Comments on: The rise of the genre ezine: Will it ever find a profitable model? http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:34:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: betsy dornbusch http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-49255 betsy dornbusch Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:21:03 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-49255 Great overview of the market. We, too, run an ezine. While our hits are not stellar, they're steady for a tri-annual. We finance it ourselves, and while it's too much work to call it a hobby, it's definitely a labor of love. <i>I think the hardest problem is not monetizing but just convincing people to read online creative writing in general.</i> My feeling is that we are on the cusp of readers seeing the value of short fiction on the web, but right now people: a) won't pay because there's too much free content available b) don't trust the quality of online fiction. There's a lot of unedited junk out there passing itself off as quality fiction, from blogs to actual paying markets. Fact is, this leading edge reader can barely get through my print magazines at home, but I read fiction and non fic online, sitting at my desk at lunch or in the evenings before bed. (Mostly while putting off work.) I don't think I'm so odd. As connection technology improves, people will view the internet more and more as a venue for mainstream entertainment. Ezines just have to figure out how to catch that tailwind. Great overview of the market. We, too, run an ezine. While our hits are not stellar, they’re steady for a tri-annual. We finance it ourselves, and while it’s too much work to call it a hobby, it’s definitely a labor of love.

I think the hardest problem is not monetizing but just convincing people to read online creative writing in general.

My feeling is that we are on the cusp of readers seeing the value of short fiction on the web, but right now people:

a) won’t pay because there’s too much free content available

b) don’t trust the quality of online fiction. There’s a lot of unedited junk out there passing itself off as quality fiction, from blogs to actual paying markets.

Fact is, this leading edge reader can barely get through my print magazines at home, but I read fiction and non fic online, sitting at my desk at lunch or in the evenings before bed. (Mostly while putting off work.) I don’t think I’m so odd. As connection technology improves, people will view the internet more and more as a venue for mainstream entertainment. Ezines just have to figure out how to catch that tailwind.

]]> By: Business funding http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-49060 Business funding Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:19:01 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-49060 Hi Robert, That's a nice comment. I agree with you that Simon has not talked much about the e books offered monetization possibilities. That is a very fetching and interesting topic most of the people would be looking for. Try this out Simon. Hi Robert, That’s a nice comment. I agree with you that Simon has not talked much about the e books offered monetization possibilities. That is a very fetching and interesting topic most of the people would be looking for. Try this out Simon.

]]> By: CV Rick http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47360 CV Rick Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:43:37 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47360 How do you feel about the podcast models for short fiction profitability? I'm familiar with Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and James Patrick Kelly who has put a bunch of his fiction in audio form. How do you feel about the podcast models for short fiction profitability? I’m familiar with Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and James Patrick Kelly who has put a bunch of his fiction in audio form.

]]> By: Robert Nagle http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47092 Robert Nagle Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:12:17 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47092 Good article (again). I <a href="http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/02/12/how-to-make-lit-ezines-more-profitable/" rel="nofollow">blogged about it for teleread </a>. Great anecdotes. It's funny because I'm working on an ezine now as we speak...and I know it's a major time sink. I think the hardest problem is not monetizing but just convincing people to read online creative writing in general. You really didn't address the possibilities that ebooks offer for monetization. The ezines haven't really done that (although Baen publishers has some zine-to-ebook things going on. Good article (again). I blogged about it for teleread . Great anecdotes. It’s funny because I’m working on an ezine now as we speak…and I know it’s a major time sink. I think the hardest problem is not monetizing but just convincing people to read online creative writing in general. You really didn’t address the possibilities that ebooks offer for monetization. The ezines haven’t really done that (although Baen publishers has some zine-to-ebook things going on.

]]> By: Jordan Lapp http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47065 Jordan Lapp Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:19:07 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-47065 I'd just like to bring your attention to Every Day Fiction, an online magazine that specializes in flash. While it's not exclusively genre stuff, we aim for about 50% sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. The reason I'm commenting here is that we have a different profit model from what you mention above. We post one flash fiction story every day and allow RSS subscriptions, or we can e-mail a story to your mailbox. Currently, we have approximately 1100 subscribers (600+ RSS, 500+ e-mail). Our format allows for some unique profit opportunities. In addition to Google Adsense and a yearly anthology, we can also go through Feedburner to place ads right into our RSS feed, or we can syndicate our stories through several social networking sites. We're also looking at putting together a daily "podcast" and selling ads for that. Also, by mixing our genre/non-genre content we can do several things. First, we aim to attract non-genre readers to sci-fi/fantasy/horror through exposure. Lure'm in with contemporary, then expose them to genre. Secondly, we archive our stories by genre so readers can click on the sci-fi category, and EDF becomes a sci-fi magazine. We've only been around for five months, but already we've attracted a huge number of subscribers. Consider checking us out at www.everydayfiction.com I’d just like to bring your attention to Every Day Fiction, an online magazine that specializes in flash. While it’s not exclusively genre stuff, we aim for about 50% sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.

