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Not only are sci fi and fantasy taking over television and movie theatres but, thanks to internet, there are more magazines in these two genres than ever. And their readership continues to grow. Science fiction author Jason Sanford reflects this rise in speculative fiction magazines and readership in his report, “The State of Genre Magazines”, published just before the new year. He says, “There are more SF/F magazines today than at any single time in the genre’s history.” However, he also points out that although the number of magazines and their readers have gone up the payment for most publishers’ staffs who put out the magazines hasn’t. They get little to no pay. He quotes Scott Andrews, editor-in-chief of speculative fiction magazine “Beneath Ceaseless Skies”, saying that the majority of the few that do get paid do so because the chief editors go without pay!
Why Sci Fi and Fantasy Magazine Circulation Is So High But Revenue So Low
So then why so hard of financial times for the staff of sci fi and fantasy magazines when the circulation and the number of titles are so high? Answer: Everyone wants free content on the internet where the majority of circulation occurs. Sanford says that less than 10 percent of each online genre magazine’s audience pays or donates “to support what the [sic] love.” But this isn’t entirely the fault of the readers, although readers should feel a moral obligation to pay for what they read especially if they have the money to do so. It’s also the fault of the publishers for offering their content for free. Sanford says that this can force other types of magazines to offer free content just so they can stay in circulation. “If many of the most prominent SF/F magazines continue to provide stories for free, there will be pressure on all other magazines—and on any new magazines—to do the same.”However, this may change. Sanford explains that “many non-genre newspapers, magazines and online publications no longer provide all their content for free, with paywalls increasingly restricting what people can access online.” He goes on to say that because of this, people may eventually be more willing to pay to read their favourite periodicals and so this will eventually also be the case with genre magazines.
The Reader Should Not Expect Free Content
Before I read about this, I’d get pissed off whenever I tried reading an article on a big news media website such as NYTimes.com and a paywall message popped up saying that I used up all my allotted free content and that to get unlimited access I would have to subscribe. Yet as a writer of sci fi and fantasy, I also get turned off whenever I’m researching fiction markets to submit to and I find out that one does not pay for the stories it accepts. At that point I leave that magazine’s website and look for another one.So we as readers shouldn’t expect to get free content from online magazines. They have to pay their writers and other staff. And many of us being writers ourselves also want to write for pay. We’re putting in too much time and effort to write for free. Many of us have spent too many years perfecting our craft. For a publisher to expect us to write for free is an insult to us and our work. For readers to expect this is also an insult to us and should also be to the publishers putting out our work. It’s an insult that basically says they don’t care how hard we work on our writing and that it will never be good enough for monetary payment in a society that puts so much emphasis on capitalism. Yet, there should be free access to good writing for the ones who can’t afford to pay to read it. That’s why there are libraries and we writers should do our part in community service and support them.
If more people are reading genre magazines, including sci fi and fantasy, that means there’s a demand for more copies of those magazines and their content. So supply and demand needs to be the rule like it’s become for non-genre online magazines. As the late Harlan Ellison said, the writer has to be paid. And so does the magazine staff, including the chief editor.
I may take next weekend off from the blog. I have family coming from out of town, including my cousin and her new born daughter who I will see for the first time! Because next weekend is the third Saturday, that means I will have to delay the Book-To-Movie until the following weekend. Until then think about the questions below and feel free to leave your answers or other comments in the box below them.
How important do you think it is that writers and magazine staff get paid for their work? Would you be willing to write or edit for free regularly?
Until next time . . .
Unfortunately that is a downside to the Internet - everyone wants it for free. I have no problem paying for a magazine and yes, I would want to be paid as a writer.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to know there are more magazines in our genre now.
I like genre fiction magazines, especially since I mostly write short fiction. And the good thing is many of them offer more than one format than just digital/online such as audio and print.
DeleteAs a writer, I do expect to be paid. Unfortunately, most of the editors I've worked with are doing it for the love, as you've stated here. I have so much respect for them, and want to see them getting paid, too. They've all got day jobs, and are putting their extra time into this. The paywall is a good idea to start.
ReplyDeleteRight. I writer who works hard, especially when he/she is working a full-time's worth of writing in addition to a day job, deserves to be paid.
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