CALLIHOO Newsletter Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 10, No. 29 4 February 2003 Website: http://www.sff.net/people/julia.west/CALLIHOO/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE Deadlines Contest Utah Speculative Fiction Award for 2002 Market Guidelines Oceans of the Mind (gls) Paradox (gls) Market Information Abyss & Apex Artemis Magazine DNA Publications Elysian Fiction Fictionwise Ideomancer On Spec Polyphony Realms of Fantasy ----------------------------------------------------------------- DEADLINES Check out the CALLIHOO website, listed above, for more information on these contests, magazine issues, and anthologies. (Where it says "GLs in Vol. X No. Y," these are volume and issue of the CALLIHOO newsletter.) POLYPHONY 3 ANTHOLOGY Open 1 January 2003 to 15 February 2003 [Anthology, slipstream/magical realism 4,000 to 10,000 wds. Pays 6 cents/wd. on accept. No E-mail, sim or mult subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 20 & 21)] 3F PUBLICATIONS HORROR CONTEST Deadline 1 March 2003 [Contest/antho, Halloween H 3000-5000 wds. Unpub. writers only. $5 entry fee. Pays 3 cents/wd. E-mail only. (GLs Vol. 10 No. 24)] PATH OF THE JUST SUPERHERO FICTION ANTHOLOGY Deadline 1 March 2003 [Anthology, F in Silver Age Sentinels RPG milieu, 3,000 to 7,000 wds. Pays 3-5 cents/wd. on pub. No E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 20)] SAY. . . WHAT TIME IS IT? Open 1 December 2002 to 1 March 2003 [Semi-annual printzine, themed (what time is it?). Fiction to 8,000 wds. Pays $10/story. No sim or mult subs, reprints, or E- mail subs. No erotica. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 24)] WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, 2ND QUARTER 2003 Deadline 31 March 2003 [$1000 first, $750 2nd, $500 3rd place. No entry fee. L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, P.O. Box 1630-JBW, Los Angeles, CA 90078. (GLs in Vol. 9 No. 1)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONTEST UTAH SPECULATIVE FICTION AWARD FOR 2002 The Utah Center for the Book and CONduit, Utah's Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, announce the call for entries for the Utah Speculative Fiction Award for 2002. The Utah Speculative Fiction Award for 2002 will honor a book judged to best represent the literary culture of the state in speculative fiction. The term "speculative fiction" has a long history and here refers to science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and horror. If in doubt, submit the work and the judges will decide if the book fits the category. The competition is open to Utah authors and authors of books with a Utah theme or setting and the deadline for entries is 15 February 2003. To be eligible, the book must be published during the months of September, October, November, or December 2001 or published in 2002 as indicated by the copyright date. An eligible book must be published professionally and assigned an ISBN. Books must be bound (no looseleaf materials, no books-on-tape or CDs.) Entry forms are available from the Utah Center for the Book (www.slcpl.lib.ut.us) or from CONduit (conduit.sfcon.org). The winner will receive a cash award and a framed certificate. Finalists (announced 1 March 2003) will receive a framed certificate. The 2002 award will be the first year an award has been given specifically for speculative fiction. Award winners will be announced at the Utah Book Awards presentation on 12 April 2003 at The Salt Lake City Library. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES OCEANS OF THE MIND [PDF themed magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 5 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks.] Richard Freeborn. Editor PO Box #908 Delray Beach, FL 33447-0908 E-mail: editors@trantorpublications.com Submissions: submissions@trantorpublications.com http://www.oceansofthemind.com/ Thank you for your interest in =Oceans of the Mind=. Below are the guidelines for writers submitting manuscripts. We look forward to receiving your story and working with you. Fiction =Oceans of the Mind= publishes all forms of Science Fiction. The science is up to you. The point is to tell a story whether your characters are making first contact on an unexplored planet or solving a mystery here on Earth. Submissions should match the theme of the issue as detailed below. We welcome manuscripts from unpublished authors and aim to publish a first story in every issue. Some of the 'don'ts': We are not interested in gratuitous or explicit sex and violence. The occasional use of swearing is acceptable if it matches the character but the story should not depend on it. Please don't send us Horror, Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery stories, that's not our market niche. Format Manuscripts should be double spaced and single sided and up to 8,000 words. The first page should be similar to the Example Page and should include your name, address and number of words. The right margin should not be justified. Each page should be numbered and have the title in the footer. Payment and rights purchased We pay from five cents a word. We purchase First North American Serial Rights and the rights of first offer on anthology rights, first foreign serial rights, non-exclusive reprint rights and electronic rights. Submissions We prefer to receive manuscripts by e-mail, sent as an attachment to submissions@trantorpublications.com. The manuscript must be in a format readable by Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat or it will be returned unread. Traditional mail submissions can be made to our editorial address below and should include a 9" x 12" stamped, self addressed envelope with enough postage to return the manuscript to you. