Old is new again! Or is it not recycling, but upcycling?

I don’t know, but either way the people have spoken and Etherea Magazine is now accepting reprints (stories that have previously been published elsewhere).

This is due to multiple factors:

1. Great stories are made to be shared in more than one place
2. Authors can get paid multiple times for their art
3. Etherea will be longer – benefiting readers
4. Reprints are cheap (the greasy rag whose fumes Etherea runs on gets a mild reprieve)

Another not insignificant reason is that the attrition rate of online magazines is ridiculously high. I am certain that there have been writers out there who have had their piece accepted and published in the initial issue of a mag, only for it to fold after one publication. Which is an absolute shame.

Anthology Prep

In other news, the magazine has undertaken a massive shift. We have moved away from Scribus (which is heartbreaking for me), and have joined the InDesign cult.

Why, I don’t hear you ask?

Well, to answer that unspoken question (mighty good of you to indicate that you would like an answer), preparations have begun on the first of the Etherea Magazine anthologies. As we are pretty much indie publishing ourselves, the printer that we will be using will be Ingram Spark.

Now, as you may or may not be aware, Ingram have some fairly restrictive rules on what they will accept in terms of PDF documents. They must be the right type, and with the correct colouring. Scribus just doesn’t have the capacity, and I could see myself wasting days getting the files ready (only for them to be rejected by Ingram, weeks after submitting). So, unfortunately Etherea and Scribus have had to part ways. You will always be in our hearts, and as our first, we will never forget you.

On to the anthology!

The initial anthology will contain all the stories from 2021, and then in the future they will be released every six months. They will be released via eBook, a standard paperback, a larger paperback (think A4 range) and a high quality hardback.

I am very excited for these anthology releases. They will contain all the cover images and artwork from the magazines, and the larger versions will make fantastic coffee table pieces.

We are also going to be commissioning some very attractive cover art for the book, and I have been relentlessly trawling through artists to find one to commission (do you like how I make it sound like a chore, it is more like I am bored at work and decide to look at interesting pictures).

I would also like to point out now, that subscribers will be able to get the physical anthologies at a significant discount (pretty much cost price and shipping).

Speaking of subscribing (why bother with a segue), the free trial for the first month of the ‘monthly’ subscription is still running. If you have seen the magazine, and have been umming and ahhhing as to whether you wish to buy a copy, fret not! Simply sign up for a monthly subscription (which is a discounted purchase of the magazine as it is), use the coupon code “trial”, and get your first month free. Download and read Etherea – if it isn’t for you, cancel the subscription, no harm no foul.

Alternatively, if you love it and continue with the subscription, you will be directly responsible for helping bring more speculative fiction to the world, as well as contributing to the continuing existence of Etherea Magazine.

Thank you for reading this far! To sum up, send us your reprints, pressure Ingram to change their PDF requirements, and please consider subscribing. I will delicately drop this button here.

Cheers

AW

(Remember, coupon code “trial”!)

Categories: Article