Journal Issues/The New Journal Format

[noelsmith]

As a UK IPMS member and contributor to IPMS UK Magazine this discussion has made interesting reading.

How the Journal differs big time from IPMS UK Magazine is that contributors to the UK magazine get paid a nominal amount per page as an encouragement to make submissions, payable when their articles go to print. Articles of mine included in the UK magazine because of its nature cannot pay me like writing for commercial magazines. But, my view is that although the payments are very modest, considering the work involved in writing and preparing photographs, I consider it a better appreciation and recognition for my efforts than expecting my work to be submitted for free.

I would guess that some of your contributors must feel torn between submitting work free to the journal or getting remunerated for their work in the commercial magazine sector.

Looking at the IUJ logo on the new style cover does not make it obvious that it is IPMS unless you read the small print banner underneath it. Just reading IUJ in bold I found confusing at first as IPMS has no prominence in the title logo any more.

 

Edited March 10, 2025 by noelsmith

[GoldThree]

Noel,

You bring up a good point. It is my opinion that offering to pay our contributors, while possibly incentivizing members to submit more articles, could also have some downsides. As it stands now, we have had a plethora of submissions to the magazine, so I don't think we would need it for that reason. In terms of submissions, what we do need are more articles on the types of models we do not normally get, such as ships, figures, mecha, Gundam, dinosaurs, game miniatures, humor and so on. Not to mention models made out of non-traditional media, such as paper, wood, and 3d printed. We would also like to feature models built by "Juniors." None of the traditional stuff we print will be pushed out to print these (armor, aircraft, sci fi, cars), if need be we will add more pages. I also like the idea that modelers submit their work to us because they simply want to, not because there is some cash in it. Authors may also submit their text and photos of something that we have printed in the IPMS/USA Journal to other publications. The only thing copyrighted or ownable by the IPMS/USA is the exact form in which the printed article appears (the reason for this is to protect the IPMS/USA from piracy). But, I think the biggest reason is that none of the volunteers who produce the magazine get paid, other than a comped membership. The IPMS/USA is a non-profit organization, so paying volunteers is essentially off the table. So far, the process has worked out, and based on the number of article submissions, I would discourage paying for articles. It would also be one more thing to keep track of. At the moment, just getting the magazine to print is more than enough to do. 

As far as the logo, this will be addressed in the Jan/Feb issue, which is at the printer now and will be in mailboxes in a couple of weeks depending on where you live. 

[noelsmith]

Ro

Your last post made interesting reading as IPMS UK is also a non profit making organisation and also run by volunteers who run the society and do not receive payment for their services. You pointed out that there would be a reluctance on your part to pay volunteers. The IPMS UK Magazine is also produced by unpaid editorial and general management volunteer staff.  However, let's not confuse volunteers who run the society with article writers who generally are not.

As I previously mentioned, the payments made to UK writers is very modest compared to commercial magazines. More by way of a thank you for your efforts than a hard cash incentive to write articles. Your view is different and I accept that. If contributors are happy to offer their articles free  to see them in print, there is nothing wrong with that approach either. I used to edit the UK magazine way back in the 70's, long before contributors got any payments, and contributed a number of articles long before any payments were made to writers.

It's encouraging that the Journal has many free article contributions to fall back on, and long may it continue if writers are willing. Our respective magazines just have different approaches, neither of which is right of wrong.

[ghodges]

Just wanted to say KUDOS to the Journal staff for a VERY artistic and eye catching cover on the latest Journal, and a THANKS for reverting to calling it the Journal on the cover! I still say if you put it on a news stand it'll attract attention and be bought by non-members!

 

Gil 

[GoldThree]

Gil, Thanks for the feedback. Working on March/April now, will be at printer in a week and to members after that.