The W1S1 Short Fiction Check-in Lounge and Bar

[shelleyo]

Sounds exciting, Sam! I wish you the best with it!

The only suggestion I might have as far as a name is to not include fiction, writer, lit, or any of those types of terms in the title. I think those kinds of magazines pretty much only get read by writers who want to submit. Give it a catchy name designed to attract genre readers, (unless of course the whole purpose is to provide place for writers to get published--which I've never really understood, but would be a valid reason to use those types of terms).

Shelley

[Izz]

Originally Posted by MattJ

Great! Good luck, Sam.

As for name, what is the heart of your vision?

Also, I noticed no fantasy?

Thanks, Matt.

My definition of SF will be fairly loose and inclusive.

I've decided that i want the zine to be full of fiction i personally enjoy, and the majority of fantasy doesn't do much for me (that's no judgment on those who write fantasy, just a personal observation). If you can write a fantasy story that doesn't include magic, the supernatural, or the paranormal, i'll be keen to read it

Originally Posted by defcon6000

Coooooool! (yeah, smilie overload)

I suck at names as well, but since you have SF and westerns, perhaps a space western theme? ...Firefly!

Heh--thanks, defcon

Originally Posted by defcon6000

Or horror.

Then again, plenty of other zines fill that niche.

No, no horror. I'll accept dark, gritty, psychological, frightening within the bounds of the other genres, but most straight horror doesn't do much for me, unfortunately.

Originally Posted by shelleyo

Sounds exciting, Sam! I wish you the best with it!

The only suggestion I might have as far as a name is to not include fiction, writer, lit, or any of those types of terms in the title. I think those kinds of magazines pretty much only get read by writers who want to submit. Give it a catchy name designed to attract genre readers, (unless of course the whole purpose is to provide place for writers to get published--which I've never really understood, but would be a valid reason to use those types of terms).

Shelley

Thanks, Shelley.

The name will be hard, i think. I almost took up someone's offer of taking over their zine so i didn't have to think of a name, but in the end i decided i'd prefer to start afresh.

[Izz]

Howabout if i throw some prospective names out there and you tell me how bad they are?


The Abstraction Project

Mayhem and Mediocrity

Dust Between Stars--A Periodical

Sam's Quarterly

Spaceboots and Six-Shooters

Solar Flare



Bleh--i don't like any of those. Manana--now it's time for sleep.

[JC Romel]

Originally Posted by Izz

Howabout if i throw some prospective names out there and you tell me how bad they are?


The Abstraction Project

Mayhem and Mediocrity

Dust Between Stars--A Periodical

Sam's Quarterly

Spaceboots and Six-Shooters

Solar Flare



Bleh--i don't like any of those. Manana--now it's time for sleep.

Believe it or not, I think Sam's Quarterly is the best option out of the one's you've listed. I wouldn't try to get too cute. Clarkesword, Lightspeed, Fantasy & Science Fiction, all straightforward titles. Sure, you've got your Greatest Uncommon Denominator, your Beneath Ceaseless Skies, your Electric Velocipede, and maybe you'll catch one that really works for you, but I personally would keep it simple. I'd call my zine Joe's Journal or something dumb like that. Haha.

A punchy title is great, but keep in mind all that really matters is content. You could name your magazine Cat Butts Quarterly, and people will read it if they know they're going to get good fiction.

[Lillie]

Maybe the answer is here.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/...&postcount=254

[defcon6000]

Originally Posted by JC Romel

Believe it or not, I think Sam's Quarterly is the best option out of the one's you've listed. I wouldn't try to get too cute. Clarkesword, Lightspeed, Fantasy & Science Fiction, all straightforward titles. Sure, you've got your Greatest Uncommon Denominator, your Beneath Ceaseless Skies, your Electric Velocipede, and maybe you'll catch one that really works for you, but I personally would keep it simple. I'd call my zine Joe's Journal or something dumb like that. Haha.

I have to disagree, Sam's Quarterly makes me think of a newspaper, lol. I would rather have a title that strikes an image of the content you showcase, you know, someone hears the title and they immediately think: Shoot 'em up mystery space adventures! ...Well, that may be hard to pull off.

The reason Clarkesworld works is because is based off of Arther C. Clarke, who is a BIG name in sci-fi, so you think "SF" when you hear the name.