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please note this in your covering e-mail or letter. If you are making traditional mail submissions from outside the United States, please include International Reply Coupons for return postage if you want the manuscript returned, or an e-mail address where we can contact you. Deadlines and themes Submission deadlines and themes for the upcoming issues are detailed below. The theme descriptions are suggestions only. We don't have a monopoly on ideas, so if your solar system doesn't match the description below, send it to us anyway. Fall 2003 -- Last submission date August 1, 2003. Science Fiction Mysteries. Robbery, murder, piracy, locked room. Response E-mail submissions should expect a response by e-mail within four to five weeks. If we want to publish your story, we will follow up with a contract by traditional mail. Traditional mail submissions should expect a response within six to eight weeks. If you have not heard from us within twelve weeks, please contact our editorial address below. Editorial Address: Richard Freeborn. Editor, PO Box #908, Delray Beach, FL 33447-0908 or editors@trantorpublications.com Last updated on 28 October 2002 http://www.oceansofthemind.com/guidelines.htm PARADOX, THE MAGAZINE OF HISTORICAL AND SPECULATIVE FICTION [hist/F/SF/H and mix, 2,000 to 9,000 wds. Pays 3-5 cents/wd. to $450. No E-mail or sim subs or reprints. RT 1-12 wks.] Christopher M. Cevasco, Editor Paradox P.O. Box 22897 Brooklyn, NY 11202-2897 http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag/index.html Submission Guidelines =Paradox= publishes historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and horror, with a mixing of the genres preferred, as well as articles, news and reviews. While any well-written story stands a chance of being accepted, the following sorts of stories will be given preference: Historical Fiction: Any time period is fair game, but we are particularly interested in pre-Industrial tales, especially those set in the Middle Ages and the ancient world and told from a broad spectrum of geographic and cultural perspectives. We would also like to see material set during human pre-history as long as it is believable (i.e., no sexy cavegirl stories). Historical accuracy is, of course, a wholly inflexible prerequisite to acceptance of any piece of pure historical fiction, but we want stories that are also artfully crafted, have engaging, fully-developed characters, interesting plots, and satisfying (though not necessarily happy) endings. If your story explores or illuminates some aspect of human nature, all the better. We will also consider historical mysteries that fit these guidelines. Speculative Fiction: We are primarily looking for Alternate History, Time Travel, Arthuriana, stories in which archaeology, history, literature, art, or music plays a prominent role, historical retellings with a fantasy or sci-fi twist, classical mythology settings, retellings of classic fantasy/sci-fi/ mythology from an alternate character's perspective, "religious" fantasy/sci-fi, sci-fi exploring evolution (human or otherwise), and anything else you think might fit this overall theme. We will also consider other sorts of dark fantasy, cyberpunk, "soft" (or sociological) science fiction, and horror (frightening rather than gory), but such stories must be highly literate material, rich in atmosphere, with engaging characters and unique settings, and should steer clear from overworked genre conventions. High fantasy and S&S is also acceptable, but the world in which your story is set must feel as richly developed as those in Tolkien, Jordan, Feist, etc., which is no small feat in a short story. Do not send us any ultra-technical sci-fi, space opera, vampires, gratuitous erotica, or children's stories. A word on Tense: Stories told in the present verb tense already have one strike against them and will very rarely be accepted for publication in =Paradox=. Again, these guidelines are only meant as a guidepost but are not meant to stifle anyone's creativity. If we receive a truly great story, we will give it serious consideration even if it doesn't seem to fit any of these listed preferences. =Paradox= welcomes stories from both established and unpublished writers. Non-fiction Articles: Non-fiction articles for =Paradox= should be approximately 4,000 words in length and should deal with innovative historiography or cutting-edge historical research of wide interest. Black-and-white illustrations should be provided by the author in scan-ready form. It is important to bear in mind that =Paradox= readers possess a keen interest in the subject of history but represent a very wide diversity of backgrounds. Thus, specialized jargon and statistical detail should be kept to a necessary minimum. As our readers are reading this magazine primarily for entertainment purposes, a suitable style for our articles is far more informal than that in many professional