The order form is for an electronic version. Of those who order an electronic version, a few have a "chance" of getting a hard copy. So it's random... Ordered mine either way!
Once I've pre-ordered, is there a way to go back to the page listing the features in the first issue? All I get now is a page saying I've pre-ordered it.
Hey everyone, If you've pre-ordered, please give this a read. It has long been a personal intention of mine to make the magazine free: as a community magazine, I think it should be made available for the community to enjoy. However, even a digital magazine has its costs, and as a volunteered hobby for us, we are trying our best to avoid many out-of-pocket expenses. In the future, we had planned to cover our costs through the advertisements placed by servers; however, for this first issue, in order to help spread the word and gain support, virtually all ads were received free of charge, and so the $1.29 was a necessary attachment, despite its inevitable potential loss of readers. EMC, with its early release, was a test server for us last night to assess what kind of final readership we can expect. After a very long discussion with the staff and the other community leaders, including the owner of MCSL and co-founders of minecraftforums.net, I would not be opposed to making this first issue free for all in the hopes that we can cover our set up and production costs through donations. I would be willing to issue refunds to those pre-orders, too; that being said, though, I will still give away those limited numbers of hard copies to those who pre-ordered. Before I make any final decisions, I thought it'd be best to post this to you, our first real community, and see what you have to say. And I understand if this makes the Quarterly look unprepared or poor in any way; this has been a subject of considerable debate for us. Luckily, there have only been 15 pre-orders at this time, so our timing is still prudent, I believe. With the magazine free, we can easily reach over 500k Minecrafters this first issue (which is a better incentive for interested advertisers in the future). So do please let me know. Thanks, Casey Burton Editor-in-Chief Minecraft Quarterly
You'll be happy with the feedback here. Our community is very mature and gives us the great ideas that make EMC awesome. They also understand the value of running things no matter what it is. While they do get perks for being supporters, they always put forth the best reason for being a supporter to others is to help the Empire grow. I think we have a good match here with EMC and MCQ.
I expect you'll likely to sell a lot more issues by giving everyone a taste of what's to come. I saw enough to feel it was worth the money so feel free to keep it and consider it a pre-payment for the second issue. I do have a few questions resulting from the email I received after ordering. It says I need to access the magazine using the same IP address I used to order it. Is the magazine a web page that will eventually be unavailable or is it in some file format, like PDF that I can download and keep? Also, what if I bought it at work and intend to use it/download it at home? What if my IP address is not static and changes periodically? I hope your magazine does well.
Indeed, and we know that it is very hard to sell a new product almost blindly, and were planning on posting a free sample issue (first 10-20 pages). But as a community project, a goal is to maximize the community's enjoyment for us. I have no doubt that we can cover our costs through the sales; we'll hit that fairly easily. What I do worry though is at what cost in terms of readers that is to us. I appreciate the support! While the magazine still has a sale price, the magazine is actually a Flash object composed of pdfs (it mimics a real magazine; it's pretty cool), access to it essentially being sold, and that access is granted by IP. For the scenario you brought up, simply to go Contact Us -> Update Credentials. Simply add the name and zip code that was on the transaction (so we can verify that it is you), and it'll automatically update your IP in the system.
I don't need a refund. The price you asked was quite fair, I think. I would love to have an actual magazine to read, and I for one would be willing to pay more to have that available. Looking forward to the first issue very much!
I just edited our website, and upon further review with some server owners, including EMC's, the official release digital formats are now free. Pre-orders may still be purchased for $1.29, though, for a chance to win one of those hard copies. And if you pre-ordered prior to this change, I apologize for the confusion, and I will still happily refund you if you like.
I would like to have a option to buy a printed copy (even if it costs more.) Also, i would like to see a kindle version.
Should be getting a quote from our printer later this afternoon or tomorrow. The digital version will be available for mobile and iPod, but I'm not sure if the software supports Kindle. I'll find out. Good to know; we may make that available if there's enough interest.
I don't need a refund, and I don't want one either. Just consider it as a small donation to go towards making future issues better
It's not clear from the site: All issues are free? "The released version is free in the digital format" Or it costs money? "you may preorder it now" "chance to win one of the few printed copies" It's somewhat confusing exactly what you get. If it's free, great. You need to find sponsors. Get advertisers set up at whatever prices they will pay. Why not make it a bidding war for the advertising/sponsor spots? If it's not, I think you are charging way too little. I don't think you would lose anyone charging an extra dollar. If you want to offer such a cheap price, make it for a longer commitment like a year. If the magazine goes out of production, you can refund people. It's not a huge deal. You should have a plan to raise prices later, and give discounts to members of sponsor communities or early purchasers. But the big thing is printed copies. There is a good chance these can become collectors items. Minecraft is HUGE. There is a real need for a magazine. I'm sure some people would pay $100 for those printed copies, but that's too high for most budgets. You can sell these copies throughout June and into July if need be, so just get them printed and establish a price. It just has to be less than the cost of the digital issue + gas + what a print shop would charge to print it out. Businesses print things like this all the time.
Heh, thanks for the suggestions. I actually worked as a printer for a few years, so yeah, I'm a little bit acquainted with the field. That's my fault. Up until this morning, we were charging, and EMC was a test for us, and given the results, we've switched over to the digital version being free. Pre-orders may still be purchased, though, because they have a good chance of winning a hard copy. I'm afraid I have not had the time to properly update our website to reflect those changes. So bear with us during this transitional period. Already have advertisers lined up, but thanks for the thought. See my longer post further back, but as a community magazine, we want to serve the community as a whole, and that means extending our reach as far as possible. If the community enjoys our work, I doubt not that they'll donate to support our continued work. A limited number of copies will be printed, and I am already in negotiations with a printer. I am assessing the demand for the copies now, and will probably offer any excess as an auction, as you say. But we'll add that to the site when those details become available to us. Thanks for the advice, though. It's a pleasure seeing the community wanting to become involved. ^_^
