Issue 9 - Gold Dust magazine

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Zines of the Times [cont’d] sale! How do you cover costs? SUW: At the moment it comes out of our own pockets. We're still finding our feet with this but I'm hoping to apply for a local Arts grant. If this were to come through, the zine could get an ISSN, it could be sold further afield, and it could look better. Until then, the print issue will remain a raw, dirty-dawg of a mag, specialising in matter over aesthetics. The web, on the other hand, will continue to be the glossier, slinkier, sexier version. TT: Costs? Now that is a nightmare! There have been many times I've had to put in the few quid to cover the bills. We make very little from each issue that is sold. Luckily, over the past few months, we have received enough to cover costs. None of the TT staff receive a penny - that includes me - they all help out because of the love of the magazine … either that or I'm getting better at nagging. GIV: Out of my pocket. I've been very lucky to have a friend provided me with hosting for a couple of years. This isn't a profit making venture and was never intended to be one. GD: Because we use Lulu, which is free, production cost has never been an issue. We have considered producing the magazine ourselves in order to cut the delivery price for the reader, but now that Lulu utilises a UK-based printer, delivery costs are very reasonable. Lulu posts me cheques on a quarterly basis, and as our only outgoings are competition prizes, to date we have always had money to spare in the pot. To increase our readership (the main purpose of our magazine is for it to be read by as many people as possible) we are considering making all future PDF copies free, but feel that, as contributors will still like to see their names in print, we should continue to sell enough issues to cover our very modest bills. What factors will influence continuance and development? SUW: Naturally the main factor is readership. As long as there are people willing to buy the magazine and other publications we bring out (there are so many things I'd love to publish - anthologies, collections, novellas… One day, perhaps), I can see Sein continually evolving. I hate the fact that we have to charge anything at all because I want this to be about accessibility, which is why I have kept the e-zine going as well as the hard copy, but money makes money makes money, to quote Henry Miller, and if people are willing to fork out a few quid to keep this thing alive, then it can only get better and offer more opportunities to more people. And that goes for all zines of course, not just Sein. GIV: The main factors are the writers and my ability to get to a computer. When the submissions dry up, I'll probably stop doing it. GD: I think that now the magazine has so many talented people working on it, we all kind of drive each other. When it was just me, I would miss my own deadlines and not be too worried about it, but these days, we all try to be very professional about it and egg each other on when the going gets tough. I admit I didn't realise quite how much work was involved and I can only assume this is why so many other small press magazines do fail; but now that the work on Gold Dust is shared, I hope we can continue to produce the magazine for a long time to come. Under what circumstances might you be forced to close? SUW: The single most problematic thing would be technological. Not too long ago the computer freaked out and the C drive had to be kicked up the backside and software reinstalled and I thought I was going to have to give up. Thankfully the problem got sorted and I was able to carry on but seriously, I would be pretty stuck, though there would be ways around it. In that scenario the print version could perhaps continue via snail mail, internet cafés etc. Money is another thing. That will always dictate how far the magazine goes. Lastly, if there were no submissions, there would be no magazine. But I think there will always be people submitting because there will always be people in need of a market. The only other factor that might affect the continuity of the zine would be personal issues. For instance, if I needed more time to concentrate on my own writing - in which case, I would try my best to blackmail someone into taking over as editor. TT: There'd be two reasons why TT would be forced to close. One, if my health worsens and no one else is capable of running the magazine - which I very much doubt will happen. Two, if the general public lost interest in the magazine. Oh, and low quality submissions… 58 www.golddustmagazine.co.uk - Issue 9 - Winter 2007
