Dear Supraterranean Community,
I write to you with mixed tidings for the new year. It’s hard for me to believe that Supraterranean has existed for six months. It has been a wild ride, for me at least. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on the development and maintenance of the web site – some for grad school credit, most enjoyable, but all unpaid. The positive support of contributors and the audience has kept me motivated. I try to view the site as a long-term commitment, since it will take an extensive effort to make Supraterranean a permanent fixture on the web.
If my impression is correct, the founding goals and ideals represent something the world isn’t used to. And in some cases, people are downright bewildered. Therefore, it’s been extremely difficult to convey to the public exactly what I had in mind in the first place. The past six issues have been an attempt to show instead of tell. I’ve tried to accelerate the process by contributing much of my own material, as well as writing at least weekly on the Admin Blog. I continually edit the “About Us” page, as I further refine the mission of the site. But through it all, I’ve stuck to the core idea: to publish all valid submissions without applying a selection process.
I’m also putting to use the digital marketing skills I accrued in a fall 2008 internship in an attempt to boost site traffic. Since its founding, Supraterranean.com has seen almost 2,500 unique visitors, with a monthly average over 300. I still have many plans for the site, which I have described to you on various occasions thus far. I want it to be a fully interactive community with profiles, tags, recommended content, cross-categorization of articles, RSS feeds, and more. Of course, that would probably require some kind of funding to get the help of professional web developers. I also never got to have a launch party, and I’d still like to schedule some kind of celebration, if only a one-year anniversary.
This can all be put off, as long as the site sees a steady flow of contributions and traffic. However, that hasn’t been the case. In December, I only received poetry submissions. I need contributions in fiction, nonfiction, essay, film, photography, art, and multimedia in order to publish a complete issue. In the meantime, I’m considering switching the site over to a rolling publication process, where new content would be posted as it is received. Supraterranean.com was intended to be a showcase for creative exploration and personal expression, and it’s up to all of you to take advantage of this resource. And remember, while most literary magazines require a paid subscription, Supraterranean.com will always be free to use.
I appreciate your interest and attention, and I hope you choose to submit your creative work to Supraterranean now and in the future. Please make sure to follow us on Twitter and join the Facebook group and/or become a fan on the Facebook page (see the Links page). Best wishes in 2009.
Sincerely,
Nick Meador
Creator/Administrator of Supraterranean.com
Similar Posts:
- Redesign Update, pt. 1 (September 11, 2009)
- On-Demand Book Publishing (November 13, 2008)
- A Long-Overdue Update (June 4, 2009)
- Welcome to the New Supraterranean! (September 16, 2009)
- Questions From A Reader (November 10, 2008)
