*~Star Trek Books FAQ Latest Edition~*

[Manisphere]

Awesome. Thank you so much.

[captcalhoun]

i have a suggestion: update to include Star Trek XI/Countdown

Will the old TOS books now stop?
Highly unlikely

Will the books tie into Countdown?
Not certain. The novelists are not beholden to follow comic continuity any more than comics are to follow book continuity. But since the 24C novels that are furthest forward are currently in 2381, reaching 2387 may well take some time.

Will there be novels based on the film?
Possibly, but as yet none are scheduled.

[Thrawn]

^ Good call. A lot of people seem to be curious about that, and not just on this board.

[Therin of Andor]

Will there be more comics based on the film?
Two mini-series from IDW Publications have been announced: one concerns Ambassador Spock back in the 23rd century and the other, "Nero", fills in details of Nero's 25 years, stuck in the past.

[Christopher]

^That's not quite accurate. Spock: Reflections is a prequel to Countdown set in the original timeline. It explores Spock's past, specifically his reasons for pursuing Vulcan/Romulan reunification and eventually relocating to Romulus. From the preview pages posted on TrekMovie.com, it apparently contains flashbacks to various periods in Spock's (original) past.

[mmtz]

for the comics list

IDW Publishing
-- TNG: The Space Between (Jan-Jun 2007, available in trade pb)
-- TOS: Klingons: Blood Will Tell (Apr-Aug 2007, available in trade pb)
-- TOS: IDW Focus On: Star Trek (Jul 2007)
-- TOS: Year Four (Jul-Dec 2007, available in trade pb)
-- TOS/TNG: Alien Spotlight (Sep 2007-Feb 2008, available in trade pb)
-- TNG: Intelligence Gathering (Jan-May 2008, available in trade pb)
-- NF: Turnaround (Mar-Jul 2008, available in trade pb)
-- TOS: Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment (Apr-Aug 2008, available in trade pb)
-- TOS: Assignment: Earth (May-Sep 2008, available in trade pb)
-- TOS: Mirror Images (Jul-Nov 2008, available in trade pb, Mirror Universe tie-in)
-- TOS: Romulans: The Hollow Crown (Sep-Oct 2008)
-- TNG: The Last Generation (Nov 2008-Mar 2009, Myriad Universes tie-in)
-- TOS/TNG: Countdown (Jan-Apr 2009, available in trade pb, Star Trek XI prequel)
-- TOS: Crew (Mar-Jul 2009)
-- TOS: Mission's End (Mar-Jul 2009)
-- TOS/TNG: Alien Spotlight (Mar-Aug 2009)
-- TOS: The Wrath of Kahn (Jun-Jul 2009)
-- TOS: Spock: Reflections (Jul-Aug 2009)
-- IDW is also publishing trade paperback reprints of DC, Marvel, and Malibu Star Trek comics

Tokyopop
-- TOS: Shinsei Shinsei (Sep 2006, trade pb)
-- TOS: Kakan ni Shinkou (Sep 2007, trade pb)
-- TOS: Uchu (Jul 2008, trade pb)
-- TNG: Boukenshin (Apr 2009, trade pb)
-- Tokyopop also published a collection of stories from the three TOS books

Wired
-- Star Trek: When Worlds Collide (May 2009, Star Trek XI prequel)

GIT Corporation
-- Star Trek: The Complete Comic Book Collection on DVD-ROM, 1967-2005 (Sep 2008)
-- Star Trek: Movie Comic Book Collection on CD-ROM (May 2009, subset of complete collection)

[JarodRussell]

Just out of curiosity... why can Roberto Orci, who is going to write the next script for a Star Trek movie, visit and engage in discussions on Trekmovie.com, when there are so many story ideas for the next movie thrown out by the fans? Yet in this forum it is not allowed to discuss story ideas, because the writers who are active members here could get in trouble, or at least some copyright issues might arise.

Is there a difference between copyright for "proper" literature and movie scripts?

