FAQ "reprint"
Dan Goodman
reachable these days.
[rec.arts.sf.composition] Frequently Asked Questions
From: lo...@mgl.ca (Geoffrey Wiseman)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.composition,news.answers
Subject: [rec.arts.sf.composition] Frequently Asked Questions
Supersedes: <writing/sf-compositi...@rtfm.mit.edu>
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.composition
Date: 1 Aug 1999 11:14:49 GMT
Organization: rasfc FAQ Maintainers
Expires: 29 Aug 1999 11:09:45 GMT
Message-ID: <writing/sf-compositi...@rtfm.mit.edu>
X-Last-Updated: 1997/05/05
Archive-name: writing/sf-composition
Posting-Frequency: bi-weekly
Last-modified: 1997/04/29
Version: 1.3b
URL: http://www.mgl.ca/~loki/rasfc
Copyright: (c) 1997 Geoffrey Wiseman
Maintainer: Geoffrey Wiseman <lo...@mgl.ca>
[ Frequently Asked Questions for rec.arts.sf.composition, v1.3a ]
Date of last modification: April 29, 1997.
0.0 VERSION CONTROL
96-11-21: v1.0 of the FAQ is released.
96-12-01: v1.1 contains minor corrections and adjustments
97-02-20: v1.2 contains real FAQ questions, with more to come.
97-04-17: v1.2a extra credits
97-04-21: v1.3 a substantial revision including new
questions
97-04-29: v1.3a two new questions and some minor changes.
97-05-05: v1.3b approved by news.answers. posted, archived and
sent to FAQ server.
0.1 Credits
At the time this document was last modified, assorted credit for
bits of this FAQ were due to:
Loki <gwis...@uoguelph.ca>
Stevens R. Miller <l...@interport.net>
Gary Farber <gfa...@panix.com>
Patricia Wrede <pwred...@aol.com>
Lisa Leutheuser <e...@umich.edu>
Patrick Nielsen Hayden <p...@tor.com>
Dan Goodman <dsg...@visi.com>
Patricia C. Wrede <pwred...@aol.com>
Extra credit is given to the following people for contributing to
this FAQ in an indirect fashion by being a long-time font of
useful information:
Gary Farber <gfa...@panix.com>
Liz Holliday <L...@gila.demon.co.uk>
Patrick Nielsen Hayden <p...@tor.com>
Lawrence Watt-Evans <lawr...@clark.net>
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This document is to serve as a list of frequently asked
questions, as well as a form of help document for the
Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.
At the time this document was last modified, the maintainer of
this FAQ was Loki and he could be found at gwis...@uoguelph.ca
for general email or lo...@mgl.ca for general, non-urgent FAQ
commentary that will be looked at less frequently.
If you feel in need of a form of address and "oh great and
wonderful maintainer of the rasfc FAQ" seems like a mouthful,
try 'Geoff' or 'Loki'.
Any questions, suggestions, comments or other feedback can be
directed to him. Comments posted to rec.arts.sf.composition
may well be seen, but no guarantees will be made. As well,
requests for a copy of the FAQ may be sent to this address,
although the FAQ itself should be up on the WWW in the near
future.
1.1 Charter
The charter for this newsgroup was posted with the RFD
(Request for Discussion) and CFV (Call for Votes) for this
newsgroup. It is reproduced here, with minimal modifications:
Before discussing the newsgroup, one must define 'sf', for
which I refer to the original CFV for the group that created
the rec.arts.sf.* hierarchy: "Both science fiction and
fantasy, as well as that vast blurred mass of material in
between." This charter mirrors the position of the HWA:
Horror is an emotion, not a genre. If the Horror takes place
in a speculative fiction book, it can be discussed in an sf
newsgroup.
The rec.arts.sf.composition newsgroup would include, but not be
limited to the following types of discussion:
General writing questions, to be answered from the sf
perspective. This includes market research, submission
format and discussions on the process of writing itself,
as it connects with the writing of sf.
Discussion of the process of writing speculative fiction
between professionals, aspiring writers or the merely
interested.
Discussion of the methods and processes of worldbuilding,
the creation of new, alternate or historically-based worlds
in which speculative fiction is often set.
This newsgroup is not meant to replace or significantly
overlap other groups. As such, topics that are on-topic
and useful in other groups should be kept to those groups.
That would include, but not be limited to the following
exclusions:
Discussion connected to writing, but not specifically
to sf, nor with an important sf slant should be posted
in misc.writing.
Discussion about the science used in speculative fiction
should be posted to rec.arts.sf.science.
Discussion of existing written work should be left to
rec.arts.sf.written.
As well, the charter specifically excludes the posting of work
unless that posting is specifically related to a topic that is
being discussed, and is used in that context, and quoted briefly.
Posting of work to be read and/or critiqued is excluded from the
charter of this newsgroup, for a number of reasons. For
those who wish to avail themselves of the group's resources, a
specially marked header, "CRIT: " will be used to post short
requests for critiquing or reading, with all followups directed
to email, the poster's web page, rec.arts.prose, or any other
valid forum, rather than the newsgroup.
As for advertising, overt advertising is excluded from the
group, particularly off-topic overt advertising (the kind that
doesn't care what this charter says anyway). Tactful, brief,
infrequently posted references to information that can be
found elsewhere will be tolerated, but advertisers must tread
that fine line carefully if they wish to avoid flamage from
ad-hating regulars.
1.2 Annotations
The charter as shown above was only slightly modified to
clear up the section on the posting of work, as the phrasing
wasn't as specific as it should have been.
1.3 FAQ Procedures
At this time, the FAQ will be posted every two weeks. Changes
to that timing will be made as the FAQ maintainer sees fit.
It can also be posted on request, requested by email or found
on the web at http://www.mgl.ca/~loki/rasfc. Further, it is
archived on rtfm.mit.edu and can be found in news.answers.
Anyone who wishes to keep a copy to post, email or from which
to quote or post is asked to keep their copy up to date.
Additions to the FAQ will be made as seen fit by the FAQ
maintainer, but may be suggested by emailing the FAQ
maintainer, or posting in the newsgroup. It is hoped that the
Frequently Asked Questions section will primarily be composed of
paragraphs quoted directly from newsgroup participants, or
edited for brevity or clarity. Those participants will be
asked in email before their comments are added, and their
comments will only appear in the FAQ if they agree to it.
1.4 Where can I find this FAQ?
It will be posted every two weeks by MIT's faq-server to
news.answers, rec.answers and rec.arts.sf.composition. It
can be found via FTP (or email) through rtfm.mit.edu under
the archive name writing/sf-composition. It is on the web
at http://www.mgl.ca/~loki/rasfc.
2.0 NEWSGROUP METHODS
2.1 Critiques
As mentioned in the group's charter, posting of work to be
read or critiqued is against the charter. Not only are there
better, more valid places for that sort of activity, and not
only does this cause publication difficulties that new writers
may not have thought about, but these messages, being long
and potentially frequent, could drive legitimate readers
and traffic from the group. Please keep postings of work
to small excerpts that fit into the discussion, or just don't
post them.
