Department

Editorial - Legends Seeks Ad Swaps

I’ve built up a bit of a following in some areas of the online community and the not-so-online community. I’m interested in sharing this a little on an advertising trade agreement. If there are any other printed zines out there that may have an interest, I’m sure we can work out an agreement where Legends Magazine will advertise in your zine and you’ll advertise in Legends. If interested, drop me a line.

The Rules

Of course, there are rules. I’m not going to advertise in a zine who’s reading community would have no interest in what Legends has to offer. And I’m sure you’d agree it would be a waste of time to do the same. Therefore, your zine should have strong themes in any one of the major topics Legends normally discusses. These topics can include one or more of the following; fantasy & science fiction, Dungeons and Dragons role playing, gothic/dark horror, humor, technology.

Fantasy & Science Fiction
The fantasy & science fiction genre that Legends is involved with can be either poetry or prose. With series such as the Albinor Chronicles, The Last Warrior, Gelfling Hand, The Songs of Albinor and the recently completed The Institute, you can see that the fantasy & science fiction themes are rather strong. The magazine itself was born on this and the role playing theme discussed below.

Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing
Legends began its life as a magazine dedicated to fantasy role playing, specifically of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The start of Legends in October, 1990 with the controversial series, D&D Only A Game? Answer: Yes! is evidence of Legends' beginnings in this realm. The theme, while slightly blurred and not as apparent, is still there and recurs. Legends may see itself leaning more to its roots soon with gaming articles and more fantasy. But regardless, Legends still maintains a large readership in the SCA, Faire Runners, GenCons and other gaming communities. This, combined with the fantasy & science fiction theme, make up the backbone of Legends Magazine.

Gothic/Dark Horror
Continuing involvement with online communities such as alt.gothic has pushed Legends Magazine to a darker side with continuous articles that can be classified as nothing more than "rants." Furthermore, an Alt.Gothic Special Issue is planned before 1997 has ended. A large readership and huge pool of submitters has come from these communities and all the friends I’ve made there, so the gothic theme in Legends Magazine will continue.

Humor
Humor has always been a prominent theme in Legends. Although sometimes smaller in quantity than the other themes, it has grown substantially as issues have increased in size in the latter years. While I wouldn’t be one to ad-swap with a humor only zine, it is possible, if the zine is especially good, well-thought and original, that I would reconsider.

Technology
Because of changes in my professional career, and considering a true zine is nothing more than a reflection of its creator, you might have noticed that technological articles, though sparingly added, are beginning to appear in Legends. The recent How Long Can Internet Access Last? article in Legends No. 70 is an example of this. However, similar to humor, unless a zine is well done, original and covers specific areas of technology (such as the Internet, for example), I won’t be one to quickly accept an ad-swap.

All in all, I’m looking to ad-swap with 2-3 magazines preferably in areas of the world farther off from myself. So if you have a print zine that may have one or more of the themes I’ve covered, and you think it’s good and original, I would like to see it and discuss the possibility of swapping advertisements. Contact me and we can arrange it. I’ll probably want to trade copies of our two zines to each other first so that we can both see what we’re getting into. But once arranged, time frames of ad-swaps are negotiable. Also, keep in mind that Legends is monthly. If you aren’t, and plenty of zines do not have the capabilities of releasing monthly issues, you can probably talk me into running your ad in a few of my issues until yours comes out. That, of course, depends on my mood…