In-series Novels

[BrotherBenny]

Apart from Hollow Men and the String Theory trilogy, all written by established authors, I have noticed that the majority of series-based books are all set post-series and the other spaces in the schedule are taken up by the original, lit-only series.

I'm working on a proposal at the moment, but I'd like to know how likely it is, provided of course that the proposal is accepted and the manuscript written, that the book would appear any time soon.

Are there any other in-series books in the works at the moment?

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'd like to know how likely it is, provided of course that the proposal is accepted and the manuscript written, that the book would appear any time soon.

Depends on whether your proposal is actually good or not.

It is more likely that you'd get an original SF novel published, and that's difficult enough.

The Simon & Schuster ST proposal rules are a "test". If you manage to pass that, it's not guaranteed that the story you wrote in that proposal and sample chapters would be the basis of the book that is eventually published. That's why the rules mention not to finish the novel while waiting to hear from Pocket's editors. It's possible you'd be invited to pitch something else instead.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Depends on whether your proposal is actually good or not.

It is more likely that you'd get an original SF novel published, and that's difficult enough.

The Simon & Schuster ST proposal rules are a "test". If you manage to pass that, it's not guaranteed that the story you wrote in that proposal and sample chapters would be the basis of the book that is eventually published. That's why the rules mention not to finish the novel while waiting to hear from Pocket's editors. It's possible you'd be invited to pitch something else instead.

Are any books going to be set during the series anymore? Or have we moved beyond that?

 

[Christopher]

There's no rule forbidding books set during the series. We've had several anthologies of stories set mostly or entirely during their respective series' runs. But writing in the series timeframe is more limiting, because you can't really do anything that affects the status quo. So lately it tends to be done mainly when there's a really good idea behind it, when it's something more than just a "crisis of the week" type of story.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Are any books going to be set during the series anymore?

Why not? TOS novels have jumped all around the timeline ever since they started.

The only time I can recall a line of the ST novels being constrained to certain time periods was when Yar and Crusher left and were replaced by Guinan and Pulaski. Pocket (and DC) were "encouraged" to start setting TNG novels in Season Two, causing a few to be revised at proposal stage. Ditto when Crusher replaced Pulaski.

 

[Christopher]

^^Those aren't the only cases of novels being tweaked to fit onscreen changes. There was a DS9 novel -- I think it was Valhalla? -- that was clearly written to be set in the first or early second season, but had an incongruous throwaway line stuck in about the Defiant being away for repairs, in order to create the (unsuccessful) illusion that it was third-season.

And of course the frame story of Pathways was meant to take place before Kes left Voyager, but it had to be revised to include Seven of Nine and have Kes's biography get set up in a convoluted way. Paramount always wanted Pocket and its comics licensees to keep their projects current with the on-air status quo.

 

[donners22]

I recall one poor sucker wrote a novel which made frequent references to the warp limit which was extablished (and very quickly pushed under a rug) in TNG's seventh season.