Neil Clarke's Blog, page 34
July 23, 2014
Loncon Schedule
Looks like I have one panel at Loncon, but it ties in nicely with UPGRADED…
We Can Rebuild You
Sunday 10:00 – 11:00, London Suite 2 (ExCeL)
Cherry Potts (M), Neil Clarke, Tore Høie, Helen McCarthy, Marieke Nijkamp
SF medicine regularly comes up with “cures” for disabled bodies—from Geordi LaForge’s visor to the transfer of Jake Sully’s consciousness in Avatar—but the implications of such interventions are not always thought through as fully as we might hope. How does a rhetoric of medical breakthroughs and scientific progress shape these stories, and shape SF’s representation of lived physical difference? In what ways can SF narratives address dis/ability without either minimising or exaggerating such difference?
Aside from that, I’ll be attending the Hugo Awards with my dad and just generally wandering around talking with people. Now I just need to see if I can find someone who would be willing to stock a few of my books on their table in the dealer’s room. 
July 11, 2014
World Fantasy Award Nominees!
The 2014 World Fantasy Award nominees were announced just the other day and I’m very honored to report that Kate, Sean, and I have been nominated for our work on Clarkesworld Magazine in the Special Award Non-Professional category! Non-professional? Yes, this isn’t what we do for our living. The criteria are very different that what is used to determine “professional” in Hugo terms, where we are professional. In other words, we’ve reached that awkward middle stage on our way to professional.
I’m also pleased to see Yoon Ha Lee on the Short Story ballot for “Effigy Nights” (Clarkesworld, 1/2013) and Julie Dillon for Best Artist. Among her many amazing works last year were three Clarkesworld covers and she’s also the cover artist for my upcoming anthology, UPGRADED.
This is our fourth nomination for Clarkesworld and all three of us will be on-hand for the award ceremony at the World Fantasy Convention in DC this November.
Best of luck to all the nominees! It’s a strong ballot and I don’t envy the judges on this one.
July 9, 2014
Slush Reader Application 2014
Clarkesworld Magazine is once again looking for slush readers. If you are interested, please fill out this application.
A few notes:
This is an unpaid volunteer position.
Slush readers & other staff are prohibited from submitting stories or articles to the magazine.
You will be expected to read and provide comments on an average of at five stories per day.
July 5, 2014
My Detcon Schedule
I’ll be attending Detcon from July 17-20th. Here’s my schedule:
Friday, July 18
5pm: The State of Short Fiction
Sarah Hans (moderator), David G. Hartwell, Suzanne Church, Neil Clarke
Editors share authors you should seek out and their favorite stories from last year, and discuss trends and developments in short fiction.
Saturday, July 19
12pm: The State of the Science Fiction Magazine Market
Scott H. Andrews (moderator), Leah Bobet, Neil Clarke, Michael Haynes
Our panelists give their views on the current state of the science fiction magazine market. Is this another golden age? What various business models are in play? How is digital transforming the field? This is a Detention-inspired panel. In 1959 the panelists included editors of Astounding Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, Fantastic Stories, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Fantastic Universe.
1pm: What Am I Looking For?
Diana M. Pho (moderator), Richard Flores IV, Kate Baker, Neil Clarke, Sam Morgan, Bryon Quertermous
Agents and editors talk about the sorts of projects that interest them individually and answer general publishing questions.
They didn’t schedule me for a Kaffeeklatsch, so if you were hoping to chat, try catching me after one of my panels (well, not the 12:00 one since I have another panel right after). I won’t have a table in the dealer’s room for this convention, so who knows where I’ll wander.
July 2, 2014
Readercon 2014
Here’s my schedule for Readercon:
FRIDAY – JULY 11
2:00 PM Kaffeeklatsch.
Neil Clarke, Scott Edelman.
SATURDAY – JULY 12
11:00 AM Publishing and Marketing.
Neil Clarke, Liz Gorinsky (leader), Kameron Hurley, Tom Purdom, Ian Randal Strock.
This panel will address the business side of writing and publishing. Panelists will discuss marketing department decisions and other parts of the publishing machine. How these decisions affect the ways we write and read?
I’ll also be at the Clarkesworld table in the Dealer’s room for many hours.
