Selznick Serials / Storyworlds Magazine

[Aggy B.]

Saw this today: Storyworlds Magazine

The submissions guidelines make me scratch my head:

1) They want contributors with previously established work/worlds
2) They want contributors with a well-established social media platform (which to me always says "You have to do the work of bringing in readers") "who actively and personally engage with that audience"
3) They want 12 months world-wide exclusive rights, PERPETUAL non-exclusive electronic rights (which can effectively kill reprint sales elsewhere - though not always), and non-exclusive anthology rights (covered under a separate contract for compensation if applicable).

Compensation is apparently a "share" of 50% royalties generated by subscriptions.

This seems a little questionable to me but maybe not. Perhaps because I'm not in their accepted contributor profile?

 

[Darkwing]

They sound a bit full of themselves, to be honest. Wouldn't authors established enough to have multiple works surrounding the same world want to save stuff set in that world for possible future anthologies or something? Or at least get a better deal for it?

In short, unless they're seeking people who have lots of friends and post their crappy writing on their blogs, their standards seem to be too high for the type of compensation they're offering.

But then I won't deal with any sort of publisher who merely offers a "share of royalties". I believe royalties wouldn't really be worth much on the short story level, and I want money for my writing up front.

 

[JulieB]

If you think that makes you scratch your head, click on the About link and read about how they do their calculations.

I'd watch this market, but I wouldn't jump to submit. But that's just me.

 

[defcon6000]

Sounds like an advertiser. You do all the work and they get the $$$. Might as well post on your blog and ask for donations. I'll pass on this market.

 

[Filigree]

I'll pass as well. Too much work for too little compensation. The platform requirement alone put me off.

 

[Aggy B.]

If you think that makes you scratch your head, click on the About link and read about how they do their calculations.

I'd watch this market, but I wouldn't jump to submit. But that's just me.

Hah. I hadn't gotten all the way down that page. The submissions guidelines were enough to make me think I wasn't interested. But I'm definitely not interested in a place that gives 48% of the money to the guy in charge (who says only 1% is actually spent on advertising the site/subscription/service) and then gives me a wacky percentage of the other 50%. (Or 20% of the subscriptions I bring in through my own effort.)

I kind of feel like those who might be interested in this kind of model, probably don't qualify and those who do qualify are going to tiptoe the other direction as fast as possible.

Maybe it's all more brilliant than it looks right now, but at the moment I can't see why an author would want to be involved with Storyworld.

 

[mwsmedia]

On Perpetual Non-Exclusive Rights At Storyworlds Magazine

Hi Aggy, and thanks for checking out Storyworlds Magazine!

I appreciate that you and others took the time to read about what I'm trying to do over there. As the creator of the magazine, I wanted to address some of the questions and concerns you and others raise.

3) They want 12 months world-wide exclusive rights, PERPETUAL non-exclusive electronic rights (which can effectively kill reprint sales elsewhere - though not always), and non-exclusive anthology rights (covered under a separate contract for compensation if applicable).

You weren't the first person to criticize the perpetual non-exclusive English language electronic rights we ask for.

Here's the reasoning behind that:

Subscribers will have access to the entire archive of Storyworlds Magazine, just as if one were to purchase back issues of a print magazine. If I bought access to, say, every back issue of Analog, I'd expect to find each issue complete and intact. I believe it's reasonable to expect the same from any magazine, regardless of the medium.

After all, if I purchased the last five years worth of issues of Analog, I'd be very disappointed if some of those issues had pages torn out.

However, it's been brought to my attention that some anthologies won't accept stories if they're currently available in another medium. I'm not sure what those anthologies do about stories they want that were previously printed in print magazines... but so be it.

That's why, as it states on the submissions page, at the author's request we will remove a piece from the archives following the initial exclusivity period of twelve months. If an author is no longer represented in the magazine, they will no longer be able to benefit from being an author affiliate.

Hopefully, it won't happen too often. I look forward to having the opportunity to find out!

Thanks again for mentioning Storyworlds Magazine, Aggy!

Best,

 

[mwsmedia]

On Expectations At Storyworlds Magazine

Thanks for your feedback on Storyworlds Magazine, Darkwing.

They sound a bit full of themselves, to be honest. Wouldn't authors established enough to have multiple works surrounding the same world want to save stuff set in that world for possible future anthologies or something? Or at least get a better deal for it?

