Hi Mike. Thank you for your comments. If you will e-mail directly with your name and info I can get you on the refund list. No worries. Thanks. josh@smallcraftadvisor.com
I have always liked paper, and I have a great collection of my favorite magazines. Presently, only one sends paper now, like you, every 2-months. But beginning last year sometime, they gave us options:
paper only, digital only, or both. I like looking back through back issues and I didn't want to fill up the storage space in my computer with magazines, but I really like what you are doing here. It is much better than I thought it would be. I'm nearly 80 now, and I haven't had my boats in the water for three years because I have been preoccupied with caring for my cancer riden wife. She lost the battle last Thanksgiving, and I have spent the past year "cleaning" house; first her stuff, and then I started on my stuff so that my children don't have to spend a year after my passing getting rid of stuff I found necessary to keep around. You are helping me out here by going digital.
What's with the Moscow, Idaho, return mailing address you posted? They don't have water front. I have lived in Port Townsend for 7-years before moving to nthe San Juan Islands. They both have water front.
Your publication has given me so much joy over the past 6 years since I chanced upon it at our local magazine stand. I hope this change helps it to weather the storm. I have been receiving the PDF version that I read on tablet each night (ok, reread as I usually can't stop until I've finished it!) but I think I prefer the "issue#" format of a contained magazine that I can tick off my list... You are the one charting these shoal infested waters and have done a great job so far so I'll keep an open mind as you turn the helm towards this new horizon ;)
I for one will continue to support you! I will miss the print edition, but I totally understand this. I am just glad there is still a place for the few of us who love this stuff. Thank you for your hard work over the years. I will continue to subscribe for sure!
I wish you well on the digital format. Here is my support for what it takes to keep going. I was going to donate my print issues to the local barber shop, but I may thumb through them a couple more times before the goodbye is said. Growing up as a reader, it is interesting to see the changes from the high cost of print. Keep reading - keep sailing!
I am so very resistant to this change! But I understand the world is changing and we must, too. I might never have discovered the Small Boat Community if not for copies of SCA I picked up at a friend's house to read over lunch all those years ago. I do like this format more than expected. Thank you for the friends, information, and dream fodder in the pages of SCA. See you on the water, Dana
I started with SCA only a couple issues after you first began publishing and I have received, and saved, all the issues since then. I've appreciated the improvements that you made over the years, moving to color, improving the binding and the quality of the printing. The quality of your magazine and your commitment has never been in question. You graciously provided a few gift subscriptions for prizes when our LaCrosse Day Sailer fleet hosted the 2007 Day Sailer NACR, and I suspect that some of the recipients became long term subscribers. I'll greatly miss the print version of SCA - it just won't be the same. I'll continue to subscribe to SCA because of the excellent content, and I thank you for providing so much enjoyment to those of us who love to read about and live a small boat life.
I’m sad to see this happen. Sitting down with the magazine in hand was truly a joy. I’ll give it a chance for a year, but my gut reaction is this won’t work for me. I have subscriptions to other online sailing content and I find I just don’t access it - I’ll open the email and scan the headlines and then move on.
I love the magazine and look forward to every issue. I’ll give this a try as I want to continue to consume the content, support SCA, and stay connected to the community.
I have a few questions about the format. I’m not trying to challenge anything, just looking for clarification. As you may surmise, I don’t like change ;)
1. What if you had more than a year left on your subscription as multi-year subscriptions were an option.
2. Does $5/month mean columns will be monthly?
3. $50/year is $10 more than when it was in print. And I’m assuming there’s no ads in the online format and you no longer have the print/ship expenses Will there be more content? Can you explain the price change? Your post above said that price change wouldn’t work as a viable option for sustainability.
4. Will there be any change to the contributors or columns? You’ve always been good about communicating change in columns/contributors. In the last issue (#137) there were 22 items in the table of contents. Any changes there?
5. What will happen to the old website? Instant downloads, books, gear, plans/kits, etc?
Thanks for the clarification. I truly hope it works for you!
Hi Fred. Thanks for the feedback. I'll attempt to answer your questions:
1. The Substack platform only allows a maximum 1-year subscription term, so all current subscribers were signed-up for a year regardless their precise issues remaining status. I am happy to renew subscriptions at the end of the year term for anyone who had additional issues remaining. I can also add anyone who prefers to my refund list, as I recognize this is not exactly what many of you paid for.
