New Coffin Corner Issue

[oldecapecod11]

by ChrisBabcock » Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:35 pm

Simple: September - October to November 1 = 2 months overdue (and counting.)

"The Coffin Corner is always a month or so late. I agree completely. I get that. But on the flip side, as long as a new issue is in the mail at regular 2 month intervals, which it appears to be, what difference does it make what date is on the cover?"

That's a strange stance by someone who a few months ago requested to be included in the bidding for the project.
If awarded, do you mean you would continue the haphazard and constantly overdue process - or, would your bid include the numerous ways the newsletter needs to be improved?

You know, we used to have TWELVE issues PLUS an Annual. People whine about no submissions but offer no solutions.
Let's face it... no one is going to get excited about appearing in print in a newsletter that creates no interest outside of our group.

[ChrisBabcock]

That's a strange stance by someone who a few months ago requested to be included in the bidding for the project.
If awarded, do you mean you would continue the haphazard and constantly overdue process - or, would your bid include the numerous ways the newsletter needs to be improved?

No, the printing would not be haphazard. It would be printed in an extremely timely manner based on when the content is received. Nothing can be printed if there are no print files TO print. The workflow is: The editor gathers up all the content, he/she then produces the layout or has the designer do such, then the final print-ready page layouts get sent to the printer. There are many links in the process. I print the newsletter for another organization that I'm a part of. It prints quarterly. In late October I still hadn't received files for the Fall issue. I had to send a few emails "begging" for content. Once I got it, had it printed, then mailed, people are probably only receiving their fall newsletters just now. Halfway through fall. Only because the newsletter was not ready to be printed, not because the printer itself was slow in printing it.

[oldecapecod11]

by ChrisBabcock » Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:58 pm

That's a strange stance by someone who a few months ago requested to be included in the bidding for the project.
If awarded, do you mean you would continue the haphazard and constantly overdue process - or, would your bid include the numerous ways the newsletter needs to be improved?

"No, the printing would not be haphazard. It would be printed in an extremely timely manner based on when the content is received. Nothing can be printed if there are no print files TO print. The workflow is: The editor gathers up all the content, he/she then produces the layout or has the designer do such, then the final print-ready page layouts get sent to the printer. There are many links in the process. I print the newsletter for another organization that I'm a part of. It prints quarterly. In late October I still hadn't received files for the Fall issue. I had to send a few emails "begging" for content. Once I got it, had it printed, then mailed, people are probably only receiving their fall newsletters just now. Halfway through fall. Only because the newsletter was not ready to be printed, not because the printer itself was slow in printing it."

There was no mention of the printing being haphazard.
That is a personal thing but it does follow a few standard formats and could be addressed regarding content.

Our issue seems to be the logjam at the gathering point. And, it gives one cause to wonder why.
We have enough assistants on that project to start a football pressure testing firm.
But, we have heard enough about the falsely accused Boston franchise which won't be facing a challenge 'til November 29.

Surely, most printers adhere to a similar process - and, it makes sense. Just an extension of the "that which you sow" theory.
Our seedings have not been very productive since Ken was removed.

Please don't tell any tales that would jeopardize your chances but was there any reaction to your offer / request?
Not the "check with the bored" type nonsense but on-going positive reaction as to interest - if nothing else.

Anyone with better than a blind eye can see there's a lot waste and some hidden cookies in the process as it stands.
Thank you for a partial explanation.
Personally, the feeling is that it would be a good thing to have a card-carrying member involved with printing our newsletter - especially one that is also active and not limited to a quarterly ho-hum post.

[ChrisBabcock]

Our issue seems to be the logjam at the gathering point.

Completely agreed.

Please don't tell any tales that would jeopardize your chances but was there any reaction to your offer / request?

No.

[rhickok1109]

Matt-- I'll bring that to the attention of Roy and John-- by now, of course, mailings from Pennsylvania should have reached you in Washington state and Olde Cape Cod in Florida. If anyone else has that situation, please let us know.

Historically I usually get it at least a week - usually two weeks - after everyone else mentions that it's arrived for them. So no need to panic, I'm assuming it gets to me later because I'm in the Great State of Washington.

