In late '92/early '93 I left corporate America behind to edit and publish the paintball industry's first publication devoted exclusively to the retail end of the business. I'd saved 6+ months worth of living expenses because the deal on the mag was - no salary but 50% of the advertising revenue - after expenses.

I figured no problem, since I was allowed to pay myself for articles. Unfortunately, the money men behind the deal (best distribution in the industry) delayed the start of the project for 6 months. I persevered through the production of issue 2 and the gathering of materials for issue 3 and then had to ask for some cash. The publishers pulled the plug, stating that the magazine wasn't making any money from ad revenue yet. (Two issues and they were looking for a profit!)

I managed to get by for a few more months while I self-published a book about paintball, wrote some more articles and picked up some marketing & promotion clients.