The Golden Age...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I have an idle question, arising slightly from recent ProsLit threads, and slightly from thinking about the Old Guard question of a few days ago...

When people talk about the "Golden Age" of Pros fandom, when in particular are they meaning? I'm never sure if this is one of those times that differs for everyone, or if there's a more generally accepted "period"? And what would constitute a "golden age"? Quantity of writing/activity? Quality? Something else?

I shan't post this to ProsLit as well, because I know it gets cross-listed there automatically, but it's really for both groups. I'm very curious...

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Oh perfect, that was just the sort of thing I wondered! Thanks very much for that info... D'you mind if I ask, have you been in Pros fandom long yourself?

Not too long. Three years, maybe? Four at the most. I'm just a collector at heart, and collecting zines sort of fit in with my collecting of books. And Pros did sort of grab me by the neck.

D'you think there are fewer zines because there's more online fic - and if so does that necessarily mean there's less fic being written, or is it just published in different format..? I gather that's the presumed wisdom but it's interesting that it might translate to "less activity". It'd be interesting to try and count up say the number of fics "published" at places like Safehouse, or Hatstand in 2005 and contrast that with the number of zines... (and btw I prefer fic in zines too, but I'll take what I can get!)

Yeah, I'd bet there's fewer zines being published because of online fic. Thing is, fic on line is so intangible, it's hard to use it as a barometer as to the health of a fandom. And the story count is hard to compare with zines since zine stories tend to be longer than online ones. When's the last time you saw a novel online, one that wasn't previously published in zine or paper circuit form?

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

By the time you get to novel length you'll not want to really put it online.

And the fashion today seems to be drabble, flashfic and crackfic (which we don't see to much here yay) so I don't think novel length is high on the writer's hitlist. And really for a good novel length story you need lots of time and they boys have to speak to you in something that long.

I'm disagreeing slightly in Pros about the length. If you look at the items in SantaPros and sunmmer of 78, they are all pretty meaty. The safehouse and hatstand pieces tend to be more netlike and shorter, yes. But again, that's the fashion.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

By the time you get to novel length you'll not want to really put it online.

Why not? If you're (the universal "you," not you personally) the type of person who basically only posts online, why would you suddenly decide to publish in a zine?

And the fashion today seems to be drabble, flashfic and crackfic (which we don't see to much here yay) so I don't think novel length is high on the writer's hitlist.

What's crackfic?

And really for a good novel length story you need lots of time and they boys have to speak to you in something that long.

That's true enough. They certainly haven't spoken to me that way.

I'm disagreeing slightly in Pros about the length. If you look at the items in SantaPros and sunmmer of 78, they are all pretty meaty. The safehouse and hatstand pieces tend to be more netlike and shorter, yes. But again, that's the fashion.

I suppose it's what you're used to. Even on Summer of 78, there's only been two stories of any length at this point, and neither is what I'd call long. Probably short stories, as opposed to the vignettes the rest are.

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

Well if a zine publisher finds out you're working on a long one, they'll convince you to put it in one!
:)

And they do tend to find out.

And as far as I can tell, Crackfic is like short, goofy, hallucination fic. Like Ray is suddenly a lion tamer and Bodie a lion seller who meet at the circus and shag like minks. Pardon me if that's not right but I'm not really sure, I just hear the other fan people talking about it and its proliferation.

Well if you think those stories aren't that long, we have differing ideas of long. Then I see where you aren't satisfied.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Well if a zine publisher finds out you're working on a long one, they'll convince you to put it in one! :)
And they do tend to find out.

Yes, I'd imagine they would.

And as far as I can tell, Crackfic is like short, goofy, hallucination fic. Like Ray is suddenly a lion tamer and Bodie a lion seller who meet at the circus and shag like minks. Pardon me if that's not right but I'm not really sure, I just hear the other fan people talking about it and its proliferation.

Oh, okay. I'd just never heard the term.

Well if you think those stories aren't that long, we have differing ideas of long. Then I see where you aren't satisfied.

I wouldn't go so far as saying I'm not satified. I just wouldn't mind some really long stories being posted...or published. :-)

[faramir-boromir.livejournal.com]

Hopping in here, completely off topic (but reading with much interest as a new arrival to the fandom): I've been trying to build a collection of Pros zines in the last few weeks, and I've had some success through eBay, a few of the yahoo groups, a con I attended (Media West), and a site I found on the web that had a few used ones. Do you have any tips for the aspiring collector of Pros zines? If there are specific yahoo groups or sites I should be checking, I'd like to know. And many thanks, in advance.

On this point, that zines are less common now because of online publishing: Yes. And that the online format tends to favor short, fast, and instantaneous feedback: Yes.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'm working on my zine collection too - mostly from the places you've mentioned... Do you know Crossovers (http://www.crossovers.net/makeitgoaway/AdultNon.htm)? I've dealt with them and they're lovely. And are the Yahoo groups you mean zinelist and slashswap? Um, otherwise... there's some dealers online of course, though I've not bought anything from them: Agent With Style (http://www.agentwithstyle.com/), Hermit.org (http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/Shop/Shop.cgi?F=PRF&L=P/Proffesion/2Hand.html&S=KWP) (though they always seem quite expensive for second hand zines to me - am I allowed to say that here?!), knightwriter.org (http://www.knightwriter.org/Shop/Shop.cgi?L=../P/Proffesion/index.html&I=SD1), Keynote Press (http://www.cyberus.ca/~keynote/restroom.htm) but it took me months to get the Roses and Lavender I ordered from them - at least it eventually came... przed can probably tell you more about them though... um...

And this is, of course, exactly what PalelyLoitering (http://www.palelyloitering.com) will be for, cos it took me so long to find all the information myself when I first started looking! And it's getting there, but I'm stuck in exam-marking hell at the moment, so I'm still short of time... at least the front page is up... sort of...

Is it the reading of the zines or the actual owning of the originals that you're interested in (if that's not a daft question)..? I'm emailable at slantedlight at hotmail thingie com if you're interested in talking about anything specific zine-wise *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

A little late, (I've been in England the last two weeks,) but I was wondering if you knew about the Rondeau's? I've bought several from them in several different fandoms. They don't update their site but a couple of times a year but you still might find some you don't have. Anyway, here's the url if you don't already have it.


http://www.crossovers.net/makeitgoaway/home.htm

[faramir-boromir.livejournal.com]

Thanks...ironically, I just received a package from them today! If you should think of anyplace else that handles second-hand zines aside from the Rondeau's and Waveney, I'd be delighted to hear about it. Much appreciated.