How to Budget for Owning a Magazine

Saying you want to own and run your own magazine is the easy part. Finding writers who want to write for a magazine? Not difficult, although finding good writers may be a challenge. Looking up printers to print a magazine is pretty simple. Just ask other magazine publishers who they use. But the funds and distribution deals for owning a magazine? That's where most magazines sink or swim.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Research pricing for the amount of money needed to print the magazines you want to sell or freely distribute. Figure in the following: magazines that will end up in a store on consignment, magazines that will be mailed out in hopes of bigger deals, magazines your street team will pass out to introduce the publication to its audience, and enough magazines to fulfill subscriptions. Also factor in emergency copies for magazines lost in the mail.Some printing companies accommodate minimum print runs in the thousands, others in the hundreds. Very few will print a magazine on demand. Print-on-demand (POD) companies usually charge higher prices because of machine, ink and assembly costs.

2. Set aside money for your writers. Consider working with writers who understand that a start-up cannot pay writers. Quality writers who will work for free may be difficult to keep. Find people who believe in your magazine, instead of those who want fame or prestige. Don't hesitate to weed out writers with an "I'm not getting paid anyway" attitude. College students and internship-seekers may work for free because they can gain credit hours and experience, or a full-time job when your magazines blows up. Make sure to thank your loyal writers and make them feel appreciated.

3. Save your profits. If you've budgeted correctly, you should be able to use your expense money to pay for the regular day-to-day shuffle. Only use profit money for events not previously planned for, such as a release party. (Some magazines throw release parties, others don't.) Seek out companies or locations willing to work with you for events that could help your magazine.

4. Calculate shipping expenses. The weight of extra magazines is not cheap. Get this rate from the printer. Maybe you're willing to pick up the magazines from your local printer or maybe you'll have them delivered, but the shipping costs for subscribers still has to be accounted for.

5. Do not sign any contracts until you have seen how the first print run is handled. You may experience last-minute issues with your printer—the company doesn't have the correct number of magazines out at the right time, it refuses to fix typos, or you have paper and ink issues. A consumer doesn't care about how your printer's wife went into labor or why it's not your fault that page 14 is missing. She paid for her magazine and she wants it in the most professional and timely manner. If a printer refuses to print a magazine without a contract, check out the competition. Confident printers should have no problem with a trial run, especially if you pay ahead of time.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask other magazines that you regularly read who their printer is.
• See if other magazines are willing to give you their rates.
• A start-up magazine's first two years usually start with debt, then break even and, with luck, make a profit. Don't go into the magazine publishing business thinking you'll be a millionaire in a month.
• Ad sales are usually the primary way to make money, although subscriptions and newsstand purchases help. If the magazine is not quality material or the owners make poor spending decisions, a continuous debt/catch-up game can last longer than two years.

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[Devero]

on 10/21/2009 Great publishing tips.