Difficult Times For SF Magazines 218
Lawrence Person writes "Another speculative fiction magazine folds: Realms of Fantasy is ceasing publication. This comes hot on the heels of the announcement that the venerable Fantasy and Science Fiction will be moving from a monthly to a bimonthly schedule, and underscores what a tough environment this is for science fiction and fantasy magazines, all of which have suffered declining circulation for quite some time. This is a real problem, since short fiction is generally where new writers cut their teeth, appearing in print alongside their more famous peers. Given that a one-year subscription costs less than the average video game, those with an interest in science fiction might want to consider buying subscriptions to Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Analog. (Those in the UK might want to add Interzone and/or Black Static and Postscripts as well.)"
these things still exist? (Score:4, Informative)
i thought they died out in the 60s
Re:Online uptake? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Online uptake? (Score:5, Informative)
Or Jim Baen's Universe [baens-universe.com], a darned fine science-fiction and fantasy magazine published in electronic format only.
I subscribe to four SF Magazines Electronically (Score:5, Informative)
Jim Baen's Universe - http://www.baens-universe.com/ [baens-universe.com]
Always been electronic, and I'll keep this subscription going as long as I'm breathing.
Worth every penny of what they charge and there are membership bonuses. Some of the
best short fiction I can find comes out of this shop.
Fictionwise - www.fictionwise.com Carries Analog, Asimov's and F&SF. I've had
subscriptions to all three since 2000 and intend to continue them until either they
or I fold.
Print may be dead, but these guys publish zero-DRM and I can stuff them into my Palm and
go. That was the approach that got me back into reading science fiction.
Re:Which to get? (Score:1, Informative)
I prefer Asimov's. It has a good mix of interesting sci fi. Analog isn't so different, but the editor (Stanley Schmidt) is a real blow hard and his editorials and response to reader questions are unbearable. Asimov's has more even (though rarely great) editorials, and has Robert Silverberg's monthly column on random stuff, which is often fun.
Realms of Fantasy kind of sucks (Score:3, Informative)
I really don't mean to be a troll with this. But I wanted to read RoF in order to see what kind of short stories were being published, and so I subscribed for a year.
Most of the story content during the year I subscribed came across as snooty/snobby artsy fartsy junk fantasy. At least as far as I can recall. I have like, zero standards when it comes to reading science fiction/fantasy so long as I can pronounce the character names without needing a guide, and this stuff turned me off. Seriously, I went through a phase where fantasy stories were like crack, and these guys couldn't publish one story in a year that made me feel like the subscription was worth it.
Maybe some of their problem comes from the fact a bunch of people didn't like the content? Content is everywhere. If you want someone to pay for content, it has to be more entertaining or valuable than they can get for free. I can get snooty art fantasy all I want at deviantart for free.
Intergalactic Medicine Show (Score:2, Informative)
Orson Scott Card publishes a great, DRM-free, electronic-only magazine called Intergalactic Medicine Show [intergalac...neshow.com]. They don't publish on a set schedule, so you can't buy a subscription, but you can sign up (for free) to have them email you every time a new issue comes out.
One of the nice things about their lack of schedule is that they don't have any pressure to "fill" an issue and get it to press on time: they collect good stories as they come along, until an issue is truly ready.
Another aspect of this medium which is a bit of a mixed blessing: no page limits. They don't have to cut stories down to size to get them to "fit," which means that they don't have to sacrifice any part of the story. Unfortunately, it also means that they can be less disciplined about their wordiness.
Re:A real problem? (Score:3, Informative)
I don't know of any place on the Internet where an author can get paid for a science fiction story.
At pro rates (ie, SFWA qualifying), there's Jim Baen's Universe and Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. There are a few others around (eg, Raygun Revival) that pay quite a bit less than pro rates. (And even pro fiction rates are far, far below typical non-fiction rates. Back when, Byte magazine paid me for an article the better part of an advance on a first novel, and that's not too atypical.)
But the exposure on the internet fiction sites is far below what the magazines, even in these days of declining circulation, can give. And you can pick up a magazine years later and 'discover' an author you hadn't read before, but internet stories are (often) evanescent.
Re:I subscribe to four SF Magazines Electronically (Score:5, Informative)
Did you go to www.fictionwise.com?
The entry on Analog's April 2009 issue reads:
Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [1.1 MB], Adobe Acrobat - Large Print (PDF) [1.2 MB], eReader (PDB) [310 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [230 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [251 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [813 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [263 KB], hiebook (KML) [1.2 MB], Sony Reader (LRF) [985 KB], iSilo (PDB) [207 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [547 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [601 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [390 KB]
That enough formats for you? Note, Multiformat == Zero DRM.
Re:A real problem? (Score:4, Informative)
RoF deserved to fail (Score:2, Informative)
The problem with this story? RoF deserved to fail years ago. Shawna McCarthy and friends have been publishing the most unimaginative, lame-footed fantasy and milquetoast editorials in the business and made the entire genre look like guilty pleasure mush for middle aged women. Even the barest acknowledgment of slipstream fiction, edgier urban fantasy, or anything genre-bending in the way that moves things forward would have saved them. It has nothing to do with "print is dead" -- it has everything to do with being out of touch with the larger audience.
But, alas, now they're taking down a full-color glossy with street cred. Writers will suffer, regardless of what business model emerges.
Re:Science Fiction? (Score:2, Informative)
Sean [seanwilliams.com] Williams [wikipedia.org].
(Then of course, there's Peter Hamilton, Vernor Vinge, Stephen Baxter, Iain M. Banks...)
Actually (Score:3, Informative)
The entire magazine distribution system in the United States is about to crumble. Two of the major wholesalers/distributors..Source and Anderson..have decided to up their rates to cover costs. Since they never upped their rates before, like most other companies.
Now the publishers, for the most part, are telling them to go fuck themselves.
Expect to see a major disruption and change in the way all magazines are handled in the US.
Re:Online uptake? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Which to get? (Score:1, Informative)
Of the three, Asimov's has the most high quality stories, they're character-driven, and the scientific accuracy is at times lacking, but overall they're probably the best. The only downside to Asimov's is that they publish "poetry" which is sometimes funny, but not generally very interesting (but at least it only takes half a page or at most 1 page per poem) Analog is also pretty high quality, if you're looking for harder sci-fi with more accurate "sci" go for them. F&SF is pretty much crap, I think the one thing in it's favor is that it's printed on higher quality paper with a stronger binding (which is difficult to fold over if you want to hold your mag one-handed), F&SF is too much fantasy, not enough SF, and way too many thriller/suspense/supernatural horror (or "urban fantasy") along with tripe like Stephen King. Analog and Asimovs are both published by the same company, each have ten issues a year (each has two "double" issues which usually have a bit more longer form short fiction than a normal issue), F&SF is currently monthly I believe, but will be going every other month this spring.
If you're not sure, drop into a bookstore and pick up one of each, also the subscription cards inside the newstand copies have much lower rates than you'll find online (my asimov's sub was 20ish bucks, or $2 per issue, newsstand price is 5 per or 7 for the double issues), online sub prices are 35ish bucks (that is the price they quote on their websites for delivery of the actual physical mag, no idea what the sub price for the ebook versions are)