First off – THANK YOU! We consider Nightingale magazine to be a community celebration and we can never thank you enough for your support and collaboration!
Over the last four years, Nightingale magazine has gone from a blog on Medium, to a standalone digital publication, to a print magazine. There has been a lot that changed behind the scenes over the years and we recognize you have had to navigate those changes. Again—thank you!
Today we are excited to share what we think is a substantial upgrade in how we can offer you better customer service as well as a plan for growth.
As of today, we have a new webshop which should make ordering past and future copies much easier to navigate. You will be able to track your orders, and can manage your account yourself! Check it out:
With the new shop, there are a few adjustments to catch you up on! Here’s an update to our FAQ which is also located directly on the new shop. We recognize there are some new ideas in here, so please let us know what you think!
How do I purchase Nightingale?
EASY! If you’d like to order a single issue, you can do so by selecting the issue of your choice in our list of featured products. Or—even better—you can purchase an annual subscription, which will get you two issues a year. Subscription options are available on the page featuring our latest issue. (Issue 3 is our latest issue. Subscribe now, and you will receive Issue 3 and Issue 4.)
There are several benefits to subscribing. First, you will receive a discount (and who doesn’t like discounts!). Also, as a subscriber, you will have access to your customer account via your username and password and can easily update your shipping address, billing information, and subscription status.
Please note: This shop is not linked with your Data Visualization Society membership account. Please create a separate customer account if you are a DVS member.
How do I know if I am currently subscribed to Issue 3?
Since we are changing our subscription platform, we have notified all current and previous subscribers to confirm their subscription status. (Check your inbox and spam box for an email from nightingale@datavisualizationsociety.org! We appreciate your continued support!) Everyone who previously bought Issues 3 and/or 4 received an email to create an account in our new Shopify system, with a unique discount code to ensure you get what you have already paid for. If you’re still unsure—email us!
How do I change my shipping or billing information?
Subscribers have access to their account via username and password. They can update shipping addresses, billing information, and subscription status at any time. Subscribers will also receive an email before each issue ships reminding them to check their mail delivery address before our processing deadline.
Unfortunately, because orders are fulfilled almost immediately, there is no way to change a shipping address once an order has been processed. Single-issue buyers should therefore double check their shipping address before making a purchase while subscribers should do so before our processing deadline.
Why did prices increase with Issue 3?
The prices that you see for Issue 3 reflect the true cost of producing a high-quality, graphics-driven magazine. As a non-profit organization, the Data Visualization Society (DVS) seeks to set prices at a level that covers its costs.
When Nightingale launched, the content was a mix of old (previously published) and new material. Since then, Nightingale has dedicated itself to creating more high-quality original content, and this brings increased costs. The costs of international shipping have also proven to be significant, particularly as supply chain issues drove up costs dramatically in 2022, despite the DVS’s commitment to streamlining operations and logistics. Furthermore, we encountered many unexpected costs associated with launching a magazine (e.g., establishing a new subscription platform that provides a simpler and more transparent customer experience), and we’ve had to adjust the price accordingly to account for that overhead.
Moving forward, we are dedicated to streamlining our operations to keep costs as low as possible while continuing to deliver the high-quality content our readers have come to expect. Certainly, the excitement from our community feels like a validation of this push toward the highest levels of quality. We would love to feature select advertisements in the future to offset these costs, and we will be actively seeking sales opportunities from agencies, start-ups, or larger businesses to secure sponsorships for Issue 4. Although we know that readers appreciate an ad-free experience, it comes at a premium.
How has the Nightingale team prepared for the future?
In the months leading up to Issue 3, Nightingale management worked hard to reevaluate every aspect of our production process—from printing and customer tracking to packaging and shipping—in order to cut costs. As a part of that effort, we switched printers and fulfillment partners, which will help manage our costs today and going forward. However, we’re also more aware of unexpected costs that can come up, including, for instance, the increasing prices for materials and shipping that are impacted by markets beyond our control.
Nightingale is not a profit-driven publication. We operate under the charter of the Data Visualization Society, a nonprofit organization. This means we need to be responsible for covering costs and be mindful of our DVS affiliation and mission. We are extremely grateful to the staff and contributors who volunteer hours of their time to make this magazine possible.
Do you want to advertise with us??? Send us an email!
Why do some countries have to pay shipping fees?
After exploring many, many options, our team landed on distributing Nightingale magazine from North America and Poland. This helps us to optimize shipping prices for the thousands of subscribers in dozens of countries around the world that we have shipped to in the past.
We’ve worked to include shipping costs into the subscription price for the majority of our customers. But certain countries have such high shipping costs that we would have had to significantly raise the price for all subscribers in order to cover the high shipping costs of just a few. As a result, some countries do receive a shipping surcharge.
It’s part of the Nightingale mission (and the DVS mission, as a whole) to reach dataviz enthusiasts and practitioners around the globe. This is why we make international shipping available, even if it comes at a price premium for certain locations.
We also offer the digital version of Nightingale magazine to all dues-paying DVS members here: https://www.datavisualizationsociety.org/nightingale-print-digital.
How quickly will the magazine ship? How long will it take to be delivered?
This is one of the changes we are most excited about! With the old system used for Issues 1 and 2, we only shipped magazines once per month—now, orders will be processed almost immediately and shipped within four days (after the magazine prints, which for Issue 3 will be late May)! Shipping timelines from the warehouse to your mailbox vary by your location. Delivery to most of the U.S. should take less than one week. To check the status of your order, log into your customer account.
Can I order in bulk for my organization, class, library, etc.?
Yes! For a price quote for orders of six or more copies please email us at: nightingale@datavisualizationsociety.org
How can I read the digital, PDF version of the magazine?
Digital magazine access is available to dues-paying members of the Data Visualization Society. Log into the Member Portal to read it here: https://www.datavisualizationsociety.org/nightingale-print-digital
My magazine never arrived, or it arrived damaged. What can I do?
First, log into your customer account to ensure that your order shipped. Unfortunately, as a small, volunteer-run non-profit, we are not able to keep much extra inventory on hand and so are generally not able to send replacement copies. We will ship your magazine to the address you provide at the time of payment (or at our processing deadline, for subscribers). We have upgraded our fulfillment systems so that magazines should arrive in good condition. However, we are not responsible for incorrect addresses, lost or delayed mail, or damage during shipping. Thank you for understanding.
AND AS ALWAYS: If you need us for anything – SEND US AN EMAIL!
Nightingale Editors
Our Nightingale editorial team currently consists of Alejandra Arevalo, William Careri, Jason Forrest, Elijah Meeks, and Teo Popescu. Reach us at Nightingale(at)Datavisualizationsociety.org
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