newsletters
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Getting paid

To: "John T. Blair" <jblair@exis.net>
Subject: Re: Getting paid
From: Bob Lang <LANG@ISIS.MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 10:30:31 -0500 (EST)
Hi,

I know of folks that get paid for editing newsletters. It's more or less a 
case of being in the right place at the right time.

Example one: the local SCCA region has a regional newsletter. It's a 
monthly (more or less) and relative high quality and it is done by a 
professional graphics design studio. They get paid. Oh, that particular
newsletter is roughly 24 pages an issue. The costs are directly paid out 
by the SCCA membership fee - I think the regional dues are something like 
$20. I think there are around 2 or 3 thousand SCCA members in my region. 
That's being in the right place at the right time.

Example two: the national Packard organization has a very nice quarterly
newsletter. It is printed on glossy paper, and it is in the 36 to 48 page
per issue size. The production costs are substantial, and the national
dues are large enough to justify the professional newsletter editor to do
the work. Membership to the Packard club is in the $50 to $75 range per
year. I'm not sure of how big the Packard club is, but I'll bet there's at
least 1000 members or more. That's really being in the right place at the
right time. I'm sure that this particular editor gets paid well for his
work - and it is worth it. 

Now, I do a 12 - 20 page newsletter 12 times a year (Jan and Feb. are 
_really hard_ because we don't drive (most of us anyway) our cars during 
the snow-bound winter months up here in New England...). At any rate, I 
don't get paid other that the occasional "Thanks!" and occasional awards 
that I get for doing the work. If I was not the newsletter editor, I 
would probably have two Triumphs on the road, figuring a min. of 15 - 20 
hours per month to do up the newsletter. On the other hand, if I didn't 
spend that time, we wouldn't have a club. So, the responsibility of doing 
the newsletter is significant. I do it so I can pay the club back for the 
fun that I have at events. It's a labor of love.

There is a silver lining though - if you really like to edit or if you get
really good at using Pagemaker (or Quark or whatever) or if you like doing
ad designs etc., you can sell your work to other clubs etc. I know of
plenty of folks that do this just to pay off the expenses of upgrading
hardware and software every couple of years. 

If you do that, maybe your club will pay you.

Don't take this wrong way, but I believe the key to getting paid is to 
use a professional method to attack the problem - oh and doing a 
newsletter with a circulation in the thousands helps too. ;-)

regards,
rml
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Lang                Room 11-221            | This space for rent.
Consultant              MIT Computer Services  |        
Voice: (617)253-7438    FAX: (617)258-9535     |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>