Two with Water <3 Print and Embrace Digital
Hello word lovers,
My name is Amy, and I am part of a Chicago lit/art magazine called Two With Water. We may have met at the Chicago Underground Library’s Son of Science of Obscurity event where I probably coerced you into playing a mad-libs game on an overhead projector. Not only did we concoct some intriguing, oxymoronic double entendres, but we learned something too. We learned to expand our mindsets beyond the limitations of superficial language and appropriate word choices. Two With Water, a _______ magazine, uses such a “tagline” because we encourage you- clever readers and writers- to think for yourselves and say what you please! (Stay tuned for photos and text examples.)
But the other thing I wanted to mention is this whole Printers’ Ball coming up! The theme “Print <3 Digital” got me thinking about TWW’s publishing experience…
In December 2009, TWW released its first print issue in local Chicago area bookstores. But historically-speaking, our initial burning desire to develop a new print magazine dates back to 2007. It was the year consumers were debating the social stigmas of social networks Myspace and Facebook. Nationally recognized publications like Punk Planet no longer could afford to print or distribute their tangible creative caches. And perhaps mercifully so, no one yet considered a “tweet” anything but the sound of Rockin’ Robin. And we good folks of Two With Water passionately pondered how to produce a print magazine.
Financially this meant we needed a considerable amount of funding for a product investors worldwide were scrambling to abandon. Or so we read online.
In the end, Two With Water really required two with water to produce. Not two Xanax but two well-planned fundraisers. Along with a much appreciated over-the-counter micro-grant, a few generic-priced advertisements, and our own watered-down earnings to supplement. At a cover price of $4.00, we hoped to sustain costs of Issue 2 with sales of Issue 1. But our simplistic business model did not tell us just how long this sales and profit process might take (hint: too long). Fellow TWW cohort Rebecca Roberts and I knew the time limiting our efforts solely to print was over.
Enter Tammy Green, a former colleague and one half of the foodie reviewing duo that is ChicagoBites.com. I knew Chicago Bites was a dynamic site for its consistent content, modest ten thousand Twitter followers, and a successful e-book selling to the masses. For any literary publication, it is already a major challenge to review submissions, respond to inquiries, seek talented contributors and produce original content. Throw in hosting and attending literary events, fundraisers, and lawsuit court appearances. We’re “word” people, not necessarily “wordpress” people. Tammy’s invaluable input and skill has enabled us to strengthen the functionality of our site. We’ve learned that our website has to fuel interest in our product, be that a print or (eventually) digital version of Two With Water.
So please visit our new website and sign-up to receive emails, read the latest news and our submission guidelines, and peruse selections from Issue 1. Catch us at the Printers’ Ball and this Sunday, July 25 at the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival.
Peace!
– Amy & Two With Water
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Tags: digital media, print media, Printers' Ball 2010 Blog-Down, Two With Water
