Comments on: Whither the Science Fiction Magazines?

By: Tim Moore

Tim Moore — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:49:59 +0000

“As for the SkiiFiii Channel, for every decent effort (the two Dune mini-series movies, Battlestar Galactica), you get about a dozen bombs (Mansquito, anyone?).”

Agreed. My wife and I gave up on made-for-sci-fi-channel movies a long time ago. Mansquito was a deciding factor in this.

By: Frank Taylor

Frank Taylor — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:29:07 +0000

If your audience is wide enough, simple non-offensive ads from Google’s Adsense alone can sustain a very decent income for writing. There are alternative forms to publishing science fiction (or any content) in the online medium which can generate a wide audience. Blogs are very popular example.

There are many subtle configuration requirements to get Adsense to generate better income. I’ve seen two very similar sites in both traffic and content, both with Adsense ads, one earning $250 a month, and the other earning $6500 per month. Both had about 300,000 visitors a month. The difference was the placement and configuration of the ads and how the content of the site was configured.

Content sites can generate a lot of advertising revenue done right. Although, to some degree it depends on the content. First, if the quality of the content is not good enough to attract a large audience, it won’t be effective. Second, if the content subject matter doesn’t generate interesting (and high paying) ads, that will reduce its effectiveness despite popularity. I’m sure it took a long time for magazine publishers to figure out what was effective to balance advertising with the real content. The same evolution is occurring in the online medium.

Think outside the box. I’m sure there are a number of different approaches to publishing science fiction content which could be better than simply throwing out an entire book with or without DRM. Baen is definitely a pioneer in exploring the possibilities. The 1632/Flint series has definitely exemplified some of the possibilities. Isn’t exploring the possibilities a significant part of what science fiction is all about?

By: Night Shade Books Discussion Area: Some thoughts on online magazines

Night Shade Books Discussion Area: Some thoughts on online magazines — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:50:33 +0000

[...] March 10, 2007 – 07:49 pm: EditThe blog Centauri Dreams is joining the discussion here: http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1106 By Elizabeth Hand on Sunday, March 11, 2007 – 05:46 am: EditThis is [...]

By: Lakeshore

Lakeshore — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:30:59 +0000

[...] Dreams talks about the link between the science fiction publishing scene and the development of the scienti…. It seems we recruit.Interesting thoughts… Post a comment | View entry Date:2007-03-11 12:55 [...]

By: MirrorStephen

MirrorStephen — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:27:15 +0000

Just remember that enough manure can sometimes make
some very pretty flowers bloom.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:13:14 +0000

Fred Kiesche
As for the SkiiFiii Channel, for every decent effort (the two Dune mini-series movies, Battlestar Galactica), you get about a dozen bombs (Mansquito, anyone?).

I wonder what the ratio of good to bleh stories was in the pulp era? 90% of everything is crap the man said ..

By: Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:29:10 +0000

Chris, you’ve struck a chord, particularly as I look at my 1930s Astoundings and all the 50s-era stuff I still have around here. Collecting the old issues is one of life’s great enjoyments, and we’re losing all that.

By: Chris Wren

Chris Wren — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 06:05:15 +0000

For me one of the saddest things about the passing of the scifi pulps and magazines will be the end of collecting. I remember the thrill of discovering a trunk filled with old moldy, yellowing old pulps and comics in an uncle’s attic one summer. That’s never going to happen with material published online. And finding stuff on someone’s hard drive just isn’t the same. The sense of tradition that’s been part of scifi culture for almost 80 years will end. So I’m definitely not one of the cheerleaders of the new internet order, though I accept that it’s pretty much inevitable.

By: Fred Kiesche

Fred Kiesche — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 17:40:38 +0000

Baen’s Universe is up to issue five, it’s been a good read so far.

As for the SkiiFiii Channel, for every decent effort (the two Dune mini-series movies, Battlestar Galactica), you get about a dozen bombs (Mansquito, anyone?).

I keep hoping that they put on a SF/science-related talk show. Alas, instead we get wrestling.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:18:26 +0000

Jonathan’s mention of Escape Pod and Marc’s reference to The Twilight Zone reminds me of Dimension X and X Minus One, the radio plays based on short stories by well known SF authors that ran in the 1950s. Science fiction has numerous venues outside the magazines that equally serve as triggers for interest in the sciences, and a good thing, too, considering how troubled the current publishing scene has become.