Too soon to say for sure! I do know that I've received some favorable responses from authors with multiple works in a variety of media (short stories, novels, serials, podcasts) set in a storyworld of their own creation. All of the authors I'm personally reaching out to have some kind of engagement with their fans. That doesn't mean they all have the same level of, for want of a better word, fame. Some are Hugo Award winners, and some are, shall we say, big fish in a small pond.

But then I won't deal with any sort of publisher who merely offers a "share of royalties". I believe royalties wouldn't really be worth much on the short story level, and I want money for my writing up front.

I'll grant you, especially at this stage of the game as I gather submissions for the first issues, Storyworlds Magazine is a bit of a gamble for authors. If you can sell a 3,000 word story to another market and earn a few hundred bucks from it, by all means, you should do it!

What Storyworlds Magazine offers is a share of royalties every month for twelve months, plus 20% of the revenue of every new subscriber the author brings in as an author affiliate. The royalty share ends when the exclusivity period ends... the author affiliate program continues for as long as the author has material in the Storyworlds Magazine archives.

What that means in terms of long tail income from that story depends on the success of the magazine... and the author's willingness to support and promote their own work in the magazine.

We'll see how it turns out!

Thanks, again, for your thoughts, Darkwing.

Best,

 

[mwsmedia]

On the Balance of Promotional Efforts at Storyworlds Magazine

Thanks for your thoughts on Storyworlds Magazine, defcon6000!

You do all the work and they get the $$$.

Just to be clear, contributors stand to get a share of 50% of the $$$.

Rest assured, contributors to Storyworlds Magazine aren't asked to do "all the work." They're not asked to maintain the website, do promotional appearances and interviews, seek out support, read submissions, prepare each issue, etc. ;-)

What I do expect from contributors is something I believe to be one of the author's primary responsibilities to their work: to get that work to an audience.

When a story is published in Storyworlds Magazine, I expect the author of that story to tell everyone they know where and how to find it. I don't think that's so unusual in this era; I think it's integral to a creator's success no matter where or how they're published.

Might as well post on your blog and ask for donations.

That can work very well if you have a large enough audience, to be sure. One benefit to being published in a venue like Storyworlds Magazine, of course, is that your work is seen by people who aren't necessarily already part of your audience. And so long as Storyworlds Magazine makes money at the end of the month, so do you, for a year. Maybe longer!

Thanks for chiming in! All of this feedback is useful and interesting.

Best,

 

[mwsmedia]

On Publisher Compensation at Storyworlds Magazine

But I'm definitely not interested in a place that gives 48% of the money to the guy in charge (who says only 1% is actually spent on advertising the site/subscription/service) and then gives me a wacky percentage of the other 50%. (Or 20% of the subscriptions I bring in through my own effort.)

I'm sincerely curious, Aggy B -- what percentage of revenue (considering that revenue is solely generated by subscriptions -- no ads on-site, no donations, no investors) do you think it's fair for the publisher to take?

The 1% of revenue dedicated to advertising only goes toward, of course, paid advertising like banner ads, newsletter listings, and the like. It doesn't go toward my time spent promoting the magazine.

I'm a strong believer in transparency, which is why I'm up front with how Storyworlds Magazine's net income will be allocated. If the revenue from Storyworlds Magazine reaches a level where I'm reasonably compensated for my time and effort, I'll certainly be able to invest more in advertising -- and in the regular donation to 826 National.[/QUOTE]

Thanks again for your thoughts, Aggy B! I'm looking forward to you elaborating on the percentage thing.

Best,

 

[Aggy B.]

I'm sincerely curious, Aggy B -- what percentage of revenue (considering that revenue is solely generated by subscriptions -- no ads on-site, no donations, no investors) do you think it's fair for the publisher to take?

The 1% of revenue dedicated to advertising only goes toward, of course, paid advertising like banner ads, newsletter listings, and the like. It doesn't go toward my time spent promoting the magazine.

I'm a strong believer in transparency, which is why I'm up front with how Storyworlds Magazine's net income will be allocated. If the revenue from Storyworlds Magazine reaches a level where I'm reasonably compensated for my time and effort, I'll certainly be able to invest more in advertising -- and in the regular donation to 826 National.

Thanks again for your thoughts, Aggy B! I'm looking forward to you elaborating on the percentage thing.

