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

One night, I was lying in bed thinking about how to grow my wedding photography business. I came up with a truly brilliant idea! I would publish a magazine for the local market, carrying ads for local wedding service businesses, and distribute it locally and free.

The year was 1990, and the internet didn't exist yet, but I had a certain background in writing, layout, typography and photography that gave me the tools needed. Now, though, heck, just about anyone who can run a computer could do it easily! Like, you, for example!

That night, I nudged my wife and told her the idea. She groggily said, "Yeah, do it."

So, I did. Over the next 21 years, publishing the magazine in San Luis Obispo, California, and later in six other cities, we earned just over a million dollars.

How? Well, these days, it's easy. In fact, during the last few years, it became very easy, and I produced a first-class, glossy, full-color 112-page magazine in about six weeks of part-time work for the SLO edition. We loved getting the ad contracts and checks in batches from our sales rep in California. There's something really enjoyable about being able to make bank deposits of $10,000 every couple of weeks!

The magazine allowed us to leave California (and still publish there), buy a house in Colorado, raise two kids, and start another profitable hobby in the spare time the magazine business allowed.

Sound intriguing? If you are a writer, this could be something you can do. Doesn't have to be about weddings, either. It can be about any number of things. Just look at the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble or Walmart. Almost any subject could also be published as a local magazine.

My book tells exactly how I did it then, and how to do it now (I started in 1990 and grew along with the internet, etc.). You can do this using applications available from Adobe™ for about $30 per month, your email, and having only one independent contractor doing the sales for you. You get them printed and ship them to the sales person, who also does your distribution. It's all clearly laid out in the book. I also offer a CD with various layout and tools that make it extremely easy.