The story of a magazine issue
It is again that time. The latest issue of the magazine has just been sent to the printing house, and now we have to focus completely on the next issue.
First we agree on the content. The choices are unlimited! So after we’ve collected all the ideas from our editors, contributors and not lastly from our readers, we’ll select the ones which will make it into the magazine.
We’ll then distribute the tasks among our team members. Everyone gets to pick a subject close to their own interests. It is important that everybody gets to enjoy writing about that particular subject! Some articles are more demanding than others, some require a thorough investigation and consultation of different unbiased sources. And then there’s the interview, which is a special type of work itself!
Of course we set deadlines and then it’s then time for the articles to come alive. As soon as they come in, we’ll precheck them and do the necessary changes to make them fit into one of the three difficulty levels. We’ll select then the words to be explained and work on them. The articles go then into the next checking stage, where our language experts will make sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes. They are now ready to be included in the magazine layout.
We have a predefined layout for the magazine, which can however be adapted to fit the articles. We must also take into account the pictures and the vocabulary and fit them with the text itself. Little by little the magazine starts to come alive.
Naturally, there’s also the cover design (choosing the right photo, make it fit with the text on it, and so on), then the contents listing, the back cover. We have by now the first draft of the magazine ready to be reviewed.
Correction proposals come in little by little from our team. The second and final draft is born. We send it out again for another round of review, after which the magazine is ready for printing. We’d get immediate feedback from the printing technical staff and in 3-4 days the magazine should be out! We’ll then start shipping it immediately to our subscribers.
Oh yes, and there’s one more thing: the audio recordings. While the magazine is being printed we’ll take care of the recordings and in the same time prepare the e-version of the issue (PDF+audios).
Producing an issue of the magazine requires planning, discipline, skills in different areas, and a strong will to do it! We do it because we love doing it! And once in a while we also get some feedback like Maria’s, from Spain:
Maria might be exaggerating a bit. There’s still a lot of room for improvements. But the magazine already is in its current format a useful tool for those practicing their Finnish language skills and aiming to improve them. Are you already one of them?
If not yet, browse our freshly opened online store and choose from the various magazine packages: http://store.puhutaan-suomea.net.