A new paradigm is coming to the field of science fiction and fantasy short fiction. Traditionally, SFF magazines publish a few stories every issue. In exchange for a subscription fee, print mags deliver them to your doorstep, while webzines send them to your inbox. Other short fiction ‘zines also compile themed anthologies for your viewing pleasure. Issues are usually delivered monthly or quarterly, with anthologies appearing annually or on special occasions.<\/p>\n
Lyonesse<\/a> by Silver Empire aims to change that.<\/p>\n Lyonesse is a short fiction subscription service. Instead of a few stories every month or so, Lyonesse delivers one story every week, straight to the reader’s inbox. Bonus stories will be published throughout the year as well. Instead of paying a flat fee to contributors, 60% of revenue will go to the authors in the form of royalties.<\/p>\n In other words, where traditional ‘zines deliver a bunch of stories in one shot, Lyonesse prefers a steady, regular drip, with the odd bonus story. Through the royalty model, authors could stand to make more money than flat payments (if Lyonesse takes off, of course).<\/p>\n I’m excited about Lyonesse. Eighty years ago, during the Golden Age of Science Fiction, writers could make a decent living by selling short stories to magazines. Today, costs of living have escalated, but pay rates have remained flat<\/em>.<\/p>\n The digital subscription model significantly reduces the cost to the subscriber without<\/em> cheapening the entire catalog of stories, making subscription affordable to a wide audience. The digital format also reduces the cost of advertising and marketing while making it easier to reach a wider audience. And as 60% of the revenue goes to the authors, they get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.<\/p>\n Many authors have signed up for Lyonesse, myself included. I understand that Lyonesse has attracted a significant concentration of talented writers and excellent stories. As for my own contribution, Russel Newquist, the editor of Silver Empire, has this<\/a> to say:<\/p>\n “His submission for Lyonesse simply blew me away”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And<\/a>:<\/p>\n “Can confirm: it is RADICALLY different from his previous works… and it is AMAZINGLY GOOD.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Far be it from me to boast about my own work, so I shall simply say that I hope you will enjoy it as much as I had writing it.<\/p>\n Silver Empire will be launching a Kickstarter for Lyonesse on December 1st. The introductory subscription rate is just USD $6.99 for an entire year. Stay tuned on Silver Empire’s website<\/a> and Mr Newquist’s site<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new paradigm is coming to the field of science fiction and fantasy short fiction. Traditionally, SFF magazines publish a few stories every issue. In exchange for a subscription fee, print mags deliver them to your doorstep, while webzines send them to your inbox. Other short fiction ‘zines also compile themed anthologies for your viewing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,32],"tags":[136,138,249,277,278,341],"class_list":["post-2383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publishing","category-uncategorized","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-publishing","tag-science-fantasy","tag-science-fiction","tag-writing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t