Decisions to be Made

Rights

What exactly are we purchasing from our contributors? My suggestion:

First North American Electronic Rights - right to publish a writer's work in an electronic medium for the first time.

This means that we would no longer consider reprints, which might ensure that our potential contributors are actually putting thought into what they're sending us instead of just cramming a baker's dozen poems into an envelope and hoping for the best.

Archiving

This becomes a tricky issue... Archiving the stories might be a great thing for the contributors, since it provides a free place where an author can direct readers to find their work. On the other hand, it may cause problems if the writer wishes to republish the piece in question.

My suggestion: We archive each successive issue for a year. At any time, our contributors have the option of asking that their story be removed from the archives. At the end of the year, we collect the published stories in an annual anthology and remove them from the site. This may be a better idea than a "Best of Nexus" antho, since this pressures us to make sure that EVERY piece is deserving of the "best of" distinction.

Format

Do we want to publish the stories on the site? Do we want to compile a PDF file for each issue? The on-site option provides us with an easier method of removing content from the site and allows the reader to easily navigate between pieces, but the PDF option allows us to gussy up the presentation a little, complete with cover art, etc.

Also, what kind of ratio of prose to poetry do we want for each issue? Here's my thought:

Each Issue
2 Short Stories
3 Pieces of Flash Fiction
3 Poems

Keeping each issue short like this might allow us to have time to compile a greater number of issues in a shorter period of time.

That's currently all I've got. Let me know how this all sits with you fellas.

--Doug