Miata Mailing List: July 1999, Message #103

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Don't let the quality of the product belie what really is behind Miata 
Magazine.  The fact that it is of high quality, good size, and well 
(vendor) supported is a tribute to ONE person, Barb Beach.  Yes, others put 
a lot into it but there are NO full time employees.  It's NOT Time-Warner 
or Ziff-Davis or Gannett Press.

Miata Magazine is a labor of love and a heck of a big task.  They 
occasionally get behind but only because they....  1) Try to maintain a 
timeliness that does not permit working four months in advance, 2) Give 
dates based on well thought out plans that unfortunately still depend upon 
OTHERS meeting deadlines promised to MM, but not always met,  3) Don't pad 
prices to permit extroidinary measures when others cut into their announced 
timelines, and on....

Example:  It was Barb who got the 'member perk' of free A/C on the 10AE for 
us... and then suffered the slings from being late to press when Mazda 
insisted on having the info in a particular issue... and was slow in 
getting it to her.

Example: During our phone conversation today, I could hear the zipping and 
ripping of tape... yep, BARB is hand packing the 'INTENSE MIATA' books for 
shipping.  Not a big shipping department but Barb herself.

So...  Expect a lot of Miata Magazine.  Raise the standards (as long as YOU 
tell her what you'd like to see - I did - though I thought this was one of 
the best issues, I had a few suggestions).  Expect to receive your book...

But, cut a little slack with the tone taken, you're not dealing with a 
fortune 500 company that's raking in the revenues hand over fist.  Though 
technophobic, Barb IS one of us.  She's got her heart and soul into this 
thing called the Miata.


Ric Allan
Cridhe Treun 97M
Loveland, Ohio

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