So it seems as though I have slowly dropped off the face of this planet with my infrequent updates to my site. I am still alive and kicking for those who haven’t heard from me in a while.
The month of May went by really quickly and June rolled around with no warning. It’s already the middle of the month and I wonder what I’ve done so far this month.
My day job keeps me busy during the day. That’s a good thing. Not much else going on there. My U&I Magazine venture – as always – keeps me busy for the bulk of the period outside of my day job. Recently, Toronto held its annual MagsU, which took part in what few people would know as Magazine week (officially instated to be June 5-9, 2006 by the mayor Dave Miller himself). While I couldn’t afford any of the seminars – although highly recommended to me by several industry people – I did go to the trade show, which showcased several companies within the magazine industry. To further expand my venture, I decide to look for a distributor who would be willing to take on my magazine. I was referred to Disticor, which is a fairly popular one for nich market magazines such as U&I. I went to their booth and had talked to the Vice President of its Direct to Retail division. She was a kind lady who answered all of my questions and was eager to help me out. As I was talking to her, my worry slowly shifted from finding a distributor to finding advertisers willing to pay for advertising in a low-run publication such as my magazine. This will inevitably prove to be challenging as I will have to set the price point just right, in comparison to what other magazines offer their clients. I’ve already approached Nikon and Canon once before to no avail. My next approach has to be flawless.
Shortly thereafter I met up with some of my Ryerson classmates as a friend of ours was visiting from Vancouver. I was telling my class rival and good friend, Grace, about my situation and she surprisingly offered to help me out in the ad sales department. This was a rather pleasant surprise as I could definetely use this support, especially from a reliable person as herself. My only concern is the fact that since she works full time as well, she wouldn’t be able to meet people in person during the day. This may deter advertisers somewhat.
It’s my decision to either go with her or to hire a freelance sales person to go scouting for advertisers. All this sounds wonderful if it works out. However, I can’t get it around my head that one day if I keep going like this, my magazine may soon take over me, forcing me to make a decision that I don’t want to quite make at this moment.
Regardless, my next issue awaits, as do people who are eager to partake in it. I do have several ideas for future issues that I would like to see happen, so it would be great if I can make this decision quickly.
I got an email today from my friend Smakie. I met her during the launch of my first magazine. As it turns out, I had featured her boyfriend’s sister in my third issue of U&I without even knowing the connection. I vaguely remember getting an email from her saying that she was informed of my magazine through her mother whom had read my interview with the Nikka Times.
Canada’s a big country but in reality, it really is a small world.
On an unrelated note, I visited the Guildwood Inn for the very first time this past weekend. It’s a rather unusual yet interesting place with ruin-type architecture, pillars and statues placed sporatically in the field. It was nice. I took some photos of a friend of mine there, which I’ll be posting on my flickr account in the new few days.
The weather is slowly getting warmer. It’s about time. Afterall, it is summer next week.
Did somebody say BBQ?
