I love the science fiction and fantasy reviewing community. With the almost complete elimination of fiction reviews in local newspapers, it up to the loyal fans to step to promote new and well-established authors. It is up to us, the fans, to setup to the plate and go to bat for the authors and the publishing industry.
With so many competing forms of entertainment, movies, video games, and music, or what have you, it is becoming very difficult for publishers to justify their buying, printing, and distributing new authors.
There is hope. Hope in the blog reviewer and fan. Piotr Siennicki runs Fantasy Fan, a blog dedicated to providing detailed reviews of fantasy fiction. But wait, that is not all, he goes beyond the reviews and has added extra content that any true fan of fantasy fiction would enjoy.
Here is a short interview with Piotr Siennicki of Fantasy Fan:
With so many competing forms of entertainment, movies, video games, and music, or what have you, it is becoming very difficult for publishers to justify their buying, printing, and distributing new authors.
There is hope. Hope in the blog reviewer and fan. Piotr Siennicki runs Fantasy Fan, a blog dedicated to providing detailed reviews of fantasy fiction. But wait, that is not all, he goes beyond the reviews and has added extra content that any true fan of fantasy fiction would enjoy.
Here is a short interview with Piotr Siennicki of Fantasy Fan:
SM: If we meet in line at a cafe and you had 30 seconds to sell me on your website, what would you tell me?
PS: I would recommend the site saying that this is the combined source of fantasy related information any fan would want to find. Fantasy Fan will keep you up to date with your favorite writers and might convince you to try new ones. That's pretty much the mission of the site - bringing information about the authors you love and give you opportunity to branch out, reach for new titles, that other fans enjoy.
SM: It looks like Fantasy Fan has a little of everything that a true fantasy fan would want. What kinds of things will on your site will bring true fans back?
PS: I think there are two major areas that bring people back to Fantasy Fan. One is obviously the news & reviews, there is always something going on in the fantasy world. Either one of the "big" authors goes on a book signing tour or releases an interesting bit of news on their work in progress; or we have a new star rise on the fantasy sky, a new author, new book. There is always something going on. Even if it's just a new trivia or a wallpaper.
The other area that people tend to come back to is the discussion forum. Fantasy Fan built a nice community over the years and we tend to discuss close to everything on the forum, starting with fantasy books and ending on web comics and computer games.
SM: How often does your site update with new content?
PS: That really depends on many factors, two major being my free time and the amount of fan submissions. Usually though the website is updated daily, every 1-3 days.
SM: Most review sites, like my own, are the product of a passionate hobbyist. Is Fantasy Fan a hobby for you or it is work?
PS: It's definitely my hobby. I started the website seven years ago. I was looking for a place where other fantasy fans like myself would meet and discuss the books they loved. After a long search I decided that the website I'm looking for does not exist yet (there were few sci-fi & fantasy places, but nothing dedicated to high fantasy), so I thought to myself "why not start one?"
The task of running a website sometimes does feel like a job (seven years is a long time!), but the reward for creating something other people find useful is what every webmaster lives for. I joke around with my friends that Fantasy Fan is my baby, so yeah, it's definitely not work related.
SM: If someone likes your site, how can they get involved or help?
PS: There are plenty of ways. Some fans link to the website on their blogs, live journal pages and other communities they are involved with, others write reviews and submit news (Fantasy Fan has some dedicate writers, but we're always looking for more!) and some help to maintain the site by buying their books through Amazon referral. Every little bit helps!
PS: I would recommend the site saying that this is the combined source of fantasy related information any fan would want to find. Fantasy Fan will keep you up to date with your favorite writers and might convince you to try new ones. That's pretty much the mission of the site - bringing information about the authors you love and give you opportunity to branch out, reach for new titles, that other fans enjoy.
SM: It looks like Fantasy Fan has a little of everything that a true fantasy fan would want. What kinds of things will on your site will bring true fans back?
PS: I think there are two major areas that bring people back to Fantasy Fan. One is obviously the news & reviews, there is always something going on in the fantasy world. Either one of the "big" authors goes on a book signing tour or releases an interesting bit of news on their work in progress; or we have a new star rise on the fantasy sky, a new author, new book. There is always something going on. Even if it's just a new trivia or a wallpaper.
The other area that people tend to come back to is the discussion forum. Fantasy Fan built a nice community over the years and we tend to discuss close to everything on the forum, starting with fantasy books and ending on web comics and computer games.
SM: How often does your site update with new content?
PS: That really depends on many factors, two major being my free time and the amount of fan submissions. Usually though the website is updated daily, every 1-3 days.
SM: Most review sites, like my own, are the product of a passionate hobbyist. Is Fantasy Fan a hobby for you or it is work?
PS: It's definitely my hobby. I started the website seven years ago. I was looking for a place where other fantasy fans like myself would meet and discuss the books they loved. After a long search I decided that the website I'm looking for does not exist yet (there were few sci-fi & fantasy places, but nothing dedicated to high fantasy), so I thought to myself "why not start one?"
The task of running a website sometimes does feel like a job (seven years is a long time!), but the reward for creating something other people find useful is what every webmaster lives for. I joke around with my friends that Fantasy Fan is my baby, so yeah, it's definitely not work related.
SM: If someone likes your site, how can they get involved or help?
PS: There are plenty of ways. Some fans link to the website on their blogs, live journal pages and other communities they are involved with, others write reviews and submit news (Fantasy Fan has some dedicate writers, but we're always looking for more!) and some help to maintain the site by buying their books through Amazon referral. Every little bit helps!
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