I have given birth to the best new magazine in Litchfield County “Seasons of the Litchfield Hills”. I saw the first copies today from the printer. Yes, I saw the proofs before they went to the printer, stared at the copy for days, had panic attacks over ads and have been worried sick about that typo that I have yet to find…..but seeing it in my hands was magical.
There is nothing like working really hard, dreaming of the end product and then having your dreams come to fruition. It is truly an amazing thing. The magazine is so “me”. It is all about community, family and friends. I’m not a materialistic person – don’t get me wrong I like having money, but I’ve lived without it and survived. It’s not the end all. I love the fact that our magazine doesn’t talk about doom and gloom – doesn’t focus on the rich and famous – we are all about the average folk – the happy stuff.
Being a publisher has been a new experience. First of all I had to sell the magazine – I had to cold call again. Not my favorite thing – but I had to do it. I called people, I went door to door, I emailed – I did just about everything except sit in the middle of town with a sandwich board and say “Buy a 1/2 page please!” It wasn’t easy – we are a new magazine, with no track record. People just had to trust me that they were going to get a return on their investment. Some people bought ads because of me – which is even more pressure!
But, the magazine looks great. I’m incredibly proud of it – and of all the creative people behind it. It just goes to show, if you really want something bad enough – the sky is the limit. You can accomplish the impossible. Once again, people looked at me like I was crazy when I told them of my latest venture. I smiled, like I always have and said “Failure is simply not an option – the magazine will be great” And it is.
On to Issue 2!! Watch out Oprah!
