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How to get your genre work published... or so they tell me.
Perhaps the most relevant panel I attended at Boskone was titled "Out of the Slush Pile (Endlessly Orbiting?)." The panelists, most of whom had decades of experience in publishing, spent a good hour talking about what made a strong submission and how to get your work noticed.
Though none of what they said as far as story construction was in any way new - in fact, my undergrad professors stressed the very points they hammered - it was a refreshing reminder that not everything you're told in college is a lie. In addition, there was a lot of discussion as to places to submit, how to make your manuscript look good, and all the other things that make you stand out in a heap of things the editor really doesn't care to read.
Our esteemed panelists were:
Ginjer Buchanan - also the moderator - who has been an editor (primarily at Ace, where she is now Senior Executive Editor and Marketing Director) for 42 years.
Jeffrey A. Carver - wrote the novelization of the Battlestar Galactica 2003 miniseries, also runs the website writesf.com which can loosely be described as a fundamentals course on writing and getting published.
Paul Tremblay - who is an assistant/fiction editor at Fantasy magazine, and a former editor of ChiZine - a webzine whose guest editors have included Ellen Datlow and Neil Gaiman. (And while his website is a useful link-mine, it is a bit difficult due to the level of annoyance his frames may cause one following links to the outside.)
George H. Scithers - editor at Wildside Press who has been at it for over 40 years (and brought convenient visual aids in the form of a slush pile).
Elaine Isaak - whose first novel, The Singer's Crown, was a slush pile manuscript.
(It is at this juncture I realize how much easier this would have been to type up in Semagic, as the links are defeating me.)
George, during his intro schpiel, showed us his "relatively decent" slush pile - all the manuscripts were double-spaced, the author's name and contact information was on every page. His examples gave the panelists cause to discuss the introduction in general, particularly:
- Ginjer stated firmly that you should let the reader know the gender of the POV character early on.
- Elaine informed those previously unaware that a slush reader wants to reject your story as quickly as possible - the first thing that he doesn't like will probably lead to him putting down your manuscript and carrying on about his business. It follows then, Paul added, that one should not give any reason to do so.
- Elaine also mentioned that the editor reflects the ultimate reader of your piece - if he is willing to drop your story, the same will be true of other audiences.
- Jeffrey often tells people in his writing workshop that within the first chapter someone must get hit with a tire iron - physical or metaphorical (most often metaphorical) - in order for the story to continue to hold the reader's attention. George reinforced the point by noting that it used to be said that one should shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph. The moral of the story, Ginjer told us, is that we must have a strong opening - short story or novel, that makes no difference.
She went on to explain that a strong opening may be the vivid setting, the strong voice of the POV - anything that could grab the reader and not let him put the story down. Jeffrey extended that line of thought by noting that what we're really looking for is an emotional connection.
Elaine then took over the "strong opening" train by stating that you should never start a short story in a bar or waking up in the morning - start it when the action starts. End it when the action ends. Paul previously mentioned that everything must be in your story for a reason - it need not always be explained, but it must add to the narrative.
- From here, the panelist took more of look at publication. In answer to a question, Ginjer said that when writing a multi-genre work you have to choose your target, which is best accomplished by studying the market. Much like "strong opening," "study the market" was reinforced throughout the rest of the hour.
Ginjer also mentioned that an agent isn't necessary for selling a short story; for a novel, it depends. (We'll get back to that later.)
- Paul noted that ChiZine's criteria is "cross-genre, dark, good" and that applies to Fantasy as well. The panelist pointed out that there is virtually no market for YA fantasy short stories unless you're looking at anthologies or magazines that target families. Jeffrey said that when looking at cross-genre, you must be aware that you're handicapping yourself as for publication.
- An audience member asked how important is the synopsis (re: novel):
Ginjer said that all an editor looks for in a summary is to know that you know what the ending will be. As before, remember to note the POV of the book. Elaine added that they look for the plot to make sense, and that the way she wrote her synopsis was to pretend she was telling a friend about a movie she just saw.
Jeffrey says that he writes terrible synopses - the actual story/book is more important.
Typically when submitting you send in the first three chapters. If there's a prologue, Ginger said, make sure it has a reason and that it's strong.
- We then moved onto the actual submission itself:
Ginjer advised that you address your submission to a specific editor, moreso to one who is just building his/her list of authors. Elaine said that to find names one must attend conferences, talk to editors, be polite and most importantly ask.
If you're writing a series, make mention of that in your letter. Elaine's beautiful phrasing was "This is a stand alone novel with series potential."
As far as agents go, George said, the best thing to do is to find a publisher, then tell them you'll consider an offer and find an agent to negotiate. Few an agent won't take you for that one case - it's practically free money for them - and then you can decide whether to stick it out. - See comments below.
I feel like I ought to include the note that "Playboy is top market" as far as taking submissions in here at some point, though it makes no specific thematic sense. Still, Playboy.
Upon prompting for more writing advice, Ginjer stated that everything you know about the world you're writing does not have to be on the page. Do not overwrite.
In fact, Paul tells us, short-short stories are very good. Magazines easily fill up the longer-size stories, but if you can manage a cohesive story in under 5000 words, you're fairly set.
- An audience member asked about endings, prompting this advice:
From George - the ending must not disapointing the editor and reader (thus building on the reflective relationship discussed earlier).
