I just finished Enders Game by Orson Scott Card (and as an aside, totally hooked on audio books now!), and there was a really good postscript by the author at the end. Lots of interesting nuggets about the origins of the novel itself:
1. He first submitted it as a short story to Analog (publication from Conde Nast), and it was rejected for being too long at 75 pages. He trimmed it to 60, resubmitted and it was published on page 100.
2. Ender's Game, originally published as a novel in 1985, so just recently celebrated its 35 year anniversary.
3. In his audio post script (and he's got a great baritone narrator kind of voice too), Orson said that he got started as a screen writer, and only started into writing science fiction to help pay the bills!
4. Finally, on his initial submission (even before it went to Analog I think), the publisher rejected it, saying that it didn't fall under science fiction, it was fantasy!
Which brings me to a quote he made that I found rather interesting. His statement basically said that if you look at the cover of a book, if there's rivets on it, then it's science fiction. But if there's trees on the cover, then it falls under fantasy. I found that to be a clever turn of the phrase, and cannot think of an example that doesn't adhere to that principle. Doesn't mean there aren't any, just not in my own limited readings.
So, with an inkling toward hearing others thoughts on this generalization - do you agree with the declaration of Orson here? Disagree? Thoughts on making distinctions between the two genres? I often see science fiction and fantasy genres both combined and split apart. Would be interested in hearing more about this.
1. He first submitted it as a short story to Analog (publication from Conde Nast), and it was rejected for being too long at 75 pages. He trimmed it to 60, resubmitted and it was published on page 100.
2. Ender's Game, originally published as a novel in 1985, so just recently celebrated its 35 year anniversary.
3. In his audio post script (and he's got a great baritone narrator kind of voice too), Orson said that he got started as a screen writer, and only started into writing science fiction to help pay the bills!
4. Finally, on his initial submission (even before it went to Analog I think), the publisher rejected it, saying that it didn't fall under science fiction, it was fantasy!
Which brings me to a quote he made that I found rather interesting. His statement basically said that if you look at the cover of a book, if there's rivets on it, then it's science fiction. But if there's trees on the cover, then it falls under fantasy. I found that to be a clever turn of the phrase, and cannot think of an example that doesn't adhere to that principle. Doesn't mean there aren't any, just not in my own limited readings.
So, with an inkling toward hearing others thoughts on this generalization - do you agree with the declaration of Orson here? Disagree? Thoughts on making distinctions between the two genres? I often see science fiction and fantasy genres both combined and split apart. Would be interested in hearing more about this.