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Review: Ultraverse
by James Christopher Maddox
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© Ultraverse Magazine |
Let's say you wanted to put out an E-zine of science fiction and
fantasy with an easy access layout and with stories that promoted the
two genres' best quality of fiction. Of course this zine of yours would
have to be put together rather well, and have a most professional look;
if it didn't then it would be written off as an amateur attempt–ambitious
yet still ignorable. You couldn't skimp on the details of organization
because this isn't a hobby. It's more like work than what you do to make
money to eat on, and it wouldn't matter how difficult it got, because
you were doing something that mattered. How inspirational.
Say you have this dream.
You're going to have to let go of it, because someone beat you
to the punch.
Let's apply a bit of an ergodic feel to this review as I ask you
to open up the following link in a new window: www.ultraverse.us.
[Editor's note: You can also do this later.]
Right now you should be looking at the second issue of the third
volume of Ultraverse E-Zine (and even if you're reading this
after they've done their next update, some of the following content should
still apply). You're going to click on the "about" link and
find Chris Africa & Co.'s goals and find:
• First, to become a paying publication. Donations will go
entirely toward an account that is used to pay authors. (Chris Africa
will continue to donate the cost of web hosting.) We are also running
advertisements to this end. As of April 8, 2005, we have not received
sufficient donations to pay each Ultraverse contributor at least $10.
• Second, to publish only outstanding science fiction, fantasy
and non-fiction. We may offer suggestions to help you improve your work.
• Third, to promote outstanding SF&F web sites, even
among our "competitor" sites. We want you to have a good science
fiction and fantasy experience, wherever that leads you.
• Fourth, to help our authors to become published in paying
markets.
• Finally, to maintain a highly usable and navigable web
site, so that the maximum number of potential readers can use the site.
These goals outline something more than just keeping the publication
afloat. Reading through them, it becomes evident that there is more at
stake than simply coming out with a magazine for writers to send their
stuff to. We’ve long past the point where finding a place for fiction
that is both respectable and paying has become an act of futility, as
most magazines that allow beginning writers are not taken seriously and
the ones that pay are for already established authors.
Here, with Ultraverse, we find an even mixture of writers,
both established and otherwise. To help keep a constant promotion to their
contributors, their archives gives the reader the option of just browsing
through an alphabetized list of authors and stories (this also includes
a list of art that appears in the magazine).
The five main categories of Ultraverse: Fiction, Scifimage,
Poetry, Reviews, New Releases.
Though fiction seems to be their bread and butter, the other writing
forms should not be ignored. The reviews are honest, the images (from
what I've viewed in the archives)
are excellent, and the poetry is poetry.
There's a place for authors to promote their work in the New Releases
section. Even the links page gives readers a number of different sources
for readers and writers alike to survey.
When it comes down to it, Ultraverse isn’t just
a reader’s magazine or a writer's magazine, it's also an editor's
magazine. Doing the things that, I'd like to hope, all editors are setting
out to accomplish: Promoting good writing, good zines, and good art.
So, if it's your dream to make a zine like this, I'm telling you,
it's being done quite well already. But keep working at it. Odds are,
if you come up with something worthwhile, Ultraverse will link
to you and welcome you to the world of publishing with open arms.
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