(12-04-2011, 07:30 PM)GrimFinger Wrote: Why do you regret selling that magazine, previously, Bob? Just curious.
Several reasons...
Remember, first, that I was very young, and that I was under a great deal of conventional pressure to attend college. I was supposed to do that by paying my own way, and in doing so, build "character" rather than debt.
I was offered a lot of money for the magazine. And I structured the deal to get two pay-offs: one from the US buyer, another from the UK buyer.
As part of those deals, I got to keep all of the existing subscriber and advertising revenue. Was it too good to pass up? It was.
But around that same time, I had been making quite a few connections with the "broader" gaming industry. I was brought in by Steve Jackson as one of the Contributing Editors for The Space Gamer. I was working on projects with Mike Gray at TSR, with Matt Costello (who later become a best-selling author), with Dana Lombardy, with the folks at MicroProse (remember them?), and with others, too.
Had I held onto the magazine, some of those projects certainly would have come to fruition. None did, partly because I no longer had a "power base" of my own, and partly because I focused foolishly on my courses at Penn State, instead of *doing* something with my life.
I regret those lost opportunities. I regret losing the pride that came with creation of a popular resource. I regret caving to the narrow-minded advice of "wiser" people who didn't understand what the hell I was doing with "those games". And I regret having rid myself of an occupation that brought me joy.
If that sounds like I'm on a nostalgia trip, well, maybe a little, but I also believe that I have a viable way to deliver a niche publication at minimal cost and with far less effort than it took me back in the 1980s.
Surprises in store, for sure.
-- Bob McLain
(12-04-2011, 07:56 PM)walter Wrote: Alright!
I am the first subscriber then Bob!
I still want to reply to your email, just have some family issues..
Thanks, Walter! I hope it meets your expectations.
By the way, the good thing about the revenue model is that subscribers won't have to take a leap of faith and plunk down in advance for unpublished issues. You'll be charged (via credit card, PayPal, or whatever) only for each issue as it is delivered. Cover price? $2.99. No ads.
-- Bob McLain