For the authors, for the readers

Being an author is tough. Many, many people around the world dream of "making it" as a successful author. What does "making it" entail you ask? Well, let's be honest, it entails financial stability off the back of just selling your literary works. From the outside, it may seem like the path to "making it" as an author is simple: write book, sell book, profit. Just get on with it, silly author! Well, yes, it can be thought of as being that simple, but there is a heck of a lot more to it than you might think.

First of all, writing a book is hard work. Transcribing the vivid world inside your mind onto a page at all is a battle and a half, but writing in a way that will make and keep readers interested? It can be maddening, trust me on this. Then the second two points, "sell book" and "profit", are so complex they are genuinely out of reach for a huge number of authors out there. You might get (EXTREMELY) lucky and get picked up by a literary agent who is able to tie you to a major publisher, but that is very, very rare and there are many caveats, clauses, pitfalls, traps, and snares along the road. So, the vast, vast, vast majority of authors out there are "independent authors": authors who are not attached to any specific publishing company.

Independent authors have to go it alone, figuring it all out from scratch in their journey toward "making it". Where do you sell the book? How much do you spend on advertising? How much to spend on editors? What editors are trustworthy? How do you get artwork done? Should you make a website? What about mailing lists? The questions go on and on for independent authors, and the answer to each of them inevitably involves spending money. Not to mention, in the middle of all that, they need to keep the creative juices flowing and somehow find the time to actually write! It should come as no surprise to you to learn that the majority of independent authors never even turn a profit, never mind become financially stable just off the back of their literary work.

Well, we at The Independent Fantasy and Sci-Fi Magazine believe that more independent authors SHOULD be able to make some money. We believe that independent authors, not held back by the requirements of a publishing house, produce some of the most beautiful, creative, weird, wonderful works in the literary world, and we believe that those works should be celebrated. So, here we are.

We celebrate independent authors by featuring them in our magazine, at no financial cost to them, and we pay them for every single copy sold that contains their work. Buying an IFSM subscription directly supports independent authors and helps to get their name out there in the world, as it should be.

So please, join us. Support independent authors.

Pro auctores, pro lectoribus

About the cretin behind all this.

Kia ora, my name is JD Evans. I am the owner and (for now) sole worker here at the Independent Fantasy and Sci-Fi Magazine. I founded this magazine following my own experiences as an independent author out here trying to "make it", as well as hearing all of the stories, trials and tribulations from my fellow authors about the long road to recognition in this space. 

A bit more about myself? Oh, alright, fine. I am a profoundly thirty-something (who's counting?) board and tabletop game geek with a passion for aviation that led me to a career in aviation which has, in turn, led me to... a PhD in geomorphology. I can explain, but we should have that chat over a beer. I love travel, I love good company, I love a good fiction book, and all I really want in this life is to have a stone cottage on a windswept, cold little island where I can sit in front of the fire with a hot coffee, a writing desk, and a library. Oh, and if the library could have a rolling ladder thingy too, that would be great while you're at it.