A lot of writers tend to look down their noses at the ezine markets. Their reasons? Little or no money, little or no editing, and little or no readers. Are their reasons valid? In some cases, yes, but the zines are growing up and more and more of them are actually paying, not a lot, but better than a poke in the eye. They're also being noticed by print editors and publishers and stories are being culled from the online markets for print anthologies and podcasts, which put a little extra money in writers pockets.
But an email from Paul Brazill the other day made me think of another reason that zines are a good thing for writers. Paul forwarded a note from editor, David Cranmer, telling Paul that his short story "The Tut" in Beat to a Pulp had received 215 hits over the weekend, the highest number of hits since the zine opened for business. Needless to say, Paul was excited, and well he should be.
You see, Paul is a newbie writer, still learning the craft and working hard at it. How do I know? Because I've been following some of his work in venues like Powder Burn Flash and A Twist of Noir. With the zines you can follow a new writer and watch him grow and learn, much like the earlier writers who wrote for the pulps before writing novels.
Submitting stories is scary for a new writer, but with the zines, there's usually little or no sitting around chewing your nails, wondering if an editor will accept your stories. Some zines accept everything that's sent their way, no matter the quality, which doesn't help the writer much, but it does give them the courage to keep submitting, going for zines that do have an editorial staff and will help a new writer by showing him how to make his story stronger.
The zines are becoming the new training ground for beginning writers. That place where their writing has a place to grow and stretch. A place where new writers can find their voice, and the genre that suits what they want to say. The zines allow for experimentation. More experienced writers can try new genres and delve into different styles of writing without losing the readers who expect a certain type of writing from them.
So take the time to support a zine. Give out a shout when a new issue of a favorite zine is online, send readers to stories that show what a good online zine can publish. Help spread the word that zines are a viable venue for writers. Oh yeah, and go read "The Tut" http://www.beattoapulp.com/stor/2009/0614_pdb_TheTut.cfm drop Paul a comment, then stroll through the archives and treat yourself to some really great reading material.
15 comments:
And those are unique visitors. Mondays stats: 250 and Tuesday 154. Also "The Tut" is the first to have over thirty comments. Congrats to Paul and once again a big thanks.
And good post Sandra!
Thanks Sandra! I will say that David turned down the first story I sent to BTAP and he gave me some great feedback, which I agreed with, and I'm glad he did! So, I wrote the Tut and felt more at ease with it. It's just over half a year of writing for me and feedback from editors is very important.I've had two stories turned down this week but both editors were very supportive- there's something of the growing up in public about the emarket which I like but then I've been very lucky.Cheers to all!
DITTO RE: ZINES.
I've had that thought myself (about zines being the new pulps). Not only can they help you become a better writer, but also develop a following. And I'm sure publishers are more willing to take a chance on newbie writers if they have a built-in audience.
I think I started having the idea around the time Dave White had his first novel published. I'd been following his online stories for a while and eagerly anticipated his debut.
What a great post, glad to have found this blog. And let's not forget the ezines which are as hard, if not harder, to get into than most print mags - and that's a direct reflection of the quality of work they publish.
I imagine I'll be back here soon!
Nik
I just got turned down by Smokealong Quarterly but they were very nice! They have some top stories including on from Nik Perring -and an interview with him too!
I'm blushing, Paul. Seriously though, Smokelong are one of a good number of Very Good places who consistently publish Very Good Work (and mine occasionally). I wonder also whether Ezines are in a better position to be able to take risks on more experimental writing and newer writers - and if they are that can only be a positive thing.
Turn your back for a few hours and there's a stampede of comments! A big welcome to The Corner for new readers WellesFan and Nik!
You're right about the built in audience being attractive to publishers, WellesFan. And the zines seem to give writers a higher profile than print magazines because they're so readily available. And if you find a writer you enjoy, you can do a search and find more of their work or a blog where there's links to more stories. I think more people know me online than in real life!
And you're right about the more prestigous zines, Nik. Many of them are hard to break into. And you know when the archives have stories from successful novelists they're going to be difficult to crack, but well worth the effort!
Ahh, Paulie, SmokeLong is the Mecca for flash writers. A market I long to crack but haven't yet.
I've found that many of the ezines are more open to writers who take a risk with their writing, Nik, not just in style but in content. The zines are open to publishing stories that would never make the cut in regular magazines because they might offend the readers or the advertisers.
Yup, my thoughts exactly. And I think that freedom (or boldness??) is what moves, or has a big part in moving, literature forward. It's an exciting time to be a writer.
Lovely to meet you btw!
Nik
Hi Sandra,
Great post BTW.
Over at Thrillers, Killers N Chillers our main aim is to promote new(ish) writers and give them a chance to showcase work. Seeing their work 'published' and receiving feedback boosts confidence and spurs writers on. We admire the refreshing diversity amongst the stories.
Ezines can only be positive IMO.
Regards,
Col
Welcome to the corner, Col!
I always find it strange that writers don't submit more to zines, especially when they're told they should have an online presence when they get a book deal. What better way to showcase their talents than with a story that's readily available to readers?
A lot of writers refuse to submit to e-zines because "they don't pay".
However, even if an e-zine is read only by a few people, used correctly, an appearance can greatly enhance your internet presence. By "used correctly" I mean that when your work is accepted, always request that a link to your website, mailing list, blog or any other online resources appears with your work.
Even if NOBODY sees your work there or ever clicks on a link to your site, these links back to your site still help to enhance your search engine rankings. These are called "backward links" and search engines put a lot of emphasis on backward links. As a general rule, the more backward links your site has, the more important the indexing robots of search engines think that your site is and in return (all other things done correctly), they will place you higher in the search engine rankings. If you want exposure on the internet, it's the search engines that matter.
Writers who understand that it's all about reaching people on the internet can build a following very quickly if they put in a good effort if they work on getting better search engine rankings.
Submitting to e-zines and getting lots of links back is an excellent way to do this.
http://old-west.blogspot.com/
KerbyJackson.com
Welcome to The Corner, Kerby! Very interesting about the search engine. I'm a total idiot when it comes to understanding the way things work on the 'net. But I always thought if you could get people to link to and advertise the zines, that they'd get more traffic which is also good for the writers.
An excellent post, Sandra, and the comments are worthy of note.
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