This is the first of what I hope will be periodic updates on the status of
this proposal/project.
I have written to Bob Hayden asking him a couple more questions on the
economic particulars of publishing an FSM special (like how many issues need
to sold to break even, how ad revenue affects the bottom line, etc...).
When I get his response regarding that I will let you know.
I also asked him to send me the writer's guidelines for FSM. Hopefully,
this will include permission to post them to the list. Several of you have
offered to write specific articles or donate pictures of work in progress,
so I wanted you to have a look at these guidelines. I hope to contact each
of the individuals who expressed an interest in writing with more details.
I also asked my family about a few issues regarding "self-publishing" such a
project (my sister is in the magazine publishing business, my mom in the
typsetting business & my brother in the computer graphics biz). The basic
question they asked me was how much would the customer be willing to pay for
such a magazine?
So I said, heck if I know, but I know who to ask :)
So, please give me an idea of what you would be willing to pay for a 96 page
magazine along the lines of FSM's WWII special. There are a couple of
options here (and feel free to make up your own combinations):
1. Glossy paper, with color pics (ala FSM)
2. Glossy paper with B&W pics and a color pic section (like a Windsock with
several pages of color in the center/cover)
3. Glossy paper with B&W pics (like Over the Front)
4. Regular paper with B&W pics (like C&CI)
5. regular paper with B&W pics (like WWI Aero or newletter/zine)
I would say I would be willing to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of
$10.95 for an annual something like #1 (assuming it was a quality piece of
work).
I also like the idea of doing the project on the web, but that has a couple
of ramifications. First, authors wouldn't be able to be compensated for
their work (which I feel is important -- even if it is only a token"
payment). Second, although I kind of mentioned this to Allan, I don't want
to volunteer him without his consent. Third, as Matt pointed out, not
everyone has a web browser (or internet access).
However, I think, that if a WWW version and print version were done
simultaneously, that might solve some of the problems (I am still thinking
about this). ALso, thanks to Michel, I am translating a French article on
converting a 72nd SPAD XIII into a SPAD XII. When I am done with that, I
want to follow the piece up with an addenum on how to convert the SPAD XII
into a SPAD XIV (the loat plane version of the XII). I would be happy to
"mark up" this article in HTML code, and send a copy of it to Allan, so he
can place it on the Web page (that may be a good first crack at
electronically publishing the project).
That is enough for now (I do have a ton of work to do today).
C'ya,
Joe
+==================================+===================================+
| Joseph R. Boeke | The best executive is one who has |
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| Bucknell University | to do what he wants done, and the |
| (717) 524-3200 | self-restraint enough to keep |
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| boeke@bucknell.edu | -- Theodore Roosevelt |
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