/lit/ - Literature

SPECIAL OSAMA IS DEAD EDITION

You guys rejected my story and didn't even email me back. Not cool.

>>1740230
What was the submission name?

>>1740232
Nevermind, it was crap.
I'm just saying so you won't do it again. Even an auto-reply is cool, though.

For those interested, here's a picture of it printed and assembled.

>God tier: Blueberry Girl, Bored out of my mind, Loneliness
>High tier: Damaged Goods, Down the Hall, Objective Emission
>Mid Tier: Can't live with them, Rough Dogs, They Travel in Packs, Untitled
>Low tier: Loneliness
>SHITTIER THAN SHIT TIER: Autumn Redgate
Who wrote that last one and can we do to him what we did to bin laden?

>>1740279
Agreed. Shallow and pedantic, like someone trying too hard to be The Da Vinci Code or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. If this is what you guys open with, you fucking suck. Fire that hack.

>>1740279
Bump for more criticism, good bad weird it's all good, your comments are appreciated.

>>1740295
We release alphabetically by title as to avoid favoritism and emphasis the work as opposed to the author, I don't think publishing through editorial rank would be very fair.

>>1740298
Can you still fire the guy?

>>1740304
We don't "fire" authors, submissions are taken in and considered as they are sent to us. Feel free though to write up exactly why you dislike this story and submit it as an essay, we would welcome critical examinations so long as they remain "academic".

> nice looking ezine
> our new editor "Joebob"
> works by SOME PERVERT

There's a sort of uneasy balance between professionalism & stupid internetism
is this a /lit/ initiative?

>>1740308
Writing style is painfully amateur. Characters are unlikable. Story is a fifteen year-old trying hard to be badass (and failing), the dad's stupid, the cop's retarded, the main character is bland and unlikable. I shouldn't even need to mention the fact that it's a story about a cult. That's the most shit-tier writing technique there is. If there's a part 2, I never want to see it.

>>1740309
What's wrong with joebob? I think it's a good, strong name, and yes, this was a /lit/ initiative.

>>1740309
Everyone whined like fuck so they could get credit, so don't rail on the editors for morons.

>>1740313
Just write that up in a more formal way and submit it, give your message bigger podium.

4chan lit get

>I think anyone would agree tripfags are
the cancer

>Prole !XDERDXUpqQ
Wildweasal !FvTu.n1ohA
Luco !/.tVpzN9Qg

Welp

>>1740345
I think that's so people don't impersonate them and go posting crazy untrue shit.

>>1740309
In response to your question: This is a net initiative, and as it happens our support base is almost completely 4chan

Agreed, what The April Reader represents is something a little out of the ordinary- but doesn't net culture have a unique character of its own which we should cater to as any publication should to an audience? Professionalism can stand alongside net culture in the sense people will always want good-looking publications regardless of the content. Personally, I'm okay with the direction TAR is taking.

/opinion

>>1740348
Unsecured trips are easily enough broken if you want to.

>>1740376
Maybe, but it adds another layer of difficulty to deter shenanigans and besides, it is well intended, not for attention necessarily.

I'm going to go ahead and admit that I thought Redgate was okay. Not the standout piece, and not anything really stimulating, but it was good in a stupid kind of way, like the literary equivalent of an action movie.

Blueberry Girl is a fucking masterpiece though.

Down the hall is pretty damn good

just saiyan

Down The Hall was pretty good.
Have to say, ending was the best part.

"This story is a work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fucking moron would believe otherwise."

Yeah, I'm fucking not going to read this. The poetry wasn't all terrible, though.

I liked Down in Hall (so sad ;_;), Blueberry Girl (very readable), Forever (cute), and Loneliness (it's, well, lonely...).

>>1740539

I mean to say, I am not going to read this shit prose and essaying.

>>1740543
Blueberry girl and Down the Hall (gets better near the end) are pretty good. They just started off with the worst piece in the whole magazine.

>>1740544
*I should add that her prose is still better than mine (so don't feel too bad). Since mine doesn't even make it in, only ever my poetry lol.

Hey guys. Just letting you know the version that's out is the print friendly version. The online version that is more alike to the formatting of the last issue has been delayed for a few reasons, but should be out soon.

>>1740544
We decided to order the pieces alphabetically by title this issue. I personally don't like this, and the issue will be under debate for the next issue.

Have you guys put yourself on Duotrope yet?

>>1740549
Hey it's Tai here. If you guys publish any of my stuff in the future can you leave me as anon please? I made that request in my emails but ya'll might have missed it. I don't want to be a dick about it, but I quite like the freedom of not being named - and I
don't want to be associated with some of my forever-alone stuff :s.

Also good job on the issue, much tighter editing than the last.

>>1740542
Are my opinions other people's work. The blueberry stuff gave me a little chub until it went weird.

>>1740549

pro-tip: feature the best piece first

>>1740554
EVENTUALLY YES

>>1740557
My fault most likely, apologies for that.

>>1740571
No worries. Keep up the good work.

A polite bump.

First thoughts (skimming through; not reading anything): the layout gives me a chubby in my trousers, so great work on that! Dropping the forced anon thing was also a good move. The call-for-printing kind of irked me at first, but then I figured I might as well print out a couple of copies and just leave them around my campus in random spots (a treat for a bored university student).

Anyway, after I get back from talking about dead jews to my professor, I'll be sure to read and critique this issue further. Cheers!

the essays are terrible, a real step down from noam chomsky

>>1740279

Hey, you put loneliness into God Tier as well as Low Tier. Which one is the mistake?

Looks good by the way guys, a lot of improvements. Looking forward to issue 3!

I read a few poems, some were pretty good, I'll return to them later. I also read the last piece by Wildweasel, which left me a little confused to be honest. I also read the part about the cost of the website, and the idea of advertising. I say absoultely post some ads up there. They won't interfere, I'm sure.

And good work with this issue.

do you pay for printed things?

>>1740912

Leaving them around your uni is a good idea. I'll print a few copies out too and place them around my campus, maybe leave one in a bar or cafe too.

I have to say I'm impressed that 4chaners can get together a well-put together ezine. My hats off to you.

also, I love you /lit/ :3

I really like the fact that I have more than one prose piece to read now. That was something that really stuck out in the last issue, the lack of short stories.

I notice that there is an .epub version in the works, is this true for a .mobi version too? I'd love to have all the issue available on my kindle.