[Christopher]

I don't think copyright would have anything to do with it, since I don't think you can claim a legitimate copyright on an idea from a BBS post or blog comment. Any plagiarism suits that arose from such an incident would almost certainly be thrown out of court. The issue is that even frivolous lawsuits cost a lot of money to fight off. That could perhaps be a factor; screenwriters and producers make a lot more money than novelists. Still, Hollywood studios and production companies go to considerable lengths to guard against plagiarism suits, so I doubt someone like Orci would really expose himself to that kind of risk.

I haven't been following those comments and I'm not aware if there's really anything in them that constitutes a story idea per se. Something like "I want to see Khan" or "I want to see a followup on the Vulcan refugees" is not a story idea, because there's no plot there, no events or character arcs being described. It could just be that nothing in those posts has actually crossed the line into a story idea.

[JarodRussell]

Has anyone ever made a jump from inofficial fan fiction to published tie-in fiction? Creating characters, writing (fan) fiction stories for fun, putting them online, creating a new story with those characters, pitched it to Pocket Books, and succeeded?

I might think that's possible for original literature, but not for tie-ins?

In other words would it be a bad idea to put a story, or excerpt of it, online, see reactions and criticism, and then submit it to a publisher for consideration?

The guidelines say:

10. I've written Star Trek stories and posted them online. Can an editor just read them off the web?
No. Ethical considerations do not permit us to read Star Trek fiction posted online.

But it doesn't clearly state that I can't properly submit something that was already online in some form.


And the submission guidelines are somehow irritating:

1.) No stories primarily about a guest star or non-Star Trek regular. This means no stories about other crews, ships, or guest characters that become the focus of the story. The novels should always "star" Kirk, Picard, Sisko et al.

[...]

6.) Stories should be set during a timeframe that has been thoroughly explored in the TV series or movies. That means no stories set before Star Trek: Enterprise; no stories set between Enterprise and The Original Series, and no stories set beyond Star Trek: Nemesis.

How can you tell a story about Picard, that is not set after Nemesis, when the novel series is already way past that time? Or are there still TNG novels being released that take place before Nemesis?

[DarkHorizon]

^The submission guidelines are designed so that the editors can see you're capable of writing the central characters. They aren't intended to reflect the current novel timeframes and/or storylines.

[JarodRussell]

DarkHorizon wrote:

---

^The submission guidelines are designed so that the editors can see you're capable of writing the central characters. They aren't intended to reflect the current novel timeframes and/or storylines.

So I wouldn't even submit my proper idea of the novel I'd like to get published, I would sort of submit a demo reel of my style and if I get the characters right and then wait for Pocket to give me a story?

[DarkHorizon]

JarodRussell wrote:

---

So I wouldn't even submit my proper idea of the novel I'd like to get published, I would sort of submit a demo reel of my style and if I get the characters right and then wait for Pocket to give me a story?

I don't know much beyond what I said above, I'm afraid. That's what the authors have said whenever that question has arisen in the past. One of them would probably be able to be more specific.

[BrotherBenny]

JarodRussell wrote:

---

So I wouldn't even submit my proper idea of the novel I'd like to get published, I would sort of submit a demo reel of my style and if I get the characters right and then wait for Pocket to give me a story?

Something like that, you'd have to submit the full 10-page synopsis and the first three chapter of say, a TNG novel, and if the editor likes what they see, they'll add you to the list of authors and you can pitch to your heart's content I believe, or they'll give you something to test the waters. Perhaps one of the writers/former editors/freelance editors would be better suited to answer that.

[Christopher]

JarodRussell wrote:

---

Has anyone ever made a jump from inofficial fan fiction to published tie-in fiction? Creating characters, writing (fan) fiction stories for fun, putting them online, creating a new story with those characters, pitched it to Pocket Books, and succeeded?

I daresay most professional Trek authors have written some fan fiction at least for themselves. I think Una McCormack was fairly well-known for her fanfic before going pro.

But using fanfiction characters in a pitch for Pocket? Only if they're in the background. If you're a new writer pitching through the usual submission process, the requirement is to focus on the established cast.