Best,

I think my "Huh?" reaction here may be how you've worded things. You state very specifically that 48% is going to you. Singular. Not going to cover operational costs/overhead/website maintenance/staff salary. Going to YOU.

Perhaps that's not what you mean. Perhaps you are meaning to say that 48% goes to cover operational costs/overhead/website maintenance/staff salary. But that's not what you say. And for me, personally, that's a problem.

Not because I think you shouldn't make money, but what you're saying is: You want me to do the work creating the content for the site, content which I will not be paid for upfront, but will, in fact, only receive a single share of 50% of the net over 12 months. (Which, if I understand your "How it Works" page is really 1% of net over the 12 month period.) And in the meantime, you will take 48% of the net every month for yourself.

In addition, since my compensation for my story only applies to that 12 months, you will continue to make money off my work even when I am not. UNLESS I do the legwork to make sure that people coming to YOUR site where YOU are making money off MY work are doing so through MY affiliate account. (And even there, you seem to be making a very large percentage off my work. Even larger than the "shares".)

Again, I am not saying that you shouldn't make money too, but right now the profit model you've laid out is HEAVILY skewed to benefit you, not the authors posting content.

Because of this I have trouble seeing the incentive for an author to do business with you.

However, there are plenty of people who are not me who may be perfectly fine with the way you have things set up. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

 

[defcon6000]

Just to be clear, contributors stand to get a share of 50% of the $$$.

Rest assured, contributors to Storyworlds Magazine aren't asked to do "all the work." They're not asked to maintain the website, do promotional appearances and interviews, seek out support, read submissions, prepare each issue, etc. ;-)

However, if we don't promote the site, we don't get much (if any) of a paycheck, so we kind of have to.

What I do expect from contributors is something I believe to be one of the author's primary responsibilities to their work: to get that work to an audience.

When a story is published in Storyworlds Magazine, I expect the author of that story to tell everyone they know where and how to find it. I don't think that's so unusual in this era; I think it's integral to a creator's success no matter where or how they're published.

That's a bit of an assumption. Not everyone wants to promote their work, maybe out of shyness or modesty.

That can work very well if you have a large enough audience, to be sure. One benefit to being published in a venue like Storyworlds Magazine, of course, is that your work is seen by people who aren't necessarily already part of your audience. And so long as Storyworlds Magazine makes money at the end of the month, so do you, for a year. Maybe longer!

People who aren't part of my blog audience see my work as well. Lately, I've been getting 100+ page views a day, and I'm not even advertising.

I'm a strong believer in transparency, which is why I'm up front with how Storyworlds Magazine's net income will be allocated. If the revenue from Storyworlds Magazine reaches a level where I'm reasonably compensated for my time and effort, I'll certainly be able to invest more in advertising -- and in the regular donation to 826 National.

Problem with net income is that you can always report a negative value. It also means the author is paid last, after the publisher has taken their cut, instead of first. And if said author doesn't advertise enough, get enough people to come to the site, they may receive next to nothing in compensation--despite having already contributed their work. It's just not a good deal for authors.

But regardless, thanks for stopping by mwsmedia.

 

[mwsmedia]

Storyworlds Magazine: Language, Intent and Compensation

I think my "Huh?" reaction here may be how you've worded things. You state very specifically that 48% is going to you. Singular. Not going to cover operational costs/overhead/website maintenance/staff salary. Going to YOU.

That's a very valid note. I've edited that page to be a little less glib and a little more direct about where that 48% goes.

You want me to do the work creating the content for the site, content which I will not be paid for upfront, but will, in fact, only receive a single share of 50% of the net over 12 months.

Remember that the value of that single share depends on how many total active shares there are in a particular month. It could be as much as 25% of the contributor's share of revenue.

Take another look at the Storyworlds Magazine About page again, specifically the section describing the CCCM.

• Storyworlds Magazine will publish 2 ~ 3 stories and one piece of artwork each montly issue.
• Each work published in Storyworlds Magazine = 1 Share.
• There will never be more than fifty shares in a calendar year.
• Each month, for 12 consecutive months beginning at the end of the publication month, the author is paid an amount equal to 50% of the net income divided by the number of active shares.

What each month's share equals in terms of dollar amount depends on how many active shares there are and how much the magazine made that month.

In addition, since my compensation for my story only applies to that 12 months, you will continue to make money off my work even when I am not.