If you wish to post a message requesting that people read or
critique your work, please use the "CRIT:" subject prefix to
allow people to killfile your posts if they have no interest
in reading or critiquing your work, or anyone else's. These
messages should be kept brief, and should largely be a short
summary of what you're requesting (be that reading or
critiquing), a description of your story (theme, genre,
size--whatever you feel is relevant, but be brief) and where
that story can be found (email, WWW, FTP, whatever you want,
just not on the group).
2.2 Netiquette
That subject is too vast to go into in detail, and isn't really
the business of the FAQ maintainer or the FAQ. However, it is
hoped that flameage, crossposting, spam, and other egregious
breaches of netiquette can be kept to a minimum, as they have
been with rec.arts.sf.written.
Further information can be found on the news.announce.newusers
group, in the form of FAQs.
2.3 Advertising
As stated in the charter, overt advertising is excluded from
the group; if you wish to promote your work, your services or
your products, please leave only a very brief message with
minimal marketese. That is, while "My new book is on the
shelves! Anyone seen it?" or "I've a program I think might
be useful to writers: blah blah blah for more information,
see the following URL:" is generally tolerable, long ads or
extremely non-relevant posts or posts filled with hyperbole
will likely get flamed.
The charter deliberately leaves the matter vague--it is up
to the group participants to determine what level of advertising
is acceptable. While one can probably expect the posters (by
and large, at least) to be reasonable, tread the line
carefully. There -is- such a thing as bad publicity.
I had a great example of an ad, but I seem to have misplaced it.
I'll put it in here, if I locate it again.
2.4 Moderation
The group, as proposed, was unmoderated. Most of those
participating in the discussion of the group were strongly
against group moderation. That policy will only change if the
group as a whole, particularly regulars, decide to firmly support
a switch to a moderated policy.
2.5 North America centrism, specifically USA-centrism.
Some of the things in this FAQ will undoubtedly be given by
American experts concerning submissions to American markets;
although this is the prime audience of the FAQ, any corrections
to make the FAQ more global are certainly welcomed.
3.0 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
3.1 What is the appropriate manuscript format for
submission to speculative fiction markets? Is it
important to get every detail right?
As long as you get the basics right, there won't be any real harm
done; in fact, it is a common opinion among pros and editors that
many amateurs spend far too much time worrying about format that
should be spent improving their writing. However, getting the
basics right is certainly one of the first steps to from wannabe
to would-be.
Essentially: Spend ten minutes getting to know what the format
is, stick to it, and stop worrying about it.
Your main body of text should be double-spaced, with ragged-right
justification (or left justification, as opposed to -full-
justification) text organized into a series of paragraphs.
Except when needed as scene breaks, there should be no additional
blank lines between paragraphs. Scene break lines are preferably
marked, either with an asterisk (*) or a pound sign (#). The
typeface should not be proportionally spaced, and should be as close
to typewriter text as possible. For most of us, that means
Courier 12pt.
The text should start halfway down the first page; as for the
rest of the page, the writer's name and address should be in
the upper left-hand corner, the word count in the upper right,
the title and byline centered in the middle of the page.
Every other page in the document should have the writer's last
name, the story title and the page number in the upper right-hand
corner, usually separated by slashes (eg: Wiseman / rasfc FAQ
/ page 2 ). Do not bind the manuscript in any permanent way;
a removeable clip is acceptable. If the manuscript need not be
returned, mark DISPOSABLE on the first page.
Any part of the text meant to be displayed in italics should
be underlined and -not- in italics.
Although many reference sources not specific to sf/f/h will
specify that you should include a rights-offered statement,
this is not a standard practice in speculative fiction
publication and should be avoided.
References include:
"Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy,"
Dozois, G. et al, ed.;
St. Martin's Press, New York;
1993:
3.2 What about cover letters?
If an editor has a specific policy with respect to cover letters,
follow it. Otherwise, be brief. Most people with editing
experience will tell you that unprofessional cover letters are
a common mistake of amateurs.
Your cover letter should simply include any -relevant-
previous sales (no, not your article on hand-rolling cigarettes
for the school paper), and potentially that you've graduated
from Clarion, if you have. State that you're submitting a
story, attached, and end the cover letter there, while you're
still ahead.
3.3 So what's all this about rights, anyway?
Unless otherwise specified, sf magazines are buying North
American First Serial rights. In theory, this means that
something published out of North America is saleable. In
practice, mention -any- previous sales in the cover
letter--most editors are not looking to buy reprints of any
sort, unless you happen to be big-name.
Of course, if you're not selling to a North American magazine,
it is unlikely to be buying North American First Serial
rights, but again, in practice, the distinction is rarely
important.
Likewise, electronic publication (web pages, newsgroups, large
email lists, any place with real circulation) is likely to affect
a work's salability; if you are trying to sell a work that has
been electronically 'published' be sure and include that
information in the cover letter.
3.4 Do I need a copyright notice?
No.
Stevens R. Miller summarized the issue quite well, so I'll quote
directly:
By international law (known as "the Berne Convention"),
any work is protected by copyright law upon its fixation
in a tangible medium. The author of the work owns the
copyright unless the work was created for hire. No notice
or symbol is required on the work. Some legal advantages
apply when a notice is present, however, and the law defines
a valid notice to look like:
Copyright 1996 by Stevens R. Miller
The "C" in a circle and other variations are also legal, but
the above is always valid. In some countries, the phrase "all
rights reserved" should accompany the notice. In the United
States, the phrase adds nothing, but it also takes nothing
away.
To commence a suit for infringement, the copyright must be
registered. However, registration can occur after
infringement.
Copyright lasts for the duration of the author's life, plus a
term of years that Congress periodically has increased. In
1994, the term was fifty years. Anonymous works, joint works,
works owned by corporations, and others all have rules
governing them that vary the above, but the main point is:
Once you've written it down somewhere, you have a copyright
to it.
Lisa Leutheuser (e...@umich.edu) adds the following caveat:
If you're sending something through e-mail, don't take the
chance that the recipient's e-mail software can handle
anything beyond ASCII text, such as that fancy c-in-a-circle.
Use "Copyright." Same said for fax machines. Why take the
chance that the fax machine will not clearly scan the little
c-in-a-circle?
Basically, it's easiest just to include the full word. (C) and
the full copyright symbol are harder to reproduce and often
won't carry through all transmission media.
3.5 Trademarks
Stevens R. Miller on the subject:
A trademark is a form of intellectual property. It is any
word, name, symbol, or device used by a manufacturer or
merchant to identify his or her goods. (15 USC 1127). A
valid trademark may not be used by anyone other than the
markholder if that usage would reasonably confuse the
public about whether or not the markholder's goods were
being offered by the nonholder. Usage that cannot
reasonably create this confusion is not a violation of
trademark law. One can, therefore, use a trademark
without permission or attribution, provided no reasonable
confusion will result. The letter's "tm" need not be
attached in such usage.