Why not some e-reader-friendly format accompanying the pdf?

>>1740951
Epub would be perfectly convertable to Mobi.
But Pdf remains a bit harder...

Unmitigated garbage.

I've just finished the Blueberry story, There were a few funny moments, a few steamy ones too (:D) but I was left pretty empty towards the end. I just didn't feel like it came together. I expected some vindication, for Sarah to become a blueberry or something, but it didn't happen. Plus, with what started out as a story about (forgotton her name already, the Sagan girl) I don't feel like the ending treated her fairly. It basically cast her aside, resolved nothing for her. The same is true for Sarah too really, she's suddenly thrown in to conclude the piece and she can't carry it off.

On the whole though, very good. The descriptions were excellent, I really felt like I could see everything that was happening. There weren't many tedious abstractions, and I like that a lot. Try and imagine a different ending though, as a reader I felt cheated out of seeing Sarah's sexy and terrible demise. I want two erotic blueberries.

>>1740919
Bah. You are only saying that because I quoted you in my essay.

>>1740992

What the hell was that essay all about anyway?

Wow the first story, it's so, so EDGY

Also, your editor needs to be shot
>The point I'm trying to make is It's a ways down the hall
>It's
>a ways

>I was dulled enough that I could ignore him

>I came back to find he hadn't said 'screw it and left. As we spoke I cleaned up the glass
>'screw it and left

>I'm no good at none a' this thinkin crap
>All fiction is autobiographical to some degree, is it not?

Fucking amateurs.

>>1741005

>>1740222

Cool trips, brah

I considered submitting an entry, but as was pointed out earlier your editor needs a hot lead-ucation.

>Bored Out of My Mind in PSYC305
>She confessed she was barren, she'd never bread
>bread
>lol

>>1741079

They've made a considerable improvement upon the first issue though, and I think the improvements will continue, as long as we all support it.

>>1741005
It's about me starting a new, competing, publication.

1. Whoever typeset this should be kicked out. My guess is that you don't have anyone that knows how to typeset shit and just winged it. Please read up a bit on that stuff for future issues, it's not hard to make it look presentable.

2. If possible, some real editing would be nice.

>>1741079
We left that in because it was hilarious. But you're right, we'll fix it

>>1741090
>1. Whoever typeset this should be kicked out. My guess is that you don't have anyone that knows how to typeset shit and just winged it. Please read up a bit on that stuff for future issues, it's not hard to make it look presentable.
As always, please be specific about what you think would be better

>2. If possible, some real editing would be nice.
Do us a favor and point out the errors

This issue is much better than the last, congrats. I especially like the blueberry story. A few of the poems were pretty good too.

>>1740279
>God tier: Blueberry Girl, Bored out of my mind, Loneliness
>High tier: Damaged Goods, Down the Hall
>Mid Tier: Can't live with them, They Travel in Packs
>Low tier: Rough Dogs, Untitled Loneliness
SHITTIER THAN SHIT TIER: Autumn Redgate, Objective Emission

Fixed that for you

Redgate's writer here.

I kind of fucked up huh? It was the first thing I ever wrote for publication, so I'm not surprised it's trash. If anyone else wanted to say -why- they didn't like it, I'd appreciate it.

>>1740972

More criticism along these lines would be great...

>>1741192

So many abstractions, very little goiing on. The first real action, the brick being thrown through the window, could have been interesting and exciting if you hadn't slown it down and taken me out of the action by inserting flashbacks and quips. I'd much rather read a straightforward story 'I stood here. I saw this. I heard this. Then this happened. I felt this. Etc'. I think that's why the blueberry story has been so well recieved. It describes events well enough for us to lose ourself in them, rather than cluttering up our imaginations with author inserts and abstract language.

Does that help?

>>1741200
I see. Okay, thank you!

>>1741192
the scottish father was so bad I wanted to cry

also, explain what is actually happening in a way that the reader can follow. The opening sequence for instance is really jumbled

'course, it actually gets better once after that first sequence. The detective scene was good, as was everything after it

I'm glad to see you guys dropped the force anonymous nonsense. I really enjoyed a few of the pieces in there. However I'm disappointed to see that you guys are doing a poor job at actually editing the work, which is doubly annoying since several people (including myself) with editorial experience have offered to assist and have essentially been brushed off. I'm also disappointed that an essentially digital publication isn't releasing in proper digital formats. The printable version is unappealing to read online, and as a few others have mentioned epub or mobi version would be great.

It may seem like I'm being too critical with your deadlines (monthlies are hard) but you need to streamline your process.

Example:
Week 1: Accept submissions
Week 2: Send submissions back to approved authors with corrections (if they don't send them back they don't get published, if it takes too much time there is always next month)
Week 3: Copy editing/Do all your typesetting (pdf)
Week 4: final proofing/epub & mobi conversions

NO ONE FUCKING READS THIS PILE OF SHIT GET OUT OF MY BOARD YOU GOD DAMN NUT GOBBLER

>>1741265
Calm down and just learn to hide the threads you don't like, it's only one after all.

Fucking tripfags, man.

>>1741079
That 'typo' was sort of intentional. Initially I wrote the thing as a poem and bread occupied a single line at the time; there was quite a lot more stuff about cooking and missionary in toilets which followed on from it. Eventually however I cut a bunch of stuff and the formatting too but I missed a few things in the process. That's actually the reason there are a lot of random capitals as well.

Blueberry Girl author here... wow. It looks like some people enjoyed the story, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm only sorry there wasn't quite enough blueberry-related content to appease
>>1740972 .

>>1741285

Next time I want at least two blueberries.

I was so sure she would swell up after she got the juice in her mouth. I thought the juice would be like a virus, and soon the entire world would be blueberries...I was disappoint.

you seriously included an inflation fetish story?

jesus fucking wept

"Many of the idea's in objectivism are that of my own, to some extent."

i want to die irl

>>1741302
The guy who always requests blueberry stories (might be this guy >>1741297 , can't really tell) posts often enough that it's become part of /lit/'s wonderful and diverse culture.

But yeah, shit's weird, yo :/

>>1741315

>(might be this guy >>1741297 , can't really tell)

Nope. I actually avoid all the blueberry threads, I've never been interested enough to read them, but that story was still pretty cool. Good enough for me to get a couple of boners anyway.

