Whitechapel - Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla & Feed Publisher Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290605#Comment_290605 2011-04-14T12:19:30-07:00 2011-04-14T14:17:57-07:00 buhbuhcuh http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=10234 There is an opportunity for speculative fiction magazines in Ebooks, and as far as I can see, no one is taking advantage of it. The great Sci-Fi and Fantasy Magazines of yore are slowly but ...
The great Sci-Fi and Fantasy Magazines of yore are slowly but surely dying off as subscription numbers drop and newsstand sales plummet. At the same time, inexpensive eBooks are taking off, as Kindle and Nook have hit critical mass, and "the right price" is being found.

I think a magazine priced at $0.99 / 60p for a monthly collection of quality short fiction would be successful.

The eInk greyscale display is not ideal for a lot of magazines - usually a format that uses a lot of illustration, but it would work really well for a magazine that publishes short fiction.

Asimov's and Analog are currently publishing monthly eBooks to Kindle, but they are priced at $2.99/mo - more expensive than the paper magazines! Now, I don't know the particulars of those publication's costs - but printing ink on paper and mailing physical copies around the world has to cost more than publishing to Kindle.

Also, there is no reason that you couldn't sell back issues - again, it's not a matter of publishing physical copies, you don't need to worry about the logistics that make carrying back issues so cumbersome, and fiction often ages well.

Is anyone doing this? I've looked through the 91 magazines on the Kindle store, and I don't see anyone besides the examples above - which, as far as I can tell, means there is a wide open market. I mean, think about it - these people are reading books using Electronic Ink - how sci-fi is that?

If I don't see it happen in the next 3 months, I'll take out a second mortgage on the family cat, and give it a shot.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290612#Comment_290612 2011-04-14T13:14:21-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 ASIMOVs and ANALOG print for relative pennies. I believe the print editions are $3.99, and only get cheaper by subscription. Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290619#Comment_290619 2011-04-14T13:52:07-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 RobSpalding http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=647 Asimov's for UK kindle is £1.99 a month. Which is really cheap considering that the last time I bought a comic from Marvel or DC is was over £2 for 22 pages. Plus the last issue was a double and ... Plus the last issue was a double and had a load of content in. I think it's a fair price for what we get.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290620#Comment_290620 2011-04-14T13:55:02-07:00 2011-04-15T08:48:24-07:00 Will Ellwood http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2556 I believe that I have written about this before. There are a few. Clarkesworld do an ebook version IIRC. There's some other more general fiction magazines as well. Electric Literature is one good ... I believe that I have written about this before.

There are a few. Clarkesworld do an ebook version IIRC. There's some other more general fiction magazines as well. Electric Literature is one good example. (I like their business model as well.) It isn't as simple case of saying there's a market so let's produce a magazine for it. For example, Salon Futura, a non-fiction magazine about science fiction, recently announced that it's stopping publication because no one's buying issues of it and it isn't sustaining itself.

See also the fact that Alan Moore's magazine Dodgem Logic is ceasing publication because it isn't sustainable.

There's also all the problems involved which are the same as launching a new independent comic like establishing brand. Also some extra issues such as submissions and editorial policy.

Edit: I do think it a sustainable short fiction magazine is possible. I doubt it'll be just science fiction or just fantasy. It'll be something different. I suspect it'll have to be on par with the Mike Moorcock era of New Worlds in how revolutionary it appears to be if its to have any genuine success.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290623#Comment_290623 2011-04-14T14:17:39-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 buhbuhcuh http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=10234 Hrmm, I guess before this gets too derailed: I agree that it is totally worth the money to subscribe to Asimov's or Analog on an eReader. There is evidence - mostly anecdotal at this point, that a ... eBook success stories

I wrote my first post in a very declaratory voice - I guess I should step back and ask: Is it reasonable to assume that there might be a place for these types of publications in the world of eBooks?

I think that there is, and that there is an opportunity here to expose readers to new authors, make sure those authors get paid, and reverse the trend of the slowly failing short fiction magazine. I also believe that there is room in the market for more than just Asimov's and Analog, that it would be lower risk than a traditional print project, and that there are smart people on these forums that could maybe make it happen.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290628#Comment_290628 2011-04-14T14:46:35-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 "I think that there is, and that there is an opportunity here to expose readers to new authors, make sure those authors get paid, and reverse the trend of the slowly failing short fiction ...
I'm afraid you fall into the trap here that people have been falling into since the anthology was invented:

No-one gives a fuck about new authors.

