Two statewide publications, one person owning the budget, the sales, the editorial, and the mail. Every quarter came in at least 25 percent over the revenue target.

This is what full ownership looks like.

The proof:

I joined the Texas Society of Architects in 2001 as associate publisher of Texas Architect, the organization's flagship statewide magazine, working alongside a three-person core team—the editor, the art director, and myself—that produced the bi-monthly publication together, plus a second statewide periodical and the Society's other publications. My role covered sales, marketing, and the administrative work that actually keeps a publication running, while creative direction was a shared effort across the team, executed by the art director.

I planned and administered budgets totaling more than $500,000 across all printed publications, managing production costs against advertising revenue and negotiating contracts with outside vendors and sales staff directly. I also managed a subscriber database of more than 15,000 names, keeping it in compliance with U.S. Postal Service regulations for publication mailing—a real requirement, not paperwork, since noncompliance meant losing mailing rates or worse.

On the revenue side, I coordinated advertising sales with national advertisers like DuPont (Corian, Tyvek Home Wrap), Acme Building Products, Nucon Steel, Dur-A-Flex Flooring, Coldspring Granite, and Pella Windows, alongside regional accounts, and supervised the advertising and circulation staff, while implementing promotional and circulation strategies that pushed the organization past its quarterly revenue targets by at least 25 percent every single quarter I was there. Part of that strategy was deliberately repositioning TA as a regional publication rather than a trade journal, including entering it in broader regional and national competitions, which is part of what drove the 2002 Katie Award win. That strategy showed up in the numbers: total circulation grew from 12,700 to 15,200 copies per issue between 2001 and 2003, nearly 20 percent, with paid and requested circulation climbing even faster, up more than 22 percent over the same period, per USPS Statements of Ownership I filed and signed each year as associate publisher.

Editorially, I planned, wrote, edited, and proofread articles alongside the editor and managed timelines and budgets project by project. I also ran the society's statewide Design Awards program end-to-end: eligibility and entry rules across five categories, judging logistics, entry return coordination for firms across the state, and tying winning projects into a themed issue of Texas Architect. Beyond that, I managed budgets for Design Awards and the Checkset Newsletter, wrote scripts and press releases, and handled production and traffic for all of the society's print materials.

Our work was recognized industry-wide. Texas Architect won Best Association Magazine at the 2003 Maggies (the Western Publishing Association's award for the best publishing and media in the western U.S.) and the 2002 Katie Award for Best Magazine within a six-state region, an annual competition sponsored by the Press Club of Dallas and juried that year by the Atlanta Press Club—beating out finalists including Southwest Airlines' Spirit Magazine and Oklahoma Today. Jurors called TA "at once forward-thinking and knowledgeable, calm without being cold...an excellent publication throughout." It also earned an Award of Excellence for Four-Color Magazines at the 2002 IABC/Austin Bronze Quills and a finalist placement in the same category at the 2002 IABC Gold Quills.

If you need someone who can own the business and production side of a publication—budget, sales, editorial support, and mailbox—while working closely with an editorial and creative team, this is what that looks like.

Key results:
$500K+ in publication budgets managed · 15,000+ subscriber database · 25%+ over quarterly revenue target, every quarter · Two statewide publications + Design Awards program · Four industry awards, 2002-2003