Self-Portrait at the Apocalypse  (click to enlarge) © Vin Crosbie, 1980

I'm having a blast! Sometimes a person must put his money where his mouth is and go for broke. In early December, I made a promise to disclose the business plan for newspaper publishing in the 21st Century. Yes, it was a bold promise, but one I don't regret; I'm looking forward to it. I said the work had a mid-January deadline and a publication date of Spring 2004.

Since then, some friends and observers have noted that this promise is coming due and had even expressed some worries that I might overpromise and underdeliver:

He offers this teaser as explanation for why he and his blog will be quiet for the next several weeks. I'll be listening, but I guess he's never heard of underpromise and overdeliver. Should we believe the hype? Vin, don't disappoint us now!

I understand those concerns, and today thought I'd give an update about the schedule. My plan will be published in three phases:

1. The January deadline that I'd mentioned for Spring publication was for an academic journal that is soliciting viable business models for traditional media publishing on the Internet. But late in December that journal postponed its submissions deadline until the middle of this month and also postponed its resulting publication date until September. So, if my plan is accepted for publication by that journal, then the peer-reviewed, academic language version of the business plan won't be published until late Summer.
2. I all along have planned to self-publish a complete, business-language version of the plan this Spring. That is still on schedule.
3. One of the journalism journals has meanwhile asked me to publish a part of the plan later this month. That part will focus only on the editorial facet of newspaper publishing in the 21st Century. I mention this because some people who read that journal article it might think this is the entire plan. No, it's just the editorial part of the plan from the publisher's viewpoint.

Meanwhile, my Publishing: Free to Fee monthly column at ClickZ.com next Wednesday will feature what I hope is an interesting profile — computer columnist Brian Livingston who has discovered that asking his subscribers for contributions generates more money than charging a fixed subscription price for his self-published Brian's Buzz column. My column will have details and financial analyses.

Stay tuned.
     – Vin Crosbie