tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post111788968561693419..comments2023-10-11T09:22:33.136-04:00Comments on Paperback Writer: MemoriesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1118155489551817732005-06-07T10:44:00.000-04:002005-06-07T10:44:00.000-04:00"The point is, if you're going to stand up for wha..."The point is, if you're going to stand up for what you believe is right, and act on it, be prepared for the long-term cost to you."<BR/><BR/>True in publishing, true in life. It takes courage to step away from the flock to do what's right and necessary.LauraPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05336528418488620670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1118072923051789732005-06-06T11:48:00.000-04:002005-06-06T11:48:00.000-04:00Whether you like it or not, I agree w/everyone who...Whether you like it or not, I agree w/everyone who has said you are a role model. <BR/><BR/>Cece<BR/>~who prefers being a wolf to a sheep =)Amie Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14145328243563702260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1118053172470587112005-06-06T06:19:00.000-04:002005-06-06T06:19:00.000-04:00Can I ask if these "concerned" SF Writers were "Ha...Can I ask if these "concerned" SF Writers were "Hard" SF writers? "Hard SF" Male writers?<BR/><BR/>Let me see.. Romance in SF.. umm.. Bujold, McCaffery, LeGuin. Cherryh. Sometimes understated, but the lovelife of characters (Killishandra, Miles, etc) does become part of the story. Miles Vorkosigan (Lois McMaster Bujold, for those unfortunate not to have read her books) is a great example, especially "A Civil Campaign" - The bit when Ekaterin reads his letter of apology brings tears to my eyes, both of laughter and sheer joy. Miles' romantical difficulties occur across a political background, on a planet coming to terms still with being a few generations from being "recontacted", where new technology is being felt (full sexual body transforms) and historical issues (one character turns out to be descended from hated "alien" invaders, affecting his standing as a Count).<BR/><BR/>Romance not a part of SF. Bah.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1118012252140363022005-06-05T18:57:00.000-04:002005-06-05T18:57:00.000-04:00Fuck ‘em. Fuck ‘em in the ear with a stick.If ever...Fuck ‘em. Fuck ‘em in the ear with a stick.<BR/><BR/>If everyone writing SF obeyed the rules then it’d be nothing but wall to wall navel-gazing garbage. 200,000 words conveying 300 words’ worth of meaning. When I did SF it was basically thrillers set in the near future. And yes, there was even romance, because that’s what real people are like. Setting something in the future doesn’t mean having to use words like ‘susurrus’ and ‘coruscating’, or taking a thousand words to describe a bloody landscape.<BR/><BR/>SF isn't a genre: it’s a setting.Stuart MacBridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392706513278533408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1118009565152642722005-06-05T18:12:00.000-04:002005-06-05T18:12:00.000-04:00You are very much a role model and I have been loo...You are very much a role model and I have been looking up to you since I read StarDoc so long ago. Although you don't write in the conventional sci fi style, your books have the power to grab me and make me hold on for the whole ride. It's good to go against the flow and write the way your heart tells you to, because if we all wrote the same, the genre would be a very boring place.<BR/><BR/>You're awesome, just remember that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117989172546246622005-06-05T12:32:00.000-04:002005-06-05T12:32:00.000-04:00Someone else's blog discussed bellwethers -- the l...Someone else's blog discussed bellwethers -- the lead sheep in the flock that all the others follow. I'm not suggesting that any of us are sheep or easily led, but I think it's a fine thing to be the trailblazer. Barring that, go for lead dog. The lead dog sets the path and it's up to the others to catch up.Mary Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186261066656584772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117947209258582412005-06-05T00:53:00.000-04:002005-06-05T00:53:00.000-04:00I ended up self-publishing a series of humourous S...I ended up self-publishing a series of humourous SF novels after a couple of major publishers told me the market for the genre was too small. One told me I wrote well and hinted that a fantasy trilogy would be the way to go. The other advised me to get an agent and suggested another couple of publishers ... one of them the first one I tried :-)<BR/>I plugged my ears and kept writing, and a year ago I got a call from a publisher. Their sales rep spotted my books in a local store and carted one back to the evil fortress, where it was examined with much interest.<BR/>Now I have a three book contract, the first one is coming out in September and I'm currently revising book two for them - when I'm not hanging around blogs, that is.<BR/>I stuck to my guns, kept writing what I loved and had them come after me for it.