Other restrictions besides trademark law, however, argue
against unpermitted usage. Trademarks can also be
protected by either copyright or patent law. If the
trademark is used in a disparaging way, issues of
unfair competition and defamation can arise. And, even
where usage is entirely lawful, a markholder may, either
through ignorance or with malicious intent, commence
legal action that can be troublesome to combat.
As a practical matter, trademarks should not be used
without permission, unless one is prepared to defend
against a law suit.
(Foregoing is my general assessment of the matter based
on my understanding of the law. This is not my area
and anyone in need of advice on a particular issue
should not rely on it.)
Observation seems to indicate that tradmark use within fiction
is common and not as fraught with danger as the above might
indicate, but if you want to stay on the safe side, bear the
above in mind.
3.6 How do I specify the word count on my manuscript?
Your word processor very likely can give you the 'exact' word
count of your docment; besides the fact that different word
processors will give you different results, you should know that
editors don't want to know how many 'words' you have, but want
to estimate the amount of space that would be required by your
text.
Given the above, the word count should be given in an estimated
form, rather than the exact form. The editors don't want to
see the exact number, it makes a very small amount of extra work
for them, and it marks the writer as an amateur. A common
practice is to round off short story counts to the nearest
hundred, and novels to the nearest thousand.
3.7 Hey, there's an email/news article from an agent/publisher
here. Should I send something in?
No reputable speculative fiction agents have been seen posting on
Usenet so far, AFAIK. Chances are, it will remain that way. Be
instantly suspicious of any agent who's soliciting you, rather
than vice versa.
There have been -very- infrequent postings by publishers. White
Wolf, for instance, has posted their guidelines to newsgroups on
occasion. Again, however, be suspicious unless you know the
publisher. If you can't find the publisher in Locus, ask around.
If no-one else has heard of them, that tells you all you need to
know.
Someone has nicely assembled 'dubious agents' and 'dubious
publishers' lists for the 'net. While they aren't specific to
speculative fiction, it's just a little bit more ammo for your
research:
The Dubious Agents List
http://rain-crow-publishing.com/market/dub_ag.html
The Dubious Publishers List
http://rain-crow-publishing.com/market/dub_pub.html
Robert J. Sawyer (7670...@CompuServe.COM) listed the following
agents as currently representing at least one member of the SFFWA:
James Allen, Matthew Bialer (of William Morris), Barbara
Bova, Richard Curtis, Russell Galen (of Scovil Chichak
Galen), Ashley Grayson, Susan L. Graham, Merrilee Heifetz
(of Writers' House), Joshua Bilmes (of JABerwocky),
Sharon Jarvis, Virginia Kidd, Donald A. Maass, Ricia
Mainhardt, Jonathan Matson (of Harold Matson), Kirby
McCauley (of Pimlico), Shawna McCarthy (of Scovil
Chichak Galen), Martha Millard, Howard Morhaim, William
Morris, Inc., Owlswick Literary Agency, Scovil Chichak
Galen, Valerie Smith, Ralph M. Vicinanza, Cherry Weiner,
Eleanor Wood (of Spectrum)
That list is, of course, dating itself as we speak and may never
be valid for another second of its lifetime, but it gives a
starting place for now. Hopefully, those in the know can help
make sure it doesn't get egregiously out of date, but it's not
to rely on. Read Locus for real agent information, or chat up
your favorite on-line author. ;)
3.8 How's the submission process for novels really work? What
about copyediting?
From the keyboard of the eminent Patricia C. Wrede
(pwred...@aol.com) comes the following:
When you submit a manuscript, you usually send in one
copy. That's the submission copy, or submission draft.
The editor then decides whether or not to buy it. If
not, you go on to the next publisher. If so...
The editor asks for revisions. Always. Slow down the
pace here, pick it up there, explain *why* the parrot
didn't eat the goldfish this time when he'd eaten all six
of the previous goldfish, add a darker edge, bring this
sub-plot forward and push that one back, expand the fight
scene and trim the conversation over tea (or vice versa;
depends on the editor), and so on. Some of them are
reasonable revisions; some of them you feel intensely
stupid for not having thought of yourself; some of them
are completely out of the question and you want to murder
the editor for even *thinking* of them, much less
suggesting them.
So you talk. And eventually, you come to an agreement
about what needs to be done. Then you, the writer, go
and do it. The revisions are almost never a matter of
fixing a page here and a page there; you end up doing a
run through the whole manuscript, which you then print up
and send off. (Some publishers request more than one copy
at this point, so that the Art Department can have one
while Editing and Production work on the other.) If the
editor decides that it is now acceptable, this becomes
the Final Manuscript, which gets sent to the copyeditor
and then to the typesetter. The editor can (but seldom
does) ask for a second or even a third round of
revisions, in which case it's just an intermediate
manuscript.
In very rare instances (or in the case of publishers who
don't believe in wasting time editing bestselling authors
whose books will sell like hotcakes anyway), the editor
will decide that the copy you originally submitted is
fine, and send it straight on to the copyeditor (this
actually happened to me once; it was a considerable
shock). In this case, the submission manuscript and the
final manuscript are the same thing.
When sending in the final copy, it can be useful to include a
style sheet--this indicates the variations that you were
-attempting- to stick to. That means, if you used 'grey' and
'gray' inconsistently, your stylesheet will let the copyeditor
know you meant to use the infinitely preferable 'grey'. :)
As far as the format of the style sheet, Gary Farber had this to
say:
There are several; this is not an important detail so
long as it is clear. Some houses have preferences for
their copyeditors, some don't.
The crucial detail is that every word is listed in
alphabetical order as this is the quickest way to use
the sheet(s) for reference.
Whether you go with a more graphic format like an
enlarged tic-tac-toe graph, each section for a letter,
or use a strictly linear list by letter does not matter
so long as it is clear and logical.
Lastly, when you get a chance to review the copy-edited draft
(this may or may not be specified in your contract--if it isn't,
you -may- not get this chance, if time is short), a word that'll
come in handy is 'stet'. You may use it so often that a 'stet'
stamp will come in handy. You should be able to find it in a
dictionary, but it means 'let it stand' and indicates that you
want the copyedited change not to be made--you want the original,
unchanged form which you originally submitted.
3.9 Are there Writer's groups/workshops on the 'net?
Yes.
Most people feel that a solid local writer's group is a better
solution, but if there isn't one accessible to you, then an
on-line workshop may be your ticket. You can search around the
'net for one, or just hop over to:
http://www.critique.org/users/critters/eworkshops.html
3.10 To what speculative fiction magazines should I submit?
There are market lists available on the 'net. The most commonly
described one is:
http://www.greyware.com/marketlist/
Very common advice from pros is to aim for the top of the heap,
and work your way down, submitting constantly. For most people,
that means the top pay-wise, OMNI, Playboy, Writers of the
Future, Analog, Asimov's and perhaps a couple more. However,
most of the prozines are worth being published in. Once you're
in to semi-pro, it's up to you.
