QUEST FOR FICTION

Mr. Charles Coleman Finlay (whose story "We Come Not to Praise Washington" from F&SF was reviewed by Lady E. in the our last column) has posted some very intriguing numbers over at the TANGENT NEWSGROUP detailing the circulation of what he terms the "top tier" pubs and their "second tier", presumably poor, relations.

The gist of Mr. Finlay's statistical survey appears to illustrate the dominance of the "top tier" pubs, though it does indicate a clear upswing in diversity among the small press. His "top tier" includes four print magazines and, obliquely, one web publication.

Here are the top print pubs: ANALOG, ASIMOV'S, F&SF, and REALMS OF FANTASY. The web magazine is, of course, SCI FICTION, for which no circulation numbers can be ascertained.

I won't disclose circulation numbers here. If anyone is interested they should look up Mr. Finlay's post on the Tangent Newsgroup. Suffice to say, that the figure listed for the highest circulating print pub is under 50,000, which, incidentally, is the circulation of my hometown's "alternative", weekly newspaper, "The Illinois Times".

Mr. Finlay goes on to point out that "the circulation numbers of all ten magazines listed in the second tier (are) not equal to ANALOG'S circulation...."

Despite Mr. Finlay's admission that there are too many publications online and off to dutifully invoice -- his description of the "second tier" magazines is a bit misleading. A cursory look at RALAN.COM netted a list of 103 semipro publications and 81 non-paying markets. Mr. Finlay includes TALEBONES magazine, with a circulation far below 1 thousand as one of his "second tier" publications, so we will assume that a circulation above 500 is good enough for a pub to be considered "second tier".

With over 180 markets listed here, one might assume that, taken altogether, the "second tier" pub circulation numbers not only equal ANALOG'S numbers, but surpass them. Another mitigating factor is that the "second tier" magazines may represent a variety of "niches" whereas the "top tier" circulation likely includes a great deal of crossover subscribers and shelf-sales.

Mr. Finlay remarks, rightly, that there has been a "zine explosion", a tremendous surge in small press SF and asserts that only a "crazy person would bother" to track these myriad, elusive numbers. We may disagree somewhat with Mr. Finlay's rather peremptory ranking of the pubs, but we agree wholeheartedly with his implied assertion that there is currently an explosion of activity and diversity in the small press venues.

The problem, as Mr. Finlay points out in his post, is directing readers to the mark. To this excellent assertion, we'd like to add that the procurement of solid writers is also necessary -- and that the small press offers great opportunities for aspiring scribes.

After all, only a crazy person would ever attempt to earn a living writing short SF, even at a "pro" rate of compensation.

And just what kind of chance does a typical writer have selling to the "top tier"?

Anecdotal evidence harvested from the Critters "Submitting to the Black Hole" response-time tracker, reveals some interesting numbers. The stats below show the number of responses listed on the tracker for each pub and the number of successful sales. The numbers for all of the pubs below record submissions posted by writers and cover entries from Jan 2000 through this month -- over two years worth of submissions.

Keep in mind that this response tracker records only data submitted by writers who offer their stats. Presumably the number of submissions not recorded dwarfs the recorded numbers. Professional or veteran writers are also more likely to record their submissions, so you're likely getting a snapshot of the better competition.

It seems fairly obvious that the "top tier" pubs are glutted with ambitious writers and that the vast majority of them have next to no chance of placing anything in these pubs.

Lady E. and I have some fantastic pubs to show you, now, and all of them are dynamite markets for writers. Monetary payment is minimal or nonexistent, but we hope to persuade writers that considerations other than money can be considered "payment" for sending in your best efforts.

Readers who are not writers will happily devour the fiction in the following pubs, one of which can be accessed free of charge.

DARK REALMSreceived a review from us in our "Brilliant Bad Girls" column and won our Great Fiction Brand Award.

A more visually stunning publication would be hard to find, if one exists at all. From its glossy cover, through fascinating articles on everything from occult secrets and mysteries, to profiles of cutting-edge Goth bands, DARK REALMS shines with haunting visual abundance. Perusing issue #7 is like flowing through a romantic dream. Without reading a word of text, the pub conveys its sensual and soulfully somber aesthetic, and leads the eye eagerly from page to page.

