and knowledge I had accumulated over the years. It then set me thinking that, if it wasn’t just common sense, perhaps others could benefit from my making the information available to them. And that was how this book began.
This is not a book for the really experienced magazine and newsletter producer. If you have been running an established publication for many years, you will undoubtedly know all that is within these pages – and would almost certainly be able to add to it. If this is the case, I would welcome suggestions for anything else to include in a future edition of the book.
I hope, however, that if you are thinking of starting a publication, or if you have one for which you are already responsible, but which you would like to develop further, this book will give you some ideas and some practical help with your venture.
The chapters that follow contain straightforward guidance, in an easy-to-read format. You can access the chapters in any order you wish, depending on your need at any particular time. It is useful to re-visit some of the topics periodically, to check that you are still on track to meet your original objectives, or to consider how you may need to vary what you are doing in order to achieve new goals. Publications need to be re-evaluated on an ongoing
basis, so they remain lively, focussed and relevant and the more attention you pay to doing this the more effective you will be.
I hope that, within these pages, you find many ideas for making your own publications a success.