In the ever-evolving world of media and publishing, few have navigated its dynamic landscape with as much versatility and success as Catharine. From her beginnings in marketing and communications to her unexpected foray into book writing and publishing, Catharine's journey is a testament to the power of seizing opportunities and embracing new challenges. In this blog post, we delve into her fascinating career path, exploring how her diverse experiences have shaped her ventures, including the founding of COAST Magazine and Citrus Press. Join us as we uncover the stories behind her achievements and gain insights into the intricacies of the publishing industry.
Hi Catharine! Thanks again for participating! Firstly, could you tell me about how you got into the media and publishing industry?
Long story, short (well, maybe not so short), I had a marketing and communications company for 10 years in Sydney and one of our clients for all those 10 years was the Driza-Bone company. They were owned by a UK company at the time which wanted to sell. They asked me to come in as CEO for two years to ready the company for sale, which I did (a great experience!) and they sold it to Australian private equity. As part of the marketing strategy, I came up with the idea of a book because Driza-Bone is such an iconic Australian brand. I naively wrote a synopsis and sent it to three publishers and one of them said, ‘Yes we’ll publish it but only if you write it.’
I hadn’t written anything before but I loved the process and the book went on to sell really well, even in overseas markets! That was the start of my non-fiction writing career (on the side) while my day job involved clients such as the Sydney 2000 Olympic Bid, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, the Millennium and Centenary of Federation, etc.
After that, I was thinking ‘What else is going to beat those big events!’ and Harper Collins, the publisher of another book I had written said, ‘You should get into publishing’. He was generous enough to introduce me to a number of boutique publishers in Sydney. And that’s how I started. I can’t claim that it was a long-planned career move but it happened to align with the different areas of expertise that I had built up in marketing, writing, design management and print supervision.
Oh, and I also undertook a post-grad course in Editing and Publishing at Macquarie Uni, which greatly helped in managing the leap into publishing.
Tell us about why you founded COAST Magazine. What sets it apart from other publications that cover travel, tourism and lifestyle?
COAST magazine came about when I moved from Sydney to the Central Coast and wanted information on where the best coffee was, which beaches I could take my dog to, etc. And there was really nothing to tell me this. So I saw a business opportunity for a tourism and leisure magazine. I prepared a business case and, to make sure I was being sensible, I sent it to four business and creative people that I really respected to get their feedback. They became the original four investors in the company!
I think what sets us apart might be that we applied ‘book’ values and design qualities to the magazine’s look and content. It was also the right magazine at the right time to showcase the best of the Coast. I fell in love with the Central Coast and its amazing natural assets, the forests, beaches, scenery, coastal walks, and even the number of main roads edged by natural bushland (which makes driving so much more enjoyable). It was at a time when the Coast was changing from its sleepy reputation to something of a foodie haven and a really interesting nature destination. A lot of the old fibro holiday shacks were being renovated or rebuilt into beautiful coastal homes and holiday cottages.
Our vision has always been to surprise people by what is on the Central Coast and, by all accounts, we seem to have done that, even though after the first issue people said to us, ‘Oh it’s lovely but what on earth are you going to write about in future?’ Six years later, we’re still finding lots to write about.
You also founded Citrus Press, specialising in nonfiction titles. Between these two companies, what does your media cycle/schedule look like?
I started Citrus Press as a boutique book publisher a couple of years after I got into book publishing because I kept coming up with ideas for titles that didn’t really fit with the publishing profile of the company I was working for.
The business model for Citrus Press was to collaborate with companies or organisations with audiences that virtually guaranteed the sale of books, such as News Limited, Taronga Zoo, the Australian National Maritime Museum, etc.
Since starting COAST magazine though, that’s been a full time job, so the book publishing has been relegated to very occasional titles, maybe one a year.
Could you also speak on the differences between magazine versus book publishing? How are the publishing schedules different, what does the editing and curating process like for each?
The main difference for me personally is, after you’ve published an issue of the magazine, you don’t get to launch into working on something that’s entirely different in content, style, design and audience, as you do in book publishing.
With a magazine, you have to come up with fresh content ideas for every single issue but they still need to fit the same design template, probably the same topic categories, and appeal to the same audience profile.
With books, you may have a year before a book is written, edited, designed, typeset and printed so you have to be working on multiple titles at the same time to be financially viable.
With a quarterly magazine, you’re fully occupied (at least in a small team of people) doing or supervising everything in three months … and then you start all over again. Not to mention publishing a digital version as well and supervising social media, sales staff, etc.
The other difference, of course, is in the length of articles and how ads are placed. Magazines need to address a shorter attention span, have visual page-turning appeal, and balance ads so they don't dominate, yet fit with the editorial if at all possible, and don’t clash with adjacent ads.
What other stories, titles or perspectives do you wish to see or publish more of?
We’re also designing and editing publications beyond the Central Coast though so far they’ve tended to be annual, not quarterly or monthly publications. We’d love to do more of that sort of work.
We’ve also been providing clients (and ourselves) with accessible versions of their digital publications which has been very fulfilling. We received feedback from one low-vision online reader that our magazine was the first magazine they’d ever been able to ‘read’, and that was pretty overwhelming.
We also have ideas for magazines aimed at different audiences but I may keep those to myself here!
Finally, what makes for a good editorial pitch?
Freelancers can’t know a magazine’s market as well as the editor does of course, but this is what would make an ideal pitch:
Know the magazine’s audience and what interests and appeals to them. Know what the competition is writing about (so we can always stay one step ahead). Know what the magazine has published previously so you’re not pitching ideas that have already been done.
If you haven’t worked with the publisher before, attach examples of your work so they can assess the suitability of your style. For COAST magazine, this means making an editorial relatable to the reader and, wherever possible, people-focused. And avoid hyperbole because that just leads to losing credibility with the reader.
If your pitch can’t show that you have an engaging writing style, then you’ve probably shot yourself in the foot. And avoid clichés, as someone said.
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