Dec. 11, 2013

Dear WLM Readers,

Whidbey Life Magazine stands on a crucial precipice.

As a journalist, I have been covering the arts on Whidbey Island for more than seven years, and from the feedback I’ve received from many of you about WLM’s arts and culture coverage, it’s plain that you love what we are doing at this magazine.

I’m also pretty sure that if WLM was suddenly not available it would be missed. (There’s the precipice.) Will it continue to grow and become the stalwart source of arts coverage for the island, or will it leave only an echo?

What would it be like without WLM? Well, there would be no more scrolling that smart phone, iPad or PC to find out what’s happening on the island; no more “WLM Handy Lists.”  No more funny blogs on everything from music, visual art, design, screenwriting, acting, poetry and the meaning of a creative life. No more succinct features on the luminous lights of this community, many of whom I’ve come to know well, and who excel in the visual, literary, performance, culinary and winemaking arts on this island. No more giving this extraordinarily creative island the spotlight it deserves.

For the past 18 months, the WLM team has been working hard to give Whidbey Island what it sorely needs, information on everything that happens artistically from Clinton to Oak Harbor. Your response has been enthusiastic. Since Whidbey Life Magazine began publishing its online editions in July 2012, it has grown to more than 10,000 page views per month. WLM also sends a “Flash” email to more than 1,450 avid readers each week, and also has a strong following on Facebook and Twitter. Also, thanks to your dedicated wave of support, WLM took second place in KING5 Best of Western Washington’s “Best Neighborhood Blog” catagory, beating out 78 other sites.

The message is clear, you like what we’re doing. We want to keep doing it for you.

But, we can’t make it without ad sales, sponsorships and donations. We think a bi-annual print edition of the magazine — glossy and beautiful — might serve not only as a wonderful, tangible, printed reflection of what we do online, but will help us to support the online edition.

Take a look at the “Roll the Presses for WLM” campaign on Indiegogo to watch the video and read about the print project.

I hate to ask, but it’s one of those necessary evils of growing a startup business.

If you can envision Whidbey Life Magazine as a publication that will continue to grow and be the heart and soul of arts coverage for Whidbey Island, help us out. Make a donation of whatever amount you can (or buy an ad). We promise to continue the excellent coverage you all deserve and need.

• Please donate. Donations are tax-deductible because of the magazine’s verified non-profit status of our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas. Make that end-of-year donation today!
• Please share the “Roll the Presses for WLM” campaign link in email, on Facebook and Twitter; tell your friends, neighbors and business associates about WLM.

Thanks so much for your continued interest in the cultural and artistic life of Whidbey Island. We hope to be able to keep the stories and information coming!

Cheers to you, Whidbey Life Magazine readers.

Gratefully yours,

Patricia Duff
Editor, Whidbey Life Magazine

Patricia Duff is a local freelance writer and journalist. Reach her at editor@whidbeylifemagazine.com.