[faerydancer]

Congrats, Izz! Good to know what the secrecy of secret knowledge was all about hehe The suspense was killing me!

I'm no good with titles. But I like the phrase Lillie linked to. Out of everything suggested so far, that one works the best for me.

[JC Romel]

Originally Posted by defcon6000

I have to disagree, Sam's Quarterly makes me think of a newspaper, lol. I would rather have a title that strikes an image of the content you showcase, you know, someone hears the title and they immediately think: Shoot 'em up mystery space adventures! ...Well, that may be hard to pull off.

The reason Clarkesworld works is because is based off of Arther C. Clarke, who is a BIG name in sci-fi, so you think "SF" when you hear the name.

To each their own. For whatever it's worth, though, Clarkesworld is more of a fantasy mag than SF mag, and is named after it's founder and editor Neil Clarke, no relation to the SF pioneer. I'm not entirely sure everyone makes the connection you have. Maybe they do, though. But either way, I don't believe that's why it "works." It works because it has some of the best short fantasy/SF fiction available on the internet.

Also, why would Sam's Quarterly make you think of a newspaper? How many newspapers are named after a person? I mean, I get what you're saying, but I don't think that applies here. Anyway, I was saying Sam's Quarterly works better than the ones he had listed, not that it was the best possible choice for the magazine. Then again, McSweeney's Quarterly is one of the most popular magazines on the interwebs, so at the end of the day, the title isn't going to get in the way of a magazine's ability to attract readers. What matters is content.

[zanzjan]

Originally Posted by defcon6000

The reason Clarkesworld works is because is based off of Arther C. Clarke, who is a BIG name in sci-fi, so you think "SF" when you hear the name.

Heh. I never knew that (-:

I'd worry that Sam's Quarterly would risk getting confused with the Sam's Dot stuff. I'm also fairly certain that there was a market not long ago (maybe it was an antho, I'm not sure, but some minimal googling didn't turn it up) with a name very, very similar to Spaceboots and Six-shooters.

I like Night-vision, though it may require being a bit explicit about not being a horror market.

I thought about starting a zine for a long time before I realized I was too flaky to be consistent about it. (I was going to call it The Albatross. I don't even remember why anymore.) So I wish you all good luck and success with your venture; you're a braver man than I. (-:

-Suzanne

[JC Romel]

Originally Posted by zanzjan

Heh. I never knew that (-:

It isn't true. Clarkesworld is named after the founder and editor, Neil Clarke. It has nothing to do with Arthur C. Clarke.

[Izz]

Thanks for your comments so far, peeps.

Let's not get too excited over names, though

I might throw another list up soon, because coming up with names is kinda fun

[defcon6000]

Originally Posted by JC Romel

To each their own. For whatever it's worth, though, Clarkesworld is more of a fantasy mag than SF mag, and is named after it's founder and editor Neil Clarke, no relation to the SF pioneer.

Some people don't make the distinction between fantasy and SF; it's all spec fic to them.

]I'm not entirely sure everyone makes the connection you have. Maybe they do, though. But either way, I don't believe that's why it "works." It works because it has some of the best short fantasy/SF fiction available on the internet.

I'm sure using "Clarke" didn't hurt. Kinda of like unknown authors super-sizing "King" on the cover of their debut book. Clearly a publishing decision because they know the name "King" sells.

Also, why would Sam's Quarterly make you think of a newspaper? How many newspapers are named after a person?

It just has a newspaper ring to it. Like the Daily Star. And considering that people like to brand their names on just about anything (even species of animals!) it's quite possible.

And titles do make a difference, imo. Do you think Twilight would have been as big if it had gone with its original title, which was Forks?

[shelleyo]

Originally Posted by zanzjan

Heh. I never knew that (-:

I'd worry that Sam's Quarterly would risk getting confused with the Sam's Dot stuff.

I like Night-vision, though it may require being a bit explicit about not being a horror market.


-Suzanne

The points about Sam's Dot Publishing and the more horror feel that Night Vision gives off are excellent ones, Suzanne.

I'm also fairly certain that there was a market not long ago (maybe it was an antho, I'm not sure, but some minimal googling didn't turn it up) with a name very, very similar to Spaceboots and Six-shooters.

Yep. Spacesuits & Sixguns

Shelley

[Izz]

Moar:

Comets and Capers

The Story Junket

Longhand--a genre magazine

Alpha Station

(Lillie, i like Night-Vision, too, but like Suzanne wonder if that lends itself to horror more?)

