SORMAG Digital – Shades Of Romance Magazine celebrates 18 years online this year.  I’ve learned a lot on this journey.  I would like to share few lessons with you.

If you don’t know I love books from birth.  I also love magazines.  I can’t leave a book store or magazine stand without buying at least one.  One of my writing dreams was to either write for a magazine or to publish my own.  While in college I did a mock Christian magazine – Footprints – A Closer Walk With God.  I got an A on my presentation.  After that I seriously wanted to do a magazine.  Unfortunately after doing more research on magazine budgets and looking at my own budget, that dream had to be let go.

I came online and was fascinated by all the words.  How could I be a part of this amazing new world?  I ran across an article about an online magazine.  The writer in me said I can do this. What would the magazine be about?  ROMANCE of course, I was reading it, I was writing it and I knew a few writers because of my online forum I hosted.

While on maternity leave, yes I’d had a beautiful baby boy in 2000.  The idea of Shades Of Romance Magazine was created.  I needed a website, articles, pictures and readers.

Here is where I begin in sharing with you 18 lessons, tips and craziness of being an online magazine publisher/editor.  This will be a long post so I’m going to break it up in three post so you don’t get overwhelmed.

1. Take Care Of You – This was a hard lesson for me because I always take care of others.  I was a care giver of my mother during part of my reign as a magazine publisher and I got off track of taking care of me.  My hair was falling out, I was losing weight, and my eczema was off the chain.  I’d lost LaShaunda.  I was smacked in the face when I went to try on a dress for my sister’s wedding and the dress I requested fell to the floor, it was too big.  TOO BIG!  I was down two dress sizes. If you know me, you know I’m not that big, so two dress sizes had me down to a size 2.  I looked like I was on crack.  Yes crack. The sad part, I hadn’t noticed because I was running back and forward to the hospital and eating sometimes.  I never looked in a full size mirror, so I missed it.

I highly don’t recommend that for you.  You must come first.  It was a hard lesson I needed to know.  I come first, then everything else.  I’m getting a little better at taking care of me.  I’m even wearing a fitbit to get my lazy butt off the couch.

2. You Are Not An Island – This was another hard lesson for me because I thought it was my business I had to do it alone.  NOT!  The first few years I did SORMAG alone, I created the website, I posted the information, I interviewed the authors, and I did the reviews.  I was crazy.

Most of my amazing help, volunteered their services to me and I’m forever grateful that I didn’t get in my way and say no.  I had some great editors, wonderful reviewers and excellent writers.

You don’t have to do your business alone.  You can outsource things; you can hire people to help.  Don’t think you can’t get the help you need.

3.  Create a Calendar – Having a calendar kept my sanity.  I use to try to keep everything in my head, but I was forgetting things.  I found a calendar at the dollar store and I’ve been organized ever since.  I tell people about the calendar every chance I get.

Get yourself a calendar and use it.

4.  Remember to have fun – I think that’s what helped me to continue SORMAG was that I had fun creating it and meeting the different authors.  Each month when I put it together I said I wasn’t going to do it anymore because it was time consuming and back then I wasn’t getting a dime.  I was ask myself, why am I doing this again.  Then I would smile because it was fun and I loved it.

Find the fun in what you do and you will move forward.

5.  Look at the big picture –  It took me a minute to learn this lesson.  I did SORMAG for fun.  I never dreamed it could be a business and I could actually make money from it.  Who knew I other people loved books as much as I did.  I never looked at monetizing the site until someone asked could they advertise their book on the site.  Are you serious you want to pay me to be on my site?  Now I had to learn about what to charge.  That was another adventure to go on.

Have a vision for your business and look past right now, where do you see the business 5, 10, 15 years.  I’m 18 years in and I never had a clue it would go past one year because I didn’t see that far ahead.

6.  Monetize – Every business should be making money.  It might not be six figures, but it should at least cover the cost to run it.  I love that SORMAG doesn’t eat into my pocket because my husband probably would have shut me down a long time ago.  It’s no longer a hobby but a business that can take care of its self and pay others if needed.

Stop back by on Monday for the next six lessons.

If you are thinking about doing an online magazine for 2019 and need some help or advice.  I’m opening my calendar for a few magazine sessions.  For $97 you can pick my brain for an hour.  Come with your questions.  Contact me at lchwriter@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invoice.

P.S. I’m hosting the 4th Annual SORMAG’s Online Book Festival in November. Join me for the fun http://bit.ly/SOBFREG18