GIV: I could get squashed by a truck or go to prison. GD: If a large number of people from the team suddenly had to quit, then it would be difficult to continue. To date, we have always managed to replace departing team members fairly swiftly, or at least share their workload among others. Is there currently or do you foresee stiff competition in the literary ezine field? SUW: Not for Sein, because of the nature of its content. I don't think there is another ezine going for quite the same thing; ie: Werdenism. Though there is, of course, plenty of overlap with certain zines, especially with the likes of Café Irreal and The Dream People, who I consider more as authorities than as competitors. TT: There is always stiff competition out there. GIV: I pay little attention to the literary ezine field. I'm not competing with anyone. GD: I think there is already a vast amount of competition, but with so many magazines closing down after one or two issues, I feel that after two years and eight issues, Gold Dust has shown that it's here to stay. Our name is now familiar in the writing world and we have a readership and contributor base on which to build. How important is the print option of your ezine? SUW: Originally the zine was online only, because of time and financial limitations. But when it was brought to my attention that a) certain people did not have computer access and b) no one really likes to read text off a screen, I decided to go ahead and start up a print journal, whose content would be completely separate to the web. Admittedly I had to be talked into it as I didn't feel I would have the time or the cash to be able to keep something like this up. But it has proved to be just as rewarding as the ezine. As Sein und Werden is as much an art journal as a literary one, I wanted to keep the platform for that, as well as providing something rough and raw for the longer pieces of text, alongside some black and white imagery. TT: Very important to me - and the majority of writers prefer to hold a hard copy with their works included. GD: The print option is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides a professional look and feel to Gold Dust. Secondly, contributors like to see their names in print, so we are more likely to sell to them with print editions. Thirdly, on the whole, readers prefer to read a magazine they can hold in their hands, so we are more likely to attract a wider readership with this option. What have been the most important lessons in ezine publication you've so far learned on the job and what changes have these brought about? SUW: That long stories don't work via ezine. People don't want to read off the screen. For this reason the longer stories now go in print. TT: It ain't easy! It takes hard work and dedication. www.golddustmagazine.co.uk - Issue 9 - Winter 2007 Zines of the Times [cont’d] GIV: Keep it simple. GD: For every team member to have a clearly defined role, so there are no disputes over which pieces make it into the final magazine. Where issues are less clearcut, everyone should have an equal say to avoid conflict. How will your ezine develop in the coming months and years? SUW: I guess that mostly depends on where both authorship and readership takes us. I'd like to think I've always allowed the zine to wend its own way, right from the start. There are, however, other things that will influence its direction such as finances (applying for an Arts grant), contacts and links to other editors and writers etc. The main development right now and over the next few months is ISMS Press, through which we've just published a haunting new novella. This is a brand new venture, our first publication - The Garden of Doubt on the Island of Shadows by Mark Howard Jones, priced at £1.99 and available from me, the Dylan Thomas Centre bookshop in Swansea, in bookshops in Manchester and online at Shocklines, the major horror publisher. That's a shameless plug - but my magazine allows this kind of gentle horn-tootling. TT: Hopefully, I'll be able to pay for all contributions in the near future. GIV: I have no idea. GD: Over the past two years, Gold Dust has gone from strength to strength, from a very basic onewoman band to a professional, slick publication produced in 59
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Gold Dust Gold Dust team Prose Edit
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The Beauty That’s In Me - page 40
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tions: 'APRIL 13. An extraordinary
Page 9 and 10: own life, and even a faint residual
Page 11 and 12: emaining people in your sphere of i
Page 13 and 14: means of a cushion-throwing game, w
Page 15 and 16: Short story Religion and Politics A
Page 17 and 18: For a moment, Stone just stared at
Page 19 and 20: infection associated with the accid
Page 21 and 22: a lot, as I've never seen Sarah wit
Page 23 and 24: they operate. People who want thing
Page 25 and 26: their misery. "Bastards," Barnaby s
Page 27 and 28: Short story Poem A Squadron Leader
Page 29 and 30: certain that I was not witnessed, a
Page 31 and 32: Short story JS BACH IN VENICE A con
Page 33 and 34: made for the back, where Jess lifte
Page 35 and 36: - Jess heard a rumble, like a truck
Page 37 and 38: tions. Such as love. Could it be? W
Page 39 and 40: She was eight months pregnant with
Page 41 and 42: malice, free from hate. She spoke s
Page 43 and 44: That's right Lucille, cry your path
Page 45 and 46: down to apply her usual comforting
Page 47 and 48: AUTUMN'S COMING (They whisper, as i
Page 49 and 50: £10 STAR POEM CONTEST POETRY COMPE
Page 51 and 52: ‘been chosen for its power to lif
Page 53 and 54: Writing competitions Grace Dieu Wri
Page 55 and 56: night oil after day-jobs or putting
Page 57 and 58: years with the world's largest news
Page 59: would get back to it once I had got
Page 63 and 64: ut if work is clearly laid out and
Page 65 and 66: philosophical, surreal. Nothing pol
Page 67 and 68: Contributors [cont’d] Louise Cyph
Page 69 and 70: Final Word... "Most writers can wri
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Issue 9 - Gold Dust magazine

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