I still have every letter and email. I have a stack 5 inches tall of the 4×6 cards I kept on each subscriber, with their subscription form stapled to the back. I have all the articles I never printed. I have every receipt from every printer we ever used, and a list of all the subscribers who received every issue.
But it’s time to let go of the past.
I threw away the receipts after making notes of dates and quantities.
I went through the 4×6 cards to make sure I had every subscriber’s name in an Excel file. That makes me feel better about throwing away the 4×6 cards. (Except for a few I couldn’t throw away, like Natalie’s. She subscribed in April 1999, promising on the subscription form, “I will send in many submissions!”)
I’m taking along an extra suitcase when I go to visit Natalie. We’ll read all your letters and relive the past once more.
Then I’ll file away several copies of each back issue, along with the few letters and papers I just have to save, closing the lid on my time as an editor.
Thanks for the memories…
Awwww…what a bittersweet time.
As a former editor who shut down a magazine a few years ago, I can relate to the bittersweet feelings. I kept a copy of every back issue, but that was it. As an editor who never ventured into the office side of things, I have no idea what our bookkeeping was like
. But I admire your organization!