That's no different from, say, Clarksworld, where I could go right now, read a Jeff VanderMeer story from April of 2007 and give the magazine a donation of $10.00. I don't believe Jeff's going to see anything from that $10.00.

UNLESS I do the legwork to make sure that people coming to YOUR site where YOU are making money off MY work are doing so through MY affiliate account. (And even there, you seem to be making a very large percentage off my work. Even larger than the "shares".)

You could do as much, or as little, legwork as an affiliate as you would like. It could be as simple as a link on your website... really no trouble for you at all, and every time a sale is generated by that link you get as much as $2.45 (based on a quick calculation) for doing nothing.

Heck, since you're an affiliate during your first 12 months too, that's an easy way to "double dip" on your monthly royalty share and make as much as you can... all for doing something you'll probably do anyway, which is link to the place people can read your story.

Again, I am not saying that you shouldn't make money too, but right now the profit model you've laid out is HEAVILY skewed to benefit you, not the authors posting content.

In truth, compared to the time, energy and money required for an endeavor like this (including the time it takes away from paying work for a creative services freelancer like myself) I'm guessing it's going to be some time before I come close to breaking even from Storyworlds Magazine.

Some real world numbers:

So far, taking into account planning, website development, writing, promotion and outreach, I've spent, conservatively, 100 hours on Storyworlds Magazine, and I'm, at best, two months away from the first issue, so that number's going to go up and up.

But looking just at 100 hours... how many monthly subscribers at launch will I need to make minimum wage of $7.25 an hour? (Let's ignore the fact that my freelance rate is $50.00 / hour, and time spent on Storyworlds Magazine is time not spent chasing new clients, so that's thousands of potential income lost.)

Over 640 subscribers at the monthly level. That's if I don't work on Storyworlds Magazine another minute

Heck, just looking at the time I've spent on Absolute Write today, I'm gonna have to add a couple dozen more subscribers..! ;-)

I'm not whining about it... I just want to inject a little reality. This is not something that's to make me rich, quick or slow. But I'm doing it -- because I believe in the model and I believe in the potential of the model to pay off for everyone.

I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

Thank you, sincerely. I really appreciate the back and forth.

Best,

 

[mwsmedia]

On Storyworlds Magazine's Editorial Philosophy and Compensation

However, if we don't promote the site, we don't get much (if any) of a paycheck, so we kind of have to.
That's a bit of an assumption. Not everyone wants to promote their work, maybe out of shyness or modesty.

It's more than an assumption -- it's an expectation, one that Storyworlds Magazine spells out clearly:

"We believe creators must be responsible for bringing their creations to as large an audience as possible. (The Storyworlds Magazine compensation model) provides creators incentive to take an active role in building the audience for their work when it appears in Storyworlds Magazine."

As someone who has created, distributed and promoted my own creative endeavors for the last quarter century or so... and especially in post-Information Age we live in now... I firmly believe that it's an artist's responsibility to promote their work and engage their audience.

Call it an editorial philosophy.

People who aren't part of my blog audience see my work as well. Lately, I've been getting 100+ page views a day, and I'm not even advertising.

That's great, truly. A few questions:

• How much time do they spend on your site?
• How often does a visit result in income for you?
• Where on your site is your fiction? I couldn't find any.

It looks like your blog audience is there for your author platform / personal brand, which is great, and important... but they're not seeing your fiction on your blog, near as I can tell.

Problem with net income is that you can always report a negative value.

If you check out the About page, you'll see exactly what net income means:

"Every month, after all affiliates are paid and the payment processor takes their cut, 50% goes to MWS Media and 50% is put aside for contributors."

There can't be negative income under those criteria.

It also means the author is paid last, after the publisher has taken their cut, instead of first.

No, it doesn't. It means the publisher and the author are paid from the same pool -- the money left over after PayPal takes their 2.9% + $0.30 from every transaction, the subscriber affiliates get their 10% (if any) and the author affiliates (that's you!) get their 20% (if any).

And if said author doesn't advertise enough, get enough people to come to the site, they may receive next to nothing in compensation--despite having already contributed their work.

You make that sound as if said author is the only one struggling to find subscribers each month. It's a combined effort of all the contributors that month, plus the automatic revenue from monthly subscribers already in place, plus my own efforts to promote and grow Storyworlds Magazine.

If you have any kind of audience at all -- and they're committed to your success as an author like true fans are -- you'd have to work hard to not earn money from publishing in Storyworlds Magazine.

