Earlier this month the fired staff of GOOD magazine announced it would start a magazine called “Tomorrow.” Monday at around noon, the magazine’s editors asked for donations to fund the first issue on the website Kickstarter. Two-and-a-half hours later, they were more than halfway at goal. By 5 p.m., they had more than $15,000 in pledges from 516 donors. Three people have donated $250 or more, which earns the donor a life event illustrated in animated GIFs by former GOOD Editor Ann Friedman. (So far no one’s gone for the opportunity to have their online dating profile tuned up by former lifestyles editor and Poynter contributor Amanda Hess.) Some of the journalists — or people who share names with journalists — who’ve helped out include Ezra Klein, Felix Salmon, Dan Kois, Roxane Gay, Maria Bustillos, Max Linsky, Dan Zak, Jason Zaragoza, Megan Carpentier, Sommer Mathis and Dave Weigel.
A letter just went out to contributors, and would-be contribs:
Hey friend,
Thanks for getting in touch with Tomorrow! Our inbox has been an endless font of love and support, and we’re incredibly grateful for that. We’ve been hard at work planning the magazine—shooting a video, budgeting it out, shaping the editorial direction. And now we’ve finally got more details on how you can help us make this single issue of our dream magazine. It’s gonna be a four-color, 100-page oversized magazine filled with stories about the future—the immediate future. Here’s more about the help we’re looking for, and how you can volunteer:
FINANCIAL $ $ $ $
– Contribute to our Kickstarter and spread the word about it. [LINK] It’s going to take $10,000 just to get this thing off the ground, so every penny counts.
– On that note, do you know a company or individual who might want to sign on as an advertiser or sponsor? Email us at tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with MONEY in the subject line.SOCIAL
– Follow/promote the hell out of our temporary home, tomorrowthemag.tumblr.com, and our Twitter account, @tomorrowthemag.
– We’re gonna be having a big party in Los Angeles to launch this magazine into the world. Especially if you’re local here, but if you have any event planning experience, actually, email tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with SOCIAL in the subject line.
– Do you do social media/communications stuff for a living? Help us make a media plan for the magazine so we can expand our reach! Shoot an email to tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with SOCIAL in the subject line.EDITORIAL
– We know a bunch of you are writers/illustrators/editors/designers. Pitch us! We’re looking for nonfiction feature-length pieces (3,000-6,000 words) and a smattering of great short-form pieces (around 1,000 words). Reporting and essays and illustrations on the topic of, well, tomorrow. We’re starting from the beginning: What areas of society need to hit the reset button? Tomorrow is about (and for) the people who are working out what’s next. Today’s dilemmas deserve fresh eyes liberated from the tired status quo of superficial journalism, boring narratives, and old ideas about what works. We want stories about the people, the movements, and the trends that are tearing the world down and building it anew. Pieces that are about what’s coming next, about hitting the reset button, about preparation, about people and ideas that are pushing the boundaries of our collective comfort zone. Think pieces, profiles, graphic stories, confessionals, flow charts, how-tos. You can interpret this theme pretty widely—we certainly are. And don’t limit yourself to just words—some of our best editorial ideas will come from artists and illustrators, we’re sure of it.– If we simply meet our Kickstarter goal, we won’t be able to pay contributors. But if we exceed the goal or if we land some awesome sponsors, we’ll be splitting the proceeds evenly among everyone who works on the magazine, editors included. In other words, you won’t get paid much, but you will get an excellent edit (ahem) and the knowledge that no one else is cashing in, either. Deadlines will be in late July, probably, though we’re still working on the schedule.
– So! Send your ideas to tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with EDIT in the subject line. (Since we’ve got a limited number of pages, we can’t take all pitches. But we promise to get back to every single one of you.)
TECHNICAL
– Do you build websites for a living? We’d love to have a web presence that’s more than just our Tumblr and Twitter. (We’ve heard iPad apps are hot right now). Get at us if you can help! tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with TECH in the subject line.SUPPORT
– If you’re in Los Angeles, we’re going to need extra hands as we ship issues and mail Kickstarter incentives and throw this party. If you’re here in Southern California and want to sort of generally volunteer to help out in person, holler at tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with SUPPORT in the subject line.Quick note: If you can help in multiple ways, just put each of the keywords that apply in your email subject line. (Example: If I’m an event planner in Los Angeles who also has an awesome idea for an illustration, I’d email tomorrowthemag@gmail.com with “EDIT, SOCIAL” in the subject line.)
Again, thanks so much for your kind words and your generous offers to contribute. This is gonna be so fun. Onward to Tomorrow!
Love,
The Tomorrow Crew
We’re more than 60% funded after 2 1/2 hours! Why is EVERYONE SO WONDERFUL?! Or, put another way, bit.ly/MTvBsS
— ann friedman (@annfriedman) June 25, 2012
Previously: How things went bad at GOOD magazine, what’s next for fired staff and the company they left
