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How It Was Made - 2011

June 2011

During the month, regular volunteers and correspondents write articles, and we actively solicit material
from anyone who's involved with gay/les/bi/trans (and friends) events, news, ssues, and activities in Atlantic Canada.

The magazine's "editorial" content comes in electronically, and is previewed by a volunteer and stored in a content database. A volunteer maintains the Groups and Services, Events Calendar, and Classifieds sections.

A commissioned rep sells ads to pay for production and mailout.

During the month, the team discusses, via email, what are important stories.

After our Content Deadline (usually the Friday-before-last in a month) the team discusses which articles should go in this issue, and between then and layout day, the Managing Editor decides what will go on what page.

Jim Bain, Dan MacKay, Raymond Taavel
Jim Bain†, Dan MacKay, Raymond Taavel†

On Layout Day, a handful of volunteers come together to make the magazine. Some people do final editing and proof-reading and others pull the chosen articles from the database and place them on pages using InDesign.

It's fun and takes about a whole day to do for a team of 4-6 people. We order in pizza at lunch time.

Final proof-readers check the finished magazine via .pdf, and it is sent electronically to our printer. A day or so later, the proof is back, and a day or so after that, a paid distribution person delivers the paper around the Halifax-Dartmouth area and mails packages all over Atlantic Canada.

Then we start again! We take January off though, to make a double issue for January-February.