Suggestions for 2011 issues of WildBird?

Here's your chance to have my job for a few hours! I often hear folks say how glamorous my job as a magazine editor is, so now you can have a taste of that "glamour." Ready, set, go!

The task: Plan the six 2011 issues. You need to fill 42 of the 48 pages in each issue.

The process:
1. Pull together your 2010 issues.

2. Read the mission statement on the table of contents; consider that throughout this project.

3. Look through your copies, and scrutinize the topics covered in the columns, departments and articles. Do they expand on the mission statement? Do they provide useful and entertaining content? Are they well-written?

4. Change is good; nothing can remain the same for years. What changes would you make to the current line-up of columns and departments? Which would you keep? Which would you remove, and what would you replace them with? Keep in mind the editorial page count: 42 pages.

5. Each issue needs to have a theme around which the advertising salespeople can sell ads. Which themes would you choose? The May/June issue will remain hummingbirds, but the July/August issue -- the birds of prey issue -- is open to suggestions.

6. What topics do you think readers want to see in the feature articles? Make sure that the same topics didn't appear in the last two years of issues.

Isn't that glamorous? I certainly think so [/sarcasm].

All kidding aside, I truly do want to hear from you. This is your chance to play a big role in creating your 2011 issues. What do you want to see? What would you change, and why?

Please send your suggestions before June 25 to wildbird@bowtieinc.com with "2011 tips" in the subject line.

Also, if you want to write a feature article, you must follow WildBird's submission guidelines and the freelance tips on WildBird's blog. Fair warning: I won't respond to queries posted in the blog's comments or on the Facebook page.