Write on: Know your magazine

Sometimes, I sit at restaurants and watch people read 225.

I did it just the other day at Albasha—I can’t help it. Watching strangers read the latest issue over their lunch break is different than asking an acquaintance what they think of it.

So I watch, observing which pages readers casually flip through and which ones they stop and read. I watch their expressions: Did they get that joke on page 112? Are they tearing up at that story on page 40? Are they as wowed by that photo on page 30 as we were?

And then they close the magazine, and I return to my chicken shawarma.

Working on this month’s cover story, reading all the Baton Rouge “how to do this” and “know that” articles got me thinking about the “how to” our team knows best: How to make a magazine.

Picture a blank magazine, its glossy white pages empty. That is what we start with every month. Our goal is to fill it with color: a diverse mix of stories with a balance of useful infographics, handy guides, visually driven photo shoots and thoughtful features on complex issues and inspiring people from all walks of life.

So, how do we do that? I’ll answer some common questions.

Where do you get your story ideas? Most of our stories are born in meeting rooms, where we pitch ideas to each other and then pick them apart to nail down the narrative. When I first moved here, I worried that as a non-native I would struggle to find ideas. But the volume of interesting people and places in this city has so impressed me. We don’t even have room for everything!

What’s a typical day like in your office? A lot of typing. Some days, our editorial room is so quiet that the sound of fingers punching the keyboard is all you hear. Our team is concentrating hard, pouring our souls into making stories come alive. But our favorite part is getting out and meeting the people we want to bring to life in our pages. To make this month’s issue happen, our editorial team conducted nearly 40 interviews and wrote nearly 60 pages of content, and our photographers took over 700 images.

Can I be featured? We are always looking for ideas, so if you have one, send us an email and introduce yourself. We are also always looking for subjects for features such as Picture This (spotlighting a different photographer each month), I am 225 (one local’s story in their own words) and Show Me Yours (Q&As with locals who collect interesting things).

What is there even to do in Baton Rouge? There is so much happening! Pick up a copy of the magazine and flip to the Culture/Calendar pages, where we talk about upcoming arts and entertainment events in the city. Subscribe to our new events e-newsletter, Best of 225 This Week. Our redesigned website just launched, making it even easier to find events and stories online, too.

Now that I’ve answered your questions, it’s your turn. Next time you’re sitting in Albasha, reading 225, send an email to [email protected] telling us what you think. I can’t promise we will always reply immediately, but we do read them all. We print the most thoughtful, constructive notes each month at the front of the magazine on our Feedback page.

And maybe if we get enough messages, I can stop all this people watching and focus on that chicken shawarma instead.

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.