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-2- a test of 5000 from Mother Jones. Each list will be coded so that we'll be able to see where we get the best returns for future mailings. From now on we'll sending out mailings twice each year, in December and July. We are also beginning our renewal campaign which will be accompanied by a program we call "Friend Get a Friend." Each Subscriber who renews will get a thank you note plus two self mailing brochures which they can send to two friends they think might like to subscribe to Chrysalis. Then we are planning to test out an idea for getting subscriptions through women's studies courses on campuses. We will be selecting 500 women's studies teachers at random and asking them to pass out Chrysalis brochures in their classes. If the return seems worth is, we will launch this program on a large scale in the spring of 1979. All of these plans would not be possible without the crucial addition to our staff of Alana Probst, a former director of the Oakland Feminist Women's Health Center who has taken efficient and competant charge of Chrysalis promotion. Also, after a regrettable two month absence when necessity forced me to take outside employment -- at Hughes Aircraft -- I am now back at the magazine full-time on salary. And we have four excellent assistants who are handling the mail and circulation maintenance as well as some editorial work. So, the personnel situation, which has been the biggest obstacle to efficiency, is definitely looking up. Certainly one of the most exciting pieces of news is the benefit poetry reading that is being coordinated by Honor Moore and our other friends in New York. With June Jordan, Kate Ellis, Ntozake Shange, Audre Lorde, Robin Morgan, Adrienne Rich, Honor, and others participating, our hearts are breaking that we can't be there too to be part of this incredible event. The money raised will come just at the time we most need it to cover the expenses of our 4th issue ($7000) and our direct mail campaign ($12,000). It is also an enormous boost to our sometimes wilting spirits to know of the support our friends are willing to put behind us. It is no exaggeration to say that we could not manage to publish this magazine without the back up all of you have given us throughout the life of Chrysalis. We are now planning a party to take place around the middle of January which will be to celebrate our first year (issue 4 will be out by then) and to involve others who are potential supporters -- financial and otherwise. We are particularly hoping to enlist the backing of people in the entertainment industry out here. Peggy Kimball, our copy editor/proof reader, has already donated the wine -- three cases of assorted bottles, each inscribed with a congratulatory message; Joanne Mandel, the first of our charter investors, has kicked in for hors d'oeuvres and flowers. We plan to give a presentation about the magazine, including our vision and goals, marketing plans, and financial information. We are preparing a revised prospectus that will include our computer print-outs and xeroxes of the terrific reviews we've been getting in Library Journal, MS, the St. Louis Literary Supplement, etc., as well as write-ups on our staff and a general description of our magazine. This will be available to those who want more information to take away with them. Of course, we wish that all of you could join us in this celebration. You'll be receiving invitations as soon as the date is fixed, and those of you who are within range (e.g., the Bay area), we count on you to be there. I think I've now exhausted all the topics I wanted to fill you in on. In the future, I hope to be able to keep up communication on a more regular basis. We certainly depend on the feedback/ideas/criticism, etc. we get from you, and I hope that this letter will begin to make up for all of the tremendous appreciation we feel for your efforts that has previously gone unexpressed. Very best, Kirsten Kirsten Grimstad
