Welcome
FIREPOWER! is a 4TheLuv magazine featuring military-oriented science fiction from unpublished and up-and-coming writers. It originally debuted around 1998 when it was mainly focused on reporting game news from the email gameFire On The Suns. In 2001 the magazine went on more or less permanent hiatus, until now, for a variety of reasons that need not be gone into here. We're back, but we're changing our focus and broadening our horizons. FIREPOWER! is owned and edited by Greg Ellis, who also owns and operatesFire On The Suns .
FIREPOWER! is back as a 4TheLuv market for military science fiction. If you don't know what a 4TheLuv market is, it's one that doesn't pay anything except exposure, and possibly a copy or two of a printed issue. Bewildering Stories is an example of a top-notch 4TheLuv market. FIREPOWER! offers exposure only at this time and there are no plans for the 'zine to go to any kind of print format.
FIREPOWER! is not intended to remain a 4TheLuv market. With your help, by donating to the cause (see the PayPal "Donate" button below), we don't have to stay that way for long. If all we can ever offer is $0.01/word. that's still something offered to an author that will draw in better writers and stories. That's how the biz works, folks, you pays your money and takes your chances. However, no author or propsective contributor should ever feel pressured to donate to FIREPOWER! in any fashion. Donating will not effect my editorial decisions regarding what appears in the magazine.
FIREPOWER! will, eventually, have advertisements, and I will be actively soliciting advertisements for the 'zine. We may also have the occasional advertisement for FOTS and maybe the occasional FOTS news or story. Some material from Jane's Security, Defense, or Police Briefs may appear as well, but our main focus is military science fiction. Any advertisements will serve the purpose of building up a cash reserve with which to pay our authors and contributors.
Military SF is what I want. That does not mean there must be a battle sequence in every story, but the focus should be on combat and military-style action. Guns, lasers, starships duking it out in deep space, laser cannons blazing, giant machines stalking across a devastated landscape, etc., etc., are all good, but remember that fiction is about stories and stories are about people doing things, often in conflict with their common sense or what they believe. Stories with conflict at the center are what I'm after. Even in combat there are people doing things. Outside of combat those people are still there doing things.
Why Military SF? Looking around the offerings at Ralan's and other websites for both print and online magazines it occurred to me that there simply are no markets for military SF out there. At least, there are no markets specifically dedicated to military SF. FIREPOWER! is an attempt to change the landscape somewhat with a 'zine dedicated to that purpose. It's not a dumping ground for stories that cannot be sold elsewhere (though some will say that's what it is). FIREPOWER! is, right now in June, 2008, the only market specifically dedicated to publishing military science fiction. Look for yourself if you want to. I'll wait.
Authors, Artists, and Rights : All authors and artists will retain the full rights to their stories and artwork with the exception of what they sign a contract for (First World Wide Web Publication Rights). The contract being proffered is one that is approved by the SFWA (Science Fiction Writer's Association) and suggested by Ralan's. You can see a sample of the contract here,
Please note - having your work published
online in FIREPOWER!
is being published in the opinion of just
about everyone who counts. The same holds true for being published online
anywhere, by anybody else or any other publication. I quote Ralan from
Ralan's.com, " When a story is posted for the
general public it is published. Doesn't matter if there is no
compensation, or that the editor says they claim no rights. The fact is:
it is published. After that it can only be marketed as a reprint, which
severely limits the number of markets that will accept it, and drastically
reduces the pay rate it can receive.
I've found that many writers and editors are not
aware of this. As an editor, I feel it is your responsibility to inform
possible contributors of these facts. Allow them to decide if publishing
their work on your web site, giving up their First Publishing Right for no
payment other than exposure, is really what they want to do. "
So, consider yourselves informed.
Also, nobody, but nobody connected with FIREPOWER! is ever going to try to strongarm you for any rights other than those stated above. In addition, nobody here at FIREPOWER! is ever going to ask you for money for anything related to your work. Remember this, money flows to the author, not in any other direction. If any editor or publisher ever asks you for money to publish your work you should run screaming for the hills, never sign a contract with those kinds of people, and report them to the Preditors & Editors website. Now, with that said, we do take donations. However, those donations are strictly for the purpose of supporting the magazine and its authors and artists. Any and all monies received will flow straight to our contributors first, and to support the magazine secondarily (and only after our contributing authors are paid, if and when that becomes possible).