<BR/>In hindsight I should have continued to tweak and submit book one to more publishers, but then I would never have finished off books two and three. It was the self-imposed deadline (release each book at the local con) which kept me on target.Simon Hayneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02660767551431793439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117911020826291702005-06-04T14:50:00.000-04:002005-06-04T14:50:00.000-04:00Ahah! Mystery solved. I first picked up StarDoc ...Ahah! Mystery solved. I first picked up StarDoc cause I'd met you and thought it would be interesting to see how you write. Honestly, you write in a subgenre of SF that isn't where I normally go for my SF fix, but at the same time, I was enjoying myself and ended up racing through the whole series...and eagerly awaiting the next one :). So there's the answer. The romance elements brought in a new aspect to the mad race, along with your depth of characters, that opened a whole new part of SF to my picky eye. As far as I'm concerned, I hope more people set out to break the rules. If I had to read the same book each time no matter who wrote it, gosh darn it, I'd give up reading...umm, did I say picky? Guess you have to add in stubborn ;).<BR/><BR/>And I agree with F. O'Brien Andrew. You are a role model, though I've given up on trying to get to your level of productivity :).Margaret M. Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117910507706706182005-06-04T14:41:00.000-04:002005-06-04T14:41:00.000-04:00I must disagree with you. After all, you ARE a ro...I must disagree with you. After all, you ARE a role model. <BR/><BR/>I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I'm not the only writer that looks up to you and eagerly sucks up all the information you put out here about the industry. When I'm published, I want to be just as open and just as honest. <BR/><BR/>I know some people won't like it. That's not my problem.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>F. O'Brien AndrewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117904121219254252005-06-04T12:55:00.000-04:002005-06-04T12:55:00.000-04:00Oh, for what it's worth, we discovered your books ...Oh, for what it's worth, we discovered your books in the hippest, most cutting edge etc etc SF bookstore in Scotland: http://www.transreal.co.uk/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117900836572518792005-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:002005-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:00"I am not a role model. Please make note of this."..."I am not a role model. Please make note of this."<BR/><BR/>Oops. Too late. I suppose I should rethink the two universes (one SF, on Fantasy) I've built that have very strong romance subplots and sexuality themes. Damn, back to the drawing board I go.Kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280319438923392587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117899641795766222005-06-04T11:40:00.000-04:002005-06-04T11:40:00.000-04:00Honestly, that's what I loved about your books whe...Honestly, that's what I loved about your books when I first read them. I like SF settings, I really do. I just can't <I>stand</I> the style in which so many people write them. I think the only other SF authors I've read that I've liked are Marion Zimmer Bradley (and she's more science fantasy than straight SF) and Lisanne Norman ... both of which are more romantic or social SF than hard SF.<BR/><BR/>The people that try to insist you should write your book the way <I>they</I> think is right just ... annoy me. It's one thing to suggest; it's quite another to be pushy about it. (I just had a good friend have similar happen, so I'm rather touchy about it at the moment.) *grumbles*Nonny Blackthornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921408573581637909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117899495813055792005-06-04T11:38:00.000-04:002005-06-04T11:38:00.000-04:00You gotta laugh when writers try to push groupthin...You gotta laugh when writers try to push groupthink on the act of writing fiction. Sorry it happened. Very, very strange, but it always seems to be a sign that you're on the right track.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117895543100899722005-06-04T10:32:00.000-04:002005-06-04T10:32:00.000-04:00See, this is why small bookstores are so important...See, this is why small bookstores are so important. We get our new release lists directly from the publisher, read everything to make our own decisions, and when we find a good book we think people will like, we stick a little index card in front of it saying something along the lines of "hey, people who like Author X, here's a really good book we think you would like."<BR/><BR/>There's some really great, character-based, non-formula SF and Fantasy out there. We take great glee in pointing people to it. :o)Sarah E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09927262361722166935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117894817136430982005-06-04T10:20:00.000-04:002005-06-04T10:20:00.000-04:00I don't play well in groups. Never did.I don't play well in groups. Never did.Tracy Sharp - Author of the Leah Ryan Serieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12239533451929739327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-1117894137030025672005-06-04T10:08:00.000-04:002005-06-04T10:08:00.000-04:00"Duty" and artistic musiness be damned. You made a..."Duty" and artistic musiness be damned. <BR/><BR/>You made a commercial decision based on your capabilities as a writer and pushed on with it, ignoring the old farts and genre pedants. <BR/><BR/>Result:<BR/><BR/>>...my sales are terrific<BR/><BR/>The only audience that matters is the one which can put its money where its mouth is.<BR/><BR/>There's not nearly enough sex and romance in SF. Look at the way stuff which does cover sexuallity gets hyped: Kushiel's Dart, Wizard's First Rule, Anita Blake...<BR/><BR/>Anybody remember War of the Powers?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com