Hey-hey we're The Monks; two modern day nomads travel the country with a 'solar powered' Macintosh, writing a humor magazine for the New Age

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 1989 by Jean Marie Angelo

Branson, Mo. -It's 5:30 on Friday afternoon and Jim Crotty, copublisher and coeditor of Monk magazine, is on the phone in his hotel room at America's Inn for Less, closing ad sales for the latest issue of monk. This is the high life for Crotty and partner Michael Lane, two men who started their magazine with just a few hundred dollars.

They usually spend the night in their motor home, and sell ad space from phone booths at campgrounds across America. "It's great, but nobody can call you back unless you can find two phone booths close together and people can call you on one, while you're on the phone with someone else," explains Crotty.

The technique might be mocked by more experienced ad people, but these guys aren't doing half bad. Ad pages make up about one-third of Monk's page count of 100. Ad revenues total $40,000 per issue.

And The Monks are getting more professional all the time. The only thing missing is a corporate headquarters, but Crotty and Lane are living proof that magazine executives can survive without an office to go to. "I am not opposed to writing, administrating and doing what it takes to run a business, but going to an office day after day is something that really depresses me," says Lane.

So they publish on the road. They've been through three sets of tires and traveled 54,000 miles. Their only traveling companion is their cat, Dolly Lama, They claim that 150,000 people have seen Monk, but the title has a print run of only 30,000. There are 7,000 bona fide subscribers who pay $10 for the quarterly, and their ranks are sure to grow now that The Monks have dropped a 20,000 direct mail drive. The title sells about 10,000 newsstand copies per issue, with the help of direct distributors who handle smaller titles. They've even received coverage in Tbe Los Angeles Times and other newspapers.

But money and fame are not the sole rewards for The Monks. Their travels are a spiritual quest, bringing them to new frontiers on the earthly plane and other places. "We're led by intuition to appropriate people, places and phone booths," they say. Crotty's life is a mix of "Zen, monastic ideals and macro neurotics," he says, giving a hint to the magazine's editorial.

Take a look at the letters to "Tofu Roshi," columnist for Monk. "Dear TR.: Every time I sit down to meditate, the song 'Found a peanut' starts running through my head. Is there any help for me? I'm going nuts." The reply: "Use the lovely Japanese translation, which you will find in the comprehensive and scholarly collection Campfire Sutras."

Other articles address other mystical mysteries, such as "How to wear a turban" (complete with stills of movie stars who have portrayed Sikhs) and "Are vitamins really food?" A good portion of the editorial covers the places and people they encounter along the way.

These guys are certainly different than the super-serious New Ager, who can't leave the house without wearing a crystal pendant to ward off negative energy. What is their secret?

Monkish solitude, of course. "You come up with some weird stuff if you break away from TV long enough," explains Crotty. In any case, all enlightened spiritual teachers have a playful side, Crotty says.

Crotty and Lane started the magazine after leaving their San Francisco home for the open road in 1985. Before leaving, both had held various jobs, most recently as a team of bakers.

From bakers to publishers

Making cookies and pies for the Bay A a was fun, but they weren't making any money. So they figured, "Why not make no money and see the country too." Off they went in a 1972 Ford van and little money. They imagined that they could do odd jobs and write a newsletter about their experiences on the road. But odd jobs don't pay much money, and it is much more fun to write, says Crotty.

They wanted to do a magazine, so they took some time out to devise a plan. They found an elderly couple in Oregon who was willing to take them in exchange for cooking and cleaning services. Meanwhile, they grabbed their Macintosh, which usually sits on the dashboard of the van, and designed a "Feed The Monks fund" direct mail drive. Pleas were sent to family and friends; the drive yielded up to $500, enough to cover a 1,000 print run.

Even through Monk has become a more sophisticated endeavor, Crotty and Lane still handle all aspects of the publication.

They write and design Monk on the Mac, powered on energy provided by solar panels on top of the van. They receive some design help from a firm in Boulder, Colorado. Subscription orders are sent to an address in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Crotty and Lane hire someone to pick them up from time to time. Future plans include hiring an ad sales representative, and running freelance pieces, they add.

Finding printers has been tricky. The Monks were hoping to find a New Age- minded printer who would give them a break on producing the magazine, but they've had no luck. They negotiate for a printer each time an issue is ready for publication.