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| Subject: Pay or... well.. pay. | |
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Author: TechnoAtheist |
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Date Posted: 22:45:17 05/27/02 Mon Apparently Modern Tales isn't interested in something like what UnitedHeroes.net does. I say this not because I submitted anything that got rejected, (I rather save all parties the effort and simply reject it myself. Besides, my ego dictates that I can write a better rejection letter than they can) but because I perused the site tonight and saw that they've modified their submission requirements. Specifically, they're not interested in series, only stories with a definitive start, middle and end. That pretty much leaves out most of UH's stuff, with the possible exception of Steve's Christopher Ford, or maybe D.L.'s Magnetron. JIM and I are right out of it because we just can't shut up to save our souls. In some respects, I'm not really surprised. Most series and most authors really don't know when it's time to quit. For all I know, I may become or already be one of them. Still, I can't help but think that Modern Tales is missing out. But then, maybe not. One of the reasons that I'm not planning on ever charging folks for the crap I produce is because if I did, I'd be obligated to do a better job. I'd feel obligated that if I'm taking your hard earned cash, I should possibly do more character research or develop personalities more than the simple foils for cheap gags they are now. Heck, I'd actually have to start INCLUDING gags. I'd also have to cater more to an audience that may have very different ideas than I do. Not that it's a bad idea to do that (heck, I'm always interested in your comments and have changed parts of my story based on them, Thanks!) But one of the things I really enjoy is leaving little morsels of plot all along the trail for folks to recognize later. So far, maybe two people have, but still it's something I enjoy. Somewhere along the line, it'd stop being fun. There is another reason, however. I'll never charge because when it comes down to it, I'm a pretty cheap bastard myself. I've yet to subscribe to any on-line service (although I've made some donations to various sites). I absolutely recognize that what they do requires work and that I really ought to fork over cash if I like it, but somehow I just can't justify it with myself. I guess it's a bit like listening to NPR. Every six months they have a pledge drive consisting of various NPR folks grovelling for donations for a couple of weeks. Of course, now they've had to suppliment the donation income with But you know why I don't mind doing that? It's because I pay once, get lots of content for the next year, and share the cost with a very large audience. If I followed that same principle, say dividing up a $50 contribution to the various sites that ask for money, I'd have to give each one less than $1 each a year, but I've no idea how big the audience is that I'm sharing with. How would I feel if I got a dollar from some loser for a year's worth of effort? I probably wouldn't be all that happy. (hey, I've yet to get anyone to contribute the $.35 that's on the front page. ;) ) So instead of being shortchanged, or asking for someone to come up with a huge grant, I'm sticking to the "free" model. Sure, I'm worse off than if I actually asked for subscriptions, but I really suck at grovelling. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |