Comments on: Top 13 warning signs a magazine is in trouble

By: Rod Labbe

Rod Labbe — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:13:16 +0000

There are several signs I’ve noted of magazines in trouble:

(1) They suddenly reduce the amount of money for articles, even if you’ve been freelancing with them for years.

(2) You can’t find them on the newsstands or at big box stores like Barnes and Noble

(3) The editor raves about your article, schedules it, then bumps it, then reschedules, then bumps it, then reschedules…until you get ticked and pull the damned thing.

(4) The editor suddenly becomes very terse with you, especially if you have the audacity to ask for an update.

(5) Page count is lowered.

(6) The magazine is sold to a new firm. That’s the true deathknell. Within months, the magazines then folds.

Rod

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:14:18 +0000

There are a couple of other signs. For example, GreenBuilder, the third largest building trade publciation, is now entirely bylined by one of its two editors or “GreenBuilder Staff”. Even though the magazine lists several freelance contributors in their front pages. (Watch for this trend in other publications) Websites are another big indicator. If a magazine can’t make a successful presence in the digital world they are bound to shutter.

By: Drano for writers: 10 tricks to get the words flowing again « WordCount – Freelancing in the Digital Age

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:59:06 +0000

[...] leave a comment » Writer’s block has to be one of the worst occupational hazards of freelancing, right up there with magazines that take forever to pay. [...]

By: Freelance 101: Getting started as an independent writer « WordCount - Freelancing in the Digital Age

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:03:55 +0000

[...] 13 warning signs a magazine may be in trouble – Checks slowing to a trickle? Uh oh. [...]

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:26:22 +0000

The worst: When they Hire you as a sub contractor to Design the Magazine, find out you have connections, fire a lot of people, and then expect you to get the celeb interviews, advertisements, websites, do the photography, call your buddies that write and get them to owe you a favor, and the expect you to run the whole mag concept, BUT they dont pay you anymore and they want you to stop working for everyone else that pays your bills.

By: custom essay

custom essay — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:37:19 +0000

Number 4 point is true. It means that the magazine doesn’t want to gamble on freelancers because they can’t afford to lose money for such.

By: Jack

Jack — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:45:35 +0000

when the publisher thinks that changing the logo will increase sales

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:31:04 +0000

Good one Joe!

By: joe

joe — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:22:04 +0000

Mine: I’ve been hired to run it.

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:16:00 +0000

That’d be funny if it wasn’t so sad.

Michelle R.