>>1741310

Author here. I probably should have said some but i don't actually advocate objectivism. It doesn't work. The essay talks about that, but more so why the pairing of capitalism and objectivism don't work.

>>1741350

i got that dude it was the misplaced apostrophe and spastic construction of the sentence that raised my ire

get a proofreader, tar

>>1741358

Don't blame the proofreader for that. Blame me. It's how i write and while it's a bad mark to take some pride in how awful my use of grammar is. I still can't help using more fucking periods.

>>1740542
>Said my poem was cute
Yussssssss lolol

>>1741302
But before he wept, he read the zine

SUCCESS

how long until we see someone read and respond to our short story?
sent mine in today

>>1740912
Back. Time for some criticism (this will take multiple posts):

>Autumn Redgate
This piece has already been picked apart quite a bit, so I'll try to avoid being redundant. To put it bluntly: I did not like it. The protagonist feels like an extremely cliche character, but I later realized (on a second re-read) that it was because you simply tried to push too much characterization onto the reader too quickly. The first person narration and intrusions of narrator commentary can work really well, if you try to keep it in moderation. As the reader, I pretty much know everything about Autumn (in terms of the type of character she is) from this first part, thereby making her a pretty flat character for the rest of the story.

On the contrary, Autumn's sister (the catalyst of the plot) receives very little insight into what sort of a person she is, thereby not making her a person at all. Hell, even Autumn's boss, a very minor character, elicits more sympathy from me! As a result, there just isn't any incentive for me to want to continue the story.

I hope you take these criticisms to heart (I know quite a few are harsh) and continue to improve your writing for the next issue.

>>1741416

Wow. Less than a day ago? You'll have fun if you ever submit to a professional publication...

John Doe here. If anyone could say a few words about any of my poems I'd be really grateful. I might not respond for a while though, I think I'm going to watch The Evil Dead now. Thanks.

>Bored Out Of My Mind

This is probably my favorite out of the entire zine. Because of stuff like Catcher in the Rye (I'm not ripping on it, just sayian) every other motherfucker and his bitch think they can successfully write a piece that uses stream-of-consciousness. It's refreshing to actually see it done right. I loved the intertwined struggles among self-pity and longing, found in the professor; lust and sexual deviance, from the fellatio-loving priest and the narrator's own libido; and the faint hint of purity and genuine emotion (the former in the religious chick, offset by the narrator's own cock-blocked desires; the latter made ironic by a sterile professor lecturing on the relationship between mother and child). It paints a very vivid image of the narrator (who one might actually assume is you, the writer!). I also love the fact that you avoided the use of dialogue, which I KNOW was intentional on your part!

Fantastic job, overall!

>>1741446

I forgot to add something:

I would absolutely love to see you use the same style of narration to form a complete plot. It would give me the absolute biggest erection ever!

>>1741427
i will, won't i? but for now i'm sending it to tar and figure they don't have a big-ass slushpile. also, i was asking a question, not lodging a complaint.

>Concert

The tragedy here is that Bored comes right before it, and thus overshadows it. But that isn't your fault. Anyway, this is also a good enough attempt at a stream of consciousness. My gripe, however, lies in your grammar and use of punctuation. The former is excused due to the narrative style, but it is ruined by the latter. The multitude of run-ons and sentence fragments make the piece much more awkward to read. If you were to polish that aspect up, the work would shine much brighter overall. Other than that, I have no complaints!

I won't review Blueberry Girl because it's already been showered with enough colorful, succulent (lolpuns) critique. And I can't review Down The Hall because I know the author and give him handjobs daily. Just so you know, he would appreciate some in-depth criticisms as well!

I am not a connoisseur of Poetry, and thus refuse to throw my ignorant opinions into the fray.

I am too lazy to read the Essays. Yeah, I'm kind of a chump. Sorry.

That's that, folks!

>>1741445
I liked the sparseness and sound on the tongue of the writing. Loneliness was my favourite, but only because I didn't 'get' the other two.

Rough Dogs was about a road-side poet? and Rubber Legs in Tropical Storms is about... having crabs?????

There's some good work in here, and it looks good. As has been mentioned though, a few ebook formats are needed, epub and mobi, maybe pdf. Good stuff though.

>>1741549

You pretty much have Rough Dogs, I mean, I don't really get it myself to be honest. I wrote it, and the rest of them, over a year ago, and I remember just really liking the idea of tasting a man's thoughts and how that sounds. I think I might have been watching a woman chew her boyfriend out from my window or something and felt that she deserved to be villainised a little. I don't think it's a particularly successful poem, but there are things in it that I liked enough to submit it. I do think the last line is pretty awful, but I felt like I needed an aside or something at the end and I liked the way it sounded. I was basically just amused by an arguing couple that noone else seemed to take notice of.
Rubber Legs in Tropical Storms could be about crabs, I guess, but when I wrote it it was about heroin. My legs used to get really weak when I smoked it, I felt like they were waving around ridiculously. The group I smoked with all had the same experience. My skin also used to itch like crazy, I had to keep myself in check so as not to take the skin off. My brother has been a addicted to heroin for about 15 years and sometimes I'd catch a glimpse of his skin on his back or his legs and it was red raw. I learned that sometimes he would take a wire scourer or hard brushes to itch himself and it would take the skin off and make him bleed and leave welts everywhere. So that's what that is supposed to be about...

>>1741797 continued

I think I'm more attatched to Loneliness than any other peom I've ever written. I love the lay out of the lines, especially the first one, the way it ends on 'I broke' which lends a lot of emphasis to it. I love the way 'air' has a line all to itself with plenty of space, and the internal rhyme in the last line. I also like, but at the same time dislike, the fact that the title plays such a big role in the poem. Without the bit in the title in parenthesis '(Burning Down the House; I Took the Attic to the Earth for a Reason to Talk)' the poem would make a lot less sense. Part of me thinks this is sloppy, but part of me also thinks it's pretty cool, and that it just seems right. I imagine myself wrapped in a blanket saying it all to a fireman or police officer as I have to explain why I burned down the house. I think the poem does feel a little incomplete though, and I've tried before to add to it, but the more I add, it seems the less I have.

>>1741797

Oh, I forgot to mention. I also formatted Rubber Legs in Tropical Storms so that it looks like a tornado. I was pretty pleased with that.

Any more criticism would be awesome. Thanks.

