I love talking to editors about their story development processes for their magazines. I’m particularly interested in the ways they work on their feature wells. After all, a print magazine is a school’s flagship communications tool for alumni. It’s often one of the most time-consuming and expensive communications tools, too. In a magazine, the feature […]
Last summer, I gobbled up Rodham, the alternate-universe story of Hillary Clinton written by one of my literary favorites, Curtis Sittenfeld. A line that stood out to me was when the fictional version of Hillary sends her brother a sports-related text: “This season does seem promising, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.” […]
https://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.png00Erin Petersonhttps://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.pngErin Peterson2021-02-11 18:55:212021-02-11 18:56:22Do you follow the Rodham Rule for higher ed writing?
First, let’s state the obvious: most schools made dramatic changes during the early weeks of the pandemic that weren’t based on in-depth analysis. This isn’t a criticism! The changes were an immediate response to an unprecedented crisis. Communications teams slashed costs, cut the number of issues in their magazine or trimmed pages. Some went entirely […]
https://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.png00Erin Petersonhttps://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.pngErin Peterson2021-01-08 16:38:432021-01-08 16:38:43The essential question to ask before making big magazine changes
I made my first set of annual predictions last year. Were they good? Were they terrible? I mean, the assumptions didn’t include a pandemic, that’s for sure. Will 2021 bring the same kind of chaos? There’s still plenty of uncertainty, but based on what I’m hearing from clients and newsletter subscribers, here are some of […]
Over the past few months, I’ve been talking to editors who are feeling squeezed like never before — trimmed staff, smaller budgets, more responsibilities. And the last thing that they can afford is a magazine story that goes off the rails for one reason or another. It seemed like a good idea at the time. […]
https://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.png00Erin Petersonhttps://getcapstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/capstone-dark.pngErin Peterson2020-11-16 20:08:482020-11-16 20:11:29The “no room for error” checklist for your magazine stories
Feature well chaos? Try this.
/in Uncategorized /by Erin PetersonI love talking to editors about their story development processes for their magazines. I’m particularly interested in the ways they work on their feature wells. After all, a print magazine is a school’s flagship communications tool for alumni. It’s often one of the most time-consuming and expensive communications tools, too. In a magazine, the feature […]
Do you follow the Rodham Rule for higher ed writing?
/in Uncategorized /by Erin PetersonLast summer, I gobbled up Rodham, the alternate-universe story of Hillary Clinton written by one of my literary favorites, Curtis Sittenfeld. A line that stood out to me was when the fictional version of Hillary sends her brother a sports-related text: “This season does seem promising, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.” […]
The essential question to ask before making big magazine changes
/in Uncategorized /by Erin PetersonFirst, let’s state the obvious: most schools made dramatic changes during the early weeks of the pandemic that weren’t based on in-depth analysis. This isn’t a criticism! The changes were an immediate response to an unprecedented crisis. Communications teams slashed costs, cut the number of issues in their magazine or trimmed pages. Some went entirely […]
4 predictions for alumni magazines in 2021
/in Uncategorized /by Erin PetersonI made my first set of annual predictions last year. Were they good? Were they terrible? I mean, the assumptions didn’t include a pandemic, that’s for sure. Will 2021 bring the same kind of chaos? There’s still plenty of uncertainty, but based on what I’m hearing from clients and newsletter subscribers, here are some of […]
The “no room for error” checklist for your magazine stories
/in Uncategorized /by Erin PetersonOver the past few months, I’ve been talking to editors who are feeling squeezed like never before — trimmed staff, smaller budgets, more responsibilities. And the last thing that they can afford is a magazine story that goes off the rails for one reason or another. It seemed like a good idea at the time. […]