90% of the audience gives a fuck about being exposed to new authors.

If you're going to run a sf magazine, on any platform, then it needs to be run as a business as well as an ideological tool.

I still believe a short fiction magazine is completely sustainable. I believe it'd work in the NEW WORLDS space -- which in the 80s we called postmodern, in the 90s we called slipstream, and in the 00s was called New Weird and any number of other fucking things.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290630#Comment_290630 2011-04-14T14:48:50-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 (interesting this should come up now, when the "boutique" magazine space is opening up again, with publications from FIRE & KNIVES to PORT getting people talking -- both of which ... Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290631#Comment_290631 2011-04-14T14:52:54-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Ariana http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1 No-one gives a fuck about new authors.Haha, you could also have mentioned the other trap -- that people have been *setting* since the anthology was invented: New authors can very often be ... No-one gives a fuck about new authors.Haha, you could also have mentioned the other trap -- that people have been *setting* since the anthology was invented:

New authors can very often be convinced that getting that magical exposure is worth *not getting paid.*

Which, of course, is why the anthology probably *was* invented.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290632#Comment_290632 2011-04-14T14:57:20-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 RenThing http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=155 New authors can very often be convinced that getting that magical exposure is worth *not getting paid.* I don't know what's more insulting, being offered to be paid fractions of a cent per word ... New authors can very often be convinced that getting that magical exposure is worth *not getting paid.*

I don't know what's more insulting, being offered to be paid fractions of a cent per word (or the anthology that offered to pay $5 for a 3k minimum manuscript) or being fed the "exposure" line.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290633#Comment_290633 2011-04-14T15:00:35-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 One last thought, Ben: you know some magazines bypass the Kindle Store to get their mags on to your Kindle? Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290634#Comment_290634 2011-04-14T15:01:29-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 New authors can very often be convinced that getting that magical exposure is worth *not getting paid.* God, yeah. That too. New authors can very often be convinced that getting that magical exposure is worth *not getting paid.*

God, yeah. That too.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290639#Comment_290639 2011-04-14T15:50:18-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 buhbuhcuh http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=10234 One last thought, Ben: you know some magazines bypass the Kindle Store to get their mags on to your Kindle? I know kindle can read pdf, and a few other eBook formats. I'm not clear on how delivery ... One last thought, Ben: you know some magazines bypass the Kindle Store to get their mags on to your Kindle?

I know kindle can read pdf, and a few other eBook formats. I'm not clear on how delivery works in that case - but I suppose it only costs me $2 to find out!]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290641#Comment_290641 2011-04-14T16:59:58-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 With LOCUS, I buy my subscription through Paypal, and once a month they send me a link to a user/pass locked page, from which I download the Kindle-suitable format to my computer, and then email it ... Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290656#Comment_290656 2011-04-14T20:09:58-07:00 2011-04-15T06:55:31-07:00 city creed http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4530 Magazines as a unit of printed text have passed (gloriously) into the west with Coilhouse. In my humble. "E-book" is a hilariously clumsy neologism for a rudimentary, needlessly ...
"E-book" is a hilariously clumsy neologism for a rudimentary, needlessly atavistic form of media whose potential we haven't really begun to explore.

The whole burst culture idea makes a lot more sense to me as a way to package short SF than any kind of print doc ever will again.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290659#Comment_290659 2011-04-14T20:41:40-07:00 2011-04-14T20:42:10-07:00 Emperor http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1503 Space Squid offer a limited run of their print magazine but you can also download a PDF of the magazine for free. They have had high profile writers contribute stories, like Bruce Sterling and Jay ... Space Squid offer a limited run of their print magazine but you can also download a PDF of the magazine for free. They have had high profile writers contribute stories, like Bruce Sterling and Jay Lake, but also have room for newer writers. You do probably need the big names to go on point and get the readers in, so you can then expose them to up-and-coming writers, but it is also going to be tricky getting those Big Names in if you aren't offering much money.

