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Title: How to Start a Magazine by James B. Kobak, James Kobak ISBN: 0-87131-927-6 Publisher: M. Evans and Company Pub. Date: September, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A wealth of information
Comment: 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.
Rating: 4
Summary: A relief...
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great for Experienced Publishers Too....
Comment: 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.
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