Letters & Journals Update 2012

As 2012 approaches I wanted to give you an update on the status of Letters & Journals, the print edition. I am still working on bringing this to life in a print format. Some people have recommended to do it as a zine or a digital edition, and although both options have merit, I see something different for the magazine (100 pages, perfect bound, matte cover, etc) so will continue to follow my dream even though it means 'not now.'

I'm taking a break from doing the monthly giveaway and the e-newsletter as I concentrate on my new business. When time allows, I will return to them.

My new job is the publisher of a Natural Awakenings magazine. This is a free monthly publication that is all about healthy lifestyles and a healthy planet. There are 85 of these in the country and starting in March, I will be publishing the Twin Cities (Mpls/St. Paul) edition. Here's a link to the Milwaukee digital edition to give you an idea of the magazine and its content.

Milwaukee January 2012 Edition

My website launched last month and currently I'm in the process of finding 300 locations to carry the free magazine as well as people to advertise in it. Exciting times, but super busy.

I had come across Natural Awakenings last spring when I was looking into print options for Letters & Journals. I was working at an office job (5 yrs) for a wonderful small company in St. Paul, but my job was unexciting and there were no opportunities to grow. I had planned to be working at L&J full time within 1-2 yrs, but time kept going by with nothing happening to get me closer to that goal.

When I came across the Natural Awakenings franchise I started looking into it and I liked what I saw. The free monthly magazine, the support structure, the training, the templates, the best practices of other publishers, the freedom to pick and choose my own topics and covers, etc.

In August I went to training in Naples, FL and then I quit my full time job to devote all of my time to making Natural Awakenings Twin Cities a success. Unlike the 9-5 hours at my office job, I am now working 60-80 hours a week which isn't a problem except that it leaves so little time for L&J fun stuff.

Dolphin mailbox in Naples, FL

But I still want to keep the site going and the plans for the magazine progressing. I just won't be able to put as much time and effort into it as I did previously.

Some people have offered to submit stories to the newsletter so I may do an occasional newsletter as I can get new material and put one together. And I have a few items to give away that donors such as Haley and Richard had donated previously so I will have giveaways here and there.

In the meantime, I am still planning to pursue the print edition of L&J and am keeping my options open and am continuing to add to my growing list of names for those interested in such a product.

Letters & Journals Subscriptions

Letters & Journals has begun accepting subscriptions to the print magazine! We're offering charter subscriptions ($15 for 2 issues) to the first 1,000 people. The premiere edition will be available this Dec 2011 and the second edition will follow next summer, July 2012.

You can sign up by going to the SUBSCRIBE page. Payment options include check, money order or Paypal. The magazine will also be available in a digital version.

If you have any questions or problems with your sign up, please contact us:

Customer Service 
Jackie Flaherty

Thanks for being a faithful supporter of Letters & Journals as we started with an idea + blog and now have a website, e-newsletter and are on schedule to have the print magazine published in just a few months. Thank You!

Winner Announced for February Stationery Giveaway

The winner for all of the February Stationery basket was number 248.  The holder of that lucky number? Mary Johnson from MN. Mary was notified and now has a package of stationery wonderment en route to her home.

You can see the full list of prizes here. The March giveaway is underway, plus we will have a couple one item giveaways planned for the month of March also thanks to our special sponsors who sent in extra items for the monthly giveaway!

There are two ways you can win any of the monthly stationery giveaways:
1. Be signed up for the free Letters & Journals monthly e-newsletter
2. You are put on the mailing list for information regarding the premiere edition when that information is available (No subscriptions yet- just a heads up on the status of the print edition) Send info here.

Introducing the Letters & Journals Badge

Letters & Journals is proud to introduce its very first badge! I've been seeing these more frequently on other sites and decided it would be good for us to get out there too.  If anyone wants to include this on their blog or website in place of the link that might be there now, please feel free to grab the code from the website on the right hand side of the page.

Any preference for the jagged paper edge above or the square badge as shown below?

Please let me know if you put this on your site so that I can see how it looks and send you a proper Thank You.

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

The launch of the print version of Letters & Journals is scheduled for 2011. It's been a long time in research and planning and the challenge in 2010 has been to build a following of potential subscribers.

To date we have a list of 2,300 names of possible subscribers/buyers. Our goal is to get 5,000 names. Once we have a list of 5,000 names then we will begin approaching advertisers and following up with the ones who have already expressed interest (thank you!).

If you know some people or groups who would be interested, please encourage them to sign up for the website, the e-newsletter or just let me know to add them to my Magazine Updates Only list. None of the lists are being sold or shared and there is no obligation.

Thanks to the many loyal followers who offer their encouragement and share in the excitement of all the things that Letters & Journals represents; pens, paper, ink, pencils, notebooks, diaries, journals, note cards, stationery, mail art, pen pals, postcards, mail, stamps, letters, ephemera, etc.