I do agree that a lower price point would be important for a less established magazine as $0.99 does seem a sweet point for people taking a punt on a title.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290662#Comment_290662 2011-04-14T21:30:01-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 johnnymurdoc http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1238 Lightspeed Magazine is another sci-fi short fiction e-book anthology. It's edited by John Joseph Adams, who seems to be as ubiquitous a sci-fi editor as any other these days, and features new and ... Lightspeed Magazine is another sci-fi short fiction e-book anthology. It's edited by John Joseph Adams, who seems to be as ubiquitous a sci-fi editor as any other these days, and features new and reprint material. They actually post the entire content of each issue online throughout the month, but offer the complete content at the 1st of the month as a 2.99 ebook download.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290688#Comment_290688 2011-04-15T04:17:08-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 clouds of glory http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=7355 I don't think we need anthologies with ebooks or the internet, readers could just download short stories using a micropayments system, or a subscription model. For instance Orbit or someone could ...
Or they just make stories of any length available via their store and readers decide which ones they want to buy thanks to blurbs, reviews, and recomendations or name recognition or whim and pay a given amount (probably graduated depending on length and reputation) for each story.

Also maybe some or all short stories become free to download or access after X amount of time?]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290692#Comment_290692 2011-04-15T04:47:28-07:00 2011-04-15T04:50:43-07:00 Will Ellwood http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2556 None of the magazines suggested are doing anything as remotely cohesive as New Worlds or even Coilhouse, which is putting itself out there with a pretty damn clear set of principles. (Locust is ... Cheap Truth were. There's this piece in Overland about the relationship between politics and the new wave which might offers some perspective on what might have gone missing.

(Orbit are launching their digital story program this month. The major imprints have selected their business models already. It isn't about technology or platforms anymore, its about what they're selling and how their promoting it. That's what will determine their success.)]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290705#Comment_290705 2011-04-15T05:58:26-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 "At best these sites are publishing a selection of short stories that amused the slush readers and editors enough to want to publish them. But they're not editorializing or defining themselves ...
This]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290728#Comment_290728 2011-04-15T08:47:51-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 Let me take another swing at this: speculative fiction magazines in Ebooks... I guess I should step back and ask: Is it reasonable to assume that there might be a place for these types of ...
speculative fiction magazines in Ebooks... I guess I should step back and ask: Is it reasonable to assume that there might be a place for these types of publications in the world of eBooks?

I believe so. Kindle, in fact, tends to evoke for me the earlier days of sf magazine publishing (if not also small press!) due to being text-based, black and white, and only being able to handle relatively simple interior b/w illustration.

iPad and iPhone... that's something else. There are other expectations on those platforms. You could stay inside Kindle For iPhone/iPad, sure -- although I note that my copies of LOCUS don't seem to sync to Kindle For iPhone. (Neither does the TLS, for some reason.) But anything specifically for iOS comes with the expectation that it will sing and dance, not just be a ported PDF. And it is, as I understand it, a fairly serious layout of cash as opposed to making something for Kindle.

I don't think we need anthologies with ebooks or the internet, readers could just download short stories using a micropayments system, or a subscription model. For instance Orbit or someone could have an online short story store which they promise to stick X amount of stories on each month, by X amount of new and established authors and in return I agree to pay X amount monthly to access all content.

So, instead of editorial philosophy and curation, you'd pay a lump sum to have a publisher stick a tube down your throat.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290730#Comment_290730 2011-04-15T09:24:29-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 RenThing http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=155 So, instead of editorial philosophy and curation, you'd pay a lump sum to have a publisher stick a tube down your throat. An apt analogy if all Orbit, in this hypothetical, is doing is just going ... So, instead of editorial philosophy and curation, you'd pay a lump sum to have a publisher stick a tube down your throat.

An apt analogy if all Orbit, in this hypothetical, is doing is just going "Oh, this one, sure, this one for June." but that makes the assumption that Orbit wouldn't put short stories through similar selection processes as print magazines when deciding what to put out there.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290731#Comment_290731 2011-04-15T09:26:29-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Flabyo http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1306 Games Workshop have been experimenting with this with their Black Library imprint. They offer all their new books as epub and mobi downloads now (direct from them, not via Amazon itself), and they ...
They offer all their new books as epub and mobi downloads now (direct from them, not via Amazon itself), and they have a monthly short story anthology delivered only as an ebook that's been going for about 6 months now. They seem to be using it to test new authors out, as well as have shorts from their 'star' writers like Dan Abnett.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290732#Comment_290732 2011-04-15T09:29:01-07:00 2011-04-15T09:30:58-07:00 clouds of glory http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=7355 So, instead of editorial philosophy and curation, you'd pay a lump sum to have a publisher stick a tube down your throat. By "we" I actually meant "the market" or ... So, instead of editorial philosophy and curation, you'd pay a lump sum to have a publisher stick a tube down your throat.

