SPN Fic: The Family Business

[dodger_winslow]

Yo, all. I will be out-of-touch for a bit, starting Monday, and stretching until probably the following Friday. Have some family gigs to attend, and my internet access will be iffy, at best. I'll try to check in now and again, but I can't promise anything, so I won't. Since I'm going to be missing all the chatter that is chatter for 2 whole freakin

Comments

[ewanspotter]

Teasey McTeaserson.

[dodger_winslow]

That would be me. :D

[dodger_winslow]

Not at all. Every piece of fanfiction ever published on the web is firmly rooted in the traditional paper zines. They are where fanfiction began, and their publishers have always had to charge for the zines to recoup their hard costs in producing those zines. I've yet to meet a zine publisher who makes any money off their ventures; the vast majority of them, in fact, lose a good chunk of change every year, but they continue doing it out of love for the shows they fangirl

[myfieldnotes]

Just wanted to add a little extra note to reassure people that Pyramids Press does not make any profit off of the zines they sell ever

[nightowlv]

There's no way I can afford to order a copy of the zine (I was actually a little surprised by the $35 price tag), but I definitely appreciate you posting an excerpt. I'm not excited about having to wait a year, but I look forward to reading the rest of the story. :)

[dodger_winslow]

Twenty years ago, we were charging between $15 and $20 for signficantly smaller page counts and still losing money hand-over-fist on the production costs, so the $35 doesn't really surprise me at all. That being said, I know many won't be able to afford, or wish to expend, that kind of money on a traditional zine when there is so much fanfiction available on the net without charge ... thus why traditional zines are a bit of a vanishing breed.

For myself, I wouldn't publish on the net for years simply because there was so little quality control for net-published fanfic, and I wasn't willing to have my work in the company of work no one was editing, or often even proofreading, before slapping up for consumption. Obviously, that's changed over the years, particularly in community-based fiction forums like LJ; but my traditions are still in paper zines, and it was fun to revisit that aspect of fandom, as well as to enjoy the editorial feedback of the very talented and dedicated editors over at Pyramids Press who helped shape The Family

[nightowlv]

It was unfair of me to compare the price of this, a fan-made zine, to the price of a mainstream novel. It makes sense that the zine would need to have a higher price in order for the publishers to make enough money to even try to cover the cost of production. It's just that it costs more than I'd be able to pay.

And I understand why you would be hesitant to put your work, which, if I recall correctly, you spend hours writing and re-writing, online. Too many writers seem to just write whatever pops into their heads and then post it online. This, of course, isn't true of the fantastic LJ writers and ff.net authors whose stories I read, but I've seen a lot of examples of it in the few years I've been reading fan fic.

I'm glad you changed your mind about posting your work online, though. Your stories are some of my favorites, and your John is my favorite version of the character. That's why I'm so excited to read The Family Business if and when you decide to post it online, or if I can find someone who'll lend me their copy of the zine

[penfold_x]

There's no way I can afford to order a copy of the zine

I know price is a big issue for a lot of folks with printzines; unfortunately, printing just costs, especially if you want something that looks semi-pro or pro.

You might try the secondary market; zines that premiere at MediaWest start showing up in used zine sales about 6 months after premiere (though 'hot' fandoms like Supernatural can take longer to show up). If you don't attend cons with used zine dealers, you might try montioring yahoogroups like zinelist and mostlygenzines.

[turinn26]

Well, I've ordered it (and overseas) because it's a way of thanking you (all the fanfiction writers) for all those happy hours reading your free fics, because I love your pre-series family dynamics (Sammy is adorable and perfect)and because I read the excerpt and by then placing the order was unavoidable.

We'll miss you these two weeks!

[irishkate]

can't read teasers - will actually have to shell out and purchase a real life zine? Wow - ok.