Is it only writers who read SF and Fantasy mags?

[Alex The G and T]

I saw this anthology and remembered your post: 28 Minutes into the Future - Kindle edition by Chrome Oxide. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
"Nine rib-tickling, irreverent short stories take aim at political correctness and blow it to smithereens—in a hail of hilarity."

Heheh. This anthology caught my interest until I saw Tom Kratman listed as a supporting credit.

Oh, that guy... Grade A nutcase, wingnut troll on the defunct Asimov's Magazine. And I'm not not a big fan of Military Sci-fi that has no more substance than a repetitive series of Rock 'em sock 'em. I'll see if my old computer will still boot up Quake 3 for that.
I speculate that this anthology bludgeons the concept; where I would prefer to see sly, irreverent satire. I ain't kickin' 4 bucks.

Geeze, I'm all in favor of Civility, Tolerance and Compassion. I just don't like when a Political Correctness meme gets self-consciously forced into a story where it's irrelevant to the plot.
Tragically Hip, as it were.

 

[chongjasmine]

I am a reader of beneathceaseless and strange horizons but not a writer.

 

[JohnM]

Anyone wishing to read popular fiction of any sort should understand that stalwarts like Asimov and Analog spent years cultivating an audience. In the 1980s, the company I work for received complimentary copies of both for years in an effort to entice us to advertise.

Analog was moving in an odd direction. I recall a story where a character needed to activate something and had to "... grab her [behind]." Really? This is someone's idea of progress? In the 1980s, certain standards existed and I watched as various attempts were made in various media to include useless little things like this. The readership comes first. Considering what the readership wants comes first. Fresh ideas? Good. Insert pointless, aside from the titillation factor, bits like this? Not good. Not conducive to continued reading.

Only one author stuck out over the years: Connie Willis. She went on to win one award that I know of. In any case, I soon tired of Analog.

Let's look at the superhero movies starting from Batman in the 1980s and so on. Pretty girl? Mandatory. Athletic male lead? Mandatory. Yes, after all this time, the audience has not changed. How about an SF movie with close up, graphic killing? Progress? Certainly not entertainment.

I know the subject here is SF and Fantasy but all types of fantastic media resonate off of each other. There was the complaint years ago that SF magazines do not get adequate distribution. Not true. Not at all. I saw them regularly but why the decline? One could always subscribe. Could it be changes in the kinds of stories collected and published?

And today, I try to find something online and someone thinks 'beneathceaseless' will come back after a google search? How do I know it's any good?

For print magazines, there are are dedicated publishers and editors and other dedicated members of the production team. There are deadlines. There are guidelines. On the internet, I've read: "I'll put it out when I want at the pace I want." Well, I'll just scratch that off my list.

A visitor to our office asked me: "Can you tell me why so much science fiction is so bad?" I had no definitive answer for him. But that sentiment is out there.