journals. We will also consider "what if" essays considering alternate paths history might have taken, analyzing where we would be had history unfolded in a fashion other than that in which it did, and answering those alluring questions of why, how and when our collective destiny became reality. Proposals for non-fiction articles and CV (or letter detailing your personal or professional qualifications for writing on the given subject) may be sent as an e-mail attachment in RTF (Rich Text Format) to paradox@nyc.rr.com (note: fiction submissions will not be accepted at this e-mail address). If you have a completed article you would like to submit for consideration, please do so by mailing a hard copy along with a CV or cover letter. News columns and book or movie reviews are assigned, and we do not accept freelance submissions in those areas. If you would like to be considered for an assignment, you may e-mail a CV (or letter detailing your qualifications) as an attachment in RTF (Rich Text Format) to paradox@nyc.rr.com. Nuts and Bolts =Paradox= pays 3 to 5 cents per word (maximum $450) on publication for stories of any length (within reason), 2000 to 9000 words preferred. We will consider serializing novels. Payment for non-fiction articles is at the rate of 3 cents per word. We buy First World English language rights and an option on anthology rights; all other rights are retained by the author. You can expect a response one week to three months after submission, and we will do our best to provide a personal critique of every story submitted. Send a hard copy of your story to Christopher M. Cevasco, Editor, Paradox, P.O. Box 22897, Brooklyn, NY 11202-2897. Use standard manuscript format (e.g., double-line spaced, 12-point Courier or other nonproportional font, underline rather than italicize when needed). Include name, address, e-mail, and approximate word-count on title page and name, shortened form of title, and page number on top of every subsequent page. Do not staple or fold. Include a SASE for response. Manuscripts will not be returned unless sufficient postage and envelope is provided along with submission. No electronic fiction submissions will be accepted (only non-fiction proposals and CV's will be accepted by e-mail as outlined above). We are only looking to publish previously unpublished work. No simultaneous submissions please. A Word on Word Count: When calculating payment, word count for stories will be calculated as follows: 250 x No. of Pages (for US submissions on 8.5x11 paper) 270 x No. of Pages (for international submissions on A4 paper) [this assumes 12-point, Courier font with 1-inch margins] Each contributor will receive four contributor copies of the issue of =Paradox= in which his or her work appears and will be eligible to purchase additional copies of that issue at one-third off the cover price. Artwork All interior artwork in =Paradox= will be assigned. To be considered for an assignment, send samples of your work to Editor Christopher M. Cevasco at our story submission address (preferably non-returnable photocopies). Or, if you have a website gallery featuring your artwork, you can simply e-mail a link to the site. Payment is $20 and up (on publication) for black-and-white interior illustrations. We are not looking for any cover artwork at this time, but that may change, so check back in the future. Poetry? Cartoons? While it is our intention to focus on fiction rather than poetry, if you've written a poem you think will fit the theme of our magazine, please send it our way, and we will consider it for publication (payment is a flat rate of $10 per poem). The same holds true for cartoons--dealing with historical figures or themes only please (payment for cartoons is in contributor copies). Guidelines last updated: January 11, 2003 [http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag/submissions.htm] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION ABYSS & APEX Elizabeth Bear, editor of =Abyss & Apex=, said, "As we have had server problems and some other issues at A&A, and I saw a post on Market News about queries to us going unanswered, if you are waiting on a query or response, please resubmit it to me. All of our email addresses should be live again, and there is a contact-us link at: http://www.klio.net/abyssandapex/ "Please use the editor@klio.net address. I do check it daily, and if I'm away from my computer for any reason, Leah has access to that one too. "Our March issue is full, by the way, and we're buying for May and July currently. We will probably take a hiatus when those are filled." [16 Jan 03] ARTEMIS MAGAZINE When asked when the next issue of =Artemis Magazine= would come out, editor Ian Randal Strock said, "Soon, I hope. We're working on it. We have gone through three printers in the last few months (without publishing an issue, that is), but we are indeed prepping the next issue, and it will be along. Again, my apologies for the delay, but that IS why we sell subscriptions in issues, rather than calendar years: you'll be getting all the copies in your subscription, though we may have to take a little longer than we'd hoped." [sff.publishing.artemismagazine, 7 Jan 03] He continues, "Anyway, I'm back from the week out of town, working on nailing down the new day-job (so's I can afford to eat and keep a roof over my head), and once again working on the next issue (don't let anyone tell you any different: the economy really has sucked, and that sucking has definitely extended into the magazine publishing biz). But we're not dead, and we are working, and there will be more of =Artemis Magazine= (hell, the next issue will be available in Barnes & Nobles nationwide!)