Stationery Store Database

Letters & Journals is building a database of stationery stores in the US and Canada. Do you have a favorite stationery or office supply store? Do you have a friend who has their own letter press card store? Maybe you are a stationery store owner? We are planning to have the most comprehensive list of stationery/office supplies stores and need your help to send in your store information (address or website URL).

Anthology (Madison, WI)

The September LetterNews first mentioned this request to help create the database and there was an immediate response from subscribers listing their favorite stores. These are still in the process of being added. (Thanks to all of you who sent them in so quickly!)

Please leave a comment or send an email to add your favorite store. Later we plan to add reviews and photos to the stores to help others plan their shopping, planning, dreaming excursions. I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait!

Stationery Giveaway Winner Announced!

Congratulations, Julie (aka Okami) who is the winner of the August Stationery Giveaway! Prizes include:

Ciak Leather Notebook
Crane Thank You Cards
J. Herbin Ink
J. Herbin Glass Pen
Micron 3-pack of Pens
Rhodia Notepad
Pennant Magazine (Spring 2010)

Julie is one of the first people I met when I started blogging about Letters & Journals in April 2009. As stated on her blog, Whatever, Julie mainly writes about "...pens, inks and paper; talk about postcards, letter writing and journaling; and, of course, our Akitas..." She has been a welcoming and supportive fixture in this blogging world of pens and stationery.

Congratulations, Julie! Am excited for you to get all of the stationery goodies!!

Letters & Journals Blog Moving

Big changes are happening with the Letters & Journals blog! After 16 months on the blogger platform, I've decided to move it to the L&J website so that the blog and website can be the same. I was hesitant at first since I'm so comfortable with the layout and functions on the Google blogger, but as I spend more time on the website, it makes sense to combine them into one place. I will post in both places for a few weeks to give people some notice and, for those who visit regularly (Thank you!) some time to change their links or bookmarks.

The website is taking some time to adjust to as is the monthly e-newsletter, LetterNews.  Deciding where things live (topics and stories), how to get them to display as I expect them to, adding photos, changing fonts, etc. I'm trying a new format for the August newsletter and will see how it works with the full stories in the newsletter. That will be ready this weekend or early next week.

(Image is courtesy of Salvatore Vuono.)

August Stationery Giveaway

There are some great stationery items in the monthly giveaway at Letters & Journals for those signed up for the monthly e-newsletter LetterNews. Since June we have signed up 300 stationery lovers!

Ciak leather journal from Journaling Arts.com Crane thank you notes, J. Herbin glass pen and a bottle of Lierre Sauvage (green) ink, Sakura Micron pen set, Rhodia dot pad and a Spring 2010 Pennant magazine.

July Stationery Winner

This set of note cards from Hotshoe Cards is one of the seven items in this month's stationery giveaway that was won by Valerie F. An email has been sent to Valerie notifying her of her good fortune. Valerie has one week from today to contact me with her mailing information. If she doesn't respond, a second winner will be drawn and announced.

The monthly drawing is open to all the subscribers of LetterNews, the free monthly newsletter for Letters & Journals. Odds of winning on 8/1/2010 were 1 in 277.

The August stationery giveaway is underway! Prizes and donors to be announced throughout the month.

July Stationery Giveaway

The July Stationery Giveaway will be announced this Sunday, August 1, 2010. This is a free monthly drawing featured at the Letters & Journals website.

We offer different prize baskets every month and draw a winner on the first of the month. Once you're signed up for the e-newsletter, you're in! (You don't need to re-register each month.)

Journaling Arts.com (giant journal)
HotShoe Cards (notecards)
Crane & Co (notecards)
Pennant (magazine)
Sakura of America ( 3 pen sets)
Daycraft (small notebook)
Brushdance (illustrated Journal)

Typewriter + Thank You Note = Happy

This

This lovely typewritten note came to me last week as a thank you from Lily Greene.

Lily, whose story is featured at Letters & Journals this month, collects postage stamps. I save most of the stamps from the mail I receive, so I sent her a few of the cute, funny or more obscure ones that I have.

And she was sweet enough to send this adorable and quite original thank you note.

Are you inspired?

L&J Magazine Update

We launched the Letters & Journals website in May 2010 and had some great responses to the design and layout as well as some of the stories that have been featured. Thanks to those of you who took the time to comment!

We started sending out LetterNews, the L&J newsletter that we had hoped to send bi-weekly, but most likely will be a monthly, at least for a while. There's a lot of great content out there, but it's a matter of having the time to put it all together. The design for LetterNews is still in process, but in the meantime, we're using the L&J logo.

A lot of you have said to get you on the list for the print magazine which is scheduled for 2011 (hopefully early in the year). The best way to do that is to sign up at the Letters & Journals website or for LetterNews. Please spread the word. The faster we can build the list of names, the sooner L&J magazine will go to press!

