Publisher's Letter
J
BIG NEWS for
Issue #20 season of change
oe and I have a big announcement. It’s not the new baby, but we did have one of them. For a variety of reasons, the magazine will shift to a quarterly for 2019 and in between printed versions we will be putting out digital-exclusive magazines on the off months. Why? This is the big question. There are a few reasons, and inquiring minds want to know. For starters, the decision to change the production schedule has nothing really to do with you, dear reader. At least, we know that not many of your have asked for an extension of the production schedule. We know you have enjoyed reading the physical version of the magazine each month and that our effort to keep the percentages of content you read high and the page count manageable has led to engaged readers. Rather, the need for the change is threefold: logistics, partnerships and personal. Of note, this will also allow us time to rectify some logistical issues that have caused delays in delivery. You may have noticed; we did! We thought it would be easy enough to handle this while publishing the magazines monthly, but this multi-dimensional issue appears to have been exacerbated by the rigors of five monthly magazines (that’s the total we do right now, yours and four others). When Joe believed he solved the problem, something else would crop up. We have linked this to three issues and one small contributor (timeliness of submissions, Meredith has really helped us improve) will be corrected by quarterlies with earlier due dates. That coupled with many people wanting to see what a quarterly might be like, with an increased focus on digital, led us
to consider the shift. Finally, on the personal front, some health issues in Joe’s family has led to him feeling like he has not given everyone the attention they deserve. As a small team, this does have an impact. The people behind the scenes stepped up like you could not believe. They are awesome and they have been extra awesome. Joe cannot help but feel that asking everyone to do so much over a prolonged period of time is not fair, so the adjustment in production will ease this burden for these temporary issues. Our team is more excited than ever for the direction we are headed. We look forward to increasing the quality of the quarterly pieces and also trying to grow the digitals that will come out in off months. Readership for the digital pieces has been extremely high and we ask and suggest you be sure to update your information. If you are not sure, you can email info@localdotcommunity.com to make sure your preferred contact info is on the distribution. What is more, the digital service we use allows for “on-demand” printing for those that may wish to have a physical copy, although sadly it will not be free! If you too are excited about this change, or even if you don’t care for it, I’d love to hear your reaction. Our primary focus is to deliver the best magazines we can for you, our readers, creating the best experience for all stakeholders. Sincerely,
Ande Nehila
ande@hamptonlake.community
7
THE LAKE
December 2018