I'm surprised the USPS is so consistent My experience with using media mail is that it's totally inconsistent. I once sent author's copies of a book to my son in Pittsfield, MA, about 175 miles away, and to my sister in Green Bay, about 1200 miles. It took two days to get to her and nine days to get to my son.

[Reaser]

I'm surprised the USPS is so consistent

Ha, I know I'm usually last to get the CC. On the old forums once - forget who it was - someone in Europe was talking about what they had read in the latest CC issue and that issue didn't get to me until weeks later. So evidently it's slower getting over here to WA than it is getting out internationally.

Spitballing here for a CC idea: We know how much space we have, why not list a queue or table of sorts of articles done/planned/needed? e.g. "We're 2 pages short on the next issue, does anyone have something that fits?" ... The list could show that the next 3 issues are full and people could see for issue #4 there's a block of space and could send something in for that - so people know when something is needed.

I also wonder if content is that much of a problem now. I know I sent an interview in mid-July and I'm assuming it won't be published until either issue #6 of this year or seemingly more likely the first issue of 2016? A half year later. Maybe the editors can chime in, but it seems like we have content and it isn't the issue it was in the recent past?

I just try to write and/or contribute to at least one article per year, as a "doing my part" deal.

[Ken Crippen]

As someone who was editor of CC in the past and has had to deal with mailing of the issue, let me chime in here:

Coffin Corner Comments:
-CC can always use content. We need to foster writers, both experienced and non-experienced. Obviously, it takes longer to mentor the non-experienced writers.
-We can have a queue of articles, but you need a queue of all lengths of articles, as well as different subject matter (more on that later). If you only receive articles that are 4-5 pages long, there are only so many that you can fit into the magazine when you design it. You need the one-page articles, as well. That was always the toughest part of putting together the issue. Bob Carroll mentioned that to me on many occasions as he was grooming me to take over. I experienced it when I took over. You do not want an issue with three or four longer articles. You want an issue with about 6 articles of varying lengths. That allows you to cover more topics, making the issue more enjoyable for the members.
-We used to have a Research Notes section in CC. A simple paragraph or two for each note. It is a great way to fill open spaces in the design with fact-filled nuggets. That is exactly why Bob put it in there when he was editor and why I put it in when they were submitted. People are not submitting things like that and I would encourage people to do so going forward. It is not a lot of work and it is a good way to get started with writing.
-When you design the issue, you need to get a good mix of articles to make it interesting. All eras, mix of team articles/biographies/leagues/etc. Outside of a tribute issue (like the last one as a tribute to the WFL), you would like to see a mix. However, depending on what is in the queue, that can be challenging. If you have three articles on the AFL, you can't put all three in the same issue. You need to spread them out. You also need to look issue to issue to make sure that you do not repeat too many topics. However, that still does not satisfy everyone. For example, when I was editor, I received a call from a member that we were not focusing enough attention on the AFL (no, not Ange). This was after three straight issues containing an article on the AFL. You want to hit the interests of all the members (so that they stay members). However, you cannot do that in every issue. It is a balance to spread out similar topics, while still having enough content to fill an issue. As a result of all of this, it can take a while for something to appear in the issue after it has been submitted. I had an article in the queue for over a year at one point. It is a balancing act that people do not see.

Mailing Comments:
-Bulk mail is the lowest priority for the post office. In my paying job, I work closely with USPS, spending most of my time on the bowels of the processing centers working on their machines. I see how mail is handled and routed. It is going to be wildly inconsistent. It depends on the processing schedule, how many processing centers it needs to go through, etc. Once we hand it over to USPS, it is completely out of our hands.
-When the issue is submitted to the printer, it takes about 1.5-2 weeks to print/collate/staple/put in envelope/attach address label the issue.
-Then, it is sent to USPS for processing.
-The issue can take anywhere from 1-6 weeks (or more) for it to arrive once we give it to USPS.
-We also print extras of each issue (for people who join mid-year). Those are boxed up and sent to the designated representative of the PFRA. I usually received the box of extras before I received my normal issue, because USPS processes boxes differently that flats.


