> Charles, have you ever thought about
> a Hard Case Crime magazine?
I have -- but if there's any business that's tougher and more
unforgiving than the book publishing business, it's the
magazine publishing business. And if there's a type of
magazine publishing that is particularly tough and
unforgiving, it's the *fiction* magazine business. Look at
where EQMM and AHMM -- the leaders in the field -- were 20
years ago and where they are now, in terms of circulation,
average reader age, whatever metric you care to choose, and
the story isn't pretty. You might say those magazines don't
reflect the tastes of younger readers, etc., but I think
that's a distraction from the real issue -- the real issue is
there *aren't any* younger readers for fiction in magazines.
Web-based 'zines have a certain loyal following, but it's
tiny by the standards of professional publications --
certainly too tiny to support a business. And print magazines
have been fleeing fiction like a masquer fleeing the Red
Death. Hell, even The Atlantic has relegated fiction in their
pages to a once-a-year thing, and every attempted launch of a
fiction periodical in the last 50 years has either failed or
only survived as a tiny niche publication.
So even though I began my career as an unpaid teenage intern
at EQMM and AHMM and sincerely love them both, and even
though I think a Hard Case Crime magazine could be one hell
of a lot of fun, I'm afraid it's not gonna happen. I know a
suicide mission when I see one.
--Charles
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