The Southerner: Where Writing Is a Gamble
http://www.southerner.net
By Steve Outing
Sometimes, writing for a Web publication can be a gamble. At one new Web-zine, The Southerner, there's the possibility that its writers will not get paid for their work, should the venture fail. If it succeeds, the site's early writers could get paid normal fees — albeit delayed — plus get a share of the company that's worth something down the road.
The Southerner is an online magazine — featuring thoughtful writing on politics, business, environment, media, and culture of the American South — that's looking to succeed in the world of Web publishing by utilizing the willingness of its early writers, editors, and photographers to take a chance that the Web-zine will thrive. In these early days, freelancers are paid in the form of deferred invoices plus stock in the company.
Piece of the action
Founder, president and chief editor Glynn Wilson, a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, explains that the site pays its freelancers anywhere from 20 cents to $1 a word (the rate depending on experience of the writer), but actual payments won't be made until The Southerner can afford it. Along with that deferred payment, a writer also gets shares in the company. A $1,000 deferred invoice for a 2,000-word piece, for example, also earns 1,000 shares in The Southerner Corp. of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Wilson and co-founders Ronald Sitton and Robert Hess (also U-Tennessee students) have allotted 49% of the company for contributors and employees. Stock is being offered in exchange for writing, editing, art, and photography. And equity stakes are being offered for certain staff positions.
The notion of working without cash payment of course will not appeal to everyone, but Wilson points out that the zine's early contributors will be the only ones to be offered a piece of the action. Once the enterprise gains funding — the founders are currently in negotiations with outside investors — future writers will be paid in plain old cash.
Of course, if you're considering taking part in a deal like this — and The Southerner is one of numerous Web content start-ups to try this approach — you'll want to be comfortable in your belief that the founders can make your "investment" pay off.
Wilson comes across as very much the aggressive entrepreneur. "We have the chance," he says, "to sell (this enterprise) to a major media company in a couple years for a few million dollars" — and his early writers will get to share in that.
The Web-zine is one part of the whole picture. Founded last December, it has been published on a roughly quarterly schedule, but the founders are increasing its frequency and hope to be monthly by sometime next year. A weekly e-mail edition to supplement the Web issues also is contemplated. Writing has been about 50/50 freelance and staff produced, but freelance contributions will increase.
Filling a void
The Southerner is similar to the old Southern Magazine of the late 1980s — a mixture of non-fiction journalism, essays, and fiction dealing intelligently with the lifestyle and culture of the South. Wilson says there's really nothing like The Southerner in print, so the online publication fills a void. He notes that Southern Living magazine is more oriented toward food and other "fluff," but there's nothing else close.
Sitton describes the zine as a "New Yorker for the South" that will look toward deeper sociological issues affecting the region. The site is mostly about introspective journalism, but an upcoming issue will feature Southern fiction, and the editors are considering adding poetry.
Writers will, of course, mostly come from the South, but the editors say physical proximity is not necessary. A humor columnist, who grew up in the South, writes from Portland, Oregon, for example. Knowledge and insight into the culture of the South is what's important.
While the site is mostly about text — the editors are even considering using a PDF format to make it print out and look like a traditional magazine — multi-media content is part of the plan, too. Wilson has an audio interview with writer Gay Talese, for example.
Business strategy
Southerner.net, where you'll find The Southerner zine, is a "Southern portal" site, according to Wilson. While hawking advertising and corporate sponsorships, the site also includes a "music division," which plans to produce its own live shows (with Southerner Corp. collecting ticket sale revenues) and Webcasts. It currently features five independent artists and sells their work online. (Wilson plans music reviews for the zine, but vows to keep the editorial and merchandising divisions separate.)
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The company also has a Web site design business; plans to sell branded t-shirts, hats, etc.; and is running the Robert Penn Warren Prize for Fiction competition. The latter is an income source for the fledgling company, since it collects entry fees and gives out prizes to the winners.
The Southerner purchases first electronic rights from its freelancers. Those wishing to propose article ideas should first read the writer's guidelines posted on the site, says Wilson, then send e-mail to him.
Glynn Wilson can be reached at mail@southerner.net.
© 1999, by Steve Outing
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