Magazine Hangover

Well we survived the team magazine project.  Terryn, Robert, Anrea and I completed the first (and only) issue of Run WPG, a magazine for local runners about local races, trails and athletes.  Overall the project went well.  We worked well as a team, and got our content done on schedule (I just dropped it off at the printer this evening at quarter to five).  

We struggled most in the consolidating of our material.  Everything looked good individually, but we definitely underestimated the amount of work it would take to bring it all together into one cohesive document.  So we spent a lot of time last week formatting it for the pdf submission to Al on Friday.  Then we foolishly relaxed and took the weekend off magazine work thinking that it would only take an hour or so to pdf it for the printer and run off four copies of our "masterpiece."

Oh how wrong we were.  We put the "finishing touches" on it on Monday afternoon and sent it to the printer that evening.  We prudently ordered a proof and looked it over on Tuesday morning.  Well apparently some of our images were not linked properly and some of our fonts were not outlined and a lot of our text was way too close to the edge of the page.  I believe the term is "creep" -- when the outside pages of the magazine don't have as much space as the middle pages because of the thickness of the fold.  I vaguely remember Al telling us about that in the first week of magazine layout class, but when I realized he wasn't accusing me of "creeping" I tuned out.

So we spent this afternoon reformatting our magazine (when I say "we," I mean Terryn...thank you for putting up with my backseat indesign-ing, Terryn), linking all the pics properly and finalizing the proposal.  I dropped it off at the printers and will pick up the final (no matter what!) version tomorrow morning.

A couple big thankyous have to go out to the non-crecommers that helped us.  Darren Anderson, a good friend of mine, and technical coordinator for Manitoba Marathon, was a big help throughout the magazine project.  And he put me in contact with photographer Brian Hydesmith who was also great.  Aldo Furlan, the subject of one of my feature articles was also very accommodating.  Anrea's contact at Manitoba Runners' Association, Leni Campbell (no relation), also provided us with some great photos.  

See you at the magazine trade fair --Thursday March 31 at RRC Princess Street --the final hurdle of the magazine project. 

Soupy Out