Say It Isn’t So!
I hope this is just bloggers expanding gossip beyond the realm of reality, but it appears that Realms of Fantasy Magazine will be ceasing publication of its monthly magazine.
According to SF Scope, the April 2009 issue currently at the printers is the final issue. However, if you go to the ROF’s website, there is nothing on the site about it. SF Scope says the news is so new that not even Shawna McCarthy, on vacation in Italy, had heard of it. According to Managing Editor, Laura Cleveland, the news broke rather suddenly and they still haven’t had a chance to let all their writers and artists know.
Okay, here’s the kicker. Newsstands sales are down. Advertising is down a little. But subscriptions are still good. Okay, it’s no news that newsstand sales are down on ROF, or advertising. Advertising has been down at the newspaper where I’ve been working since March and there’s no way they’re going to cease publication. And ROF probably has a ton more subscribers than we do. Also, the only SF magazine I ever see at my neighborhood newsstand is Analog and that’s only if some other scifi person hasn’t snatched it up before I did. For some reason many mainstream newsstands don’t carry SF magazines. There’s gotta be a high demand and a big push for it to happen.
But, supposedly, subscriptions are still good. So, why doesn’t the publisher just wait, instead of panicking and having the knee-jerk response of ceasing publication, and see what will happen in a couple of months. It’s JANUARY for God’s sakes! NO ONE has money in January. No one has money until March, at least! That’s just the way it is. Why not wait a few more months, see how things pan out with things before deciding to close things down.
Business people, managers, bean counters, whatever they’re called these days, can be so short-sighted.
Just wait. Patience. Perseverance. Hope. Hard work.
IN FACT, I would tell that publisher that it’s their PATRIOTIC DUTY to keep publishing for at least the first 100 days of the Obama administration and see whether things get better.
The more we panic and pull in, the worse it’s going to get. Geez people! Get a clue!
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on January 27th, 2009 at 11:15 PM
I keep spending money in an effort to get my medal of freedom.
on January 27th, 2009 at 11:52 PM
I hear ya! I’m trying. I’m trying to spend what I can afford in places that need it, but there’s only so much one person can do.
on January 28th, 2009 at 11:45 AM
The last year I have number for is 2006 – but the magazine circulation numbers were in free fall then.
Asimov’s subscription numbers were 15117 – a 13% drop from the year before.
Analog was the highest, with 23732 subscribers, but a paltry 4587 in magazine sales!
Fantasy & SF weighed in at 14575 subscribers and 3691 newsstand sales.
Those, my friends, are HORRIBLE numbers and they’re almost certainly lower now.
Their subscription numbers are falling dramatically (13%!) . Traditional newsstands won’t bother with them because the sales don’t justify the handling. Without the newsstand sales to creater new subscribers, they are faced with the prospect of continually declining numbers. Even Diamond Comics Dist. – normally a last refuge of low selling periodicals – won’t carry them because they don’t meet the minimum sales requirements.
So how can they be saved? Obviously on-line is where they are headed. One model would be sample stories for free, and then a PDF download at a fee. There are other options as well. But in most cases these magazines are going away because the money simply isn’t there.
Personally, I don’t want them to go away. As a writer I far prefer to see my stories in physical print. As a reader, I want the cover art and tangible book to take with me to read. I’ve got a house full of moldy paper. I have a difficult time caring about something that I can’t hold in my hand. But it’s already been well established that I’m a dinosaur.
But I’m not the only dinosaur. Think about this, our most succesful science fiction magazine is named “Analog”. Mind boggling.
on January 28th, 2009 at 2:41 PM
I don’t know, but according to that article it doesn’t even look like publisher tried anything like say cutting hours, cutting down on the color pages in the magazine, going to newsprint and black and white, cutting down on the fees paid to writers and artists. It would feel like going backwards, sure, but magazine would STAY OPEN! That’s half the battle. They could always go back to more hours, more color and better fees for writers AFTER the crisis has passed.
on January 29th, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Marvel Comics is about to raise the price of many of their magazine by one dollar. Retailers are furious about this – sales are suffering as it is an that extra dollar is going to kill a lot of books.
One question raised is why can’t Marvel go back to using cheaper paper – they’ve been using glossy stock for several years now. I think there is an arrogance on their part that refuses to accept current economic conditions.
I agree with you – I’d rather see a magazine cut back on the glossy stock to keep going through the lean times. We really can’t afford to see any more magazines disappear.
on January 29th, 2009 at 12:04 PM
I’m with ya, brother!
on February 3rd, 2009 at 4:33 PM
That’s too bad. I’ve noticed a lot of writer magazines are just disappearing from the magazine racks.
on February 3rd, 2009 at 8:44 PM
I know. On the one hand, it’s discouraging. On the other, I just can’t help but think that maybe it opens up a spot for some adventurous soul to start their own and take off with it.
on February 5th, 2009 at 7:13 AM
You’re probably also aware that Fantasy and Science Fiction is decreasing their frequency to quarterly. They say each issue will include more stories, so there won’t be as large a drop of in yearly content, but it is still a sign of diminishing market.
Even more sobering: Mad Magazine is also reducing its frequency to quarterly. Mad Magazine!
What, me worry?
on February 5th, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Oh man, quarterly???? I had heard it was bi-monthly, which isn’t so bad. Quarterly really cuts it down.