Category: Apex Magazine

Containing Apex related *squeeing* or marketing ploys/editing related news.

Apex Magazine, Journal, Publishing/Editing, Writing

**Buzzzzzzzzzz**

Maggie Slater

That’s the sound I make when I’m being a busy bee! And I am both busy and… well… okay, so I’m not *quite* a bee, but I am a hard-working female breadwinner who occasionally wears stripes and (secretly) dances to communicate! I think that qualifies.

Busy, busy, busy! So for those who don’t know, I’ve got a nifty new title at Apex Magazine that goes a little something like this: Assistant Editor. It basically means I get to peek into the dangerous, infernal machines that keep the magazine and book line running. Also, I’m in the process of managing the Facebook and GoodReads pages (so become a fan of the Apex page on FB and become my friend on GR!). Norwescon prep is ramping up–I think I’ve got most of the stuff ready to go… Tomorrow is final prep, packing, submissions, and getting snacks to tide me over while I lounge in the dealer’s room. If you’re going to be at Norwescon, stop by the Apex table and say hi!

Writing’s been a bit more squirrelly this week, what with NWCon prep and juggling new Apex tasks, but I’m trying to just take advantage of whatever little bits of time I’ve got. Did finally crack Scene/Chapter XIV for the novel, and even added a few hundred words to it today, too! (Miracle of MIRACLES!) It feels so good to be getting back on that horse. Shorter stuff is floating happily in a mist of non-commitment, though I did square off a Thief Dilemma scene for Chapter 18 on Monday, so YAY! Progress on that front, too! At this rate, it should only be another six months until I get that chapter finished! (I kid, I kid! I’ll get it done before the end of May, I promise. I’ll get it done.)

AND, on top of all that, I got our taxes squared away, finally. Ugh, even with the new online filing niftiness, it’s still a royal pain in the- You know. Maybe someday I’ll figure out what half this stuff actually means.

Also, Laurelwood’s seasonal Saison is delightful, and has a fascinating clove-like aftertaste. Mmm, yummy. It also comes in a Growler. ^_^

Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Workin’ for the WEEKEND!

Maggie Slater

And another long week comes to a close, giving me–at last–a second to update. Not too much going on this week, other than just the usual grind and a bit more proofreading. Got in at least a couple thousand words of writing, though not as much as I’d like, and not all of which will likely end up useful. Ah well, that’s the life. At least I got in front of my keyboard for my own stuff more this last week!

Couldn’t find my Thief Dilemma notes yesterday (or today for that matter), which is driving me nuts. I’m a memophile, and I’ve got several pounds worth of notebooks to prevent this very issue. I carry them with me daily, and they’re probably the main cause of any lower-back pain I may have, because MAN, they’re heavy. I’ve got one specifically for Short Stories & Novelettes, one for Novels & Novellas, one for tracking submissions, one for review/proofreading notes, one for daily planning, several filled from previous years of brainstorming ideas and planning revisions, etc., etc. There should never be a moment when I can’t find my scribblings about what’s coming next in a given chapter/scene/story. EVER. You’re reading the blog of a girl who, growing up, literally spent her weekly allowance on those five-packs of steno notebooks, just because she liked having them. Claudia and Jamie may have chosen an art museum to live in (very cool); I would have picked Staples.

I do have a bad habit of using post-it notes at work, but I swear I wrote this in a notebook. I can almost see it in my head if I close my eyes and think reeeeeeeally hard. GAH! Where are they?!

I’ll find them. It’s just a matter of time. In the meantime, though, I’m going a little crazy trying to remember where on Earth they could possibly be. I just have to be patient. I’m sure they’ll turn up… >.<

Need to catch up on some submissions tomorrow. I’m under or at a month’s response time, I think, but I’d like to get it down a bit more. Still navigating the challenges of importing my Apex mail to another service so I can access it in a variety of places. A little annoying, but I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Other than that, just trying to get in some time to relax! I’ve got tons of writing projects I should be committing some time to, and the novel has come to a dead stop again (which isn’t unusual). At least I think this dead stop is more just my own laziness and the need to get my butt back in the chair at my desk on a regularly scheduled program. Going to try to make that work this upcoming week.

Until next time! ^_^

Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

TWO DAYS AHEAD! 4 teh W1n!

Maggie Slater

That’s right, folks, you saw it here first: I’m putting up a post TWO WHOLE DAYS before my 7-day tee-time for the blog. Astonishing? Yes. Interesting? Well…er… maybe not to you. But it is to me!

Lining up a busy weekend, I hope, of being productive. Last weekend, as you may or may not have seen, I was insanely UNproductive, and I learned a strange thing about myself: Despite being a self-proclaimed Type-H person (“H” = horizontal, as in, antithesis of Type-A), I actually enjoy my weekends more, feel more relaxed, and more ready to start the work week when I’ve been relatively productive. Weird. I blame sunspots. And radiation. Possibly possession by a Type-A ghost.

