BodyPainter Rich  wrote:
Magazines have an increibly high failure rate. Do your homework for sure!

Of course, this is why it would be a small test run and sold only through places where our main focus would buy them. From what  I understand it is difficult for a magazine to even make it past its 3rd-4th issue if they do not do things right.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
Are there any people here who have actually published a magazine, or been part of a publishing company who does?

I have a couple of ideas, as well as the interested backers in my idea. But I have no idea where to find out how much even a small time magazine publishing endeavor could cost for even a small batch.
I am not looking for one of the on demand publishers. I want higher quality.

Any information would be appreciated.

Contact me off list GB, and I can kick it around for you as far as the mechanical "how-to". The efficiency on your side [design - layout - pre-press / pre -flight - colour control - print ready output - ect] depends a lot on what you have to work with already or what you might need additionally to generate print house usable output.

Studio36

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
Are there any people here who have actually published a magazine, or been part of a publishing company who does?

I have a couple of ideas, as well as the interested backers in my idea. But I have no idea where to find out how much even a small time magazine publishing endeavor could cost for even a small batch.
I am not looking for one of the on demand publishers. I want higher quality.

Any information would be appreciated.

Smithsonian. I was published in their Artifacts book for photographing Indian artifacts that my brother in law collected.  Four pages and a cover.

Okay, I see. You want to print your own. I printed my own comic book once. $1500 for 3000 color cover, B/W inside.

Crazier Benny wrote:
you will also need to check on the color scale they print CMYK or RGB, it has but I think 99% of magazine prints are in CMYK

Make that 100%.  You cannot separate color using RGB. 

For a magazine to even begin reaching success there must be a minimum 60:40 ratio of advertising to editorial.

These are the things you must understand (completely) prior to the attempt:

Journalism:  The publication must be well written;
Graphic Design:  Advertisers rely on build services, not everyone goes through an agency and you must know how to do layouts of the publication;
Technical:  Hardware and software platform requirements, many use Quark for publishing;
Printing:  Screen sizes, stock used, costs and capabilities of presses;
Circulation:  How the publication will be distributed, and how returns are handled.

Write a business plan based on the above.  You will quickly discover it will be tough to make any money based on the effort.

Michael Barian wrote:
save your money.

To make money you have to risk losing money. But there is also something a wise business man once told me. If you want to start something, invest with other peoples money. In other words, find a backer. Which I have.

Robert Perez wrote:
Hey,

I would suggest do a moch up magazine and shop the prototype around to get ads to help pay for the production of the mag and know for sure your target market.
  In NYC there are stores that just only sell magazines like a hardware store sells hardware and I see new magazines coming out all the time on all types of topic.

  I notice with new mags that they come out like once a year and I do not see how they built up your readers you need to produce them at a faster rate.
I do know like a clothes company want there ads to come out fast because they need them out in a timely fashion and if you come out once every 9 months it will not do any good for them.
  Make sure you have the budget to produce issue after issue in a timely fashion.

Good ideas. I did plan on shopping it around to the san fran and sacramento book/magazine shops and such first. We have tons of shops which are purely magazines and books. I happen to be sort of friends with the owner couple of the local magazine shop. I of course will hit there first.  I am not sure how often I will publish it. It is not going to be vogue or cosmo type thing. More along the lines of a fine art magazine with some models mixed in now and then. Most of the higher end magazines that do such things come out maybe 4 times a year.
Where might you suggest I have a single copy printed though? Single copies are bound to be super expensive.Especially if I want it to look exactly as my actual magazine is planned.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
Good ideas. I did plan on shopping it around to the san fran and sacramento book/magazine shops and such first. We have tons of shops which are purely magazines and books. I happen to be sort of friends with the owner couple of the local magazine shop. I of course will hit there first.  I am not sure how often I will publish it. It is not going to be vogue or cosmo type thing. More along the lines of a fine art magazine with some models mixed in now and then. Most of the higher end magazines that do such things come out maybe 4 times a year.
Where might you suggest I have a single copy printed though? Single copies are bound to be super expensive.Especially if I want it to look exactly as my actual magazine is planned.

I don't mean to be the nabob of negativity, but based on your questions and responses; you're lost.  Having been through the process of start-up through publication myself, I can tell you your approach will get you a lot of wasted time.

The best you could possibly hope for that would bring any ROI (financial and otherwise) is to go to an existing publisher, pitch the idea for you to put it together and they run the printing/distribution operation.  If you can't sell that to those already funded, already having the resources and infrastructure in place, then you certainly won't be able to do it on your own. 

You simply don't have the "big picture" understanding of what it takes and you won't until you sit down and write a full and complete business plan. 

I ran into Isosceles. He had a great idea for a new triangle!
--Woody Allen

area291 wrote:
I don't mean to be the nabob of negativity, but
The best you could possibly hope for that would bring any ROI (financial and otherwise) is to go to an existing publisher, pitch the idea for you to put it together and they run the printing/distribution operation.
You simply don't have the "big picture" understanding of what it takes and you won't until you sit down and write a full and complete business plan.

Why do you think I am here asking for advice,lol. So I can see where to get such information that I would need for a business plan and such. But I do already have someone willing to back my idea. We just have to find the right process to go through to get it done.

area291 wrote:

Make that 100%.  You cannot separate color using RGB. 