." [sff.publishing.artemismagazine, 7 Jan 03] DNA PUBLICATIONS Warren Lapine, publisher of all the DNA Publications magazines, said, "Here's an update. "Things are tight and I'm way overworked, but we'll be continuing all of the magazines. I will have to back off of the slick paper on the fiction magazines. We've found a new printer that will save us $20,000 per year on the fiction magazines. That will help a lot. =Whole Cat= is doing well and is growing at a very good rate, good enough that it should soon help carry some of the other magazines while we stabilize things. I can't possibly keep up with the 400 e-mails per day so we'll almost certainly be changing the way we handle e-mail shortly. I need to continue being a publisher rather than a person who answers e-mail. The recession has hurt everyone in the entertainment industry, but we are plugging along and have taken steps to cut our costs as well as streamline the entire publishing process. I expect that that will be enough top get us through this year." [sff.publishing.dnapublications, 9 Jan 03] Mike Allen of DNA Publications said, "Howdy, folks! Due to hardware problems, Warren's internet access is temporarily out of commission, so I am pinch-hitting for this one instance. Warren hopes to be able to post here again by Tuesday. (His e-mail is also out of commission until the necessary repairs are made.) "Today we read ALL of the slush for =Absolute Magnitude= and =Dreams of Decadence=, about 350 mss. Everyone should receive responses within the next couple of weeks, unless you failed to include a SASE with your submission. "Warren purchased four stories for =AbsMag= in this round. Warren's next goal is to read the stories remaining in inventory from =Aboriginal SF= and assign them to a publication (either =AbsMag= or =Fantastic=) and send out contracts. "Finally, I am now the Poetry Editor for =AbsMag=. Poetry submissions for =AbsMag= should be sent from now on to P.O. Box 13511, Roanoke VA 24034-3511 (the same address as =Mythic Delirium=)." [sff.publishing.dnapublications, 20 Jan 03] ELYSIAN FICTION Jim Bailey, editor of =Elysian Fiction=, said, "OK, as usual, things are taking longer than planned/anticipated, but at least this time, things are progressing towards a good place. "I just finished compiling the edited stories for Issue #3 into a file that I'm going to print out to send to Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (the deadline is the 31st, so wanted to get this in the mail ASAP). Now, it's a matter of going to work, dealing with Xmas-eve eve crowds at the store, then coming home and doing the final bits of formatting of the web pages. I *think* I can get this done by some time tonight, but there's a possibility I may have to crash before that's done so that I can get up to work another 7am shift on Xmas eve itself. In that case, the 24th will be the posting date. "Once #3 is live, I have all of the submissions lined up for a big read, and we'll see how that goes. Still looks like about 2 weeks worth of work total there. "But it *is* going to get done!" [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 23 Dec 02] Jim Bailey continues, "Beat the new year by almost an hour on the East Coast (8:16pm Pacific as I post this). Link at http://www.elysianfiction.com/ to Table of Contents for Issue #3. "Still filling in things around the edges, have to update the overall bios page, the story/author indexes, etc, then write up my editorials..., but the stories themselves are go. "And I must say, I continue to believe that the stories I've had the privilege to publish could stand toe-to-toe with anything out there in the genre. "My heartfelt thanks to *all* the authors who have sent me stories so far. Not only for the honor of letting me see their work, but for the incredible patience everybody has shown, and the belief in the concept that so many seem to share. "Happy New Year, here's to making a very real impact on the field during the coming year, and most of all... ".... time for me to get back to work to *finish* getting =Elysian Fiction= back on solid ground so that it has a chance to flourish, allowing the authors and stories within to receive the readership and the recognition they deserve for letting us share such wonderful tales." