New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine

For Those Who've Never Used Kickstarter Before
about 1 year ago – Wed, Feb 15, 2023 at 05:07:03 AM

If you go to the Community tab on our Kickstarter campaign, you can see that as of my writing this the VAST majority of our backers have used Kickstarter before.

I'm writing this post in the hopes that it will inspire some more Kickstarter newbies to give it a try! Heck, I even recorded a video you can watch.

In the video I discuss:

• How Kickstarter isn't charity, it's mostly just a way of taking pre-orders.
• You only pay when the campaign ends, and only if it succeeds.
• There is more waiting than buying something on, say, Amazon Prime, but it's worth it.
• Why Kickstarter fraud is a rare, very bad move, and how fulfillment can be made more likely.
• How it's a great way to support a small business or individual entrepreneur.
• How backers get to go on a behind-the-scenes journey with the campaigns they support!

If you're already experienced with Kickstarter and want to tell friends how great it is, why not consider sharing this post and let me tell them?

Thanks again to everyone who has been backing and sharing the campaign.

Interview with Jorge del Rio of Quinta Raza magazine
about 1 year ago – Sat, Feb 11, 2023 at 01:26:31 PM

Kickstarter doesn't want to let us embed the video (?), so here's a direct link to the recording of our livestream interview with Jorge Del Rio.

He's one of three editors behind Quinta Raza, the Spanish language magazine from which we are translating the story Chak Muuch, by Jesús Montalvo, to include in issue #1 of New Edge Sword & Sorcery!

We discussed the magazine's origin, how Jorge found his love of Sword & Sorcery while growing up in Argentina, the international Spanish language S&S scene, how the first ever Conan comic was an illegal publication in Mexico, and a whole lot more.

If we're funded then this will only be the beginning! We here at New Edge Sword & Sorcery would love to bring you further translated tales from around the world, and help build bridges connect between the many fantasy literature diasporas. 

We're also going to have two more livestreams during the campaign. Next Saturday we'll be discussing the horror aspect of Sword & Sorcery with author Gemma Files, and if all goes according to plan then on Feb 25th we'll have several guests for a livestream panel on Sword & Soul.

MEANWHILE...

Just before the livestream with Jorge started, we crossed the $10,000 (USD) line...

We're two thirds of the way there! Thanks so much to you all for backing and sharing.

Why Get a Magazine in Hardcover?
about 1 year ago – Sat, Feb 04, 2023 at 08:14:13 AM

Back in October, we saw some people asking "Why would you get a magazine in hardcover?", as it's not been common practice for DECADES, and so our editor made this short video to answer that question. 

What we'd now add to that video is pointing out an upgrade in the binding which Kickstarter-funded printing will make possible!

To compare, the Amazon print-on-demand hardcover of issue #0 is "perfect bound", aka bound with glue.

This works pretty well, however it results in a stiff spine which resists being laid flat, can "crack", and can even be badly damaged by extreme temperatures, like being left in a car trunk on a hot day.

The binding for issues #1 & 2 will instead be sewn-stitched. Here's an example of that as seen in the latest Michael Moorcock hardcover.

Pros of Stitch-Sewn Binding:

• They lay flat on a table when opened, making them ideal for books with images that span across two pages (like our art for David C. Smith's story in issue #0!).
• Extremely durable and high quality, the binding will stay together as long as the pages last.
• Designed to withstand wear and tear, making it an excellent choice for books that wil be well-used over periods of time, like beloved magazines!
• Pages cannot fall out as they are sewn together in signatures.

Finally there's the Hardcover Exclusive Stretch Goals:

• Bookmark Ribbons: Two different colored bookmark ribbons. Their colors will be matched to a two-tone color scheme which will be chosen based on the colors of the cover art, just as the beige and blue was plucked from Gilead's art for issue #0.
• Foil Embossed: The cover text & logo will be foil embossed in different colors for each issue, chosen to contrast nicely with the two-tone color scheme mentioned above.

We understand the additional cost may not be an option for everyone, and we're grateful to backers at all tiers, however we thought it be appreciated if we showed what that additional cost gets you.

It's been two days since our launch and we've already had over twice the amount of hardcover backers that we'd expected over the course of the entire thirty-day campaign! If necessary we may be able to up the print order, however it's likely there will be few if any hardcovers left for sale after the campaign ends, making now the best time to claim a pair for yourself.

MEANWHILE...we'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who has helped us clear 50% funding in our first 24 hours, anyone who's backed afterward, and who shared the campaign with friends!

That all means a great deal to us as we're not a company, just a humble editor with a few friends helping him try to make the Sword & Sorcery magazine he'd love to see in the world.