So you think you can ____?

A while ago, I was talking to my brother about a manuscript he’s been working on for years. As I tried to determine whether he was planning on snail-mailing an actual handwritten manuscript to a publishing house for consideration (people still do that?!), the same thought that pops up whenever I work on the magazine hit me: Don’t wait for people to give you permission to do what you want to do. If you want...

Whatever YOU like

I’ve always loved magazines. I remember one summer at day camp, maybe between 4th and 5th grade, my friend Nicole and I thought it would be cool if we made our own fashion magazine. Inspired by the stacks of old Teen and Vogue and Mademoiselle magazines the college-aged counselors would bring in for us to cut up during craft time, we decided to publish a collection of our favorite images of fluorescent biker shorts and...

Free software services for productivity

I use a lot of free software as a service applications to do everything from create and manage documents, to publish Style Sample magazine. I love free stuff, so if it looks interesting and doesn’t cost money, I’ll try it!  Here are some of my favorites: Google Apps You can use Google Apps to create and manage documents, develop free websites, create embeddable forms, and if you own your own domain name, manage your email....

Style Sample: Version 6

A few (more) gray hairs later, I finally got ‘er done. Check out the newest issue! [issuu layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml backgroundcolor=FFFFFF showflipbtn=true documentid=100303235633-d3854a40452b4b2489f4660610d7b635 docname=stylesamplemag_6 username=StyleSampleMagazine loadinginfotext=Style%20Sample%20Magazine%20Issue%20%236 width=420 height=274 unit=px]

Miss Independent

For reasons I probably don’t (or maybe I do) need to explain, I’ve developed an obsession with independently published magazines, especially the artsy-fartsy/fashion-y ones run by a small group of passionate people. I understand the commitment, the dedication, the long hours, and the attention that goes into even the tiniest detail. I’ve experienced the frustration when contributors don’t follow through, the elation when the final product is finished, the nervous jitters that invade your stomach...