That sounds wonderful. I love reading at the beach. And magazines are great beach reads , especially if you’ve got kids, because you can pick them and up them down without much loss.
Thanks for the shout-out, Joel! I have yet to see anyone reading "Cult of the Dead" in the wild. When and if I do, I'll be sure to ask them if they knit.
ahhh, yes: the cover design process -- as a publishing insider (30+ years) I can completely agree with you on that being more stressful than the editorial process. I led a marketing team that oversaw the cover design process for 40-50 books a year for six years...I told my team all the time: "editors get the glory and marketers get the gory" for a reason: because it was often so true! The cover design process could be incredibly painful -- so many stakeholders - all with strong feelings...I don't miss that part of the process at all! Thanks for another insightful essay Joel!
Thanks, Tom! You bring up another thing most folks don’t know: Cover design is typically a marketing function. Packaging is part of the promotional strategy. One thing I always found amusing: When the design team would show us three or four comps, all significantly different. Sometimes choosing a direction would be really tough. And then sometimes after publication you’d second guess yourself and wonder if you should have gone with one of the other comps.
It's that tangibility. Don't get that anymore from digital stuff, kindles, etc.
I will always remember growing up, in middle school, waiting for the halloween, Christmas, and of course those skateboard magazines to come in the mail. Wouldn't get a damn thing but would skim through them all night.
Yes. Skateboard magazines! I used to get Thrasher. So much fun—and you could tear out pages and hang them on your wall! Mattix talks about that in a more sophisticated way in his piece on magazines.
I love print mags too, although digital ones are easier on space!
Reading a book can lead to conversations and connections in a way that reading an ebook cannot. A few years ago a girl sitting next to me on the train was reading Emotional Intelligence. An announcement came over the loudspeaker that the train was going to be held in the station for five minutes, to which this girl let out an exasperated sigh. I said to her, "Well, you should be OK, given what you're reading!", and we both laughed.
As a writer and designer for print, I love the concept of seeing and being seen. I also love the short form of a magazine. Thanks for sharing this interesting read.
Yes! I love books. The look of them. The feel of them. The weight of the book and the rustle as you turn the page. My kids tell me they are reading but are they really fully appreciating the experience staring at their phones?
You are prompting me to buy some magazines, which lately I've reserved for plane trips but I do miss the sense of discovery that is lost when simply reading articles online.
A flight is the perfect excuse to buy a few magazines. But like most good things you don’t even need an excuse! Just grab one when the mood strikes. I love looking at the periodicals rack at large bookstores. I always find a few I’ve never heard of before.
Absolutely love this piece. Sat on a beach in North Wales, it makes for perfect afternoon reading. The sheer joy of books and magazines. Thanks Joel!
That sounds wonderful. I love reading at the beach. And magazines are great beach reads , especially if you’ve got kids, because you can pick them and up them down without much loss.
That's so true!
Thanks for the shout-out, Joel! I have yet to see anyone reading "Cult of the Dead" in the wild. When and if I do, I'll be sure to ask them if they knit.
LOL. Odds are good a handful do! Fascinating book, by the way.
ahhh, yes: the cover design process -- as a publishing insider (30+ years) I can completely agree with you on that being more stressful than the editorial process. I led a marketing team that oversaw the cover design process for 40-50 books a year for six years...I told my team all the time: "editors get the glory and marketers get the gory" for a reason: because it was often so true! The cover design process could be incredibly painful -- so many stakeholders - all with strong feelings...I don't miss that part of the process at all! Thanks for another insightful essay Joel!
Thanks, Tom! You bring up another thing most folks don’t know: Cover design is typically a marketing function. Packaging is part of the promotional strategy. One thing I always found amusing: When the design team would show us three or four comps, all significantly different. Sometimes choosing a direction would be really tough. And then sometimes after publication you’d second guess yourself and wonder if you should have gone with one of the other comps.
You will enjoy Martin Salisbury's, The Illustrated Dust Jacket, 1920-1970. Profusely illustrated. Sports a fine dust jacket.
Sounds like something for my Amazon Wish List!
It's that tangibility. Don't get that anymore from digital stuff, kindles, etc.
I will always remember growing up, in middle school, waiting for the halloween, Christmas, and of course those skateboard magazines to come in the mail. Wouldn't get a damn thing but would skim through them all night.
Yes. Skateboard magazines! I used to get Thrasher. So much fun—and you could tear out pages and hang them on your wall! Mattix talks about that in a more sophisticated way in his piece on magazines.
I love print mags too, although digital ones are easier on space!
Reading a book can lead to conversations and connections in a way that reading an ebook cannot. A few years ago a girl sitting next to me on the train was reading Emotional Intelligence. An announcement came over the loudspeaker that the train was going to be held in the station for five minutes, to which this girl let out an exasperated sigh. I said to her, "Well, you should be OK, given what you're reading!", and we both laughed.
That’s hilarious! And a pitch-perfect example of how our reading can telegraph stories about us.
Re physical magazines: Yes, about two or three times a year I have to purge. I scan a few articles I want to keep and toss the rest.
😂 agreed, and ditto!
As a writer and designer for print, I love the concept of seeing and being seen. I also love the short form of a magazine. Thanks for sharing this interesting read.
You bet! It’s every bit as fun to write as I hope it was to read!
Yes! I love books. The look of them. The feel of them. The weight of the book and the rustle as you turn the page. My kids tell me they are reading but are they really fully appreciating the experience staring at their phones?
You are prompting me to buy some magazines, which lately I've reserved for plane trips but I do miss the sense of discovery that is lost when simply reading articles online.
A flight is the perfect excuse to buy a few magazines. But like most good things you don’t even need an excuse! Just grab one when the mood strikes. I love looking at the periodicals rack at large bookstores. I always find a few I’ve never heard of before.