>>1741840
I actually thought it might have been about drugs but I've never done H so I couldn't relate to the itching.

I know the feel about wanting add stuff man. Some shit's just better when it's short.

>>1741887

Yeah, I don't think there's anything I could come up with that would keep the feel of it. Fuck it, I still like it.

What does TAR look for in it's fiction? Can a writer (me) submit something like a science-fiction novella and not get rejected out-right due to the choice of genre? Could I submit a Conan-esque sword-and-sandal story, and not have that rejected outright either?

Finally, how long should the submissions be? Is there any maximum length that should be adhered to?

>>1742091
Genre fiction is absolutely great. As for length of prose, if it is longer than 3,500-4,000 words we would prefer to serialize but check with us first, we can make exceptions.

www.4chanarchive.org
Thread 1740222 on /lit/

Blueberry girl
Summary: "Oh dear," said Sarah.

The story is violent erotica (ero-guro) full of sudden shocks. As masturbatory material it suffices for those interested in it, of which I am not one, and it caters to a good few. It also seems to have been related to memes, though possibly unintentional. As non-erotica it fails rather miserably. The reason why it is the stand out piece is because of the shock value, though I believe it's also the best written, which isn't saying much, and that's hard for me to judge because it's the only one I read fully in that "Oh god what am I reading" sort of way.

>>1742529
I seem to have forgotten my picture I was to use.

It seems anytime someone has to ask, "What are we going to do on the bed?" The answer is "Something terrible."

So wait, this comes out only every April?

>>1742541
First of every month apparently. At least that's what it says.

wow this is actually sweet as. Would like to contribute next time, got a few stories kicking around that im too lazy to ever send anywhere

Do you accept greentext stories?

>>1742559
Yes, you should write something and have it submitted as Brownbear !c/GbJsp4so!!yjOmUMopY5X. All tripfags should.

Though there is no way* I can think of verifying that it's your story unless you give them your pass.

Maybe I can try to pass myself off as someone else. Could be amusing.

*There are tons of ways to do this. The easiest of which is to have a private 1 on 1 convo with a person of April Reader and have them come up with something random for you to post in the thread.

How good/long does it have to be?

I have a story that is about 350 words. It's a bit surreal and it's decently written if not interesting.

>>1742559
>>1742559
mfw this retard is still trying to be me

>>1742559
>>1742726

http://green-oval.net/cgi-board.pl/lit/reports/new-tripfriends


Brownbear!5EJ71eKlNQ!!6SnjW+BUlLP
First post: Tue Sep 7 15:07:10 2010

Brownbear!Wfn4kkpLag!!fEGZw8wphGR
First post: Tue Mar 1 18:25:54 2011

Nope, the first one is the real one. Nice try.

>>1742825
>>1742825
this is my new trip bro, posting with my old one now to tell you

>>1742826
>>1742826
ba da boom

>>1742091

Proper apostrophe use, faggot.

This thread is much better than the one for the last issue

Not one shall live to see the night

>>1742873

Saved

Bumping for more criticisms

The 'online' edition (read: not meant to be printed) is now up on the website.

You can download this edition of Issue 2 from the main site.

Clicking on the cover image will download said version of the Issue 2 release.

Make this issue about "samefagging oneself in order to make oneself seem desired".


Inb4 semi-predicta..

>>1743002
excuse me i said hi to you in another thread.

Just like the last time, your editor is really bad. You need to get rid of that guy if you ever intend on anyone taking you seriously.

A fucking literature journal with a huge amount of spelling and grammar mistakes... the fuck were you thinking?

Your editor is probably some egotistical kid who can't actually edit at all and just wants to take credit and get his shitty name out there.

Most of the content was good, design was better than last time. The whole thing spoiled by a shitty editor.

>>1743005
Hi. Oh it's YOU.. again, how pleasant! But where..

>>1743017
your paint program skills suck i can teach you.

if you make an msn/live messenger and add me and teach me maths ill be your catamite lover pls pls pls

>>1743018
i love you

>>1743052
Nobody loves you.

:(

>>1743052
no, just what i lie on.

>>1743063

Do you draw those right now live and original as we speak?

>>1743069
ADD ME TO MSN

I'm pretty sure someone in this thread (can't be bothered to look again) said that they were more than happy to come on board as an editor or proofreader. I think you should consider this.

Learn LaTeX. Use it. That shit is barely readable.

>Autumn Redgate
I don't read unfinished pieces masquerading as "part 1"
>Blueberry Girl
saged. reported. hidden.
>Bored out of my mind, in PSYC305
Stopped halfway through. Stream of consciousness describes how something should read, not how it should be written.
>Concert
Short and breathless. Liked how it didn't belabour its wider cynical worldview.
>Down the Hall
Bit slow. Tried to give this the same benefit of the doubt as Concert, as regards spelling, grammar. Gave up when the soup turned to (figurative?) porridge and the third-person limited narrator observed "an uncomfortable musk [seem] to fill her lungs".
>Poetry Section
nope.tar.gz
>Objective Emission
"Socialism has never really been acted out properly"
>WAAZ, etc
Indistinguishable from real editorial content, which is an indictment of both.

Read it as a PDF on a PC. Liked the clean, readable layout a lot. Writing kept me entertained for a bit. Free. Can't complain. Keep it up!

>>1743071
>>1743063
>>1743018

Isn't this the avatar drawfag uses on /a/?
So you aren't drawing them.

So many typos, it's pretty embarrassing. Doesn't the editor realise it's his job to actually read through and correct them as opposed to just copy and pasting them... Or maybe he did and has terrible skills. Either way, go with a different editor next time and I might start reading.

>>1743135

I think some responsibility also lies with the authors to not submit stuff full of typos and mistakes in the hope that someone else will fix it for them.

>>1743164

Definitely.

We are in the process of getting editors who will actually do a good job of editing. Getting a perfectly edited publication out will be our main focus for improvement in issue 3.

>>1743277

Good to know

>>1743164
No it doesn't.

Hence, I agree with everyone who has thus far complained about the terrible editing. I'd say lose the Prole guy and get someone who knows how this works. I liked the layout (except for alphabetizing) better than last issue, kudos!

>>1743078
>Indistinguishable from real editorial content, which is an indictment of both
I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks!

>>1743277

Firstly, no monthly publication is going to be perfect. Secondly, if you're serious about getting a real editor leave the best way to contact you.