From Elaine - it must be both surprising and inevitable.
From Ginjer - it should be thematically resonant. Also, no appalling endings.
- Some final plugs:
Paul: fantasy-magazine.com
George: weirdtales@comcast.net, also the book On Writing Science Fiction.
Any questions?
Though none of what they said as far as story construction was in any way new - in fact, my undergrad professors stressed the very points they hammered - it was a refreshing reminder that not everything you're told in college is a lie. In addition, there was a lot of discussion as to places to submit, how to make your manuscript look good, and all the other things that make you stand out in a heap of things the editor really doesn't care to read.
Our esteemed panelists were:
Ginjer Buchanan - also the moderator - who has been an editor (primarily at Ace, where she is now Senior Executive Editor and Marketing Director) for 42 years.
Jeffrey A. Carver - wrote the novelization of the Battlestar Galactica 2003 miniseries, also runs the website writesf.com which can loosely be described as a fundamentals course on writing and getting published.
Paul Tremblay - who is an assistant/fiction editor at Fantasy magazine, and a former editor of ChiZine - a webzine whose guest editors have included Ellen Datlow and Neil Gaiman. (And while his website is a useful link-mine, it is a bit difficult due to the level of annoyance his frames may cause one following links to the outside.)
George H. Scithers - editor at Wildside Press who has been at it for over 40 years (and brought convenient visual aids in the form of a slush pile).
Elaine Isaak - whose first novel, The Singer's Crown, was a slush pile manuscript.
(It is at this juncture I realize how much easier this would have been to type up in Semagic, as the links are defeating me.)
George, during his intro schpiel, showed us his "relatively decent" slush pile - all the manuscripts were double-spaced, the author's name and contact information was on every page. His examples gave the panelists cause to discuss the introduction in general, particularly:
- Ginjer stated firmly that you should let the reader know the gender of the POV character early on.
- Elaine informed those previously unaware that a slush reader wants to reject your story as quickly as possible - the first thing that he doesn't like will probably lead to him putting down your manuscript and carrying on about his business. It follows then, Paul added, that one should not give any reason to do so.
- Elaine also mentioned that the editor reflects the ultimate reader of your piece - if he is willing to drop your story, the same will be true of other audiences.
- Jeffrey often tells people in his writing workshop that within the first chapter someone must get hit with a tire iron - physical or metaphorical (most often metaphorical) - in order for the story to continue to hold the reader's attention. George reinforced the point by noting that it used to be said that one should shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph. The moral of the story, Ginjer told us, is that we must have a strong opening - short story or novel, that makes no difference.
She went on to explain that a strong opening may be the vivid setting, the strong voice of the POV - anything that could grab the reader and not let him put the story down. Jeffrey extended that line of thought by noting that what we're really looking for is an emotional connection.
Elaine then took over the "strong opening" train by stating that you should never start a short story in a bar or waking up in the morning - start it when the action starts. End it when the action ends. Paul previously mentioned that everything must be in your story for a reason - it need not always be explained, but it must add to the narrative.
- From here, the panelist took more of look at publication. In answer to a question, Ginjer said that when writing a multi-genre work you have to choose your target, which is best accomplished by studying the market. Much like "strong opening," "study the market" was reinforced throughout the rest of the hour.
Ginjer also mentioned that an agent isn't necessary for selling a short story; for a novel, it depends. (We'll get back to that later.)
- Paul noted that ChiZine's criteria is "cross-genre, dark, good" and that applies to Fantasy as well. The panelist pointed out that there is virtually no market for YA fantasy short stories unless you're looking at anthologies or magazines that target families. Jeffrey said that when looking at cross-genre, you must be aware that you're handicapping yourself as for publication.
- An audience member asked how important is the synopsis (re: novel):
Ginjer said that all an editor looks for in a summary is to know that you know what the ending will be. As before, remember to note the POV of the book. Elaine added that they look for the plot to make sense, and that the way she wrote her synopsis was to pretend she was telling a friend about a movie she just saw.
Jeffrey says that he writes terrible synopses - the actual story/book is more important.
Typically when submitting you send in the first three chapters. If there's a prologue, Ginger said, make sure it has a reason and that it's strong.
- We then moved onto the actual submission itself:
Ginjer advised that you address your submission to a specific editor, moreso to one who is just building his/her list of authors. Elaine said that to find names one must attend conferences, talk to editors, be polite and most importantly ask.
If you're writing a series, make mention of that in your letter. Elaine's beautiful phrasing was "This is a stand alone novel with series potential."
I feel like I ought to include the note that "Playboy is top market" as far as taking submissions in here at some point, though it makes no specific thematic sense. Still, Playboy.
Upon prompting for more writing advice, Ginjer stated that everything you know about the world you're writing does not have to be on the page. Do not overwrite.
In fact, Paul tells us, short-short stories are very good. Magazines easily fill up the longer-size stories, but if you can manage a cohesive story in under 5000 words, you're fairly set.
- An audience member asked about endings, prompting this advice:
From George - the ending must not disapointing the editor and reader (thus building on the reflective relationship discussed earlier).
From Elaine - it must be both surprising and inevitable.
From Ginjer - it should be thematically resonant. Also, no appalling endings.
- Some final plugs:
Paul: fantasy-magazine.com
George: weirdtales@comcast.net, also the book On Writing Science Fiction.
Any questions?