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Local publisher breathes new life into magazines

Yellow Springs company embraces niche and club publications

Three Patriots LLC has been formed to publish Patriots of the American Revolution magazine by (from left) Patrick Ertel, owner of Ertel Publishing; Benjamin Smith, VP of operations and custom publishing; and Vicki McClellan, general manager. Smith serves as president of Three Patriots, while McClellan is CFO and Ertel is vice president.

Staff photo by Chris Stewart Three Patriots LLC has been formed to publish Patriots of the American Revolution magazine by (from left) Patrick Ertel, owner of Ertel Publishing; Benjamin Smith, VP of operations and custom publishing; and Vicki McClellan, general manager. Smith serves as president of Three Patriots, while McClellan is CFO and Ertel is vice president.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 1:09 AM Sunday, September 20, 2009

YELLOW SPRINGS — In the summer of 2008, Benjamin Smith and Vicki McClellan spotted a small magazine out of Fort Myers, Fla., calling itself Patriots of the American Revolution.

After seeing it, they knew two things.

First, they liked the magazine, its exploration of a certain corner of history, its direction and feel.

Second, they knew their company, Yellow Springs custom publisher Ertel Publishing, could make it better.

The magazine’s owner, Three Patriots LLC, has hired Ertel Publishing to design and produce the magazine.

But Three Patriots and Ertel Publishing aren’t exactly disparate companies. Therein lies a tale.

“It’s kind of an interesting and convoluted story,” said Smith, an Ertel Publishing editor. Ertel colleague Vicki McClellan agreed with a laugh.

Making good things better in the world of niche or club magazine publishing is what Ertel Publishing does from offices on tree-lined High Street.

Ertel owns two magazines, Antique Power and Vintage Truck. The company also custom-publishes magazines for clients, mostly historical or enthusiast publications, including Hart Parr Oliver Collector, a publication devoted to Hart-Parr and Oliver farm equipment.

Pat Ertel (founder and owner of Ertel Publishing), Smith and McClellan liked Patriots of the American Revolution enough to form their own separate limited liability company — the aforementioned Three Patriots — and buy the magazine. Former publisher T.M. Jacobs remains the magazine’s editor. Smith is listed on the masthead as associate editor, McClellan as promotions director.

The publication’s September/October 2009 edition is out, and the work of winning a wider audience begins.

“The magazine had never been marketed,” McClellan said.

McClellan said page count has been boosted 30 pages. The magazine will come out every two months instead of quarterly. And there are new departments and features throughout.

If print is dead, then the people at Ertel Publishing haven’t received the memo. They don’t shy away from the challenges of putting out a magazine. And there are rewards. Historical and enthusiast magazines always will play a role educating and uniting readers, say Smith and McClellan.

“There will always be a place for paper in your hand,” McClellan said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

About Ertel Publishing

Magazines: Antique Power, 50,000-55,000 copies bimonthly; Vintage Truck, 30,000 bimonthly; Hart Parr Oliver Collector, 6,000-7,000 bimonthly; Patriots of the American Revolution, 1,000 bimonthly. (When Ertel bought it, circulation was 140.)
Employees: 10 fulltime.
Revenue: $2 million in latest fiscal year, down about 14 percent.
History: Founded in 1989 after Pat Ertel, then a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base engineer, decided to start a magazine devoted to vintage tractors after being stuck behind a tractor.

Source: Ertel Publishing

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