Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | spring 2006

SPRING 2006
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Roy Reiman: I could write a book

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ROY REIMAN: 'I COULD WRITE A BOOK'

“It all started with a Royal typewriter on a TV tray in the basement of the Reiman family home. Today one of every 10 homes in America subscribes to at least one Reiman Publications magazine.”

That’s the introduction to a new book by Roy Reiman (’57 ag journalism). In I Could Write a Book, an autobiography that’s chock-full of Iowa State anecdotes, Reiman tells the behind-the-scenes story of his company, Reiman Publications, which was built on “wild ideas” and became a publishing empire that sold for $760 million.

The following is an excerpt from an early chapter of the book, in which Reiman recalls his struggle about what career path to follow:

***

I nearly became a veterinarian. I was wrestling with a lot that summer between my sophomore and junior years. I enjoyed the creative challenge of coming up with ideas for promotional ventures, but one thing kept bothering me:

If I continued in journalism, it was likely I would end up in some big city, because that’s where the good-paying jobs were. That didn’t appeal to me; I was still a country boy at heart and had no desire to locate in some large, urban area.

The more I thought about it, the more I concluded I was on the wrong path in pursuing a journalism degree. And that’s when I started thinking about switching to veterinary medicine. I’d always liked working with livestock, I had good grades, and Iowa State was one of the pre-eminent vet schools in the nation.

So shortly after the fall session started, I met with my counselor, Harry Heath, a journalism professor, and told him my plan to switch to pre-vet. He threw a small fit! He wouldn’t hear of it; he contended I had writing talent and great potential if I stuck with journalism.

Then he did something that had long-lasting effects: He set up a series of courses that were required in both journalism and pre-vet, so I would have the fall semester to think about my decision without losing any credits.

And, knowing how financially challenged I’d been up to then, he suggested I take one senior course in “Magazine Freelance Writing.” He explained how
this would provide me with extra income if I succeeded in selling any articles, as well as give me a better idea of whether I “had what it takes” to write at that level.

I went along with his recommendations. The first day in this senior course I learned that our grade was based primarily in whether we were able to sell articles to off-campus publications. If we succeeded in selling three articles during the course, we received three hours of “A;” if we sold five articles, we got five hours of “A,” which was as good as it could get.

Three weeks into the course, I sold my first article to Hoard’s Dairyman. And the success kept coming. ... By the end of that course, I had sold 27
articles to various publications and picked up five hours of “A.” I never gave another thought to veterinary medicine.

To order Reiman’s book, go to www.isualum.org/store/ or call toll-free 1-877-ISU-ALUM.