>>1744772
theaprilreader@gmail.com is our email

If you want to talk in real time, I can speak with you on the TAR IRC- #TAR on freenode.net (IRC net laucher in case you don't know how: http://webchat.freenode.net/))

Well, I'd say this issue was worse than the first issue. At least the Chomsky and Kim Jong-Il was interesting.

What the hell is with the essay by the editor? I can't even understand half of it. Try Complete Sentances. Who cares about some other zine that isn't cool with you. I read this essay, and did not understand what the issue at hand was. This is a poorly written essay that is quite possibly about irrelevant things.

The Essay on Objectivism is equally confused. Your arguements for Lenin over Stalin, your arguements about "progress" and your sketch of Nietzsche are simply bad. This is not a quaility essay. If you are a phillosophy student, and you still have time to switch majors, you should really do so. Why do people need workers to appreciate genius? Isn't Objectivism an outward solipsism? Your genius is for yourself. Oh Nietzsche's ideas shouldn't be taken lightly? Wow, you must be fucking Einstien then, because you're really telling me something about Nietzsche. Challenging social values is being a Nihilist? Get real. Get well read. .

Bored of out my mind in Psyc is great. Kudos to this author. Awesome fast paced. I liked some of the bait and switches ("shes a real catch so if someone else wants her take her because"). Burroughs without scifi? I imagine most women will find this creepy or insulting. The narrative undervalues human relations, the fact that a psychology student is so jaded about human sexual interaction should indicate the author needs to perhaps "open up" a bit. Got hurt to many times?

I enjoyed the poems by John Doe, but I would challenge this poet to try something longer, and more susttained. The fragments perhaps argue for an incomplete world; Nothing Important can be said so I'll say unimportant things instead. Kind of like Diogones talking to Alexander the great. Alexander, from his horse, asks the sleeping Diogonese "People say you are wise, why is this so?" to which Diogones replies "Get out of the way, your in my sun." Cynicism can go hand in hand with a romantic notion of incompleteness.

The blueberry stories are always great, although this one a little overdone. Still, glad to see a /lit/ tradition kept alive.

>>1744772
One or two mistakes are fine (although given how short it is, with a decent editor there could probably be none). However, given how many there were, the whole thing just looked bad. I definitely wont be reading until whoever has been responsible for editing the last couple of issues has been dismissed. I don't think I want them anywhere near anything I ever read again.

Holy fuck, that Wildweasel essay was REALLY something else.

Like, I would have to sit in my room isolated from the world for weeks to produce something that bad.

I think this has put me off reading this shit ever again - that and the bad editing.

I'd say the problem is a fundamental one.

In that all of the people involved in its creation are fucktards so naturally it is doomed to failure.

The problem with people who don't have to have their own work vetted is that they will allow their own shit whereas if they if it was anybody else's that would ridicule them mercilessly for even considering using it. Case in point, the wildweasael "essay"

When the best part of a book is its cover, you know are in for something terrible.

>>1744982
>>1744850
I actually think it was mean to be satirically or "ironically" bad but it wasn't clever enough to convey that and was just sort of confused.

>>1744993
That doesn't make any sense.

If you know best part of the book is it's cover then you must have already read the book, as you have already judged it, and are no longer "in for something terrible" as the reading has already been done.

>>1744999
wrong. it works if he had a time machine and he read it, then he went back to the past and told his past self that the cover was the best bit.

>>1745006
*sorry forgot my citation. all statements must be backed by evidence:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_time_machine

>>1744999
It makes perfect sense. If someone who you trust the taste of tells you that best part of a book that they want to read is the cover and you read it anyway, you should expect something terrible.

>>1744994
If you say so, Wildweasel.

>>1745011
not necessarily. some books have REALLY good covers.

Pic related - I only read it for the cover - the book itself was OK.

>>1745012
I don't know who you are replying to but,
if you can't read that essay without realizing that it is satire, then you are, as I say,
as dull as my 'thick-skulled wife'.

>>1744850
>Like
14-year-old girl detected.
>I would have to sit in my room isolated from the world for weeks
Funnily enough, that is exactly what I did!

>>1745116
>wrote a very bad piece of work
>tries to play it off as intentionally bad

I don't think I'll be reading this shitty magazine again. And what's with all the fucking spelling mistakes... Jesus.

>>1745116
The essay may be intentional, but its still no good. You're having some kind of net battle with the writers of some other zine? So what? the essay comes off as immature. Your readers don't need to know what much, they don't need to see you in such a private and infantile situation. You got dissed in an IRC chat room? Most people keep that too themselves. Like I said, the essay doesn't quite make sense, so perhaps there is a bigger issue. If it is some kind of parody of immature net behavior, then it fails because it isn't so much a parody of that behavior as it is that behavior.

The poetry in this is pretty cringe-worthy.

Just to remind everyone, this is our second issue so far. We haven't yet nailed down our editorial staff and we are still trying to establish the logistical end of publication, especially concerning communication with authors.

As such, to ease some of the load from the editors for the time being, we have been trying to use a more hands off approach to the editing. It is clear that this is unacceptable to you so we ask for your patience as readers as we correct this issue in further editions, and ask patience from authors as well, as the process will become more involved as standards are raised.

Not to say we haven't made mistakes, or that those mistakes are entirely excusable, only that there is a reason for them besides simply incompetence.

Understand that getting this to work is a process, one involving everyone in the community. We appreciate the feedback, critical feedback being no exception, so long as things stay productive.

>>1745256

I think the zine is going pretty well, all things considered. I look forward to watching it grow.

>>1745116
I don't know why you have such a problem with http://whatanawfulzine.blogspot.com/
but ok

I will say it again: why on earth weren't the authors checking their own work for all these grievous spelling and grammar mistakes? The time taken to go over it to weed out errors is tiny compared to the time needed to write it in the first place.

You make Horo sad.

Protips:

In wildweasal's essay the awful zine he was referencing with The April Reader. And everything else was self-deprecation of The April Reader and the people run who run it.

He just really failed at making that clear.

>>1745207
>Your readers don't need to know what[sic] much
That is apparently obvious here. WAAZ was the original name of TAR. The events are mostly fictional. It is a satire of both the introduction in the first issue, and the criticism that was provided for the first issue (probably by you, Anonymous).

>>1745191
I am starting a new zine. You could be interested in that perhaps.

