Entries Tagged 'New Markets' ↓

What are waylines? According to David Rees-Thomas and Darryl Knickrehm they are a phenomenon recently discovered by NASA. They elaborate on this with the rather cryptic quotation: ‘Waylines are the seams of the universe. They are its borders, where reality and fantasy collide, where the impossible comes true. And sometimes they split open. Sometimes, the unknown slips out.’

Cool. So what, then, is Waylines? Waylines is a new bi-monthly, multi-media, speculative fiction magazine. They are currently on the lookout for science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction – writing with a bang that isn’t afraid to take a chance or play with genre and media.

Waylines aims to set itself apart from other SF magazines by delving into short film. Their goal is to release one short film with every issue of the magazine. For full submission details, for both writing and film, visit the Waylines website.

David and Darryl are also running a kickstarter campaign to get the magazine off the ground. Check out the kickstarter website to contribute to the magazine and secure an array of sweet pledge rewards, including subscriptions, limited edition publications, t-shirts and more.

Speakeasy recently caught up with David and Darryl to discuss the emergence of their new SF mag.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how Waylines came about, and what your goals are for the magazine?

David Rees-Thomas and Darryl Knickrehm (D&D): Waylines Magazine came about as the logical result of me, David Rees-Thomas, and Darryl Knickrehm (we are co-editors) getting together and talking SF/fantasy and all that jazz every week. We are both writers as well, and we know there are a ton of great writers out there. There is always room for another magazine to highlight their wonderful stories.

The idea grew as our weekly meetings became more dominated by the idea, and as we sounded out folk, who we trusted, about their opinions. We’re now on the verge of launching as a pro-rates paying market, which is our ideal.

I worked as the Managing Editor at Ideomancer prior to launching Waylines, and I learned so much about how to keep things from getting out of control (slush keeps rolling in even as you sleep) and also, about the absolute importance of respect, for our authors, and for the process. We aim to turn stories around quickly, especially if they are ones we are not interested in publishing. We also aim to make our editorial process as transparent as we can. If in doubt, query!

Darryl has a background in film, and art, and we are editing the magazine as a team. This is important for us. We trust each other’s opinions and each of us brings a different take on an individual story.

We are both big fans of mags like Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Lightspeed, Shimmer, F and SF, Apex, Analog, Strange Horizons, and so on. Oh yeah, and, of course, Ideomancer! We’ve been inspired by all these guys, and we also want to do something just a little different by including film as well as fiction.

Here’s a link, where you can get more of a sense of what we’re about-

http://www.waylinesmagazine.com/index.html

Speakeasy: Waylines is currently running a Kickstarter campaign. Can you tell us a little about the campaign, how it works, and how people can get involved?

Our aim is to pay our authors pro-rates for their fiction. To this end, we started a Kickstarter campaign. The aim is to raise money to complement the money we have put in ourselves. It is not just a donation though, as you are essentially buying products or services related to the magazine, such as subscriptions, t-shirts etc. Crowdfunding has become a viable and interesting method of getting numerous art projects off the ground.

Please feel free to take a look at the page, and the video. We only have 5 days left, so any help is hugely appreciated.

Speakeasy: I understand that you are currently accepting fiction submissions; can you talk a little about the kind of work that Waylines is looking for?

D&D: Great science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all the literature that hugs the edges. Honestly, that really does cover it. We like good space opera, and we like literary works. We are not quite as keen on flash fiction as some other markets perhaps, and we prefer stories that are not just one or two scenes, followed by a twist.

Aside from that, we are very open to submissions. We can promise a fast turnaround, and transparency of process.

Speakeasy: What sort of thing immediately turns you off of a submission? Conversely, what really draws you in?

D&D: We are not turned off by much. Violence, sexism, ageism, racism etc., which seems to have no purpose in the story except to make things ‘bad’ for a character is, for sure, a big issue.

Bad cover letters and bad formatting means you are doing yourself a disservice. Why bias the editors against your work, before they even get to the story? Check the internet, read the guidelines of the magazine, keep it simple.

Speakeasy: With a range of SF publications already available, how does Waylines aim to make itself stand out?

D&D: One important thing to note is that we see ourselves as joining a family of great magazines, and publications. We will be publishing short fiction, but we also aim to spotlight short genre film as well. This aspect of the magazine may take a bit more time to establish, but it’s something we feel adds an interesting dimension.

There is so much great speculative fiction out there, just itching to get published, so we can offer another platform for new and established authors.

We are also examining how we can use new media to broaden our audience, and that of speculative fiction as a whole.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us about the decision to publish short films, and what this multi media approach means for the magazine?

