Update: Original free fiction bot & feed - 4 new sources, more fiction from 1 sources, more reliable pickup from 1 source, & performance data

Recount: Original free fiction bot automatically & continuously tracks (currently) 40 publishers of original free fiction on web, & delivers their stories & new issue notifications via feed.

During the 7 day period 14-20 September 2008, this feed picked up 30 distinct short stories, 5 magazine new issue announcements, 2 chapters of serialized novels, & 8 comic strips. That should be more than 1 magazine delivered to inbox every day!!

This still leaves at least 20 sources I am aware of & don't track because of their lack of feed, or feed unusable by a program.

New sources added to watch list this week.

1. A Softer World comic strip: Unspecified frequency that varies from a couple of days to a fortnight. And multiple series among them. [via Tor]
2. Flurb magazine: Apparently unspecified frequency, but features some well known authors. Since they don't have a feed, I pick up new issue announcements via SF Scope.
3. Polu Texni: "A magazine of many arts". "about mixed-media arts and speculative or weird fiction... in the intersection where different media, styles, crafts, and genres meet to create something more interesting than what they would be alone." I pick up both new issue announcements & specific stories. Their debut issue appeared this week.
4. Paul McAuley's serialized novel "The Quiet War": A chapter "Every Monday and Friday until its publication on October 16". I suppose that is October 16 2009? [via Futurismic]

More fiction picked up from already scanned sources.

1. Tor: They added a new comic strip series beginning 17 September 2008, from the authors of A Softer World, but original content for Tor. I was already picking up original free short fiction that occasionally appears at Tor.

More reliable picked up of already scanned sources.

1. AntipodeanSF feed appears to be unreliable. I now also track their new issue announcements at rasfa newsgroup.