>>1745284

You're really starting a new zine? Why?

>>1745284
Starting yet another Zine?
Talk about a lack of commitment.

Rebranding, it's awwwwwwwwrrrrriggggghhhtttt

>>1745286
>>1745288
Considering that my essay got rejected and then, once the issue was emailed to me to put on the web server, I had to totally recreate the pdf with my essay included, I think that this is more than enough reason to start a new zine.

I figured that the essay was rejected because they knew I was mocking them. But I guess when you are in a room full of retards, mocking the retards, they just think you are a fellow retard.

Anyway, this is the reason why I ended up including that final paragraph of the essay, before I posted it, which makes mention of my new zine and invites others who are dismayed with the direction of TAR (formerly WAAZ) to join me.

>>1745320
The straight-man loses when joking in front of idiots.

Careful weasal, you're treading on thin ice.

>>1745323

>Implying a tripfag is straight

The clue is in the name. TripFAG

All of this Zine business seems to be prone to quite a bit of unnecessary drama and conflict. Perhaps there are other ways for /lit/izens to submit their work for the collective critique of this image board? At the end of the day, that's why people submit work to the zines in the first place.

This board is already pretty good with people sharing poetry and giving some good peer-review (with that added hipster-asshole touch this place is known for), but it's pretty hard for a fiction writer (me, for example) to fill up six-to-seven posts with my shit and expect people to read it all.

What I was expecting out of this Zine was for the authors that submitted stuff to actually give criticisms to their colleagues, along with supplementary commentary from /lit/. So far it's proven to be quite a failure in that regard.

So is there any way we can accomplish something like that in a successful manner?

if anyone (either zine) needs the services of a professional editor for free because i love you guys, email alwayswriting@hotmail.com.

>>1745344

I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of feedback on the actual content too. Maybe two threads would do it? One for any criticisms for the editors and one for the actual authors.

>>1745351
If it did take up two threads there would be endless complaints of how the board is needlessly filling up with TAR threads. There is some criticism in this thread, I think one should be fine. The editor drama should die down once the zine is more established, I think.

>>1745344
I too was hoping that this would be a good place for the works of the author to be discussed, however I think we're beyond that now given that the editors are a) incompetent (for both of the issues now, there's been a lot more complaints than compliments, yet not much actually changed -- especially the inept editor who lets huge mistakes pass by his pedant-o-meter) b) egotistical: they seem to be obsessed with hyping up the zine and themselves, even to the extent that they'll pen extremely bad 'satirical' essays about the zine itself.

It's all quite bad, overall, and I'm glad to see that most of the rest of /lit/ has shown disapproval. It gives me hope that people here actually know what they're talking about and appreciate great literature and aesthetics rather than the creations of some power tripping egotist college students who couldn't get a foot in at a real publication so they're exploiting this board.

>>1745360
The last paragraph refers to the aforementioned editors, of course. I did rather enjoy a few pieces in this and the last issue and I feel sorry that these decent authors have handed their work over to this shitheap.

>>1745364
>>1745360

I am sorry you feel this way, I am under the impression though that your belief that we are trying to pump ourselves up with egotism might be misplaced. A single editor submitted a single essay to the zine, out of frustration no less about people who made impossible criticisms after and even before the first issue was released. The essay did not bump any content out and was not, in my opinion, a cry for attention but a way to voice criticism about certain readers without drawing out too much drama by posting it in the thread. It was ill-advised, perhaps, but hardly grounds for an indictment on the whole publication.

Not much has changed because there was not much opportunity to change, I addressed as much in an earlier post. With only two issues out we only had a single issue to try and correct as many problems as possible, on top of that the second issue was released, as you have mentioned, by college students during the finals week.

It is not the editor's intent to become power tripping-egotists, only to offer the authors of /lit/ a creative outlet to share what they do. If you enjoy the writing and the delivery was capable then there is no other issue needed address, the people giving credence to our power tripping are people like you, who make it up.

>>1745360
>>1745364
LOL, but why you mad tho?

Serious question, because:

1. The editor thing is a problem. We know it is a problem. I am not an editor. We brought in a new editor at the end of the month. There has been, albeit small, improvement on this front even despite the difficulty of, and timeliness in, getting a serious editor on-board.

2. You're really mad over one essay? That appears as the very last piece in the issue? And doesn't even take up one printed page? your reticence to calling it 'satirical' is on point, i will give you that, because that is not best word for what it is. i wrote it to encourage discussion, criticism, and mostly to make YOU mad. it has succeeded. there will be no more essays from me like this. the entire concept is a one-trick-pony.

If I may make a suggestion. Or two.
Using justified alignment would make it all look a lot neater and more professional.
And since you have your own website, try dropping the gmail address in favour of an "@theaprilreader" email address.
Otherwise, it's pretty cool and I look forward to seeing more of it. I'll definitely be printing off some copies to leave in libraries and maybe coffee shops or something.

>>1745386
>>1745386
> i wrote it to...mostly to make YOU mad.
seems like WildWeasel is maddbutthurt over his shitty essay

>>1745436
Astute observation, Brownbear.
although I am a better greentext raconteur than you

>>1745436
>>1745444
Come on everybody, it's tripfag circlejerk time!

>>1745444
>better at greentext than brownbear

>>1745444
>thinks he's better at greentexting that brownbear, the king of greentexting on /lit/

I was kind of liking the zine and not minding about the egotistical way the editors are operating, but replying to actual criticisms of your zine with 'u mad' is just fucking pathetic.

I'm out.

>>1745444
>although i am a better greentext raconteur than you
>better greentext raconteur than you
>posting this to Brownbear
>better than brownbear at hilarious greentexts
>mfw

>>1745455
>implying you aren't the same fag that was replied to
good riddance

>>1745455

Some of the people doing the complaining are acting pretty stupid though. Plus, this is 4chan.

Can someone explain to me what the editors are doing to make us come of as egotistical? This phenomenon confuses me. Especially when coupled with all the misinformation that comes along with it.

>>1745455
u supermad

>>1745513
I'm afraid it was some of my comments in this thread. I was trying to explain my essay in response to non-criticisms (e.g. it was 'shitty', with no other explication), and I should have never done so. In my attempt to do this I realize that I came across as egotistical, and I realize that it was a mistake.

I will not make it again. My apologies to all involved.