July 1, 2014
July 2014 Issue of Clarkesworld Magazine
The July 2014 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is now available. You can get the issue:
Online at www.clarkesworldmagazine.com
Via podcast subscription (free)
or help us pay the bills by purchasing Clarkesworld with a subscription at:
Amazon.com
Apple Newsstand (iPad/iPhone)
Google Play (Android Phones and Tablets)
Patreon (epub/mobi/Kindle)
Weightless Books (epub/mobi/Kindle)
JULY 2014 – ISSUE #94
FICTION
“The Contemporary Foxwife” by Yoon Ha Lee
“Stone Hunger” by N. K. Jemisin
“Soul’s Bargain” by Juliette Wade
“The Halfway House at the Heart of Darkness” by William Browning Spencer
“Gold Mountain” by Chris Roberson
NONFICTION
The Issue of Gender in Genre Fiction: Publications from Slush by Susan E. Connolly
The Issue of Gender in Genre Fiction: The Math Behind the Slush by Susan E. Connolly
Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance: An Interview with Jeff VanderMeer by Ben Fry
Another Word: Reclaiming the Tie-In Novel by James L. Sutter
Editor’s Desk: Adding Some Color by Neil Clarke
PODCAST
This month’s stories will be released in audio form over the course of the month. Read by Kate Baker.
COVER ART
Depot/Station by Albert Urmanov
If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us by spreading the word about our subscription options or Patreon account on Facebook, Twitter or your blog. Your subscriptions make everything we do possible.
Thanks!
June 22, 2014
Patreon Challenge Goal #1 – Unlocked!
A big thank you goes out to our Patreon supporters today. Thanks to them, we unlocked our first challenge goal of $500 per month before June 31st. As long as that monthly minimum is sustained, there will be an extra story in every other issue of Clarkesworld. The first four-story issue will be in August.
What next? Well…
Remaining Goals:
$750 per month at Patreon by the end of August: 75% of our issues will have four stories
$1000 per month at Patreon: Every issue will have four original stories
500 new subscribers at Amazon and Weightless books: Another original story in each issue!
June 20, 2014
Upgrading soon
At long last, I can announce that my cyborg anthology, UPGRADED, is in the final stages of production and will be available in July.
CONTENTS
Introduction by Neil Clarke
Come From Away by Madeline Ashby
No Place to Dream, but a Place to Die by Elizabeth Bear
Married by Helena Bell
A Cold Heart by Tobias S. Buckell
Honeycomb Girls by Erin Cashier
What I’ve Seen With Your Eyes by Jason K. Chapman
Wizard, Cabalist, Ascendant by Seth Dickinson
Seventh Sight by Greg Egan
Negative Space by Amanda Forrest
Mercury in Retrograde by Erin Hoffman
Tongtong’s Summer by Xia Jia
God Decay by Rich Larson
Always the Harvest by Yoon Ha Lee
The Regular by Ken Liu
Coastlines of the Stars by Alex Dally MacFarlane
Fusion by Greg Mellor
Memories and Wire by Mari Ness
Oil of Angles by Chen Qiufan
The Sarcophagus by Robert Reed
Synecdoche Oracles by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Tender by Rachel Swirsky
The Cumulative Effects of Light Over Time by E. Catherine Tobler
Small Medicine by Genevieve Valentine
Collateral by Peter Watts
Taking the Ghost by A.C. Wise
Musée de l’Âme Seule by E. Lily Yu
About the Authors
About the Editor
Cover art by Julie Dillon
Coming soon in trade paperback and ebook formats. Preorder at Wyrm Publishing or email wyrmpublishing@gmail.com to be notified when this title is available to order.
June 13, 2014
The urgency problem
The looming deadline and goal is a key element of a Kickstarter campaign. It’s quite reminiscent of this magazine cover:
The countdown clock on the campaign provides urgency. Act now and get as many people as we can to help us! Save the dog! It’s no wonder that many projects are saved in the final hours. It plays us so well.
I’ve heard some people criticize Patreon for not having that sense of urgency. No ticking time bomb of doom. No dog with a gun to his head. I can always give later. They will still be there.
Yes, Patreon is a very different business model (one could say more responsible, but I don’t want to start that fight… today), but while urgency is not built-in, it doesn’t mean you can’t create it.
To that end, I’m running an experiment. When we created our Patreon account, I set a goal of $1000 to add an original story to each new issue. That still stands. What I’ve done is created two new time-sensitive goals:
$500 – New story in every other issue – Must be reached by 6/30/14
$750 – New story in three of every four issues – Must be reached by 8/31/14
Let’s see if urgency is as much a thing as people think. If so, maybe we can encourage them to include a ticking time-bomb of doom option for goals.
Our Patreon page is available at: http://patreon.com/clarkesworld
June 12, 2014
Income from Ebook Sales
After I posted the percentage of the price of subscriptions and recurring payments that Clarkesworld receives, I was asked whether ebook sales were similar. Yes and no. We want you to buy where you like, but the numbers are quite different.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that ebook purchases of our back issues and anthologies yield the best returns when they are purchased directly from us. It is, however, the place where we sell the least number of copies. Amazon has the clear lead in that department with B&N a distant second, followed by Apple and Weightless (they keep swapping places).
