Jareeda
Publish This! Segment 5
Publisher:  Mezdulene
Sutherlin, OR
http://www.jareeda.com * mezdulene@jareeda.com

When did you begin publishing your magazine/newsletter?

Jareeda was started in Seattle in 1980, and I took it over in January, 1994. 

Why do you do it?

I do it out of love for the dance, actually a passion that never ceases.

What do you want to accomplish with your publication?

I want Jareeda to be a magazine for all belly dancers and enthusiasts and to promote belly dance as an art form.  We provide a venue for dancers of all skill levels to learn more about the dance, and we give dancers an opportunity for self-promotion. We accept and print articles from everyone, not just the popular or well-known dancers in our field.

What do you feel is the criteria for a publisher in our business and what are your own credentials?

I feel that the criteria for publishers should be a background not only in the dance but also in publishing itself.  My own qualifications? I have been a belly dancer for 30 years, and have extensive knowledge of our art form.  I own the Mystical Oasis Dance Studio, teach weekly classes, direct professional and student troupes, travel around the country and Canada teaching workshops and have written many articles as well as published Jareeda for 16 years.  I'm currently writing a book about my experiences. I also have a background in writing, and my first publishing gig was my college creative writing magazine.

Why do you continue year after year – or in other words, what is it that motivates you to continue?

I think what keeps me doing this year after year besides the love of the dance is the wonderful people I meet through Jareeda.  I have wonderful staff writers and subscribers, and there is always something new to learn or someone new to meet, which keeps my life interesting and fun.

Are you a Local Publication?  Regional?  National?  International?

Jareeda is an international publication with subscribers in a couple of dozen countries. 

Were you a dancer prior to your publication?  How long and what was/is your involvement in ME Dance Arts?

I actually began dancing about the same time Jareeda was conceived.

Did you have previous publishing experience before your publication?

I did have previous publishing experience, as I mentioned earlier.  I was the publisher for my college creative writing magazine and learned to deal with writers, editing and printers.  Little did I know that I would someday end up publishing a belly dance magazine.

How do you pick your staff writers?

I have picked them in all different ways.  Some I have recruited based on their expertise, and some have been referred to me. Others have applied to be a staff writer.  Jareeda's staff consists of professional dancers, professional writers and journalists all experienced in the field of belly dance.

What do you feel is the “highlight” of your publication?

I feel that the highlight of Jareeda is it's friendly and supportive tone.

What special features do you offer in your magazine?

We have a yearly costume issue and a tribal issue as well as great columns in each issue covering astrology, cooking, reviews, helpful hints and more.

Have you always been in print?  Do you offer the same information online?

Jareeda has always been in print, and the information is not offered online.  Our website does have some great articles from past issues, but we are a hard copy magazine that you can read in a bubble bath, or anywhere else.

Have you considered going to online?

I haven't considered going online.  I personally love holding magazines and books in my hands and like having them to refer to or haul camping with me or read while lying in bed.  I guess I'm pretty old fashioned that way.  I love print matter in my hands.

What is the cost for your publication’s subscription and how many issues do you print throughout the year?  Do you have specialty issues?

Our subscription rate is $31, and we have six issues a year including costume and tribal issues.

Is there anything else you would like to add that hasn’t been covered - - anything else that you feel is relevant?

I'd like people to know that their article submissions are always welcome at Jareeda. They don't need to worry about spelling or grammar because that's something we can fix.  Their ideas and inspirations are what's important.  So many people think about writing an article but don't follow through, but I would like to encourage them to take that leap and send something to us and include a photo.

Each person is unique in their experience of the dance, and Jareeda is always looking for articles about people's experience with the dance from costuming ideas and construction to the transformative power of the dance and the changes it has created in lives. 

Jareeda is always looking for cover dancers as well as spotlight dancers, which offers a great opportunity for self-promotion or the promotion of your teacher, troupe or friends.  Tell the world about your experiences in belly dance.  We want to hear about it!

Publishers Bio:

Mezdulene is passionate about Middle Eastern Dance, and she has been performing and teaching for over 28 years.  She has taken classes and seminars with dozens of nationally and internationally known instructors and performed hundreds of times in concerts, nightclubs, nursing homes, festivals and benefits. She has won many competitions in the professional, troupe and specialty categories.

Her performance highlight was a dance tour through Egypt where she danced in several nightclubs in Cairo and Luxor.  She owns Mystical Oasis Dance Studio, teaches weekly classes, travels the country teaching workshops, directs a troupe and student troupe, publishes Jareeda Magazine, sponsors Belly Dancer USA and Mezdulene's Annual Belly Dance Retreat.

Mezdulene teaches from the heart and soul. She goes beyond technique to the core of the dance, helping students express their own individual essence.  She believes that belly dance is the most creative and expressive dance form, giving us a unique and feminine outlet for personal expression. She loves watching her students blossom, gaining not only a new skill but also self-confidence, poise and pride in their own femininity.  