D&D: We wanted to take advantage of the digital format, because there’s so much more that can be done. Darryl’s been making films for years, and, ever since he organised and produced the Kansai International Film Festival, he’s been talking about all the short genre films out there that go unnoticed by a general audience.

We both figured the digital format of Waylines would be a perfect way to screen these films. So we thought, what better way to complement short stories than with short films?

Speakeasy: I understand issue one is due out in January 2013; what is next for Waylines? Are there any upcoming developments or opportunities you’d like to highlight?

D&D: Well, we plan on releasing six issues a year and we also plan on having an e-reader version which we will send to subscribers. This may be available through Amazon. We are always working on a business plan to carry Waylines forward, so that it is an enduring publication.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you might like to mention?

Thank you for your questions.

Please visit us at Waylines!

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

Preparing to do the edit on you latest manuscript? Agent Rachel Gardener presents a quick and dirty list showcasing How to Cut a Thousand Words Without Shedding a Tear. A lot of the advice may sound familiar, but her comment on the math of editing is brilliant and incorporates some of my favourite advice about first drafts into rewriting.

Novellas: they’re two short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, and people tend to get all awkward when you ask them to explain why they’re different to either. Despite this the people who love the novella format really love it, so it’s great to see Seizure launch Viva La Novella competition for works between 20,000 and 50,000 words.  Entries close November 1st, 2012.

The Emerging Writers Festival has released its full program for 2012, and they’ve started their search for the next emerging editor who’ll work on next years installment of the Emerging Writer series.

Nansi Kunze makes a great argument for the place of humor in YA Fiction.

The resurgence of the Booklife Now blog continues, and it seems to be even stronger than the blogs first iteration. This week we recommend the brilliant guest post by Angela Slatter and LL Hannett about collaboration, as well as contributions about how to interview an author and How to Get Booksellers to Love You (and Sell Your Book).

Need to develop a thicker skin? There’s some real tongue-in-cheek brilliance in the existence of Online Rejection Generator – a service that will send writers one of several rejections, from the mild to the breathtakingly harsh, in order to take the sting out of the process before they start sending work out.

There’s a lot of aspiring writers who want to do what they do full-time, but there’s far fewer aspiring writers who actually prepare for the realities of being their own boss. Survival of the Freelancer: 7 Tips covers some of the things to consider when it comes to running your own writing business, from making the right choice to getting a good accountant and thinking about superannuation.

Those are the links that caught our attention at the AWM offices this week – how about you? We’d love to hear about the posts, articles, and links that got you thinking this week in the comments.

Here’s a great opportunity for creative non-fiction writers…

The U.S. quarterly magazine Creative Nonfiction, in association with the Australian arts company tashmadada, seeks new essays for a special “Australia” issue. They’re looking for a variety of perspectives–from locals, expats, tourists, or anyone else–and will consider essays of all forms and focus as long as Australia’s landscape, people, and/or culture are prominently featured; the stories are
true; and submissions are previously unpublished.

There will be only two contest winners, but all submissions will be considered by the judges for inclusion in Creative Nonfiction #46: Australia, which will be launched at the 2012 Melbourne Writers’ Festival.

Deadline: January 31, 2012. Cost: $20.00 per entry (or special deals if you subscribe to the journal as well). Electronic submission only.

Prizes (provided by The Writers Conversation):

• $6,500 for Best Essay (All writers and submissions, regardless of country of origin, will be considered for the $6,500 prize.)

• $2,500 for Best Essay by an Australian Writer (Only submitters who are current citizens or permanent residents of the Commonwealth of Australia will be considered for this prize. The same writer/essay may not win both prizes.)

To submit, visit: www.creativenonfiction.org or www.tashmadada.co

At tonight’s Writing Race, we will welcome crime fiction writer Katherine Howell, the author of Violent Exposure and Cold Justice. To find out more about Katherine, visit www.katherinehowell.com.

To have some fun and gain feedback from Katherine on your own writing, feel free to join us at www.awmonline.com.au at 8pm.

All welcome!

The fabulous Margaret Simons, font of knowledge on the future of journalism and a guest speaker last year for QWC’s Wordpool (access the audio at ABC Pool), has compiled a table of pay rates for freelance journalists in Australia. It also notes insider knowledge about editorial processes and other handy tips. This has sparked off an interesting debate on the ethics of  freelancers being asked/forced to work for free. In response, Margaret crowd-sources advice and information for writers looking to get started.

Margaret Simons in conversation with Matt Condon at a QWC Wordpool event

For creative writers, the pay rates are no better. This article on The Writer Career Arc (or why we love the Susan Boyle story) points out that ‘… the literary apprenticeship is a lengthy one for the majority, …getting published at all is difficult, and to get paid enough to not do anything else but write is virtually a dream.’