In summary, our bylaws state that the members receive six issues of the magazine every year. Yes, we used to have twelve, but Bob Carroll stopped that in favor of six issues that were larger. As long as the six issues arrive in that year, we are meeting our obligations. You want to see the issue arrive on a regular interval. That is happening, by all reasonable standards. If it does not match the date on the top of the issue to the highly critical standards of some members, so be it. Not all of it is within our control, as mentioned previously. Short of us hand-delivering the issue (taking USPS out of the mix), there I snot much we can do about it. We are not going to upgrade to first-class mailing rates to get them to members on a tighter schedule for two reasons: one is that the costs are prohibitive; second is that you cannot arrive at USPS with 300+ envelopes of magazines without them throwing a fit. You need to schedule those things with the postmaster of the location.

The issue is posted online within a few days of it being sent to the printer (depending on my schedule). Some issues I have had online within hours of receiving it. Others have been a day or two if I am traveling for my paying job.

[Ken Crippen]

I'm surprised the USPS is so consistent

Ha, I know I'm usually last to get the CC. On the old forums once - forget who it was - someone in Europe was talking about what they had read in the latest CC issue and that issue didn't get to me until weeks later. So evidently it's slower getting over here to WA than it is getting out internationally.

Spitballing here for a CC idea: We know how much space we have, why not list a queue or table of sorts of articles done/planned/needed? e.g. "We're 2 pages short on the next issue, does anyone have something that fits?" ... The list could show that the next 3 issues are full and people could see for issue #4 there's a block of space and could send something in for that - so people know when something is needed.

I also wonder if content is that much of a problem now. I know I sent an interview in mid-July and I'm assuming it won't be published until either issue #6 of this year or seemingly more likely the first issue of 2016? A half year later. Maybe the editors can chime in, but it seems like we have content and it isn't the issue it was in the recent past?

I just try to write and/or contribute to at least one article per year, as a "doing my part" deal.

I addressed some of this in my previous post, but because of the time it takes to research/write and edit articles, my suggestion is to just submit articles of any length at any time on any topic. That gives the editor maximum flexibility to put together the issue to give a good mix of length and subject matter to the articles.

[ChrisBabcock]

Ken... Any comment on the choice of using the large white envelopes as opposed to imprinting the address on the back cover and wafer sealing the magazine shut? I suspect it would be a lot cheaper that way. I do realize the back cover is always book ads though.

[Ken Crippen]

Ken... Any comment on the choice of using the large white envelopes as opposed to imprinting the address on the back cover and wafer sealing the magazine shut? I suspect it would be a lot cheaper that way. I do realize the back cover is always book ads though.

This is something that Bob Carroll and I talked about and we both decided against removing the envelope. Obviously, there are pros and cons to both solutions:

Pros to envelope:
-Gives us an extra half-page of advertising revenue. That is because we would need a half page for the shipping information, return address, bulk mail permit, etc.
-Keeps CC clean in appearance. Things can get damaged in shipping (USPS machines are not always the cleanest). We would rather see damage to the envelope than damage to the magazine.

Cons to envelope:
-Added cost
-Adds time to put magazine in envelope and seal it. When you are talking 300+ issues, the time adds up. When Bob Carroll (and part of the time when I was ED), we did the stuffing of envelopes ourselves (more accurately, Bob's assistant who I kept on board for a short time after his passing). I changed it to having the printer do the work for us. It reduced our costs and reduced the burden on the organization. We reinvested that money in improving CC (full color cover).

Does added cost of the envelope exceed the extra half-page of advertising revenue? At the time Bob and I looked at it, the envelope cost more than we got from the ad revenue, but we thought it was worth the added expense (for the reasons mentioned above). However, I am not the type of person that says, "We need to continue doing things this way because that was the way it was done before." One of the things on my agenda is to raise this issue again with the board to see how the other board members feel. We will also do a cost analysis to see the difference between the cost of the envelope (and added processing time) and the missed ad revenue.

I hope that answers your question.