For a magazine to even begin reaching success there must be a minimum 60:40 ratio of advertising to editorial.

These are the things you must understand (completely) prior to the attempt:

Journalism:  The publication must be well written;
Graphic Design:  Advertisers rely on build services, not everyone goes through an agency and you must know how to do layouts of the publication;
Technical:  Hardware and software platform requirements, many use Quark for publishing;
Printing:  Screen sizes, stock used, costs and capabilities of presses;
Circulation:  How the publication will be distributed, and how returns are handled.

Write a business plan based on the above.  You will quickly discover it will be tough to make any money based on the effort.

What he said.

I have been involved with printing and publishing my whole life. I have been involved with many publications that started and failed. It is EXTREMELY difficult to make money off of one publication. There are too many people involved and not enough profit. If you can produce two or three publications using the same infrastructure, then you can make money.

Are you going to be the writer, the designer, photographer and sell the ads? Are you good enough at managing all these duties? If not, now you have employees. You will have to pay them a month or two before the magazine ever comes out. That means you need start up capital (and lots of it). Printing costs can be staggering. The problem is that short runs (500 or 1000) are not real economical. The cost is in the set up. Paper and press time are relatively inexpensive. The more you print, the lower the per piece cost is.

(By the way, there is no way to produce ONE copy that will be exactly like the printed version. You can print a digital mock up on whatever stock you choose, but it will not be as good as a printed copy).

But your ad rate is based on the number of subscribers or circulation. Is an advertiser going to bite if the ad is only going to go to a "small test run".  And again, area 291 is right the ratio of ads is 60:40. If you plan to sell the magazine in a couple of book stores, you'd be lucky if you sold a hundred. That's not much incentive for an advertiser. So a better option may be to give the magazine away. People may look at it and toss it, but more people will be interested, thereby increasing your circulation, thus increasing your ad rate to cover costs, etc.

It IS truly a vicious circle.

Most small publications are based on vanity. They don't make money. Most are lucky if they break even.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:

To make money you have to risk losing money. But there is also something a wise business man once told me. If you want to start something, invest with other peoples money. In other words, find a backer. Which I have.

If you decide not to go forward send that backer my way. I have an up and operational newspaper that could use a shot in the arm.

Why do you think I am here asking for advice,lol. So I can see where to get such information that I would need for a business plan and such. But I do already have someone willing to back my idea. We just have to find the right process to go through to get it done.

Business Plan:
Decide everything you will need to open the door
  Equipment (computers, software, phones, internet service, INSURANCE, utilities, transportation, office furniture, etc.)
 
  Personell, how many to do what jobs.

  Contract Work (printing, distribution etc.)

Add it all up.


Add in at least 25% of that toal for contingency

Factor in personell, contract and other recurring expensses for at least six months.

Add in another 10 to 15% contingency.

Have Fun!

DawnElizabeth Moderator wrote:
Smithsonian. I was published in their Artifacts book for photographing Indian artifacts that my brother in law collected.  Four pages and a cover.

Okay, I see. You want to print your own. I printed my own comic book once. $1500 for 3000 color cover, B/W inside.

Model. Published photographer. Comic book artist.

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Jack Elliott wrote:

Why do you think I am here asking for advice,lol. So I can see where to get such information that I would need for a business plan and such. But I do already have someone willing to back my idea. We just have to find the right process to go through to get it done.

Business Plan:
Decide everything you will need to open the door
  Equipment (computers, software, phones, internet service, INSURANCE, utilities, transportation, office furniture, etc.)
 
  Personell, how many to do what jobs.

  Contract Work (printing, distribution etc.)

Add it all up.


Add in at least 25% of that toal for contingency

Factor in personell, contract and other recurring expensses for at least six months.

Add in another 10 to 15% contingency.

Have Fun!

Once you reach a final cost, double that to cover promotion, advertising, legal representation, and save my ass now fund.  Make sure that your plan includes a break even analysis to first see if it's worth the risk to the investors.

and I too am impressed and mesmorized that you have backing without a clue.  I can't find any rich bastard to toss money at me, and I have the whole thing laid out ready to launch. Editorial content for the next 6 months is lined up ready tp print, once I raise enough money to do so.

shikatoi wrote:
and I too am impressed and mesmorized that you have backing without a clue.  I can't find any rich bastard to toss money at me, and I have the whole thing laid out ready to launch. Editorial content for the next 6 months is lined up ready tp print, once I raise enough money to do so.

It is someone I know who just sold a home for a lot more than they paid for it. He told me he would back me if I get the details. He and I have talked about a lot of my business ideas over the years.

Dan Howell wrote:
I would suggest you research far more deeply than asking questions on a web forum.  You might consider college level classes and professional seminars.  It appears that you have not grasped the scope of the undertaking.

I am looking allover, this is just where I started. As for my grasp on what all it will take, as I said to someone else who said basically what you said, that is why I am doing the research.....to find out what it takes.

glenn usdin wrote:
The ideas you have stated are a formula for disaster.

I have yet to disclose my ideas for the magazines I had in mind. So, I do not know how you arrive at that conclusion.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I have yet to disclose my ideas for the magazines I had in mind. So, I do not know how you arrive at that conclusion.

Maybe the first step is to hire some consultants, take on that management role first.  Your investor will think that's smart too if you sell him/her the right way.

I'm available.