Website! A Real Website!
by Shawna McCarthy
I’d like to say Welcome Back to the Realms of Fantasy website, but, given the state of our previous website, that would be rather like the Mad Hatter offering Alice another cup of tea….
This, however, is a Whole New Thing! The first thing you may notice is that you can download a PDF copy of the entire current issue at the push of a button. (NOTE: Free PDF offer ended 12/18/09) (We will also be available in Kindle format shortly.) There’s also a Realms of Fantasy Awards section where readers can vote on what they consider the best story and art of the year, guaranteeing the lucky winners the acclaim of the masses and a shiny new trophy!
To say that I’m excited about Realms finally entering the 21st Century would be an understatement. It’s been frustrating hearing via email from readers who really cared about the magazine but who were unable to participate in the kind of on-line community that more or less defines many people’s lives today. There’s always been a human urge to connect with like-minded people, and today’s technology has finally made it possible in ways we could never have dreamed of 10 or 15 years ago.
My first interaction with the on-line SFF community came in the form of the (very) late and (not) lamented GENIE. As I recall you couldn’t type the words “good bye” because that was the sign off method. You had to do all sorts of complicated maneuvers to get on to the site, but it was far too easy to sign off! Surprisingly (sarcasm alert!), Genie often disintegrated into terrible flame wars with people spreading horrible rumors and invective about one anothers’ talent and often ancestry. The astute reader will notice that Realms also has a Readers’ Forum, and I am certain that nothing of the sort will arise there. (That was not sarcasm. We will be strict!)
I’d like to possibly reinstitute the Letters to the Editor page on this website, and you can send any letters of comment on the magazine to me at realmsoffantasy@aol.com. I know I’ve been silent for the last few years because, to be truthful, I kind of ran out of new ways to tell readers to always double space their manuscripts and to always include an SASE (and then have to explain what an SASE is), but I think that this new website will give me more leeway to talk about things other than How to Break Into Writing, and What is the Proper Definition of Fantasy.
I promise not to descend into “Today I walked on the beach and was struck by Nature’s never ending beauty and violence.” But I do have some things to say about some things, and I may use this forum from time to time to say them. I look forward to our interaction.
But be nice! I’m strict, remember!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Let me be the first to say “congratulations!”
Site looks nice, Shawna! Well done.
Going to be interesting to see how the new forum plays out.
And, I am glad ROF is back.
Very nice site. Congratulations! It looks fantastic.
Nice to have you back!
Hope you didn’t pay too much for the Ellison story. It was very weak.
Found this via a Boing Boing post. I left the moment I saw the “Feb 2010″ issue starts with reviews of video games which were released in August and September of 2009. Why bother with such old content?
@Leon (in case you come back): Well, February 2010 is when the magazine stays on newsstands until, but this issue comes out in early December 2009 (not just on the free PDF here, but this is also when it reaches newsstands and subscribers.) That makes everything a little more recent than the February 2010 tag would suggest.
RoF is also a bimonthly magazine , so that factors into everything as well.
And per our publisher’s instructions on game reviews, we’ll consider any appropriate materials for review so long as they are no older than a certain point when the magazine goes out. If this is too old for you, well, sorry!
Glad to hear you are “going electronic” but I hope you go for more platforms than Kindle. I’ve got an eBook reader, have bought hundreds upon hundreds of eBooks over the years. But it isn’t a Kindle…Amazon’s DRM scheme will lock me out, alas.
Great site!!
Fred, the Big Cheese tells me there will be other versions. He mentioned I-Phone and the Sony Reader specifically. We’ll see what else he has up his sleeve …
Yay Kindle!! Whee!
I’m very proud to say that an ad for my novella, Crimson, appears on page 9 of your February issue. I’ve always wanted to be published in RoF, and now I feel one tiny step closer!
Josh Reynolds pointed me towards this blog, and the subsequent PDF download. Much appreciated, and I look forward to reading it.
Any chance of getting my subscription delivered to my Kindle instead of killing another tree? That would be soooo sweet!
Of course, cold as it may sound, I’m willing to off the tree if that’s what it takes.
Thanks!
@Unic1: We’re not available on Kindle just yet. When we are, are you asking if you can transfer a current print subscription to the Kindle? I want to make sure I understand you correctly …
Congrats! Ditto on Kindle -