Other people prefer to define the top of the heap through some
other algorithm that works for them. That, as well, is up to
you. But don't sell yourself short.
Someone (iforgoetwho@perhapszhe'llspeakup.org) recently
suggested that perhaps a better terminology than this almost
B&D "submission" and "rejection":
"I displayed my new short-short to Pirate Writings this week."
"Oh really? How'd it go?"
"Oh, they failed to comprehend it. However, they did send a
good note of incomprehension, so that's always a promising
sign."
"Oh, good. Keep trying, they're bound to understand your work
sooner or later."
If nothing else, this makes the ol' repeated-submission routine
much more entertaining to describe.
3.11 Why aren't there more questions than this? And more detail?
What's the secret handshake, and why haven't you told me
yet? What's the manuscript format again?
Wannabe's and would-be's often get too caught up in the
'mysteries' of the writing world, and spend all their time
worrying about how best to break through, obsessing about
manuscript format, and calling editors at home.
Here's what Patrick Nielsen Hayden (p...@tor.com) had to say on
the subject. Other people with similarly respectable experience
have mirrored what he had to say, including Lawrence Watt Evans,
and Gary Farber.
I can barely find the words to say how tired I am of
online obsessiveness about this stuff. Write good books.
Write good books and send them out. They will get found.
Most of the people fussing over Courier or query letters
have not written good books and are not going to write
good books. That's why they fixate on the petty little
details instead.
3.12 Who is Dan Goodman, and why does he keep telling me to
talk to a reference librarian?
If every writer with a question asked around online instead of
doing a little legwork for themselves, we'd be inundated with
questions. If your question seems like the kind of thing you
should be looking up, beware that we will suggest that you should
do just that. If you have a particularly good reason why you're
not looking it up, you might want to state that in your question-
asking post.
If you -are- going to look things up, you might want to know
about reference librarians, since many people don't. Dan Goodman
(dsg...@visi.com) wrote this up for the FAQ:
You want to find out what sailors in the Spanish Armada
ate. You go to the library; you look where cookbooks
are, and books on sailing. If the answer isn't there,
what do you do?
You ask a reference librarian. There may be a reference-
only book, or a book in storage, with the answer. Or a
newspaper or magazine article which someone at the
library clipped out and saved. Or maybe the information
is in a book on Comparative Bureaucracy in the sociology
section. A reference librarian who doesn't have the
answer at hand can ask other reference librarians.
It helps if you tell the reference librarian what you're
looking for. Not "where can I find information about a
historical figure in an Eastern European country?" but
"I'm looking for information on the historical Dracula
-- not the fictional one." Not "What does the word
'gamahuche' mean?" but show the passage in which you
found the word. It also helps if you explain what you
intend to do with the information.
Don't worry about looking ignorant or foolish. The last
questioner may have been looking for T.S. Eliot's (or
maybe it was Winston S. Churchill's) novel about
gamekeeping -- with a title something like
"Chatterton's Lady." Yes, I made that up -- the real
examples I've been given aren't believable.
3.13 What kind of advance am I likely to get for my first book?
Although some clearly run to either extreme, $4,000-$10,000 is a
reasonable approximation. For a more clear approximation,
submit your novel to a publisher, and convince them to buy it.
It will depend on your story, and on the publisher, and any
number of other things you can't control. Ultimately, it does
your career good to earn out your advance, so don't fret too
much about the payment. If your book earns out, you'll start
collecting royalties.
As a side note, though, once a publisher has informed you that
they're interested in purchasing your novel, this is an ideal
time to find an agent. You have a sale on the table, but you
want someone to negotiate it properly for you. With a sale in
hand, it's much easier to get a listen at an agent that you're
interested in.
3.14 Simultaneous Submissions: Are they ok?
Some people find the wait to hear the results of a particular
submission/display of their work to a publisher to be unbearable.
They would like to submit the same story or manuscript to more
than one publisher at a same time.
However, as convenient as this might be, it tends not to work out
very well for the editors, who spend a bunch of time reading a
story, decide to accept it, prepare themselves with that in mind.
In the case of short stories, this tends to involve preparing
an issue with a story in mind; for novels, this tends to involve
a lot of discussion with various people to determine if it fits
into the lineup, and so forth.
In order to avoid these problems, almost all editors in the SF
genre will not accept simultaneous submissions. This makes the
practice rather pointless. You can technically get away with it,
but this will only happen if only one person wishes to accept
your manuscript, so betting on not getting caught is akin to
betting that your writing isn't very good.
Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself. Some people
still feel that simsubbs are the way to go. However, the
large majority of SF pros (writers and editors) view it as
an extremely bad idea.
3.15 When submitting three-chapters-and-a-synopsis, should the
rest of the novel be complete, or can I send my work in
as soon as I ahve the three chapters?
Let me start off with a quote from Gary Farber:
If you'd had a book published, odds are 95% that you'd
know the answer to this: so I presume you are
unpublished, in which case, yes, you need to have the
manuscript finished. It would be a very rare and
exceptional case for an editor to risk signing a contract
with someone who has no track record and no completed
manuscript -- there are too many risks. There are
exceptions, but it would be unwise for you to count on
being one.
Like simsubs, you can get away with it if you're lucky, but it's
not a good idea to count on this. The publisher might ask to
see the rest of your manuscript right away, and you won't have it
to give to them. Alternately, you might want to make major editing
changes to the part the editor already has.
If your agent or publisher is willing to deal with this, and
they've been informed up-front, it's fine. Just be aware that
editors and agents are rarely willing to do this for a new
writer that they have no experience with.
--
Loki : lo...@mgl.ca : rec.arts.sf.composition FAQ
Boyd & Michelle Bottorff
> Note that Loki is no longer maintaining this, and appears not to be
> reachable these days.
>
>
> [rec.arts.sf.composition] Frequently Asked Questions
So why didn't you repost my new FAQ?
It's *mostly* there by now, and its got all the newsgroup specific
stuff.
Okay, I know, I should have posted it my self. I *warned* you when I
volenteered that I wouldn't be good at the job-- I've been sicker than
usual since Christmas, and I was offline completely for a couple or
three months. Here it is.
Frequently Asked Questions for rec.arts.sf.composition, v2.0beta
Date of last modification: December 2nd, 2002
Most recently posted on: December 1st, 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title, Version Number and Dates
Table of Contents
1) Introduction
2) What is on topic in this newsgroup?
What we are here to talk about
Critiquing policy
Announcements, URL sharing, and Advertising policy
3) What posting formats are acceptable?
Quoting
Crossposting
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Courteous conduct
4) How does one start posting to rasfc?
