One of the most venerable science fiction podcasts is raising its game. For a six-month trial period, Escape Pod will be paying five cents a word for previously unpublished stories, and three cents (with a minimum of $100) for reprints.
Says editor Mur Lafferty:
We’re doing this for a couple of reasons-authors deserve to be paid, of course. We’re hoping we can attract a greater caliber of authors, which will therefore grow our audience. Along with the rate increase, we’ll be asking for ebook rights to the stories so we can print them on our site, which will bring in a bigger audience.
If donations stay strong, the rate increase will be permanent — fingers crossed that people are willing to give more for quality stories. She also says they’re adding more reviews, commentary and news to the podcast’s site. [SFScope]