Writing is a labour of love, and the financial incentives are few. But remember: many people do make a living out of their writing, so you can, too. Think creatively about opportunities, build your author platform as well as your craft, and don’t give up.

It is a busy time here at AWMonline!

Next week we have a live online Q&A forum with Children’s/Young Adult author (and total sweetie) Michael Gerard  Bauer. I’ll be posting details next week, but for now just mark the date in your diary: next Wednesday 29 April at 11am-12pm.

This Tuesday we welcomed guest Writing Racer Christine Bongers, who inspired Racers on to our greatest word count yet, bringing the total tally up to a massive 34,112 words!

We are also starting to get some firm details about the program for the Byron Bay Writers Festival, with early Bird ticket sales having just opened. AWMonline will be hosting an all day pre-festival publishing seminar … but more about that later.

This week, a Keitai character presents a few of our favourite links for your clicking interest:

• The territorial copyright debate on our little island is making international news: The Guardian reports the issues more clearly than  most Australian news outlets.
• Keitai books take off: ‘If Shakespeare were alive now, he would be a mobile phone novelist‘.
• The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) are conducting a series of one-day seminars in the east coast cities of Australia. Check out multiplatform producer Kelly Chapman’s blog about it.
• The Tweenbot art experiment restores faith in human (well, New Yorker) nature. I so want to program one of these adorable gizmos to perform random literary readings, and record the results.
• Business cards for the econopocalypse, featuring meat and lasers. Extra handy for writers: informative and edible!

Wishing you all a happy writerly weekend.

Well, now you can make a living from it too… Check out Jobs.Problogger, a jobs board where companies and jobbing bloggers can meet… There seems to be a lot of opportunities on there though it might not start off as the most lucrative of career choices with ’salaries’ ranging from just US$4 per blog (1 a day required), to $100 a month, to a percentage of ad sales for your blog page….

But if you’ve got a passion for er, tomatoes or tea (currently listed) there could be the perfect opportunity for you…

Just came across this very interesting site from by the BBC. The WritersRoom ’identifies and champions new writing talent in film, television, radio and theatre.’ To do this, they seem to survey theatre companies, writing competitions and events, as well as accept unsolicited scripts. According to the success stories on the site, Writersroom has placed new talent on shows like Eastenders, Waking the Dead, and even Doctor Who, and sorted out a couple of theatre residencies and writer-in-residence programs. The website also has links to training and development courses, free script templates, examples of successful scripts that have come through the program, and interviews with a bunch of TV writers.

Ain’t that fab? What a great idea – an organisation with as much clout as the BBC actively scouring the crop of wannabe writers in the UK, picking out the best ones, and actually giving them jobs. It just seems really exciting, doesn’t it?

Of course, the BBC was probably getting a tonne of unsolicited scripts every week anyway, and developing a single website, and a single point of contact for all those unsolicited scripts, totally makes sense. A one-stop-shop telling writers exactly what to do and exactly where to go? We’re fond of that sort of thing, here at AWM.

Do you know what the best news is? The Beeb is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, and they want fresh talent.

And they take submissions from overseas writers.

This is something that we blogged about back in October and now the NY Times has written about the Japanese mobile phone novelists as well. It seems to be pretty big news at the moment and 5 of the Top 10 bestseller novels in Japan last year were orginally cellphone novels, with the Top 3 all being written by 1st time cellphone novelists.

There’s a real buzz around this format which is basically just an extension of blogs becoming books, and in a technology-focused country such as Japan it was probably inevitable that this kind of instant novel would evolve – whether those in more literary circles like it or not.

We then came across this great blog about it - complete with an English translation of a passage of text from one of the ‘novels’ – so you can see what all the fuss is about! Can’t say it has left us exactly gagging for more but you can see the appeal (I think) - although it may be a bit longer before it catches on in the rest of the world…

This has been sent out by the nice folks over at Articulate:

The ABC’s arts weblog Articulate (http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate) is calling for pitches for a new opinion section, the Soapbox.

Starting soon, every Monday there will be a 200-word opinion piece by an Articulate reader, discussing some aspect of the arts.

It could be topical (eg, Australian take on the US writers strike, the PM’s new literary award) or something much more personal (eg, why you love/hate romantic comedies, or how you hate it when people say ‘I don’t read sf/horror/fantasy/romance/whatever’).

The idea is to engender debate on the Australian arts scene — be it books, music, theatre, or visual art.

Please send your one-sentence pitches to Gary Kemble, via: http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/contact-us.html