The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction

Cory Doctorow gave me this book about five years ago, and I've been putting off reading it while I, in the meantime, formulated my craft at writing speculative fiction. WHY DID I DO THAT!?

Seriously.

Well, the main reason I've been putting it off is because it has the word "Idiot" in the title. I'm not one of those who tends to favor books that call their readers idiots or dummies. I, generally, prefer books that have words like "Learning," "Using," "Cookbook," and "Nutshell" in the titles, but O'Reilly doesn't publish many books on writing science fiction. Go figure.

But, my respect for Doctorow, at least as a writer, trumped my lack of wanting to actually read an Idiot's book, so I read it, and I'm glad I did.

If you're an aspiring show more writer, or perhaps, a fledgling writer, this is one shop-talking book that won't, for a moment, make you feel like an idiot, complete or otherwise. Doctorow and Schroeder do an excellent job of taking you through the writing, publishing, and contracting process, covering as many bases as possible in the wild world of science fiction publishing. It opened my eyes to new things, and refreshed my memory on a bunch of the stuff I already knew.

This is a must read for anybody wanting to get into spec fic as a career, or even a hobby. And if you're embarrassed by the word "Idiot" on the cover, just get a little strip of black tape. Now, you're reading "The Complete Guide to Publishing Science Fiction," a more fitting title. show less

Beklediğimden daha iyi ve fazlasıyla yardımcı olabilecek bir eser. Bu konularda bir şeyler yapmak isteyen herkesin elinin altında bulundurmasında fayda var. Sanırım eksi diyebileceğim tek nokta bazı resmi konularda sadece ABD ve Kanada üzerinden bilgilendirmiş olmaları ancak buna rağmen bir fikir sahibi olmanızı ve buradaki yasaları, kontratları incelerken yabancı kalmamanızı sağlıyor.

With the caveat that a lot has changed in the world of publishing since 2000, this is still a solid guide for going to from science-fiction fan to science-fiction author. You probably know Cory Doctorow, and you probably should know Karl Schroeder, who were at the time ambitious young strivers in the small but growing Canadian science-fiction scene. This book condenses a lot of received wisdom on the publishing industry: how to submit stories without annoying editors, how to manage contracts and self-promotion, with some basic guidelines on writing every day and avoiding cliches.

Sadly, the list of agents and publishers is basically noise right now, and while the authors are forward looking and mostly right on ebooks (no surprise given show more their interests in digital rights and futurism), there's no way they could have foreseen Kindle Unlimited, or give advice for striving authors there. There's probably a newer resource, but not knowing what it is, I can say that this book is a decent start. show less

Who should read this book? ANYONE who is writing SF, fantasy, or horror, or any blend thereof. Whether you're just starting out or getting ready to shop your novel or short story, there's something for everyone (both short story writers AND novelists).

But, please keep in mind that this book IS out of print. You can find used copies on Amazon.com or ABE Books.com, or you can download a digital copy off Amazon.com. The book is worth it though, even though some information is out of date. The writers are aware of this, and encourage you to do your homework before you leap. They even give you the resources to do it!

So go, read, be merry, and learn a lot in the process! :)

For a full review, just click here: show more target="_top">http://calico-reaction.livejournal.com/3933.html show less