So, this weekend-! I’ve got a good chunk of stuff to take care of. For one thing, I need to do a bunch of reading (aww, poor me!)–probably with a cup of tea, cuddled under a blanket. It’s going to be a bit rough. THEN, I need to read and critique a work of fiction for Monday(it’s short, and from the few sentences I’ve read already, I really like it!).

I am also hoping to get some work done on TD-18, which has been sitting, partially written, on my laptop since August. You heard me. I’ve got some tweaking to do on it, but I think I know the direction I’m going, and I’m hoping I can get that cranked out, because TD-19 is going to really get the ball rolling again!  (*breathes a roaring cheer for myself*)

I’d also like to make the baklava recipe I’ve been putting off since mid-December, because I’ve got all the ingredients, and I LOVE baklava! So I should make it. Oh, and we need the breaks on the Jeep looked at. AND the house could be tidied up. AND we need to go grocery shopping.

And I want to clear out the rest of my slush–only ten left!

And I want to paint the third face on “Dorian”.

And I need to write X-mas thank-you notes.

And I gotta write my upcoming SLUSH LESSON for the Apex Blog (first Monday of every month-what?!)

And I need to catch up the budget.

And I want to post up some Apex reviews to Amazon (something that has been on my perpetual to-do list for too long).

And I want to make sure one of my home-seeking stories has another few places to go on its itinerary before I shelve it.

And I’ve been jonesing for an Angela Carter fairy tale. And more O. Henry stories.

And I want to play Dead Space.

See where time becomes a bit of an issue? ^_^ At any rate, some of this stuff will probably be pushed off to next weekend. Some of it will–amazingly–get itself done. Somehow. And maybe by the end of the weekend, I’ll feel refreshed and accomplished, which would be lovely.

Also, I totally want a two-lens toy camera, like this.

Apex Magazine, Journal, Publishing/Editing, Writing

OOoo, SHINY!

Maggie Slater

Hey, look everybody! Andrew Porter’s put up his interview with me on his blog The Science of Fiction. We talk about all sorts of stuff! Go check it out here! ^_^

*****

Quick Weekend Rundown:

Friday, Dec. 18th, 2009
+ Hung out with Nate & Sadie!
+ Made spaghetti and meatballs!
+ Watched Mystery Men!
– Didn’t do any writing. :-(

Saturday, Dec. 19th, 2009
+ Slept in LATE!
+ Killed zombies!
+ Ate Pizza!
+ Watched North-by-Northwest!
– Didn’t do any writing. :-(

Sunday, Dec. 20th, 2009
+ Interviewed for The Science of Fiction!
+ Dug myself into PANVERSE ONE like a proper bookworm!
+ Got 17 submissions for APEX taken care of and responded to (or pushed up)!
+ Had salmon! :-) Mmmmmm…
– Didn’t do any writing. >:-(

Monday, Dec. 21st, 2009
+ Got my hair cut (AT LAST)! I’ll take some pictures soon… It’s not too dramatic of a change, but I do have bangs now… O.O I had the stylist cut it so it would grow out neatly, unlike when I have it cropped super-short and have to keep trimming the back to keep from getting a mullet. XD
+ DOING WRITING!

That’s all, folks! ^_^

Apex Magazine, Publishing/Editing, Writing

Like a Hoard of Swarming Zombies

Maggie Slater

That’s how much I have to do, and it’s my own darn fault, too! This last week was great, what with cooking special meals every night, but it took a toll on the writing. I got one edited story out to my cold readers, and I added about 800 words to the novel, but that’s it. :-(

Not so good.

But on positive news! I’ve been picking up my APEX slush pile, and things seem to be going pretty well. I’m going to do a ton tomorrow to make up for the fact that I think ALL of my lunch-breaks for this upcoming week will be cannibalized by other work-related tasks. And in other news–because I’m f#*king insane–I also signed on as one of Tangent Online’s new reviewers. I’m working my way through PANVERSE ONE, a collection of five sci-fi/fantasy novellas, and should have a review ready for it for TO by next Sunday. (Look for the Grants Pass review New Years weekend. ^_^)

And! Oo! Oo! Check it out! I’m being interviewed by Andrew Porter on his blog The Science of Fiction tomorrow! Here’s the link, though it’s not up yet: Take a gander at what I have to say about brain slugs, slushing, rejections, and world-building.

For the time being, I’m taking a break and playing some hardcore Left 4 Dead, because zombie hoards and slime-vomiting monster men are a lovely way to spend an evening with the hubby. ^_^

In the meantime: Robots are starting to learn instruments! This one may not quite have all the finesse of a human violinist yet, but he plays a heck of a lot better than I ever did!

