Café Monday: the EpiGuide

Readers need authors. Authors need readers. So who does all the work to bring them together?

In the Brave New World of webfiction, there are a dedicated group who build, run and stock the shelves of web directories and zines. The formats change, the genres vary, but each one is the result of hours of unseen effort; each one created for the purpose of bringing you, the reader, easy access to the wealth of fine independent online fiction.

This series of articles is designed to introduce you to some of them.

This week we chat to Kira Lerner, author and co-founder of the EpiGuide.

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Ergo: When and why did you decide to create Epiguide? Please introduce yourselves.

KL: I’m Kira Lerner, co-founder of the EpiGuide and current administrator/editor/chief cook and bottle-washer. Our community dates back to 1998, when a small group of online writers banded together to develop a magazine and community devoted to online serials and websoaps. The EpisodicReview, as it was then called, would help promote our work by producing in-depth feature articles, reviews, episode recaps and previews. Over the years we added a link directory and — most notably — a message board, which is now the centerpiece of the whole operation!

We also branched out to cover other serials besides our own. Where the original founders were mostly inspired by soap operas and similar serialized dramas, our coverage widened to pretty much anything, including genres from fantasy to western to sci-fi to straightforward literature, and formats from text-based serials to graphic novels, webcomics, podcasts, video series, and even narrative-based alternate reality games.

While the articles, reviews, recaps and previews have dwindled due to lack of staff — though I’m always looking for volunteers! — our message board continues to play host to a multiplicity of writers and fans of the unique world of original, web-based entertainment. The Eppy (as we’re called) is also the home to blogs, a chat room, and several forums devoted to specific webserials.

Last year, we took over the hosting of Showcase Saturday, a weekly compilation of serial links posted on Twitter. And, last but certainly not least: four years ago, one of our community members (Michael, writer of Footprints) came up with the idea of Web Series Writing Month, which under our aegis and sponsorship has grown to become an August tradition! (Learn more about WeSeWriMo.)

Ergo: How and where do you source your authors? Do you have any editorial input/overview of the work you list?

KL: The link directory is open to anyone who wishes to add his or her site. I do check to make sure the content isn’t utterly, outrageously offensive — and by “offensive” I mean to me, because well, it’s my site — but frankly I have yet to come across a webserial site that wouldn’t be included due to content. The sites need to work and they need to be fiction. Spammers aren’t welcome, of course, but if an author’s site has a working link and is on topic, we’ll gladly list it.

I should mention that, separate from our link directory, the EpiGuide has traditionally had a list of Featured Sites, a list of serials that its editor(s) personally enjoy and recommend. Right now I’m the only editor, so the list reflects my own sensibilities. What are these sensibilities? Well, my preferences have always leaned toward captivating stories engagingly told, with richly developed characters and a certain zest in narrative style. Also, I’m always intrigued by serials that reflect the flexible, interactive nature of the online medium.

The Featured Sites were originally a straightforward list of the co-founders own sites. This is no longer the case, and in fact, I have removed my own serial from eligibility as a Featured Site since becoming editor.

Unfortunately, our Featured Sites list hasn’t been updated for a woefully long time, and it’s currently out of date. I’m planning to rectify that.

Ergo: Does EpiGuide present any genre preference?

KL: When we started, we attracted primarily serialized dramas with a strong soap opera influence, since as I mentioned above, that’s what most of the Eppy’s founders produced ourselves. But lately I find we’re getting a much more varied group of writers (most of whom are also readers), which is highly rewarding to me personally, since I’ve been pushing for that expansion since day #1. The serials most commonly discussed in our forum do tend to be the serialized dramas heavy on mystery/romance/relationships — as opposed to the fantasy/supernatural tales popular at sites such as WFG. Everyone is welcome, however, and I do my best to avoid editorial bias in any one direction, and encourage all sorts of authors/fans to participate.

Ergo: What formats do you list?

KL: The material must be posted and available online at a website of some kind — the directory URL should not link directly to a download. That’s pretty much it as far as format restrictions.

Ergo: Have you found a ready supply of high quality fiction?

KL: I think the quantity of high caliber fiction is practically limitless. Everywhere I look I find little gems, in a wide spectrum of genres to please all tastes. If your mind is open and willing to explore untraveled paths, you’ll find something to read and enjoy. It’s why I adore the web as a medium, and why the EpiGuide exists.

Ergo: Can readers find access to the work of popular or well known print authors among your listings?

KL: Not that I know of, unless they’re writing under a pseudonym and their work is available online! Our directory doesn’t list print-only material.

Ergo: Do you service independent authors only?

KL: Hmm, I’m not entirely certain I understand the question. Are there corporate-owned, or enslaved, or conjoined authors I don’t know about? :) As far as the EpiGuide is concerned, an online author is an online author, whether his or her work is published by Random House or on WordPress or Geocities (RIP). If Stephen King had come to us and tried to submit The Cell to our directory, we’d have gladly included it (and I’d've probably plotzed!).

Ergo: If you use a rating or ranking system, have you found a correlation between the rating and the popularity of work listed?

KL: The ratings are given by our visitors. I’d say the most popular sites are more likely to be rated, and also rated higher, than the less popular ones. I don’t think any reader-based rating system is a hugely reliable indicator of quality. There’s a lot of mutual voting among authors, which is perfectly natural — and can certainly reflect genuine approval and admiration, don’t get me wrong! But since there’s no way to rule out “you vote for me and I’ll vote for you,” I wouldn’t really recommend that would-be readers use star ratings as a *sole* measure of a site’s quality.

In short: click the link and take a look at the site yourself! It probably won’t take long to decide whether the story’s to your taste.

Ergo: What other directories or ezines are you affiliated with? – give them a nod.

KL: We’re not really “affiliated” with anyone, which I guess makes us seem like a lone reed. But we do have a collegial relationship with Monster Zero Productions, The Absolute Productions Network, and — if I’m not being presumptuous — you yourselves at Ergofiction. Of course, if a webfiction or related site owner thinks we’d be a good match for your visitors, and vice versa, I’m always happy to consider a partnership!

Finally, to Jan, Anna, Letitia and the whole ErgoFiction crew: thank you very much for allowing me to answer the questions and introduce/spotlight our community.

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Kira is a freelance web designer, book editor, and author of two romance novels (well, two and a half, since the teen version of her latest romance is due for publication this autumn). She is also the author of About Schuyler Falls, a serialized drama launched in 1997.

The EpiGuide Web Entertainment Community is exactly that. It’s the most fun you can have with your reading glasses on. Grab a beverage of your own choice and join a chat. Catch up on the latest news from all over the creative web world, or relax and read your favourite webserial.