Peeve concerning feedback
jenny_...@hicom.lut.ac.uk
"Cybrer Bunny" which my kids publish. By chance, both were published
this month and I see from the mailing list that 90% of the fanzines
are sent by airmail to the United States, rather than the United Kingdom.
The reason for this is quite simple: I don't get feedback from
my British correspondents. I've experimented with this by sending
copies to people who appear in other fanzine letter columns, or by
giving them to people who request them at conventions or by sending
them to people who produce their own fanzine and even -- in
desperation -- to people who are known to be kind and generous.
But the result is the same. I get response from Americans: I get
silence from the Brits. I get fanzines in trade from the Americans:
I get zilch from the Brits. The only exception is the older Brits,
who reply out of courtesy.
I guess the obvious response is that these fanzines are obviously
crap with no conversational hooks. So in the last "Maverick", apart
from articles by Vinc Clarke, Dave Langford, Lynne Ann Morse, Dave
Mooring and Andy Sawyer, I printed a controversial article about
"Star Trek" by Scott Patri. And, as usual, complete silence.
Is the art of writing letters of comment *completely* dead or am
I particularly unlucky in my choice of mailing list?
Bye from a peeved (and poor) Jenny
A^3
"A peeve about getting no feedback on her zines."[munched]
Well, there was a review of Cybrer Bunny in Attitude 4, which I
received this week. Maybe all the brits are writing fanzine review
columns, or they're all on the net. Actually, having net access
may well decrease the number of fanzine letters people write.
It's a lot more trouble to sit and write a LoC than it is to
post e-mail or to usenet, so after getting used to responding
on the instant, maybe people who're on the net no longer bother
much with other forms of feedback.
Of course, this doesn't explain why you get more feedback from the
US, since ther're more US folks on the net than Uk ones.
Ho hum, another great hypothesis bi(y?)tes the dust.
--
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Fiona Anderson
I must admit to being one of the Brits Jenny sent CybrerBunny to, and
I got several issues and only locced once. (flagellation mode sets
in!)
Actually I enjoyed them a lot, but I'm the world's worst loccer - too
much else to do (fannishly), and the passivity of being a reader sets
in if you don't loc immediately you get an issue.
Also I can't say I pen prose that's exactly deathless - when you write
a loc, and think to yourself "this is terrible" you're not exactly
inspired with confidence that others will find your offering
acceptable, let alone mediocre...
Grovel over! Anyone got a more Deep and Meaningful reason?
Fiona
--
Fiona Anderson
--------------+
Bernard Peek
> I run the mailing list for two fanzines: "Maverick" which I produce and
> "Cybrer Bunny" which my kids publish. By chance, both were published
> this month and I see from the mailing list that 90% of the fanzines
> are sent by airmail to the United States, rather than the United Kingdom.
> The reason for this is quite simple: I don't get feedback from
> my British correspondents.
It's nice to see some things don't change. The mailing list of 'K' in
1975 was mainly to the USA for the same reason.
--
Bernard Peek
I.T and Management Development Trainer to the Cognoscenti
(In search of Cognoscenti.)
b...@intersec.demon.co.uk
John Dallman
> I don't get feedback from my British correspondents.
> I've experimented with this by sending copies to people
> who appear in other fanzine letter columns, or by giving
> them to people who request them at conventions or by
> sending them to people who produce their own fanzine and
> even -- in desperation -- to people who are known to be
> kind and generous. But the result is the same. I get
> response from Americans: I get silence from the Brits.
> I get fanzines in trade from the Americans: I get zilch
> from the Brits. The only exception is the older Brits,
> who reply out of courtesy.
Hmmm - guilty. I got Maverick a couple of weeks ago, and have not yet
read it, let alone commented. I stave off guilt feelings through knowing
that you receive Attitude, the fanzine I co-edit with Michael Abbott and
Pam Wells, so at least I'm trading, but...
I plead shortages of time, willpower, and maybe (I must admit) a little
bit of interest. Doing LoCs for all the fanzine I get would use up all
the energy I have left - and would keep me from reading Usenet.
Apologies
John Dallman
Dr Gafia
<D4F6J...@lut.ac.uk>:
>>I run the mailing list for two fanzines... <snip> I don't get
>>feedback from my British correspondents... <snip> I get
>>response from Americans: I get silence from the Brits.
Sorry to see you so peeved, Jenny, but I've often compared
publishing a fanzine with Don Marquis' description of
publishing a volume of poetry: "It's like dropping a rose
petal down the Grand Canyon -- and then standing back to
listen for the echo."
I don't have precisely the same problem you do--or didn't when
I was publishing a general-circulation fanzine--but I know I am
remiss in responding to British fanzines. Thing is, I'm not
certain what the postage is these days--would two "regular"
stamps do it or would it take three or four? So it could be the
same thing in reverse. I mean, if I write a LONG letter, I can
"guestimate" how much extra U.S. postage it will take.
And before anyone asks, I don't often stop by the post office --
I get my stamps at a grocery store because that's what's
convenient for me.
--rich brown