Gordon Van Gelder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is asking for input about publishing short fiction online. His questions are an interesting indication of how print publishing, especially for fiction magazines, is changing. The responses are equally interesting. I’m in particular agreement with the folks who say with regard to magazines, free fiction online benefits the writers more than the publishers.
Thanks for the link. I did my homework and left some feedback over there. I like what John Scalzi said about comparing eyeballs to eyeballs.
I agree that free content helps authors more than magazines. Do they have a choice, though? If magazines are up against the possibility of having authors go off on their own as distributors and promoters of their work, they have to join the game on similar terms. There’s no better bait than a “Free Goodies” sign.
I guess it’ll come down to reputation. If a magazine has established itself as a trustworthy source of great short stories by previously-unknown writers, then readers will keep coming for that and hopefully supporting the publisher by paying for part of the content, be it in print form or as an online subscription.