WRITERSoftheFUTURE.com

Thanks, Jon. Orbivillein, that one went a bit over my head--a lot of information there that I'll study out to understand. Thank you for the thorough response.

Back in the mid-'50s, about six hundred standalone book publishers practiced the trade. The ones still viable after the '60s through '90s technology and culture tumults were mostly agglomerated by the Big Five. Today, several thousand reputable and active next-tier, standalone publishers compete, l...

Two years from acceptance to publication debut is an industry standard. Average experienced writer time expended per novel spans six months to two years full-time work, and, otherwise common, ten or more years between novels. First-time novelists' expended times range from an uncommon low four mont...

I wouldn't be surprised if Kary is just weeding out the submissions that aren't actually stories. Dave complains that every quarter he receives a ridiculous amount of poems, vignettes, diatribes, recipes, even a love letter once. Kary can check for a beginning, middle, and "the end" and se...

Perhaps that is what vjalrik was talking about? Basically, if it has enough new content and exclusivity has elapsed, an editor isn't going to care its a derivative.

Orbivillein, if I understand correctly, what you're saying is the common practice (no longer the legal practice?) for a novel derivative of a shorter work is to include an acknowledgement thanking the first publisher, but because the rights for the shorter work have reverted back to the author (assu...

Thanks, orbivillein. Apparently, I didn't know my terminology. I was referring to copyright infringement. I'm aware of the exclusivity clauses. I'm curious though, if I expand a short story into a novel but retain some of the scenes exactly, would a potential publisher be concerned about that materi...

The Workshop in a Nutshell Disclaimer: I'm not writing this to make y'all jealous or add salt to the wound. I want to fuel your ambition. The Workshop was INCREDIBLE. The cameras and interviews sucked, but having comrades-in-arms made it bearable. I spent nearly every night in the lobby talking wit...

Hot and Cold I second that suggestion. I got two rejections while I was at the WOTF workshop. Nothing like an ego-check amidst all the high-fives and glam. But the workshop definitely made it clear to me how personal the selection process is for editors. It's not about the sub-genre or mature conte...

Thank you for the additional suggestions. I doubt Tim would mind expanding his book list. I wish I'd been well-read enough to swap opinions with him. I think his main intention was to give me a broad range of stories to show what's been done before. We talked about the importance of knowing what's e...

Hey, forumites! I have a special gift for you from Tim Powers. During the workshop last week, I became painfully aware of my lack of familiarity with the sci-fi and fantasy heritage. Tim Powers throws out references like candy at a parade. He is so well read. I had to very honestly confess that I've...

amyhg wrote:Hey, got another story going through Critters this week (March 14-March 21). Look for "Little Eyes" by Amy Henrie Gillett. I'd appreciate the input!

It got pushed back a week so look for it on Mar 21st.

Hey, got another story going through Critters this week (March 14-March 21). Look for "Little Eyes" by Amy Henrie Gillett. I'd appreciate the input!

Thousands of examples. Ender's Game started as a short. Flowers for Algernon started as a short. Martin is just turning his Clarkesworld short Today I Am Paul into a novel. I can't think of a flash turned into a short--which arguably compete more than shorts v novels--but chances are it would take ...

My winning story was actually a third rewrite. It was a good learning experience for me though. I'd never seriously written before coming across WOTF so when I started submitting, I just dusted off a old short story from a college creative writing class. I at least knew from my college class that it...

You've already got a slew of suggestions for books so I thought I'd throw in some audio options if you don't already know of them. Brandon Sanderson has posted his Creative Writing college course lectures on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL ). This i...

I'm just beginning to practice flash fiction, but something occurred to me... If I write a flash piece and sell it, then write a fleshed out version of that flash piece, can I also sell it or would that be unprofessional since they originate from the same ideas, characters, and/or setting?

Don't take me as any kind of example unless you too wish to spend a month coding a website from scratch for fun and entertainment! Uh...no thanks. 12 weeks Java in high school was enough to teach me that I never want to write my own code again. Stupid brackets! On another note related to this threa...

Glad you brought this up. I've been researching the issue as well and just took the plunge this week to launch an official authorial website. I figured it'd be unwise to not provide a link with my bio on the ebook version of the anthology. But Dave and Galaxy Press needed the info ASAP so I had to j...

After a year-and-a-half, this forum is still one of my favorite entertainments. If I composed a story using the personalities expressed in these threads, would I get in trouble for using direct quotes? I'm sorely lacking in wit and there's an abundance of it in these threads. Of course, I'd bury the...

Thanks for replying, y'all. Your responses have helped me "buck up" for another week. Golly gee, I love this forum. ;)

I always enjoy keeping up with this thread because it's so encouraging. You'd think that seeing other people's successes and not having one to report myself would be a bummer, but somehow it's not. It's like seeing all the successes reassures me that editors are actually accepting stories and not ju...

In a way, my winning story dealt with this theme. I think this theme requires additional conflict--in terms of why they don't feel they belong or what's stopping them from belonging--to add more complexity. For example, my story was about my character wanting to have a sense of home, but he feels he...

I tend to imagine that is what I am doing, adding important details, it's why my stories end up in the 9K-10K range. People on this forum tell me I need to cut a lot of it, too much world building haha. I am doing my best to take that advice to heart. I want to get down below the 7K range like you....

Just curious. What happens when WOTF just gets too big for Dave to handle the load? Will they get a second "gate keeper"? Does he actually have slush readers or does he really glance at every single story? I can imagine that working in the past, but with the competition gaining popularity ...

Correction: I just read the prompt again and it does not specify a place or time period. It just says "world" and "society" so I'm guessing it doesn't have to be a real-world setting.

Hey, folks! Just thought some of you American writers might be interested in this competition (only US citizens can submit). It's hosted by the Economy Security Project and sponsored by the Hopewell Fund and Gizmodo. Anyway, $12,000 to the first prize winner and $1000 to the "short list" w...

I've been poking around Flame Tree Publishing and noticed that they accept novel submissions. I've been trying to find out what novels they've published so I have an idea of what they're looking for, but I haven't been able to find any novels published by them. I know they're new to the speculative ...

So excited to see three finalists from the forum! Congratulations, all! Wouldn't it be awesome if y'all sweep the slots? So, I got an HM for 3rd quarter? ... ha. It's possible that I submitted under a slightly different name so my story wasn't pulled. Kind of cool to still get feedback. Goes to show...

My story, The Broken Karwaneer , is now free to read on Beneath Ceaseless Skies! Check it out: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-broken-karwaneer/ Just read it. Thoroughly enjoyed it too! Beautifully written. Did you use a similar style with your winning story? I look forward to re...