Want to be at the helm of the next Vogue, Car and Driver, Field & Stream or Entrepreneur magazine? There's nothing like the exquisite joy of seeing your name on a newsstand, especially if you're the publisher of a magazine that covers your favorite subject—whether it's music, shopping, collecting or world issues.

Though the magazine industry is not easy to be in, it's definitely an exciting ride. Even with all the challenges of the magazine world, the number of titles continues to grow. According to data from the National Directory of Magazines, there were 17,254 consumer magazines in the United States in 2003—up from 14,302 a decade earlier. And though much of the market is dominated by a few large players, there's still room for the independent starup.