Several of On Spec‘s editors were at the annual When Words Collide festival of genre fiction writers and readers , held at Calgary’s Delta South hotel over the weekend. There was a stunning array of panel discussions, and a host of talented writers, editors and creators. It gave us a chance to reunite with old friends and meet some new ones. And Randy McCharles and his crew of volunteers continue to give us one of the best events in Canada for writers and readers to connect.
During a podcast interview on Sunday, I was (mildly) taken to task for neglecting to push On Spec as much as possible in the area of social media. We always say that we depend on our readers and writers to spread the word about On Spec, but it’s also our responsibility to ensure there are opportunities made to encourage this. Once thing the interviewer (and we’ll post a link when it is available on the web) pointed out was that we seldom really push for new donors to our Patreon campaign. We are grateful for the monthly gifts from our supporters, and currently we receive approximately enough each month to buy a story and a couple of poems. But that support has not grown at all in many months.
In a perfect world, with a combination of subscription and sales and ad revenues, plus Patreon donors, and individual gifts, we’d have enough to sustain On Spec for many years to come, and allow us to make actual plans, rather than constantly scrambling to make ends meet. As shown by past events, we cannot depend on government funding forever.
So with that in mind, I am once again reaching out to people who have shown some interest in On Spec, by subscribing to this list. If you are at all interested in ensuring On Spec‘s continued existence, over and above paying lip service, we’d be ever so grateful if you either subscribed, made a gift of On Spec to your local library or high school, or dropped a dollar or two a month to help us through Patreon. The links are available on our website. You could also make a one time donation by cheque or PayPal.
And do use every opportunity you get to tell people about our magazine. Don’t assume that everyone already knows about us. If you’ve ever had a story, poem or artwork in On Spec, please remember that we’d love to post a photo showing you holding up the issue(s) your work appeared in.
A new issue of On Spec has recently gone to our designer, so once the design, proofing and printing is done, it will be in the hands of our subscribers. We will likely open to new submissions of fiction later in the fall.
Our next appearance will be at the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo in September, and we also look forward to organizing some Edmonton events for writers and readers in a partnership with the good folks at Variant Edition Comics & Culture during the winter months.
Cheers!
DW
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