Tips for pitching a Science Fiction novel

[Titus Raylake]

Hi. I just wanted to fill you in on a few Dos and Don'ts when pitching Science Fiction to an editor or agent. While these are only suggestions and won't guarantee acceptance, it will help make you look like a pro on the page.

DO -- Tell in the first paragraph of the query the year that the story takes place and over what period of time.

DON'T -- List too many names of places or characters, because it makes it harder for the person reading the query to remember. I should also note that several query letters for Science Fiction were accepted that never mentioned the main character's name, but rather referred to him/her as, "protagonist."

DO -- Spend only one paragraph describing the setting, and an additional paragraph describing the plot.

DON'T -- Use abbreviations for the word "Science Fiction" in a query letter.

DO -- State your age if you are a first-time writer. This does not apply to pitching works in other genres. The reason for telling your age is that most editors assume a person's study of science ends after high school. So, it's probably easier to get a first Science Fiction novel published by a younger writer.

DON'T -- Tell your inspiration for writing Science Fiction. "I was watching Discovery channel one day and..." This will mark you as an amateur.

DO -- Have a great opening line, relating in some way to the Science Fiction genre. In my pitch for a series of books called Rising Planet, I started with the line, "It is better to give than receive... especially when the gift is enough explosive power to destroy a galaxy."

DON'T -- Assume that the editor knows such technical terms as "Plasma Projectile" and "Parsecs".

[triceretops]

Great tips, Titus. I'll make a few tweaks on my query--it certainly couldn't hurt.

Do you know anybody who might be interested in a science fiction series?

Thanks,

Tri

[Titus Raylake]

Do you know anybody who might be interested in a science fiction series

I think any editor in their right mind would consider a series if the writer has any previous short stories or novels in the same genre published to back them up. But you should decide how you would deliver the series to a publisher. For example, do you have the manuscript for only one or two books? Do you have the manuscripts for all the books in the series? Those are questions a person should ask theirself before proposing a series.

Anyway, from my experience I find it best to only casually mention that the pitched book would be part of a series in a query letter. You wouldn't want to worsen the chances of getting published by laying on information too quickly. When my editor asked for a proposal is when I proposed the Rising Planet series.

When you have a series with only one book written, the publisher will generally give you a large advance that is split into several parts -- with Rising Planet, my advance was to be paid in five parts -- the first upon signing the contract, the second upon an acceptable manuscript for the first book, and each of the other three checks upon acceptance of each one of the remaining books in the series. The downside to this is the chance that something will happen with the publisher before the deal is completely finished -- my publisher was sold before the fourth book was released, and it was never published.

[Ivonia]

Cool info, does this work with fantasy too? My current WIP is kind of a mix of both (space ships, but has demons/monsters in it too), so I'm not entirely sure what to label it as (I do have a massive storyline worked out for it, although most of it would be more fantasy related than sci-fi).

I'm nowhere near done yet, but this is good info to know.

[triceretops]

Ivonia, I think they call it Science Fantasy--sort of a cross-over, and believe it or not, there are publishers who want that non-defined genre mix, because I've seen it.

Tricertops.

Btw, Titus, thanks for that advice. Yeppers, I'm prozine sci-fi published--ex SFWA, and an old Richard Curtis client. My mentor was Poul Anderson through a year of correspondance. So I'm ready for that dang pesky novel.

[victoriastrauss]

DO -- State your age if you are a first-time writer. This does not apply to pitching works in other genres. The reason for telling your age is that most editors assume a person's study of science ends after high school. So, it's probably easier to get a first Science Fiction novel published by a younger writer.??? Where did this come from? Apart from being bizarre (how about all the SF writers with BA's and PhD's in some branch of science or related disciplines--not to mention actual job experience?), your age is not relevant to publication. There is absolutely no reason ever to mention your age in a query letter, unless it's somehow directly related to the subject of your book.

DON'T -- Tell your inspiration for writing Science Fiction. "I was watching Discovery channel one day and..." This will mark you as an amateur.On the other hand, f you're a research scientist and the inspiration for your novel came from your work, it makes sense to mention it.

- Victoria

[ChunkyC]

DO -- Tell in the first paragraph of the query the year that the story takes place and over what period of time.
Unless your story takes place on another world where its year has no relationship to an Earth year. If that's the case, I don't see how mentioning the 'local' year would help a query in any way. But mentioning the period of time covered by the story doesn't sound like a bad idea.

