Otherworlds Update and Closing Notice, 2 Mar 2017
Hello folks,
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After a bit of watching and waiting, and a little more than six months since starting up this publication, I’ve decided to close it down. As of this notice, please consider Otherworlds officially closed to new submissions.
Why?
The main reason is I’m not sure the intent of Otherworlds is a good fit with Medium, especially as it moves toward a subscription model. It’s bothered me for some time that this platform’s system makes it pretty hard for SFF and other genre fiction writers to gain the support I believe they deserve. And given what many Medium writers seem to desire most — high visibility, high readership, lots of hearts, and ultimately a stage from which to market — I think that Otherworlds, which was intended to be a much more informal place: a kind of corkboard for the SFF community, is simply unable to meet those needs.
To Otherworlds’ Writers:
Thank you to each and every one of you who sent in such wonderful pieces to share with the Otherworlds community. I very much hope all your writing goals and dreams will be achieved. In my opinion there is no good reason to believe otherwise, so please keep at it. I believe anyone can be successful at writing SFF; no one can say who will and who won’t, no one knows your future, and the SFF audience is out there. Though “success” may take a little longer than some of us might like, don’t sweat it. Just keep on moving forward. Every little bit does add up. :) Also, in case you haven’t already come across these resources, here are some helpful (and inspiring) links I came across recently that may help you along your journey:
- Critters Workshop: General Guidelines & Tips on Avoiding Scams
- Jim C. Hines: 2016 Novelist Income Survey Results, Part 1
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: Writer Beware ®
- Writer Beware ®: The Blog
Regarding logistics… if you have any pieces up on Otherworlds please feel free to remove them from the publication. I think you have the ability to do that yourselves and I wanted to give you the option.
To close…
Thank you all for your readership and support of Otherworlds and its talented writers during the last several months. Wishing you good things. :)
Warm Regards,
Tessa (not-an-editor-just-a-former-curator)
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