I’m a magazine editor - AMA

[FrenchFancier]

Happy to answer anything about the industry, how it’s changed, the impact of digital, info for aspiring freelancers etc.

Won’t share exactly what type of magazine as it could be outing but it’s fairly upmarket, broad appeal, sold widely in supermarkets etc. Work for a huge publisher and also know editors of many different subject matters.

I work in PR. Do you ever read press releases?

Haha this is a very valid point. Magazines also seem to think you’re either on a budget and thus don’t want to read anything intelligent, or are rich and therefore do.

All magazines have a mythical reader profile - eg Shirley, who is retired and likes crafting, cats and shops at Asda, or Cynthia, a housewife who drives a BMW, shops at Harvey Nicks and likes to show off her swish pad with lots of parties. This is who they tailor content to and sell advertising off the back of. Obviously the latter attracts a more luxury advertiser.

I have come to the conclusion that it’s all a load of bollocks, and so I always try to make the tone of the magazine intelligent but inclusive.

You do have to bear mind though that people just pick up a mag in the shop and look at the cover and perhaps have a quick flick through before buying. So if it doesn’t look nice then you will unlikely buy it. A shoot of Caroline’s woven lampshades made in her lovely home studio will look a lot nicer and more inspiring than Shirley’s crocheted tea cosies made in her poky living room. Yes it’s a bit irritating but magazines do want to have a certain feel to them.

I think those middle ground magazines used to exist more than they do now, as publishers have had to chase advertising spend or weird and wacky cover lines about eloping with budgies.

I remember Marie Claire back in its heyday was pretty good, and Glamour before it shut down had lots of interesting reads in it.

Hi I’m sorry but I’ve never worked on a teen title so can’t really comment. I would guess it’s just down to doing what sells but then I’d be surprised if teenagers really bought many magazines these days.

Interesting to read about the 'profile customer'. The only magazine I read regularly is Private Eye (DH and I have a subscription) but I mustn't fit their profile as none of their adverts interest me - all overtly 'quirky' gift things, books that sound like they've been written by conspiracy theorists, and auctions for art that is way out of my price range

I agree about the assumption 'on a budget' = 'lowbrow' which is depressing, really.

Thanks @SingingSands

Unless dealing with current news, sourcing engaging material is a long-term game. You’re always keeping your eye open for leads and following up with people. You need to start conversations with people and find out if they have anything that could work. I’ve known stories take a couple of years to come to fruition.

Building relationships with people who can bring you good stories is also key.

In terms of producing engaging material, it needs to be concise and punchy - not waffle on. Copy space is tight in most magazines as they are very visual. This means copy usually needs to be cut back and honed, usually to its benefit. You need a good hook with the sell and intro, and ideally you need to quote some interesting people in the article - not just one as it’s imbalanced. It’s really interesting if they have differing opinions.

Hope that helps but let me know if you need any specific advice.

I still buy print magazines; each month I always buy an Irish interiors magazine, and Red. I've been buying Red for at least 20 years.

Similar to why I buy 4 x weekend papers in print, my level of engagement is entirely different to online, especially around opinion pieces. (I can't really absorb those online at all, whereas fact / news pieces I can scan & glean the main points).

I also think fashion / beauty spreads only work effectively in print.

But ... the standard of writing is really diminishing ... it appears every piece is written by / for a cliched stereotype of a woman, with 'gal pals', a love of Pinot Grigio (or probably now some fancy gin) who's harried at work (tho creative & able). I really miss the more challenging / intelligent writing, and so many great columnists have gone, and instead it's writers rehashing their latest project / offering in a simplified manner.

I have often wished for a print version of The Pool. (I still miss it!)

Sorry realise I'm rambling with no question ...! I suppose it might be ... is there any future for a fairly literary woman-centred print magazine, with a feminist agenda? (I'd like that!)

Yes but not all of them.

You can tell a lot from a cursory glance. Far too many press releases are just the same old products being pushed again when they’ve been around for ages. A lot of PRs do round ups of older things to remind you of their clients and products - perhaps some journalists find that useful but it won’t warrant a reply.

But when it’s genuinely a new product/design/collection/event (and you really need to highlight that in the subject), I always look and see if it’s relevant for our brand or even sometimes another brand a friend works at. We certainly rely on press releases a lot to fill news pages.

It’s fine to follow up with a chase email (but not repeatedly) and if you are absolutely sure it’s perfect for that brand and they haven’t replied, then a phone call is ok (as sometimes you’ll realise it’s gone to the wrong person). But not if you’re not sure it’s a good fit.

In my eyes a good press release needs to have a very clear subject like that states if it’s new. It needs to show the range of photography available and obviously contain all the info you need, including prices. If it’s available for loan or samples are available, then that should also be specified.

Why are magazines aimed at women so utterly vacuous?

Drivel about ''celebrities'' and always the same stuff pretty much recycled every year about make-up & fashion.

Women's lives have changed so much yet magazines have no caught up with that as far as I can see.

Stopped buying them years ago.

I buy Red & the Irish interiors mag I suspect EandL is talking about. Funny! I’ve always loved mags.

Hello! when I was a kid. Mum would get it, mostly for Princess Diana. Old copies of Vogue from Oxfam. Smash Hits, Just 17, Bliss. Minx. That was a great one! It’s where Polly Vernon started out.

Then music mags & fashion mags in my teens / college days. When I started working, gossip mags. Heat, New, Now! Loved them. Then Perez Hilton came along...

I liked She. Now I like Red. And food / interiors mags. I’m mid-forties now. I like the Sunday Times supplements. But deffo agree with others that there’s space for something new & fresh.

Much like women’s fashion for the same age group! I imagine the younger cohort are mostly online. So, that’s where they get their contact & their clothes. I do feel that the over-40 market is very accessible, though, for magazines. But it’s interesting the points you’ve laid bare about how streamlined the industry is now.

