Frequently Asked Questions

How does AltSalt make money?

AltSalt is a labor of love funded by Artemio Morales (in fact, this is Artemio talking right now!). In the near term, I’m planning to offer subscriptions for Scroll Cinema, our in-house editor for creating electronic literature, as well as offer creators the ability to sell premium content. I also have other ideas, including partnering on digital anthologies. My goal is to cultivate a sustainable environment for indie creators interested in these “alternative” formats of electronic literature, zines, etc. More to come!

Why do you have an application process at all?

We’re still in early stages and are looking to foster a safe and healthy community. With that goal in mind, we’re taking baby steps and would like to connect personally with every creator we bring on board for now. We also have no idea what kind of content folks will submit! So the application process is in place so we can get a sense of our communities, with the idea to potentially organize collaborations and promotional programming together. We may open up more widely in the future.

What is a ‘story-driven game’?

Within the world of video games, there exists a culture of indie games. Many of these pieces have a tenuous relationship with the term ‘game’ — in fact, they’re more akin to digital literary experiences.

We’d love to create a space for this kind of work. Recontextualizing these experiences within the space of literature may also provide new vocabulary and opportunities.

If you make games and this resonates with you, please submit your work! We’d love to see what you’re up to.

What is ‘visual literature’?

This is literature whose visual presentation, via typography, artwork, or other elements, is essential to understanding the piece’s meaning. This is an all-encompassing term that can include concrete poetry, comics, experimental websites, and other literary-visual forms that we haven’t thought of yet.