Interview with Leah Larson

Leah Larson wished there was a magazine that reflected her. Now, hundreds of Jewish girls have her to thank for YALDAH Magazine.

Q. How long have you known you wanted to start a magazine?
A. At least two years before I started working on it but probably longer. I really wished that there WAS a magazine like YALDAH, not specifically that I would be the one to start it!

Q. Do you think as the magazine grows, you'll print more frequently than you do now?
A. I hope so. I've gotten lots of requests to do that, but at this point we just don't have the staff to get out issues more frequently.

Q. You must have to work a lot. How do you find the time to do everything? Do you ever get stressed out and feel like you want to take a break from it all?
A. I do work a lot, but since this is my dream and it's what I enjoy doing it doesn't really bother me. Usually if I am stressed out because I have so much to do, I never wish that I didn't do the magazine. For example, if I have to clean my room and study for a math test and edit an article, I would get frustrated that I had to clean my room and study, not that I had to edit the article :-). I'm learning to delegate to other people so that I'm not doing all the work

Q. Where do you see yourself in the future, as far as the publishing business?
A. I hope to continue YALDAH, to become a larger magazine, as well as possible expanding to include books, games, or clothing for Jewish girls.

Q. Was it hard coming up with the money and the staff to do YALDAH?
A. The money was hard and it took me longer than I expected to get it. After I got the initial money through ads in the first issue, I had money from selling those copies that could go to printing the next copies, and then the money from those to print the next copies....still, there are a lot of other expenses like postage, office supplies, software, and web hosting that we have to cover, so for every issue we have to get new ads. It took me a while to admit that I did need a staff and that I couldn't do the whole magazine by myself, and fortunately, girls were very eager to help so that hasn't been too hard.

Q. How did you think of the name for the magazine?
A. Yaldah means "girl" in Hebrew so that was a natural name. That was actually going to be a temporary name, but we tried out lots of other names, and Yaldah seemed to fit best.

Q. Do you like the way your magazine is now, or do you plan on adding more features to it?
A. Of course I like how the magazine is now, but I have lots of plans to make it better. We would definitely like to add new features, and maybe make it come out more frequently--but, like I said, I just don't have the staff to get the issues out more quickly

Q. How long do you think you will be running the magazine?
A. I really hope that YALDAH can grow to a large magazine and continue for...a while! Hopefully though, when I'm older, I can oversee the magazine without being as directly involved so I can give time to raising a family.

Q. Your magazine is similar to American Girl, but the Jewish version. Sort of like Jewish Girl. Did they inspire you to do your magazine?
A. I wouldn't say they inspired me, but when I was thinking of making a magazine, American Girl was sort of the model I followed. I looked at what types of features they had, etc. We also have a similar target age, so yes, YALDAH is a bit like a Jewish American Girl.

Q. Do you want to do a version for older girls, that is less sugar coated, in the future?
A. I would like to do an older version for girls maybe ages 14-18 or something like that, but that won't be for a while. I don't know if it would specifically be 'less sugar coated' but younger girls and older girls have different interests and issues, so a magazine for older girls would address what older girls are interested in.

Q. What do young girls need to know about getting into the publishing business?
A. I could write pages and pages of tips, but I think mainly they should know that like with anything it probably will be frustrating at times and there will be bumps and obstacles in the road, but they should be persistent and not give up. That will get you far not only in publishing, but in life. Also remember that there are other modes of publishing like newsletters, web sites, or blogs, if a magazine seems like too much to take on.

Q. Do you see yourself in a professional office years from now, running the whole thing, as a business woman, or is this just something you do on the side, and would like a different career in the future?
A. I do see myself involved in the magazine in the future, but I would hope that I have people working under me so that I am not as directly involved as I am now. As much as I love and am devoted to YALDAH, I want my primary role to be raising my family and being a mother and a wife.