Customer Reviews

How to Start a Magazine: And Publish It Profitably

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So you want to start a magazine? It won't be easy..it won't be fast--and it definitely won't be cheap!

Author James Kobak took up the unthankful task of trying to write a user-friendly guide to a profession that many magazine publishers study for four years or more at a university or college.

For the most part, Kobak does a pretty good job. He is obviously enthusiastic about the subject. He has been direct witness to the start-up and/or purchase of many magazines. So he knows his subject.

The reader faces one big challenge. Reading this book is like scraping the top off a mountain. Once the reader moves past the initial "you can do it" enthusiasm of the first few chapters, s/he is immediately faced with the immensity of the task that starting a magazine may present. By the time Kobak closes up his last few chapters with the drudgery of statistics, bookkeeping and forecasting, the shackles of optimism will have rolled away from the reader's demeanor and the reality of his/her endeavor will stare him/her boldy in the face.

There is so much information crammed into the 300-some pages of this book that I ran my highlighter dry trying to capture it all. Kobak writes in an unintimidating style for those new to publishing. That said, however, the information is sometimes muddled by sloppy editing and the author's occasional lapses of clarity in his writing.

For its wealth of information alone, this is a must read for anyone who plans on starting a publishing venture without going the college route. Kobak eplains very clearly that starting a magazine is not inexpensive. Perhaps that is why he priced his book so reasonably. So that we readers could learn that fact first.

Unlike the more down-to-earth Starting And Running A Successful Newsletter or Magazine, this book is targeted for the up-scale magazine publisher wannabe. Still, it is a worthy addition to anyone serious about publishing for profit.

I have researched high and low for statistical data regarding circulation promotion. This book is the only one that provided quality information that can be used to guage one's prospects after test marketing. This information will prove intensely valuable when I get game and small livestock farming in the test marketing stage.

He also provided great advice regarding establishing the scope to insure you provide what your readers want, with the operative word WANT instead of need. To a degree, of course, he slips into consultant mode, but this wasn't too distractive.

It was only as he got into the later chapters that I felt like he was too intent on getting readers to hire consultants than in providing content for the reader.

James does a great job in explaining the life cycle of periodicals and why so many die after having outlived their usefullness.

I encourage all who consider publishing to buy this book when they buy Cheryl Woodard's.

I found How to Start a Magazine by James Kobak difficult to read and somewhat depressing. The promises on the cover, in my humble opinion, we never fulfilled and the textbook-style format was flat. I felt as if, rather than a telling me "how to" he was telling me all the reasons "not to." He also came from only one perspective--that of a large scale, national publication. My goal is to build a local business-builder magazine. Therefore, much of the information was irrelevant for me. Based on the cover promises, I thought I'd found the ideal book for my needs. It didn't deliver.

How to Start a Magazine is a must read for anyone thinking about starting a magazine, and anyone currently in the business. While the book targets the wanna-be publisher, it is also one of the best books I have read for experienced magazine professionals too. Kobak masterfully describes all of the key competencies of magazine publishing in a straight forward no nonsense manner. Unlike many texts on this subject, this book is full of practical real-life examples of what to do, and what watch out for. The author also does an excellent job of exploring how to expand the business of established magazines into international markets, book publishing, list rentals and custom publishing. This book is well worth your time and money.

Every single book that I'd ever picked up about the magazine business was pretty cut-n-dry and hard to understand (vocabulary wise) with entirely too many numbers that made me go "???" But this book was conversational and informative. I found out some things that I didn't know about from the magazine I was writing for. It's a great way to learn about the magazine business if you're starting it on your own or just to understand the behind-the-scenes of what the owners do. He lost me in the end with the numbers but I still enjoyed it.

How To Start A Magazine And Publish It Profitably by business consultant and entrepreneur James B. Kobak is a no-nonsense, imminently practical, how-to guide to the magazine market, including a wealth of invaluable "tips, tricks and techniques" on how to raise venture capital, why some magazines succeed while others go bankrupt, how to choose the best name and develop a solid business plan, and much, much more. An informed and informative, highly readable primer, How To Start A Magazine And Publish It Profitably is an absolute "must-read" for anyone seriously interested in venturing into the world of magazine publishing.

A very readable account which gives perspective on the nature of the business, its pitfalls and surprises. It encapsulates a wealth of experience in pithy sentences and straightforward format. A must for anyone serious abut the magazine business or with even a gleam of becoming a publisher in his or her eye.

Review by William Cory, Author: Maybe You Should Write A Magazine!: Complete Guide: How to Write, Lay Out, Publish and Profit from Regional Special-Interest Magazines

This is an excellent book on starting a magazine, with one proviso. If you are planning to publish monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly, much of the information in this volume will be valuable. However, publishing quarterly, semi-annually, or annually actually does not require all of the procedures this book describes.

How do I know that? I have been publishing annual magazines for the last 21 years, started with a Macintosh Plus computer and no capital investment, and have never had a year that did not provide a good profit from my publications. I started in 1990, fortunate enough to know what I was doing in the typesetting and design areas thanks to a previous job, and grew my little empire to eight magzines in five states. (My magazines have always beem printed by commercial printers on glossy paper; all in color from 1997 through the present editions.)

But that experience of mine should take nothing away from this book. I purchased it myself because I was planning a bimonthly statewide magazine, which is now in the works. And this book has helped immensely with the pre-production steps and setting up of distribution accounts.

Wow, what a great read. It is helping me on my way to publish the world's most successful magazine. Ever.

The book is great and i am enjoying it, its very informative and has really helped me in understanding how to go about starting my own publication.....