I've been off the site for a few days but I see the subject of how to 'promote
S' and/or 'win converts' has been active again recently. It has long been my
opinion that one very effective and inexpensive way to promote "S" (and
without changing any organization's mission, name, performance or leadership)is
through individual "S" modelers preparing articles on "S" based projects and
layouts and submitting them to the non-S magazines. (Yes, I know this is not
the first time I've raised this idea on this forum but given the recent
discussion it seemed appropriate.) These magazines include MR, RMC, NMRA
Magazine (the only constraint here is that articles usually have to relate in
some way to the NMRA...author is a member or something similar), Dispatchers
Office (the magazine of the OP SIG), NG Gazette, etc. These are the magazines
read by modelers of ALL gauges and persuasions...the one's we'd like to get
interested in "S". Despite what has sometimes been said, it has been my
experience that none of these magazines are biased in any way against "S".
They just don't get many quality articles on topics of general interest
submitted by "S" scale modelers. In the years I've been submitting articles on
my layout and modeling, I've had only one article not accepted and that was
because the magazine already had several in waiting on the same theme. I
offered it to another magazine who accepted it. I have had 100% of the
articles I've prepared published by someone...9 in the last 5 years with two
pending publication. I don't use this to 'blow my own horn' but to provide
evidence that there is plenty of interest from the magazines in quality "S"
based stories. And given that I do not use scale rails or flanges on my
layout, "pure 'S' scale" guys should have it even easier! Having worked with
the editors of each of the magazines mentioned above, I would be glad to help
anyone who wants to get articles ready for submission to non-"S" magazines. By
the way, not only do you promote "S" and get the great satisfaction of seeing
your work in print, but several of these magazines pay for published articles
and photos and they pay pretty darn well. But let's not assume that "the other
guy" is going to do the quality modeling and write the article or that the
magazines are going to call us and see if we'd like to submit something! We
have to be proactive and more of us have to take this on! If everyone out
there capable of writing articles for publication would do so, it would go a
long way toward making our presence known in the broader modeling
community...and it costs us nothing, in fact it makes money. Let's get that
great "S" stuff out in the press where the other guys will see it each month in
their mailboxes! If everyone capable and willing to do so is already doing it,
then we have a different problem. Again, contact me off-line if I can be of
any help getting an article prepared.
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