Apex Magazine, Publishing/Editing

A Note on Vicarious Happiness

Maggie Slater

I just wanted to share a little something about slushing. While yes, I can’t deny a little fiendish enjoyment in rejecting a truly horrible story, my absolute FAVORITE part about being a submissions editor is when I send up a story to our editor in chief and have him like it enough to buy it. I get a vicarious thrill out of being able to write back to an author and tell them, YES. You’re In.

I’m just tickled pink at the moment! ^_^

Apex Magazine, Journal, Publishing/Editing, Writing

1,000,001… 1,000,002…

Maggie Slater

That’s the running total of how much crap I have to get done. O.O November is going to be a busy, busy-bee month, as it seems. Lots of writing stuff/lots of Apex stuff/lots of Orycon-prep to take care of. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving it all! It’s a ton of fun and I’m REALLY excited about getting to Orycon. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not going to be a teeny, weeny bit glad when it’s all done, successfully accomplished, and I can sleep in without feeling guilty. ^_^

My own writing went really well this last week. I got an average of 500 words done a night, no matter how late I was out. Before bed: 500 words. And they’re not horrible words (I think)! I’ve been really focusing on taking my time and choosing my sentences carefully. So far, at least to my own eyes, it’s paying off. The novel is moving ahead bit by bit (and I’m actually liking what I have), and I think I’ve finally found the voice for it (I hope). This month’s short story (“The Last Prince of the Sea”) is also moving along, paragraph by paragraph, scene by scene. This new technique of composing fiction is pretty grueling, but so far I’m pretty pleased with the results–it’s not that different from the way I write Thief Dilemma, either, but as you know, it does slow me down a lot.

I’m finding one of my biggest challenges when it comes to writing (or anything creative, for that matter) is battling my own tendency to hit a point of boredom that then makes me try to speed up and “just finish”. That’s very, very bad for me, I’ve found. I get really sloppy, really cheap (in terms of imagination), and ultimately, I end up with a snarled, tangled mess that will take more work to clean up than it would have taken me to write it properly in the first place. So I’m trying this later option, now, and keeping my impatient side at bay. Not always easy, but I’m trying.

Going to try to get my writing done for this weekend tonight while Andy takes his second practice MCAT. That way I can focus on Orycon/Apex submissions stuff all day tomorrow. Last weekend I got a lot of work done, so I’m hoping to feel at least that productive this weekend too!

(Here’s hoping…)

Apex Magazine, Publishing/Editing

The Price of Running a Free Magazine

Maggie Slater

Apex’s Editor-in-Chief has posted a proposal on the Apex blog about the challenges of keeping a free-fiction magazine online and the obvious difficulties of funding it. There are a lot of different models on how to make enough profit to break even in this industry, particularly for web-based magazines. Orson Scott Card’s INTERGALACTIC MEDICINE SHOW posts a teaser of each story in each issue and requires purchase of the issue or a subscription  to read the rest. JIM BAEN’S UNIVERSE does the same. CLARKESWORLD MAGAZINE offers fiction for free, funding itself through its evolving Citizens sponsorship program and its annual revenues from publishing REALMS, the print anthology of its past year of fiction.

Needless to say, for a free-fiction magazine, making ends meet is a daily stress and continual challenge, and everyone needs a little help these days to get along. Jason Sizemore has really devoted himself to keeping APEX as free of charge as possible, and that’s a wonderful thing in an age of fees, surcharges, hidden taxes, and that persnickety fine print that seals the fate of your soul. So here is the article Jason Sizemore with APEX MAGAZINE posted containing his proposal to help APEX keep publishing all that lovely free fiction!

#

Apex Magazine and Options
by Jason Sizemore

There’s been some debate on the series of internet tubes about workable business models for online content. Some, like Cory Doctorow, believe free is good. If you give out a quality freebie, people will shell out money for more of that product. I like to think of this as the ol’ street dealer’s trick of giving out samples of coke to get people hooked on their drug. Others have argued to me that offering content such as short stories online, you have to go to a subscription or pay-per-play system.

I can’t say either one has worked for Apex Magazine. A combination of the two has not worked. Sponsorship worked for two months before enthusiasm for it died.

I’d like to try an alternative.

I’d like to see how many fans of short fiction (and Apex Magazine) are out there that would donate $10 (or more) on a recurring, yearly basis to help pay for magazine costs. Our yearly cost is around $10,000. Doctorow was given $10,000 to write one single story. For your $10,000, you get 24 months of Apex Magazine.

If you’d like to give Apex Magazine a hand then please send me an email to jason@apexbookcompany.com. I don’t want to start collecting $10 (or more!) from people unless I know there are enough fans interested.

Please spread the word by reposting and retweeting this blog post.

Jason Sizemore
editor-in-chief