Thanks for your input! The Overlords know how to run a good zine, judging from the number of comments on this thread.

RGR’s openness to new writers has, I think, made it accessible to new readers. That’s one problem magazines like Helix have. They only accept stories from SFWA members.. which is a little shortsighted I think.

Just got back from vacation and saw this discussion of RGR. I’d like to add my comments along with Sean’s that the editors of RGR have been nothing but encouraging and supportive in my writing endeavors for the magazine. What started as the submission of a single story has turned into a series (as opposed to a serial) for RGR. It’s been a great opportunity for me as a writer, not only to reach readers I otherwise wouldn’t, but also to develop my writing skills, whatever they may be. And it’s due mainly to the Ray Gun Overlords’ openness to new ideas and willingness to open the door and make room for new faces.

John M. Whalen

Sometimes, it feels like I’m lucky to turn out a story a month!

I’ve been very grateful for the opportunity ever since. Deadlines are a tremendous aid to writing :).

I agree with Johne. Normally, it IS bad form to have editors print their own stories in their magazines, but RGR’s biweekly print schedule is really aggressive.

It’s my feeling, and Johne can correct me on this, that RGR’s page count would be much smaller without them due to a lack of quality submissions in the magazine’s earlier days.

Additionally, it must be very difficult to get authors to submit serial stories as the number of markets that accept them are few and far between. I’ve never written a serial for exactly that reason.

Johne, Lee, and Paul had a vision, and I believe that their serials helped fulfill that. That said, when the submission pile begins to fill up and stories are getting published six months after they are accepted, I expect much less of the magazine to get taken up with the editors’ own work.

As the serial novels wind up and roll off, we’ll be running serials by other authors (as we’ve already started to do a bit with John M. Whalen’s Jack Brand stories).

I question, too, the idea of a publication putting out works by its own editors. Much like you, Jordan, I think that might be stepping over a bit of a professional boundary.

Also, I looked over at “The Escapist”, and I agree that the presentation is nice, but it’s a bit too flashy for my tastes. It is presented a bit too much like a newsstand magazine with lots of pictures and very active pages. Interesting articles, but not my style.

Thanks for a good new segment, Jordan. Also, do you have email?

There are two things I can mention about accessibility:

1) Try Foxit Reader as a fast, free, alternative to Acrobat Reader. Foxit has a small footprint and is loads faster than Acrobat. (I was running into the same problem as you guys at the office, and Foxit has helped to ease that pain just a little.) Find Foxit here: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

2) I’ve been talking to Overlord Loriendil and we’re kicking around the idea of developing RGR for web output in addition to .pdf. The new version of InDesign CS3 gives me some new capability that I’ll have to check into; XHTML > Dreamweaver. We’re going to examine this more closely. If we can write once / develop many, this looks like a no-brainer thing we can do to make it easier to enjoy RGR in the ever-more connected world in which we live (and, more importantly, read).

Thanks for the review and the comments.

Johne Cook (aka Overlord Phy)

As for RGR, I read them at the office too, and sometimes the PDF download does stall on my PC. I think they did it so that you could download it and print it out like a magazine, but it would be nice if it was also available in an office-friendly format!

Second: Scratch that suggestion that RGR could be even better looking. Look-wise, I think it doesn’t really need to look any better. Have you seen the current cover? Gorgeous. The most important thing is ease of use. I, like most people I know, have a pretty mediocre PC at the office, and my mediocre office PC chokes and sputters when trying to navigate big PDF documents in a browser window. And I think the office crowd is one to cater to, as they’ll always have a few minutes here or there to commit to reading a thrilling yarn about space pirates and star wenches.