I Should have stuck
to being a writer instead of trying to
be a publisher. As they say, the best barber cannot cut his own hair! Bringing out a publication is a business.
There is nothing creative about it. What
you need is money and sense to make more.
You have to employ the right talent to take care of its various
dimensions. Each element requires full time attention. The mainstay of a
publication (daily or periodical) is the advertising support it can generate. In fact, this department has a greater role
to play in today’s scenario., what with so many publications crowding newsstands. Many stories are not
carried by Newspapers because they might jeopardise the possibility of getting
advertising it can generate which comes if its circulation is high which it can
afford if it gets ads, which. ..It is a vicious circle.
I was not aware of
this harsh reality when I decided to launch a city magazine when we moved to
Bangalore .On hindsight, I realise I made many stupid mistakes. The biggest one
was not doing my home work on printing and paper rates. As said earlier, I
would write my article and mail it; after that, it was the publisher’s lookout.
While working in the FEMINA office, I learnt about the editorial aspects, not
what happens after.
There is no use
crying over spilt milk but let me tell
you how the vessel toppled . The purpose behind sharing information is to warn
all those eager entrepreneurs raring to go . A lean, mean organisation survives
longer. I should have started small with a home office and a proprietary outfit. Instead, I tied up with a businessman who had
no interest in the venture at all and registered as a Private Limited Company with
his support and also infrastructural facilities like office
space and telephone. So there I was left holding an enterprise with teething
problems that could have been avoided.
In lighter vein let
me tell you about the launch party we had . My businessman partner insisted on
an extravaganza at a 5 Star hotel. The
Crème de la crème of society, advertising and business ,was there .The acting
governor (Karnataka was under president’s rule then)had accepted our invitation
to inaugurate and we had to line up all kinds of arrangements for protocol and
security .The function was to be at 6.30
pm and at 5-30 pm, I received a bouquet
of flowers from the Raj Bhavan ,
with a note saying the governor was called for an urgent meeting and he
regretted his inability to attend the function .Everyone present wondered who I
would invite to do the honours. The function began as scheduled and as the head
of the state could not come I got the head of my home Srivatsa, to release the first
issue of Blossom City, Bangalore’s only city magazine .As my surprised
husband (I had not told any one of my intention) walked to the dais, he had a
standing ovation from the guests! Well, he had given me his gratuity money to
invest!
Coming back to the
publishing fiasco, another factor that
contributed to the death of the magazine , three years after its birth,
was our lack of shrewd business acumen. Both Anil(my son, he
had just completed his graduation in Journalism and joined me), and I took our
advertisers at face value and getting money out of them, was no easy task. On
the other hand, our printers took advantage of our inexperience in the line and
billed us heavily. Soon, we had mounting bills from suppliers and IOUs from
advertisers. A very unfortunate situation. So, one day, we just closed shop.
There were no assets because the furniture was bought from a loan I had taken
from the Bank in my personal capacity. I liquidated it later from my personal
money!!
While it lasted, the magazine had a very
satisfied readership. It was wholesome journalism with an objective analysis of
civic issues. We celebrated its first
anniversary with a stage show, a spoof on Bangalore, scripted by Anil and me
and presented by the staff. Mr. N Ram, Editor of Frontline, was the chief
guest and all our subscribers were invited, along with the elite of the city. Blossom
City was a perfect example of a good idea handled the wrong way.
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