>>1745513
I'm confused, Is Wildweasel an editor or not? I think mainly the ego complaints are directed towards his bizzare 13 year old rant.
Other than that, there are some editing mistakes (spelling, grammer). These aren't so bad. I'm willing to ignore it.

>>1745522
From what I've gathered Wildweasal is the founder.

>>1745847
I'm not an editor.
TAR doesn't have a founder.
In fact, there isn't much of a hierarchy in TAR, at all.
Perhaps that is a problem.
Perhaps not.

>>1745914
Forgot my name/trip.
sage for non-content post

Drama? On /lit/? So_unexpected.jpg

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN MAY I PLEASE ATTRACT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT Wildweasal !Gl2oEPzmZc IS NOT Wildweasal !00Up2u/cfo

that is all

thread is tldr do people like it or not

>>1745987
It started out positive, became critical, and wound up in trolldrama. /lit/ at it's finest

>>1745990
seems to me like it was a comitragedy

>>1740222
Okay, DL:ing, is it okay with short-stories in another language such as Swedish?

>>1745990
>it's

>>1746002
finest indeed

>>1745998
Swedish? Only if you can translate it into english I'm afraid.

Unless you want to translate the entire zine into swedish for a swedish release, I'd be okay with that...

>>1746035
Gah, well, it's just that my short-story is very dependent on the Swedish language in how it's built... If you get my meaning, an English translation wouldn't make it justice.
That sounded a little pretentious but I don't want a shitty short story look like a really shitty short story because of a bad translation.

>>1746068
S'okay. There are dozens of net zines floating around, so at least one of them has to be in Swedish

>zWg II - We Hate Swedes

>>1746077

NO
NO
NO
YOU KNOWNOTHING
NOTHING
NO
THING
NOTHINGGGGGGGG

>mfw my request to submit spanish content was denied as well

It's kind of obvious I mean, I don't speak swedish and I'm sure a lot of anons don't speak spanish

>>1746089
>I'm sure a lot of anons don't speak spanish
That's a shit reason, and a worse assumption.

A good reason to disallow non-English submissions might be "We want to know what we're publishing."

>>1746100
yes, and i would think that the difficulty of getting an editor who has a good enough grasp to edit those works would play a part as well.
hell, it seems like they are having a hard enough time with this in english.
although, from what i could tell, it seems like the second isn't as bad as the first.

On the bright side, this is currently the oldest and longest thread currently on /lit/

>>1746100
That and we wouldn't even be able to gauge the quality of foreign-language pieces even if we had readers. Don’t get me wrong- I would love to translate TAR into other languages and get additional readers and content, but at the moment this just isn’t practical

Soooo yeah. I think that Malavox fellow is a decent writer.


(TEEEEHEEEHEEEE)

These are possibilities that encompass tentative plans, and will in no way interrupt the current schedule or serve to replace the regular monthly issues:

1. A 'best-of' edition. This will consist of the selected works of all old ZWG releases and the first two TAR releases. All of these stories will automatically be entered into the
2. TAR Annual Competition. Writers will compete with their submitted short-stories for a prize. The winner will receive a free domain name and web hosting, with the purpose of this being its use as a conduit for greater author exposure. Also included with this is a small monetary prize (possibly).
Writers need not have their works in the 'best-of' edition to compete or be published in the Annual Competition edition.

Notes: Domain name and hosting will be provided for one year time. Other details regarding this coming soon. Monetary prize will perhaps be included depending on general interest in this.

A Final Note: I am wondering /lit/'s interest in having a themed special-edition issue of TAR. I think it could be, at the very least, an interesting exercise for writers to participate in, and readers to enjoy.

Thoughts/comments/suggestions strongly encouraged in replies to this post.

If for some reason this becomes actually successful by some miracle and you receive a lot more entries are you going to become more exclusive or do more issues?

What if an anonymous person sends in many entries at separate times?

What is the limit on per person?

>>1747408

A themed issue sounds fine, provided the theme isn't too ridiculous. Maybe check out how other publications deal with this. If you do it though, you won't be able to use any work you've been saving, so there's a possibility of not having enough content.

>>1747429
That's a good point. We could make a limit of one entry per person, but my honest suggestion would be: A writer's time would be better spent polishing one piece and making it the best that it can be, rather than attempting to write 5 different pieces, none of which would ever be as good as one thoroughly polished piece.

I do not have a strong opinion on whether or not to implement a hard limit like this. Do you think it would be a good idea?

>>1747446

If you end up flooded with submissions, then it'll be a good idea. Until then just take what you can.

>>1747445
inb4 blueberry theme edition

If you have themes make sure it's a good one like identity, or responsibility or something. Not zombies or blueberries.

just wondered what the word count limit is for short stories?

Can't we have an "international edition" TAR?
As a special edition or something.


>>1747591
I don't really think there's a word-limit, would be kind of silly in an e-mag.

>>1747598

ok, sorry

>>1747600
It's no use apologizing now, you fucked up, and I want to know what you're going to do about it >:(

>>1747614

Don’t hurt me, oh God, don't fucking hurt me!

>>1747616
He's all the way on the other side of the internet, you pussy. He can't do anything to you. Faggot.

>>1747598
>>1747600
>>1747614
>>1747616
>>1747637

I can only hope this is someone samefagging, because this is a hopelessly pathetic and piteous conversation.

>>1747713
Dunno, I posted:
>>1747598
Haven't posted anything else.
And I found the posts below 98 to be quite entertaining.
You are quite the "no fun allowed" man.

>>1747769
One man's fun is another man's myocardial infarction.

re- again; back, backward

TAR - The April Reader

+ded, past tense

The April Reader, Again

reTARded

>>1748072

There's no humour there.

>>1748088
I agree, but it's still funnier than that terrible 'funny' piece by Wild whatever.

>>1748088
That's because you use the British spelling of humor.

>>1748110

yeah i agreee
were such fags
hehe

>>1748296

I smiled, but only because you're American and I pity you.

>>1748307
I smiled, but only because I'm American and didn't understand that was an insult.

It's only a matter of time before posts will no longer bump this thread and it will die.

>>1748327

And you'll die too. And me. And everyone else in this thread. The saddest part is, we never even really met. I wonder how you cry when you're alone at night?

>>1748335
>never met
>sad
>implying I'd want to meet 4channers in person

>cry
>implying I haven't had my tear ducts and lacriminal glands surgically removed

>>1748346

Denial.

