HOW TO START A MAGAZINE: The Basics
By Claire Pfeiffer
Magazine publishing is an art, a craft, a science and a trade, as well as it is a business. If you are
thinking of starting a magazine, you are about to embark on a dynamic project requiring
knowledge and fortitude. Tomes could be written on magazine publishing—and Magazines
Canada does publish a variety of materials to support magazine publishers—but sometimes
when you’re just setting out, all you need are the basics to get you started. Here, then, is a brief
overview of what magazine publishing involves.
If you like what you read here, visit the Cultural Magazines section of our website to order the
Small Magazine Handbooks. For more information, please contact Brianne DiAngelo, Member
Services Coordinator at bdiangelo@magazinescanada.ca.
Frequently Asked Questions by 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’s got to nearly
publish itself, and it’s got 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?
A business plan is like a compass. It identifies the boundaries of your magazine and helps you
find your way as you move forward. It pays to create one from Day One, even before your
magazine is launched, as a way of identifying your mission and priorities, your potential for
longevity, and your prospects as a business. Also, it is a nice, concise document to be able to
hand to the bank manager who you’re asking for financing.
Even though your business plan will be based on projections and assumptions, it will be your
ultimate rationale. As an overview of your entire business, it should contain information that
describes your venture, your management structure, your market and audience, your targets and
plans for editorial, circulation and advertising, your distribution strategy, production costs and
cash flow projections. You may also include your financing plans, your design aesthetic, detailed
information on your company and personnel, your partnerships and anything else you deem
important. Don’t forget to include an Executive Summary at the beginning.
3. As a magazine publisher, do I need to register my business in any special way?
No. Magazine publishers are required to register their business in the same way as everyone: by
contacting Industry Canada or the Business Service Centre run by the government in the
province where your business is located (for instance in Ontario, contact Ontario Business
Connects), paying a small fee, and waiting for your licence in the mail. This is incidentally the
same way you apply for things like vendor permits, Employer Health Tax, et cetera.
4. Where can I find someone to invest in my magazine?
You know better than anyone to whom your business will appeal. Unfortunately there is no cache
of Canadian magazine enthusiasts whose pockets are bursting with money, who are just waiting
for you to call. What you must do is think broadly and creatively in your pursuit of potential
investors, and develop a concerted strategy for your fundraising. If your magazine is issue-based,
brush up on your venture philanthropy knowledge (try reading articles on Charityvillage.com and
contacting the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.) If you have charitable status, there are online
resources available that list philanthropic organizations across Canada. Are you associated with a
specific group of people that holds membership in other organizations? Does your magazine
speak to any particular industry? Seeing your magazine in the broader marketplace is a helpful
place to start. Networking is your best tool in approaching potential investors with an attractive
proposal.
5. How can I find out if anyone else is publishing the same type of magazine?
Head to a few well-stocked newsstands, perform a search at the National Library and Archives,
search the names of registered businesses in Canada, use Google, contact Magazines Canada
and/or the Canadian Business Press.
6. How many staff should I have? How much should I be paying personnel?
There are no standards here, except for the legislated standards of minimum wage. Many
magazines in Canada have functioned for years with a staff of fewer than 5 people. Most small
magazines (those with circulation under 10,000) do not exceed 10 members of personnel. You
need the basic minimum number of staff persons to perform the tasks laid out by your business
plan.
As for payment, Masthead conducts regular salary surveys; contact Masthead to view their most
recent results. It is widely known that small magazine publishing is a little like archaeology: it’s a
prestigious, adventurous, hands-on, cultural and independent enterprise but very few people in
the world make any kind of serious money doing it. In this sense, magazine publishing is a craft.
Expect low salaries. PWYC.
7. How do I get an ISSN? How do I get a barcode?
Obtaining an ISSN (an International Standard Serial Number) is simple, and free of charge. Visit
the National Library and Archives Canada website at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/issn/indexe.html. Once you receive an ISSN, the Library will also send you information about how to go
about getting a barcode. Incidentally, Magazines Canada has a barcode machine that can issue
barcodes to member magazines in our distribution program. Contact Edra Sefton, Membership
Manager, for more information on how to become a member of Magazines Canada.