The proper way to not introduce yourself
Red-flag topics that might best be avoided and why
5) What do the group members mean when they say...?
Terminology, Acronyms, Common Abbreviations
6) Where else can I go for help?
other newsgroups
critique groups online and in person
reference librarians
7) What do I need to watch out for?
Regional Specific Advice
Writer Scams
Copyright Issues
8) What do I need to know about the business of writing?
Manuscript Format
Word Count Calculation
Submissions Process
Advances
Agents
9) What legal issues should I be aware of?
Copyright & Assignment of Rights
Trademarks
10) Miscellaneous Questions
11) Additional resources (our links section)
Writer's Resources
Netiquette
Acronyms and Abbreviations Listings
Appendix A: FAQ Technicalities
Appendix B: Newsgroup Charter
1. INTRODUCTION
This FAQ will be written by Michelle Bottorff based on comments and
suggestions from various members of the group, and is maintained, and
posted by Michelle Bottorff (mbot...@mac.com). The general purpose of
the FAQ is to inform newcomers and to serve as repository for useful
information.
This FAQ is in the process of being rewritten, and has not been
copy-edited yet, please forgive any spelling errors and typos you may
find. If you have any comments, questions or contributions, please send
them to the FAQ maintainer (see above). A webpage following the
discussion of what should and what should not end up in this FAQ can be
found at http://www.stanford.edu/~bmoses/rasfc/rasfc-faq.html. This FAQ
currently has no official web archive because it is still in the process
of being written.
2. WHAT IS ON TOPIC IN THIS NEWSGROUP?
What We Are Here To Talk About:
This group is for the discussion of the writing of speculative
fiction, (hereafter shortened to "sf"), or in other words fantasy and
science-fiction. The writing of any work of another genre that has
strong fantasy and/or science fictional aspects will probably also be
considered on topic.
Appropriate topics of discussion include the process and details of
developing settings (world-building), the business of selling the stuff
once it's written, the physical environment in which one writes and how
it effects one's writing, and, of course, the writing process itself.
The posting of actual sf works is NOT on topic. (see Critiquing Policy
below.)
Sometimes topics are introduced that seem insufficiently sfnal in
nature or that would be better addressed in another newsgroup, in which
case it is commonly requested that the discussion be moved elsewhere
(and not everyone who makes the request will do so politely). If you
are not familiar with the group, please check section 6 "Where else do I
go for help?" before posting, to make certain this is the right place
for your query/comment. Also read Section 4. "How does one start
posting to rasfc?"
Critiquing Policy:
This is a discussion group, not a publication venue or a critiquing
group. However it is difficult to discuss writing in detail without the
posting of illustrative examples and it is hard to discuss the cures for
a problem unless we understand what the problem is. Short examples (two
or three paragraphs) of your own composition may be posted freely as
part of a discussion of writing technique. (We frequently see, for
example, story beginnings posted with a "does this catch your interest
or not?" or an interior paragraph or two with a "does this sound too
much like an info-dump, how else could I convey this information?" This
sort of posting is quite welcome.)
It is also allowable to post not more than 500 words worth of
something for general critique if they are posted under a subject header
that begins with "CRIT'. These works must be "in progress". If you are
not intending to change them based on the comments you receive, do not
post them here. Even then it is strongly recommend that you find
another source of critiques. There are many online and in person
critique groups available. This subject is discussed in more depth in
Section 6.
Announcements, URL sharing, and Advertising policy:
Officially all advertisements are off topic. Be warned,
"advertisement" also includes postings saying "I just wrote this book,
it's available at [url] go check it out." Anything that is posted with
the intent to get people to go look at a particular website, or just to
spend time on the posters behalf without a commensurate offer of
recompense is treading on dangerous ground. Only following specific
types of "ads" are ever welcome here.
A) Requests for manuscripts from venues that pay professional
rates. Make sure the actual rates offered are included in the
advertisement.
B) Rare public service announcements posted by people who are very
familiar with the group and know that what they are posting will be
considered useful and relevant.
C) Notices of the publication of works that were discussed in the
group by their author *as they were being written*.
If an ad, announcement or URL posting does not meet one of these three
criteria, it will be treated with contempt, and may result in a
complaint to the poster's ISP.
3. WHAT POSTING FORMATS ARE ACCEPTABLE?
The posting conventions of this group are as follows:
Use only ASCII, no MIME or HTML. Quote the *relevant portion* of
the text you are replying to, and place your comments BENEATH the quoted
section. If what you are replying to is long, snip out unnecessary
portions of the quoted text, and interleave your own replies between the
quoted sections. Try to leave the attribution headers intact, so that
people will know who said what in your quote portions.
If you wish to discuss something in more than one newsgroup, please
post separate messages to each group instead of "cross-posting" by
sending the same message to more than one group at a time. When
replying to a message that has been posted to more than one group,
please remove all groups from the posting header except the one you are
in, or the one that your reply would be most relevant to.
Try to always use proper spelling, punctuation and grammar. It
makes your postings easier to read and sets a good example. Keep in mind
that many group members speak English as a second (or third or fifth
language). It also makes a better impression on the professional
writers and editors that participate here.
Please observe this and other 'netiquette' conventions and be
courteous and considerate in your conduct. If you are not familiar with
proper net etiquette and conventions, we will be providing a list of
netiquette resources in Section 11. "Additional Resources."
4. HOW DOES ONE START POSTING TO RASFC?
The accepted custom for joining in the discussion is to simply start
contributing to one of the threads already in progress. If you have an
experience to share that is relevant to something other people are
talking about, share it. If you are having a problem with something you
are writing, ask us a question about it. If you have advice to give or
information about something under discussion, tell us. Introductory
messages telling us your name and background are not required.
It should perhaps be noted, however, that there are a few hot topics
that are not really good ways to start yourself off.
If you share a new "rule" of writing you have just discovered, or
suggest that something that works for you will obviously work for
someone else, you will have pointed Kipling quotations jabbed in your
general direction. "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing
tribal lays, And every single one of them is right!." ( see "In The
Neolithic Age" at:
http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html ) It is
safer to say something on the order of "this technique may be
helpful...", or even "this technique was helpful to me..."
If you say that you have just written a great book and it is
available to be read at such-and-such a location, you will likely be
ignored, and possibly even flamed. (See "Announcements, URL sharing,
and Advertising policy" above.)
If you use the term sci-fi you will start a long argument over
whether or not this term is derogatory and demeaning. The short form
'sf' is much safer, if somewhat ambiguous, and writing "science fiction"
out the long way always works.
Although it is allowable to start out by posting something under a
CRIT header, you will usually get more responses to such a posting if
you have been around for a while and people recognize your name.
Also, please remember, if you ask a question and you are told to go
elsewhere for the answer, it isn't because we don't want to be helpful,
but because we think there are sometimes better places to find answers
than rasfc, even when the question itself is on topic.
