The Impact of a Production Schedule Change

If you alter your magazine's frequency, even temporarily, keep these tips in mind.

By Linda Ruth 07/02/2009 -12:55 PM

The recession, the industry layoffs, the changes in strategy and direction inside publishing companies have had lots of ancillary effects. One of them seems to be that changes in production schedules are more frequent than in ordinary times. Issues are delayed or missed entirely. From a distribution standpoint, what are the ramifications?

Your biggest concern if you are delaying an issue is for the subsequent issue. Are you shortening its on-sale period significantly? Even a week taken out of a four-week on-sale period can have a negative effect on sale. At best, arrange the schedule to salvage that week somehow; at worst, budget for a reduced sale.

What about missing an issue entirely? Even that isn’t necessarily a disaster. In fact, it can strengthen sales of the previous issue by giving it a bit more time on display. But there are a few things to remember:

• Remember your audience. If your publishing schedule becomes erratic, or too much time elapses between issues, you will lose readers. Believe it or not, your readers do look for the publication, and momentum is created from issue to issue. If the gap between issues becomes too great, that momentum will be lost.

• Avoid frequent changes to your publishing schedule. Publishers that appear to recreate their production schedule from issue to issue, and even change the dates of a single issue repeatedly, convey a message to their retailers and distributors. The message is that they are disorganized, unprofessional, and possibly in financial difficulty. Whether or not any of that is true, it isn’t what you want to convey to your distribution partners. It’s best to know what your strategy will be before making the change, to minimize the chances of having to change again.

• Leave time to notify your distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. A change with advance notice is just that: A change in the distributor’s computer system triggering a different timetable of galley closings, allotment notices, and so on. A change without advance notification is a mess. 

Need to delay or cancel an issue? Go ahead and do it. But think it through thoroughly, make the change once, and do it far enough in advance so that it minimizes the complications.