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FAQs for New and Would-Be Publishers

Management

1. I have a great idea for a magazine. How can I find a publisher?

Ideas are good. The magazine publishing industry eats, sleeps and breathes ideas. A lot of the best magazines fill a niche that no one even knew existed before the magazine was invented to serve it.

If you’ve got the concept, you have two options: you can sell your idea or you can publish the magazine yourself. Nearly all small magazines in Canada are published by the same people who dream them up…at least until the reins can be handed over once the business is up and running. You will only be able to sell your idea to a publishing company if you can guarantee that it will make vast amounts of money, that it fits with the rest of the company’s titles, and that it will thrive by garnering steady and appropriate advertising over the long term. Basically, it pretty much has to publish itself, and it has to be unique and saleable. Very, very few magazine concepts begin this way.

Publishing your own magazine means you get to maintain control of the vision of your publication, and you are its main spokesperson and financier. You may balk at the prospect of devoting yourself to the start-up of a new magazine—this is a good indication of whether you’re committed to your idea. Don’t be frightened. When you decide to publish, you join the ranks of a collegial, ingenious and diverse cultural industry.

» 2. What’s a business plan? Why do I need one?

» 3. As a magazine publisher, do I need to register my business in any special way?

» 4. Where can I find someone to invest in my magazine?

» 5. How can I find out if anyone else is publishing the same type of magazine?

» 6. How many staff should I have? How much should I be paying personnel?

» 7. How do I get an ISSN? How do I get a barcode?

» 8. How can I get grants?

» 9. How much money do I need to start a magazine?

» 10. Are there courses I can take in magazine publishing?

11. How long does it take before most magazines make money?

It can be quite a while. It depends on your business model and how well your projections pan out. Let’s just say that only some magazines are instant successes and that it is more important to focus on your magazine’s overall health than its profit margin.

» 12. Do I have to join a magazine association?

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