Thanks, so ballpark, what would they have sold, half, 1/3?

According to Stan Schmidt at Analog it was a cost issue, and the new version does lose some word count. My Analog subscription is electronic so I haven’t noticed it, but he was clear on that.

I’m actually more worried about F&SF because it neither has the backing or economies of scale. (By having all four other mags in one house they can share print costs which should help some – especially since I think they’re now the same trim size as some of the puzzle books).

One thing that might help is if more of us read or subscribed to them. I recently subscribed to all three – and while Asimovs and F&SF lapsed I’m planning to take F&SF up again and maybe add Interzone.

Just something to support the market.

She also mentioned in her editorial that Analog and Asimov’s were the size they were because they saved money by sharing presses with TV Guide. Of course, those savings went by the way side when TV Guide moved to letter size format.

Yes it was bright, glossy and colorful. It was also much harder for me to read than the pulps. I read it for a while then went back to reading the pulps. A few months ago I picked up an issue of Realms of Fantasy – big, glossy, color illustrations – the works.

I couldn’t read it.

I’m not talking about the stories, but the presentation killed me. They did things like thin white lettering on a black background for two pages in the middle of a story and I couldn’t make out the words without straining. Also, the large floppy format made longer pieces of fiction harder to read.

The pulps are a better size and layout for extended reading.

Color’s a definite possibility – but I don’t think they can sustain the increased costs for too long unless it does bring in more customers.

I’m not anti-color (I spend way too much on comics and graphic novels) but I don’t know that glossy and bright is the way to go.

The last magazine that I remember doing much of what you described, was Science Fiction Age. Sadly, that market did not live very long, and Scott Edelman is now editor over at Sci-Fi’s “Science Fiction Weekly” on-line news, reviews, ‘and fun stuff’ web site.

Or perhaps I have simply re-invented the theme anthology?

Anyway, I think a lot of the problem is that the people who would read SF&F short material, are never looking for it over in the magazine shelves. They’re over in the SF&F shelves checking out books from their favorite authors. If the books publishers did “short story paperbacks” and made sure the names of the big authors were prominent on both cover and spine, and these paperbacks were where the other paperbacks are, I bet the sales would go up.

Whether or not this would actually prove to be a profitable venture, is anyone’s guess. My hunch is it would have to be a “literary philanthropy” project by the book publishers: neither a huge money maker nor a huge money loser. Something done for the sake of keeping short fiction alive and healthy, and to also allow a conduit for new writers to break into the field in the traditional model: short fiction sales first, then graduate to novels.

I wrote a 2,100-word story this Saturday. I like to think that it’s complete, and fun, and full of just enough humour, tech, and violence to make me and others happy. But learning how to write something that short has taken me about two years. And looking at things like pulp sales stats, I have to wonder why I worked so hard to learn to write things in a “saleable” format. (My answer would be that I saw something I believed to be quite difficult and set out to achieve it, namely gaining control of my wordcounts.)

Conversely, online readers actually want longer works. If you check out comments at Tor.com and Futurismic (or even Futurismic’s submission guidelines, which has a fantastically huge wordcount limit), the readers love digging in and savouring a real feast of a story. So it seems like a question of economy: it’s tough to print pulps with multiple authors and long blocks of fiction, because then you’re selling anthologies and not magazines. It seems the only alternative is to emphasize what magazines do best — re-brand them, not in terms of how similar they are to other formats, but in terms of how unique they are. I’ve been persuaded to purchase manga volumes solely on the basis of a strong review, and I know I’d feel the same regarding magazines too.

I don’t buy “pulps”. They are relatively expensive, not a particularly pleasant reading experience (quality of paper, printing etc) and content is hit or miss. Short fiction IS something I enjoy, there are plenty of “Year’s Best” etc. collections that I purchase.

How can SF/F periodicals be more successful? – I can’t speak for the entire market – but when I am looking for a magazine , I expect color illustrations, engaging stories, readable text etc. I come to this blog because John posts on a number of subjects that I find interesting and has a ‘voice’ I find enjoyable/engaging (plus it looks like I’m working) Since I haven’t even looked at a pulp in a while, I’m not sure if they offer this:

1) articles by SF writers and/or other relevant people about topics that relate to SF – but not just about the new releases of books? something like “Climate change and future sci fi settings, climate experts chime in” or “Current research shows how teleporters might work” or “Political messages in classic scifi”

2) 1st chapters of books not yet released accompanying reviews of said books

3) Short stories by authors I care about set (See Johns OMW universe story at Subterranean press)

4) Color illustrations, ink that doesn’t stain my fingers

5) special offers on purchasing books revied in the issue or by featured artists or something – How many $5 magazines would they sell if they included a $5 off coupon to barnes and noble or whatever?

My suggestion on getting new readers? Look at what the readers are watching. There’s a whole generation of sci-fi and fantasy fans watching *stuff*. Use that for your new base. The magazine people should talk to the media people. I think you could do wonders if during off-season the magazines are printing legitimate, licensed shorts (episodic, if you will) of Battlestar G, or Stargate Atlantis, Heroes or hell, even Pushing Up Daisies.. whatever works. That would open the doors to new readers and writers alike.
IMHO.