... Thank goodness the Clinton thing is done ...
February 14, 1999
7:28 p.m.
Overall, I've got to say this week has not been too awfully terrible. I finished one story and got it in the mail. Another is in its last pass (I think). And, well...    Kurt Roth has purchased my short story "Fighting for Kylie" for Quantum SF. This is the story that I struggled so valiantly with some time ago. So, needless to say, I'm pleased.  If you haven't seen it, you really ought to take a trip over to Linda Dunn's entry for Feb 13. In it, Linda posits the thought that in general, Net publications today are not professional. And she should know because she's been spending the past couple weeks actively scouring those markets in her role as SFWA regional director. But instead of examining the situation from the "standard" viewpoint of the difficulties of Web publication (i.e., "Where does the money come from, subscriptions or advertising?"), she takes the proactive viewpoint of the professional writer in looking at what a large part of the problem is. And in her analysis, part of the "blame" is on our shoulders. It's an interesting perspective to think about. Linda says that too many writers are giving away material (and I'll take it a little further and say this includes selling stuff for a half-a-cent a word, and such). This practice leads to a huge market of non-professional Webzines, that can obscure the real situation of one's standing. If no one gave material away, these markets wouldn't exist. Right? It takes two to tango, after all. And part of a "win-win" is the ability to say No Deal. When a writer gives material to a Webzine, he's not doing anyone much good when it comes to developing a professional market. Now, I really don't think it's realistic that people will stop "selling" to these places. In fact, I may sell to them on occasion some day myself. Never make blanket statements, I've learned. I could also make the point that one should never complain about an explosion of market sources that could one day grow up to dominate the market--I mean, I am a proponent of pretty much all things Web, and I've seen enough NetHappenings to know that the Internet works in mysterious ways. Who am I to predict the future. But let's look at this from the business side of things for a moment. let's play a simple game of Follow the Money. A professional print publication pays 6-8 cents a word. Okay, I'll use the SFWA/Dannenfelser rule and say that a professional publication pays 3 cents a word. A large part of the cost structure of a magazine is its printing cost and its distribution costs. Both of these are greatly reduced when you go to a Web-based operation. Therefore, a Web-based group should be able to pay the author MORE than a print-based operation, not LESS. Let's not be greedy, here. We want our markets to survive as well as they do. So how about we split the extra profit at maybe 50-50, or 33-67 if the production is particularly well designed (therby giving the designer a part of the take, too). Of course, this whole thing assumes the zine is actively planning to be a profesisonal magazine. My guess is that most aren't. And, I suppose this is the root of what makes America, and all free countries so great. It just doesn't matter what we think. If a ton of folks want to run non-professional level magazines, they're going to do it. And you know what? They should. Fanzines have always existed, and, in a healthy SF community, they always should. There will always be people willing to write for them, and it wouldn't surprise me if a few folks from that pool go on to become professional writers (by this, I mean people that eventually support themselves through what they write). But for the most part, I agree with Linda. My goal in life is to create a writing career. I'll put my stuff in places that I think are good for me, and places where I hope my stuff can be good for them. Have a great Valentine's Day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"And there is too much variety, so most likely anything that you think of that is possible isn't true. In fact that's a general principle in physics theories: no matter what a guy thinks of, it's almost always false. So there have been five or ten theories that have been right in the history of physics, and those are the ones we want." Richard Feynman |
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