>>1748110
>>1748072
>>1747713
>>1746441
>>1746327
>>1745520
>>1745455
>>1745436

biggest faggots on /lit/. and they wonder why they get called pretentious.

>>1745456

>hilarious greentexts

Pick one, it can't be both, you fucknut.

>>1741273

So you submitted an unedited first draft, and it got into the zine?

I guess I'll be giving this 'publication' a miss then.

And STOP DUBMITTING DRAFTS TO BE FUCKING READ, YOU NONCE. WORK ON YOUR POETRY, OR FUCK RIGHT OFF.

>>1749695
I guarantee that for Issue 3 there will be, not only a vast improvement in editing, but also a more focused critical eye allowing entry.

Official TAR twitter account has been created:
https://twitter.com/TheAprilReader

I dunno. Read one page of Autumn Redgate and it's still not bad. Soon, I suppose.

Too bad I suck at writing. If I could force myself past the, say, 2nd page, I might submit something.

Also, the idea of sorting alphabetically is fucking retarded. I'll just call my work "000AAA".
lol

>>1750185
I know I'm necroposting, but...
How many submissions do you get? A.K.A how many did you turn down for, say, Issue 2?

I wonder if this thread will live until the next one.

didn't read the other posts, so my bad if this has been asked already, but are you going to release it in .mobi any time soon?

>>1751541
i shall keep it alive!

i had a writing short fiction class in college this year
i might submit the two i did. theyre fairly short.

So anyone else with proper editing or publication experience want to create a half-way decent zine instead of this tar bullshit?

>>1751675
do it, i dare you!

I like to eat dog vaginas.

>>1751675
I have neither, but I'd certainly like to see a proper one. Maybe with white pages instead of that pink bullshit. And maybe a separate section for one-off short stories and another for ongoing series.
Maybe make genre-specific sections or something.
I'd definitely check it out.

I like when humans eat my vagina.

>>1752148
did you not read my essay in which i specifically state that i am starting a new publication?

I was wondering. If I want to submit an ongoing series, do I have to send a whole, finished body of work that you then split in parts and publish every (or every other) month or would you trust me that I'll keep writing and send you the rest later?
Sorry if this makes no sense.

>>1752198
Also, my story is going to be about American spies hiding in LSSR so there might be some Latvian dialog. Is it okay if there's Latvian dialog? I mean, one of the characters would translate some of it, but some would be left as sort of an in joke for Latvians (many lurk) and those who would care to use a translator.

>>1752159
>pink bullshit
what are you talking about?

>>1752430
the pages are grey with a pink-ish hue.

>>1752196
Protip: Nobody cares.
...and nothing of value was lost.

Such are the pitfalls of ideological purity.

I'm very nearly finished with the piece I'll be submitting to the June TAR. Just wanted you guys to know.

>>1752677
How I'm Dying Very Slowly of AIDS by Virginia WOOF. Look forward to it, bro.

>>1752159
>>1752472
If you don't like the color pages of the online version then check out the "printable" copy, it is much more plain, just text on paper.

>>1752657
>taking a known troll trip seriously
>taking the time to reply to a known troll

Just out of curiosity, whose ideological purity are you referring to?

I would like to ask a question of all /lit/izens who are reading this: would you like to see TAR have a writer who would contribute heroic fantasy/sword-and-sorcery stories on a regular basis. (For those of you who don't know what those sub-genres are, look up Conan the Barbarian.)

I'd like to become a regular contributor, but I don't want to waste my time if nobody on /lit/ would even like reading the story.

Also, for those of you who read TAR, what stories did you like? Why did you like them? What did the author do that made the stories so enjoyable, in your opinion, of course.

>>1754007
I, for one, would like to read your heroic fantasy/sword-and-sorcery stories.

QUESTION:

Would /fit/ and The AR be able to tolerate a fanfiction submission? How about a fanfiction series?

If it makes any difference, I intend to submit a Marathon fanfiction and an Ace Combat fan faction.

Once I actually get around to writing it.

Damn this thread is fucking old.

>>1754052
Fanfiction is automatically of a much lower grade than original work. It has a stigma attached to it which can't be overcome.

>>1754052
/fit/ loves fanfiction, go post yours for them.

PEOPLE
CAN WE PLEASE KILL THIS FUCKING THREAD?
seriously, it's been so long. I'm starting to see it in my dreams...

>>1754082
It needs to survive until tomorrow so its been up for a full week.

>>1754052
First question:
Is it legal?

>>1754093
Let me answer your question with a series of questions:

What do you mean by "legal"? Isn't TAR a non-profit publication? Doesn't copyright infringement only occur if the work is published under my real name, and attains profit under my name?

I actually don't know the answer to the last question.

>>1754223
You're mistaken about this. Copyright infringement is illegal regardless of psuedonyms and profit. No one is likely to sue you for infringement unless you have money though. You might get cease and desist letters first, scare tactics. Also, publications of high distribution won't take copy write infringement, simply because it might cause them trouble. You can also imagine that books stores won't deal with publishers who are breaking copy-write infringement.

If your work is enough of a parody and doesn't use any trademarks, then you're in good shape.

>>1754315
Anybody know German law regarding this issue? (I should've mentioned that this is what I was getting at in the first place)
I'm fairly well versed in US law (although not a full-fledged, bar certified lawyer---yet), but German law is the most appropriate in this circumstance.

when is the next release?

>>1756522
next april. They didn't give it a retarded, useless and entirely misleading name for no reason after all

>>1756522
June 1st. It's a monthly publication.

>>1756529
do you ever create anything?
besides shitposts, and inane threads aimed at casuals, i mean.

>>1756579

I, for one, am looking forward to the first Deep&Edgy creative work in this (or any other) publication.

what is this "IRC Chat"?

Is this the revitalization or whatever of the old /lit/ zine I was emailed about a while back? I had a few things I wanted to submit but never got around to polishing them off.

>>1757126

le bump

>>1757501
Essentially, yes it is.
You should check out the Foreword of TAR Issue 1, I think it talks about the relationship between TAR and the old zine.

Also, we would love to put your works in TAR if you finish them.
:)

I think the bump limit is 300 posts.
17 away from that as of this post.
This thread will not last much longer.
Truly a victim of its own success

holy shit, did you guys ever hear about something called "typography"?