On July 1, Tim Snyder will take over as editor-in-chief of Woodcraft Magazine, a successful woodworking publication owned by Woodcraft Supply. Jim Harrold is retiring as editor after eight years during which the 10-year-old publication built a 110,000-plus subscriber base and added woodworking plans and books to its business.
Snyder has served as executive editor of American Woodworker and Fine Homebuilding magazines, as a book division editor at the Taunton Press, and as co-author with Norm Abrams of two New YankeeWorkshop books. Recently Snyder has built a reputation as a freelance writer for national home improvement and home repair franchises such as DrEnergySaver.com, ContractorNation.com, and BasementSystems.com. He has also worked as a finish carpenter and completed major home renovation projects with his wife Barbara. The Snyders live in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
“We are very excited about Tim coming on board,” publisher Gary Lombard said. “We feel his professional background equips him to provide strong editorial leadership that will ensure continuing quality and growth for Woodcraft Magazine.”
When the editor-in-chief position became available, Snyder said he was interested as a Woodcraft Magazine reader and longtime Woodcraft customer, but what really attracted him was the opportunity to work again with senior editors Joe Hurst-Wajsczcuk and Paul Anthony. The three men worked together at American Woodworker several years ago. “These guys are good buddies of mine, and I know they are really devoted to quality woodworking and innovative magazine journalism,” Snyder said.
Directing a major woodworking publication today will offer different challenges than Snyder encountered in his previous editorial roles, he said. “These days publishing needs to take place across multiple platforms. In the past a website did not play as big a role as it does today,” Snyder said. “Today it is very, very important for a magazine to exist online with its own website and its own social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). We are working on a new website for the magazine right now, which is going to make a big difference to existing and future subscribers. It will be more interactive. It will have more content, and the content will be searchable. We expect the new website to launch by the end of the summer.”
Snyder also envisions changes in Woodcraft Magazine: “I think the magazine is going to be more visual. We’ll have more photos and less text, and we are going to continue to have really great projects, especially projects that will attract new and younger woodworkers.” Snyder said he will also be recruiting additional authors.
When Harrold became editor in 2007, he completely changed the two-and-half-year-old magazine’s format. “My main mission was to turn the magazine around and create a publication that matched the woodworking audience’s needs – a magazine containing great projects for the home and family while providing techniques that helped the reader learn something new in every issue to further his or her skills,” Harrold said. “In addition, I wanted to feature of a variety of great products to help woodworkers work smarter, faster, and safer.”
With the magazine creating a continuous supply of techniques and projects, Harrold said he moved forward to create Classic® Project Plans and Classic® Shop Plans, both based on the magazine’s content. “After that we began gathering related magazine content for special interest publications,” Harrold said. “To date four books have been published about building wooden boxes, workshop setup, workshop storage, and workshop jigs and fixtures, and more books are in the works.”
Also during Harrold’s eight-year tenure, Woodcraft Magazine became available in a digital format, a CD of the first five years of magazine content was released, and circulation quadrupled.
“I feel good about the product. It is one of the best woodworking magazines out there,” Harrold said. “And I feel especially good about Tim Snyder taking over the editorial direction.”
Harrold said he wants to continue his ties with the magazine and Woodcraft, possibly through freelance work, but first he plans to take two months off to rest at his home in Iowa and to work on transforming his home in Hawaii into a part-time rental.
Best wishes, Jim, and welcome aboard, Tim!