5. WHAT DO THE GROUP MEMBERS MEAN WHEN THEY SAY...?
If you are not familiar with general usenet terminology and common
acronyms, please check the links in section 11. This listing only
includes terms common here, but relatively uncommon elsewhere. To save
space, I have removed all referents to group in-jokes, however I am
collecting these and hope to get them up on a web-page (after the FAQ
itself is completed.)
AYKB: As you know, Bob. A reference to the technique of passing on
background information to the reader by having a character tell another
character something he already knows. This is a part of the Turkey City
Lexicon, (see TCL below.)
BIC: Butt in chair. Also sometimes lengthened to "Butt in chair,
fingers on keyboard." This is a frequently recommended method for
getting past a variety of writing problems. Sometimes you just have to
roll up your sleeves and get to work.
cat-vacuuming: An activity that pretends to be useful, but is actually
being done so that you can avoid writing.
cinquenta: A story that is exactly 50 words long. (Some debate exists
as to whether the title should be part of the word count.) At the time
of this writing, cinquentas by rasfc participants are being collected at
www.nbarnes.easynet.co.uk/50 If you wish any of your cinquentas to be
included in this collection email them to Neil Barnes at
nailed_...@hotmail.com
Eye of Argon: A story so badly and yet boldly written that it stands as
a classic. Eye of Argon reading sessions are occasionally held at sf
conventions, with the rule that you can only read for as long as you can
keep from laughing. Available online at:
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/SF-Archives/Misc/Eye_Of_The_Argon and
http://www.wulfarchives.com/eyeintro.html
IWriSloMo: International Write Something Month, an alternate to
NaNoWriMo (see below) for those who think that slower is sometimes
better. http://iwrislomo.blogspot.com/
incluing: A term coined by Jo Walton, referring to the process of
scattering background information and other hints throughout the text,
rather than placing it all together in a lump. (see info-dumping
below.)
info-dumping: Writing a large segment of expository information on
historical background, technology, or other aspects of the setting,
rather than conveying the same information by using scattered
references. (See incluing, above.)
McGuffin: A term coined by Alfred Hitchcock, referring to something
that is central to the plot, and motivating to the characters, but
doesn't actually mean anything in and of itself. The quintessential
example is the Maltese Falcon.
mode: A term referring to the overall character or personality of a
story. Some writers come up with a mode for their story first, and
choose a narrative voice, structure and mood to match. Other writers
start with the narrative voice, structure, and mood, and end up with an
overall mode. This is another of Jo Walton's terms, and she says the
definition here isn't quite right. A google search of the term will
reveal extensive discussion on how to define it.
NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, which encourages
aspiring writers to take part by attempting to write a 50 000 word novel
in the month of November. http://www.nanowrimo.org
POV: Point of View, a technical writing term referring to the apparent
position of the narrator in relation to the story he is telling.
Stet: let it stand, used to mark passages in the manuscript that the
line editor wants to change, or that you think the line editor will want
to change, such as words spelled wrong on purpose.
TCL: Turkey City Lexicon, a compendium of terminology compiled by the
critique group "Turkey City". Opinions about the usefulness of this
lexicon vary widely. Some rasfc regulars find its overall tone snide
and feel that it dismisses techniques that can be used effectively in
the right circumstances, and others think that as a list of "common
errors" it can be most helpful in evaluating manuscripts.
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html
WIP: Work in Progress (WIE: work in editing, WIS: Work in Submission),
a short hand way of referring to one's current writing project.
world-building: This is the process of creating new worlds for your
stories to be set in. Really elaborate world-building occasionally gets
in the way of actually producing the stories themselves. (See
cat-vacuuming, above)
6) WHERE ELSE CAN I GO FOR HELP?
Other newsgroups:
rec.arts.sf.written For discussion of books that have been
published already (and thus are off topic here)
rec.arts.sf.science For all your science fiction related science
questions.
soc.history.war.misc For military history questions
soc.history.what-if For alternate history discussion and advice
soc.history.medieval For questions about medieval times (!)
rec.equestrian For horse related questions
misc.writing For general questions pertaining to writing
(!)
misc.writing.moderated A more restrained version of misc.writing
(!) These groups are subject to frequent flame-wars. Be wary.
Other resources online:
For imaginary languages, Richard Kennaway's webpage: 'Some Internet
resources relating to constructed
languages at http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~jrk/conlang.html
****I hope to eventually include more links here/and or in Section
11 when it is written.****
Critique groups online and in person:
Critique groups are a useful tool in improving your writing. But
you need to find a group that suits your needs, because a group that is
helpful to one writer can be a waste of time, or even damaging to
another writer. If participating in any group seems to make you write
less often and enjoy it less, that probably isn't the right group for
you.
To find a writer's group local to you try asking at the local book
stores, libraries and sf fan clubs. Go to local conventions and ask
around. Most large metropolitan areas will have a writers group for
science fiction and fantasy writers, but in less populated areas there
may only be general writer's groups, or even none at all. Some sf
writers find that they can work well in a general group, but others find
that all the other participants respond to their work with total
bewilderment, and can't find any useful advice to give.
Another source of critiques is to join an online group. The
various groups have different formats and policies. The one totally
vital thing to keep in mind is that any writing posted to a public forum
is considered published, so all legitimate groups are private and
require that you sign up. Here are a few of the bigger, better known
ones that you can try.
http://critters.org
http://www.hatrack.com
http://www.hollylisle.com
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/ (yearly subscription required)
http://www.sfnovelist.com/ (for hard science fiction novelists, yearly
subscription required)
Reference librarians:
Many large libraries will have a reference librarian on staff that
can help answer your research questions. If you are not local to such a
library you can still make use of these resources by contacting such a
librarian via mail, or you can try the stumpers mailing list which is
primarily for library employees faced with questions they can't answer
from their own resources.
To make use of the Stumpers list, simply send your question via
email to: Stump...@listserv.dom.edu If you are not a subscriber, your
message will still be answered, only with a slight delay for
authorization. Make the subject line of your email descriptive and
precede it with a question mark. Something like "How many lefthanded
policemen are there in Chile?" is what's wanted, rather than something
vague like "Question about South America". Include in the body a
description of where you've tried to find the information, and what you
already know about the topic. This saves responders from wasted
efforts.
***some of this stuff is yours word for word, Dan, do you want an
acknowledgment?***
There are a wealth of resources available on the internet. Learning to
use websearch engines will help you make good use of this material.
7) WHAT DO I NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR?
Regional Specific Advice:
No matter how well intentioned and no matter how expert the advice
you are given, it's not likely to be good advice if it applies to the
publishing industry in another country, or if it applies to a different
segment of the publishing industry. There are participants in this
group from all over the globe; always verify where, what and whom people
are talking about, before deciding to follow advice that might not apply
to you. If you want to know about science fiction publishers in the UK,
don't read up on mainstream publishers in the US and think the same
rules will apply.
