An Open Letter from Freelancers at Nautilus Magazine

As a subscriber, I find it unfortunate that this issue has been dragging along for the past year or more. This is not the first time we're hearing about it. But it doesn't appear that there has been any material change in the situation.

I've stopped receiving my print copies of the magazine. I mind, but I haven't raised the issue because I want the publication to survive and assumed they might be focussing their efforts on more existential threats. As an otherwise happy subscriber, I'd rather miss a couple of paper copies now and let some sort of fundamental business restructuring happen in order to allow for the publication to survive. But I suspect this isn't happening now, at least in an effective way.

I have first-hand knowledge of how similar publications operate. They're kept alive by a publisher who lacks the business expertise needed to do more than keep their baby on chronic life support. It will never thrive on its own, and consequently, never realizes its full potential either.

As a publisher, if it gets to the point where you're so in debt to people who have otherwise contributed in good faith to the business, your livelihood and baby, you owe it to them to admit that you need help. Not help in the sense of asking customers for donations or by having fire sales on subscriptions, as Nautilus has. This is just a way of chasing future debt obligations. Rather, you owe it to them to get help with fundamentally restructuring the business itself.

I'd prefer to avoid speculating too much on why that hasn't happened yet. But I suspect this all boils down to good old publisher control and/or equity. For the publication to have a future, all options should be on the table no matter how undesirable they might be for the publisher.

Update and additional context:

https://undark.org/article/freelance-writers-nautilus-paymen...

full disclosure: I work at Undark. We interviewed John Steele, the publisher of Nautilus, this morning, and there are quotes here — from both Steele and unpaid contributors.

The magazine is great as a "New Yorker for Sience," but its non-payment of writers is a shame. Moreover, as Jeremy Kun out points below, quality is bound to suffer for it.

I, along with others here on HN, subscribed earlier this year to help Nautilus with its financial difficulties, so it could pay writers. And yet, many writers are still unpaid.

Is there anyone here from Nautilus who can explain what the heck is going on?

The more I read Nautilus the less I like it. It seemed good initially, and now it feels like bad pop science. Maybe that has something to do with paying writers. I prefer Quanta Magazine.

I have been fearing that this would happen. I subscribed around 6 months ago, but have yet to receive a print issue in the mail to date. After contacting support they gave me the runaround claiming delays. Over the last few months the number of clickbait articles and blog posts increased and the hard reporting / science in the main publication has reduced.

Nautilus has been an amazing publication over the years though. My household has subscribed since its launch. It's a shame to see it suffering. The writing staff deserves better. The brand deserves better.

I subscribed to the print Nautilus magazine and was supposed to receive my first copy 1.5 months ago. Something is up.

Me - Oct 28:

> have yet to receive my first issue of Nautilus after signing up for Prime. When can I expect it?

Nautilus - Oct 30:

> Your first issue in our next shipment, which should be mailed out in early November. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for subcribing!

Me - Dec 2:

> I never received my first issue this month. Is it possible that it is still on the way?

Nautilus - Dec 5:

> We're sorry for the wait, but we are working on our Sept/Oct issue shipment (the digital version is already available on Prime if you'd like to start reading it now). Thanks for your patience.

I saw the writing on the wall when Nautilus had a promotional piece for the multibillion dollar hedge fund Two Sigma as their leading article a couple weeks ago. While at the same time asking for donations to help them remain independent. They apparently are desperate for funds at this point and cant even afford to pay their staff.

If you can't run a business successfully* for a year after spending through a $5M grant, then your entire idea might be deeply flawed.

* - Honoring your debts.

I subscribed to the print version about 6 months ago and I think I've received one issue. I like the articles, but something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Nautilus started well, but now it's just another clickbaity content mill. Fancy-looking, polished and with more intricate language, but still clickbait.

As a remote front-end freelancer I absolutely always charge my clients at least 30% and usually 50% up front for the job that I'm doing.

When you charge client a percentage up front it's beneficial for both parties. We both get invested in the work we're doing and look forward to it getting completed.

The early releases of Nautilus as a quarterly back in 2014 were the best. I stopped subscribing in 2015 and have since gotten my fix by seeing Nautilus articles here on HN. I remember BJ Novak had a fiction piece [1] in one issue, might have been the same one with the excellent "Bridge From Nowhere" [2] piece by Amanda Gefter. If they can get back to that quality, I'll be re-sold!

[1] http://nautil.us/issue/9/time/kelloggs [2] http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/the-bridge-from-nowher...

I really hope the majority of these writers are working somewhere else and are just waiting to get paid for their work. Once you reach to a certain point with these startups, you'll never see any of that money, even if you win a court case or small claims court.

If the money is gone, you just have to live and learn and move on.

source: I've been apart of many startups that went tits up. As someone who got burned really bad in the mid aughts, I've always had my radar up for red flags and troubling signs in subsequent situations with other startups.

Nautilus has fine writing and I enjoyed both print and online editions. I assume it is not easy to run magazine like that. So I hope they will resolve this to everyone satisfaction.

Why can’t I set up a monthly donation to Nautilus like I can for my local PBS station?

(No, I’m not looking forward to “we need your support” interstitials either.)

I am dismayed to hear this. I was an early subscriber and the print quarterlies were the best magazines I've ever received. I subscribed for 2 or 3 years but did not renew because live intervened. Now I'm feeling guilty.

The concept is great. Perhaps new management is what's needed?

“Our numbers span many time zones, from London to New York, Colorado, Utah, California and Alaska.”

Aren’t Colorado and Utah in the same time zone? This is a minor bug, but it stuck in my mind and I thought about it through the whole piece.

How is the Writer's Union a subset of the UAW? At what point do we consider this Union a monopoly itself. I am sick of their tactics.