Fictionwise Cancels F&SF Subscriptions

[Giggleton]

This quote from the link above is telling,

"There will be electronic issues available through Amazon.com as soon as we can get a few kinks worked out. I think they'll be available as subscriptions but I'm not 100% certain about that.

---Gordon V.G"

It's telling me that the editors of said magazine are at least contemplating the idea of free distribution. Although it might mean they can be bought on a per issue basis, I might send an email to Gordon

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

As far as I'm concerned, anything-only is terrible. I might be interested in reading one of the mags on my Nook Color, but I'm not gonna buy a Kindle for it.

Exactly. My only explanation is that Amazon must be doing some incentive to cause this behavior.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Thank you for that!

Buty... That it terrible! Why? Why? Why?

Guess it's better then iPad only though.

Actually, it's not better. It's just as bad. It's garbage. Moving to Amazon exclusively is a bad idea and it's a loss of sales for them too. I won't spend a dime at Amazon for eBooks if Amazon is going to try to lock in to their antiquated format. I'm not against them being at Amazon. I'm against them only being at Amazon.

We should 1-star bomb every issue.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

..
We should 1-star bomb every issue.

I'm not going to do that and I definitely discourage it, but I did send an email to F&SF/Gordon.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I'm not going to do that and I definitely discourage it, but I did send an email to F&SF/Gordon.

I think anything to stop Amazon and their exclusivity is a good thing. And I do think that pirating the hell out of F&SF is also a good idea while Amazon is the only one with the electronic edition.

I am so glad I never bought a Kindle. My wife was considering a Kindle before she got her iPad. Glad I convinced her not to. Amazon is trying to ruin eBooks world wide.

[DiapDealer]

Did you ever think that the magazine might be having financial difficulties and Amazon's self-publishing route allows them the easiest and/or cheapest solution to still keep the magazine afloat? You know... an emergency, unplanned, drastic last ditch effort to make a go of it?

I didn't get the impression from any of the posts that there there was an exclusivity deal of any kind actually signed with Amazon or anything like that. All I heard was desperation. And confusion as to whether subscriptions were possible

Hopefully it's only temporary, but it sounds like the magazine is about to go under to me. Which makes JSWolf's cry to "pirate the hell out of them" and "one-star bomb them" the equivalent of kicking someone when they're down. Classy.

How about we wait on a little bit of evidence before potentially handing a drowning man an anvil? Hmm?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Did you ever think that the magazine might be having financial difficulties and Amazon's self-publishing route allows them the easiest and/or cheapest solution to still keep the magazine afloat? You know... an emergency, unplanned, drastic last ditch effort to make a go of it?

I didn't get the impression from any of the posts that there there was an exclusivity deal of any kind actually signed with Amazon or anything like that. All I heard was desperation. And confusion as to whether subscriptions were possible

Hopefully it's only temporary, but it sounds like the magazine is about to go under to me. Which makes JSWolf's cry to "pirate the hell out of them" and "one-star bomb them" the equivalent of kicking someone when they're down. Classy.

How about we wait on a little bit of evidence before potentially handing a drowning man an anvil? Hmm?

I doubt this is true. I don't think they are going Amazon to try to save themselves. Because what they are actually doing is cutting off a good chunk of customers/sales by doing this. This is a huge step backwards. There is no reason to go one format only. All that does is piss off customers who can no longer read in the format they have been reading in. Sure, go with Amazon, but also stay with Fictionwise for the ePub/subscriptions.

So if you have financial troubles, do you want to screw paying customers? Nope!

[DiapDealer]

Thanks for missing the point entirely. I admire consistency.

EDIT:

So if you have financial troubles, do you want to screw paying customers? Nope!

You're right, the idea that they're alienating a portion of their existing (and potential) customer base out of pure spite or whimsy makes much more sense.

[Lemurion]

That's actually one of the big reasons why I rooted my Nook Color - to be able to read Kindle books on it.

I don't like this move though; especially as Amazon seems to have no concept of what the word "subscription" actually means.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Did you ever think that the magazine might be having financial difficulties and Amazon's self-publishing route allows them the easiest and/or cheapest solution to still keep the magazine afloat? You know... an emergency, unplanned, drastic last ditch effort to make a go of it?

I didn't get the impression from any of the posts that there there was an exclusivity deal of any kind actually signed with Amazon or anything like that. All I heard was desperation. And confusion as to whether subscriptions were possible

Hopefully it's only temporary, but it sounds like the magazine is about to go under to me. Which makes JSWolf's cry to "pirate the hell out of them" and "one-star bomb them" the equivalent of kicking someone when they're down. Classy.

How about we wait on a little bit of evidence before potentially handing a drowning man an anvil? Hmm?

I think this is very likely. F&SF has made a number of changes aimed at reducing costs lately and this is just another one of them.

[crossi]

I'm surprised that more magazines aren't offered directly by their publisher. I get Locus S.F. Magazine directly from them in a kindle compatable format (they offer a variety to chose from).

[Blue Tyson]

And also weird that Barnes and Nobles wants to cede magazine revenue to Amazon.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I think anything to stop Amazon and their exclusivity is a good thing. And I do think that pirating the hell out of F&SF is also a good idea while Amazon is the only one with the electronic edition.

Just be sure to send the mag a check every month to cover "costs" It's ethical at least.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Just be sure to send the mag a check every month to cover "costs" It's ethical at least.

Nope. It's not ethical to suddenly screw a good portion of your customers.

So no, I would not send them any money unless it was for a subscription in the format I can use without having to convert.

[Lemurion]

This is why I wish Fictionwise still did subscriptions: they were the only place that ever got them right.

Single Payment: Check.
DRM Free: Check
Multiple Formats: Check.