[Axler]

my publisher was sold before the fourth book was released, and it was never published.

And who was the publisher? I've searched various sites for the Rising Planet books but I can't seem to find them.

[Birol]

Please be wary of accepting advise from Titus Raylake/Four_Elements (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=331022#post331022) until his credentials have been verified.

[Jamesaritchie]

I agree with Victoria on this. Never, ever, for any reason mention your age in a query. It can be good to mention a degree in physics or mathematics, etc., if you're writing hard SF, but that's about it.

[James D. Macdonald]

Goodness! The fit has hit Slan over in another thread here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=331143#post331143

So, to join the pile-on -- Titus, how have these tips been working out for you?

[DaveKuzminski]

Strange, but Titus seems to be missing.

[HapiSofi]

This is bizarre. Wrong, too. Where are these "rules" coming from?

[Birol]

From the land of make-believe, where it's happy all the time.

[Axler]

Maybe Titus is engaged in a one man Atlanta Nights, to see how much ridiculous and vacuous "advice" he can give before someone catches on.


(Not that it matters, but I was on to him from the start.:banana: )

[victoriastrauss]

Strange, but Titus seems to be missing.Gosh, that's a shocker!

It was such a detailed fabrication, too. I especially liked the bit about the fourth novel in his series not getting published due to publisher consolidation. Really upped the plausibility factor. For about a millisecond.

- Victoria

[ChunkyC]

When you have a series with only one book written, the publisher will generally give you a large advance
I have to admit, this gave me pause. (yes, deliberately taken out of context to enhance the inherent humour)

[preyer]

so the vice-presidency of the sci-fi channel he promised me if i gave him a thousand bucks ain't legit? gosh darnit all to heck! well, fortunately, i'm secretly a billionaire and here's my proof:

i say so.

yeah, i'll bet some of y'all had your suspicions i was a rich eccentric, didn't you? oh, hell, while i'm at it, i make john holmes look absolutely tiny.

[Saanen]

Wow, where'd all this tetchiness come from all of a sudden? I don't think Titus is trying to mislead anyone deliberately--at least, I hope not.

[ChunkyC]

There is no author named 'Raylake' listed in the Library of Congress catalog.
There is no book titled 'Rising Planet' listed in the Library of Congress catalog.

I found our own Victoria Strauss, James A. Ritchie and James D. Macdonald there with no trouble at all.

In the suggestions thread, I asked Titus to show us proof he's actually been published. None has been forthcoming as of yet. We're still waiting.

[DaveKuzminski]

Should I hold my breath waiting for him to answer? ;)

[victoriastrauss]

Only if you have a deathwish.

- Victoria

[Birol]

Oh, Victoria, he'd pass out and start breathing on his on again before he died.

[Ivonia]

Well, after having read the other posts,I too have become somewhat skeptical of the advice (I don't think he's intentionally misleading anyone on purpose), so let me bring up another question (which probably has been answered to death by now).

Could an established (i.e. published) author give us some practical tips on how to submit (in a new thread)? Some basic do's and dont's? I don't want to look like an amateur when I send in a query or the MS.

[preyer]

'how i did it' stuff is always good to know, albeit anecdotal. otherwise, there are only about a billion sites out there with each one showing you 'exactly' how these things are 'supposed' to be. i'm curious, though, as to the published people's advise.

as an aside, i'd love to do my own do/don't list, but i've run out of unfunny jokes.

[Phoenix Fury]

Wow. Guess this is going to put the kibosh on that "separate science fiction and fantasy boards" idea that Titus/Four Elements/Milli Vanilli had, huh?

Amazing that people have time to waste coming up with these stupid pranks...

P.F.

[Misschelei]

Wow I wish someone would have told me I knew everything there was to know about science in high school. I would have never gone for a Bachelor in Science. I would have gone with my first choice: Plasma projectile engineering.

[triceretops]

Well, for one thing age has nothing to do with anything. I've never heard of such a rule or "do."
Don't brag. Do not compare yourself to a famous author. You might say "in the tradition of" (name of book), or your style might appeal to readers who like Blah Blah, but don't come out and say I write, or somebody told me, I write like Stephen King. Blow a soft flute rather than a trumpet.

