[Jewelry making - Article 00021] - Re: [Orchid] Lapidary Journal

[Suzanne Wade]

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Hi all,

    There have been several comments recently about how Lapidary Journal
    has "slimmed down," and I thought it might be of interest to know how
    magazines determine how big the issue will be, how much editorial
    content, etc. 

    The harsh reality is that advertising pays for magazines.
    Subscription revenue is an important part of the puzzle, but
    generally is about enough to pay for the paper the magazine is
    printed on. It doesn't cover the printing itself, staff salaries,
    freelance fees, photography, and all the other expenses that go into
    filling up the pages so subscribers get something other than a blank
    tablet of paper each month. 

    Advertising is the main revenue stream at most publications, from
    your local newspaper to TIME magazine. That means the amount of
    advertising determines the number of pages in a particular issue. The
    normal advertising/editorial ratio is between 60 percetn advertising,
    40 percent editorial to a 50-50 split. If there's more editorial than
    advertising, someone else is footing the bill, either through very
    high annual subscription costs (professional journals in other fields
    can cost several hundred dollars per year for a subscription),
    through membership dues in an association, or through a corporate
    sponsor of some type. It might also be losing money, which may be
    acceptable to the publisher in the short term, if he believes the
    publication has strong potential. But like any other business, a
    magazine or newspaper that continually loses money eventually goes
    out of business. You can probably think of several that have
    disappeared off newstands in the last couple of years -- a lack of
    advertising dollars is probably the reason why. Post September 11,
    advertisers cut WAY back -- the bottom just fell out. It's only just
    starting to come back now, but it's been a very tentative, one step
    forward, two steps back kind of thing. 

    Why do advertisers pay big bucks to advertise? This is where the
    subscriber base comes in. The advertisers have products they want to
    sell. They are hoping that the folks who subscribe to a magazine want
    to buy them. Just as you carefully choose what trade shows to exhibit
    your jewelry based on what type of attendance is anticipated,
    advertisers choose the magazine they think the people who want their
    products will read. 

    Because advertising pays the bills, editors do find themselves under
    pressure to write articles that will sell the advertisers' products.
    But editors are an independent lot, whose first loyalty is to their
    readers. And they understand that if the articles aren't interesting
    to the readers, or if the readers can't trust the information in the
    articles, the readers will go away. And then the advertisers will go
    away. And then the magazine goes away. 

    But sometimes there just aren't enough readers in a particular
    audience to keep the advertisers interested. Or they don't respond to
    the ads they see in the magazine, so advertisers feel that they're
    wasting their ad dollars. When that happens, no matter how beautiful,
    how great, how award-winning the editorial content, the magazine goes
    bankrupt. So sometimes, a magazine will change its focus to appeal to
    a wider audience, or to a different audience with different spending
    habits. It's an economic decision, simple as that. Someone has to pay
    the bills. We all love what we do, but very few of us are in a
    position to do it for free. 

    You can help support the magazines that you enjoy by telling
    suppliers you saw their ad in XYZ magazine. That tells the supplier
    their advertising is working, and encourages him to continue
    advertising. This is particularly true if you found a new supplier
    through an ad. 

    I'd also like to say just a word or two in defense of editors.
    Preparing articles that are interesting to ALL a magazine's readers
    is a little like preparing a cake that everybody will enjoy. Some
    people like vanilla, others can't stand it. Some like chocolate,
    others are allergic to it. Some people are allergic to eggs, others
    to wheat. Some hate cake, and would rather have pie. You get the
    idea. So you try to appeal to as many readers as possible with a
    variety of articles. Not everyone will enjoy every article, but
    hopefully each reader will find enough of interest to keep reading
    the magazine. 

    Some days the editor blows it. Editors are only human, after all,
    and they make mistakes like the rest of us. The main difference
    between their job and yours is that you can melt down your mistakes
    before anyone sees them. :-) 

    There was also some criticism that LJ would hire an editor who isn't
    an expert in all facets of jewelry making. From my experience in
    publishing, I think this is a bit unfair. How many people do you know
    that are expert in all facets of jewelry making AND can take 2,000
    words of barely comprehensible English and turn it into a clear,
    concise, entertaining article? Without insulting the writer or
    turning the article into something unrecognizable to said writer? And
    do this a dozen times per issue, handling each ego with just the
    right degree of deference and authority? AND be a fabulous copy
    editor, who can pick up every typo and error in measurement, even if
    the originator of the error was the writer? AND have the diplomatic
    skills of an ambassador, so he/she can soothe all the ruffled
    feathers that inevitably arise when a mistake does get through? 

    You know someone? Good. Ask them to move to the suburbs of
    Philadelphia for a salary that's probably less than what your plumber
    makes. 

    I find my editors at LJ to be talented wordsmiths, who make my
    writing even better. They catch my errors and keep me from looking
    like a fool. They don't know everything, but they're honest about
    their limitations, and willing to learn what they don't know. Quite
    often they teach me a thing or two. Some days we learn together. 
    Someone once said that a journalist's job is to be educated in
    public. That about sums it up, as far as I can tell. 

    I don't know why the design that has inspired so much commentary
    here was chosen. I agree, it's ugly. But then, I've thought the same
    thing of certain award winning designs. What do I know? Even after 10
    years in the field, I wouldn't claim to be an expert. 

    I encourage all of you who feel strongly about this issue to write
    Merle White, Lapidary Journal's editor, and Tammy Honaman, the
    Step-by-Step editor. Fair criticism is what helps us to learn, and to
    improve the publication in the future. But remember: they're human
    and they're doing the best job they can, so try and keep it polite.
    No one at Lapidary Journal -- or any other jewelry industry
    publication for that matter -- is intentionally trying to undermine
    the foundations of jewelry making in America. And it wouldn't hurt to
    acknowledge the things you like about the magazine. There must be
    something, or this particular choice of project wouldn't have
    inspired so much passion! 

    Wishing you all a prosperous, joyful New Year. 

    Suzanne 

Suzanne Wade
writer/editor
Suzanne AT rswade.net
http://www.rswade.net
Phone: (508) 339-7366
Fax: (928) 563-8255


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