For the past few years, I’ve been on an analog kick and I’ve been loving printed magazines like the ones in the photo above. These aren’t traditional magazines like you find at the newsstand, instead, these are made out of high-quality materials, over 150 pages, and about a quarter inch thick.
I’ve been internally debating for months if something like this would work for the Laravel Community? Because I’d want it to stand the test of time it wouldn’t focus on the code or tutorials that can be obsolete in a very short time. This would focus more on soft skills, interviews, and the community.
I’m estimating it will not be cheap to produce with the overhead will be printing costs, shipping, and paying contributors. As such, this will need to be priced on the premium end, around $40 per issue and maybe more after I’ve researched and went through all the logistics.
If this is something you would like to see come to fruition let me know by sending me $40 through PayPal. This will give you the first edition, shipping included, mailed out sometime in 2019. (I’ll add you to an email list and keep you updated) If I do not get enough interest to make this work then I’ll refund your money.
Love it or hate it the comments are open below and I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about this.
FAQ
Q. I like the idea but can’t justify $40 for a magazine.
A. I totally understand. This would be a premium product and might not be for everyone, however, let me know in the comments what you would consider as a better price.
Q. Is shipping included for $40?
A. Yes, that price would include shipping anywhere in the world.
Eric L. Barnes 
Hey!
Does the 40 USD include world wide shipping?
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Yes, it does. I’ll edit the post to make that more clear.
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Why don’t you just make it more like a book then? Like Smashing Magazine – https://www.smashingmagazine.com/printed-books/ -does it? For $40 most people get a book on Laravel for working with it and building apps. But perhaps there is a market for a $40 magazine style book like they do combing teaching with examples, sources and such.
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I think me saying “magazine” in the post is confusing. For example, Hodinkee calls theirs a magazine and others call theirs journals. But it’s not like a New Yorker, Bloomberg, etc. that you would find in the supermarket. Those Smashing Books is probably more what I’m thinking. I’ll post an update soon with better clarification on this.
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I really enjoy these kinds of magazines. What keeps me from ordering more is the costs of getting those to my doorstep, which can account for more than 50% of the item’s price.. Ordering from outside the EU typically breaks down in to a €25 magazine, €6-10 worth of shipping, plus €8-15 in handling fees for customs.
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I really love the idea. Just two questions:
– how many issues per year? 150 pages is a lot of content. Ok, plenty of space for sponsors and stuff. However, I think this should be something like 1 or 2 (max) issues per year. What do you think?
– would love to apply as a contributor writer, let me know if it’s possible;
Cheers!
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Thanks for the comment! Right now I’m thinking one a year. I’m estimating the behind the scenes work will be substantial and I still have a full time job and a family. This would very much be a passion project.
Once I figure out the logistics and if I decide it’s doable I’ll let you know on contributing. I will definently be looking for writers.
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