Special Ed wrote:

Ken G wrote: Difference is, he's not aware that he's become irrelevant.

That's ok, even if faced with the realization that he is irrelevant he would certainly blame it on someone else.

He's always the victim.

That is true, isn't it?

Hm. I read Heartland every now and then. Not very often. I thought about getting in touch but they won't publish what I'd want to write.

I'd like to read a mag that was less newsy and more experiential. Seems like a national mag like that might be a go. Round up all the good local writers to pitch in. Really, I mean, fuck gear reviews. Fuck most methods articles. And more and more lately I've gotta say fuck pictures. I've seen enough bass.

I want to ingest meat. Entertain me. Tell me a story. Whatever you do, don't publish boring shit.

Alright Ken, make me a magazine I want to read bro. I probably won't submit but I'd subscribe.

-SB

heysambennett wrote:Hm. I read Heartland every now and then. Not very often. I thought about getting in touch but they won't publish what I'd want to write.

I'd like to read a mag that was less newsy and more experiential. Seems like a national mag like that might be a go. Round up all the good local writers to pitch in. Really, I mean, fuck gear reviews. Fuck most methods articles. And more and more lately I've gotta say fuck pictures. I've seen enough bass.

I want to ingest meat. Entertain me. Tell me a story. Whatever you do, don't publish boring shit.

Alright Ken, make me a magazine I want to read bro. I probably won't submit but I'd subscribe.

-SB

I've bandied this idea around for years, even made up a layout a few years ago. We discussed this too about a year ago in another thread on Can't you Talk About Anything Else?, I think.

E-zines are a waste of time. It's expected to be free and nobody will subscribe. The printing costs on doing a good mag can be daunting. Look at Gray's Sporting Journal. That's the quality level I would aim for. That's an expensive proposition. I've got that magazine for well over a dozen years. I never realized they only have between 30-35,000 subscribers. I assumed more.

And yes, I'd expect you to submit. You'd get paid enough to then subscribe.

It's always in the back of my head. It may stay there for awhile yet though.

Give it to the reader free, make money from the advertising. The first year or so would be the expensive part until you were able to build enough of a readership that you could sell to advertisers.

The problem is that there are so many out there that are filled with regurgitated articles, it would be white noise unless you could really figure out a way to stand above the rest.

Nick wrote:Give it to the reader free, make money from the advertising. The first year or so would be the expensive part until you were able to build enough of a readership that you could sell to advertisers.

The problem is that there are so many out there that are filled with regurgitated articles, it would be white noise unless you could really figure out a way to stand above the rest.

You, when you're not doing reviews, Ed, Sam, Bob Long. I could probably get Dale to do something different. Plus I know a few up in Wisconsin and it depends on the region and how regional it would be. I have other local guys bookmarked that I find interesting on other levels.

Problem with giving it away is then you can never charge for it. I did a breakdown of advertising revenue of another known mag. It works out okay, but just okay. The initial costs are the killer. Plus, it might be harder to get advertisers. Different audience kind of and they may balk. I'll keep it burning in the back of my head...

Well, keep it burning. I'm not aware of a decent gear chucker mag that's worth a damn.

What would be easier to do is to put together an anthology of short stories and do the print on demand thing. Or, hell, look for a publisher. My opinion of the publishing world going down in flames, seemingly, is not that it's not a viable model there's just not enough remarkable work these days. It's difficult to sell a shit product with the exception of the captives at the airport bookstores.

And by remarkable I mean just that. Worthy of even a remark. When's the last time anyone talked about a great collection of fishing stories? Hemmingway? I may be out of the loop as well. Let me know if I missed something.

Use the proceeds to fund a mag. Put it out once a year and charge a premium. I'll buy. Hell, don't even print glossy. Put it out in newsprint. Punk zine style. '81. Photocopy it and drop a couple of staples in the spine. I'll pay out of pocket to have that produced.

If the writing is remarkable I could give a damn about glossy pictures. I don't need porn to get off. 90% is mental anyhow.

I just want a decent rag to read on the can.

-SB

I've done a lot of research and even helped out with some small run magazines getting off the ground. I'm willing to help out in any way I can if you ever need me. There's a very short list of publishers willing to do small runs.....and the cost between 500 and 2000 is not a significant amount. The initial setup fee is pretty high. Distribution is a killer as well, unless you just drop off the magazines at local tackle shops, etc.

This phrase is nothing new and so overused, but print is dying. It's a very unfortunate thing, but it's they way things are and will be moving forward.

Have you guys thought about a collective blog site? I understand the desire for people to have their own personal site, but how great could a site be if you had a few, 5, 10 or more of us contributing? It could be run on a magazine format and you can have an editor/photo editor, etc. With the combined followers that everyone could bring to the collective blog you should be able to up your readership 10 fold at least. With that following, you could then possibly offer a quarterly print edition and could possibly fund the whole thing off donations from readers. You'd be surprised how a little pay pal button can generate so much funding. There are a lot of people willing to donate a buck or more here and there.

Just a thought.

Adam C wrote:Have you guys thought about a collective blog site? I understand the desire for people to have their own personal site, but how great could a site be if you had a few, 5, 10 or more of us contributing?

I tried to do exactly this a few years ago. The Four Season Angler's Writers Network

I had a handful of bloggers contributing to one main site, and it was good but the biggest hurdle was managing the whole thing. It would take an editor with dedicated time to manage every page & the collab in order to give the final product an appearance of a polished presentation. When we decided to do this, I was working full-time & going to college full-time. Finding the time to manage the site began to suck time away from my studies and even my work.

I like Sam's idea. Cheap xerox rag with some gritty prose.

Hell, if someone here wants to organize the thing I'll chip in some script and a handful of cash to get the ball rolling.

Define "Handful" please?!

Well let's do it. Put big Xeroxed pic of a guy eating a walleye on the first page of the first issue.

Make a limited run of 1000 and charge five bucks.

I've got access to subscriber tech. Let 'em sign up and we'll mail 'em. My kids will run the photocopier.

We can decide either to split the five grand or put it back into something else. I'd personally rather split it and have whomever want to kick in for next year's episode kick. No harm, no foul. Let's get five good stories. A buck a story.

I'd pay for that. And if we don't sell out, fuck it, who cares. It's a cheap experiment.

-SB