publisher
toddler time!
When I had a toddler in North London finding out what activities were on and where was a bit of a nightmare. These were the days of manual internet dial up which people rarely used at home. I recognised that there was a gap in the market and researched and published a bi-annual directory with the help of an advertisement manager to pay the printing costs. I did all the design, layouts, copy, editing, artwork, and budgets and it was sold in bookshops all over North London. It was very well received by parents and carers, bookshops, community groups and advertisers. When my second son was born we moved out of London so it was no longer viable to continue.
london escape!
In the mid 90s the internet was still very much in its infancy and if you wanted to visit anywhere the only way was to research it at the library or go to Tourist Information offices. Seeing a gap in the market I researched and wrote a quarterly magazine about outdoor pursuits in destinations an hour out of London by public transport. It included places to stay, tourist attractions, restaurants, walking and cycling routes as well as information on new equipment to buy. I was responsible for producing the whole publication from start to finish with the help of an advertisement manager to pay for the print run. It was free of charge at libraries all over London. It was very successful, especially when we sponsored a softball team which played in the advertising league in London. Unfortunately I couldn’t really justify giving up my full time job to continue it but in later years the Evening Standard produced an ‘Escape’ section of the paper which kept London’s adventurers happy.
