One of the things I loved about running a magazine was that I could treat writers the way I wanted editors to treat me. I was pretty sure -- not positive -- that it would work.

It was enormously popular. Many of my regular writers were people I bought from on their second or third attempt, because I'd give targeting information to anyone who seemed "close" to publishable. I actively promoted the perk of having a pleasant work environment. I did have some writers tell me to bug off early in the game because I expected them to write clean copy, on time, on length, with proper footnotes if they were quoting facts. (Those are not widely required in Pagan periodicals.) But once I had time to build up a network of writers who knew me, it was great.

That's one of the things that has me quietly considering the idea of publishing, someday, if I ever have the money for it. I could once again make my little corner of the industry a nice place to work. Sure, some writers are whiny jerks, but there are plenty of personable professionals out there; I don't anticipate any trouble finding them if I need to again.