Editing If (magazine) (section)

===Origins and 1950s===
''If'''s origins can be traced to 1948 and 1949, when [[Raymond A. Palmer|Raymond Palmer]] founded two magazines while working at [[Ziff Davis|Ziff-Davis]] in Chicago: ''[[Fate (magazine)|Fate]]'' and ''[[Other Worlds (magazine)|Other Worlds]]''. ''Fate'' published articles about occult and supernatural events, while ''Other Worlds'' was a science fiction magazine. The two were sufficiently successful to attract the notice of [[James L. Quinn (editor)|James L. Quinn]], a New York publisher. When Ziff-Davis moved to New York City in late 1950, [[Paul W. Fairman]], a prolific writer, went with them, and was soon in touch with Quinn, who decided to found a pair of magazines modelled after Palmer's. One was a nonfiction magazine entitled ''Strange''; the other was ''If''.<ref name=TM_45-8>Ashley, ''Transformations'', pp.&nbsp;45–48.</ref>

[[File:If cover June 1954.jpg|thumb|left|The June 1954 issue of ''If'', featuring a wraparound cover by [[Kenneth S. Fagg]], titled "Lava Falls on Mercury"]]
The first issue of ''If'' was dated March 1952, with Fairman as editor; it featured stories by Richard Shaver, Raymond Palmer, and Howard Browne, all writers who were regulars of the Ziff-Davis magazines. By the time the third issue reached the news stands, the disappointing sales figures for the first issue were in, and Quinn decided to let Fairman go. Quinn persevered with himself as editor. His first issue was dated July 1952, and he continued as editor on the masthead for some years. Quinn brought in [[Ed Valigursky]] as the art editor; he designed striking covers, including some wraparound artwork—an unusual feature—which helped improve circulation. Quinn began searching for a replacement editor: writer [[Lester del Rey]] turned down the job (a decision he is reported to have later regretted), but Quinn was able to engage [[Larry T. Shaw]], an active [[science fiction fan]] who had sold a few stories.<ref name=TM_45-8/><ref>Malcolm Edwards & John Clute, "Larry T. Shaw", in Nicholls & Clute, "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction".</ref> Shaw joined in May 1953 as associate editor and soon began writing editorials (beginning with the September 1953 issue) and assisting with story selection. The magazine's quality quickly improved and soon Quinn felt able to switch to a monthly schedule, instead of bimonthly. Shaw left after only a year, and Quinn resumed full editorial responsibilities.<ref name=TM_45-8/>

In late 1953, Quinn decided to run a competition for short fiction from new writers. The competition was only open to college students who had not sold a story before. The first prize was $1,000, the second prize $500, with five runner-up prizes of $100 each. Entries came in from writers who were later to become well known, including [[Harlan Ellison]], [[Roger Zelazny]], and [[Andrew J. Offutt]], whose story "And Gone Tomorrow", about a man unexpectedly sent a hundred years into the future, won first prize and appeared in the December 1954 issue of ''If''. The only other one of the seven announced winners who had a career as a science fiction writer was [[Leo P. Kelley]]. Quinn decided to move ''If'' to a monthly schedule with the March 1954 issue, perhaps because the competition had increased readership.<ref name=TM_45-8/> It reverted to a bimonthly schedule with the June 1956 issue, as circulation dropped again.<ref name=AshleyV4_433>Ashley, ''History of SF Magazine Part 4'', p.&nbsp;33.</ref>

In 1957, [[American News Company]], by far the largest magazine distributor, was liquidated.<ref>Distributors move magazines from publishers to news stands, and are a critical part of the magazine publishing industry.</ref> Almost all the science fiction magazines had to find a new distributor, and the smaller independent companies remaining in the market often demanded monthly publication and a larger format from the magazines they took on. Many of the magazines did not have the advertising revenue required to support these changes, and within two or three years, many of them had disappeared:<ref name=TM_190>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;190.</ref> the number of science fiction magazines being published dropped from a high of 46 in 1953 to less than a dozen by the end of the decade.<ref name=Robinson_128>Robinson, ''SF of the 20th Century'', p.&nbsp;128.</ref> For a while ''If'' was hard to find on the news stands, but it survived. Quinn did try the [[Slick (magazine format)|slick format]] (using glossy paper, unlike the cheaper paper used for pulps and digests) for a companion magazine, ''Space Age'', which he launched in November 1958; the experiment was unsuccessful, however. In an attempt to improve ''If'''s circulation, Quinn hired writer [[Damon Knight]], whose first issue was October 1958. Circulation failed to increase, though this was at least partly due to the problems with distribution, and by early 1959, Quinn decided to sell the magazine. Knight's last issue was his third, dated February 1959.<ref name=TM_196-7>Ashley, ''Transformations'', pp.&nbsp;196–197.</ref>