"Sex, it sells in the single copies…"

That would be in reference to Cosmopolitan. Today was crazy. We got up early and I had a chance to make coffee before we hopped on the subway to be at class at 8:30. There was a bit of an intro and we would put into the groups will will be in for our simulated magazine launch, which will be fantastic and a ton of work. I think we have a good group.

Next came a panel discussion with top editors from Essence, People Stylewatch, the Magazine Publishers of America and Meredith Corporation, which is one of the big magazine companies. That was pretty interesting, and after that we had a nice lunch break when we found cute salad/wrap/sandwich place to eat.

The afternoon was a little rough, but incredibly informative. First a woman from consumer marketing at Time, Inc. talked to us about marketing, and then the managing editor from In Style came to talk to us about the financial side of the magazine. It was two and a half hours of numbers and economics, but the speaker was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging, so we survived. After a brief freeforall at the sign-up table (about which more later) we met back with our magazine groups, and spent two grueling hours hammering out a concept, mission statement, market position and reader audience. How long does it take 10 college graduates to come up with a two-sentence statement? Too long.

I won't disclose the nature of our magazine right now, but it is pretty awesome. At this point everyone was exhausted, so JS and I came home and then went back out for Chinese food, softserve, and a wonderful walk around the neighborhood. It was warm and nice out, even with the sun down, and there were a ton of people around Union Square.

In other news I have a dinner invite, a magazine tour, and a design class coming up this week. The excitement begins. Cheers.