Talk:If (magazine)

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March 5, 2008 Featured article candidate Promoted
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[edit] Comment

I find that opening paragraph confusing. Can't someone give this a chronological description? Pepso 14:05, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lower case title

I'd like to remove the "lower case" tag. I know the magazine was often referred to by fans using lower case, but it is invariably indexed in the secondary sources with upper case "I". The masthead on the issues I checked uses all caps. The cover uses a lower case "if" more often than upper case, but it's not invariant. I think we should follow secondary source usage here. Any comments? If nobody objects I'll change it in a few days. Mike Christie (talk) 02:43, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bits and Pieces

From Robinson, Frank M. (1999). Science Fiction of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-6572-3. 

Robinson describes IF as the "most major of the minors" (Minors being the minor sf mags). (p. 126) Robinson always spells it IF.

"IF' had always been a neat package with attractive covers and perfect binding (glue, no staples). It had also managed to stay afloat during a period when the number of magazines dropped from a high of forty-six titles in 1953 to less than a dozen by 1960." (p. 128)

"He [Pohl] also regarded the magazine as more or less a 'fun' project. But Galaxy was really his baby and was considered the prestige magazine of the two." (p. 128)

"Pohl was the only on who was surprised when he won three Hugos in a row for editing IF. It had been fun, and the fun had showed." (p. 129)

Much of the other information is duplicated. Hope this helps. Ealdgyth | Talk 15:42, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, and thanks also to OrangeMike who added some of this material; I moved a couple of bits around, and deleted a couple of bits I felt weren't really necessary. Let me know if you disagree. Mike Christie (talk) 21:29, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
Looks good; but I do think the "stayed afloat" is relevant, given the mortality rate in that era. (Lord, if only there were still that "less than a dozen" pro mags around!) --Orange Mike | Talk 21:34, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
Oh, lords yes. Wouldn't it be nice to have that many choices? I agree, looks good both Mikes. Ealdgyth | Talk 21:37, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
OK -- I added the numbers to the section on the ANC liquidation. Robinson isn't giving an opinion, so I didn't mention him, just used his numbers. How does that look? Mike Christie (talk) 13:36, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

From L. Sprague de Camp's Science-Fiction Handbook (p. 117):

"QUINN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC., Kingston, N.Y. is the firm of James L. Quinn, who publishes the bi-monthly digest-sizd If Worlds of Science Fiction, or simply If, soon to be a monthly. Mr. Quinn is not to be confused with Robert Guinn, owner of Galaxy Publishing Corporation, or with the veteran fantasy author Seabury Quinn. This magazine pays from one and a half cents a word up to on acceptance; two cents and up to established writers. It runs all science fiction, all original material, no articles, and no serials, and buys all magazine and anthology rights but returns specific subsidiary rights on request. The length limit is about 21,000 words. Until recently Mr. Guinn [sic] edited the magazine himself, but he has now retained LARRY T. SHAW, a small owlish-looking young man with a variety of previous editorial experience, as editor.

I couldn't figure out how to integrate this material -- so I'm just copying it here. -- llywrch (talk) 02:35, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

The pay rates are worth including, I think. Most of the rest (except the rather nice description of Shaw!) seems already in the article, except for the note on length limit. Is that worth putting in? Mike Christie (talk) 13:36, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
Length limits and pay rates, in addition to having always been changeable at publisher's whim, are getting pretty fancrufty. (The description of Shaw might be incorporated into his article, though.) --Orange Mike | Talk 15:09, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
Well, the pay rates might be worth mentioning in the bit where the article talks about Pohl raising the rates on Galaxy, and leaving If at one cent a word. As you say, though, there's no telling what the rates had been in the interim. I'll leave it out and see if anyone else thinks it's worth adding. Mike Christie (talk) 15:41, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
Well the points I found most interesting was that at one time it was "all science-fiction" -- which I take to mean no non-fiction articles, book reviews, etc. -- & that the name was somewhat unclear even at the beginning. As for the description of Shaw, he already has an article so that info might fit better there. -- llywrch (talk) 19:08, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
Actually there was some non-fiction material; the article has a note on the first issue: "In addition to the fiction and the editorial by Fairman, there was a letter column, a profile of Wilson Tucker, a selection of science news, a guest editorial by Ken Slater, a well-known British fan, and an approving review of the TV show Tales of Tomorrow." I suspect de Camp means that the magazine wasn't accepting fantasy. Several magazines that took fantasy were starting or had started around that time -- F&SF, Fantasy Fiction, and I think some others. If we agree that's a clear interpretation, I think you're right that that could be added to the article. Mike Christie (talk) 19:33, 6 March 2008 (UTC)