Since I'm not a current subscriber a classic reprint is the same as a new story to me. I did subscribe in the 70s. I welcome them back, thanks.
F&SF Forum » The Stories
Reprints of Classic Stories
(7 posts)-
Posted 1 month ago #
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I've got mixed feelings about reprints, however much I might enjoy some particular story. This has to do with the diminished number of venues for new short fiction. Each reprint reduces space for something entirely new by 1. (At least.) I figure it's important to encourage the form where it actively lives and breathes.
That's the aspiring writer talking, of course. As a reader I'm pleased simply to find good reading. It doesn't matter if the story is 30 years old if I haven't read it before.
I suppose those opposing views cancel one another out. Or maybe it's a pitch for more "The Best Of" anthologies. The real issue is probably what sells best. Which is probably as it should be, if we want there to be any venues at all.
Posted 1 month ago # -
I agree with GSH
Reprints are for special "Best Of..." volumes. Anybody ever read Mad Magazine as a kid? The reprints were in paperbacks and Super Specials. No reprints in the magazine itself.
I get what F&SF was doing with the classic reprints, and I enjoyed the selections and especially the backstage peeks that past editorial regimes provided into the fascinating fantasy that is The Magazine itself, but I look forward to special issues devoted to reprints instead of incorporation into the current issues...
I think with only six issues a year now, an Annual Anthology of Greatest Hits would be in order.
Plus it would make a nice Lucky 7.
Posted 1 month ago # -
I collected Mad Magazine from 1979 to 1997 or so. I was only missing 7 issues and decided to go on ebay and fill out the collection. When I saw what they were selling for, I unloaded the whole mess and paid off my credit cards. Mad was great in the early days, but what a disaster now...never the same after the BRILLIANT Frank Jacobs left.
I would rather see the reprints online or in a special reprint issue, maybe around the holidays. Mad sold loads of those super specials, so why not F&SF?
Posted 1 month ago # -
I'd rather not have reprints, I agree with GSH, it decreases the spots available for new stuff.
Plus, I usually already have the original mag. I'm happy to support one of the few remaining places for quality fiction- this is why I subscribe, because I want to see new stuff! And I don't like paying for the same thing twice. I felt like I'd been done out of new fiction (especially when Road Dog reappeared *wide bored yawn*)
Posted 1 month ago # -
I would like to agree with the consensus. Classic reprints belong on the website not in new issues. But I still welcome them.
Posted 1 month ago # -
The are valid points being made about new material being crowded out when one reprints old, but I like the idea of possibly reprinting just a single "classic" story per issue. Certainly you'd want to limit the reprint criteria. For example, stories of at least 20 years old, no commonly available elsewhere stories, forgotten authors only, etc. By doing so I think you may not only have an interesting story to read every month, but could also create one of the "looked forward to features" for many. I am sure there are many out there who have read more issues than I, but there's no way all of your readership has been reading this mag for 40+ years. And let's face it, when you go back to just issues from the 70's, they may not be top dollar items but they are not overly common anymore either. Even though there are some people who would complain about a regular reprint feature, it would still be read, enjoyed, and become a consistant fan request every month "such and such" story.
Posted 4 weeks ago #
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