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 31 Dec 02] He goes on, "I've updated all the indexes now, so except for my editorials, which I still need to write, Issue #3 is fully functional and available via the various methods throughout the site. "The big news aside from the new content, is 2 new ways of *viewing* the content. On the top of each story's first page, just above the title, there are now 2 links. "The first goes to a "printer friendly" version of the story, where I've whited out the background border, and have strung the text for the entire story on that page (so that your printer can paginate most efficiently). "The Custom Font/Margin feature is active on this page, and will follow whatever preference you've set up elsewhere during the session, but of course, can be changed again for the best printable results. "The second link goes to what I hope will be a PDA/mobile friendly page. I've stripped out all tables, and simplified the HTML to the bare basics. In my untested theory, this will enable compatibility with the widest variety of small devices out there. "Of course, not *having* one of these devices, I can't personally test my theory, so any and all feedback on how that works would be greatly appreciated. Just remember that at present, since I don't buy anything but "web rights," making specialized files could be considered making an e-book thus using rights I don't possess, so I'm afraid it has to stay HTML for the nonce. "All that's left now is my editorials, a HUGE pile of slush I still need to conquer, then to get #4 out before the end of the month." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 2 Jan 03] When a reader responded, "Take your time with #4. Let the people enjoy #3 for a while" editor Jim Bailey said, "I think you're probably right. I still have a mountain of slush to climb, and that really has to be my priority, and trying to squeeze 4 into January is just not realistic. "Speaking of #3, I finally got the editorials posted, so #3 is fini. I'm trying something in the opening one where I try to give the reader a tease to give an idea of what kind of story they can find beyond the link. It will probably take a while before I find my voice on those kinds of things, but though clunky, the current ones are a good start on that I think. "Later, when the issue is less about how I run the magazine, I'll be able to shoot off my mouth a bit more on other subjects in the grand tradition of genre editors." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 3 Jan 03] Another reader said, "Just wondering how your plan was coming along? There hasn't been an update on the site (officially) since November, except you got that excellent issue up. Congratulations on that!" Editor Bailey responded, "In the middle of the slush kill, just formatted another large batch for reading, and the plan now is to be done with it all by the end of this month. I do need to update the update on the site, though, so will do that later today. I probably won't respond now until I've made all the decisions, however, then while *that* part should be done by Jan 31st, not sure how long sending out the e-mails will take (a few days at most). Will probably resort to pure form letters in most cases at that point, unfortunately, but getting this done has to take priority. "Then it's dig into Issue #4 formatting for posting mid/later February. Some of the basic formatting there is done, though, so I'm pretty confident at holding that bit of the schedule in place now." [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 20 Jan 03] FICTIONWISE Scott Pendergrast of Fictionwise announced: Fictionwise Announces 2002 eBook Awards Author of the Year, eBook of the Year, Best Selling, and Highest Rated eBooks January 8, 2002 -- Chatham, NJ -- Fictionwise.com, the leading independent eBook publisher and distributor, announced today its annual awards for the top selling and highest rated eBooks and authors for 2002. Best selling science fiction author Lois McMaster Bujold is Fictionwise's 2002 eBook Author of the Year. The award is based on sales and member ratings of eBooks sold at Fictionwise in 2002. Ms. Bujold is one of the top selling authors at Fictionwise and her works maintained an extremely high average rating from Fictionwise members. Authors David Weber and Mike Resnick were a close second and third respectively. Resnick was Fictionwise's 2001 Author of the Year. Ms. Bujold's novel, =The Vor Game=, is Fictionwise's 2002 eBook of the Year, based on total unit sales multiplied by average member rating. "We want to congratulate our Author of [the] Year, Lois McMaster Bujold," said Scott Pendergrast, co-publisher at Fictionwise. "Ms. Bujold's works dominated our best seller lists and our members rated her works at an extremely high level--a remarkable average of 3.71 out of 4. It's an honor to sell her works at Fictionwise." Ms. Bujold said: "I am delighted with this honor from the most important people at Fictionwise, the readers. I was cautious of the eBook format at first, but foremost among its many advantages has certainly been distribution. It's not just a convenience for folks who like to read on the go from their hand-held devices. Through Fictionwise, my work has been able to reach many new readers formerly excluded by geographic barriers and prohibitive shipping costs from discovering my paper books. Fictionwise has helped bring me a truly world-wide audience." Top Selling eBooks of 2002: 1. =The Vor Game= by Lois McMaster Bujold 2. =The Shiva Option= by David Weber 3. =The Warrior's Apprentice= by Lois McMaster Bujold 4. =Shards of Honor= by Lois McMaster Bujold 5. =The Borders of Infinity= by Lois McMaster Bujold 6. =Robot Visions= by Isaac Asimov 7. =The Dream= [First in the Dream Series] by Isaac Asimov 8. =Robot Dreams= by Isaac Asimov 9. =Spaceships= by Michael A. Burstein 10. =Falling Free= by Lois McMaster Bujold Highest Rated eBooks of 2002: Fictionwise members have submitted over 116,000 ratings on more than 3,700 eBooks at Fictionwise.com. Ratings are based on scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest. To qualify for the Highest Rated list, an eBook must have at least 40 member ratings. 