Ed Kozlowsky wrote:
> Is this the reason the S scale magazines passed away? Sounds like a great
> opportunity to me.
>
> Ed Koz
>
> somothrguy2003 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I am told by a friend who has direct contact with a member of the
> editorial staff at Model
> Railroader that S scale railroad articles are HARDLY EVER SUBMITTED to their
> magazine for
(snip)
There are multiple challenges to overcome when creating an S Scale
magazine, and this is just one of them.
Getting material was always a large amount of work for us. Everyone
wanted to read, but few wanted to write. And some of those willing to
write wanted to see their work in Model Railroader or the Gazette, so
they would not submit to us. So I ended up writing more than I wanted
to fill the pages.
Another major challenge was financial. Advertising pays the bulk of the
bills and color ads offset the cost of color in articles. We have too
many stories about the struggle of getting the S manufacturers to
support an S scale magazine. We received comments like...
'If I advertise, I will have to make more kits' (really!)
'Everyone knows who I am so I don't need to advertise'
'I only advertise in the non-S pubs to spread the word about S'
'I spend my money on color ads in the other magazine'
'I'll start advertising once my stuff starts to sell'
'Most of my customers are Flyer-types'
Every issue we printed lost money, but if only a few more advertisers
had come on board per issue, we would have been in the black.
Reader support is another issue. We heard too often from folks who did
not subscribe, but read the 'club' issue. While their positive comments
were great to hear, they did not understand that 25 guys reading one
subscription does not help keep the magazine alive... we needed those
other 24 subscriptions! Printing costs per issue drop as the quantites
printed increase; we needed more subscriptions.
In summary, I had a great time publishing the S/Sn3 Modeling Guide. Too
bad I lost over $35,000 doing it. And no, I will not do it again.
Take care
Bill
--
============== Scale Model Railroad Products ================
Manufacturer - Retailer - Importer
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B.T.S. P O Box 856, Elkins, WV 26241
http://www.btsrr.com
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