Fans of Sideshow Fables

When Sideshow Fables creator Paul Eckert approached a group of writers (to which Paul and I belong) about creating a magazine of circus themed tales, I said a silent thank you on the behalf of all readers. He’s got it right, I think. Going about fanbase-building and marketing in the way that independent record companies have been doing for years is a wise move when falling publisher profits has become too common a story.

It was at last year’s AWP Conference in Chicago when I heard a panel of small press publishers (I can’t remember any of them, I apologize) where one of the editors made mention of the indie record label model. The publishing logic having always been, we will make readers fans of authors. But, said the editor, why not make readers fans of the publishers? It seems obvious. And to do that, readers have to be able to count on publishers to deliver writing with a certain consistency among publications.  An example on the record label side: I know that anything Barsuk Records or ANTI Records puts out, I’ll love it. They have a fan in me. Some of the smaller book presses, like 6 Gallery Press and even larger Independents like MacAdam/Cage, have captured my money in the same way. If publishers put money toward their own brand and not the brand of the authors they represent, then how could they not come out on top? (Though, I do think putting some money toward crafting an author career is important – after all, publishers need material to support whatever reputation they are trying to cultivate).

All this is to say that with Sideshow Fables, I know exactly what I am getting. But don’t confuse this with rehash; the individual author’s themselves will provide the fresh voices necessary to keep the rag from getting stale. The first issue alone has work from Steve Almond, Nik Korpon, Colin McKay Miller, Nicholas Merlin Karpuk, and Craig Wallwork – quite a variety of voices.

I recommend you pick up a copy (full disclosure: I have a story in this first issue). You may like it. And if you do, you can count on liking all of the issues to come.