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More Ideas for Science Fiction
Apr. 18th, 2008 09:29 pmJason Stoddard has posted his 5 Big Things Science Fiction Can Do To Improve Its Image.
He has some new ideas in there. But, actually, in the main, his ideas aren't new ideas. Or shouldn't be. They should be common sense really, for anyone who knows the web. The question that really sticks with me after reading these is: Why don't science fiction publishers get it?
I call your attention also to SF Signal's Mind Meld: Is the Short Fiction Market in Trouble? Thirteen professionals answer the question, with quite varying opinions, and some good thoughts.
Paolo Bacigalupi refers to the traditional sf/f short fiction magazine as a 'box of chocolates'. And Abigail Nussbaum calls them a 'monthly gamble', and an expensive one at that. They're referring to the fact that you really don't know what sort of stories you're going to get in an individual magazine. Yes, they'll all be science fiction (or fantasy, or science fiction or fantasy), but other than that, you don't really know. It might be alternate history, cyberpunk, space opera, sword and sorcery... It might star a woman, a cyborg, an amoeba, or young apprentice... It might shock you, gross you out, uplift you, or make you sad. It may or may not have a story that you really like, but odds are it won't give you a story you're particularly in the mood for. Not like choosing a book from your stack of unread books can.
And I definitely agree. I like short stories, but I am drawn to theme anthologies. At least I know what the subject matter will be for each of the stories. Author collections are also good, as an individual author's stories usually have something in common. You know what you're getting, within reason, with each story.
Fanfiction sites get this, while more general science fiction and fantasy webzines do not. If you want to read a slash fanfic starring Harry Potter and Oliver Wood, but you don't want it to have a lot of graphic sex and violence in it, well, you can find that incredibly easily. It's 4 clicks on fanfiction.net and you can even see how many words it has, if you're not in the mood to read a long piece, or if you like your fiction in more than bite-sized chunks. Plus you can read reader reviews and thoughts before wasting your time on a story.
Isn't this obvious? But yet look at most webzines and what can you browse by? 'Fiction' or maybe 'Fantasy'. Some let you find particular authors. But what if I want to read a story starring a female protagonist? Do I have to click on every story and read the first paragraph or two to find one? What if I like 'cats' as a theme? Where and how do I find those?
Seems to me that webzines need to specialize more and not be so 'pot luck'. Good stories that the editor(s) like is not the best sorting mechanism. For those that don't want to specialize, at least organize the stories in more and better ways. There's more than one way to find what you want on Amazon. In fact, there's at least half a dozen.
Help readers find the good stuff. And remember that 'good stuff' means stuff they like, not necessarily stuff you like.
He has some new ideas in there. But, actually, in the main, his ideas aren't new ideas. Or shouldn't be. They should be common sense really, for anyone who knows the web. The question that really sticks with me after reading these is: Why don't science fiction publishers get it?
I call your attention also to SF Signal's Mind Meld: Is the Short Fiction Market in Trouble? Thirteen professionals answer the question, with quite varying opinions, and some good thoughts.
Paolo Bacigalupi refers to the traditional sf/f short fiction magazine as a 'box of chocolates'. And Abigail Nussbaum calls them a 'monthly gamble', and an expensive one at that. They're referring to the fact that you really don't know what sort of stories you're going to get in an individual magazine. Yes, they'll all be science fiction (or fantasy, or science fiction or fantasy), but other than that, you don't really know. It might be alternate history, cyberpunk, space opera, sword and sorcery... It might star a woman, a cyborg, an amoeba, or young apprentice... It might shock you, gross you out, uplift you, or make you sad. It may or may not have a story that you really like, but odds are it won't give you a story you're particularly in the mood for. Not like choosing a book from your stack of unread books can.
And I definitely agree. I like short stories, but I am drawn to theme anthologies. At least I know what the subject matter will be for each of the stories. Author collections are also good, as an individual author's stories usually have something in common. You know what you're getting, within reason, with each story.
Fanfiction sites get this, while more general science fiction and fantasy webzines do not. If you want to read a slash fanfic starring Harry Potter and Oliver Wood, but you don't want it to have a lot of graphic sex and violence in it, well, you can find that incredibly easily. It's 4 clicks on fanfiction.net and you can even see how many words it has, if you're not in the mood to read a long piece, or if you like your fiction in more than bite-sized chunks. Plus you can read reader reviews and thoughts before wasting your time on a story.
Isn't this obvious? But yet look at most webzines and what can you browse by? 'Fiction' or maybe 'Fantasy'. Some let you find particular authors. But what if I want to read a story starring a female protagonist? Do I have to click on every story and read the first paragraph or two to find one? What if I like 'cats' as a theme? Where and how do I find those?
Seems to me that webzines need to specialize more and not be so 'pot luck'. Good stories that the editor(s) like is not the best sorting mechanism. For those that don't want to specialize, at least organize the stories in more and better ways. There's more than one way to find what you want on Amazon. In fact, there's at least half a dozen.
Help readers find the good stuff. And remember that 'good stuff' means stuff they like, not necessarily stuff you like.
