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[GWL]: Gardening They Wrote - A self help for writers

 >>Since the formation of a publishing organization represents a sizable
financial obligation, I suggest the promotion of garden writer web sites
organized by GWAA members sould be considered as a project/membership
benefit.
 >>To start each personal web page(s) of a writer would be linked to a
central site that would NOT be a PS effort by manufacturing and nursery
suppliers.

 > >I would suggest a concept that would be similar to the ZifDavis computer
 > >newsletter.
 > >An email message is sent to its subscriber list. It is available in text
 > >or html format with links to specific articles posted on their site.
 > >
 > >A weekly mailing would be the initial goal and increasing the frequency
 > >would be possible if more writers signed on board.

Let me start by apologizing for those individuals who emails I've cut and 
pasted to form the intro to this note. Their notes were used without 
attribution. My apologies.

Revenue sites  whether zd or click-z  face their own individual problems. 
I've been doing something like this for a year now with a paid site that I 
own myself (includes a newsletter, bulletin board and question/answer 
format) at http://www.gardeningonthe.net  Click-z now that it has been sold 
to new owners has deteriorated rather quickly as you'll see if you go and 
check out the dates on the newer postings and the breadth of the current 
writer's stable versus the old one. zd is having its own internal problems 
with revenue generation as are all content sites.  The list I-content over 
at http://www.adventive.com discusses many of these issues on an ongoing basis.

I've thought of the issues of putting together an online publication 
utilizing garden writers on a content site and would be delighted to be the 
editor behind such a venture.  :)

However, (don't you always love it when somebody starts a sentence 
off  with "however") there is one major problem to overcome.  While I 
hesitate to bring it up  you need a funding source  a bankroll or a sugar 
daddy to keep things going until you build a subscription base.  This is 
not a cheap venture!

I'm also not suggesting you can't do it.  It is possible - very possible - 
and the software to do so is not all that complicated to develop.   Entry 
software is readily available but evaluation software (how else do you get 
paid) is a trifle more complicated to set up. Sites that worked on such a 
venture (pay for viewing content) are largely history (partly from 
fraudulent clicking);-)  There are literally a hundred issues to be 
identified and resolved and I even worked up a business plan to do such a 
thing.

Until I looked at what was working on the Net now and what was not.

My take on this is that if you want to develop a volunteer site - no 
problem.  Go join http://www.icangarden.com and Donna would love to have 
you and put all your writing up there. (you're welcome Donna) :-)  The work 
has already been done for you.  Carol mentions 
http://www.Suite101.com  that already exists.  My point would be  - why 
reinvent the wheel?

If you want to promote other garden writer sites, set up a garden writer 
web-ring.    Free content sites generally can benefit from such an 
arrangement. I note that there's many reasons why webrings do NOT work for 
pay-content sites and why I would not involve my content site in such a 
venture. The major one being  there's never an outlink from a pay-content 
site (you don't want customers you've attracted to be able to outclick 
easily) as it is a business site. It costs you money to attract customers 
so you don't give customers away.

If you want to make money on your content; ah now, there's another 
story.  You move from being a writer to being a publisher. Two distinct 
roles he says businesslike. :-) You can do it as an individual (I am quite 
nicely thank you and working out/testing  the details as I go) or you can 
do it as a group.  If as an individual  there's a learning curve like any 
other business venture (this is a publishing business venture)but it is 
do-able.

If as a group  you are becoming a publishing venture and go head to head 
with other publishing ventures that are experimenting with on-line 
content.  Like it or not  you will compete with Organic Gardening and other 
print publishers who have an online presence.  And, I can guarantee that 
they are working as hard as you will to find a way to make money from their 
sites as you will.  You have some advantages in that you have content 
developers as part of the package. They have advantages in that they have a 
structure and deeper pockets to use their existing content.

My point  and sorry to take so long to get here  is that publishing is a 
business.  Online publishing comes with its costs and while it can be done, 
it takes a business plan and some capital to get it working.  Or, it will 
take a determined individual to bootstrap a company into place as I am 
working at my own business.

  It will take a business plan and attendant financing to create a Net 
publishing empire.  It will also take a special person or team to 
accomplish it.

I'd be delighted to talk to serious business folks about doing this and can 
share some of the concepts as well as problem identification and solutions 
I've worked out.

As a starting point, let me suggest you begin by reading 
http://www.eworkingwomen.com/experts/paysub.html by Monique Harris.  She's 
also done some work with Ken Evoy over at http://www.sitesell.com  who is 
one of the biggest names in beginner information for site and content 
development.

I hope this helps. My intent was not to throw cold water on the scheme but 
to point you all in the direction you might find more profitable. I've been 
down this road and by reading this stuff you'll have a much shorter 
learning curve than I did.

Doug
Doug Green,
Freelance writing: You've got a story to tell - I can write it.
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/clips/clipmaster.htm

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