Lecture: Susanna Edwards in conversation with Angharad Lewis

• Generate content for books, magazines and digital platforms.
• Identify the professional standards and processes used by practitioners working within the publishing industry.
• Analyse the various methods and platforms for self-publishing.

– think about context and audience

– shape/structure of article comes from content

– know your theme

– tone of voice

->digital publishing affected the whole industry: less print, rising paper costs, reading habits, bookshops closing, advertising revenue

– investors had expectation to make money: didn’t happen

– exhibitions and events : create community online

book: So you want to publish a magazine

magazines: eye magazine, migrant journal

– independent publishers reinvented sub subject areas

-> downfall of printed magazines created new spaces for people to be inventive, audience expectations changed

-> buying less magazines, but they are more content rich and fairly expensive

-> magazine became more like a book

-> owning the production process

Other resources

Lewis, A., (2016) So You Want to Publish a Magazine.

• Matt Willey: Print not dead but “you have to justify your presence in print, which is a good thing”
• David Lane: “People like good-quality content and production”; “Do I have a unique idea? Is there an audience for it?”
• Having a printed magazine online presence is essential
• “It’s not about having the biggest audience or being the number-one seller but about being the best magazine and about the influence you have if you’ve got a good story” (Jefferson Hack from Dazed & Confused Magazine)
• How do you make people stay on your website and keep coming back? (Jefferson Hack)
  • It’s the power of the story
  • metrics to measure: engagement and not hits -> time on site, interactivity like comments
  • Most of best work in print in 60s/70s – most of what happens now is a copy of that
  • Dazed it more than a magazine it has a purpose and empowers youth culture

Ambrose, G., (2015) The Layout Book.

• boom in independent magazine world, published 1-4 times a year, “slow journalism”
• Print:
  • special object to collect and keep
  • longevity in shelf
  • holds readers attention
  • offers space for creative thought
  • impact retail
  • high end print appeals to advertisers
• Digital:
  • attracts high volume of readers
  • direct online sales of magazine copies – high profit margins
  • great for promoting new issue, events and products
  • addtitional traction with advertisers
  • offers fast and ongoing interaction with readership
• Social media possibilities