Greetings from The Mudsill!
Here’s a quick update on the plan for this publication’s launch, along with some more information about how we will handle submissions, subscriptions, and paywalling (or not).
Publication Launch
The first number of The Mudsill will be published here and distributed to our email list on January 1, 2021. Every number of the magazine will include work from all four broad categories encompassed by The Mudsill:
context (reported pieces or “explainers” illuminating historical, sociological, economic, anthropological, or other aspects of the past or present)
commentary (opinion pieces, personal essays, responses to current events)
craft (fiction, poetry, photography, digital art, animation, short films)
critique (reviews, cultural criticism, reading/watching/listening recommendations, retrospectives)
New issues will appear on the 1st and 15th of every month.
Paying Our Contributors
From our first number, we will be paying all contributors. We will start at a minimum of $15 per piece (a pittance, but an out-of-pocket commitment that I know I can afford).
As soon as we have enough paid subscriber support to sustain a higher pay rate, we will double the pay rate to $30 per piece. Our goal is to get to the place where we can reliably provide $75-100 minimum for each contribution to the magazine, and we can increase the number of contributions.
What Will a Subscription Cost?
$4 a month. Why? Well, it’s a nice, square number. Our magazine will publish twice a month, with four sections in each issue. Like a 2x4.
Indeed, if you were building your own greenhouse in the back yard, you would probably make your mudsill out of 2x4s.
Think of this magazine as our collective greenhouse project to provide an optimal environment for reflection and beauty and liveliness of mind. So, you bring the $4 every month, and we’ll bring the two issues to your inbox.
When Can People Subscribe?
Starting next week. In fact, if we can get enough subscribers before our planned launch, we can start offering more payment per contribution right out of the gate.
Will You Be Paywalling Content Right Away?
No, we will not start with paywalled content. We don’t plan to paywall any content until our April 15 issue. We want you to share our content widely, help us grow our readership, and grow our core subscriber base of people who would be willing to support this project even if all the content were free. Even after April 15, we will always publish some non-paywalled content with every issue.
What Are Your Next Steps?
I will be reaching out this week to the people who have offered to assist with this project. I will also be reaching out to people who have contacted me via social media to say they want to contribute to the project. We will need some good content racked and ready for our launch. Within a few weeks, we should have a fairly streamlined submission system up and running so that your queries are quickly routed and sorted to the appropriate department of the publication.
What Can I Do in the Meantime?
Please encourage interested friends to sign up for our email list. Please share this post on social media using the box-and-arrow icon immediately beneath the byline. Spread the word about The Mudsill to all and sundry! Each one, reach one.
Thank you for reading. I am looking forward to bringing new voices to join me soon in our happy little acre on the internet.