The Latest News on 'The Beacon'

You’ve probably seen the new free magazine The Beacon, which was released a few days ago. If you haven’t, here’s the link through which you can get your own copy:

www.clarendonhousebooks.com/beacon-and-gifts

The Beacon was a pilot issue — a fully illustrated, colour e-magazine. The original plan was to produce an issue monthly or bi-monthly, covering the fields of art, culture, travel, metaphysics, writing and so on, with an emphasis on positivity, and an aim to uplift its readers' spirits.

The idea received a tremendous amount of support in the form of Likes and Comments in the Inner Circle Writers’ Group when I first mentioned it a few months ago. I figured that, gauging from that wave of welcoming remarks and signs of approval, there was a market amongst readers for such a thing, especially as it was entirely free to download. Of course, as I’ve said before, I was talking about it in a writers’ group, and many of those Likes would have probably arisen because of the huge submission opportunities presented by such a publication. But I also thought that the world could use such a thing. The Inner Circle Writers’ Magazine covers the universe of writers and writing pretty well, offering as it does its own submission opportunities and plenty of advice about writing, along with articles about famous writers and showcases of famous authors’ works. The Beacon would explore culture, philosophy and travel, touching on philosophy, psychology, spiritual matters, little-known areas of the world, visual arts, perhaps even music, giving readers glimpses of things they had perhaps never seen or considered before. Interviews, biographies, uplifting quotes, obscure facts, and travelogues from off-the-beaten-track places might all be covered.

Being free to download meant that it could go far and wide, way beyond the borders of writing groups and into the domains of artists of different kinds; intelligent people all around the world, people who are looking to go travelling (or perhaps can’t and want to travel from their armchairs instead) and young and old, might pick it up.

But here’s the rub…

The Beacon’s pilot issue took a mix of particular skills and a certain amount of time to put together — maybe about 50 hours. I was hoping to recoup some income for the time spent on it, by offering attractively rated advertising subscriptions. But I didn’t. Only a handful of people took up the offer to place an ad at a rate of £20.00 for a full page, in full colour, with links. Based on that, I have to make a judgement: unless more people come forward with cash for advertising, I won’t be able to publish another issue.

I’ll need 40 people or more in terms of advertising subscriptions to make it worthwhile.

If you’re interested, don’t send me money — I might just have to return it. Instead, drop me a line at grant@clarendonhousebooks.com and we can discuss your requirements and I can keep you posted on the latest developments.

In the meantime, please enjoy the pilot issue! It’s getting rave feedback and I’m proud of it.

Let's see what the future holds.