Mothers of Invention

Geoff Van Dyke

Byline: Geoff Van Dyke

The idea of a literary magazine for mothers might seem oxymoronic: What rug-rat wrangler, after all, actually has the time to sit down and read - or write - a 10,000-word article between changing diapers, strapping in car seats, and policing hellions?

"Mommy, I want to come downstairs!" is the kind of nonintellectual commentary, for example, that can be heard at the home offices of just such a publication, where phone conversations are frequently punctuated with interruptions from the editor's three-year-old son and exclamations like "Hey, kid! Put that down!"

That's work politics - and story fodder for literary imaginations at Brain, Child, the self-styled "magazine for thinking mothers" that Virginia-based co-editors Jennifer Niesslein, 30, and Stephanie Wilkinson, 40, launched from their respective home offices and a nearby cafe three years ago. Since then the quarterly has been named one of Utne Reader's top new alternative publications, and the Alternative Press Association's "best magazine covering personal life issues."

An eclectic mix of first-person essays, in-depth articles, fiction, humor, and debate, Brain, Child publishes big names like Barbara Kingsolver and Jane Smiley alongside lesser-known authors who tackle subjects like punishing children in public, hiding dirty diapers at the mall, and remembering forgotten mothers in jail. The stylish writing and get-real attitude transcends the usual service-oriented parenting fare, according to Utne Reader's executive editor Craig Cox. "It's a really interesting niche they've carved out for themselves: the literary parenting magazine," he says. "I don't know that anybody's ever done that."

Literary recognition alone won't pay the bills, but Brain, Child's circulation does. This year's four issues generated about $80,000 from 6,000 readers. Pulling in about $20,000 more from advertising and single-copy sales, Niesslein and Wilkinson operate on a shoestring budget that's mostly do-it-yourself: They lay out the magazine, sell ads, and negotiate with the printer. With creative strategies like bartering ad space for direct-mail subscription marketing, they've cleared enough to start paying themselves salaries for the first time - about $12,000 each next year.

THE BIRTH OF INSPIRATION

Years before forming a publishing partnership, the duo met as colleagues working for C-Ville Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia. When they had babies six months apart in 1998, both felt moved to write about the challenges they faced as women and parents. Niesslein wrote about how colleagues perceived her switch from full-time employment to being "just a housewife," as they phrased it. Wilkinson wrote about the futility of how-to advice when trying to calm a colicky newborn. "You have this idea that a mother's love is going to solve everything," she says, recalling the agony of the nonstop screaming. "It's bullshit, basically. There's nothing you can do."

Nothing to do except write - and they did. But when they looked around and realized that there were no "literary" magazines about being a mother, getting published was another story. That's when they hatched the idea for Brain, Child, a title that addresses both sides of their experience - thinking and parenthood. "This is something we wanted to read," Niesslein says. "And it's also something we wanted to write for."

"DON'T DO IT"

The first person Niesslein and Wilkinson talked to about launching a magazine - the editor of the alternative weekly where both had worked - told them, "Don't do it." But that conventional advice didn't dissuade the two women, who invested a total of $23,000 from their own savings to launch Brain, Child.

The pair felt confident about the editorial side of things because Niesslein had worked as the managing editor of C-Ville Weekly, and Wilkinson had contributed to business and tech publications such as eWeek and Investor's Business Daily. But the business side was another story. They spent about a year researching - including reading articles and books like Starting and Running a Successful Newsletter or Magazine, by Cheryl Ann Woodard. They found Independent Press Association's how-to brochures on periodical mail rates and direct mail marketing particularly helpful (see sidebar).

With an initial distribution of 5,000 copies, Brain, Child was - and is - an admittedly small operation. Finding a printer that not only fit their budget but also their special needs was critical. "Here we were, two fairly young women who had worked in publishing but didn't know really the first thing about printing," Wilkinson says. They interviewed a parade of candidates, finally settling on a Bridgewater, Virginia-based plant, Good Printers, that "took us very seriously," Wilkinson says. "They took us on a tour of the plant and explained all of the different printing techniques. They've stuck by us."

