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Lear is a manic-depressive and reports she is on lithium to control the condition. But she does not blame her disorder for the magazine's stormy evolution. "In the beginning, there was a lack of experience on my part," she concedes. "It was difficult for me to make important decisions." ^ According to several on the 35-member staff, she settled down as the magazine neared takeoff. Initially a bimonthly with a 200,000 circulation, it is supposed to go monthly by 1990 and ultimately grow to 1 million subscribers. Can it? Executive Vice President Marc Liu reports that direct-mail solicitations have brought a high 5% return rate. The first issue contains 77 pages of paid advertising, including such blue chips as Cadillac, BMW and Volvo. And, of course, there are the current census projections: by 1990, more adult women will be over 40 than under. Says George Hunt, ad manager for Chrysler: "They've got it all together for the over-35, upscale woman."
Lear believes she has barely begun, with the magazine and with what she considers the start of the second half of her life. She is already considering expanding into retailing. "These women require different services: makeup, clothing," she says. "I would like to be the guru for women over 40." So far, she has the field to herself.