Some time in the mid 90s I began toying with the idea of publishing a magazine much like the arts and culture section of a newspaper, without all the other, uninteresting stuff. Throughout the years, I have filled many a notebook page with different ways to approach this idea. At one point I researched the cost of a small print run, and quickly decided the web was the way to go.
Finally, in January 2010 I fired up a blog — Another Passion.
Since day one I have run Another Passion magazine style, with lots of interviews combined with portrait photography, and editorial posts, all of it somehow relating to the life and work of artists and creative professionals. Along the way I have met many talented and kind people, and gotten to see things I otherwise wouldn’t have. But as a lone wolf I can only do so much, and a one-man show was never what I had envisioned.
Early on I gave the blog 3 years to grow and with the Fox/Tribune syndication deal, I was off to a good start. In late May of 2011, well into the site’s second year, I started seriously working on ways to grow Another Passion. It was that or shut it down and incorporate the content into this, my personal blog (for which I have no other goals than to share whatever I feel like).
In late June, I hinted that changes were coming. At that point, I had a couple of possible outlines and scattered notes but had kept it all pretty much to myself. Putting it into words made it real and no doubt sped up the process. I was shooting off more e-mails than I had in years, asking help and advice from friends with any related experience or talent. That was just a few weeks ago, though it seems like a lot longer.
Three writers were quick to rally under Another Passion’s banner. So far, only one has been published, but that’s one more than before. All are talented people I know can help boost the rate of publication while also raising the content quality.
Based on advice and research, I set up memberships and sponsorships/ads to at least make it possible for revenue to start coming in, and I wrote my first ever manifesto – a surprisingly fun and inspiring exercise, by the way. The first 2 members signed up within minutes, essentially paying for nothing, since I had no exclusive content yet. These people gave me a vote of confidence, and for that I thank you. A few more have since joined, enough that I’m feeling a bit of pressure from it, which is good.
A big part of my renewed focus has to do with my mother’s passing in early May. Her death made me re-evaluate my own life. I’ve been fueling a lot of that energy into Another Passion. She was a big fan of the project, and she would be proud to see it grow. And so I do it in her honor. I’ve spent weeks of 10+ hour days and more money than is probably wise, hoping to give Another Passion the boost it needs. I am far from done, but I could not have done any of it without the support of Kelly Cline. She has been a rock, an anchor and the best friend I could have ever wished for in my greatest time of need.
I do believe that steady flowing, high quality content will carry the site to (some form of) greatness, but only if I can get it off the ground. Three writers is good, but I need at least twice as many before I am really happy. And though I have started producing members only content, there is little time to promote memberships and advertising. Content is king and until it starts flowing, my focus is there.