Given that the printing bill accounts for about 42 percent of Brain, Child's entire budget, Wilkinson says they follow conventional rules and shop around for better deals every year. "But I haven't seen anyone that can match the price and the quality," she adds.

With a printer in place, they set out to conjure up a design philosophy. Although they initially had considered a bookish look with few or no advertisements, they ultimately opted to liven up the layouts by accepting ads. "We're wary enough of being labeled a 'literary' journal, as if only people who wear black and play bongos need subscribe," Wilkinson says. "We wanted to be a good, respectable consumer publication along the lines of The New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic, and part of that is having ads."

With the pair working the phones and sending e-mail to sell space at $925 a full page, the pair has signed on mostly small, women-owned advertisers such as Mothers & More (an organization for mothers who previously worked outside the home), Attachments (baby products), Barefoot Books (children's-book catalog), and Grow (kids clothing). With a ratio of 10 percent ads to 90 percent editorial, they hope to eventually push advertising to at least 30 percent of pages.

GETTING INTO CIRCULATION

So far the pair's biggest challenge has been selling advertising, which depends on raising circulation - a steady, slow process that has involved some creative marketing. For their first issue, Brain, Child bartered a back cover ad with Motherwear, a nursing mother's catalog and Web retailer, in exchange for the clothing company's mailing 30,000 promotional subscription brochures to customers with outgoing shipments. The swap netted about 570 subscribers, and a similar deal with Barefoot Books brought in another 1,600 - all paid up front.

Brain, Child had little trouble getting newsstand distribution at the book superstores - locales that are much more willing to stock an edgy independent. But direct distribution into this class of trade is pricier than getting into supermarkets or mass-discount centers. Brain, Child is also sold in specialty stores, like the upscale grocer Wild Oats. But again, discounts off cover in these alternative venues can go as high as 80 percent.

Newsstand distribution eats up 15 to 20 percent of Brain, Child's budget - an expense that Wilkinson readily admits might not make sense for such a small publication, despite the promotional value in appearing on newsstands. "It wasn't difficult for us to find distribution at all. The scary part is looking at it and asking, 'How much are we willing to spend on this?'" she says, adding that Brain, Child will continue to sell single copies at $5 each for now. "We think of it as a marketing cost."

Profitable despite the odds, Niesslein and Wilkinson are already talking about expanding the Brain, Child enterprise into other magazines and books, but with a different twist. "When my son's 22," Niesslein says, "I don't want to be editing a magazine about potty- training."

BABY BOOKS

While circulation figures have been all over the map for parenting titles, ad pages, for the most part, have been strong even in a down environment.

Project Indie

Founded in 1996 to help small publications flourish in a world of growing media Goliaths, the San Francisco-based Independent Press Association assists independents with services ranging from its own nonprofit distributor (BigTop Newsstand) to a revolving loan fund that provides up to $100,000 for infrastructure and revenue-raising investments.

Despite difficult times for the publishing industry, independent titles have been somewhat insulated from the downturn because they depend more on circulation than on advertising dollars, according to IPA executive director John Anner, who founded the organization after editing Third Force, the magazine for the Oakland, California-based Center for Third World Organizing.

With 334 members, including The Nation, Ms., and Mother Jones, the IPA helps indies from start up to later-stage growth with advice on circulation, accounting, distribution, marketing, design, and more. Representing diverse, progressive voices, the IPA has used its national clout to persuade Barnes & Noble to donate promotional shelf space to independents, yielding sales increases of 200 to 300 percent for some of the titles that have been able to take advantage of the program. IPA executives are also haggling with the U.S. Postal Service: Concerned that postal rates - which have increased by 50 percent over the past five years - are crushing independents, they're negotiating for lower periodicals rates for small publications. - GV

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