By "we" I actually meant "the market" or "society".

A smart publisher would ask well known writers, critics, and readers/bloggers to curate sections of their online storefront, or reccomend certain stories or up and coming authors, there would always still be space for independent blogs and sites to round up various stories from various storefronts as well.

Plenty of people (me included) would be happy to just subscribe to a publisher like Orbit for the right price, and certainly to have access to buy individual works through micropayments.

That's not to say there won't always be micro markets and global niches for e-anthologies and print magazines but I can't see them being longterm fixtures or reaching massive audiences, despite being an avid consumer of such things myself.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290733#Comment_290733 2011-04-15T09:48:16-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 but that makes the assumption that Orbit wouldn't put short stories through similar selection processes as print magazines when deciding what to put out there. I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, ... but that makes the assumption that Orbit wouldn't put short stories through similar selection processes as print magazines when deciding what to put out there.

I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, sure. But Orbit want to sell you books. I don't think it's a stretch -- well, not a huge stretch -- to assume marketing's going to play a strong role here.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290734#Comment_290734 2011-04-15T09:56:12-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 RenThing http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=155 I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, sure. But Orbit want to sell you books. I don't think it's a stretch -- well, not a huge stretch -- to assume marketing's going to play a strong role here. ... I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, sure. But Orbit want to sell you books. I don't think it's a stretch -- well, not a huge stretch -- to assume marketing's going to play a strong role here.

True, but that then gets down to the question of "Who's in marketing?", right? If you have people who have a sense for short fiction, or enough sense to know that they don't have the sense for short fiction and they should get someone who does, then it could go really well or it could turn into a feeding tube as you say where they pump out whatever they feel like regardless of editorial content/quality because the marketing monsters simply don't get it.

One positive example (IMO) is Tor.com. While I don't think they're necessarily setting up their website to have a particular focus of genre or theme, I do think they provide quality short fiction that does what it's supposed to: help provide some focus for Tor authors.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290738#Comment_290738 2011-04-15T11:19:40-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 Also of interest? So. Twelve issues in, how’s the (WIRED magazine) app performing on the business side? Conde won’t share many details; Wired publisher Howard Mittman says that monthly ...
So. Twelve issues in, how’s the (WIRED magazine) app performing on the business side? Conde won’t share many details; Wired publisher Howard Mittman says that monthly download totals have settled into the 20,000 to 30,000 range. That’s down considerably from the first issue, which racked up more than 100,000 downloads, but not surprising.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290739#Comment_290739 2011-04-15T11:38:46-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 RenThing http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=155 Now is that downloads of the app or download of the magazine through the app? If it's just the app that would make some sense; once you have the app you don't need to download it again unless your ... Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290744#Comment_290744 2011-04-15T12:24:05-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 I believe they mean in-app purchases. Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290766#Comment_290766 2011-04-15T14:23:48-07:00 2011-04-15T14:24:37-07:00 Emperor http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1503 None of the magazines suggested are doing anything as remotely cohesive as New Worlds or even Coilhouse, which is putting itself out there with a pretty damn clear set of principles. (Locust is ... None of the magazines suggested are doing anything as remotely cohesive as New Worlds or even Coilhouse, which is putting itself out there with a pretty damn clear set of principles. (Locust is different, it'll always be a niche publication.) At best these sites are publishing a selection of short stories that amused the slush readers and editors enough to want to publish them. But they're not editorializing or defining themselves as anything other than magazines that publish a genre.

Indeed. I'm sure, with the right publicity, you could start an anthology of short genre fiction as a Kindle eBook and sell enough copies to get a few quid back to the authors. However, you need something extra to make writers want to contribute and readers to look forward to the next edition, otherwise people are just going to forget about it after the initial burst of publicity. I want to be so excited by the idea of it that I break into the editor's house and sit on the end of their bed reading the next issue on their laptop while they sleep on, unaware, just feet away (unaware unless I punch them for dropping the ball).

