Can you help in just working out the best way forward for Film Stories and Film Stories Junior magazines over the coming weeks? Thank you.
Well, crikey.
You don’t need us to tell you that times are a bit uncertain at the moment. I won’t recap it, as we’re all living it. First and foremost, stay safe, let’s look after each other, and take care. That’s far more important than anything I’m about to say.
I want to have a quick natter, then, about Film Stories and Film Stories Junior in the midst of all of this. That, as a fully independent operation run from a single, not very tidy room in the West Midlands, there’s no cushion of a big company behind all of this. Thus, we’re presented with a few options, and I wanted to be open about that.
Firstly: to be clear. I’m not one of those people who does a runner with your money. There’s no threat to subscriber’s subscriptions or writers’ money owed or anything like that. It’s the practicalities of keeping going that this is about.
With our canny sense of timing, we’ve published new issues of both Film Stories and Film Stories Junior in the last week or two. Sales have – entirely understandably – been much lower on both. Furthermore, advertising income for the next month or two is looking on the bleak side. I can keep going with planned issues, but obviously risk annoying my bank manager quite a lot more than I do already.
Thus:
- I can put the magazines on pause until we all get out of this the other side, and carry on once the world is somewhere close to up and running again.
- I can carry on, and keep to the publishing cycle, but understand that you may feel now is not the time to advertise in/to buy a magazine.
The website and podcast are unaffected. This is about the print magazines and their digital editions. The irony being that we were edging close to breaking even for the first time ever. It’d be fair to say we’re going to be a long way from that now!
Can I just read the room a little then, please? If you want us to carry on with the magazines – as I really want to do – can you just pop a note on social media, or in the comments below? And if you don’t, likewise?
Currently, issue 16 of Film Stories is due at the end of April, and issue 4 of Film Stories Junior is in May. I’ve been a bit inundated with pitches for both.
This is just a straw poll. My gut feeling is that having something to read, continuing to support filmmakers, and continuing to offer paid writing opportunities is pretty valuable at the minute. But not at all costs.
Thanks so much for your time, for your support, and for putting up with this post.
If you want to support us – but only if you can afford to do so, please – then there are a few options.
Magazines can be bought here: store.filmstories.co.uk
Subscriptions can be bought here: www.webscribe.co.uk/magazine/filmstories and www.webscribe.co.uk/magazine/filmstoriesjr
You can support the podcast and our clickbait-free movie news and features website here: www.patreon.com/simonbrew
If you can click on adverts, that helps too.
And if you happen to be insanely rich and want a natter about supporting us, my email is simon at filmstories co uk.
Again, only do any of this if you can afford to do so.
Note that I don’t take money from Film Stories – lord knows I’d like to! – and that all funds for the foreseeable go into paying people for their work. Nobody works for exposure (again, apart from me), and I want to do what’s right to secure the long term for this wonderfully insane operation.
One further thing: I will be making digital versions of the first two Film Stories Junior editions available free over the coming days, to help those of you with children no longer at school. That feels like something useful we can do. I want Film Stories to help as many people as it can.
Best to you all, and stay safe.
Simon Brew
Film Stories
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