PUBLISHER
Ian Shires
MANAGING EDITOR
Ellen Fleischer
ASSISTANT CREATIVE
Jade Savage
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Jay Savage
CIRCULATION COORDINATOR
Douglas Owen
COVER ART
James Devlin
SELF
PUBLISHER
MAG A Z I N E
It is not often that I have sat and had true revelations about where I am at with things
and where I could go. But I had them in the course of research for the Distribution
Alley column, digging in and seeing what was working—and what wasn’t—elsewhere
led directly to the conclusion that the solution is in both the past and the future. That
the original ideas I had for running an order-forwarding system for other publishers through SP! and through the mail (because there was no internet back then), are
now a fully-possible solution with today’s online technologies. And all the things I’ve
tried to develop that integrate or work with other systems are actually moot. If I skip
forward and implement new technologies, that can only develop to work better and
better for us all.
Now, couple that with the fact that our web host was failing. The server we were on
was running a hosting setup that the company was moving away from, and so, they
were looking at forcing me onto a more expensive model and— as I was reading about
what I would need to set up my idea, I found out it would not work the way I wanted
on that hosting service. I did some more research, and found a host where, not only
would it work, but it would cost a fraction of what the old host wanted to sell me on.
So, I had a URL I wasn’t using—happens to be indyfestusa.com—which I’ve used in the
past for a show I put on, and later as a site about indy-friendly conventions. And I’ve
had people whispering in my ear that we need to change the name of this magazine.
I asked a few people what they thought about Indyfest Magazine, and it was a unanimous hit. So I set up an account with a new hosting company, expecting to slowly set
up things there, while maintaining the other websites at the old hosting, and it would
be a smooth transitional growth. But almost immediately after I pointed the nameservers for that one domain away from the old host, ALL the websites started having
twice as many unavailable time periods, my emails started acting weird, I wasn’t getting
things people said they sent, etc. All of which shouldn’t happen from the moving of
one URL; they even said, “Oh that shouldn’t be happening,” when I asked about it.
Long story short, it got worse, not better. I ended up yanking everything to the new
web host and cancelling everything with the old. So, now everything is working exactly
the way I want, but it’s not really ready for the public, even though parts of it I kinda do
have up and there. I’m calling this an ALPHA version of what I am trying to develop. Jay
is getting involved, now that he’s back from SDCC and Ellen is, as always, an indispensible tester of things. We have some seriously huge and great ideas and I’ve invested
in some software that will make it all work. My intention is to do no less than change
the game, by going back to the past and reaching to the future. Everything I’ve ever
done before, all the trials and errors, have led to what is unfolding right now.
Published monthly by Dimestore Productions
P.O Box 214, Madison, OH 44057
All Contents (c)2013-2014 by Dimestore Productions and noted individuals. All rights revert
to those individuals. Dimestore reserves the
right to keep this issue in print in PDF and POD
forms. First Printing, September 2014.
We are going to keep Self Publisher! the same for the rest of this year though, before
we adjust its title, format, etc. So, enjoy this issue, and the next few, as the year plays
out. I’ve decided not to pursue the Distribution Alley column; next issue I’m going to
do a more simple “Publisher Picks” type of look at creations that have caught my eye
each month. Enjoy the articles, Sneak Peeks, etc. While we didn’t expect to have to
change the websites this fast, everything will become clear as we go. Enjoy the ride!
- Ian Shires