Writer's Beat Quarterly | Issue 20 - November 2008

Looking good again...

[Q Wands]

Thanks, everyone, for the positive comments. Makes it all worthwhile.

As for past issues, something seems to have gone awry with the links, but we are working to correct that. As soon as we have a fix, all past issues that we have access to will be available for downloading. Might as well point out, however, that some issues (from before my time) have gone MIA, and I doubt we will ever retrieve them. But I hbelieve we have most, and certainly all the recent ones.

[SW]

Mia?

[Q Wands]

MIA = Missing In Action.

[Devon]

They could have gone AWOL too.

[Q Wands]

Ah, yes. Very true.

[Loki]

I read this a few days ago and took my time to distill my thoughts into something useful. Having worked in the publishing business for a few years, I picked on a few details. Some of it is harsh, so if you would prefer it, I can send it to you via PM.

Why the horizontal layout, by the by? It doesn't seem to serve any purpose, unless you intended this issue to be printed.

On the whole, it's a good read. I'd like to see more of this.

[Devon]

Some of it is harsh, so if you would prefer it, I can send it to you via PM.

Please do. We're always looking to improve.

[Earl Grey]

I,too, was wondering about the horizontal layout. It didn't seem to provide any benefits, and if anything it made the pages seem cluttered.

Also, I found some of the fonts to be off-putting and difficult to read. One font, actually, as it seems to have been repeated in the titles throughout. It was all right (though perhaps a little boring) for larger usage, but some of the sub-titles were painful to look at.

All in all, I think there's potential here. It's certainly a nice outlet for members. Keep up the good work.

A magazine? Wow, and the cover's pretty. I'll DL it.

There seems to be some confusion over format here.
Online or download publications SHOULD be in horizontal format.
I'm always amazed that so many slavishly imitate print magazines (which DO use vertical format) and end up with something with pages and even graphics that can't be seen without scrolling.

This is the intelligent way to lay out a eZine.

Regarding fonts, I'm not sure what people are reacting to, but it's possible that you are seeing different faces on your computer. Especially if fonts aren't embedded.

But the format is exactly the way it should be: horizontal "screesaver" page proportion.

[Rackham]

I actually liked the format. I don't know anything about printing, but it worked well for me.

[Q Wands]

Well, we have no intention of changing the basic layout for the next issue (which we are in the process of compiling). We may make some small changes, but the horizontal format is very suitable for the computer screen, and we will be sticking with it.

[Rackham]

Good to hear, Q. Why fix it if it aint broke, eh?

[Q Wands]

Wise words, my friend, very wise words indeed.