It might be asking a little too much (especially, the bit about inspiring my to try a bit of breaking and entering) but it can be done with either a visionary editor and/or what would amount to a manifesto, a statement of intent (which would, hopefully, involve forgetting about genre divisions and not giving a shit what anyone else thought), so you could spot talent and give them the kind of space they need to play in to create their work. You can see the impact of a good editor of an anthology in, for example, Steve MacManus, who was able to spot potential and give them nudges in the right direction - he was the editor of 2000AD in its Golden Age and helped bring in an awful lot of the big names that would emerge from that era. So, someone like China Mieville might be ideal to get on board as he has a very clear vision for what he wants and isn't worried about trying new things. The Vandermeers have been doing good work with their anthologies - I remember reading their The New Weird and finishing Alistair Rennie's "The Gutter Sees the Light That Never Shines" (the only original story in there) and thinking I'd like to see more of this, not that in the story or genre but just in the way he went for it (and I'm not the only one to think that, it is a pity that, after some interest in him, it has all gone quiet from his corner, apart from a brief appearance in Electric Velocipede).

So it is possible, but you'd need the right team behind it, with their own vision of what they want. With some luck, and the stars aligning just right, it could become a great success. However, it isn't something you could just cobble together - you'd need all the right people in the right place, with the right amount of drinks and perhaps the magic might happen. If it did you could put me down for a years subscription right now.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290768#Comment_290768 2011-04-15T14:32:55-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 I just noticed that GRANTA is available on Kindle, by the way... (looking at a sample of the new issue on the Kindle right now. Surprisingly Not Horrible.)
(looking at a sample of the new issue on the Kindle right now. Surprisingly Not Horrible.)]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290771#Comment_290771 2011-04-15T14:37:54-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 The old style of GRANTA cover would look fine on a Kindle, too:
]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290777#Comment_290777 2011-04-15T15:10:11-07:00 2011-04-15T15:48:13-07:00 Will Ellwood http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2556 However the current issue of Granta's cover wouldn't work so well on the kindle, since it's a beautiful foiled cover. Also I doubt the photo essays work quite as well on the Kindle. Edit: However ...
Edit: However the written content more than makes up for this.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=290778#Comment_290778 2011-04-15T15:10:34-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Vornaskotti http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6665 Just a personal view: I've been subscribing to Black Static for a year now in a paper form, and I have to say that I haven't read a single issue through, only because the damn paper things are never ... identity that would acts as a sort of "stamp of quality" for the contents - and get them on my Kindle as easily as I can buy a book on it, or at least without going through that many more hoops.

Definitely going to have a look at the stuff mentioned in this thread.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291172#Comment_291172 2011-04-19T12:05:44-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 However the current issue of Granta's cover wouldn't work so well on the kindle, since it's a beautiful foiled cover. Also I doubt the photo essays work quite as well on the Kindle. All true, but ... However the current issue of Granta's cover wouldn't work so well on the kindle, since it's a beautiful foiled cover. Also I doubt the photo essays work quite as well on the Kindle.

All true, but then, it's a print object, not optimised for the Kindle. Though the current cover doesn't look horrible. I'm just saying, the kind of design aesthetic as suggested by the above would be an interesting way to go for a Kindle-distrib magazine.

Something like Clarkesworld, but designed specifically for Kindle, would be an interesting proposition too.

(I find Clarkesworld in general to be an interesting model for an online fiction magazine)

ASIMOV'S sells more Kindle editions than INTERZONE sells print copies.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291174#Comment_291174 2011-04-19T12:47:43-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Will Ellwood http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2556 What I like about Clarkesworld is the infrequency. Two stories and two pieces of non-fiction a month, and no more. It's a pace that respects the audiences attention span. Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291175#Comment_291175 2011-04-19T12:49:18-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 lazarus corporation http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=630 One potential problem (for customers) of running a magazine on Kindle: Consider this to be your dismaying PSA of the day: Apparently, if you're a Kindle owner with a magazine subscription, and you ...
Consider this to be your dismaying PSA of the day: Apparently, if you're a Kindle owner with a magazine subscription, and you decide to stop subscribing, the back issues you previously downloaded are also lost—for good.


