retired_jtingle

bumpage

retired_897fitness

I'd definately read it, but so far i've seen nothing all that concrete about what might be in it - if you aren't saying where the really great players / staff etc are (which i agree, you shouldn't do) then what would you be writing about? There are only so many tactics you can go into...

retired_jtingle

I've had some thoughts on what I'd like to include.

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI> General help and advice for players just getting into the game.
<LI> News from SI
<LI> Details of releases of data updates, apps, etc. (Both official and unofficial)
<LI> Tactical advice (Would hope I could get one of the forum's tactical geniuses to help out with this).
<LI> Graphics and Skinning advice (Again, hopefully with help from some of the gifted ones).
<LI> Skin / Facepack / Kitpack / Megapack reviews
<LI> A look at some of the hundreds of community sites across the web.
<LI> Interviews with prominent members of the forum community / Forum mods / Webmasters / SI employees / Testers
<LI> A look at some of the new stuff in for '08
<LI> Challenge / Sign-up articles
<LI> A multitude of possible articles, including (off the top of my head) weird stuff from the community, The future of FM, FM stories, FM online, FM Live, LLM stuff...
</UL>

I could probably come up with dozens more (and I'm sure I will as this goes along) and I'm certain that others in the community would be able to come up with more and better ideas still.

I've sent a preliminary enquiry to SI asking for permission (at least in theory) to produce something and I'm going to start writing up a few things over the next few days and start developing the look of a pilot issue.

Once I've got something I'm fairly happy with, I'll try to release it and see what feedback I get.

In the meantime, please keep your ideas and comments coming and if you have any free time to lend a hand anywhere along the way, just shout. All ideas are welcome.

Cheers

FitTrainer

sounds like a good idea, and i'd be interested in seeing this. i do agree though, about staying well clear of spoilers (player/staff naming) btu hopefully that shouldnt be to hard! definitely a :thup: from me!!

retired_randman

Great idea, I've got 6 of the original CM/FM magazines and I miss not getting more - this would be a great substitute for it, and .pdf format would be awesome.

I've had some thoughts on what I'd like to include.

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI> General help and advice for players just getting into the game.
<LI> News from SI
<LI> Details of releases of data updates, apps, etc. (Both official and unofficial)
<LI> Tactical advice (Would hope I could get one of the forum's tactical geniuses to help out with this).
<LI> Graphics and Skinning advice (Again, hopefully with help from some of the gifted ones).
<LI> Skin / Facepack / Kitpack / Megapack reviews
<LI> A look at some of the hundreds of community sites across the web.
<LI> Interviews with prominent members of the forum community / Forum mods / Webmasters / SI employees / Testers
<LI> A look at some of the new stuff in for '08
<LI> Challenge / Sign-up articles
<LI> A multitude of possible articles, including (off the top of my head) weird stuff from the community, The future of FM, FM stories, FM online, FM Live, LLM stuff...
</UL>

I could probably come up with dozens more (and I'm sure I will as this goes along) and I'm certain that others in the community would be able to come up with more and better ideas still.

I've sent a preliminary enquiry to SI asking for permission (at least in theory) to produce something and I'm going to start writing up a few things over the next few days and start developing the look of a pilot issue.

Once I've got something I'm fairly happy with, I'll try to release it and see what feedback I get.

In the meantime, please keep your ideas and comments coming and if you have any free time to lend a hand anywhere along the way, just shout. All ideas are welcome.

Cheers </BLOCKQUOTE>

Loving all these suggestions too, especially an FM Stories section, something which wasn't in the original magazine. I play an MMORPG called EVE Online and there is a quarterly magazine for that, and there's fan fiction in that.

It would be great to get the best of the community to help out, like the tactics section and so on. :thup:

retired_RedRobin

My thoughts from my time on the bootroom:

Be proactive about getting articles.
Don't rely 100% on regular writers - sometimes life gets in the way and you won't have any content. While it's worth keeping a core group, inviting others will help fill in the gaps. Sometimes the regulars just run out of ideas, so fresh input will always help.

You will need to chase people - if you have to compile and edit the articles then you have a deadline you need articles by. You will need to nag!