If you want to get real innovative you might do some market research and list some stats on a book that is similar to yours. You might tell the editor/agent that you found that title sold real well in the Chicago area for some reason, and that you'd plan on doing your own little marketing campaign--soliciting reviews, or something in that area if you were picked up. You get the idea. In the last ten years publishers are getting washed out by low-selling titles, hence they have really pruned their house author populations down. If you can demonstrate that you're willing to jump in and be available for promo, it adds a new dimension to your query. I really think this is becoming more of a deciding factor these days. Of course PA takes this to extremes believing that EVERYTHING rests on the author.

I always wondered if I should/could use AW in my queries as a potential fan base for sales. I've never done it, but I wonder if providing such info really would help out.

My past writing credits are a boon to me in my genre. Not huge, but I have a tiny fan base. So I think any magazine stuff that you have done in your genre should be stuffed in that query if you're selling a novel. You might be taken off the slush if it is impressive enough. It sure doesn't hurt to pub some short shorts, short stories, novellas, etc., in some prozines. At least, recognizable prozines. For me is was Amazing stories, Space and Time, and Not One of Us. Remember your genre groups and affiliations too. I always mention that I'm a past member of SFWA because their qualifications for membership are steep in a talent sort of way.

You know what? I would not mention the fact that you had your manuscript professionally edited--even if it did cost you a grand. Unless its a non-fiction title heavy in the core sciences and you need a "edited by" testimonial. Even book 7 on down the road, I would still never divulge to my loving agent that I always had my book edited by an outside source. Sorry, that's info that they just don't need to know.

I would not tell an agent/editor that your english professor, or creative writing teacher loves your book. They have no concept of WHAT SELLS.

Don't put your Social Security number in the query. This one alone has destroyed potential sales--that one I've heard from several agents. It just ain't needed folks until wayyyyy on down the line.

Name the things in your query that are really hurting your protag--identify the source, then explain where your MC has to go to get this crap of his/her back. A big paragraph or two will do it. Don't generalize--get down and dirty.

I'll be back when I think on this some more. Just my two cents of salt.

P.S. Here's a good question for anybody. Example. I've written 14 novels and none of them have been published. Of course I've only sent out four of them so far, and only one of them is current and out now. On one hand it's great to say "hey, bub, I've got a million words of novels, so I'm prolific, eh?" On the other hand: "Yeah, but you haven't sold any so something's buggered up somewhere."

I can't tell them that I lost 12 novels in a house fire (truth). With no backups. Who in the hell would believe that? To the point: Have any of you mentioned your unpublished novel count? I haven't done it. I'm not sure I should.

tri

[MadScientistMatt]

Wow. Guess this is going to put the kibosh on that "separate science fiction and fantasy boards" idea that Titus/Four Elements/Milli Vanilli had, huh?

Amazing that people have time to waste coming up with these stupid pranks...

P.F.

Seems every sort of message board has somebody who wants to be a self-proclaimed expert and manufactures evidence to support it. It's almost always the same pattern, coming in claiming they have some impressive accomplishments. On car boards, they usually claim to have something like an 800 hp Toyota Supra. And most of the time they give themselves away by botching the technical details. It seems that trolls here don't realize that claiming to have published something is easier to research than claims about one's car.

[victoriastrauss]

If you want to get real innovative you might do some market research and list some stats on a book that is similar to yours. You might tell the editor/agent that you found that title sold real well in the Chicago area for some reason, and that you'd plan on doing your own little marketing campaign--soliciting reviews, or something in that area if you were picked up. This is really something you do for nonfiction--you'll sometimes find a requirement like this in the novel submission guidelines of smaller publishers (especially the less professional ones), but for agents and the larger houses, marketing is not something that belongs in a query letter for a novel. If you really do have an existing fan base, it makes sense to mention it, but I think that should go in the "qualifications and experience" section of the query.

I always wondered if I should/could use AW in my queries as a potential fan base for sales. I've never done it, but I wonder if providing such info really would help out.I don't think so, because it's really almost impossible to determine how much something like this counts. For instance, I know that a number of people have bought books of mine as a result of encountering me on AW, but only because they've written to let me know. I also know that people often click on my website from my sig lines in posts here. But what effect that might have on sales, I simply do not know. I would suspect, in the grand scheme of things, very little.

Here's a good question for anybody. Example. I've written 14 novels and none of them have been published. Of course I've only sent out four of them so far, and only one of them is current and out now. On one hand it's great to say "hey, bub, I've got a million words of novels, so I'm prolific, eh?" On the other hand: "Yeah, but you haven't sold any so something's buggered up somewhere."Exactly. An agent or editor doesn't care that you have five unpublished novels in your trunk; s/he is only interested in the one you're submitting now.