8. How can I get grants?
There exist in Canada several granting agencies that fund magazine publishing. The Department
of Canadian Heritage runs the Canada Magazine Fund, which currently has four different types of
grants available to publishers (namely Support for Editorial Content, Support for Arts and Literary
Magazines, Support for Business Development for Small Magazine Publishers and Support for
Industry Development.) The Canada Council funds small arts and literary magazines, as do many
of the provincial arts councils. The Ontario Media Development Corporation awards project
funding to Ontario-based publications. In Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the B.C.
government, there is the Direct Access Grant Program. If you’re located in Quebec, contact
SODEP (Société de dévelopment des périodiques culturels québecois.) Lastly, if your
organization has charitable status, you may research cultural philanthropic and private
foundations to try and find a partner that fits well with your niche.
9. How much money do I need to start a magazine?
This is a tricky question to answer, but the general rule is: more than you reckon. Different types
of magazines will require quite different amounts of funding. It is a good idea to have money
enough to last through three years of starting up; a break-even analysis can help you figure out
how many years it will be until your circulation and advertising plans start earning the revenues
you need to match your expenses. Some would-be publishers want to start right away with a
lavish glossy, or a differently sized book that they think will garner instant praise and newsstand
sales because of its obvious looks and appeal. This is not always the safest way to go—indeed it
is a sure route into debt unless you have millions in seed money. The best way to figure out how
much money you will need is to create a business plan that includes fair estimations of your
expenses and realistic projections of revenue. Don’t forget when you are building your business
plan to focus heavily on your circulation plan, as magazines in Canada rely heavily on
subscriptions to build stable revenue.
Be aware that many banks are shy of financing magazine ventures because magazine publishing
is known as a tenuous business, and that if you do approach a bank for a loan, you will need to
provide a guarantee of the stability of your future business. A solid circulation plan is an effective
way of showing this.
10. Are there courses I can take in magazine publishing?
Yes. Search for ‘magazine’ or ‘publishing’ on the websites of Simon Fraser University, Langara
College, Centennial College, Mohawk College, Humber College and Ryerson University
(including Ryerson Continuing Education.) Magazines Canada runs a number of professional
development programs every year that are open to non-members: three Schools for Advertising
Sales, Circulation and Professional Publishing, Magazine Intensives, the Small Magazines
Workshops and MagNet, the annual conference in June.
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 important to
focus on your magazine’s overall health than it is on its profit margin.
12. Do I have to join a magazine association?
No, you aren’t obliged to join any association, but there are benefits available if you do. Your local
or national magazine association is only as strong as its membership. The unofficial motto of
Magazines Canada is In Unitate Veres. Read the Membership section of our website to discover
what this is all about.
Editorial
1. How do I find writers?
Good question. The best way to find writers, if you are in need of them, is to become as visible
and approachable as possible. Attend industry events (ex. Word On the Street), place a listing in
the annual Writer’s Market, place advertisements (for instance in other magazines), consult
writers’ associations (such as PWAC), and network. Read widely for writing that you enjoy and
don’t discount the power of CARD (Canadian Advertising Rates and Data) as a resource that
writers consult.
2. What does a Managing Editor do, anyway?
According to a compilation of roles by Masthead, a Managing Editor “is responsible for the
magazine's day-to-day operations. He or she sets schedules and coordinates the editorial, art
and production departments to makes sure the magazine gets out on time. Also supervises the
copy department. Reports to the editor.”
3. Content isn’t a problem. I’ve got tons. How do I start?
A caution to those who think that publishing a magazine depends entirely on having great
content: editorial is but one of the three ‘pillars of publishing,’ the other two being circulation and
advertising. This is not to say that editorial isn’t hugely important, because it is. But the project of
publishing is actually the practice of making content widely available, and this takes finesse.
That said, there are ways to use your editorial wisely, and successful magazines always build an
editorial plan. Make sure you don’t just send out your tons of content willy-nilly. Think about what
kind of editorial fits together thematically, what suits different seasons and times in the year, and
soon enough you will have created a framework for all your editorial that will be pertinent and
comprehensive to your readers.
4. How do I reprint things from other sources?
Knowledge of rights and permissions is important in publishing. Contact Access Copyright
(www.accesscopyright.ca) to learn the fundamentals. Don’t reprint anything without permission.
5. What is a good editorial-to-advertising ratio?
If you’re not what is called a ‘magalogue’ (magazine/catalogue) then you’ll want to keep your
editorial and advertising in careful balance. Most mainstream consumer magazines contain about
50 to 60 percent advertising, calculated in terms of space. Arts and literary titles often differ quite
a bit, and some contain no advertising at all. How much advertising your magazine carries
depends on your publishing strategy.