I kinda like the sound of Comets and Capers.

[zanzjan]

Ooooh, oooh!

How about Maehem & Mystery?

-Suzanne

[Izz]

Originally Posted by zanzjan

Ooooh, oooh!

How about Maehem & Mystery?

-Suzanne

Hee!

Though people might miss the play on words and think i don't know how to spell mayhem

[zanzjan]

Originally Posted by Izz

Hee!

Though people might miss the play on words and think i don't know how to spell mayhem

Then play it up: Maehem & Mysterie

-Suzanne

[Izz]

ooooh

[Izz]

i find myself liking 'Comets and Capers' more and more.

[Izz]

Comets and Capers--a zine full of mysterie and maehem...

[Lillie]

Originally Posted by Izz

(Lillie, i like Night-Vision, too, but like Suzanne wonder if that lends itself to horror more?)

Oh yeah, and so many are called Night something.

It's just that you said it was the answer to everything...

[shelleyo]

Originally Posted by Izz

Comets and Capers--a zine full of mysterie and maehem...

I like it, but it does lend a sort of light-hearted air. Capers is kind of campy or humorous to me. From a magazine called Comets and Capers, I'd expect fast adventure, fun science fiction, romping mysteries, with some humor thrown in, more often than the type of science fiction stories I might find in Analog or Asimov's most of the time.

That's the tone and feel I get from the title, anyway, which for all I know is the feel you're going for. I think it would be a great title for a zine like that. Just one perspective!

Shelley

[JC Romel]

Originally Posted by defcon6000

Some people don't make the distinction between fantasy and SF; it's all spec fic to them.

Still, if Clarkesworld were actually an attempt to pay homage to the more-famous Clarke, ala Asimov's, then it would be a more straightforward sci-fi mag. And I'm still not convinced that too many people made that connection.

I'm sure using "Clarke" didn't hurt. Kinda of like unknown authors super-sizing "King" on the cover of their debut book. Clearly a publishing decision because they know the name "King" sells.
It just has a newspaper ring to it. Like the Daily Star. And considering that people like to brand their names on just about anything (even species of animals!) it's quite possible.

You may very well be right. It's not the first thing I thought of, and it's certainly not why it's so popular. If the magazine didn't feature prominent authors and quality fiction, it wouldn't matter if he called it "This Is Arthur C. Clarke's Personal Notebook," nobody would read it. And I also disagree with Sam's Quarterly having a newspaper ring to it. I've never heard of a newspaper with either someone's name, or the "Quarterly" in it. Daily, sure. I have heard a lot of fiction mags with "Quarterly" in the title, however.

And titles do make a difference, imo. Do you think Twilight would have been as big if it had gone with its original title, which was Forks?

Yes, of course. Why wouldn't it? Twilight's sequels all have their own titles, and they sold very well. I won't say titles have no impact, but I do believe it's mostly negligible. People don't buy the book for the title, they buy it for the story. There's enough variety in types of market names to demonstrate that there's no science behind it, and no right or wrong answer. Yeah, there are bad titles and good titles, but ultimately it won't matter so long as he's publishing quality content, which I'm sure he will!

[Rufus Leeking]

I'm not at all a Sci-Fi guy; I am a 50 year old who still loves punk rock and I know in punk there are certain popular things you can't like or you lose cred. Is Blade Runner the same for Sci-Fi or is it cool?

Because I was talking to someone about predicting tech advances (I'm an IP attorney) and mentioned that predicting is hard, example Blade Runner had a scene where Harrison Ford used a phone booth.

So, this may be a bit too esoteric, but "Blade Runner's Phone Booth"?

or something like that?

[JC Romel]

Originally Posted by Rufus Leeking

I'm not at all a Sci-Fi guy; I am a 50 year old who still loves punk rock and I know in punk there are certain popular things you can't like or you lose cred. Is Blade Runner the same for Sci-Fi or is it cool?

Because I was talking to someone about predicting tech advances (I'm an IP attorney) and mentioned that predicting is hard, example Blade Runner had a scene where Harrison Ford used a phone booth.

So, this may be a bit too esoteric, but "Blade Runner's Phone Booth"?

or something like that?

Haha! I love it. I don't know if I'd use it, but I like that title.