Hi All,
I just want to make a couple of comments on yesterday's post from
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>Issue #21 had six pages full of pictures of themselves.  Also, in issue
>#21 there is an est.  of 13 different articles by the owners.  I "thought"
>Modern Ferret was ABOUT FERRETS, not the owners???
 
We've always used our (my) photos in our house ads (I think some of the
photos you're referring to are in the ads??).  The vast majority of our
readers like to be able to put a face to the name.  We oblige.
 
The articles by me in the issue are not *about* me; they're about ferrets.
Since I've been doing this for a while and I have a book about ferrets
published by Howell Book House (which many well-respected ferret people
have told me is among the best out there), I feel I'm qualified to write
about ferrets.  So what's wrong with me writing articles about ferrets?
I don't understand the objection.  If I were a technical writer (with no
ferret experience) simply regurgitating something I'd read, I might see the
objection.  While I *prefer* to not have to write that much for an issue,
sometimes it can't be avoided because an article comes in late or we can't
get photos or, upon closer reading, the article we had slated for the issue
is somehow inappropriate.  I don't think the information was bad or
irrelevent.  So, again, I don't understand the objection to my writing
articles for the magazine.
 
>Also, from a business point of view, the owner/operators are always
>"complaining" about the lack of sleep they get.  And thats the customers
>fault because?
 
I don't think we're "always* complaining.  I do think that Eric often
sees things in terms of fatigue because it's something he faces (and must
overcome) every day with his Crohn's disease.  We write things like this
so that our readers have some idea of where we are and what we're doing.
Again, the vast majority of readers appreciate knowing things about us --
both happy and sad -- because it makes us human.  People relate to other
people.
 
>Last month the magazine wasn't even mailed out until 2/18/99.  This is for
>the March Issue.  The magazine allowed no time for the current issue to be
>delivered to the customers before the month began.
 
That's my fault (and is also due to the fact that we have to mail by bulk
mail & the postal service has little respect for bulk mail).  I have to
update the database myself after I've finished all the editorial work on
the issue.  I always feel bad about delays.  As soon as I'm done with this
post I'll get back to updating the database for the next issue.
 
>If your going to be a BUSINESS then you must do whats best for the
>customers who keep you in business.
 
Within reason -- certainly if either Eric or I end up in the hospital (a
very real possibility for Eric), that's not good for customers or business.
It's really those kinds of comments that make us feel the need to explain
what we do and how much time we spend putting together the magazine (in
reference to the abovementioned "complaints" about lack of sleep and the
pages in the magazine talking about us).  It isn't as if we don't *try* to
do what's best for our customers.  Some things are simply impossible when
you are a two-person company.  Some day (soon I hope), we will be able to
afford to hire someone to help out.
 
>WHY IS IT THAT THINGS CAN BE SAID ABOUT FERRETS MAGAZINE AND USA FERRETS
>BUT BY GEORGE YOU BETTER LIKE EVERYTHING MODERN FERRET DOES OR KEEP YOUR
>MOUTH CLOSED?
 
I can't speak for anyone else on the list about this.  But I think the
concerns about the Fancy pubs is the incorrect information that ends up
being published in them.  There are plenty of people who don't care for
some of the things Eric and I do (some of the humor or the
ferret-point-of-view articles) -- and they say so.  We can't please
everyone and we don't pretend we can.  But if people didn't write to us
to tell us they like it, we would change it.  People do like what we do
(at least the people who write to us).  It's important for our readers
to direct comments and concerns *directly to us* (posting stuff on the
internet doesn't change anything if Eric or I don't happen to see it).
That's a real problem for us (and, it's my understanding, for every other
business out there).  But if you don't tell Eric or me what you
like/dislike in Modern Ferret, how will we know?  Believe me, we're
perfectly willing to take readers' suggestions on how to make Modern Ferret
a more useful and enjoyable magazine (it means we don't have to think it
all up ourselves :-)).  And, yes, there are people on this list who are
very protective of Eric and me -- and, believe me, we appreciate it.
They see that we set out to make a ferret magazine well before it was
fashionable for big publishers to even think of it.  We never had financial
backing -- this was and is our baby.  Our butts are on the line -- every
which way: financially, emotionally, physically, you name it.
 
Anyway, I've got to get back to work.  If anyone has comments, please
e-mail me directly at [log in to unmask]  But realize that I am
updating the database right now, so I may not be able to respond very
quickly.  Thanks for reading.  Hugs to all the fuzzies.
 
Mary & the Fuzzy Nine
 
Mary R. Shefferman, Editor etc.
Modern Ferret magazine
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[Posted in FML issue 2639]