Tuesday, November 7, 2023

The November/December 2023 Issue of MBC Today

The latest issue of MBC Today has just dropped. This is the magazine that I started writing for maybe 15 or so years ago when it was called MPC Today, and then after the industry shifted and many of the businesses in it changed from "mail and parcel centers" to "mail and business centers" to be more inclusive of what they actually do with printing, etc., the industry association changed its name and the magazine consequently did too, replacing the P for "parcel" with a B for "business."

Anyway, after writing for it for years, I started assisting the production person with proofreading. Soon, I took on the title of Editor and, after another year or so, when she retired, I started producing the magazine too. I created many regular columns, including my own Ask Uncle Marty advice column, MBC Funnies, Oops!, Lessons From the Archives, A Little Something Extra, Did You Know, and more, which are rotated through depending on available space in each issue I put together. I also added Shrimps, which are little nuggets of wisdom, recommendations, and inspiration peppered throughout the publication (and called "Shrimps" because that's what a long-ago association head, Charmaine, would call little bits of awesome that she'd interject or hand out at industry events, so that name is in honor and remembrance of all of the positive things she did for our industry).

Years later, I now do all of the production and editing, with some proofreading assistance from my team and advertising coordination assistance from colleagues. I set the magazine's production schedule, solicit submissions, work with featured businesses to share their stories, and do all of the layout, graphics, and formatting. I've learned a lot through the process and absolutely love this type of work. And the thought that for some reason this industry and its thousands of stores and shopkeepers have any interest in anything I have to say still kind of blows my mind. But, for some reason they do, and so I keep cranking it out.

I wanted to share the latest full issue of MBC Today (Volume 25 Issue 6) with you all here so you can see what keeps me out of trouble at night. I also want to remind the world that I'm always open to discuss the occasional editing and/or producing contracts, whether it's full publications like this or just the occasional eblast, bio, resume, article, blog post, website, or newsletter. I'm not cheap, but I'm efficient and meticulous...and, as you can see below, not too shabby at it. ;)

Click this link and see the full issue. Enjoy!



No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments are moderated.