Number 205 is noticeably thinner. If it gets thinner it will have to be stapled instead of perfect bound and there won’t be enough thickness to put the edge printing on – at least in a readable font.
Saw this happen to Macworld. For years it was a thicky, then it got to less than a hundred pages and then….POOF.
All that was left was their .com.
And they said it was the usual suspects.
It’s a wonderment.
Replies
What are your thoughts on what should be done. Higher price, more ads, quarterly pub . . .
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Roc,No thoughts, just pointing it out."Higher price, more ads, quarterly pub . . ." This out of our purview. Anything posted here is dismissive vapor to the magazines ears.As to what is happening, I was in the biz for a long, long time so I know what and where the expenses are. I'm just pointing out where it seems to be going. One cost cutting measure after another. Some things are obvious. This copy came with no mailing protection whatsoever. Follow the masthead and look at changes. Things like a position changing from staff to consultant, or rapid turnover etc.
I'm sure the magazine staff and Taunton will have more than adequate rationals for whatever changes are made. I also have said nothing about content quality of this issue.All of this has little to do with the newsstand purchaser who buys a one off copy but may be of rightful concern to a subscriber who has an arguably legitimate reason to believe that what he contracted for will remain at the same level for the duration his subscription.Boiler
Boiler ,>posted vapor to the ears.<Oh I didn't expect FWW or Taunton to purk up and listen, though they just might, you would know better than I about all that.I was just curious what hardships if any you ( and others ) would be willing to tolerate to get the mag back to the good ol' lots of cool stuff and thick as always. Man a few years ago they were smokin'. Every issue was just great ! And I am not easy to please.While we are at it lets make it bigger like in the black and white days too. Yah like that could happen.No wrapper. That is sad . . .some of us, as you are fully aware I am sure, collect them to have a complete set. I don't think of this magazine as a read it and recycle it item. I read it and save it for future reference. Being of pragmatic bent I confess to tearing articles out with abandon and throwing them in my filing cabinet for future info. The rest ALWAYS goes on the shelf in order with the others though.I bet there are a few people out there that buy two copies of each issue; one to get coffee on and one to collect. I have known people like that. I have read here about Taunton leaving the shipping wrap off and putting it on. Seems like I even had one a few years ago come without a protective cover.At present I have let my subscription wain and I just buy one off the rack if it has anything of interest to me. I must say I have not bought one for a while. Not that I know it all I just tend to like the articles about the old fine work, hand tool stuff, and lots of biographical or autobiographical up close and personal aticles.I am not needing another glue test, table saw blade test or how to cut basic dovetails articles. Especially the same subject readdressed ( or should I say redressed ) every second or third issue.There are tons of interesting people doing interesting things out there. Even if FWW just goes and asks them what kind of jelly they like on their toast and takes some pics of their work and shop that would keep me interested.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )Edited 4/17/2009 10:06 pm by roc
Edited 4/17/2009 10:07 pm by roc
Finally got around to reading all the thread here. Fascinating. Even if the price goes way up sounds like it is still not enough to get back to the FWW we know and love.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
You asked "What are your thoughts on what should be done"As to the general publication, I would pay more for more and better content more geared to fine woodworking and less at novice and beginning intermediate woodworking and power tools and group tool reviews. Now that we have had vises, I want an article on how to crush you work in a vise and which vise will crush your bench without breaking.
>content more geared to fine woodworking<Here Here !rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 4/20/2009 9:19 pm by roc
boiler,
Anything posted here is dismissive vapor to the magazines ears.
Can ye ignore that little gavel/hammer/hatchet thang fer just a bit? Thanks, :-)
As to the magazine ears thang, I wouldn't bet my next paycheck on that right away.
When I saw this discussion I went back over the last year of the mag. and the mag has been pretty consistent in page count, a few spikes/numbers but all in all pretty even, most 104 pages. The last one, #205 did take a dip in that regard, but is 100 pages long.
Was the content significantly lacking? That might be kinda like asking 25 woodworkers how to 4 square a board, ye git 27 answers, right? Really like the article on end grain construction.
To make a long post short I think that every business in the world is feeling economic pressures, key words - every business. That to me means every single business up and down every vertical market is gettin their pants nipped right now.
Regards, Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,I know this has been gone over and over but the page count is diminishing. Its not in the hundreds now. I know as I went back over the last 100 issues also but that is somewhat begging my point of "an arguably legitimate reason to believe that what he contracted for will remain at the same level for the duration his subscription."I agree that in your words, "I think that every business in the world is feeling economic pressures, key words - every business. That to me means every single business up and down every vertical market is gettin their pants nipped right now" .....BUT, I am supposed to pay for that? Should they get TARP money?I'm not trying to start some big brannigan here and I've had my two cents but when I start hearing "Don't cry for me Argentina" from a magazine, my shorts get to bunchin.When I take my V8 in for plugs, I'm paying for 8 plugs. If the repair shop charges higher so be it, but my engine just doesn't do well on 7. I find another repair shop.Boiler
Edited 4/21/2009 9:16 am by boilerbay
Have you ever pulled the new plugs to be sure they are all new ? You would be suprised the stuff they do. I change my own.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
used to until they were only accesible from under the car after removing the wheel panel shields.
I see. I don't blame ya.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Can ye ignore that little gavel/hammer/hatchet thang fer just a bit?
Not me Fer' SURE.... That .... gavel/hammer/hatchet thang fer ME... IS A FIST FIGHT! Unless He/She is WAY bigger en' me!
EDIT: I forgot to ask.. How are ya' doing?
Edited 4/21/2009 8:18 pm by WillGeorge
Will,
Unless He/She is WAY bigger en' me!
Or her name is Mary! Last time we had a fistfight, well I'd rather not talk about that. It might be embarassing to me. :(-o Just kidding of course but she did play football in High School. Most of the guys wouldn't play with her. No grin on that one.