1. =Emperor and Clown= [Book 4 of A Man of His Word] by Dave Duncan 2. =Magic Casement= [Book 1 of A Man of His Word] by Dave Duncan 3. =White Dragon= [Volume 3 of The Dragonriders of Pern] by Anne McCaffrey 4. =The Curse of Chalion= by Lois McMaster Bujold 5. =The Borders of Infinity= by Lois McMaster Bujold 6. =Dragonflight= [Volume 1 of The Dragonriders of Pern] by Anne McCaffrey 7. =Brothers in Arms= by Lois McMaster Bujold 8. =The Warrior's Apprentice= by Lois McMaster Bujold 9. =Barrayar= by Lois McMaster Bujold 10. =The Vor Game= by Lois McMaster Bujold To see more best selling and highest rated eBooks, go to: http://www.fictionwise.com/2002.htm 2002 Sets New Sales Record at Fictionwise.com In 2002, Fictionwise.com maintained its position as one of the top eBook retailers in the world with over 165,000 paid units sold. Revenue in 2002 more than doubled at 241% of 2001 revenue, and the company is breaking even on a cash-flow basis purely from eBook sales. Since launching in June 2000, Fictionwise has consistently set double-digit consecutive-quarter sales records. The fourth quarter of 2002 set the tenth consecutive double-digit quarterly sales record. "The outlook in 2003 is even stronger," commented Stephen Pendergrast, co-founder of Fictionwise.com. "Our direct consumer sales are on track to again experience strong growth in 2003, and we have recently made inroads to the public library market with our Libwise initiative. EBook sales to libraries are already a significant portion of our revenue less than one quarter after our Libwise launch, and our library sales are growing faster than any other segment of our revenue." About Fictionwise.com Fictionwise.com (http://www.fictionwise.com)--which has over 65,000 registered members and over 8,000 eBooks online--retails award-winning and high-quality eBooks by top authors in popular eBook formats for PCS, Macs and PDAs. [sff.publishing.electronic, 8 Jan 03] IDEOMANCER Chelsea Polk, one of =Ideomancer='s editors, said, "What I'm looking for in an SF short story: "I'm of the opinion that of all the short forms of fiction that =Ideomancer= publishes, science fiction is the most challenging genre of them all. What makes a good SF story? All the things that make for a good story--a smooth read, excellent pacing, great characters, strong emotional connection, and every event in the story moving to a satisfying conclusion. I admit my preference for a story that opens fast and presents the characters and their conflict from the start, and maintains or increases the pace until the end. "But wait, there's more. An SF story builds worlds based on projecting one or more scientific and/or technological advances into the future, and reveals the impact of those advances on society. It can be optimistic or cautionary or funny or downright depressing--and perhaps all of these things at once. Finally, an SF story depends on this projection so much that if one removed the speculative element--no matter how slight or involved--the whole story would fall apart. "Last August I had the chance to eavesdrop on Derryl Murphy talking about stories he likes for =On Spec=. (If you haven't read =On Spec=, go go go, it's great.) He used a phrase that caught my ear as eminently theft-worthy: "Sensible Extrapolation." "A career of weeping and gnashing of teeth will befall the SF writer who doesn't take worldbuilding seriously. To my ear, sensible extrapolation is when you take a theory, advancement, or concept from any branch of science--honestly, I don't care which, I'll take zoology to anthropology--and really think about how it could be applied in the future and how it would effect people. The writer can focus that on an individual, or show it in the context of larger groups or cultures as the story demands. "I'll borrow directly from an author I listed as favoured in my entry for the "about us" section of the =Ideomancer= website as an example--John Varley. If one reads the body of work that Mr. Varley has produced since the 1970's, it's clear that he's working with a carefully detailed "world" in many of his stories. The people of Earth have vacated that planet to live on just about every significant body in the Solar System because of the hostile arrival of an alien race referred to as The Invaders. People live on Earth's Moon, on Mercury, in the Rings of Saturn, all the way out to Pluto, using technology that they receive from a laser transmission set to broadcast information from 70 Ophiuchi to a point just beyond Pluto's orbit. "The extrapolation is sensible, when one looks at the backstory--the threat of hostile aliens motivates the need to get into space, and the transmission of information that isn't possible to receive without established space travel provides the means of almost outlandish scientific advancements. The continued dependence on the Hotline and the subconscious unwillingness to leave Earth behind keeps them in the solar system, settling into planetary colonies and adapting to their environments in surprising ways, with different cultures, fashions, and philosophies. Many of the stories in this world have to do directly with these changes and the way people use them in their lives. "Something that strikes me particularly about