Model railway Journal

On 17/01/2007 19:02, John Turner said,

I've only just had 171 :-(

(Waits for the "where's my copy?" questions on P4_talk!!)

"Paul Boyd" wrote

I only posted my original message because it doesn't really bother me if MRJ is late because generally it is worth waiting for, but as it was early for once I thought it worth shouting it from the roof-tops to make up for all the moaners who whinge when it's late! ;-)

John.

John Turner said the following on 17/01/2007 23:56:

That's my attitude. It's here when it's here! People forget that Wild Swan is basically a man in a shed :-)

"John Turner"

roof-tops to make up for all

In what way does that make up for anything? Wild Swan are just lazily unprofessional, especially since they take in paid-for date-specific advertising. The show at Aylesbury a couple of years back when it appeared a a week after it happened with both a paid ad AND an editorial puff about how good the show would be, is still a benchmark of flakiness for me. I wrote in; they neither published the letter nor wrote to me privately to offer comment. Never mention error in case others notice. Just about anyone else in the serious publishing industry would have dealt with it: "never apologise, never explain" is not a good business model these days.

How late a book publisher chooses to be is another matter, especially if they don't follow a seasonal market, but WS need to get a grip if it intends to be a serious magazine publisher living on more than tribal hype.

Incidentally MRJ 172 has not yet appeared here, and despite what Jade Goody has averred, East Anglia is not overseas. Will be looking tomorrow, the customary week late when it starts being dimly plausible that the thing will be on the shelf.

Tony Clarke

My subscription copy of MRJ172 reached this bit of the UK over a week ago.

Nor here (Cambridge) and WHS' distributors are adamant that they have not yet received it - they show it as 'Pending', apparently!!

Regards, John Isherwood.

Arrived in Sydney this week :-)

Well can you send it back to Cambridge then

Ha, ha, sorry, it's Australia Day and the Post Office is shut :-)

The new issue was in my hobby shop last Monday (your Sunday) I haven't bought it yet because I'd only just got the previous issue home.

"Tony Clarke" wrote

If people know the vagaries of MRJ's publication history and still choose to place date-sensitive advertising I'd question just who the idiot is?

John.

A club of which I was a member placed a date-critical exhibition advert some years ago on the condition that if it was not published on time we would not have to pay.

In the event the issue came out late but still in time for the show.

"cctransuk" wrote

I checked with my indie newsagent in Ely yesterday, who normally stocks several copies, and there and then he rang up the distributor who told him "tomorrow" (ie; today, Friday). So I'll get one tomorrow. If WS can do the subscription ones early then sit around a week before giving the rest to the trade lorry, that reinforces rather than rescinds their flaky image.

Maybe the Ed takes a siesta on them in his tin shack in tropical Didcot. Had I known it was Tim Shackleton operating "Retford" when I was visiting there a few weeks ago, I'd have grabbed him and got an honest answer. Or then again, maybe not.

Tony Clarke

"John Nuttall" wrote

That seems an eminently sensible arrangement.

John.

Well, it was in Yorkshire as it happens.

Err, no, the problem could be within the whole-sale distribution trade, most magazines go either straight from the printers to either whole-sale or subscription mailhouse distributors. With most magazines the editor and staff have better things to do than sit around putting magazines into envelopes...

Aye, well, then.