2. Articles will be posted on a weekly basis. Exactly how many we don't know yet. We don't want to overwhelm e-mail boxes, but we also want to keep you entertained. The $5 a month price (or $50 per year) is our attempt at a sustainable business model (Substack recommends $7 per month, but we think we can make a go of it at $5). We stopped cashing any checks received and turned off online subscriptions and renewals when the decision was made to move to digital, and the digital format has no advertising option yet, so while we will be cutting our printing and mailing costs going forward, we presently have no income besides the few folks who have so far signed up for a paid subscription to this platform. We also need to have some income to pay contributors. It will be an adventure and a labor of love again for a while I'm afraid.
3. See #2 above.
4. We expect to hear from most of the regular contributors on at least a bi-monthly basis, but there will undoubtedly be some changes, with more flexibility in terms of column length, etc. We don't expect to have any shortage of content.
5. The SCA website will remain active, classified ads, etc.—just no print subscriptions.
Thanks for the reply! Sorry, my written communication always comes off as curt and I don’t intend that at all. I really hope it works out!
Strangely enough, I did enjoy perusing the ads as well. Ideally, you’d find a way to incorporate those. Income for you and possibly income for those paying for the ads.
Although I completely enjoy the print and will miss it, your decision is sound. One question - will there be an annual subscription fee for the online format? Definitely not opposed to paying for the digital format. For me, SCA is the one publication that gets read cover-to-cover and reread again. Thanks for the years you've put in and please keep the digital format going!
Thanks, Brian (and everyone else!) for the kind support. Current print subscribers were given a free 1-year paid subscription to this Substack version. After a year you have the option of renewing ($5 per month or $50 per year) to have access to all articles, or you can keep reading for free, but some articles won't be accessible. In essence, paid subscribers will have access to more content.
Even if the paper version would be great, the digital version gets here across the ocean much faster and doesn't take up space to archive. This blog-style approach will certainly speed up the flow of information even more. Thumbs up for your plans!
Yeah, you have to navigate the water you have. I will continue to read and enjoy.
Hi Mike. Thank you for your comments. If you will e-mail directly with your name and info I can get you on the refund list. No worries. Thanks. josh@smallcraftadvisor.com
No worries, Fred. All fair questions.
Press on into digital, Josh .... we appreciate your candor and will ride shotgun on the journey
I have always liked paper, and I have a great collection of my favorite magazines. Presently, only one sends paper now, like you, every 2-months. But beginning last year sometime, they gave us options:
paper only, digital only, or both. I like looking back through back issues and I didn't want to fill up the storage space in my computer with magazines, but I really like what you are doing here. It is much better than I thought it would be. I'm nearly 80 now, and I haven't had my boats in the water for three years because I have been preoccupied with caring for my cancer riden wife. She lost the battle last Thanksgiving, and I have spent the past year "cleaning" house; first her stuff, and then I started on my stuff so that my children don't have to spend a year after my passing getting rid of stuff I found necessary to keep around. You are helping me out here by going digital.
What's with the Moscow, Idaho, return mailing address you posted? They don't have water front. I have lived in Port Townsend for 7-years before moving to nthe San Juan Islands. They both have water front.
Your publication has given me so much joy over the past 6 years since I chanced upon it at our local magazine stand. I hope this change helps it to weather the storm. I have been receiving the PDF version that I read on tablet each night (ok, reread as I usually can't stop until I've finished it!) but I think I prefer the "issue#" format of a contained magazine that I can tick off my list... You are the one charting these shoal infested waters and have done a great job so far so I'll keep an open mind as you turn the helm towards this new horizon ;)
It will be good to have you moving forward into the future. Love your magazine!
I for one will continue to support you! I will miss the print edition, but I totally understand this. I am just glad there is still a place for the few of us who love this stuff. Thank you for your hard work over the years. I will continue to subscribe for sure!
I wish you well on the digital format. Here is my support for what it takes to keep going. I was going to donate my print issues to the local barber shop, but I may thumb through them a couple more times before the goodbye is said. Growing up as a reader, it is interesting to see the changes from the high cost of print. Keep reading - keep sailing!
I love this new format! As a subscriber to the printed version since 2007, now I no longer have to worry about my bookshelf collapsing.
