Aspergers Magazine

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Sounds good, you might still consider contacting Inventor . I don't know if he is still interested in printing but he does know what he is doing and has the presses, though he is mostly working in book printing and binding now .

Mm, I'll drop him a line tomorrow Thanks for the tip.

The big hurtle in publishing is distribution and I won't go into it but it is a racket in the most traditional sense of the old gangster days. I am frineds with several publishers who are literally hampered by their distributors. I am involved with a small circ magazine that can't be distriubed (to news stands) on the west coast because the circ isn't large enough. It is very complicated and very corrupt. For this reason many choose to self-publish (including newsletters and Mags) and handle distribution themselves.

I'm not a business person (psych major and literature) but...to sustain the cost of production, you need to have advertisers and if your ethical and anti-cure...that cuts out the largest budgets . Subscription costs alone rarely touches the cost of production in a "normal mag." but keeping production costs down and having people who contribute rather then get paid to write, edt ect, helps a lot . Although there may not be a huge population of aspies, I think we are a pretty loyal and self interested folk, so word of mouth in the autism community would get subscribers . We are computer people and word spreads fast via the internet . There are also the logistics involved in sending mail to other countries...all that stuff made my brain hurt...literally, but I think you can do it...(You young whipper snapper, you ) I personally got so wrapped up in the details that I could not see the whole picture and that was a problem .

That's why a large 'newsletter' type format like "bottom-Line" may be more realistic and financially viable than a regular mag.

I tend to agree with gary. i have family in publishing and the distributios issues are always a minefield. distributing IS just about everything. and i hate to say that, as i am always a firm believer in independent productions and processes. (it is in keeping with my politics.) it can be a darn stilly and cruel old world out there.

Still, i really like your idea and think it a beauty.

I second garyww, getting it to the customer, postage costs. Unless you have X customers, it is not worth the time to distribute.

Customers rate low on the income food chain, ads pay. But to get ads, you have to show readers.

e-zine gets it out, worldwide, the reader base for ads, and for the old tech, print can be run, but four color, 11 x 17 is going to cost, and a minium of 1500 print run.

Wired does keep coming up with the connection between ASDs and computers. While it is slightly better than others who call for our extirmination, it is not at all in depth.

I thought of who would buy it, krex thought of who it should serve.

Unlike some groups, I cannot speak for autism, or even myself most of the time. I type, I understand machines, systems, mathematics, but cannot converse with people. My thought was even through the problems, some do use the talents and do well. I cannot speak to or for people, but dogs and computers like me.

Another of those disconnects to explore. In person, I am socialy at a loss. In my world I have a very high IQ, hold patents, write books, and great with the structure of business and economy. My one minor flaw is an inability to speak with anyone. I can give a speech, but not hold a conversation.

Currently krex and I are producing my book. It is something we can do it all. Her hardcover bindings are great.

Like a magazine, first you have to produce, and get a readership. I figured at least $5000 to get the first issue out, plus postage, and expected to lose money on the deal until there were 2500 regular readers. $10,000 to $20,000 in costs above preparing the content. For an e-zine, that would be several hundred.

It is also very demanding to even keep up quarterly. I spent years on my book, and am still doing research.

Books are a one time deal, a few thousand over years and it can grow. Most publishing companies send out 5,000 copies to libraries, book reviewers, then advertise.

One of the best markets is libraries, if it finds readers, they will subscribe. Autism is timely.

Now produce a slick and meaty magazine, run 5,000 plus copies, mail one to each head librarian in public and school systems, here that is by County, 100 per State.

I would guess that would run $15,000 for printing and mailing. They also expect a reduced subscription rate. Then there is the krex plan, left on the table at autism related sites. It takes creating a demand to build a subscription base.

It is also a cut throat industry, if you build a readership, some company will put out a clone.

If you do get a readership, and offer ads, Autism Speaks will want a page.

Making enough income to pay a few staff, have an office, takes a large circulation.

I have the largest of Laserjets, which produce good text, but are slow. I also print high quality fine art. A cheap four color press sheet fed, 11 x 17, very used, is $50,000. It fills a large room, and lots of other machines are needed, plus skilled staff.

I would say go for an e-zine, for first you need writers, designers, photographers, and work out who your market is. Keep it up for a year and see what kind of following you can raise.

I will take an ad for the Krex Fine Leather Binding Company. For that special family history, for your poems, when you want a few copies of the very best, only Krex will do, leather, gold embossed, gilt text block edges, and hand bound to last for ages.

All very thought-provoking and relevant, people. Thanks.

Now, this does make it unlikely that we would be able to put out an actual 'glossy' magazine as I'd hoped, at least initially. The costing for something like that would be astronomical even if it could be done at home.

