New Magazine ~ Writers Engine

[juzzza]

OK folks,

The premise for Writers Engine is as follows, please use the poll to indicate if you are interested in subscribing, of course I will not chase you up when it launches just because you voted in the poll. If you are not interested or have a problem with any of the ideas, please elaborate in this thread rather than just voting NAY JUZZZETH YOU SUCKETH.

Format

Webzine (for now)

PLUS

An annual PRINTED anthology of the best work, as voted for by subscribers.

Issues

Quarterly

Subscriptions

2 issues (6 month access to site) ~ £8

4 issues (1 year access to site) ~ £15

Subscribers will receive a username and password for access to the subscriber-only areas of the Website. In addition to the downloadable issues, subscribers will also have access to special web-only features such as author blogs, articles, interviews and exerts.

Content of Webzine

Fiction ~ SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, Crime, Flash-Fiction, Strange tales

Poetry ~ Anything considered

Artwork ~ to match the above genres

Interviews, Novel exerts, Articles anything we think will be valued by subscribers.

Online Payments

All subscriptions will be collected by the British Fantasy Society using the ultra secure WORLDPAY, multi-currency welcome.

Submissions

Open to all however;

SFFW MEMBERS will go straight to the top of the slush pile to the FAST TRACK PILE. SFFW MEMBERS who also happen to be SUBSCRIBERS will go to the top of the FAST TRACK PILE. However, only the BEST WORK will be accepted and published.

At the moment, a contributor's copy, publish credit and the chance to appear in the printed anthology is what successful contributors will receive. When/If we move to quarterly print, contributors will be paid for their work in addition to the above.

WRITERS ENGINE is still a concept and not a reality so please do not submit just yet, you will be the first to know when we are ready, and the official launch of the Website will be announced here first.

So, vote and post away... :D

[Erebus]

It's great to see this is becoming more of a reality, Juzzza! Bring it on!

[juzzza]

Thanks Erebus, and just the man when it comes to publishing the first anthology!!! ;)

[Holbrook]

Juzzza, as I said before, if I can help in any small way let me know. Also put me down as a subscriber if and when it is ready.

[milamber_reborn]

I didn't vote.

I'm broke and cannot afford to subscribe to zines, but if I did I'd definitely give this one a go.

[Se'dray-on]

I'm presently broke, but will have money soon, and would definatly be interested. I say, BRING IT ON!!

Hope to see it soon.:D

Lates

[I, Brian]

Hi Juzza -

Would you believe I never even looked at the magazine poll thread until now? Now reading this...good idea!

As someone with just a little experience webmastering I may be able to offer you either advice or skills. In fact, if you wanted, I could look to host the website for you and set up any required features. Payment gateways is something I've actually done quite a bit of research on before as I was actually tempted to go self-employed administering leased servers. Now unlikely to happen, but it means I may or may not be able to give useful info. My first issue would be to query what exactly the British Fantasy Society are offering with Worldpay in terms of costs, because WorldPay is actually a very expensive system - if you're starting small then something like 2Checkout and PaySystems could likely be far cheaper but just as functional solutions.

Anyway, feel free to ask me any questions either by e-mail - or in this thread under public scrutiny. :)

I would say to think very carefully about your pricing, though - the supplied figures are based on what financial plan?? See the above two posts for immediate warning bells on the issue of pricing yourself out at the start. If you're only offering an e-zine then I'd highly recommend you aim to drive costs down to minimal - but only so in conjunction with an actual business plan that has a workable solution on building up the required finances for paper publishing. If you overcharge at the outset you could kill the project before it begins. But, of course, unless you cost properly you may never make the required profit for magazine printing (and how much would that cost anyway?). You may also want to make a special issue of discounts for SFFWorld users. I figure a main priority could be to actually establish a user base, and for that I would imagine you need to offer something specifically attractive.

[kahnovitch]

Originally posted by Holbrook
Juzzza, as I said before, if I can help in any small way let me know. Also put me down as a subscriber if and when it is ready.


Ditto to that.
I am broke at the mo, but £15 a year? I think I can stretch to that, considering I spend about that a week on beer!

[Bear]

I, too, have no money at the moment, but if I happen upon some, I'll subscribe. And it's great to see some productive people out there (you included, I, Brian). I hope everything goes over well. . . .

[Ladijen]

Yes, bring it on!

I do have a question, though. You mentioned the British Fantasy Society and I was just wondering what that organization is like. Will you be the owner of the magazine, with the society just providing the WorldPay service, or will the magazine be affiliated with the society?

It sounds like a great idea, in any case. :)