MSoB Newsletter

[Matthew Allen Newsome <mnewsome@warren-wilson.edu>]

Poster: Matthew Allen Newsome <mnewsome@warren-wilson.edu>

Hello to all at Cheapside!  
I have recently taken on the duties of publishing the newsletter for the 
Militant Society of BArds, the Motley Crew.  I snail mailed out a letter 
to all people who subscribed to the newsletter some time ago, but 
unfortunately some folks moved and I don't have a new address, and some 
folks who needed to get the letter were apparantly not on my little 
list.  So, in a last-ditch effort to get word out to everyone who needs 
to know, I'm re-posting the letter here.  Please send a copy to any MSoBs 
you might know, as well as anyone you might think is interested in 
subscribing to a bardic newsletter.  I apologize to any who may have 
already recieved this.
***NOTE***
This is not an advertisement or a shameless plug!  I am in no way making 
money off of this.  I'm just trying to reach everyone I need to.  The 
Motley Crew is in no way whatsoever an official publication of the SCA.
What follows is the text of the letter I mailed out.  It specifies a 
deadline of Dec. 20th for subscriptions, as I firts mailed it out around 
Thanksgiving.  For those just recieving this, I will extend that 
deadline.  The first issue will be out by 12th Night.  Just make sure I 
get a check by then.
-------------------------------------------------------------

To all people on the MSoB roster (and anyone who may be interested in the 
Militant Society of Bards):
	Hello!  It's me, Eogan, and I'll be your Chronicler for the 
evening!  It's been a long time since we had a newsletter, folks, but 
hopefully (with a little help from all of you) The Motley Crew will be up 
and running again shortly.  As you may have guessed, I am the new 
Chronicler for our favorite rag.  I'd like to get a new issue out as soon 
as possible, and to do that, I need certain things from you, the 
readers.  The first thing I would like to say, is SUBMIT!  (Wow, that was 
fun!)  No, seriously, submit articles (not your will).  The more articles 
I get from you guys, the more newsletters there will be, the more will be 
in each newsletter, and the quality and diversity of articles will go 
up.  Anything will do; song lyrics, poems, editorials, articles on things 
bardic, techniques, period music, sources, ads, pictures, etc., etc., etc.
	The next thing I need from you is a subscription fee.  A free 
newsletter is fun, folks, but there are a lot of people on the roster, 
and I just don't have the expendable cash to mail everyone a newsletter 
for free.  Right now, it costs about $2 an issue to produce (copying fees 
and postage).  If I pay for that, it will cost me over $400 a year if I 
publish it quarterly, $600 if I publish it every other month.  If you 
each pay for your own newsletter, it will cost you $8 a year quarterly, 
$12 a year every other month.  Right now, I am planning on doing a 
quarterly newsletter, and am asking a subscription fee of $8 annually.  
If things really pick up, and I get a lot of good submissions on a 
regular basis, we may move to an every-other-month format.  But that is 
in the future.  This is how it works right now;  if you want to remain on 
the mailing list, and receive the first newsletter, I need to have a 
subscription fee from you by Dec. 20th.  If you don't want to subscribe 
to the newsletter, but would like to stay on the roster so other people 
may contact you, that is fine, but you need to write me a letter by Dec. 
20th telling me so.  If I do not hear from you by then, your name will go 
off the mailing list.  If you want to subscribe, but just can't afford 
the $8 (some of us can't), then talk to me personally.  We can work out a 
way you can contribute without spending money (like committing to a 
regular column in every issue, for instance).  But I need to hear from 
you, to tell who is and who isn't interested.
	I plan on starting with a Winter issue, and ending the 
subscriptions with the Fall issue.  If people decide they want to 
subscribe after the Winter issue is out, they will only pay through 
Fall.  This way, everyone renews at once.  I also plan on printing extra 
copies of each issue to sell at my merchant area for $3 a piece, a month 
or so after they get mailed out.  This way, people also have the option 
of paying-per-issue  The extra profits will all go back into this 
newsletter.  If anyone else is interested in selling old copies of The 
Motley Crew at their merchanting areas, let me know, and also let me know 
how many copies you want to order ahead of time.
	I have a feeling this newsletter can be enjoyable and educational 
if everyone chips in to make it what they want it to be.  Please, let me 
hear from you soon, and everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
A' the best,
Aye,
Eogan
c/o Matt Newsome
1155 Dicks Creek Rd
Whittier NC  28789
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