That Sci-Fi Stuff

[Dale]

Having "grown up" as a writer largely writing science fiction, I thought I'd mention something that will, no doubt, seem very picky to many people, but might be of some small importance to anyone wanting to sell SF to a magazine or publisher that deals predominantly in that genre.

Serious SF readers and writers hate that term "sci-fi." They do.

Forrest J. Ackerman is credited with coining it as an abbreviation analogous to hi-fi (high fidelity) which was then in vogue in the sound reproduction world. But it seems it was a bit too cutesy for most aficionados of the genre, who preferred the abbreviation SF instead. In that world, sci-fi came to be regarded as a term best suited to schlock and B-movies, not serious, well-written science fiction.

SF can also stand for "speculative fiction," a broader moniker covering science fiction, fantasy, and various sub-genres that don't fit neatly into either, such as alternative history.

As a term, sci-fi has taken hold among the general public, and most people are totally unaware of this controversy. Probably most would find it idiotic. But if you're writing in that field and want to sell to serious SF publishers, it's probably something of which to be aware.

[Amy]

What part of the world are you in Dale?

[Amy]

Speculative Fiction was a new term to me a few years back. It's not one I've ever heard my brother use. He's almost 7 years older than me and has been reading what he calls sci-fi or science fiction for over forty years. He's not a writer, he works in IT.

I certainly wasn't aware of the preference for SF. Not that I would stand a chance of ever submitting anything to a publisher for a couple of reasons, none of them due to a lack of writing ability. So I doubt this is something I have to worry too much about with my fictional mashups. The list of things to know about hashtags for Twitter quotes #scifi, I might need a new list. It would certainly buy me a few more characters to use #SF. Twitter is not my forte.

[Dale]

Amy wrote: "What part of the world are you in Dale?"

I'm in the Baltimore suburbs. Why do you ask?

[Dale]

Amy wrote: "Speculative Fiction was a new term to me a few years back. It's not one I've ever heard my brother use. He's almost 7 years older than me and has been reading what he calls sci-fi or science fictio..."

Yeah, I'm not sure too many people ever used it. I first ran across it in the 1980's, I think, but it's probably not a category publishers much use.

Why do you think you wouldn't stand a chance submitting to a publisher? (Not that anyone ever does, given how much material publishers receive and how picky they have to be.)

[Amy]

Only wondered because I'm in the UK and I've read a lot of things on these groups over the months that make me wonder whether aspects of this industry are different depending on which part of the world you happen to live in. I'm not an expert on anything. I couldn't begin to list the things I don't know, it's terrifying, but I learn new things every week. So I'm torn between wondering if things are different or if I just didn't know them.

I think with the sheer volume of material a publisher receives I wouldn't stand a chance. The closest I got years ago was from an erotic romance publisher suggesting I write for their free section. Cheers. So I was good enough to submit work to them and bulk out their website for free, but not good enough for them to take me on as one of their paid authors. I understood their reasons, but I'd also read some of their books and found myself equal in ability. The English teacher at secondary school told me that the only reason I wouldn't get into drama college wasn't because of lack of talent because I had that in spades, it would be because my face didn't fit. She was right. My assumption will always be that I may achieve something, but it will be via some backdoor somewhere and never the easy way in. That's a lie the closest I got to being published by someone else was a pet care magazine in the late 90s which accepted my article but three months later sent all the material back because the magazine had folded. lol

[Carole]

Awww, that's too bad about the pet magazine.

I think we are living in a revolutionary and fluid time. Where before, publishers dictated what would be published and you had to stick to the genre of the hour- I think things are evolving and everybody in the industry is standing on shifting sands. I think genre doesn't matter anymore- there are so many mishmashes of genre at this point- people will read your book if it is promoted, has lots of reviews, and they keep hearing about it. That's my two cents.

[Amy]

I could have earnt £2.50 from that article it had pictures and evryfink.

I think you're right Carole, everything moves. It's been the same in two other industries I've worked in. Nothing stands still for long.

I hope genre doesn't matter anymore because I don't seem to be able to stick to one per book.

[Dale]

Amy wrote: "Only wondered because I'm in the UK and I've read a lot of things on these groups over the months that make me wonder whether aspects of this industry are different depending on which part of the w..."

There may be some regional differences. I think we (me, too) spend too much time tying ourselves in knots over details, though. If you have something good enough to publish and you keep pushing it, it's possible to get somewhere, but it takes a lot of stamina. That's my problem. I tend to get flustered if the first three submissions go nowhere. :-P Fortunately I own my own publishing company now, so I can get books out there that way, so long as I can get them past my wife (which isn't as easy as you might think!).

I've been paid for a couple of essays in Sky & Telescope and for a couple of long-ago articles in software development journals (once in print and once online). The only fiction I've managed to get published so far is through my own company. However, I'm getting better at writing it and plan to send my SF/humor novel around to some agents to see what happens.

Genre mashups probably work better for indie writers and publishers than the big publishers, but it's entirely possible that books that don't toe the genre lines might not sell as well, which might be why the big publishers don't usually want to risk them. I dunno. Like most things, though, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. The traditional publishing model has one big benefit: those who haven't yet learned how to write well have less chance of getting published, which forces them to learn to write well if they really, really want to make the grade. The indie model lets anyone put anything out there, no matter how incompetent, which makes it harder for readers to find the good stuff.

Always trade-offs. ;-)

[Carole]

Amy wrote: "I could have earnt £2.50 from that article it had pictures and evryfink.

I think you're right Carole, everything moves. It's been the same in two other industries I've worked in. Nothing stands st..."

I like genre jumping. I know my son does. I think it keeps his work from getting stale. Getting a publisher is hard and the people who get publishers complain that they don't make money- Only the top 1 percent are making serious income. Many published authors I meet- use the fan base built by the publisher and then start to do indie. It is driving the trads wild. So, I think they are getting aggressive- trying to find new talent, and make appealing deals to keep their authors happy.

Every industry goes through reinventions- I agree with you, Amy- So true. In my day job, we are scrambling to figure out how to handle the next five years as the status quo has shifted.