But regardless, thanks for stopping by mwsmedia.

Thanks, very much, for the feedback! I'm getting a lot from this discussion and it's appreciated.

Best,

 

[JulieB]

With my reader hat on, I'm not keen to subscribe to something without knowing what I'm going to get. Will you be providing samples? What will YOU do to entice people to subscribe?

 

[mwsmedia]

Incentivizing and Promoting Storyworlds Magazine

Hi Julie,

With my reader hat on, I'm not keen to subscribe to something without knowing what I'm going to get. Will you be providing samples? What will YOU do to entice people to subscribe?

Oh, you bet -- samples are a given (an excerpt of each story available to read before subscribing; a section of, or semi-transparent view of, artwork, and the like.)

I'll also be bringing the noise to my own audience (they love to evangelize, share and spread the word about stuff I'm involved with, bless 'em) and, especially as I ramp up to the first few issues, reaching out to my friends in the blogging and podcasting realms to do as many interviews and appearances (online and off) as I can muster. I'll also be running ads where appropriate and applicable.

I'm a guy who promoted his own first novel to #53 on the overall bestseller list at Amazon.com with no out-of-pocket expense (unless you count tireless effort), I've distributed my own work to tens of thousands all over the world, and, for agencies, I've worked on interactive marketing campaigns for major motion pictures and television shows.

I'm not going to be quiet about Storyworlds Magazine. You kidding me? ;-)

Cheers,

 

[Aggy B.]

That's no different from, say, Clarksworld, where I could go right now, read a Jeff VanderMeer story from April of 2007 and give the magazine a donation of $10.00. I don't believe Jeff's going to see anything from that $10.00.

This is true. But he was paid $0.10/word when the story was published. He did not have to wait and see how much his story was worth or might earn.

I don't see extra money when Daily Science Fiction sells copies of their monthly volumes, but I got the $200 upfront. Personally, that's more attractive than the promise of potential money down the road. (Especially when I can't quite wrap my head around these "shares". Could be my bad math skills there, though.) I'm sure plenty of folks are more comfortable with the vagaries of potential income. (There are plenty of folks who contract novels for royalties only.)

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[mwsmedia]

Storyworlds Magazine: Royalty Share vs Up-Front Payment

This is true. But he was paid $0.10/word when the story was published. He did not have to wait and see how much his story was worth or might earn.

Really, both situations have the same result. One is just spread out over twelve months:

Jeff knows how much he made submitting to Clarksworld, and after he was paid, they continued to benefit from the value of Jeff's story in their archives.

A contributor to Storyworlds Magazine also knows exactly how much they made at the end of their exclusive period, and Storyworlds Magazine will continue to benefit from the value of that contributor's story in the archives.

The difference: the contributor to Storyworlds Magazine can continue to earn money long after as an affiliate... so long as they have work at the magazine.

Personally, that's more attractive than the promise of potential money down the road.

It's a gamble, to be sure. Maybe you earn more from an up-front market... maybe you don't! Depends on the markets.

(There are plenty of folks who contract novels for royalties only.)

I've taken an advance for a novel and I've worked on a strictly royalties basis, too... I look at it on a case by case basis.

I totally get that the Storyworlds Magazine model won't be for everyone. Heck, no magazine is.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

I've enjoyed it! Thank you!

Best,

 

[CaoPaux]

Is now Selznick Serials: http://selznickserials.com/

Per Twitter feed, was hoping to reach 75 subscribers in Oct.

 

[mwsmedia]

Selznick Serials Is Not Storyworlds Magazine

Is now Selznick Serials: http://selznickserials.com/.

They're two different things, so the new title of this thread isn't quite right.

To be specific, the old storyworldsmagazine.com URL now redirects to selznickserials.com. Storyworlds Magazine didn't become Selznick Serials.

Storyworlds Magazine is something I've shelved for now. I may give it another shot when I have more capital and can afford to pour more time / energy / money into it.

Since there may be some overlap between people interested in Storyworlds Magazine and people interested in free serial fiction, I have the old URL redirecting to a new, different endeavor.

Selznick Serials is my free serial-fiction-by-subscription endeavor. The inaugural offering, a fantasy serial called "Walk Like A Stranger: Passing Through Home" is (as of this writing) about two and a half months old, thirteen installments in (out of a projected fifty two), and being delivered for free to just short of a hundred subscribers.

Here are all the details.

Cheers!