the "Invader" universe is the theme of diaspora that floats along under all the stories. The people can't go back to their mother planet, hanging out right there as they sail between these exotic settlements and they yearn for it, in spite of the wonder of living in space. It shows in those stories in so many places: the environmental disneylands on Luna strikes as an obvious example. It's continually fascinating to read the short stories and novels in this universe--and there are dozens of them--based on hours of sensible extrapolation not only with the science but also with the future history of human society. "But take away the speculative technology and the stories just won't work--the plot for "The Phantom of Kansas" wouldn't be the story it is without memory recording and Luna's laws on cloning humans. One could take away the setting of Mercury for "Retrograde Summer," but its only reasonable substitute would be an underwater settlement, which is just as SFnal as Mercury. The character motivation behind a string of murders in a strange Lunar cult in "The Barbie Murders" won't transfer over without bodysculpting and a thread of that yearning for life on Earth to go with a desire for absolute conformity. "Obviously =Ideomancer= would leap all over the chance to publish John Varley--not just because he's famous, but because he does so many things right when it comes to writing science fiction. An SF story to =Ideomancer= can have its origins and themes from anywhere. The prose can be spare or textured. There isn't a preference for near future SF over spacefaring SF, though I'd love to see some more hard science fiction--particularly in demand by most of the SF markets. The writer's influences can come from the Golden Age or the New Wave or Cyberpunk or Military SF or straight from interesting articles in the paper. But it has to fit what we believe makes a good story and a good SF story at the same time. "The hardest part of all is, of course, that we have to like it." [sff.publishing.ideomancer, 1 Nov 02] Chelsea Polk says, "=Ideo= will be re-opening to submissions come February 1. We'll be publishing new and shiny guidelines on that day, but for those of you who read the group, I'll let you know that we need some yummy good flash fiction... just in case you happen to have some kicking around." [sff.publishing.ideomancer, 23 Jan 03]' ON SPEC A writer on sff.net says that =On Spec= is not interested in diary type stories, or the modern equivalent: the blog. [sff.writing.response-times, 25 Jan 03] POLYPHONY Jay Lake, one of =Polyphony='s editors, said, "=Polyphony= is a serial anthology devoted to slipstream, magic realism, and other genre-jumping stories. =Polyphony= showcases stories by new and established authors. We are on a two volume per year production schedule, with =Polyphony 1= having been released at ConJose, and =Polyphony 2= slated for release at Norwescon. Wheatland Press is currently reading for =Polyphony 3= -- about 110 manuscripts submitted in the first ten days we were open. "=Polyphony 1= has done very well, with both a strong critical reception and a strong reader reception. The first volume included stories from: Andy Duncan, Carol Emshwiller, Victoria Elisabeth Garcia, Douglas Lain, Maureen McHugh, James Van Pelt, Bruce Holland Rogers, Lucius Shepard, Vandana Singh, Carrie Vaughn, Ray Vukcevich and Leslie What. "=Polyphony= is published by Wheatland Press, Deborah Layne's small press, and she is also the fiction editor. I'm co-editor (and first reader)." [sff.publishing.polyphony, 14 Jan 03] Jay Lake continues, "120 submissions in the first 14 days we've been open -- farthest are from Greece and the Czech Republic. I've been pleased with the general quality. This is not the dreaded slush pile of editorial legend. More updates as time marches on." [sff.publishing.polyphony, 14 Jan 03] REALMS OF FANTASY Shawna McCarthy, editor of =Realms of Fantasy=, said, "Just happened by while searching SFF.net for an email address. Anyway, I'm amazed to discover this busy nest of people trying to figure out What I Want! Here's what I want: World Peace, a million (never mind, make that five million) dollars, happiness for my children and an extra 12 hours per day so that I could keep up with all my reading. Carina just delivered another batch of material and I hadn't even finished the previous one. Sigh. I'm looking, as all editors are, for good stories that don't end with And Then She Woke Up. Carina said earlier that I tend to lean towards urban fantasy--I'm not sure that's true. I like fantasy with unusual settings--mythologies other than Nordic or Celtic, magic that's not the same old-same old, and a definite dearth of talking cats and glowing unicorns. See "A Hunter's Ode to His Prey" by Carrie Vaughn for what I consider an appropriate use of unicorns...." [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 19 Dec 02] When asked about the length limits for stories, she said, "The 10,000 word ceiling is hard but permeable. I will go over it occasionally if there's a story that's just too good to miss." [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 20 Dec 02] Carina Gonzalez, editorial assistant for =Realms of Fantasy=, said, "Wondering if your story made it into this latest batch? Just dying to know if it arrived safe and sound? Well, I don't know if any of you have