02 May 2013, 06:29 PM IST
It was a wildcard friend request on Facebook that I received from Nikhil Sharda that put me onto the very interesting Indian chapter of the international online magazine called eFiction. When I read about it, my interest grew until, on an impulse, I wrote back to him seeking a sample volume of the lit mag. And the volume duly came by as a pdf file on email. On opening the file, I came across a well-edited and proofread, neatly laid-out magazine that showcased mostly short stories and poems. A sample can be seen here.
That got me interested. I wanted to know more. I wrote to Nikhil, telling him I wanted to know more, and also discovering in the process the website of eFictionmag, which had editions in different genres - horror, sci-fi, noir, steampunk - the works. And he told me about eFiction India.
eFiction USA was conceived by Doug Lance in 2009 and eFiction India was spearheaded by Nikhil Sharda himself - the magazine has been in circulation since October 2012. The content of eFiction is entirely crowdsourced – they call it community involvement. Contributions come from reader-writers and articles are voted up and those that top the charts find a place in the magazine's final cut. The magazine is edited by a team of volunteers comprising Richa Mehta in Sydney, Australia, Namitha Varma Rajesh in Mangalore, Dr Ananya Guha in Shillong, Shifani Reffai in Sri Lanka and Ananya Dhawan in DehraDun). These editors actually collaborate with authors to refine the final product.
As far as the content plan is concerned, eFiction alternates themed issues with open-genre issues. Every issue, says Nikhil, has an eclectic mix of stories including the sci-fi, fantasy or literary genres. The content plan also comprises interviews of writers, publishers and artists, film and book reviews, short plays or abbreviated film scripts. The surprise element remains, says Nikhil. The print version (which is somewhat like print on demand) carries illustrations as well. eFiction India aims at exploring fresh talent in writing, music and films and also "aims to inspire" and encourage and promote contemporary literature, says Nikhil.
eFiction India targets mostly NRIs aged between 25 and 65 years and reaches out as much to readers and connoisseurs as to professional writers and editors. The magazine currently "enjoys influence and readership totally out of proportion with its circulation figures", claims Nikhil. He talks about 1,000 subscribers and thrice the readership (3,000) attributing 80% of sales in online formats (PDF, MOBI and EPUB) and 20% in print. Free copies of the magazine are offered to all contributors.
Asked how the diverse editorial team was put together, Nikhil says the team grew out of readers-turned-reviewers as well as personal networks. The editors work mostly on a voluntary basis, says Nikhil, but there is a system of advertising networks and affiliate marketing where editors get paid for generating online sales leads. The editors also have access to eFiction's content inventories and discussion forums on writing and publishing.
Asked about the USP of eFiction India, Nikhil says they try to give a leg up to writers by mailing personalised feedback on email, which is offered to all writers including those whose contributions don't eventually make it to the magazine. Those who didn't make it are also directed to join an online workshop on Google shared doc for suggestions and brainstorming. Writers are also able to check the status of their submissions in realtime by logging on to the submission, which says Nikhil, is better than the eternal wait for the publisher's approval. eFiction also encourages cross-media convergence by allowing submissions to be adapted in songs and films.
Asked about the budgets, Nikhil says budgets are flexible and the revenue model centres on readers' subscriptions. Multilingual editions in Spanish, French, and other languages are on the anvil.
As for marketing, it's mostly handled by a partner PR Agency called Literati Communications, Mumbai. Nikhil says eFiction is currently associated with Barnes & Noble, Flipkart, InfiBeam, uRead, Amazon, Magzter, HP MagCloud, Blue Frog (for music production), A Pictures (official photo studio), DogEarsEtc, eZineMart, British Council and two print partners - Pothi and Bhavish Graphics. Payments are accepted through Paypal and CCavenue and an event managing firm as well.
Future plans for eFiction include the creation of mobile and desktop apps, publication of regional magazines in Hindi, Malyalam, Marathi and Bengali, a quarterly supplement of comic strips, Google Hangout online workshops, production of music albums and films.
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