Hey she'd give Sarge a run fer his money.
Regards,
P.S. We're doin good here. Snow's gone and it's supposed to be 70s & mebbe 80s here this weekend. Mebbe I kin git the skylights put in for the woodshop!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob.. Id' say a woman is like the perfect WWF Title match.. You loose the title!
And as it should be.. A woman is as strong as she want to be at the time!
Will,
We've settled down over the years. Now we just injun leg wrassle to settle arguments , debates, well uh differences of opinion. That way we both win........................
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 4/21/2009 9:10 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
My day job is in newspaper advertising, so I can hopefully explain what is happening.
The size (number of pages) of any publication is largely determined by the advertising revenue generated for that particular issue. The more and larger ads that are sold, the larger the publication can be (more articles, pictures, etc.)
Other factors also come into play; there's the cost of the high-quality paper FWW is printed on, the inks used, postage costs, etc.
A publisher cannot simply create a magazine to fit the number of articles, letters, woodworking tips and showcases, tool reviews, etc. that he may have available for publication; he must tailor the product to his revenue vs. outlay constraints.
It should come as a surprise to no one that the economy is in the tank, and everyone is cutting back on expenses. Just pick up a copy of your local paper or another favorite magazine and compare its size and number of advertisements to a year or two ago.
As I read the threads on Knots, even we independently wealthy woodworkers are giving second thoughts to, or postponing, the purchase of new tools and equipment.
What will happen to FWW? I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell you it will remain status quo until this economy turns around. Quarterly publication is also conceivable, as even some major-market newspapers have dropped publication one or two days a week.
Believe me, the publishers of FWW wish as much or more than we readers that they could provide a larger, more comprehensive product; by the same token, they must be prudent businessmen in these extraordinary economic times.
kreuzie
Edited 4/16/2009 10:56 pm ET by kreuzie
Congratulations for telling it like it is. The stories don't support the magazine any more than the cost of the subscriptions do. The publisher needs advertising to turn a profit and advertising dollars are hard to find these days.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
even we independently wealthy woodworkers .. Gee I chocked on my glass of Jack Dainels on that one!
It's got a ways to go before it reaches the thinness of Woodwork, whose last issue was 84 pages, but is still perfect-bound.
-Steve
It seems to me that there are less ads in Woodwork, though I've never actually compared. I like how that magazine focuses more on the craftsman.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I wasn't talking about the content, just the physical size aspects. That is, you can have a magazine that has considerably fewer pages than the latest FWW, and still be able to perfect-bind it and print information on the spine.
-Steve
Might be an unfortunate example, since it's thinned its way into non-existence.
Jim
It's not quite dead yet. The Spring 2009 issue (#115) came out recently. It was supposed to go quarterly, but that's apparently on hold. They're still planning to do another issue this year, though.
-Steve
Well, dead as the one-man band it used to be. I can't see much future for a skinny magazine with an annual issue --- it's not a model to attract regular subscribers. They're trying to establish a website, attached to its parent AW, but that in itself sends a mixed message. Its exiguous at the moment, and with no magazine issues to provide a basis for interest, it's hard to see a rich future for that. Here's what the editor has to say, for those who haven't seen it. http://americanwoodworker.com/forums/t/2130.aspx
Jim
Apparently, the next issue of Woodwork is supposed to be on newstands April 21.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Yes, 76 to 80 pages is about as low as you can go and be perfect-bound. (My day job's in magazine publishing; I sympathize with kreuzie in newspaper ads, as they are getting hammered at the moment.)Magazines (and newspapers) are facing a double whammy: the ad recession, which may be the worst ever, and cost of maintaining a website, which rises as readers expect more and more web content and services.I can only guess at FWW's business model, but it does have two advantages over many magazines in navigating through all this, I think: (1) They're probably a primary buy for many of their advertisers, such as the big toolmakers, because FWW's readers are such an important customer base for them, and there aren't many other magazines they can turn to. As long as Grizzly, et. al., have print-ad budgets, FWW will probably get their business. (2) FWW has been an early and very good internet adapter. I think its website is a model for service magazines. It's a veritable woodworking school. Unfortunately, no one has yet figured out how to adequately monetize web content, so it's probably still costing them more than they make off the site. As much as I love the content on this site, I think they probably made a mistake in offering all of it for an annual fee. There is really no longer an incentive to subscribe to the print magazine at all, since the annual fee on the website allows you download all the magazine content as well. They might have been smarter to at least significantly delay posting the magazine content on the website to keep at least some incentive intact to subscribe to the print mag. Normally, the trend would be thinner mags and more robust websites, but despite the costs of printing and mailing, you still make more off a print pub than a website like this one, I think.FWW has the additional advantage of being a part of Taunton. The company's diversification means that the more profitable magazines (Fine Cooking, Fine Gardening?) and books can prop up the ones that are less profitable during these trying economic times.EDIT: Oops. I accidentally addressed it to roc. I didn't necessarily intend to address this to anyone specifically, just to the general discussion.
Edited 4/17/2009 9:54 am ET by nboucher
I think you have done a fine summation of what some of the magazines problems are.
I would take exception to the specific reference to Grizzly as most of their machinery is aimed at buyers who are far more into the bigger business models of woodworking than are the readers of FWW. Readers who aren't exposed to the industrial side of woodworking would find The Griz is much larger than they think.
They advertise very heavily (most often double truck) in many of the trades. (although not the page rate of FWW but high in # of trade/frequency buys).
I'm thinking you were simply highlighting Grizzly. Nit picking.I do agree that their print budgets are tangent to the survival mechanisms of FWW.In it's way FWW is almost as an extreme vertical as the trades are.Boiler
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