The reason I’m commenting here is that we have a different profit model from what you mention above. We post one flash fiction story every day and allow RSS subscriptions, or we can e-mail a story to your mailbox. Currently, we have approximately 1100 subscribers (600+ RSS, 500+ e-mail).

Our format allows for some unique profit opportunities. In addition to Google Adsense and a yearly anthology, we can also go through Feedburner to place ads right into our RSS feed, or we can syndicate our stories through several social networking sites. We’re also looking at putting together a daily “podcast” and selling ads for that.

Also, by mixing our genre/non-genre content we can do several things. First, we aim to attract non-genre readers to sci-fi/fantasy/horror through exposure. Lure’m in with contemporary, then expose them to genre. Secondly, we archive our stories by genre so readers can click on the sci-fi category, and EDF becomes a sci-fi magazine.

We’ve only been around for five months, but already we’ve attracted a huge number of subscribers. Consider checking us out at http://www.everydayfiction.com

]]> By: Kaolin Fire (GUD Magazine) http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-46883 Kaolin Fire (GUD Magazine) Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:05:13 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-46883 Good article. I hadn't realized there were so many ezines going the single-sponsor route. <a href="http://www.gudmagazine.com/" rel="nofollow">GUD Magazine</a> is currently doing the "deep pockets, maybe things will pick up" rain dance. Our attempt at content generation between issues is to do <a href="http://www.gudmagazine.com/review/" rel="nofollow">book reviews (and we then raffle off those books to commenters)</a>. It's definitely tough to keep people coming back when we only publish two issues a year. I spend a lot of time on social networks and the like doing promotion. One thing that keeps our traffic up is that we only accept submissions through the website, and we do our editing and editorial communication largely through the site as well. We're also trying hard to make our content as un-"disposable" as possible. We want people to buy every issue, regardless of when they find us. We print on paper that should last dozens if not hundreds or thousands of re-readings, while making cheaper e-versions available for the "want to read it on the screen" crowd. But the "read it on the screen" crowd still seems to be much smaller than the folks who want to hold paper in their hands... or we haven't figured out how to attract them (perhaps they're reading all the free content online). Good article. I hadn’t realized there were so many ezines going the single-sponsor route. GUD Magazine is currently doing the “deep pockets, maybe things will pick up” rain dance.

Our attempt at content generation between issues is to do book reviews (and we then raffle off those books to commenters).

It’s definitely tough to keep people coming back when we only publish two issues a year. I spend a lot of time on social networks and the like doing promotion. One thing that keeps our traffic up is that we only accept submissions through the website, and we do our editing and editorial communication largely through the site as well.

We’re also trying hard to make our content as un-”disposable” as possible. We want people to buy every issue, regardless of when they find us. We print on paper that should last dozens if not hundreds or thousands of re-readings, while making cheaper e-versions available for the “want to read it on the screen” crowd. But the “read it on the screen” crowd still seems to be much smaller than the folks who want to hold paper in their hands… or we haven’t figured out how to attract them (perhaps they’re reading all the free content online).

]]> By: Jennifer Pelland http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-46854 Jennifer Pelland Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:45:59 +0000 http://bloggasm.com/the-rise-of-the-genre-ezine-will-it-ever-find-a-profitable-model#comment-46854 Helix (www.helixsf.com) is another online magazine that's running solely on donations, but unlike Strange Horizons, they pay the authors based on the donations that came in during the quarter that their story/poem was on the main page. It's managed to get stories on the preliminary Nebula both last year and this year, which isn't bad for a new magazine. Helix (www.helixsf.com) is another online magazine that’s running solely on donations, but unlike Strange Horizons, they pay the authors based on the donations that came in during the quarter that their story/poem was on the main page. It’s managed to get stories on the preliminary Nebula both last year and this year, which isn’t bad for a new magazine.

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