June Stationery Winner

The winner of the June Stationery Prize Basket was H. Wendt. Congratulations! And thanks for signing up for LetterNews, the newsletter for the Letters & Journals website. We had hoped to publish bi-weekly, but plans have changed to make it a monthly newsletter instead.

The July Stationery Prize Basket is being put together now. If you haven't already signed up for LetterNews and your chance to win, you can do so here.

Signed Miniature Sketch Cards $10 (Helping Animals in the Gulf)

"A small sketch-- a small donation-- each small act helps. Together we can cause a ripple in the oil soaked waters of the Gulf."

This is the introduction on Ripple where you will find an assortment of colorful illustrations to choose from for your $10 donation to one of two organizations as listed on their site.

The illustration in this blog is by Christina Rodriguez, an award-winning childrens' book illustrator who also happened to create the compellingly inviting cover for Letters & Journals.

Almost all of the artwork is original one of a kind and signed, so you need to find one you like that isn't sold. Kelly is posting more as they come in, so check back to the Ripple site for updates.

The Fantatstical Postcard from Jennie

This fantastical B&W postcard came in the mail this week from the talented Jennie Hinchliff, co-author of Good Mail Day. Possibly you're familiar with Jennie's blog, Everyday Should Be a Red Letter Day,  or maybe you saw the fabulous article she wrote for the Letters & Journals website.

Jennie's article, Stationery Secrets of the City by the Bay, featured three of her favorite paper stores in San Francisco. I can hardly wait to visit them! Here they are:
Paper Tree
US Stamp Co
Patrick and Company

Prize Basket Filled with Stationery Goodies

The June prize basket at Letters & Journals will have its random drawing on July 1, 2010. The winning entry will be drawn from the list of people who have signed up for LetterNews, the e-newsletter for Letters & Journals.

The list of goodies can be found here. For photos of each prize, please go to Flickr.

Letters & Journals will have a new drawing each month. Here are some of this month's contributors:

Crane
Private Reserve
Sakura of America
Art & SoulWorks
Flying Wish Paper
Xonex Pens

Keeping a Book Journal

I'm a huge book fan. I majored in English and worked in a book store and then a book distributor for over 15 years. I love to read, to see what others are reading, to visit bookstores and to talk about books. Imagine my delight when I heard about a woman who wrote an essay on every book she reads.

Meet Mary-Clare Bates of St. Paul, MN who has kept a book journal since 1995. In the 15 years she has been doing this, Mary-Clare has completed four notebooks and is now on her fifth. You can read more about her (and her favorite books and authors) at the Letters & Journals website.

I track what I ready by year, usually with just a title and maybe a comment if I really liked the book or really disliked the book. With books I dislike, I most likely will not finish them. For me, life is too short and there are just too many books to read to waste time on ones that I am not getting into.

How about you? What are your book reading habits? Likes?Dislikes?

(Photo is of Mary-Clare's reading room)

Day 3 at the National Stationery Show

Day 3 at the National Stationery Show. Another full day walking the show and learning about all kinds of new products and companies.

Christy Eichers is the founder and owner of regreet. The regreet cards which allow you not only to reuse your greeting cards, but track them as they travel from person to person. You can learn more about how this works by visiting their website. It was especially nice to meet Christy as she is a fellow Minnesotan.

Green Stationery Inc. is also from MN. I spoke with the owner Marianne Cook for a little bit at her delightfully decorated booth of office and stationery supplies. I love her motto, "Good planets are hard to find."

The ladies at Sandscribbles were very inviting and anxious to share the unique selling point of their cards. Supia lives near the beach and goes there most days to write in the sand. Many days she will incorporate a dog in her photos as they are often taken for walks on the beach. The website has a lot more information and also allows you to place special orders for names, events, words you would like written for your special someone. Very cool! (the photo in the blog is from one of their cards- thank you!).

Letters & Journals received some very warm welcomes (thank you) as well as a few skeptical concerns (Why would anyone launch a magazine?). But overall, the response has been very positive and a few people have shown interest in supporting the magazine through ads and/or sponsorship.

L&J's Newsletter named LetterNews

Letters & Journals ran a contest a few weeks ago to get some suggestions on what to name the weekly newsletter. We had a lot of wonderful and creative submissions and after a few weeks of gradually narrowing down the list, we decided to go with LetterNews.

LetterNews works on many levels. First of all, it's a play on newsletter, so that is highly appropriate. Secondly, the word letter is what makes up all of the words contained in your letters and journals. And finally, letters as in correspondence in the mail.

The lucky contributor is Ilona who most of you know as The Missive Maven. I emailed her the good news and she was just thrilled. For those of you who are curious, she chose the JetPens gift certificate. I'm sure she will share with all of you the updates and reviews of what she ends up buying with her new-found fortune.

The newsletter will start publishing at the end of this month. You can sign up at the L&J website if you want to get on this e-newsletter mailing list.