ins_amap@jhunix.UUCP (Mark Aden Poling) (10/28/85)
I have this problem. I want desperately to be published as a Science Fiction Writer. The only thing is, my (formal) training is as an Engineer, and I don't know much about Real Life when it comes to selling the Written Word. Okay, enough of that. I've got the old IASFM guide to writing a proper manuscript, plus I've got a girlfriend who has done proofreading on printer's galleys. If I write anything that might be printable, the MS won't be a problem. The booklet Amazing is putting out on writing SF strikes me as a tract on how to write stuff that George Scithers might like. I've not actually read it, so I don't know. Does anyone out there publish in any of the digests? Steven Brust is off the net, if only temporarily, or I'd write him directly. I've written some things that I think are saleable, and I've got an MS sitting at the offices of Fantasy and Science Fiction right now, and response to this or not, I'm going to try to get published. (Sorry for the Defensive Defiance.) If anyone out there could/would reply to this, by e-mail or otherwise, I'd appreciate it. (Has anyone noticed that, once one has assigned a story to the loving care of the US Postal System, one becomes a nervous wreck? Not to mention all the worries over what those mean nasty editors are going to *DO* to the poor thing. Or even the pre-response depression over the aniticipated rejection slip. Why does anyone do it?) Ah, the price of fame. Mark!
chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (10/30/85)
In article <1051@jhunix.UUCP> ins_amap@jhunix.UUCP (Mark Aden Poling) writes: >The booklet Amazing is putting out on writing >SF strikes me as a tract on how to write stuff that George Scithers >might like. Well, yes, but George (who also wrote the original for IASFM when he was editor there) knows what he is talking about. He is also by far the best market for a new editor (followed by IASFM -- unless Gardner Dozois changes policies radically). The hardest seem to be F&SF and Analog -- it seems rather rare that either publishes the first story by anyone Anyway, other resources for the aspiring writer would have to include the monthly rag 'Writers Digest', which is the best place to keep track of the writing market in general. It also has a lot of useful articles on technique and is a good place to have drooping morale rebuilt. The 1986 Writers Guide (about $20) is now out, with addresses and needs of all of the known magazines, book publishers, and agents out there -- a must if you are serious about publishing because some of the best places to publish are ones you probably haven't heard of yet. They also usually have a number of articles on how to get started in that book, and how to get better. Writers digest also usually comes out with one or two special issues a year on freelancing, so keep an eye out for them. For more specific (and usually up to date) information on the SF market, track down Locus, the resident Hugo winning semi-prozine. Also, I believe the SFWA magazine (available to outsiders, I believe) has market information as well. > (Has anyone noticed that, once one has assigned a story to the >loving care of the US Postal System, one becomes a nervous wreck? Not >to mention all the worries over what those mean nasty editors are going >to *DO* to the poor thing. Or even the pre-response depression over >the aniticipated rejection slip. Very few editors are nasty. If you've ever found yourself in the middle of a slush pile, you'll see why they sometimes get a bit short tempered. If you think a writer has it bad, imagine an editor having to read the equivalent of two weeks of net.flame to find a buyable story. Last I heard, most magazines were buying 1 out of about 100 manuscripts, and some markets (like playboy and Better Homes and Gardens) are about 1 out of 10,000. At the best of times, it isn't a good bet. All you can do is put experience on your side. Write, write, and rewrite... A quick hint -- the anxieties don't get better with experience. With luck, you learn to cope. If not, you stop writing. >Why does anyone do it?) You write because you have to, of course... -- :From the Crystal Caves of Avalon: Chuq Von Rospach sun!chuq@decwrl.DEC.COM {hplabs,ihnp4,nsc,pyramid}!sun!chuq Our time is past -- it is a time for men, not of magic.