A deadline is a useful thing. It’s good to have a target, a goal, a destination. Something to shoot for. For myself, it’s a necessary part of my creative process; I can churn things over and over, write and revise and re-write and revise, and add ad infinitum. A deadline provides focus and at times a necessary kick in the pants to move!
Momentum counts for much. Often the hardest part of any venture is the start.
A deadline can also be dangerous. Any goal needs to shift when conditions change and it no longer makes sense.
This is probably a ridiculous aside, but wasn’t it Mike Tyson (a fellow pigeon-lover) who said
‘everyone’s got a plan until you get punched in the face?’
I feel that’s relevant here.
I had a goal to do a year’s worth of monthly newsletters beginning October 1st 2022. A few things happened that changed the conditions.
My objective was (is) to produce a monthly publication which would feature McLuhan content and commentary. To produce a paid physical edition that would mail out on the first of the month, and to produce a free digital version that would break that month’s contents into four weekly servings. This is important to me as access matters and I always try to break barriers to access, not build them. Doing a physical edition gives people something they can buy and keep, with the advantage of getting it all at once rather than weekly quarters, and the benefit of supporting the work and access to it. Doing the free digital edition gives the broadest access possible.
scope
The scope of The McLuhan Instigator (did I mention, that’s the title?) has grown. Funny how this happens. You start with one idea and it grows and end up being bigger, and most often, better. Often times, that’s accidental or in the natural course of things.
In this case, I had asked a friend to comment on part of the first issue of The McLuhan DEW-Line Newsletter that I felt needed a perspective other than my own. The bug turned into a feature when I realised this is a great addition.
Now, I am soliciting contributions from people whose voices I feel have something worthwhile to add. And it’s not exclusively about re-surfacing McLuhan content (although it is about that). And it’s not about having only McLuhan-related content. I am interested in people’s experiences with and investigations of the effects of technology on people and culture.
I’m also soliciting contributions in the form of not words but images, and not merely to break up the words, but to add similar thoughts but in images.
(this would be a great place for an image)
(woah, that’s a lot of image.)
Also, crunching numbers, it would appear that producing and distributing a physical monthly publication is costly. To do it right, I’ll need design help and distribution help. I also want to be able to pay contributors. I’d prefer to not lose money doing it all.
The idea of having people subscribe, or pay up front, makes me a bit nervous. Things happen, and I don’t want to owe people content then have to produce something I’m less than thrilled or proud of. Pass. Of course, the advantage of subscription is that it offsets the cost of production.
So I’m moving toward more of a monthly magazine which people can buy as it’s ready. People can also support via a paid subscription, or by supporting The McLuhan Institute on Patreon.
Please do. I’d appreciate that.
I’m also actively seeking some courageous individual or company to fund the entire first year’s production costs so that I don’t have to sweat it and can pay people to help out. A guy can hope.
What I can say is that so far it’s looking pretty good. I don’t want to drop names but I have some great contributors already lined up. Each issue is going to be a banger.
Maybe I’ll drop some sample content between now and the first issue to give you an idea of the sort of thing to expect.
Look for The McLuhan Instigator’s first year, 1/’23 – 12/’23
Andrew McLuhan
Bloomfield
9/28/’22
Good luck!