Under our membership criteria, Magazines Canada writes, “There must be a clear distinction
between advertising and editorial content, and advertising must not be tied to editorial. An
average of no more than 70% of the magazine, calculated over a yearly publishing cycle, may be
devoted to advertising. Advertising supplements must be clearly marked as advertisement or
advertising supplement in compliance with the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME)
Guidelines for Advertising Pages.” For more information on the CSME guidelines, consult the
Advertising section of the Magazines Canada website. The CSME guidelines can provide a good
departure point for understanding why maintaining a good ad/ed ratio is highly important to your
magazine’s credibility and readership base.
6. Do I need insurance against libel?
You don’t necessarily need libel insurance. A good rule of thumb is to avoid publishing libellous
material. Libel insurance is expensive and is almost always sold in tandem with other kinds of
special insurance, for instance errors & omissions. Instead of buying libel insurance, familiarize
yourself with the legal aspects of publishing, and if you’re really concerned about the potentially
libellous nature of your material, retain a lawyer who can give you advice.
7. Do I need to make a prototype of my magazine?
Why not? A few mock-ups of your new publication will look nice in your business plan, and
furthermore, seeing your magazine as an actual product will doubtlessly be educational.
8. I have tons of really important content. How do I find readers?
In a nutshell, you need to learn about circulation, the science of finding readers. Keep reading….
Circulation
1. What is circulation?
Circulation refers to the process of reaching readers, and is often overlooked by new and wouldbe publishers, as it isn’t an obvious component of magazine publishing to the average reader or
consumer. While it is little known by the layperson, circulation is hugely significant in the project of
publishing.
There are different models of circulation, a fact that you may be able to intuit. Readers can be
reached through subscriptions, the newsstand, and in other venues, and a magazine can either
have paid circulation or free circulation. The difference lies in whether people pay to read your
magazine or whether they pick it up or have it delivered to them for free.
There are a few basic truths to circulation that can be mentioned: Canadian magazines are driven
by subscription revenues; renewals are cheaper to attain than new readers from the newsstand,
and circulation is immensely useful in researching and understanding your readers and hence is
vastly beneficial to your advertising ventures.
Circulation is an involved and somewhat tricky discipline within magazine publishing. To learn
more about circulation, the best course available is Magazines Canada’s School for Circulation.
This is simply the only course in Canada that deals with circulation in depth.
2. How do I get a business reply envelope or card?
Business Reply Mail is handled through Canada Post. See
http://www.canadapost.ca/business/offerings/business_reply_mail/can/default-e.asp
3. Can I estimate the circulation size of my new magazine?
You can rent one or several lists from other magazines, organizations or brokers, do a targeted
direct mail campaign, and judge your potential circulation size (roughly) from your response rates.
You can launch your magazine in tandem with another publication, and use that controlled
number as your circulation base, to start. Compare your title to others already in existence that
may share certain characteristics. Do market research—if yours is a consumer title, find out about
consumer habits (including media habits) using the Print Measurement Bureau’s data. These are
all good ways of coming up with ballpark numbers.
4. How much should my subscriptions cost?
You’ve seen it before—subscriptions that cost dramatically less per issue than the cover price.
This isn’t required but customary. Most magazines set their subscription prices at a reduced rate
from newsstand prices. More than this, they set a whole range of different subscription prices to
correlate to different campaign offers. Take a survey of subscription cards that fall out of
magazines on the rack. Calculate the discounts that magazines are offering. Set your
subscription rates accordingly, higher or lower based on your circulation strategy.
5. Lots of people tell me they love my magazine, but I only have 12 subscribers.
Why?
Unless ‘lots of people’ refers to your immediate friends and family, you can trust that your editorial
is working well. Editorial, however, does not often sell itself. What you need to do is better support
your circulation, and run a concerted campaign including marketing and promotions. Start
thinking of ways you can get the word out about your magazine, and capture the people who
enjoy it in your subscriber list (note operative words highlighted in italics.)
6. Why do some magazines come with my newspaper?
Magazines that come with your daily newspaper are circulated based on a controlled circulation
model. The publishers of these magazines have struck a distribution deal with the newspaper that
offers the magazine access to the newspaper’s subscribers, and the newspaper with revenue.
While newspapers do not think of other people’s magazines as their own reader bonuses, it is
generally accepted that magazines in controlled distribution have to match fairly well the
newspaper’s editorial, as the general public will see the two publications as connected.