Writer Scams:
There are nasty people out there who prey on innocent young
writers, (and even, occasionally, not-so-innocent older writers.)
Beware of anyone who is "particularly eager to work with new writers".
Beware of any editor who offers to "doctor" your manuscript for a fee.
Beware of any "agent" who goes out looking for clients. Beware any
publisher who asks you for money. In short, in real publishing money
flows *to* the writer, not from the writer. For more complete details
on what to watch out for, try the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of
America's "Writers Beware" pages at http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/
Copyright Issues:
There is still a lot of confusion over how copyrights apply to
electronic mediums. Never assume that because something is freely
available online that you have the right to copy it or distribute it.
However, if you post your own material to the web, or in an open forum,
many publishing houses will consider that a "publication" and you have
therefore just used up your "first publication" rights to that material,
and you may find it very difficult to sell it later on, so be careful
about what you yourself make available to the world. For more
information on Copyrights see Section 9.
7) WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BUSINESS END OF WRITING?
****The information I was supposed to be working from for this section
was scattered all over, and I'm sure I missed stuff****
Manuscript Format:
Most of the publishing world still runs on paper. Do not send
electronic submissions to any publication unless their writer's
guidelines specifically state that they accept electronic submissions.
There is no industry wide standard format for electronic submissions
yet, so the same writer's guidelines that say they accept electronic
submissions, should also indicate which formats are acceptable. Follow
those guidelines precisely.
Hardcopy (paper) submissions are standardized, and to use anything
other than the standard format will make you look unprofessional. Even
though the rules seem arbitrary there are reasons for every one of them.
Use black ink and a non-proportional "typewriter" font. (12pt
Courier recommended.)
Use white bond paper. US "letter" size to North American
markets, and A4 for most other markets. Most publishers can handle the
other standard size of paper, but it is occationally reccomended that if
you are sending A4 mansuscripts to North America you make a larger
margin at the bottom so that your manuscript can be copied onto the
small US paper size.
Set your margins to 1 inch (2.5 cm) on the top bottom and sides.
The main body of text should be left justified and double
spaced.
Indent paragraphs by five spaces. Do not leave a blank line
between paragraphs (other than the one that gets there naturally as a
result of double-spacing).
Indicate scene breaks with a blank line, then a centered '*' or
'#' and then another blank line.
Any text that you intend to be in italics, should be underlined
in the manuscript. To indicate other formatting...
****couldn't find the bit where people were explaining this bit, how did
it work again, double underline and make a note in the margin?****
On the first page of the manuscript, your name, address, and
optionally a phone number or email address should be in the upper left
corner, and the word count in the upper right. The story's title is
centered in the middle of the page, with the byline (by Wouldbe Writer)
centered on the line below. The main text starts two lines below that.
On every other page of the manuscript your last name, the story
title (or an abbreviation of it, if it is long), and the page number
should be in the upper right corner.
Do not staple or permanently bind the manuscript pages together in
any way. You may include a removable clip, if you desire.
Do not include on the manuscript itself a copyright notice or a
statement of the rights being offered when submitting to US sf
publishers.
If you do not want the manuscript returned to you, write
"DISPOSABLE" on the title page.
****where should I send people to find out more?****
Word Count Calculation:
The publishing industry is mostly interested in the amount of space
the story takes up, rather than the actual number of words. If you are
going to plug in the word count from your word processor, round it off
to the nearest hundred for short stories, and the nearest thousand for
novels.
If you use standard manuscript format you can often estimate
wordage based on your page count.
****For more information see? Personally, I always wondered why the
editors didn't just check the page number of the last page, if that was
what they were really after. ****
Submissions Process:
1) Finish the story. Only previously published writers can sell
an incomplete story. However, multi-volume stories can often be sold on
the strength of the first volume, so you don't have to finish the entire
series to sell it.
2) Do market research to determine which houses/imprints publish
the same kind of story you have just written. (Even if your writing is
off the wall and unique, you still need to discover which houses publish
off the wall and unique.) The best way to do this is usually to browse
the bookstores. When you find books that are similar to yours make a
note of the publisher, and then check the author's acknowledgments page
-- sometimes they thank their editors or agents, in which case you
should make a note of those names. You can also find out which editors
buy which kinds of books from a study of industry magazines such as
_Locus_ and _Science Fiction Chronicle_. Make a list for future
reference of everyone you identified as a potential market.
3) Obtain the writer's guidelines for the markets you have
identified. Often they can be found on the the publisher's website, or
you can write to the publishing house for them. The editorial
addresses of publishing houses can be found in _The Literary
Marketplace_ (often found in the reference section of libraries), and in
_Writer's Market_. The writers' guidelines will tell you whether your
next step is to send a query letter (step 4), a portion and outline
(step 5), or the complete manuscript (step 6). If the guidelines say
"no unsolicited submissions", you can still send a query letter. If it
says "no un-agented submissions, make a note, and (assuming you don't
have an agent) cross them off your list. (More information on agents
can be found below.)
4) Write and send a query letter.
A query letter is one page long.
Start out, if at all possible, by addressing the letter to a
specific editor that you know is interested in the kind of story you
have written.
Tell the editor the title and wordage of your story, and possibly
the genre/subgenre.
Then in three paragraphs or less describe the story in such a way
that it will sound interesting to the editor without: praising it,
sounding like a back-cover blurb, or keeping the surprise ending secret.
(Sound impossible? My commiserations. Writing queries is hard, for
more advice on how to do a good job of it, try ***need recommended books
and urls***).
Next mention any relevant experience you have, writing or
otherwise. If you have published professionally, mention either the
latest 2-3 sales, or the 2-3 most relevant sales. If you have a degree
in a subject, or work professionally in an industry that is directly
relevant to the book, mention that. If you are a graduate of Clarion
you can mention that, but do not mention any other writing courses or
workshops you have taken. Do not list your hobbies, family members or
pets.
Included a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for their reply.
You may send this letter out simultaneously to as many editors as
you desire, and they will generally get back to you in two weeks to
three months. If an editor responds saying you may send them a portion
and outline or manuscript, continue on to step 5 or 6.
If an editor says "no thanks" cross them off your list for this
particular story, but you can still try again with your next one.
If two editors respond at the same time pick one to send your story
to first. You may not send a manuscript (or even part of a manuscript)
to more than one editor at a time, unless the writers' guidelines for
both editors said that they accept "simultaneous submissions". Most sf
publishers do not.
5) Prepare and submit a portion and outline, also called the three
chapters and a synopsis, and other similar variations.
The editor (unless he specifically stated otherwise) wants the
first part of the book. Three chapters is an estimate, if you write
exceptionally long or exceptionally short chapters, you will need to
adjust. Try send about the first 10 000 words. ****Does 10 000 sound
right?****
There is no set format for a synopsis or an outline. The basic
idea is that the editor has read the first bit of the the book, and has
an idea of your style, and your ability to grab the reader, and now they
want to know if the rest of the book is likely to live up to that
promise. Structure it in a manner that suits your story, explain the
basic plot twists, and character growth, and anything else relevant.
