Dr. Stephen Strange is my favorite of all the Marvel Universe heroes. I know everyone goes with Iron Man, Thor or Captain America, but for me, I’ll take the guy who sees all the angles.
In Infinity War, he goes forward in time in his mind and sees all of the millions of possible outcomes, the Avengers winning in only one.
Much to my delight, they gave my guy Strange the bulk of the good lines in the movie. And the stand out of those lines became the name of the final movie and my mission statement for the next two years: “We’re in the end game now.”.
There’s been no secret of the financial woes that surround running a national magazine, in my case, alone, and all that entails. Entertainment Weekly isn’t going to print weekly anymore…ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY!??? Newsweek stopped printing a few years back. NEWSWEEK!!!! Like Dr. Strange, I like to think I see all the angles. In that vein, last year I saw the writing on the wall and killed year-round print issues. Moving to the all-digital/4 print issue format was smart. Probably saved the magazine. But that doesn’t seem to have alleviated the pressure as much as I’d hope. The first pass went okay. This time around, not so much. The Social Worker and Foster Care month issues are stagnant, waiting for me to find the money that turns them into paper. It’s embarrassing. A smarter person would end the print side all together. Eight years and I still haven’t cracked the code to selling advertising to the foster care industry. Dr. Strange would be able to figure it out, so far, I haven’t.
Still, I walk into Year 9 proud to have made it this far. I also walk in with an end date in mind. The end of Year 10 will likely be my last hurrah. The final issue of Foster Focus Magazine will be published in June of 2021. Ten years feels like a good run of handling a national magazine on my own.
When I started this thing, I didn't think it would last more than a year. When I hit 5 years I felt like a champ. 10 years feels like closure.
It's so much fun running this thing. Growing it. Getting to a place where it was too big for me and then reeling it back in. I love giving people a platform, in front of a broad audience, to express themselves. I like propping up groups, who I feel, deserve national attention for their work. I get a kick out of introducing people who wouldn't otherwise meet and watching them grow partnerships that turn into projects that make a difference. I dig helping kids get adopted and helping new foster parents find answers. I like that former foster kids get first crack at the pages in the mag, ahead of Phd wielding mainstays from foster care. I like watching young advocates turn into seasoned vets in front of my eyes, I love it all.
I don't like what it's done to my health. I had a good shot at winning this fight against my scoliosis before I parked myself in front of this computer for 8 years. Now it's tough to get around and tougher to know that it's tough for me to get around. I think I can still fix that. I don't like struggling to find money for this thing. They said, "If you build it, they will come." I built it. Built it bigger than anyone had before, but the ad money didn't follow. And that's okay. Tough to explain the benefit of advertising to an industry that never felt the need to do it before. I've made enough to get by. Would I be driving a Tesla if I kept may day job? Maybe, but folks seem to like what I've done.
10 years seems like a good round number to have given yourself to a cause. I'd like to watch TV on my couch again. I'd like to not worry about social media or my web presence anymore. I'm sure I'll miss the "good jobs" and "thank yous", but I won't miss my office or deadlines.
Thanks for 8 great years and hopefully, 2 more years that will top those first 8. I'm kind of flighty, so, things could change by 2021. Maybe I cracked the advertising code. Maybe I got a new bionic spine that will help me do this for another 10 years. But most likely, 10 years will be my threshold.
Thank you for believing in my idea. Thanks for supporting it. Thanks to the advertisers I've garnered. Thanks to the subscribers who've treated the magazine like a mainstream media outlet from the beginning. Thanks to all the writers, Columnists and former foster kids who let me amplify their voices over the years. I appreciate you making me a part of your lives.
I am pretty excited to tell you that I’m going to be revamping the look of the magazine. I was so happy when I figured out the look of the magazine you see right now. My hope is I will get that same rush this time around. I need a kick in the tail. I’m as stagnant as the look of the mag. Don’t get me wrong, I still dig it, but I’ve been looking at the same pages for years now. Time to spruce it up. Time to get my blood flowing again.
I’m not bored. I’m living the Groundhog Day kind of life. Unlike Bill Murray, there is no consistent sleep pattern. I look at the same walls. Work the same pages. Call and email the same people. It’s all the same stuff, day in and day out. I have to shake things up. Since my office is EXACTLY how I want it after 8 long years, changing that is out of the question. So, the magazine will serve as the change I need. Going to try to see if I can revamp the whole thing, top to bottom.
That should get the blood flowing again.
I have such love for this thing. The magazine, sure, but all the other stuff that comes with it. After I shine up the product, maybe, just maybe, I will find a way to enjoy every second of what’s left of my time as the Editor of a national magazine about a subject that impacted my life in a way that most Editor’s can’t say the subject they cover has impacted them.
Okay! Enough of the pity party. Enough of the introspection. Enough. Time to get back to what made this thing what it is. Time to get the passion back. Time to get back to what works; head down, hard work.
Enjoy the issue. I’m going to get back to work. I have to. We’re in the end game now.
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski