I am occasionally asked to list the magazines, newsletters, and blogs I read to stay informed about our industry. It is a good question. But when I started compiling the list, I realized how ridiculously long it is. Therefore, I can only list selected highlights by type of media.
Lest you get the wrong impression, realize I’m an eclectic reader who skims the surface of the waters gleaning information quickly. Occasionally, I will dive deep for real food; but mostly it is a thin sampling. Five miles wide and two inches deep is one description. I estimate that I read/skim at least 200+ pages each week of industry-related material, just to stay on top of this ever-changing profession.
Note the intentional diversity of theological and political perspectives. I believe it is important to read widely to stimulate your thinking.
Magazines (received in the mail)
Topic: Publishing Industry (not many print publications left)
Publishers Weekly
Writer’s Digest
Topic: Christian Worldview
World
Christian Century
Charisma
Touchstone
Salvo
Modern Reformation
Tabletalk
Plough
Sports Spectrum
Bible Study Magazine
Topic: Business/Finance
Bloomberg Businessweek
Topic: Miscellaneous
BBC Music Magazine (classical music world)
BBC History Magazine
Biblical Archeology Review
Christian History
Consumer Reports
Email Subscriptions: These newsletters arrive periodically in a separate inbox reserved for this kind of information. These are not RSS emails; they are email newsletters. Some, as indicated, are paid subscriptions. In no particular order:
Publishers Lunch (a part of Publisher\’s Marketplace)
Publishers Weekly Daily
PW Religion Bookline
1440 Daily Digest (best free summary of yesterday\’s news)
Shelf Awareness Pro
Rush to Press from ECPA
The Hot Sheet by Jane Friedman (I\’m glad to subscribe to her insightful, weekly newsletter. She is one of the smartest observers of the publishing industry.)
The Worldview Bulletin Newsletter (brilliant writing by brilliant thinkers)
Banner of Truth magazine (comes monthly as a PDF)
Text & Canon Institute
The Passive Voice
Family Fiction
Thirdmill Weekly (Biblical Perspectives Magazine)
Terms of Service with Chris Martin (biblical worldview perspectives on technology)
I also have bookmarks, on my customized browser home page, to a half dozen sites that I visit regularly. Each day I view Not the Bee and The Babylon Bee. (I happily pay a membership to have access to all the bonus content on both these sites.) Other daily visits include Tim Challies, The Christian Post, and The Stream. The most intriguing articles I send to myself as an email using the Chrome plug-in called AddtoAny. I rely on my customized browser home page for world news updates.
Blogs: Bazqux Reader is the main collector of over 300 RSS subscriptions. Some are blogs and some are RSS feeds from a website. I then use the FeeddlerPro app on my iPad. This app draws from the Bazqux Reader and helps me to read these feeds each day as part of my morning routine after reading the newspaper. The app allows me to scan the headlines quickly and send ones I want to read more carefully to myself as an email. These RSS feeds are grouped into nine categories for ease of organization (Publishing, Marketing, Theology, Technology, Blogging, Clients, Daily, Weekly, and Christian Writers).
I subscribe to far too many blogs to list here. (You really don\’t want to follow 300+ blogs; you have better things to do.)
There you have it. A ridiculous list of information. However, to do my job effectively, I need to keep on top of what is going on. Yes, I have read Nicholas Carr\’s book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. It is a terrifying read due to its insight and accuracy, but I know of no other way to keep abreast of our industry.
Your Turn: Is there another source you would suggest or blogger I should be following (other than yourself)?