I still remember all of the journalists I used to love reading. And I totally do believe in aspirational content as well. It’s what made me move to London & Paris, after all...

OP thanks for your very detailed response to my question. I'm an ex-journalist so I do know how to write a good press release. My clients are businesses in a specific sector so I'm usually chasing coverage in the news pages but a lot of your points are still applicable. I also recognise the pressure most journalists are under so rarely follow up by phone unless I'm sure the news is exciting and relevant to them. It can be harder to convey that to my clients!

Sorry for delayed reply. I agree that a magazine format makes it easier to absorb opinion pieces and visual layouts.

The diminished quality of writing is IMO down to reduced budgets and resources. Freelance writers get paid less than they used to (or in some cases the pay simply hasn’t increased in 20 years, which is effectively a pay cut). There is also less time to pick over the piece in house to make sure it’s as good as it could be.

I do think that fashion and beauty mags can be pretty cliched. But there are a lot of other magazines aimed at women that focus on specific interests.

I’d love to see a ‘literary woman-centred print magazine, with a feminist agenda’ but I can’t see something like this being published in the current climate. Maybe there will be a resurgence in print, like with books and vinyl, but magazines are closing rather than launching at the moment.

Of course there can be space for this type of content digitally. However, the issue with digital journalism is that it is by and large free to consume (with the exception of a few sites). Therefore it’s either funded by advertising or affiliate linking. Content is generally tailored around Google searches. So it’s just the big powerful sites that are feeding you news and opinion pieces generally, as they’re not something you would Google (if that makes sense).

I agree that the gossip and fashion/beauty mags can be vacuous - but they’re dealing with superficial subject matters by their very nature, so it’s not surprising.

There are a lot of other magazines primarily bought by women that focus on other interests - perhaps see if any of those take your fancy.

It’s a bit like the men’s magazine market in that general men’s titles such as lads’ mags have all but disappeared - it’s all about buying magazines that focus on your hobbies and interests. I think that’s where magazines can really play a part these days - taking an interest and immersing you in that world.

Thanks for your comment. In the 90s and probably first half of the noughties I bought so many magazines. A lot of people did. Then buying habits changed. So, whereas people used to go to the newsstand and buy 2 or 4 mags each week, this changed to just 1 each week, then perhaps just one each month.

Obviously this is due to the way people consume content has changed. And there is so much competing for our attention these days.

So while a lot of women like the idea of something new and fresh, unless there was publisher confidence that huge numbers of women were going to start buying it religiously, it just isn’t going to happen. There have been too many difficult decisions made to close magazines - and sadly they have often been the more thought-provoking titles.

However, I live in hope that appetites will change and people will start buying more magazines again to enable new launches like this to happen. Stranger things have happened.

I don’t have a question but I’m joining the ‘love print magazines’ squad!

I actually read an article in Grazia this week (in my printed subscribed for copy!) about how people are returning to ‘analogue living’ more for the sake of their mental health.

Yes, we can find / read anything online, but it has nowhere near the satisfaction of picking up a physical copy and reading it cover to cover. Love the weight in my hand, smell of the pages, colour and content. In much the same way my kindle was very short lived and I still have shelves full of physical books.

I’d be very sad indeed if physical magazines became a thing of the past and wonder whether there may in fact be a resurgence of sorts as people crave less screen time.

I like the same things in a magazine as I like online; Mumsnet for a range of opinions, TripAdvisor for genuine insight into places, Daily Mail side bar of shame.

Whats annoying with magazines is their lack of honesty. Anything about “products” like make up or skin care are positive, all the travel is puff pieces sent to them by said travel company etc. I’d like more rounded features. Sure show us the 10 new serums but I’d be more interested in their production, why this replaces the last one which was supposed to be amazing, which people buy it and why.

My favourite things well written insightful articles about things I don’t know already and those fashion photos of women on the street ( and this works even if I don’t share the style - I love knowing where people are getting stuff from ).

Hi, my question is going to sound flippant, I’m sure - but it’s something I’ve genuinely wondered about…. Why do magazine editors mess with the copy submitted by writers and (in my very limited experience!) make it so much worse?

I’ve written a few pieces for just one particular hobby publication and in every case I’ve seen grammatical and factual errors inserted and the article generally made much worse. It’s really frustrating and I suppose I sound like a cantankerous nightmare character, but I do just wonder why the editor doesn’t write the article from scratch and put his name to it, if he doesn’t want the writer’s own words to appear in the magazine?

By the time I submit my copy, I’ve read and rewritten at least a dozen times and it’s (in my very humble opinion), perfect 😅

Great question. There are a number of reasons why this might happen, which I’ve outlined below, but to introduce factual and grammatical errors reflects poorly on them.

• To make the copy more concise to fit the layout or simply to make it punchier.
• Because it’s not written in a magazine-friendly format/style.
• Because something that the editor wanted included wasn’t in the piece.
• The brief wasn’t followed/wasn’t detailed or specific enough/was misinterpreted.
• The editor may have decided they wanted to emphasise or lead with a particular point so changed things around.
• It’s often intro copy that is particularly rewritten because you want it to draw readers in or open in a certain way.
• To make the article sound more ‘house style’.

However, I’ve often seen editors rewrite copy simply because it isn’t how they would have done it, when there is nothing actually wrong with it. This is usually due to inexperience - or possibly being a control freak!

Good editors should allow the voice of the writer to shine through while still ensuing the piece doesn’t jar with the magazine’s tone.

I would politely ask the editor to give you feedback saying ‘I want to make sure I’m delivering what you need’ rather than highlighting your annoyance at the situation.

Hope that helps!

Thank you @FrenchFancier , that’s an awesome answer.