Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Change In The Trade Policy

The zine has been doing very well. The readership is growing and I am pleased at the feedback. However, the balance sheet has dipped into the red for the first time since Loviatar began. I studied the ledger today and realized that all I need to do to make ends meet is to suspend the policy of accepting letters and trades as payment. I have to watch the bottom line and spending $25-$30 a month to print and mail trade issues is a bit much. If you multiply that $25-$30 per month by the five issues published so far, you can see that trades have cost me nearly $150.

     I am not happy about this and feel that it runs contrary to the spirit of zine publishing, but I think it's the only way to move forward.

7 comments:

  1. It's important to move forward. I support your decision. And I hope that in moving forward, you can someday make a profit, as well.

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  3. Damn typos!

    I don't think your decision runs counter to the zine spirit. You shouldn't have to execute a quality zine at a loss.

    I commend you for diligent attention to 'the numbers' - and freely discussing them.

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  4. I understand your disappoint but I agree with scottsz. Spending money you can't afford to keep free zines out there isn't necessary to the spirit of the zine world.

    And if that's the price of Loviatar remaining the quality zine it is I support it.

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  5. Thanks for the kind words. You are all correct - there's no shame in making sure the dollars and cents add up.

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  6. I'm glad you're able to look at the situation perceptively and make real decisions. All to often small publisher (business owners, writers) just expect things to solve themselves.

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