He began publishing on the Internet in the late 1980s and early 90s with appearances in "Alsop Review", "Blue Moon Review", "Web de Sol", "X-Connect", "eSCENE", "Fiction Online", "Hawk", "Realpoetik", and "Zero City". His essay, "Why I Publish in e-Zines", appeared online in 1995 and has been widely reprinted. Sward's "Earthquake Collage," impressions, news items, poetry, and facts regarding the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and its aftermath, appeared in "Pathways to the Past, Adventures in Santa Cruz County History, History Journal Number 6," Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA, April 2009.