There are probably many people who have ideas about what they would like to see a magazine offer. But very few take the initiative to start a new magazine that would cover these topics. This is what Sherry Handel did.
Handel, the publisher and founder of blue jean magazine, was unhappy with the magazine market for teenage girls. "The mainstream magazines are focused on beauty and physical appearance for girls, and not who they are as a person and what they think," Handel said. "blue jean magazine gave girls a chance to write and read about girls like themselves."
The idea came to Handel while she was a sales representative on business trips to New York City. There was the loneliness of staying in the hotel rooms in the evenings, so Handel would take a walk. These walks often led her to a bookstore, where she would spend hours reading magazines.
She not only read magazines that were of interest to her, but also those which were marketed toward teenage girls. That market looked overwhelmingly the same; the only difference being a new title. Inside, the content was strikingly similar: stories about make-up, ways to attract boys, the latest fashion trends, and how to get a date for the prom.
The idea of putting blue jean magazine together came to her one day while she was driving in her hometown with her nephew Christopher. "Hey Christopher, I've got this idea that I want to run by you."
Now that Handel had verbalized her idea for the first time, she became energized and determined to make it a reality. Her first task was to figure out what this magazine would be about.
One of the magazines she came across while browsing the book stores of New York City was New Moon Magazine: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams. New Moon is primarily for girls' ages eight through 14, is edited by young girls in bi-monthly meetings, and is advertising free.
"Nobody was doing anything like this for the teen girl market. I wanted to take the New Moon idea to the next level," Handel said.
Handel hung flyers in local libraries that said, "We're starting this new magazine for teen girls, focused on what young women are thinking, saying, and doing. Advertising free. No [articles about] make-up. No models." Also listed on the flyer was an essay contest for application to the editorial board.
The main reason Handel chose not to include advertising in the magazine, she said, was that "main stream teen girl magazines primary advertisers are cosmetic companies, who make requests for complimentary editorial copy."
"It all comes down to accepting advertising," said Mollie Goldstein, assistant editor of blue jean magazine. "In women's and girl's magazines, the advertisers expect not only [the display ad] that they're paying for, but also complimentary editorial copy. So next to the Revlon ad will be an article on the hot new lipstick colors that happen to be manufactured by Revlon."
The magazine started out as an underdog, with an initial budget of only $15,000. Most magazine start-ups today start with a few million dollars. Without advertising to draw in revenue, it relied heavily on subscriptions and sales at newsstands.
At the weekly editorial board meetings, Handel made sure everyone had a chance to speak and comment on an issue, without having one person dominating the meeting. These meetings were also an opportunity for the girls to develop their leadership skills.
Handel's fondest memories of the board meetings were when "the girls debated, because they had to figure out the answers to things."
There are many happy memories from her time with the magazine, including four trips to Washington, D.C. -- Handel and part of the board got to meet First Lady Hillary Clinton twice.
"When the first issue came off the press and we opened the box it was a great feeling of seeing the final product of all our hard work," Handel said.
Handel recalls receiving letters and hits on the website from all over the world. One letter that sticks in her mind came from a girl in Sweden. This girl had heard about the magazine and wanted to read it, but could not find it in any of the stores. Handel responded that currently they did not have an international distribution (except for parts of Canada), but that the magazine could be purchased at an international subscription rate. The magazine's web site even made the Yahoo! Top 10 for a while.
Handel made the decision that the August '98 issue of blue jean magazine would be the last one for this bi-monthly magazine. The decision to stop publication was made due to the financial difficulties that were faced.
The cost of production and distribution cost the magazine more than subscriptions and newsstand sales were bringing in. Because there was no money from advertising, the magazine lost money on each issue.
Handel now works as a traveling sales representative who goes to trade shows across the country.
Although blue jean magazine is no longer around, Handel said she believes that this idea will be picked up again by someone. "I just know it."