I am so very resistant to this change! But I understand the world is changing and we must, too. I might never have discovered the Small Boat Community if not for copies of SCA I picked up at a friend's house to read over lunch all those years ago. I do like this format more than expected. Thank you for the friends, information, and dream fodder in the pages of SCA. See you on the water, Dana
I started with SCA only a couple issues after you first began publishing and I have received, and saved, all the issues since then. I've appreciated the improvements that you made over the years, moving to color, improving the binding and the quality of the printing. The quality of your magazine and your commitment has never been in question. You graciously provided a few gift subscriptions for prizes when our LaCrosse Day Sailer fleet hosted the 2007 Day Sailer NACR, and I suspect that some of the recipients became long term subscribers. I'll greatly miss the print version of SCA - it just won't be the same. I'll continue to subscribe to SCA because of the excellent content, and I thank you for providing so much enjoyment to those of us who love to read about and live a small boat life.
I’m sad to see this happen. Sitting down with the magazine in hand was truly a joy. I’ll give it a chance for a year, but my gut reaction is this won’t work for me. I have subscriptions to other online sailing content and I find I just don’t access it - I’ll open the email and scan the headlines and then move on.
I love the magazine and look forward to every issue. I’ll give this a try as I want to continue to consume the content, support SCA, and stay connected to the community.
I have a few questions about the format. I’m not trying to challenge anything, just looking for clarification. As you may surmise, I don’t like change ;)
1. What if you had more than a year left on your subscription as multi-year subscriptions were an option.
2. Does $5/month mean columns will be monthly?
3. $50/year is $10 more than when it was in print. And I’m assuming there’s no ads in the online format and you no longer have the print/ship expenses Will there be more content? Can you explain the price change? Your post above said that price change wouldn’t work as a viable option for sustainability.
4. Will there be any change to the contributors or columns? You’ve always been good about communicating change in columns/contributors. In the last issue (#137) there were 22 items in the table of contents. Any changes there?
5. What will happen to the old website? Instant downloads, books, gear, plans/kits, etc?
Thanks for the clarification. I truly hope it works for you!
Fred
Hi Fred. Thanks for the feedback. I'll attempt to answer your questions:
1. The Substack platform only allows a maximum 1-year subscription term, so all current subscribers were signed-up for a year regardless their precise issues remaining status. I am happy to renew subscriptions at the end of the year term for anyone who had additional issues remaining. I can also add anyone who prefers to my refund list, as I recognize this is not exactly what many of you paid for.
2. Articles will be posted on a weekly basis. Exactly how many we don't know yet. We don't want to overwhelm e-mail boxes, but we also want to keep you entertained. The $5 a month price (or $50 per year) is our attempt at a sustainable business model (Substack recommends $7 per month, but we think we can make a go of it at $5). We stopped cashing any checks received and turned off online subscriptions and renewals when the decision was made to move to digital, and the digital format has no advertising option yet, so while we will be cutting our printing and mailing costs going forward, we presently have no income besides the few folks who have so far signed up for a paid subscription to this platform. We also need to have some income to pay contributors. It will be an adventure and a labor of love again for a while I'm afraid.
3. See #2 above.
4. We expect to hear from most of the regular contributors on at least a bi-monthly basis, but there will undoubtedly be some changes, with more flexibility in terms of column length, etc. We don't expect to have any shortage of content.
5. The SCA website will remain active, classified ads, etc.—just no print subscriptions.
Thanks for your support.
Thanks for the reply! Sorry, my written communication always comes off as curt and I don’t intend that at all. I really hope it works out!
Strangely enough, I did enjoy perusing the ads as well. Ideally, you’d find a way to incorporate those. Income for you and possibly income for those paying for the ads.
I'm just glad to have SCA around. Any format that accomplishes that is OK with me. SCA brightens my day.
Although I completely enjoy the print and will miss it, your decision is sound. One question - will there be an annual subscription fee for the online format? Definitely not opposed to paying for the digital format. For me, SCA is the one publication that gets read cover-to-cover and reread again. Thanks for the years you've put in and please keep the digital format going!
Thanks, Brian (and everyone else!) for the kind support. Current print subscribers were given a free 1-year paid subscription to this Substack version. After a year you have the option of renewing ($5 per month or $50 per year) to have access to all articles, or you can keep reading for free, but some articles won't be accessible. In essence, paid subscribers will have access to more content.
Even if the paper version would be great, the digital version gets here across the ocean much faster and doesn't take up space to archive. This blog-style approach will certainly speed up the flow of information even more. Thumbs up for your plans!