Mezdulene is also an ordained minister and Reiki master and owns Mezdulene's Oasis a rock and gem store in Sutherlin, Oregon.  She is the mother and grandmother, and her life is multi-faceted and rewarding.

Halima

When did you begin publishing your magazine/newsletter?

I believe it was in 1989 that I became editor of Jareeda.  Before that I had been an officer and editor of MED&CA out of Oregon.  When I became involved with Jareeda was when Chris Gowen aka Zeeta had a group called AMEDA "American Middle Eastern Dance Association"; they had taken over Jareeda and I was a member of the group and became the editor.  When AMEDA disbanded I took over ownership of Jareeda. 

HALIMA

Why did/do you do it?

I loved Jareeda and still do.  On a personal level it kept me in touch and up to date with what was going on in the world of belly dance both on local, national and international basis.  It was a challenge and I love challenges and I felt like I had something on a personal level to offer the dance world also.  I wanted to see Jareeda grow and become a real magazine.  It started out as a newsletter and I became to put it magazine form.

What do you feel is the criteria for a publisher in our business and what are your own credentials?

Dedication and a lot of patience.  The realization that you have to put a lot of hard work into the job, and you have to be extremely diplomatic.  I list those first because I don't care how much your skills are in typing, layout, proofreading, etc. are, without the above you are not going to make it.  Also awareness that growth is a process and you may not always be able to make the changes you want right away.  You also need the ability to interact with all types of people and different styles of dance and sometimes you have to leave your own preferences in the background to provide the overall information that the readers will need.

Why do/did you continue year after year - or in other words, what is it that motivates you to continue?

For me there were so many things.  The love of Middle Eastern dance and wanting to see it reach as far as it could was one of my motivating factors.  Also to see it grow under my administration brought a great sense of accomplishment and pride.  I have to say also that there was personal satisfaction in having people recognize who I was, I wouldn't be human if that didn't make me feel good.  Also it broadened my scope in dance and was definitely a growing experience for me.  I met so many interesting people and learned so much from all of them.

Are/were you a Local Publication?  Regional?  National?  International?

All of the above

Were you a dancer prior to your publication?  How long and what was/is your involvement in ME Dance Arts?

Yes, I was a teacher/performer, workshop instructor, costume designer and business owner, prior office and editor of MED&CA Magazine from Oregon.  I also turned MED&CA into a Magazine format. I was involved in Middle Eastern dance for about 14 years when I took over Jareeda.

Did you have previous publishing experience before your publication?

No, which was very scary.  Roy Petit did the actual lay out at the time.  I gathered the information, typed it and sent to him.  He did the lay out, sent the master back to me, I had it printed and did all the sorting and getting it ready for bulk mailing.

How do you pick your staff writers?

I invited people from different areas and dance background to be staff.  I wanted article input to come from all over so we could stay on top of what was happening in dance all over the world.

What do you feel is the "highlight" of your publication?

I loved the fact that we presented articles on different cultures, origins of dance and articles on choreography and how to use the stage.  I started the first costume issue, which is still one of my favorites.  I also loved Spotlight which featured a different upcoming performer.  I loved the Jareeda Cookbook; okay I just loved the whole magazine. Jareeda at that time was also a 36 to 40-page magazine.  Jareeda also had one of the best calendar listings around. And we introduced the first glossy cover to Jareeda.

What special features do/did you offer in your magazine?

In addition to the above we also had an annual Beauty Issue where we could talk about anything from make-up, hair to putting together a costume for different body styles.  I also started Karavan Klips for the review section.  I also introduced using different performers on the cover.  Before we always had some wonderful pictures of different dance things, but I wanted to see performers highlighted as well.

Have you always been in print?  Do you offer the same information online?  Have you considered going to online?

I had considered going online but that was not to be for me.

What is the cost for your publication's subscription and how many issues do you print throughout the year?  Do you have specialty issues?

I printed 12 issues a year.  At the time the cost was $19.50 for Washington because of our sales tax, $18.00 for United States, $25.00 for Canada and $36.00 for foreign.

If you are published outside of the US, what language/s do you publish in?

It was all published in English

Is there anything else you would like to add that hasn't been covered - - anything else that you feel is relevant?

There came a time when Roy could no longer do the layout for Jareeda and I took on a partner Diana Saludares aka: Nadivah.  Because we always wanted Jareeda to get out on time, we took a four-hour crash course on the Ventura publishing program.  Talk about scared and stressed, lol because Jareeda was now totally in our hands.  Also I met a wonderful person named Laura Cyr aka Arzina who worked In bulk mailing at the post office "yes prayers do get answered" and she would come over every month and help me sort and get Jareeda ready for mailing.  Up until then I had been doing it on my own.

I would suggest to anyone that is considering doing a publication to talk to people that have done them and gain as much knowledge as you can.  It may look easy, but believe me there is so much more to it than you can possibly imagine.  Also it has to be a labor of love because for awhile, you are not going to make any money.  That comes with time and a lot of hard work.