It is a truth universally acknowledged that Victorian novels commonly include a direct address to the reader, arguably the most important person in the story. Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, and Frankenstein, just to name a very few, all employ this device to draw the reader into a more sympathetic relationship with the story — and to let their audience know they matter. The readers, after all, are the whole point. What is the reason for writing and publishing without recognizing the simple fact that it is for an audience?
And to that end, if you only knew, dear reader, how much we at Columbia Metropolitan think about you. Though it may not be something you ever think about, you — our readers — are a vital and vibrant part of the CMM family. You go about your days working and living in our great city. We go about our days wondering how we can do a better job of entertaining you, inspiring you, educating you on the amazing people and resources in our community, and making you prouder of our incredible hometown. Similarly, all of our wonderful advertisers are also thinking about how to best connect with you and meet your needs, and we have them to thank for being able to provide you with the articles you hold in your hands.
We recently had our annual editorial retreat, where our editorial team gathers for four straight days to brainstorm article ideas for the 10 issues of the coming year. We review the issues of the past year to determine areas that need improvement or growth, and we go through stacks and stacks of new ideas for this next year. We comb through heaps of emails sent from you, our valued readers, with your excellent suggestions of people, businesses, charities, and other topics that might make great stories to feature.
And then we turn to plugging these ideas into each issue, where we inevitably ask the following questions to ensure balance — is there something for the men as well as for the women? What are we doing on the arts and music scene? Do we have something that will interest the outdoors and sports enthusiasts? How about the chefs, party hosts, and gardeners? Do we have some fun, trendy topics as well as nostalgic, classic ones? What stories will have beautiful, sweeping photography? The list goes on and on.
Because without our readers, there simply is no Columbia Metropolitan. So, from all of us at CMM, thank you for being such an important part of our magazine family!
We wish you a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!