Pros & Cons of Being Published in a Webzine

The internet has opened many doors for aspiring authors. But it’s arguable whether all of those doors are worth opening. On the positive side, there are far more places a writer can find a home for their material. Whether it’s short stories, fan fiction, literary fiction, think pieces, womens’ issues or political rants, you’ll find a place online to get something published.

However, one downside of the proliferation of publishing opportunities is the breadth of pieces able to be labeled as “published.” In a way, the internet has watered down what used to be a fairly elite field. Nowadays, even amateurish writers can land themselves in an e-zine or web-based magazine and begin to build a résumé, albeit of second-rate material.

Of course, there are many terrific webzines. Places like McSweeney’s and Strange Horizons boast an array of professional and up-and-coming authors. Landing a piece in one of those e-mags is, no doubt, a career bounce. Yet, there’s only so many McSweeney’s.

While webzines are a great way for a new author to get their foot in the door, they also have built-in drawbacks. The first is obvious: You must be internet-active to view them. According to relatively recent figures, roughly one-quarter of the world’s population is online. Compound this with navigability / search issues, the chances of getting someone to your story / article decrease exponentially. Secondly, like it or not, it’s still easier to sit down with a book in your lap and read a story, than sit at your computer and do the same. For the author (and reader), being able to point to a dozen books or magazines on the shelf is far more satisfying and career-affirming than the same number in cyberspace. (Perhaps this is why my mother does not count webzines as real ‘zines.)

Archiving is another issue for the webzine author. My second-ever published story was in Alienskin Magazine. However, my excitement was short-lived when I discovered that, after several months, the story disappeared. Alienskin did not archive their stories so, while I received a “publication credit,” the story I worked so darned hard on became a has-been. Sure, I retained authorial rights. But now the story was filed under the dreaded “previous publication.” More on that in a minute.

To be fair, many online publications maintain a great archive. My first-ever short story acceptance came from Infuze magazine. It was quickly followed by a second. That was back in 2005 and you can still find those stories in their archives (both Someone in the Circle and The Jagged Hole in Ferrymoor Two). I think this is a sign of a good webzine. For instance, Strange Horizon’s fiction archive goes all the way back to 2000! Still, the author must be careful because many webzines do not maintain such substantial archives.

But perhaps the biggest drawback of being published in a webzine is that it pretty much kills your chances of publishing the same piece elsewhere. Most standard Submission Guidelines, like THESE from Glimmertrain, state

Submissions must be original, unpublished fiction

Okay, so what’s considered “unpublished fiction”? I recently solicited a fairly big name Christian publication and this was the email they sent me:

Thanks for your interest in * * *. And yes, we do consider online publication a previous publication. Hopefully you have something else that you can submit!

So here’s my take: Webzines are a good place to get your foot in the door. Most editors will consider them — of course, depending upon the veracity of the mag — as a genuine publication credit. However, unless it’s a McSweeney‘s or Strange Horizon‘s caliber webzine, the more is not the merrier. Two dozen pieces in John Doe’s Internet Extravaganza does little to add genuine clout to an author’s résumé. In fact, it may actually limit the lifespan of decent stories.

All that to say: At this stage, I’m aiming for print mags.