Fiction in DARK REALMS is macabre and trancelike, with a resounding sense of "poetic justice". Issue #7 features, "Mr. Bryan", a lover's triangle in Voodoo rhythms by Jason Brannon.

Tough guy protag, Scott, is summoned to a meeting with his former employer, Mr. Bryan, a powerful gangster who dismissed Scott from his job as a bodyguard after catching him "in the act" with Bryan's wife, Janice. At the meeting, Scott is presented with a heavy Samsonite suitcase which is chained and padlocked, and protected by a lead crucifix, a Star of David, and a porcelain statuette of Christ.

Mr. Bryan explains that he needs Scott to dispose of the suitcase because it contains a Voodoo Demon that he paid a Haitian priest to summon to murder his wife, but that the Demon must now be destroyed. Scott presses his former boss on the issue of monetary compensation and he is assured such compensation will be to his liking.

Scott takes the suitcase, reasoning naturally that it contains Janice's dismembered body. The movement within that frequently shakes and rattles the suitcase he attributes to rats, which he knows from experience are quite effective at eliminating evidence. Once alone with the suitcase -- you guessed it, our hero decides to pick the heavy duty lock and have a look inside....

This story loses some momentum as it pulls to a close though I'm sure some readers will be surprised by the denoument. Whether the closing twist gives you a shiver or not, "Mr. Bryan" is a fun read, competently penned and wreathed in wicked righteousness.

As a showcase for Gothic fiction, DARK REALMS offers writers a great venue to flash one of their darker gems. Readers are typically treated to a single, carefully chosen piece of fiction, short enough to read in one quick-sit and good enough to remember long after you leave the pub's brilliantly adorned pages.

Another awesome semipro pub is FUTURES Mysterious Anthology magazine, an eccentric and highly impressive print pub that's friendly to reader and writer alike. Writers take note: FUTURES seeks materials from all genres, includes cartoons, flash pieces, mystery, suspense, horror, sci fi, and fantasy with a 10 K word limit. They accept email submissions ONLY and they nominate for the Pushcart Prize. Readers and writers both note, they have a cool website to go along with the pub, and also, Owner/Publisher Babs Lakey is a tremendously energetic and gregarious woman who has really put together a dynamite publication.

I spent a happy two or three hours prowling through Issue #26, The "Psycho Mama" issue, so named after its Mama's Day theme -- and its cover illustration by Kevin Bolk.

At a hefty 120 pages, happily devoted to fiction, poetry, mini-editorials, interviews, cartoons, and classy illustrations, FUTURES is a reader's Paradise. The scope of this column allows me to do no more than graze at the wealth of entertainment in a single issue. There's detective fiction, Hitchcock stories, funny poems, morbid poems, sad stories, revenge stories, wacky cartoons, suspense, fantasy, sci fi, noir, cozies -- even noir cozies and none of it is "filler". You won't be overwhelmed by the abundance, you'll savor it page by page while quick-plotted, skillfully narrated tales whisk you away on adventure after adventure.

A clever example of FUTURES' quick fiction is, "Big Mama's Day", by Stephen D. Rogers, an intriguing portrait/puzzle without a wasted word. Rogers spins an interesting variation on the Murderous Matriarch theme. The story, while not an entirely original recipe, offers a spicy tingle or two and is wonderfully compressed, leaving room on the same single page for a mini-reminisce by G. Mikki Hayden, who offers a paragraph-ode to Motherhood. Both pieces, though driven by opposite emotions and written in opposite styles, celebrate the death-defying pragmatism of mothers, and it is this type of editorial flourish that makes FUTURES such a great pub to read.

"Momma's Boy" by Carole Kilgore continues the Matricidal motif of issue #26. This is also a quick and smoothly written tale that showcases a scheming protag and a wickedly pragmatic Mama. When Edward decides to "bump off" his wealthy mother, he's got a full-proof plan. Too bad he forgot about Mama's cane. I laughed out loud at the ending of this story and even the grimmest reader out there will crack a smile.