Assign specific columns to your regulars
If you don't do this, then certain subject areas never get covered, or you will miss hot topics. Also, regular named columns with familiar writers breeds confidence in your readership.

Go quarterly
If you do a monthly publication, you will never get any rest and it will affect quality. Quarterly allows you to gather articles and ensure quality.

Be focussed
Make your mind up how you want the publication to be, what image you want to put across. If articles don't fit in with your philosophy, then don't publish them, or suggest changes.

Sort out your submission mechanism
Two things here. First, if you just use the forums here, then people will see articles before the zine comes out, Then when you don't use an article people will wonder where it is.

Second thing - make up your mind how you want articles written, e.g. font, double space after full stop, number of words, paragraph spacing and so on. The last thing you want to be doing is putting everyone elses work into your format.

Make it a good read

If the articles don't entertain or provoke thought then there really is no point.

...

I'm willing to throw my hat in for some articles and I can probably help with the review/editing process.

retired_jtingle

I'd kind of thought that might be the way to go, but it's nice to have it confirmed by someone with a bit of experience.

TBH I thought that maybe monthly would be achievable. I was planning on keeping the number of page numbers down in order to have something that can be produced within a shorter time-frame. However, it's likely that the size of the zine will be governed by the volume and quality of what can be written within the deadline. If I can find a way to increase the page count regularly with well-written, varied, interesting articles, it will at least be an easy task. Circulating it digitally means there are no costs involved regarding increase in size, although I think that I will only add pages if I am confident that the same number can be met in subsequent issues. Dropping the number of pages may send the wrong message.

:thup: Thanks. Sounds like good advice. It's likely that the style and content may evolve, at least early on, but I hear what you're saying. I'll try to keep it under control.

Again, good advice. I agree entireley. I don't intend to just copy verbatim from these forums. I'm hoping to get a mix of ideas, artcicles and writers from numerous sites. I'd like it to be a completely open community fanzine, getting as many people as possible involved. It might take a bit more leg-work on my part, but I think it would add greatly to the content.

That's something I had not even considered and I'm very grateful to find out now rather than later. I will put some thought into it over the next few days. I am starting work on some layout stuff, which I would hope would give me some idea of article limitations in terms of size, font, spacing etc. and also will allow me to see what looks best. I read somewhere that it's not the words on a page that make it eyecatching, but the spaces between the words. Something to think about there...

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more and this is basically the crux of the whole thing. I'd hope that I can write a few myself and I've read posts and articles by numerous others that I would hope might be willing to contribute, so I know that there is good material out there. I just have to try to bring it all together and be judgemental when I'm wearing my editor's hat!

...

[quote}I'm willing to throw my hat in for some articles and I can probably help with the review/editing process.[/QUOTE]

Any help you can offer will be gratefully received. I'm new to this whole thing and have no prior experience, so I'm happy to receive advice and constructive criticism, plus I will always be looking out for anyone able to write anything.

i am also wondering whether it might be a good idea to have a few reliable critics close to hand to proof read and give feedback on each issue prior to making it available for release. I'd be happy to accept your help with any of these things, if you are able.

A big thankyou for your time and all your advice. You've been very helpful.

retired_jenlivesay

This is a really good idea I think.

I am sure many people can add to this list but perhaps there could be a Q&A Section too? Somewhere people can e-mail in questions and the best questions could be published onto it.

I agree that maybe monthly would be better - if it goes quarterly people will start to lose awareness of it and forget about it - perhaps? I don't think length is a problem, as long as it is a good read and does the job people will continue to read it.

retired_jtingle

Great idea. That's definitely to be considered. I'll have a new contact e-mail address just for fanzine stuff and I might look into setting up some webspace too as a hosting/distribution site.

Thanks for the positive comments. Much appreciated.

alan.watson59

Again, I definitely believe this would be a good thing. Perhaps, since the experience of playmaker from 'The Bootroom' is invaluable, and yet quarterly publications may yet see a decline in interest, bi-monthly issues could be the way forward.

As a person with a keen interest in journalism, I'd be very happy to lend a hand to writing articles should you want it.

You can contact me at max.edwards@abingdon.org.uk if you want to talk further.