I can't tell them that I lost 12 novels in a house fire (truth). With no backups.Oh, man. That truly sucks! I can only imagine how you must have felt.

I'm terrified of this kind of thing happening. I have a little flash drive that I carry in my purse with all my current writing on it (though I'm not as good about timely backup as I should be).

- Victoria

[DaveKuzminski]

Victoria, I know what you mean.

For everyone, please do this as well. After you make your backup, take the CD or flash drive or whatever media you used to another computer and see if the files actually are there and can be read. I came close to losing everything I'd written when my computer died a few years ago. I had a CD, but the new computer couldn't read it at all. It wanted to reformat the CD. Fortunately, I had another computer in the house and tried that one. It read the CD without any problem, but I then had to copy all the files from the CD onto floppies in order to port those back to the new computer.

I now keep my backups on a flash drive that I've since tested on three other computers and know that I can access what I've written when I need to. Of course, I regularly back it up.

By the way, years ago I actually did lose one entire novel manuscript because the backup process didn't take. That's why I emphasize to everyone that you should check your backup on a different computer from the one you use.

[Jamesaritchie]

[QUOTE=ChunkyC]The.

I found our own Victoria Strauss, James A. Ritchie and James D. Macdonald there with no trouble at all.

[QUOTE]

I have five novels there that are easy finds, but I also four novels listed there I bet you can't find. Probably not a fair task, since they aren't copyrighted under my name.

[Jamesaritchie]

Victoria, I know what you mean.

For everyone, please do this as well. After you make your backup, take the CD or flash drive or whatever media you used to another computer and see if the files actually are there and can be read. I came close to losing everything I'd written when my computer died a few years ago. I had a CD, but the new computer couldn't read it at all. It wanted to reformat the CD. Fortunately, I had another computer in the house and tried that one. It read the CD without any problem, but I then had to copy all the files from the CD onto floppies in order to port those back to the new computer.

I now keep my backups on a flash drive that I've since tested on three other computers and know that I can access what I've written when I need to. Of course, I regularly back it up.

By the way, years ago I actually did lose one entire novel manuscript because the backup process didn't take. That's why I emphasize to everyone that you should check your backup on a different computer from the one you use.

I not only backup to a separate, external hard drive, but also to CD, and store everything in an online briefcase that I can access anywhere, from any computer. The odds of both hard drives, the CDs, and the online briefcase all going down before I can save my files are high enough to make me feel pretty secure. Copies of the CDs are stored away from home, and the online files are in both .rtf and PDF formats.

[Birol]

I keep two backup copies, too. One is stored in a safety deposit box and the other is kept at home.

[DaveKuzminski]

For those who don't know this, my day job includes computer programming as I'm a computer professional. I have seen individuals and companies lose data too many times because no one thought to check the backups regularly to make sure they actually contained the data. In one instance that comes to mind, the office that was being supported had to search back through three months of daily backups to find a copy that actually was accessible and contained their files. Of course, they lost everything from that intervening three months.

So, yes, duplicate backups are indeed good, but make sure you check the backups regularly to see if they can actually be read and used.

By the way, watch out for some of the fat flash drives. By fat, I mean the drive is physically wider than others. A coworker tried to use one in a company computer only to discover that it couldn't reach the slot because of the plug next to the USB port. Unfortunately, they couldn't just remove that other plug because it was the power cable. Oops!

[ChunkyC]

By the way, watch out for some of the fat flash drives. By fat, I mean the drive is physically wider than others. A coworker tried to use one in a company computer only to discover that it couldn't reach the slot because of the plug next to the USB port. Unfortunately, they couldn't just remove that other plug because it was the power cable. Oops!
Keep a USB extension cable around for just that possibility. AND check that the drive will work when plugged into the cable, not directly into the slot.

[James D. Macdonald]

Practical tips on how to submit?

Try Slushkiller (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/004641.html) and On the Getting of Agents (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/004772.html). Make sure you read the comment threads.

[Pencilone]

I also backup by sending an email to myself at a different email address (email that does not arrive on my home PC). For instance, I have an email address on yahoo, and I send my WIP file in an email just to make sure if all else fails, I still have a copy safe.

:)

[Pthom]

Because of the deceptions of the originator of this thread, we are closing it. We could have just deleted it, but there are responses here that may be valuable to others. However, to continue any of the topics discussed here, please choose another thread or begin a new one.

Thank you for understanding.