Don Kirk
06-22-2011, 07:48 AM
“Supper was a delicious memory…”
So began the prose of Mr. Nash three generations ago. Those were the days when the content of sporting journals was largely literary, and not where-to and how-to information driven.
A post here regarding the redundancy of articles fly fishing and other sporting journals recently caught my attention. Having been in that business full time since the 1970s, I must agree. However, the truth of the matter is that streams always run downhill, trout face upstream and good presentations draw the most takes. It has always been that way.
One time editor of Field & Stream, Jim Bashline once explained to me that sporting journals are largely read for entertainment by porcelain perched readers. For a young, ego driven outdoor writer this was sobering. Later when I learned that the most important person at any sporting journal was not the publisher, editor or its most famous writer, but was in fact that its top ad salesman, I wanted to puke.
The mortality rate among new magazines is 90 percent. Over the years I have seen many “pretty,” “sophisticated” and “fresh” titles come and go. These days if you are not kissing the rumps of advertisers or are not the world’s luckiest genius at building paid circulation, it does not matter how great your magazine might be it will not make money.
Over the years I have been the start up editor for several dozen magazines, and currently am pushing along six new titles. Our group hatches-grows-and sells them when they achieve profitability. Then we do it again and again. We understand sales. That is really not saying much, but it enables a title to live long enough to become viable and fetch a price.
Editorial content is my specialty. The template is pretty much the same for all titles. Writers are important, and the better a writer is known, such as Lefty Kreh, the more value he brings to the table. Others who can take the “same ole same old” and give it a few fresh lines are also assets, especially if they have been around a while. Over the years my writers have included such notable locals as Sam Venable and Jim Casada, to stars such as Judd Cooney and Ted Nuguent.
Unless you are a novice, odds are you know more about catching trout in the Smokies than do most writers. Very few writers can make a decent living plying their trade, even if they guide or do seminars on the side. Some of the old timers in the business rely on pensions to pay for keeping the electricity on while they earn a living writing. Few and far between are outdoor writers who live well solely on income generated via tickling a keyboard.
As an editor, I don’t crack a whip on my writers demanding cutting edge, never published advice or information. If you ask Venable and Casada, they will tell you that they were given free range, and neither ever received negative feedback from me. Actually, the editorial realm is a remarkably peaceful world where sharing the fun of fishing is all of the writers and editors care much about. Now, those ****ed publishers, circulation managers, art directors and ad salesmen---that’s a different matter. There should be a bounty on them.
dk
So began the prose of Mr. Nash three generations ago. Those were the days when the content of sporting journals was largely literary, and not where-to and how-to information driven.
A post here regarding the redundancy of articles fly fishing and other sporting journals recently caught my attention. Having been in that business full time since the 1970s, I must agree. However, the truth of the matter is that streams always run downhill, trout face upstream and good presentations draw the most takes. It has always been that way.
One time editor of Field & Stream, Jim Bashline once explained to me that sporting journals are largely read for entertainment by porcelain perched readers. For a young, ego driven outdoor writer this was sobering. Later when I learned that the most important person at any sporting journal was not the publisher, editor or its most famous writer, but was in fact that its top ad salesman, I wanted to puke.
The mortality rate among new magazines is 90 percent. Over the years I have seen many “pretty,” “sophisticated” and “fresh” titles come and go. These days if you are not kissing the rumps of advertisers or are not the world’s luckiest genius at building paid circulation, it does not matter how great your magazine might be it will not make money.
Over the years I have been the start up editor for several dozen magazines, and currently am pushing along six new titles. Our group hatches-grows-and sells them when they achieve profitability. Then we do it again and again. We understand sales. That is really not saying much, but it enables a title to live long enough to become viable and fetch a price.
Editorial content is my specialty. The template is pretty much the same for all titles. Writers are important, and the better a writer is known, such as Lefty Kreh, the more value he brings to the table. Others who can take the “same ole same old” and give it a few fresh lines are also assets, especially if they have been around a while. Over the years my writers have included such notable locals as Sam Venable and Jim Casada, to stars such as Judd Cooney and Ted Nuguent.
Unless you are a novice, odds are you know more about catching trout in the Smokies than do most writers. Very few writers can make a decent living plying their trade, even if they guide or do seminars on the side. Some of the old timers in the business rely on pensions to pay for keeping the electricity on while they earn a living writing. Few and far between are outdoor writers who live well solely on income generated via tickling a keyboard.
As an editor, I don’t crack a whip on my writers demanding cutting edge, never published advice or information. If you ask Venable and Casada, they will tell you that they were given free range, and neither ever received negative feedback from me. Actually, the editorial realm is a remarkably peaceful world where sharing the fun of fishing is all of the writers and editors care much about. Now, those ****ed publishers, circulation managers, art directors and ad salesmen---that’s a different matter. There should be a bounty on them.
dk