Marketing and Advertising
1. I want to hire an advertising representative, but I can’t find one. Help?
Finding a great advertising representative is difficult for many small magazines. Advertising
agencies often don’t want to work with magazines that have relatively low circulation, because
their commissions won’t be significant enough to make the effort worth their while. You need to
find someone who is friendly, quick-witted and who doesn’t quit. It doesn’t necessarily matter if
this person is already a salesperson—they are equipped with the right personality, and you can
always send them to the Magazines Canada School for Advertising Sales, a program so good it
can turn any misanthropic introvert into an expert sales rep. Or you can always train them
yourself.
2. How come so many literary magazines carry ads for each other?
Many magazines swap advertising space with one another. It’s a great way to gain exposure.
3. What is a standard price for an advertisement?
There is no standard price, but publishers do set their prices competitively. The cost of
advertising is set based on CPM, which means ‘cost per thousand.’ You’ll want to set a base rate
that you’ll multiply by however many thousand readers you can claim legitimately. (Make note
that this number is not to reflect your readers per copy…if you charge your advertisers based on
your number of readers per copy, you could be sued.) Magazines all have different CPMs. You
can calculate these easily by obtaining a copy of CARD (Canadian Advertising Rates and Data),
for instance at your local library, where you will find listings of magazines’ circulation and
advertising rates.
4. I don’t want ads in my magazine, but how will I make money?
Magazines that do not carry advertising will have to make up for this revenue stream another
way, either through circulation (i.e. subscription prices), fundraising (for example parties and
events), or potentially selling other goods. It isn’t easy to do, because the expenses involved in
the making and shipping magazines are not incidental to the business, but it can be done.
However you must ask yourself why you are not interested in carrying advertising—is it a design
concern, some sort of ethical stance, or are you afraid of selling advertising—and ponder whether
this is really a necessary choice to make for your readers.
Distribution
1. How do I get my magazine into stores?
You can try and strike a deal directly with retailers, which would entail you dropping off and
picking up your own magazine in the stores and making all of the calculations of returns, draw
and sell-through, or you can get a distributor.
2. Can I use more than one distributor?
Technically yes, you can, but make sure that your distributors know of this. Using two distributors
is a sure-fire way to encourage double shipments to retailers, which is not the best way to
achieve newsstand sales, or friends in the retail world.
3. How do I get my magazine into libraries?
Promotion to libraries is difficult. Unless your magazine is carried by EBSCO or CANEBSCO, the
subscription services used almost exclusively by librarians, you will have to promote your
magazine to libraries yourself. The other option is joining Magazines Canada, as our organization
regularly markets to libraries and sends librarians its Retailer Catalogue.
4. How do I mail my magazine?
Good question! See the Magazines Canada Small Magazines Guide to Mailing Your Publication
on the Magazines Canada website for complete details. (Under Cultural Magazines, Resources,
or http://www.magazinescanada.ca/small_magazines.php?cat=sm_research)
Production
1. What computer layout programs do designers use?
Call it what you will—layout, typesetting, page design—the people who do this kind of work
mostly use Quark Xpress, though many are shifting over to using Adobe InDesign to do their
layout. Other applications that are sometimes still used are Adobe PageMaker, Corel Ventura and
Adobe FrameMaker, which are practical for certain kinds of projects, but never for magazines that
are rich in images. There are desktop publishing programs (for example Microsoft Publisher) that
sometimes people use, but these are not appropriate for professional magazine publishing.
2. Is it a crime to copy other magazine design?
You’ve probably heard the adage: design amateurs borrow; design professionals steal. It is
always fun to get a sense of what other designers in the magazine industry are doing with their
books in terms of fonts, colour, layout, ad placement et cetera and to use these ideas in your own
design. But be careful when updating your own magazine’s look—it is possible to stray too far
into homage and infringe on other designers’ work. Always make your work your own.
3. How do I print my magazine?
To print your magazine, you must contract a printer. Finding a good printer and developing a
business relationship makes life working on a magazine so much nicer. If you’re having trouble
knowing where to start looking, call a few publishers whose books you admire and ask them what
printer they use. (If you’re calling a big publishing company like Transcontinental, though, you
might receive a short reply, as they print their own books.)
You don’t necessarily need to work with a printer in your area; you can send your print-ready files
to printers anywhere via email or an FTP site. Quality and price should be your first concerns,
proximity a distant second.
4. Can you tell me where to find a good printer?
As a member-based organization, Magazines Canada cannot recommend or suggest any
commercial services for risk of giving preferential treatment to competing businesses. To find out
what printers other publishers use to their advantage, you’ll have to network and shop around.
5. Can I use photos I find online in my magazine?
To print anything in your magazine legally, you must obtain permission from the primary rights
owner. The simple answer to this question is no.