|
Post by justin on Dec 21, 2009 17:43:07 GMT
Possibly an indulgence (but it is Xmas) in that below I'm posting a first draft of the editorial for issue 13 of The Fanatic. I hope it raises some points around the future of fanzines/small press mags wider than just The Fanatic.
It's not intended as one of those "the magazine will close unless you all tell me how wonderful it is" type flourishes because I'm feeling needy. The Vault gives me a tremendous amount of support and I couldn't ask for any more.
And The Fanatic will always exist, even if it's 20 copies run off on a work photo-copier.
And, and, a certain someone may read this and get paranoid about some of the comments. They are not aimed at you good sir!
"Although you’re probably reading this editorial in March, I’m actually penning it in the week leading up to Xmas. I mention the time-frame as I wanted to talk about the closure of Borders UK which is very fresh in my mind. When I drove past the Bristol branch today it was decorated in “Closing Down Sale- Up to 70% off” posters. I would imagine that such large premises will take a while to be filled up by a new business, but within a few months most of us will have forgotten Borders was ever there. And on the basis that this is a magazine dedicated to vintage rather than new paperbacks, what is my point?
The Fanatic has a strong affiliation with ‘Crikey! The magazine of British comics’ which had recently made the bold leap from successful small press magazine into the melting pot of commercial magazines by making a considerable investment (emotional and financial) into transforming itself into a 80 page, full-colour magazine carried by Borders. With the collapse of Borders, any plans for Crikey! to make it big (a relative term of course) have disappeared, not to mention their unpaid invoices.
And before I go on, I’m not oblivious to the fact that a lot of staff in Borders who work there to pay their bills have lost their jobs at a tricky time of the year, and this is certainly not an attack on Borders for going under. My point is that Borders is another venue for independent publishers that is now closed.
During 2009 London-based speciality shops Murder One and The Fantasy Centre closed, meaning two outlets for The Fanatic disappeared. Diamond Distributors changed their policies, meaning unless a magazine shifts a certain volume they won’t list it in their catalogue from which the comic shops order. I believe it was this change that resulted in the near-cancellation of From the Tomb, the superb magazine dedicated to horror comics, and I would imagine that Borders going under will pretty much be the final nail in the coffin for Pete Normanton’s fine publication.
In summary, the future of some of your favourite independent publications hang in the balance. If you rely upon blundering across the latest issue of one of these mags in a local shop, the chances are they will no longer be published. What can you do about this? To turn the focus back on to The Fanatic, there are a few things. Continue to support the magazine by sending your mails of encouragement, order the magazine directly from the web-site using paypal, and recommend the mag to someone you know. The first provides me with the enthusiasm to put the hours in, the latter could make all the difference to the long-term future of the mag.
I’m committed to the magazine and I can’t imagine there ever being a time when I don’t produce it, but The Fanatic in its current format would not be viable if, for example, one of the US speciality shops that stock it were to go under or cancel its order. So I’m looking to safe-guard the future of this magazine. I wonder if the likes of Crikey! From the Tomb and The Fanatic should form some Amateur Press Association, exchanging information on printers, distribution channels, helping promote the mags etc.
Any ideas to help secure the future of The Fanatic are very welcome, but please don’t forget The Fanatic is my hobby. It’s not a business, and if it was it would have gone the way of Borders a long time ago.
On the subject of money it’s worth mentioning I do not make any money from The Fanatic (part of this self-imposed, mainly due to restrictions on my time) so please understand that if you expect me to drop you a post-card telling you the new Fanatic is available, you’re increasing my losses.
I have a full-time job which involves travelling and I’m a very proud father, so there are a lot of demands on my time. So if I can’t pick up the phone to shoot the breeze, or I take a while to answer your mails, please bear with me. It’s not personal, but often the choice is; chat on the phone or produce the mag. Hopefully you’d prefer me to spend my time on the mag. 2010 will be a very important year for The Fanatic. I hope you’ll be on board with me and that you can all help shape the future of the magazine."
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Dec 21, 2009 18:39:07 GMT
Hi Justin. i know it won't be a great help to start with, but i gather Milan of interzone has sent for a sample copy of PF (or is about to) and he's interested in selling it on the stall. even if it were just a few issues to begin with, as the stall gains a reputation, the number of customers will increase and hopefully enough will pick up PF out of curiosity, like what they see, and spread the word.
i'm not sure if Forbidden Planet still stock 'zines? going back ten years, i used to offload ten issues of ours on them and that was diabolical but it always sold. They'll buy any old rubbish in FP!
Depressingly, the collapse of Borders just about sums up the '00's. Like you, i feel for their staff and those who relied on them as an outlet.
Anyway; Happy Christmas to all at the House of Fanatic, and thanks for providing such a magnificent magazine.
|
|
|
Post by pulphack on Dec 30, 2009 15:03:17 GMT
i think the small press has a very healthy future, but like everything in the media area is going through a rough patch while the possibilities and limitations of the information age come to the surface - the latter being primarily financial.
the technology for POD will eventually be available cheaply to the extent where anyone can do a zine and print on demand. advertising will be niched via the net, and distribution will come via networking and mail or sending on-line for the recipient to print rather than through shops. why do we need them anyway? lets be honest, most new bookshops are chains that have a limited stock that appeals to an invented demographic anyway. when was the last time you were able to go into Smiths, Borders, or Waterstones and get exactly what you wanted? that's why one has gone already...
meantime, until the dust settles, on-line and e-zine it is - not perfect if you happen to like a publication to hold in your hand, but it'll do for now.
and kindle... apparently you can sell on kindle even if you have no print copy (though i'm willing to be corrected as have only recently been told this and haven't had a chance to check it out yet).
it's like eveything culturally related. we now have the capacity arriving for anyone to do what they want. it might be crap, it might be great. but they can do it. and they just need to be willing to work at getting it known. because the flipside is that although anyone can do it, that just makes it harder to find in the sea of new and republished work.
and money... how do publishers make it? do small presses need to? are any costs more easily recoupable online and when POD comes down? money DOES matter, after all, as you need to put some in and if you're small press how much of your earnings or savings can you risk?
it may be necessary to go paperless for some, at least for a while, but e-culture means it can still be put up there and not left in the desk drawer.
|
|