The synopsis/outline should cover the entire book, including the
portion you are submitting.
Use a full sized envelope so that you do not need to fold anything.
(Manuscripts with creases are harder to read.) Do not use an envelope
with little metal tabs, because they are hard on fingers and get caught
in mail sorting machines.
If at all possible, address the submission to a specific editor
that you know is interested in this kind of book.
Include an SASE, and a brief cover letter which includes the title
and wordage of the book, and any relevant experience (see query letters
above). If the portion and outline are being sent because of a positive
response to a query letter, say so in the cover letter, (if the positive
response was not a recent one, say when it was,) and put the magic words
"solicited material" on the envelope.
Do not send the portion and outline to two editors at once unless
they have both indicated that they don't mind. (see above)
Editors will take from two weeks to a year to respond. If you
haven't heard from an editor in four months it is generally allowable to
send a self addressed stamped postcard saying "I sent you my manuscript
4 months ago and haven't heard from you since. Did you A)never get it?,
B)sent it back already, or C)are still looking at it. Some editors
don't mind you phoning them, check their writer's guidelines to see.
If there is no reply to the postcard and the second postcard sent a
month or two later, you may wish to withdraw your submission. This is
done by sending a polite letter to the editor in question saying that
you are withdrawing your submission, and the title of the book and the
date you sent it to them. Don't get snide or angry, you may someday
want to send this editor a different manuscript.
Once the submission has been withdrawn (or is rejected) you may
send the portion and outline to a different publisher.
6) Send the complete manuscript.
This is just like sending a portion and outline, except that it
tends to be bulkier.
You can send it in a manuscript box, or in an oversized envelope
with cardboard stiffeners to prevent crumpled corners and unwanted
folding. (Elastic bands to hold everything together are optional, if
the envelope is a good enough fit they shouldn't be needed.) If you
want the manuscript returned, you need to include another oversized self
addressed stamped envelope (this is handy, even if you are using a
manuscript box.) If the manuscript is disposable, include an ordinary
sized SASE for the editor's response.
Do not over-wrap the manuscript, editors really hate having to
search for a pair of scissors to cut through layers of packing tape and
so forth.
7) What if they say yes?
The editor will probably ask for the name of your agent.
Getting an agent to negotiate your contracts for you is considered a
good idea. (More on agents below.)
The editor will probably also ask for revisions. Unless everything
on that list is something you agree wholeheartedly about, you should
discuss these with your editor.
You make the changes that you and your editor have agreed upon.
And then send in a copy (or two or three) of the revised manuscript.
When sending in the final copy it can be useful to include a style
sheet -- this indicates the variations that you were attempting to stick
to, 'grey' rather than 'gray', or whatever. List these in alphabetical
order for ease of use.
You may have a chance to review the copy-edited draft. This is
where you get to use "STET" or 'let it stand', and you may use it so
much that you will want a stamp.
***isn't there one last step -- the galleys?***
It can take up to two years from having the editor say yes,
before you actually get to see your book in print.
Agents:
The job of the agent is to negotiate your contracts. Agents will
also market books for you (but not your short stories, you have to
market those yourself) but that is not their primary purpose. Therefore
you do not need to have an agent to sell a book. In fact it is
demonstratively easier to get an agent after you have already sold at
least one book.
There are, however, some markets that are closed to un-agented
authors.
If you want to get an agent before you have sold any books, the
technique is very similar to the one described in the section on the
submission process, simply replace the word "editor" with agent.
**** Double check me on this, people, I haven't gone agent shopping yet.
ARE there any differences? What about sim-subs, are agents okay with
those? ****
If you have just sold a book, you will probably want an agent in a
hurry, so you can try the sped up version, where you call all the agents
on your list, explain to them that you have just sold a book, what the
book was about and who you sold it to. This will hopefully get several
interested responses.
****Do they ask you to mail them a manuscript, or do they just take you
as is. What about agent contracts?***
WARNING! Beware of any agent who asks you for money. Agents are
supposed to take a proportion (usually 10-15%) of the money you get from
the publisher, and by getting you better contracts, they actually end up
paying for themselves. Any agent who asks you for money may be a scam
artist. (see Section 7).
Dan Goodman
news:2003050820...@216.158.68.47.dragonbbs.com:
> So why didn't you repost my new FAQ?
> It's *mostly* there by now, and its got all the newsgroup specific
> stuff.
>
Because it wasn't findable at http://www.faqs.org, and the old one was.
Dan Goodman
> Reference librarians:
> Many large libraries will have a reference librarian on staff that
> can help answer your research questions. If you are not local to such a
> library you can still make use of these resources by contacting such a
> librarian via mail, or you can try the stumpers mailing list which is
> primarily for library employees faced with questions they can't answer
> from their own resources.
> To make use of the Stumpers list, simply send your question via
> email to: Stump...@listserv.dom.edu If you are not a subscriber, your
> message will still be answered, only with a slight delay for
> authorization. Make the subject line of your email descriptive and
> precede it with a question mark. Something like "How many lefthanded
> policemen are there in Chile?" is what's wanted, rather than something
> vague like "Question about South America". Include in the body a
> description of where you've tried to find the information, and what you
> already know about the topic. This saves responders from wasted
> efforts.
>
> ***some of this stuff is yours word for word, Dan, do you want an
> acknowledgment?***
>
Yes, if it's not too much trouble.
Boyd & Michelle Bottorff
> > So why didn't you repost my new FAQ?
> > It's *mostly* there by now, and its got all the newsgroup specific
> > stuff.
> >
> Because it wasn't findable at http://www.faqs.org, and the old one was.
Ah. That makes sense. You would have had to google for mine, I
presume.
I did try posting it to the faq newsgroup and so forth as you suggested
but that didn't get it automatically archived. <sigh>
Figuring out what to try next (emailing someone, I presume) is on my to
do list. (But at the moment it's a very long list.)
If anyone else wants to find out for me, and email me instructions I
really wouldn't object. :)
Michelle Bottorff
Anna Feruglio Dal Dan
> Dan Goodman <dsg...@visi.com> wrote:
>
> > Note that Loki is no longer maintaining this, and appears not to be
> > reachable these days.
> >
> >
> > [rec.arts.sf.composition] Frequently Asked Questions
>
> So why didn't you repost my new FAQ?
> It's *mostly* there by now, and its got all the newsgroup specific
> stuff.
Actually, I was thinking about yours but thought somebody else would
post it. I'm even worse than you at this kind of things.
--
Anna Feruglio Dal Dan - ada...@despammed.com - this is a valid address
homepage: http://www.fantascienza.net/sfpeople/elethiomel
English blog: http://annafdd.blogspot.com/
Blog in italiano: http://fulminiesaette.blogspot.com