PAR

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Pay After Reading. A system instituted in Norm Browne's VANATIONS #1, under which you pay what you think the issue is worth, taking into consideration reading pleasure, appreciation for the contribution of the editorial staff, possibility of improvement in future issues, and like that. "Anything under 10¢ I consider an insult and anything over 25¢ hurts my conscience", said Browne. Other fanzines used the system afterward; its big advantage is that the fan publisher doesn't have to keep books, but it didn't pay publishing costs any better than other methods. Something vaguely similar was tried by Gernsback when in 1936 he tried to sell Wonder Stories direct to the fans by mail. But the number of postage-paid blanks returned "conclusively revealed the apathetic attitude of SF readers."