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Matt Cheney on the publishing of short fiction:

It's going to be more and more difficult for some places to maintain their audiences without radical change, but there are other markets that are probably capable of surviving just fine, and even prospering, with only an occasional tweak. The short story is not dead in American culture -- various Best of the Year anthologies, whether specific to one genre or more general, don't sell too badly, suggesting that what the contemporary audience wants is not so much a continual blitz of monthly fiction, but fiction in portable chunks. The monthly and even weekly delivery of fiction may get taken over primarily by internet publishers, while print publishers find more success with less-frequent publications. As someone who has an awful lot of magazines, I can't say I mind the idea of most magazines becoming internet publications, because, frankly, they take up less room, and if I happen to forget an issue, I can go back through the online archives rather than digging through boxes. If I can zoom in with Google, I like as long a tail as possible, but prefer a much shorter one when it's stored at home, wriggling over shelves and the floor.

Perhaps the real future is one that's more like what's done by Pindeldyboz, Rain Taxi, and various other magazines that have separate, complementary print and web editions. Maybe it's more like what Strange Horizons, Infinity Plus, and Fantastic Metropolis have done: web content primarily, with an occasional print anthology. . . .

Comments

[Lux Tromhorn]

interesting stuff. my daughter's trying to get me into reading more. i like criticism more though. i have skimmed thru links and stuff and have found a number of interesting blogs. the best site though for me is this site that has poetry but also criticism. the fellow also has an anti-war piece that's a must read. anyway, thoughts for the day. Lux

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