Gearbox Magazine

Gearheads united.

GEARBOX MAGAZINE: ISSUE #4

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FINALLY. IT’S HERE.

After much ado, GBXM 1.04 is a reality. Thank you to everyone who took time from their busy schedules to be part of this endeavor, and to everyone who has supported us thus far by subscribing. Yeah, it’s still a free subscription because I haven’t figured out how to turn on the paywall yet and…  Waitaminute. Light bulb.

Thinking out loud, I know how to turn the paywall on for posts here. That would mean I can share preview versions of future issues here and on the Issuu.com site, but share the full issue behind a members-only post here. Hmmm…

WE HAVE A NEW PRINTER, TOO

I am pleased to announced that we’re trying out a new print provider with this issue. Though switching printers took a toll on the delivery time for this issue, I don’t anticipate having any more surprises. As soon as I get a couple final details taken care of my end, I’ll explain all about how to order printed copies for those who would like them.

LAST CHANCE FOR FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS, METHINKS!

Are you subscribed? If you are, I’d appreciate it if you shared a link to this post wherever you like to hang out online. If not, now’s the time to sign up. Keep going fast with class and press on regardless. You can see all digital issues of Gearbox Magazine under the TeamGBXM profile on Issuu.com.

Thank you.

GEARBOX MAGAZINE: ISSUE #3

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BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!

My excitement for this issue is dimmed only in that I just realized I made a very serious mistake. I left one of our features completely out of the issue! And not just any feature, the one about the Cobra. EPIC FAIL. On the plus side, I’m pretty sure I didn’t make any of the same mistakes made in the previous issues, and this issue, while more than DOUBLE the size of 1.02 barely took the same amount of time to build out.

PRINT ON DEMAND, ANYONE?

Due to popular demand, I’ve got #3 setup with Peecho, so you can print as many copies as you like. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, I’ve not yet ordered a copy of the magazine through Peecho yet myself, so I have no idea what the actual product looks like. My biggest worry is that some of the pictures might come out grainy because I didn’t always have full-res, ginormous images for all the stories.

I’ll be ordering a copy or two myself this week to see how things turn out, but the big priority at this time is getting the digital issues looking their absolute best and providing our subscribers with a seamless, intuitive process. Peecho is just the quickest, easiest (least expensive) way I can make POD available right now. The price displayed represent our costs, plus about US$1. (And you can rest assured that $1 will be going right back into GBXM|united so we can better serve YOU.)

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ARE YOU SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribers were emailed directly this morning. Next month, subscribers will get private links to the full digital issue, while we’ll just be announcing a partial preview here on the site. Subscriptions are still free for life until we hit 100 subscribers. This is good stuff you won’t find anywhere else. Thanks for helping us show the world how much gearheads matter!

GEARBOX MAGAZINE: ISSUE #1

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A LONG TIME COMING

This is it, folks. The first – ever – issue of Gearbox Magazine. Inside, you’ll find all the big features you (hopefully) already read right here on the website in January. Not without its problems, this issue isn’t perfect, but it’s out there. Each month, we – or I, until such time as I find a full-time business partner – will be publishing in this format in addition to the regular version here on the website.  The big goal for 2013 is to get the issues available in print, so you can enjoy GBXM like any other magazine (presumably on the toilet at some point).

You might be asking, “If the stories are already here on the website, why also put them in this new format?” Good question. The stories of gearheads must be told. I am proud to be among those who tell them. I personally put so much work into this thing, though, I would rather have 100 people who I know want to read the magazine (subscribers) than see thousands of visitors every day who don’t really care about this stuff or just came by to look at pretty pictures. This isn’t your typical magazine. I don’t want everyone to read it. I only want people who understand what it means to be part of a worldwide community movement and care about the stories to receive them. It’s the least I can do.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT

Over the next two months, I’m going to start scaling back the amount of detail in the stories you see here on the website. Don’t worry. I’m not going to do like all those big, ad-supported sites do, take everything you used to get for free and hide it behind a pay wall. That’s what I call “disingenuous bullshit.” You deserve better than that.

You’re still going to see all the stories for free right here on the site, but they’ll be simplified; instead of 2,000 words and 10 pictures, you’ll find something like 500 words and 2 pictures (which is STILL more than you get at most other automotive media outlets). This way, I spend more of my time making the actual magazine the best it can be.

Ultimately, I want people to pay for Gearbox Magazine. (I do.) Not so I can get rich and famous, but so I can devote more time to making sure the world hears how important we gearheads are. Right now, all of this is done on lunch breaks at work, after dinner during the week instead of watching TV, and on the weekend, when I should probably be reassembling my rally car dream collecting dust in the garage. And I want to do this without the ignorant, nobody-likes-them ads found on other websites and in other magazines.

Oh yeah, and I’d like to build something that maybe, just maybe, enables a couple other gearheads to do this for a living, even take over the magazine one day. This is still about building high performance machines & lives. Let’s do some real good for the gearheads of the world, yeah?

WHAT WILL MY SUBSCRIPTION COST?

Here’s where I think I’ve got a pretty good plan. You’re here now. You’re reading this. How much do I appreciate that? Enough to give you a 100% free, lifetime subscription to the digital version of the magazine. Subscribe before April Fool’s Day (1 April 2013), and you can use the discount code “IWANTGBXM” to get your subscription for free. After that, it’s gonna start at a still easy-on-the-wallet US$15 per year for the digital version. Starting in July, digital issues will be password protected, and I’ll be sending out those passwords to subscribers for full, unfettered access.

NOTE:
I’m still working on getting the subscription form for the actual magazine built and implemented; hopefully in the next couple days. 

CLICK TO OPEN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE IN A NEW TAB.

Then leave me a comment here and tell me what you think, will ya? There will be no Weekender post this weekend, as I’m going to try and finally get my daily driver back up and running.

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