09-04-2016, 03:03 AM
(09-04-2016, 02:00 AM)Rick McDowell Wrote: OK. Its your thing, Whatever you do is better than not doing what you do. I think we all appreciate the effort.
I am just saying if you have interest in improving the quality of submissions, rather than trying to meet a self imposed deadline, tell your potential contributors something like, " September 15 is the deadline for submissions for Issue 14."
I don't know. I never published a magazine.
Again, the main point is your energy and drive, so do as you wish. I know I don't want you (or anyone) telling me how to run Alamaze.
Rick
You're not the only one who prefers a submission deadline, Rick. Davin of Talisman Games prefers one, also. Others may, as well, that I haven't heard back from, yet.
Here's a copy and paste of something that I just posted a short while earlier over on the PlayByMail.Net Facebook page:
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Not counting ads or the front cover, we are at page #21 of the compiling process for Issue #14 of Suspense & Decision magazine.
I don't yet know how big this issue will be. Other articles are still in the queue to be compiled, and additional articles already committed to for this next issue have not all arrived, yet.
I can tell you that Issue #14 will not get published before September 20th, at the earliest, even if compiling for it is done before then. Barring any unforeseen circumstances and the good LORD willing, Issue #14 should definitely get published at some point near the end of this month (September of 2016).
Not everyone is used to the new process, yet, the one involving the elimination of hard deadlines for publication. Submission deadlines don't work so well for this new process, simply because they negatively impact my ability to keep issues from growing too big in size, in keeping with the consensus that favored smaller issues.
What people are not fully grasping is that the new system increases flexibility, overall. If you submit an article or other material, it will either appear in the next issue, or the one after that.
It's a new system, but I do believe that it will work. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have implemented it. With an increase in focus on the frequency of publication, that aspect alone works in favor of those who submit articles, by helping to ensure that there won't be a long lead time before your articles submitted appear in a future issue of Suspense & Decision magazine.
Ultimately, I reserve the right to add to any given issue, as I see fit, even with little or no notice in advance. Part of the whole smaller issues consensus was aimed at help to build up a supply of articles for issues out past the immediate next issue.
As always, we live in an imperfect world. If you are swift at getting your submissions in, then they will likely appear in the immediate next issue. If, however, you drag your feet, then they will likely not appear until the issue after next. At most, you're looking at roughly a two month time frame, since I'm still trying to aim for a monthly rate of publication frequency, in spite of eliminating specific hard deadlines for publication.
Reliable publication of issues requires a certain degree of a sense of urgency. This is true on both the editor's end, and on the material submission end.
My intention is to beat our best previous record of reliable publication of issues. On their regular pace of publication, and not counting any delays for any reason, both Paper Mayhem and Flagship magazines aimed for a rate of publication.of one issue every two months. I seek to double that.
If we fail, then it certainly won't be the first time that we failed. If we succeed, however, then everyone who enjoys the magazine stands to benefit from the new process that I have switched to.
I just wanted to provide a little update, before I head back to trying to compile a little more of Issue #14, tonight, before I have to head off to bed.
Thank you for your time, your interest, and your understanding in these matters!
- Charles -
SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/PlayByMail/post...3545689424