Howard Andrew Jones

Paradox originally weas slated to publish three paper issues each year and one pdf issue eahc year. You might want to discuss how it worked out with Chriostopher Cevasco, the editor/publisher.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine offers a PDF subscription choice. Noctem Aeternus is a free horror PDF magazine.

I think Subterranean and Fantasy Magazine are both pdf only. Interzone produces an electronic version, but it's not free.

I mentioned this earlier, but I think that the .PDF could be a nice calling card and driver to the site. I also don't think you'd lose potential subscriptions, because people still like paper, especially since you've got such great artwork.

I actually think of BG as a quarterly illustrated review and fiction anthology, not a magazine. To me, it is a book subscription. In light of that, I think really good models of free e-books as sales hooks for print versions are Baen Books and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

Cory Doctorow has a good justification for the use of free long-form e-materials: http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2007/09/cory-doctorow-freekonomic-e-books.html

I hope some of this helps, even if I can't point to a magazine that does it. Of course, there really isn't a magazine like BG on the planet.

Blaze that trail.

Cosmic SF and Mythic Delirium both do this (give away a free PDF sample), but I don't know how it's worked out for them.

JBU is of course the leader of this sort of thing - they have whatever format anyone could want, pretty much. They may have a free issue - and certainly some stories and articles.

So someone else you could talk to for advice, perhaps.

Asimovs/Analog/Fantasy and Science Fiction and Interzone of course all sell single issues and subscriptions at Fictionwise that work very well.

Last year, Baen's offered a free PDF single issue to anyone who would then write a review and post it on their blog. And right now, IGMS is offering 1 or 2 free stories a month from the current issue.

As someone already mentioned Baen's Universe has several formats (6 bucks an issue) and they do at least one free issue a year (I think--I know they did one last year because I read it!) I believe they left it free for 3 months and then closed the free part. They also did that review thing, but I'm not sure that was for the same issue because I read the issue without ever seeing that suggestion. (the free issue was August if I remember correctly, and it stayed free for 3 months until the Oct issue came out.)

IGMS is doing a couple free stories per issue for the next several issues.

I LOVE the occasional free issue and as I said, I'll pretty much go PDF (or other online format) if it saves me money. I prefer to buy on a per issue basis rather than a subscription.

Shimmer (http://www.shimmerzine.com/) has both print and PDF copies available.

Oh yes--Weird Tales--they put about 3 stories per issues up for about a month (free reads). I read several of their stories online last year. I think they are still doing it.

Baen also tends to have at least one editorial for free per issue. If you give nothing else away for free each time, the editorials are a nice touch. Gives a feel for the editor(s) and what they think of the issue. For some reason I will always read this when it's available.

Hi,

As someone who has a story scheduled to appear in BG #12, I've got to speak up here and say that I don't want my work appearing in a PDF publication--UNLESS the magazine also comes out in its standard paper version. I've waited three years for my story to appear, and the thought that the issue becomes a free giveaway on the web is a hard pill to swallow. I want my work to appear in beautifully produced print editions--and that's what each issue of BG has been so far.

I think WEIRD TALES has the right idea--instead of making whole issues avialable online, they take a few stories from each issue, for a limited time--and also they occasionally have web-only stories that you won't find in the paper magazine. This seems to be the best model to follow, as it doesn't devalue the printed version of the issue.

And that's my two cents...

OK, NOW I see where you said it would be in addition to the print version. Sorry! Jumped the gun there--but the second half of my previous post still applies. Putting some stories online from each issue (for a limited time), and putting up a monthly online-only story, would be a great way to boost the online presence of the magazine.