(source: http://ca.gizmodo.com/5793334/when-you-cancel-your-magazine-subscription-on-your-kindle-your-back-issues-disappear-too)]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291176#Comment_291176 2011-04-19T12:52:36-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Will Ellwood http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2556 Yes, that's a problem, but that's really no different to paying to get through the Times pay-wall. Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291177#Comment_291177 2011-04-19T12:56:59-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 lazarus corporation http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=630 Yes, that's a problem, but that's really no different to paying to get through the Times pay-wall. I think it's different (at least to me): a newspaper is a very transitory thing - it's not ... Yes, that's a problem, but that's really no different to paying to get through the Times pay-wall.

I think it's different (at least to me): a newspaper is a very transitory thing - it's not something I'd re-read a month or a year later, whereas a magazine full of fiction is something I'd want to go back to.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291180#Comment_291180 2011-04-19T13:07:20-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 What I like about Clarkesworld is the infrequency. Two stories and two pieces of non-fiction a month, and no more. It's a pace that respects the audiences attention span. Yes, me ... What I like about Clarkesworld is the infrequency. Two stories and two pieces of non-fiction a month, and no more. It's a pace that respects the audiences attention span.


Yes, me too.

Apparently, if you're a Kindle owner with a magazine subscription, and you decide to stop subscribing, the back issues you previously downloaded are also lost—for good.

Wow, that's retarded. I really want to know who, if anyone, insisted on that (non)functionality.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291183#Comment_291183 2011-04-19T13:39:47-07:00 2011-04-19T13:43:35-07:00 lazarus corporation http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=630 The solution would seem to be to avoid Amazon's Kindle store. There's some info in the middle of this article which explains how you can import MOBI files (which are Kindle compatible) onto a Kindle ... info in the middle of this article which explains how you can import MOBI files (which are Kindle compatible) onto a Kindle without going through Amazon.

If someone could streamline the process and integrate online payment (e.g. online subscription payment which includes entering the unique "[you]@kindle.com" your Kindle is set up with, and have the new issues emailed to your Kindle on publication - doesn't sound to difficult for a developer to automate) then you bypass the Kindle Store completely (which seems to be the part of the equation that deletes your back issues on unsubscription).

EDIT: Avoiding the Kindle Store itself would also mean you're not constrained by Amazon's pricing model, and you don't need to let Amazon take a cut.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291184#Comment_291184 2011-04-19T13:54:29-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 warrenellis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2 The solution would seem to be to avoid Amazon's Kindle store. There's some info in the middle of this article which explains how you can import MOBI files (which are Kindle compatible) onto a Kindle ... The solution would seem to be to avoid Amazon's Kindle store. There's some info in the middle of this article which explains how you can import MOBI files (which are Kindle compatible) onto a Kindle without going through Amazon.

As noted above, this is what Locus does, and, I presume, many others.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291198#Comment_291198 2011-04-19T16:37:00-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 Emperor http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1503 The simplest would be to offer it in .epub and .mobi formats, sent directly to the subscriber and they can add it to their devices as they like, you don't want to get too focused on just hitting the ...
In fact, you could probably use another service for hosting it. I notice Smashwords has a number of magazines on there, like Apex magazine, but I don't think you can subscribe to it (although it'd make sense for Smashwords to do that at some point) and they are also on DriveThruSciFi. In fact, nosing around, you can get a subscription to them through Weightless Books, available as EPUB, MOBI and PDF. It looks to be quite a good service but there are numerous eBook stores and there are a number listed there that offer subscriptions - both with and without DRM.]]> Sci-fi & Fantasy Magazines as EBooks http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9758&Focus=291389#Comment_291389 2011-04-21T10:34:17-07:00 2013-05-19T00:12:04-07:00 buhbuhcuh http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=10234 Our agreement with Michael Moorcock includes the proviso that the electronic version of the magazine should strive to incorporate cutting edge technologies to present fiction and editorial pieces to ... Our agreement with Michael Moorcock includes the proviso that the electronic version of the magazine should strive to incorporate cutting edge technologies to present fiction and editorial pieces to their maximum impact - From the New Worlds announcement!

Hurrah, I won't need to take out another mortgage on the cat.]]>