WANT TO SUPPORT ON SPEC and SPECULATIVE WRITERS HERE IN CANADA AND ELSEWHERE?

THOSE OF YOU WHO READ THE I READ ON SPEC FACEBOOK PAGE, have already seen the following post by Diane Walton, Managing Editor of our magazine. It looks as if the Canada Council has once again cut our funding, so she is appealing to folks to support On Spec through additional subscriptions and/or donations. Diane writes:

THERE'S A NUMBER OF ON SPEC FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS IN THIS GROUP, and I am really hoping they all have like-minded friends. This will be the first of probably many posts on the same topic. Most of you know that On Spec is a small, non-profit journal. It depends heavily on support from granting bodies like Canada Council for the Arts and the Alberta Multi-Media Fund. That's a reality in Canada. Magazines, especially the arts and cultural journals, need help to reach their audience.

There was a time when we could depend on the annual grants increasing as our related costs of production and distribution increased, so we could remain afloat and plan for each year. Ending the year with a small surplus was always a blessing. Recently, the opposite is true. Grants have decreased as much as $5,000 from one year to the next, and there is always the threat of being cut off from funding completely, as we were when they unexpectedly changed the eligibility rules for the Canadian Magazine Fund grant. And believe me, it hurt. We've made spending cuts in as many places as we could, without sacrificing the quality of the magazine. The time has come when we've tightened our belts as much as we can.

We are basically treading water right now, trying to promote On Spec with next to no budget, often with the editors paying their own way to conventions outside Edmonton. Making sure we can pay our bills is an ongoing challenge. We need to ask for your support. A gift of cash is certainly appreciated, but what helps us more is sustainable income, such as that obtained from a strong subscriber base, or revenue from repeat advertising. So now, more than ever, we ask you to tell as many people you know about our little magazine. Encourage them to subscribe. Buy gift subscriptions for your friends and family. Spread the word about our e-reader versions. We need your help to get through the lean times. And we need more readers!

Our new website will be up and running soon, and there will be a page for making donations, and buying subscriptions. Please visit there, and encourage anyone with a taste for engaging, intelligent literature to drop by for a visit. We'd love to meet them.

- Diane Walton.

Susan, again: And just so all of you know, we editors used to be paid an honorarium for our work with the magazine. Nearly two years ago, when we were faced with dwindling resources, we all chose to stay on with the magazine without expecting any recompense for the work we do. For us On Spec has been, and continues to be, a labour of love - something we do for free. As readers and subscribers, any support you give the magazine goes solely to the writers and artists who help make On Spec the exceptional magazine it is.

Brent Jans, one of our new editors and also webmaster, is currently working behind the scenes to re-vamp On Spec's web page. Included on it will be a link for a free trial e-issue. I'll post about the e-issue once it's available. In the meantime, if you'd like to subscribe to On Spec, please go to the On Spec website here.

On behalf of all of us at On Spec, thank you for your support.

- Susan.

WOW! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR TERRIFIC RESPONSE!

AFTER MY LAST POST - AN APPEAL FOR On Spec Magazine - I talked with Diane Walton, our Managing Editor, about the fabulous response we received. To all of you who tweeted, or shared, or re-posted my appeal for subscriptions, thank you. The numbers blew me away - I was overwhelmed. It's great to know we're appreciated, that you value what On Spec brings to the SF scene. You've reaffirmed my belief that we are an amazing and unique community, no matter where we live on the globe. 

Diane wanted me to let folks know that it isn't just about money or subscriptions. There are other ways you can help us (with promotion, for example). Want to become more involved with On Spec? Here's how you can: 

1. Bloggers can blog about On Spec to their followers. Post a photo of yourself reading a copy of On Spec on your Facebook page. 

2. Anyone with a website can add On Spec to their Links page, or ask us for a banner ad they can display. 

3. Anyone going to a SF convention or literary event in a city too far away for us to travel to, can ask us to send some promotional materials they could take with them and hand out to interested folks. We'd be happy to send them to you. (In the past, we've often wished we had local reps. Want to be one? We'd like to talk to you.) 

4. Many cities have local creative writing courses or groups who meet regularly. Bring these groups to our attention, and we can arrange a Google chat or Skype visit with our editors and local writers, students, or library patrons. We're happy to talk on any number of topics.

5. Consider buying an On Spec subscription for libraries and schools in your area. Some libraries even  have programs for this, where a charitable receipt can be provided.

6. Lobby your politicians and tell them you really care about the arts, and about sustainable public support for the arts  through grants and foundations. 

Thanks, Diane, and everybody! Once again, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and a happy, creative, and prosperous 2014.

AN APPEAL FOR ON SPEC MAGAZINE

AS WE COME INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON, Diane Walton, our Managing Editor at On Spec, and Jen Laface, our Business Manager, have suggested to folks that a subscription to On Spec would be a great gift idea. They always sound upbeat when they make this appeal. I can understand why; it's embarrassing to look as if we're asking for your support. So please bear with me, as I do.

EVEN THOUGH THE MAGAZINE HAS been going for 25 years, On Spec has always been in an precarious financial position. The magazine exists almost entirely on government grants through the Canada Council for the Arts and the Alberta Multi-Media Fund. Over the past three years, we were guaranteed that our AMMF grant would only slip by 15% each year. Year Three is now looming; we don't know what will happen. As for the Canada Council, we’ve been given two ‘warnings’ that we need to become more literary. I find this surprising, given that in terms of speculative fiction, we publish quality work (in the past, we’ve actually been accused by others of being too literary). It's clear to me that we're running into the same old bias that SF writers face everywhere: genre fiction is less worthy of receiving government funding. 

In Canada, On Spec is an SF institution. Although we’ve been a venue for many SF writers (Canadian and otherwise) who are happy to see their work appear in our pages, we are supported only minimally by our subscription base. I've never spoken on behalf of the magazine before, but perhaps now is the time. If you’ve been published in On Spec but don’t have a subscription, please think about getting one. If you have friends or family who enjoy reading SF, why not buy them a subscription as a gift? We can’t know what the future holds, but as an SF community, I think it’s important that we support one another. I’d like to see On Spec continue to be part of the SF scene for a long time to come. I hope you do, too. 

What does a subscription cost? An annual one costs less than five Eggnog Latte Grandés at Starbucks - only $24.00 Canadian, $25.00 US or $35.00 overseas. If an e-subscription is more your thing, we also offer them through Zinio. 

Here’s the link to our On Spec Subscription Page. Thanks so much for your support! On behalf of myself and On Spec, have a wonderful holiday season!