Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism

s u b s c r i b e r    a n d   r e a d e r   s u r v e y

WE ARE in the process of updating our mission statement, exploring print publishing options, devising more interactive features and generally improving Margin's resources. You will find, below, a survey of Margin that we hope you'll fill out and return.

THIS SPECIAL SURVEY IS OPEN-ENDED. There is no deadline; we simply want to hear from you over the course of the 2005-2006 publishing year while we reconfigure and improve the site. Please take a moment, when you can, and let us know what you think about Margin's efforts these past five years. Your feedback is critical to making these changes beneficial, since you are the end user of all the information we provide at Margin. We've included direct links to recent pages at Margin so you can refer to each of the pages as deemed necessary.

Our overall plan is to start implementing changes as soon as June 2006. The sooner you respond to this survey, the better chance we have of incorporating your ideas into the bigger picture at Margin. Many, many thanks in advance for your input.

Replying is simple. Choose whatever way works best for you.

Electronic reply: Cut and paste the text of it into an e-mail to us (polls @ magical-realism.com); within the text of that e-mail, answer the questions and transmit the e-mail.

All polls delivered via email should receive an automated reply receipt.

Conventional reply: You may also print out this page and fill it out, or, on a separate sheet of paper, type in or handwrite your answers and send via surface mail, if that is a better option. Send to Margin, 321 High School Road NE, PMB #204, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA.

Results of this survey will not be published; this is a fact-finding mission for us.

Thanks for participating in this survey, and for supporting literary pursuits on the web!—The Staff, Margin

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WELCOME TO MARGIN'S SUBSCRIBER AND READER SURVEY!

Please fill out all the information below, then answer the survey and return following the directions as indicated above.

Name:
(optional)

Active E-mail address:
(optional)

Are you a subscriber?
Yes
No

What is your occupation?
(optional)

SURVEY QUESTIONS

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I. EXISTING FEATURES

Please place an x next to the features you find the most helpful:

Please place an x next to the features you find the least helpful

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
II. INTERACTIVITY POSSIBILITIES

  • Would you be interested in a monthly newsletter?
  • Would you be interested in participating in a moderated forum environment where Magical Realism is the main topic?
  • Would a Margin Events Calendar be useful for you?
  • Would you like to interact with magical realist writers in a guest forum?
  • Would you participate in regular discussions about magical realism via a private list?
  • Would you like to see more additions to the Yahoo! groups page that are relevant to Margin/Magical Realism?
(Puget Sound residents only: Would you be interested in attending or helping with any of the following community-wide events that Margin staff and writers might present?)
  • Literary festivals and events
  • Fundraising efforts for literacy
  • Fundraising efforts for disaster relief
  • General readings
  • Ongoing speculative fiction readers series
    • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    III. EXPANSION POSSIBILITIES

    • PERIPHERY
      • Are you aware of Margin's annual print effort, Periphery: A Magical Realist Zine?
      • Have you bought, read or contributed to Periphery?
      • If you wanted to buy Periphery, which way would you make the purchase?
        • directly, at a Margin event
        • via Pay Pal
        • with a check sent in the mail

      (Puget Sound residents only: Would you look for Periphery at local bookstores?)

    • MARGIN BOOKS
      • If Margin were to produce a comprehensive print anthology on an annual basis, would you buy it?
        Why or why not?
      • If Margin were to publish general books related to the subject matter, would you buy them?
        Why or why not?
      • Which focus or direction would you prefer Margin to take when publishing books: academic or mainstream?

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    IV. COMMUNITY-RELATED QUESTIONS

    • For writers: Please place an x next to the services you would be interested in, if offered
      • Magical Realist Mentorship program
      • Monthly online workshops
      • Fundraising events for Margin
      • Fundraising events for external causes
        (disaster relief, literacy, i.e.)
      • Fee-based contests with substantial awards
        ($500+ prize)
    • For readers: Please place an x next to the services you would be interested in, if offered
      • Donations to the Contributors Fund
      • Donations toward relevant fundraising events outside Margin
    • For students and educators: Please place an x next to the services you would be interested in, if offered
      • Magical Realist Mentorship program
      • Monthly online workshops
      • Fundraising events for Margin
      • Fundraising events for external causes
        (disaster relief, literacy, i.e.)
      • Fee-based contests with substantial awards
        ($500 prize)
      • Joint efforts with university programs
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    V. YOUR IDEAS

    • What would you like to see at Margin which hasn't been done yet?
    • What other ideas do you have for making Margin a more useful resource?
    • What organizations do you think Margin would benefit from joining? (currently, Margin belongs to CLMP, PEN, and the Speculative Literature Foundation)
    • Would you pay to subscribe to Margin?
      • If so, what would be a fair subscription price?
      • If so, do you think a sliding scale might be more useful than a single subscription price?
      • If so, would you co-sponsor subscriptions for students and the needy?
      • If not, why wouldn't you subscribe to Margin?
    • Would you support some ad placement on pages if it meant keeping Margin functional and with the caveat that the ads would be supporting literacy organizations, literary publications, the small press and other related interests?
    • Any other comments?
      (if so, may we publish in our Letters section?)
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    VI. WANT TO BECOME INVOLVED?

      If you would like to volunteer your time, resources, or services to Margin, let us know here (tell us how):
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    END OF SURVEY

    Thank you so much for your insights, feedback and contribution to Margin's future!

    TKS/Editor and Publisher

    bar graphic

    margin home | contents | links | reading list | marginalia | contributors | staff | guidelines | kudos | subscriptions | general inquiries (DO NOT SEND POLLS TO THIS ADDRESS)

    Want to know about UPDATES and NEW ADDITIONS to MARGIN?
    Try our - S P A M L E S S - opt-in subscription
    It's absolutely free!

    Layout, design & revisions © Tamara Kaye Sellman, Webmaster
    Active home URL: http://www.magical-realism.com
    (also: https://www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/index. html)

    COPYRIGHT NOTICE

    TERMS OF USE: This site contains copyrighted materials, including but not limited to text and graphics. You may not use, copy, publish, upload, download, post to a bulletin board, include in any weblog or otherwise transmit, distribute or modify any elements of this site in any way, except that you may download one copy of such contents on any single computer for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you do not alter or remove any copyright, author attribution or other proprietary notices.

    Press Kit entrance
    Rev'd 2005/11/18