A little more about our pay rates...

[Chaos, Perpetual]

I wasn't looking for a get-rich-quick scheme when I began writing. Most writers, at least the ones who keep writing for any longer than a few months, probably weren't either. To draw any sort of revenue as an author, a person will likely need to build a solid reader base, assemble one hell of a marketing scheme, or sign a contract with a big-name publisher—or any combination of the above. The reader base for EDF has grown substantially since its beginnings, and continues to do so. Writers wanted to be read, the last I heard. Otherwise, they would sit around scribbling in notebooks that no one would ever read, the compositional equivalent of talking to themselves.

Besides, as someone indicated above, this is flash fiction we're talking about...not novella-length epics.

[Jordan Lapp]

Neil,

First of all, thank you for being so forthcoming. It's rare to find an editor of a major magazine like Clarkesworld who is so approachable. This is one of the reasons that I've always been a supporter of the magazine, both here, and on SFReader (that and the fact that Nick writes awesome rejection letters).

I really appreciate your thoughts on pay rates. I certainly agree that paying authors for their work is the right thing to do. As I mentioned, when EDF becomes profitable, that'll be one of the first things we'll tackle.

Also, based on those incorrect values, it was implied that our numbers were just authors, not readers. No insult taken.

When I said "So it appears that high pay rates (unsurprisingly) lure writers to magazines, not readers", I didn't mean to imply that Clarkesworld's readers were mostly writers, and I think that's an unfair inference to draw. I've been to enough cons and met enough fans of the magazine to know that that's just not true.

What I meant to imply was that a certain number of readers will be writers who are attracted to the magazine because of its pay rate. Though I've stayed for the fine fiction, the first time I read the 'zine, it was with the intention of researching a market that I'd like to get into. I can't imagine that many readers think that because Clarkesworld pays 10c/word, it must be a market worth reading. It's my bet that many of them are completely unaware of the zine's pay rates.

Like you, we have a few ideas on growing our reader-base. Because EDF's stories are flash, we're looking at syndication to increase our readership. We'd love to be able to publish into some of the massive social networking sites (for instance, our "feed" is republished into Facebook right now). We're also going to be putting together sample "lesson plans" together featuring EDF stories and then post them to various teaching sites, in the hopes of tempting teachers into using EDF in their classrooms.

We're also looking to podcast, but until a decent voice actor steps forward, we're looking at automated solutions (attractive because of the huge volume of fiction that we publish). One of the voices that comes with Windows Vista is a candidate, but it's not quite there yet.

Your idea of starting a Chinese language version of the zine is an interesting one. EDF has included a "google translate" button on its front page so that foreign readers can enjoy the mag. I speak French, so I translated a recent story into French... and it wasn't as horrible as I imagined. Do you plan to translate existing Clarkesworld stories, or to publish Chinese stories written in Chinese?

[Clarkesworld]

I didn't mean to imply that Clarkesworld's readers were mostly writers, and I think that's an unfair inference to draw.

It's just how I read it. Like I said, it is likely that I would have come to that conclusion myself, so that's probably why I read it as I did. I think we can agree that neither one of us is trying to insult the other.

It's my bet that many of them are completely unaware of the zine's pay rates.

I agree with you completely. Readers, for the most part, don't care what the pay rate is. They tend to care more about the quality of the stories. Authors will be influenced by the reputation and pay rate of the venue. It determines what story they submit... ranging from their current favorite on down to a trunk story. I want them submitting their best to my editors, which in turn should give us the quality we're hoping to attain for our readers. So, in a roundabout way, pay or reputation (with authors) can have an impact the reader experience.

We're also going to be putting together sample "lesson plans" together featuring EDF stories

My day job is in education, so that's very appealing to me. My worlds rarely have a chance to collide and I like it when they do. I'm aware of two universities using some of our stories in their curriculum, but I'm not sure how they ended up picking them. The only reason I even know this is because of the very occasional incoming traffic from the course's websites.

I'm very interested in podcasting and making it something of a priority. Voice talent is major issue and the direction I take with that may very well be determined by who I can get involved. At this time, I'm planning on being one of the voices. I've tried the various automated solutions out there, but unfortunately they aren't up to my standards yet. They're impressive, but I just can't imagine listening to those voices for enjoyment. My plans for this also involve doing more than just stories. Non-fiction is a big draw and I plan to continue to use that to help draw people towards the fiction.

Do you plan to translate existing Clarkesworld stories, or to publish Chinese stories written in Chinese?

At this time, I'm only looking for translators. The trick is finding a good one. I know some Chinese instructors through my day job and they'd tell you, that they could easily do a functional translation, but what I really need is someone who also understands good writing and the genre. Unfortunately, neither feels up to the task. It's one of those things that will take some time to work out.

I'm terrible with foreign languages, so I think it's very cool that you're able to translate some of your stories yourself. I'd like to think that you might have an easier time finding people willing to work on translating flash, but I could be completely wrong. Best of luck with that!

 -Neil