...at least tell people who you are. I saw a couple posts today (thanks Ian and Jeremy!) about a new webzine called Oddlands.
Apparently it's edited by someone named Soren Bask. I had to go to their Ralan listing to find that. The point of view thing is weird, but I think it's weirder how hard it was to find out who edits the thing.
As a writer (not that I am one), why would I want to submit to a place that doesn't provide any information about who's behind the thing?
Plus, there's conflicting information about what the webzine is. One post (of three) says it's monthly, another post says the first issue "is due out March 1, 2008(with another issue every two weeks thereafter.)" which sounds biweekly to me.
Regardless, that's a really aggressive schedule. Now, I don't know anything about Mr. Bask, or what sort of time he has, but depending on what an issue is, he's going to have trouble keeping up with his schedule. Particularly when it seems he's just announcing this and potentially doesn't have an initial issue set up.
Along those lines, I'd like to see a more complete description of what an issue is. One story? Two? Ten? A story and a poem? Strange Horizons is weekly, but there's a ton of people that put that together and they only do one piece of fiction for every issue (in addition to lots of other great stuff).
So, if you're thinking of starting a webzine, here are some things to consider:
Tell people who you are and who the staff is (even if you're new, people like to know there's a face behind things)
Explain what an issue is
Be consistent when describing your frequency
You could also read these and get a sense of what editing a zine is like.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
If You're Going to Edit a Webzine
Posted by John Klima at 1/28/2008 11:36:00 AM
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6 comments:
Well, that was a typo. It is monthly, not biweekly...it *was* going to biweekly at first, but then there was a change.
The editor did not expect there to be that much interest in his identity...since he *does* sign his name to all e-mails. Well, oops.
Next up: Meet the Editor!
[Yes, I am the editor...no, there isn't anything wrong with some light-hearted use of the third-person...]
Another thing I find strange is when the editor only uses their Internet name or web-board login name. If they're really standing behind their magazine, shouldn't they be doing it under a real name? :)
@ Soren, there's nothing wrong about signing your posts 'The Editor'; I did that myself for years. However, it was very easy to determine who 'The Editor' was. I also always referred to Electric Velocipede 'we' and it never was 'we' for the first five years!
@ anonymous I really hate the whole Internet name thing. It's almost like people like being secretive and exclusionary.
LiveJournal is the worst at this. There are a ton of people that I should be following on LiveJournal, but their user name has no reference to their real name, and I don't feel like searching them out.
It's fine to be mysterious when posting things online that you want to protect (i.e., there are people in the library world who have critical comments about how things are run but they can't post under their name because they might lost their job), but when you're trying to do business transactions (e.g., submitting a story to a magazine, setting up a magazine) people need to be clear as to whom is whom.
I really had no idea that people wanted so much information. I have posted a "meet the editor" entry to remedy this.
For most people, the point of having an internet name is not to be secretive or exclusionary. Period. Cliches and closed communities are for that kind of thing. The point of an internet name is to prevent people from finding out your Great Aunt Agatha's phone number and prank calling her.
@ Soren I guess that's where we disagree. I've never wanted to use an internet name, and for a long time I didn't understand why someone would.
I've come to understand there are circumstances where people would want or even need to use one. I've just not been one of those people.
And my point was, if you are starting a business endeavor, i.e., a webzine, you should be clear as to who you are. One of the things we teach students at the college here is to a website when using its information and to be wary of places that aren't clear as to who's behind them.
Having driven that into the ground, I wish you luck! And if you have questions, please feel free to ask me.
That makes a lot of sense. I *would* be wary of a website with an unnamed entity behind it. I'll pay special attention to that in the future.
Thanks for the welcoming comment over at Oddlands.
Now, I'm off to read that e-zine guide.
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