But I wouldn't be surprised if some writers had incorporated their fanfic characters into their pro fiction. Writers tend to hold onto ideas and characters and find uses for them. I was never much into fanfic, but the Torvig and Chaka characters I created for Titan were based on characters and species I'd developed for my original SF universe but that had fallen by the wayside as my plans changed. My T'Ryssa Chen character from TNG: Greater Than the Sum was based on a character I created for a role-playing game.

In other words would it be a bad idea to put a story, or excerpt of it, online, see reactions and criticism, and then submit it to a publisher for consideration?

If by "story" you mean something shorter than novel length, that's something an editor would have to commission you to write rather than something you could pitch. Now that Strange New Worlds isn't around anymore, short Trek fiction only occurs in themed anthologies that originate with the editors.

But it doesn't clearly state that I can't properly submit something that was already online in some form.

I don't know about that. I think there's some precedent; I believe some of the SNW submissions were published in online forums for aspiring SNW writers, but I'm not certain.

And the submission guidelines are somehow irritating:

If you want to become a tie-in writer, you have to learn how to work within other people's guidelines and expectations instead of just doing what you want to do. The submission process is a test of your ability to follow instructions, to adapt to what's asked of you. If you get through that process and prove yourself, then later on you can gain the trust of your editor and have the opportunity to pitch the more experimental stories you want to tell.

The thing to remember is that what you're trying to sell is not the specific novel -- it's you. You're proving your ability as a writer, and that's more important than the specific story. Any story can be told well by a skilled writer, and having a good story idea won't matter if you're not good enough to pull it off.

How can you tell a story about Picard, that is not set after Nemesis, when the novel series is already way past that time? Or are there still TNG novels being released that take place before Nemesis?

There is no restriction on when Star Trek novels can be set. Yes, there is an ongoing series of TNG novels set after Nemesis, but that doesn't preclude the existence of standalone TNG novels set before it. After all, we got novels like Hollow Men (set during DS9) and Terok Nor (set before DS9) in between novels set after the finale of DS9. We got the String Theory trilogy (set between seasons 4 and 5 of Voyager) after the fourth post-finale Voyager novel.

And again, it's not the specific story you're selling, it's you. The guidelines are a demo process. If you prove yourself by coming up with a good story that fits the guidelines, then you can earn the opportunity to do a wider range of stuff later.

JarodRussell wrote:

---

So I wouldn't even submit my proper idea of the novel I'd like to get published, I would sort of submit a demo reel of my style and if I get the characters right and then wait for Pocket to give me a story?

Not necessarily. It's possible that if you pitch a good idea that fits the guidelines, they'll want you to write that. Or maybe not. But if your "dream story" is outside the guidelines, then yes, it's something you need to save for later.

But if your entire objective revolves around telling only one story, then the editors probably won't have much use for you. They're looking for people they can rely on, people they can work with on a continuing basis. Why invest their time and effort cultivating a new writer if they can only get one book out of him? And maybe not even the book they want?

It's important to be flexible, to have more than one arrow in your quiver. If you're writing fanfic for yourself, you can fixate on your own preferences, but if you want to work as a professional, you need to be able to adapt and compromise. But that doesn't mean you can't do the things you want to do -- you may just end up doing them in a different form than you imagined. You might end up doing some aspects of your "dream novel" in one book and other aspects in a different book. You may not get to do the Kirk subplot you imagined, but then find a later opportunity to do it as a Riker subplot. Every writer has a drawer full of ideas that didn't work out the first time but might someday find new life in a different form.

[Therin of Andor]

JarodRussell wrote:

---

So I wouldn't even submit my proper idea of the novel I'd like to get published, I would sort of submit a demo reel of my style and if I get the characters right and then wait for Pocket to give me a story?

Of course you'd submit your "proper idea". Hand in your best idea as a proposal, not your second best idea. The point is, you'll learn so much writing it, and rewriting it, that you may decide yourself you want to try something better next time.