FUTURES offers a wide range of slipstream stories, including Suicidal Vampire fiction by C. Dennis Moore, Punk Teenager Alien Invasion fiction by Judith Lamb, and Dragon P.I. Mystery fiction by Jan Christensen. Many of these pieces are decidedly tongue-in-cheek and the pub bristles with joyous creativity -- free of pretension or "stuffiness". Readers and writers should note that FUTURES is now in its fifth year and shows no sign of slowing down. If you're hungry for an energetic and wide ranging magazine that includes, but is not limited to SF, I encourage you to click over to the FUTURES website and subscribe. Single issues are also available. I also encourage writers to seriously consider submitting some of their better stories to the pub. FUTURES offers a diverse audience, an attractive layout, and a better chance of finding room for freelance submissions than a typical "pro" pub.

For our last pub, we've decided to say a bit more about a new Fantasy publication, SWORD'S EDGE, which we mentioned back in our "Return To Fantasy" column. This is a new epub and writers take heed -- Editor Fraser Ronald is actively in need of fiction submissions, especially Heroic Fantasy, sword and sorcery, and all manner of adventure driven tales.

Make no mistake, SWORD'S EDGE is truly a babe in the woods. If you want to know what awards the site has won, what anthologies have grabbed from its contents, or what the critics are saying -- you're out of luck, mostly. However, SWORD'S EDGE is part of the At Fantasy website, and as such, is readily available to that site's larger audience which is largely composed of RPG players and Fantasy enthusiasts.

Writers who publish at SWORD'S EDGE will definitely attract readers and the audience is likely to include many who do not typically follow the "top tier" publications. In other words, a fresh audience, hungry for High Fantasy, adventure stories, and Heroic tales.

Don't let the lack of monetary compensation stop you from reading this pub or submitting your stories to it. A better way of looking at SWORD'S EDGE would be to see it as a professionally produced, very attractive web publication with a growing audience -- and great opportunities for both readers and writers.

Best of all, it's free of charge. And stories post perpetually, so they are never "out of print". The cleanly arranged archives allow visitors to surf through all the issues of the pub quickly and without confusion.

A great story from the latest issue is ,"Race into Blood", by Peter J. Welmerink. This is a hoof-pounding, sword slinging Barbarian vs. the Goblins combat story, heavy on role-playing-like action, light on obscurity and erudition. Welmerink teases the reader with a fiery portrait of his barbarian hero, Sturoq Adahy, who is haunted by the scornful ghost of his father, a one-time nobleman. Riding alone through to the wastes of "central Kren", Sturoq is ambushed by a goblin horde and must confront the nature of his brutal spirit, as well as the darker aspects of genocide as he strives to heed his father's bloodthirsty admonitions.

Readers searching for complex Literature will likely deride some of the fiction at SWORD'S EDGE, but readers and writers looking for a fresh source of plot and character driven adventure stories will be thrilled. Click over and decide for yourself, it doesn't cost a penny, and Fraser's made it easy to get around on the site.

To sum up our feelings about the small press: for writers, we feel the "second tier" magazines offer a splendid chance to get your fiction our to a diverse audience. Taken as a whole, submissions to numerous small press pubs will likely result in more publications and a larger, cumulative audience base than will submissions to the "first tier" pubs.

For readers -- we heartily recommend an immediate journey to the wild lands of the small press for anyone who feels their fiction addiction isn't being "fixed" by the more widely known publications. And for those of you who are interested in seeing just how much diversity is currently evident in the short SF field, we advise that you continue to read this column. We'll keep on bringing you reviews of great small press pubs right alongside our reviews of the "pros".

Our Great Fiction Brand award goes this week to "FUTURES Mysterious Anthology magazine",-- the whole magazine, from tip to tail. We can't stress enough how much variety and entertainment comes packed in this pub. We can and will continue to review stories from FUTURES, and when we mention the magazine in our column, it will henceforth be followed by our GF Brand. Congrats to Babs Lakey and to all the writers and staff who make the pub possible. You done good!!!

Thanks also, to Mr. Charles Coleman Finlay, whose informal statistical survey posted at the Tangent Newsgroup really got us thinking. We think he's right about the explosion of diversity and energy in the small press pubs. Circulation rates for the "second tier" publications give every indication that at least in some cases they are on the rise. There also appears to be no reason to dispute that circulation rates for the "top tier" print publications seem to be in decline.

Until Next Time,

Daniel E. Blackston

Firebrand Fiction Reviews: all content © 2002, Daniel E. Blackston