Hi there. My name is Dianna L. Gunn, and I'm one of Musa Publishing's team of interns. I'm currently working on Penumbra, Musa's speculative fiction eMagazine. Together, we created the December issue of the Penumbra eMagazine. We've also been working on a subscription challenge. I'm here to tell you a bit about Penumbra and what we do.
What makes Penumbra different from other speculative fiction magazines?
Penumbra is an eMagazine, which means lower overhead. This allows us to provide readers with the stories they love for less—costing just $3.99 per issue and $36.00 for a one year subscription. It also means we can pay our writers the professional rate of five cents per word. So Penumbra is just all around better for everyone in terms of money.
What makes the December issue of Penumbra special?
The December issue of Penumbra is the result of an amazing collaboration between interns. We were given raw story files and we turned it into something awesome. The theme of this issue is travel and the stories each explore this theme in unique ways. The stories aren't all this issue is about, though. It also includes a few non-fiction features, including an interview I did with Vella Munn and an article about Krampus, the evil anti-Santa. All in all, it's just a really fantastic issue.
What is the subscription challenge?
As we were making the final decisions for Penumbra, writing up the articles and collecting the editorials, our Editor in Chief gave us another challenge: to get 500 subscribers for our eMagazine by January first. Together, we started to formulate a marketing plan.
In the spirit of the holiday season, one of the things we decided we should do is to offer the first two issues of the eMagazine free with the purchase of a one year subscription. We looked at targeting all kinds of blogs, but really, the subscription challenge could be its own post.
If you truly love speculative fiction and you're a little short on cash, Penumbra is the perfect speculative fiction eMagazine for you. It will carry you through the holidays, and a subscription will keep you busy for the whole year.
You can buy Penumbra's December Issue here http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=147 , and you can purchase a one year subscription here http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=34 .
Watch for more information concerning this awesome new emag. I'll be posting a review soon.
Rebecca Ryals Russell
Rebecca Ryals Russell writes MG and YA Dark Fantasy and Horror while living with her family in a Victorian house on five acres of North Florida countryside. She also runs a Vacation Rental Log House on the property: Florida Black Bear Cabin.
Be sure to check out the special interactive Middle Grade Reader website Tween Word Quest for tons of information about Stardust Warriors as well as the other projects Rebecca has in the works and Under the Hat of a MG/YA Dark Fantasy Author Rebecca Ryals Russell for info about everything else.
