By James V. Taurasi
Editor Fantasy Times
NUMBERING only about 50 members in the late 30s, organized fandom is still small compared with the readership of stf magazines, but 2,000 experts on science fiction are a great help to the editors and publishers who want to know what their 80,000 more or less readers want. And that is just what fandom is; a core of experts, who make a hobby of reading, collecting and commenting on science-fiction.
Do they render the stf editor any worthwhile service? You bet they do. Besides telling the editors their wants and dislikes they mirror the likes and dislikes of the readership. They also keep a weather eye open for any author who might slip in a plagiarized story. An example of this is the case of an Australian science fiction magazine, where a few authors were copying American stf stories and selling them as their own. A science fiction fan armed with a collection of USA science-fiction magazines showed the Australian editor what was going on, and of course the authors were given the gate. In years past, right here in the USA, it was the work of stf fans that obtained payment for stories for the authors when the publisher of certain stf magazines was slow in doing so. Also this group, through their amateur publications, keep the editors and publishers informed of what goes on in the field. Many editors and publishers would never know their magazines were being reprinted legally or otherwise, outside the United States if it was not for the fan collector.
FANDOM is not organized under one unit, as many readers are led to believe, because the members of science fiction fandom, just can't agree. They—like the general readership—have different ideas of what a story should be, and their likes and dislikes differ a great deal. No one group, of fandom will give the editor any idea of what to print, but fandom as a whole will give the editor a good idea of what the readers want. And unlike the regular readers, this group will not just stop reading the magazine if they are displeased. Fandom will howl plenty and make sure the editors know about it. A wise stf editor will keep himself informed on what fandom thinks of his magazine, and thus know what his readers think.
And, let's not forget the advertising angle in connection with stf fandom. Free advertising is given to the professional magazines amounting to thousands of dollars by the activities of stf fandom. Each year, for example, the fans hold a world stf convention. Usually this brings about newspaper, radio. television and magazine reports. Who gains by these reports? The professional magazines of course. Sure, some editors will state that they were the ones who steered the reporters to the conventions to get those writeups. Right they are, but try and get those writeups without the convention! Also most editors are cooperative in aiding the conventions with donations of illustrations, manuscripts and covers. These donations are the main means of paying off a convention. But the auction of these items gives that professional magazine more publicity than that money could ever obtain.
ACTUALLY the cooperation between fandom and the professionals has always been very high and gets stronger every year. Both the fans and the editors realize that neither can get along without the other. Fandom is only there because there are science fiction magazines and books. Without them, fandom would soon die out. This almost happened in Australia when a ban was put on all stf magazines coming in from the USA. A relaxing of this ban, plus the birth of an Australian stf magazine, saved fandom there from an untimely death. The same thing would happen in the United States and England if all professional magazines should fold. While on the other hand if all stf fandom should quit, the profession magazines would in a short time lose all their sparkle and pep and become as any other pulp magazine. This zombie-like existence would cause many to lose much of their general readers and thus fold.
LIKE any other group, fandom has its own quota of crack-pots and drive not only the rest of fandom, but the professional editors to the nearest bar. But fandom has a way to clean its own house and these crack-pots either change their tunes or drop out. Fandom also has a way to clean up the professional field when the editor gets out of line and forgets that he is supposed to edit a science fiction magazine. Certain editors have found out what it is to have a large group of fans on their necks. The pressure that fandom can bring about is enormous. With their 200 plus amateur magazines and thousands of letters, they can make and have made many an editor cry "uncle" and wish he had never gotten off the straight and narrow path of science fiction.
All in all, we have a unique situation found in no other field of literature. A situation that will lift our brand of literature to heights never even dreamed about in other fields. A situation where both the editors and readers gain. A situation that could never be applied to any other field. Fandom—the watch-dog of science fiction.