Comments on: So, About That Publishing Thing

By: Jordan Pennington

Jordan Pennington — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:00:39 +0000

As for the advertizing of the e-zine, I suggest going anywhere and everywhere that Is a Social Media site, i.e. Facebook, Myspace, etc.

On Facebook, I am a member of the Writers Circle. They post random writing snippets, talk about authors, novel ideas, etc. You could do something along that line. It would promote your idea and also allow people to have better access to updates, up and coming, etc.

Word of mouth is defiantly a great thing. I know this weekend I am going to tell at least 3 other people I know. Each of them know several people, so it spreads quickly.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:03:17 +0000

Hello Holly – I like the idea of this being online, especially now when we have entered the age of “I have an ap for that”. Mid grade and tween stories on iPad would be fabulous, or via an ap for iPhone or Blackberry. Perhaps the first story subscribers purchase be half price, then subsequent stories be full price and purchased individually. All archived stories might be a one time price if they subscribe annually. Also, what about offering this service to libraries and schools for a bundle price? Certainly cheaper than buying the hard bound books and doesn’t involve missing or overdue book issues. They set their computers up and give library members a login code. Thanks for putting your submission requirements out there too. Susan

By: Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:54:14 +0000

Hello Holly,
I’m going to do some out loud pondering here, who knows it may trigger someone else. Is it possible to create a promotional package for libraries? NaNoWrimo is a good place to spread the word, too. Conventions for the sci-fi and fantasy fans. I don’t know how much a booth would run though. People love being face to face with others who are doing what they love and believe in. Being able to say I met with_____ and they were really awesome, it makes it personal to them, they have something at stake then.

By: Claudette

Claudette — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 22:06:12 +0000

Holly,

This is a marvelous concept and one that might just have come at the right time for writer5s in general and SF/F writers in particular. In an economy that’s losing publications due to economic downturns, this could, if it actually operates as planned, could turn around the publishing industy for small presses all over. I think Lorri had a wonderful idea about the students. You could extend the privilege to other writing schools like ICL as well. Many writers are looking for markets even as they learn how to market. They could use the mag. as a learning tool as much as mere reading material.

Great idea. I’m with you on it. Thanks so much for willingly stanking in the path of thirsty writers everywhere.

Claudette

By: Lorri Tomcal

Lorri Tomcal — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:07:09 +0000

I love this idea!
As an author and as a reader I would subscibe. I can offer no advice on any of your questions but I’d certainly pass on the info to my friends and such if/when this idea comes to fruition.

All the Best,
Lorri

By: slorri23

slorri23 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:31:57 +0000

WOW, Holly what alot of advice. I am not going into alot of things because I don’t know much about this kind of thing. I am a student of yours, Lorri Hager, in HTtS and some of your other clinics. Looks like you got your hand full of ideas here. The only suggestion I have is that maybe you could offer all of your HTtS students a SMALL reduction in price as a bonus to HTtS if they subscribe. You have ALOT of students. And I know that all of them will want to submit also, due to the fact they are learning to think sideway and write better. I, myself would love to help get this up and running for that very reason. So maybe I might see some of my work in there. How exciting. Keep On Writing.

By: dpace17

dpace17 — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:11:18 +0000

Holly, I’m also not a business model type person, but it sure does sound good to me. As we all know, new business ventures take time to build, and you’ve already got a decent clientÃ¨le of both readers and writers; you’ve got a good head start. I’ve read similar magazines in the past, WAY past, where they start a story or 2 and continue for each month, no biggie, so readers, which would include me, have to wait, the older you get, the easier it is. I’ll definitely be buying, reading and entering contests.

Go for it Holly

By: Cosmic_lightning

Cosmic_lightning — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:02:23 +0000

I think this has the makings of a good product, but it isn’t there yet. As someone who reads fiction on the ‘net but rarely buys it, I think you’re going to need a way to make this magazine extra-special in order to encourage even more people to buy it. There is some really great fiction available online for free, so you’re going to have to have an AMAZING product in order to convince me I need to buy it.

I agree with whoever said that it would be a good idea to include previously published authors. A few names that I know and respect (and who’s writing I’ve already read and know it’s good) would go a long way in selling it. As much as I love your writing and respect your opinions, I don’t think I would buy a magazine of unknown writers just because of the name ‘Holly Lisle’ on the cover.

I also think that spending some money on a good design is well worth it. Even though a lot of good fiction is published on the internet, a lot of it is in bad formats or ugly web pages. A good website would definitly make this zine stand out from the crowd, and it would help convince new readers that the content will be good.

As a new (possible) subscriber, I would want to be able to read a snippit or two of the stories in an edition before I decided on buying it, especially since in order to read the full story I’d have to buy about 5 issues.

I agree that there should be some other content… just serials would be a hard sell, at least for me. If you included some short stories than it would allow the reader to get a taste of what the longer serials will be like, and give them more incentive to buy a year’s subscription.

I like the ‘vote’ option included in the price of a subscription. And I like the ‘comments’ idea too. You could format it like the Aberrant Dreams forums: (http://www.hd-image.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=251), where people can discuss the story, speculate on what happens next, and maybe the author could drop hints… (kind of like JK Rowling, hinting at what might happen in the next HP book). But then, this would (maybe) add a cost to the production of the zine, and moderating it or whatever would take time, so maybe a forum is something you could start later on, after the zine has gained a fan base.

By: Geekomancer

Geekomancer — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:57:47 +0000

I don’t see a problem with the “Writer’s Fleamarket” idea, however that might be a “season two” idea, so that the main thrust can be implemented, and then roll out new features every season? Every other season?

By: Jack E. McCarty

Jack E. McCarty — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:40:34 +0000

Based upon my current understanding of this complicated reading model, Iâ€™ll do my best with it. The season model has real possibilities. However, I would not recommend dropping the option of buying single issues. It provides a way for the reader to sample the magazine. After deciding to buy the season, there should be the option to buy only the remaining issues in that season.

Being new, there are a few things I do not know that make it more difficult to understand this model as it is written:

What is the difference between a writer, and a professional writer?
Will there be a minimum size for items, such as short stories?
I do not know what serial writes are.
Does an item need to be copyrighted prior to submission, or, can that be done in house?

I hope old stories will not just fade away. The order page could have an archives link after about the first year or so.

Has anybody given my â€œWritersâ€™ Flee Marketâ€ idea any thought? (for publishable items that could not be included in the magazine)