There are semi-glossies, which have (or may have) color 'glossed' covers and monotone print within.

And then there are budget newsletters/magazines. Asperger United, produced by the National Autistic Society and run on contributions from Autistic people is a good example. (PS: Anyone in the UK might want to subscribe - it's a good publication, even if budget).

Mensa's SIG newsletters are another good example of effective budget printing. Plain paper 'newsletters' with monotone print. The cost of publication, while significant, is not extortionate. Almost anyone can become a 'SIG Sec', meaning that they run the newsletter and absorb the printing costs.

In an ideal world, I would love for us to be able to produce a full-color glossy magazine, but I think we may have to accept that if we DO produce hard copies at all, we will need to start with a cheaper format.

You're in a good place for finding proof readers

Inventor, you actually contemplated marketing a product aimed at financially successful aspies? Were you planning to sell to all three of them, or just two?

What's next, a lifestyle magazine aimed at male aspies with girlfriends?

Sorry...little personal bitterness creeping in. It happens now and then.

Gotta get to work. Rent, bills, and child support; The Holy Trinity.

Interesting idea, I will comment at greater length later.

I think that you might want to read one issue of the NI magazine, while I do not sign up to the same world view as NI seems to have they had some good ideas on the relationship between the able bodied and the disabled.

http://www.newint.org/issue233/contents.htm

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

One more format that has promise is the small town newspaper. Production costs are very low, and they get a break on mailing.

Production is a laser printer, and some sissors and glue. you only get black, but you get a lot of surface area. Most sell for $0.50 and mail cheap, so a world wide paper could work.

Newsprint is the cheapest paper, and with printing I think under $0.15. A run of 1500, the life of a plate, would be $225.

As garyww pointed out on another thread, we do not fit the traditional view of autism. Most are getting an education or working. The traditional view says adult aspies do not exist and none of them are girls, who do not exist twice.

Small format local papers have regional presses, and are easy to work with. Masters can be reused, and are cheap to ship, e mail. So an issue can be printed for Europe, America, and Austrialia, with added local content.

Besides the Krex Fine Art Bindery, I would go for an ad, I want to run an Aspie herd on my ranch in Texas. I am seeking the breeds that have an obsession in art, writing, publishing, machines, and business.

Well the best thing which NI printed on the subject was the top eight bits of advice for the abled bodied. I think that if we were to create a magazine or journal it should try to live up to the following eight ideas.

1. Ask what you can do if you want to help a disabled person, and pay attention the reply. I guess people do not like being helped across the road if they do not wish to get to the other side.

2. Acknowlege our differences, do not assume we want to be cured or to ignore our differences.

3. Respect our privacy, do not assume that just becuase we are disabled that you can ask personal questions. I hate the idea of being looked at like a zoo animal.

4. Think of the way that society creates barriers for us.

5. We want your empathy not your pitty.

6. Recognize our existance.

7. Accept that we want the option of having a love life, sex, family etc. I know some aspies are asexual but that does not include all of us.

8. Apprecitate that we do put something into society, our work is not just occupational therapy which is there to take our minds off our 'disabled state'. I imagine that if one of the WP scientists was to find a cure for cancer, heart disease or uglyness then the NT world would be keen to make use of it.

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

Again, good points. I'll have to take this into consideration.

With regards to production costs, I don't think I would be able to absorb them entirely myself, but if I could get together a small team of newsletter 'staff' who'd be willing to contribute towards the print costs, it wouldn't be so difficult.

With regards to the target audience, I would like to be able to appeal to a wide audience, including issues with Sensory integration, Dyspraxia, and other comorbid conditions, with the main emphasis being Aspergerian without a sense of excluding others on the spectrum. As for ability, I'd imagine it would be difficult to cater for very low-functioning without shifting some of the direction towards carers/family... and while that's not a terrible thing, I would like for this publication to be aimed pretty much squarely at readers who are on the spectrum themselves. It might be prudent to implement a page or section with info/news for carers/family etc, however, as long as it doesn't impinge on the target readership.

if anyone wants to do a magazine, and doesn't want to mess around with text boxes on word, you'd have to use either quark xpress or indesign. i've got quark, so that could help

if anyone's interested, i've posted something on my blog:

http://anarchoaspie.wordpress.com

hairmonster85

x

Interesting work! I really like the diversity of the article/item contents list.

However, the cover strikes me as being rather overwhelming and 'loud' - a problem for many of us with sensory processing problems. My heart races just looking at it! And the internal layout is extremely clustered and attention diverting with so many columns and boxes crammed in there.

I'd suggest maybe rethinking the layout, although perhaps I'm unusual in finding it hard to look at (particularly the cover color/emphasis/contrast).