been following along with the discussions that have been going on in The Rumor Mill, but I went ahead and made a little page that simply lists the stories I've read so far. No titles are given, or authors, just abbreviations. This is IN NO WAY replacing the database, just a quick reference addendum to it. The information will only stay on there while I am working on the matching batch. Once the next one gets in, we start from scratch. www.geocities.com/roflist/slush "I pull the stories out of the slush in no particular order. As you can see I can pull something from November before something from September quite easily. I USED to put them in date order, but since I'm no longer the only person reading slush, it doesn't make sense. We're reading at the same time, and I want to post as soon as I read, instead of having to wait, put everything in chronological order, and then post. So as of now, the date your story was postmarked has no bearing as to when it is read in respect to the pile it is in. "In regards to putting the story's fate. Right now, it seems that =Realms=' policy is to reply via snail mail, or a phone call of course if the author is sought for publishing. In addition, I do NOT make the final call. What I consider to be good has no guarantee of getting published. This was created only to let authors know that their story was indeed read. If you DON'T receive word within a week, that's GOOD news. It means your story is still being considered. If months go by and you've heard nothing, you are always welcome to send me an e-mail and I can tell you what happened to your story." [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 20 Dec 02] Ms. Gonzalez continues, "Loretta is my new fellow slush reader. And yes, all slush that she goes through will be added to the list. I don't know yet if she will be doing so herself, (I obviously gave her all access to the site) or she will be giving me the list and I'll be putting it up, but either way, they will be on there. That is why I have a list for WHO read it. Because I am not the only one reading. "I had an author suggest to me via e-mail that, if an author chooses NOT to be posted on the site, that they need not be required to do so. And I have absolutely no problem with that! "If you feel that the initials, codes, etc., are not anonymous enough, please feel free to send a post-it note, etc., with your ms. simply asking me to not put you on the slush webpage. Hey, less work for me, right?" [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 23 Dec 02] A writer on sff.net said, "Out of curiosity I glanced at the slush site today. I saw several items listed as "unreadable." Could you expound a bit on what sort of things those are? Handwritten? Font too small? Are there that many people who still haven't bothered to learn proper mss format?" Another writer answered, "That refers to the postmark, not the ms itself. (Though I had the same reaction at first, too.)" Ms. Gonzalez responded, "Yes, that generally means that either it was smudged beyond readability or wasn't there at all. If the author happens to put a date on their cover letter, I'll usually put that up on the site. "It's just a guideline to know around when the story actually arrived vs. when I actually got to reading it. I'm TRYING to keep the difference as small as I can. "And just as an FYI, if I do get a story that is hand-written, the font is in some obscure italic, or way too small, I just won't read it. I simply send our editorial guidelines, with the difficulty underlined in red, and send it back in the SASE to the author. Then, in the database, the story gets the word FORM written next to it indicating it was submitted in the incorrect format. [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 3 Jan 03] Carina Gonzalez reported, "The latest slush batch from =Realms of Fantasy= is 100% done AND the website has been updated. So, check the website out www.geocities.com/roflist/slush to find your story. If it is NOT there, and you think your story should have been received, feel free to e-mail me so I can check the database for you." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=204&show_all_t opics=0, 13 Jan 03] She also said, "Loretta will not be passing things directly onto to Shawna without me reading them as well and agreeing that they should be passed on. However, if her name is attached to it, she would know more about the story than I would since HER reading of the story was an assessment...my reading of the story right now is just a confirmation of her opinion. "It's going to hopefully become a great system. Only the best of the best is going to get through, (since I'll have another sounding board besides myself regarding my opinion of the story) and in addition, the batches will be processed much more quickly." [sff.publishing.realms-of-fantasy, 21 Jan 03] ***************************************************************** * "How can I know," the sometimes despairing writer asks, * * "which the right word is?" The reply must be: only you can * * know. The right word is, simply, the wanted one; the wanted * * word is the one most nearly true. * * --Elizabeth Bowen, =Afterthoughts: Pieces on Writing=, * * 1962 * ***************************************************************** ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 4 February 2003==