90's novel guidelines

[F. King Daniel]

Here is a scan of the Pocket books Star Trek submission guidelines from the 90's, as reproduced in Trek: The Printed Adventures by James Van Hise.

I knew about these rules in abstract, but reading them like this is something else. It's amazing that anything worthwhile was written at all during that era, and gives me an understanding of excactly why so many of that era's novels were such generic planet-of-the-week fare.

I find it of particular interest that after Diane Duane's Spock's World was such a big success, further novels would be barred from using or building on it's concepts. I suspect that some of the rules are because some stuff's already been done (Data becoming human in Metamorphosis, for example), but many of them read like a who's who of my Trek favourites.

I was curious as to whether there's a similar document for today's Trek writers (who are obviously given much more leeway to do what they want), and how it differs from the 90's version.

 

[Christopher]

You're operating under a misconception, Daniel. As we have explained every time this has come up on this BBS in the past (which has been often, so I'm surprised you haven't come across such discussions before), these are NOT the guidelines for established authors. They are only the guidelines for aspiring new authors submitting unsolicited manuscripts. They are an audition process. Novice writers seeking to attract the attention of the editors need to demonstrate their basic skills, including their ability to follow instructions. Novices are held to strict standards for what kind of story they can propose because they haven't proven themselves yet, and because they aren't inside the loop. If you want to propose a big story that breaks formula and tries new things, you can do that after you've convinced an editor to want to work with you. If you're still a newcomer trying to prove yourself, you have to demonstrate your mastery of the basics before you earn enough trust to be allowed to take chances.

And if your outline and sample chapters submitted through this process do get an editor's attention, the editor will probably work with you to develop a different proposal, one that wouldn't be subject to the same restrictions. So these guidelines wouldn't have much impact on any novel that actually gets into print.

So these guidelines have nothing to do with the state of Trek novels in the '90s, because the same guidelines continued to be in effect well into the 2000s, and as far as I know are still in effect today. These guidelines are part of the audition process for newcomers. That's all. The restrictions on '90s novels were due to the policies imposed by Richard Arnold when he was the person in charge of Trek licensing at Paramount. And that has nothing to do with this document, because this is a Pocket Books document, not a Paramount one.

And really, a lot of the guidelines' restrictions make sense. Out of a hundred aspiring Trek novelists, at least ninety-eight will have nothing to offer beyond the same few fanfic cliches, and the "themes to avoid" listed there are probably a catalog of the cliches that Pocket got inundated with by aspiring authors until they put a stop to it (time travel, pon farr, gratuitous crossovers, hitherto-unknown family members, porn). If you look at just about any publisher's submission guidelines, you'll likely find similar lists of cliches to avoid. That's not an unfair restriction -- it's a challenge to aspiring authors to rise above the obvious and easy, to apply themselves to coming up with something fresh. It's only fair that applicants for a job should be required to surmount hurdles, challenged to raise the level of their game.

 

[cmdr_forst]

So these guidelines have nothing to do with the state of Trek novels in the '90s, because the same guidelines continued to be in effect well into the 2000s, and as far as I know are still in effect today. These guidelines are part of the audition process for newcomers. That's all.

You used to be able to find a more recent set of guidelines at the old Simon Says website (here's an undated version I found), but I cannot find anything about submitting manuscripts at the current Simon & Schuster website aside from the following note:

Manuscript Submissions

Simon & Schuster does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We suggest that prospective authors submit their manuscripts through a professional literary agent.
We cannot recommend specific agents for your work. There are several websites, however, that offer resources for authors:
Literary Marketplace
BookPitch
Writerspace
Author Link
Writer's Net
Poets & Writers Magazine
Writer's Digest

Can you even submit unsolicited Star Trek manuscripts these days?

 

[Christopher]

Can you even submit unsolicited Star Trek manuscripts these days?

You never could. Both the guidelines Daniel posted and the version you posted state right at the top that Pocket would only look at manuscripts submitted through agents.

 

[cmdr_forst]

Can you even submit unsolicited Star Trek manuscripts these days?

You never could. Both the guidelines Daniel posted and the version you posted state right at the top that Pocket would only look at manuscripts submitted through agents.

Then how come in your previous post you wrote "They are only the guidelines for aspiring new authors submitting unsolicited manuscripts." Am I misunderstanding the term "unsolicited" somehow?

 

[Christopher]

^Sorry, I chose my words poorly. Not enough sleep last night.

 

[Smellincoffee]

The only rule that seems odd, even for novice writers, is the Spock-no-touchy line. He can't tap Kirk on the shoulder or give him a hand climbing up a hill?

 

[Christopher]

The only rule that seems odd, even for novice writers, is the Spock-no-touchy line. He can't tap Kirk on the shoulder or give him a hand climbing up a hill?

No doubt a reaction to all the slash fanfic out there, and to the Killing Time incident where some slashy content mistakenly got published and the book was withdrawn and reissued without it.

 

[F. King Daniel]

You're operating under a misconception, Daniel.

Sorry about that. Thanks for the explanation.

I really should have done a forum search before posting.

 

[Therin of Andor]

You never could. Both the guidelines Daniel posted and the version you posted state right at the top that Pocket would only look at manuscripts submitted through agents.

IIRC, in the first few years of Pocket having the license, some unsolicited manuscripts from first-timers and fairly green writers did go onto the slush pile without agent representation, and a few eventually got published. But as fandom caught on that a few of their own were finding success, the flow of manuscripts increased and a statement went out that only agents could submit.

Some pro authors were convinced by their agents not to become involved because of the risk of proposals/manuscripts being turned down before any contract was offered. They'd rather their clients spent time on something more profitable and/or reliable. David Gerrold did not proceed on "The Space Vampire" because the royalty was less than what he could achieve had it been an original novel, and Pocket wouldn't budge on price. Robert J Sawyer's lost "Armada" is discussed at:
http://www.sfwriter.com/armada.htm

 

[Hober Mallow]

Is not a manuscript unsolicited whether or not it is submitted through an agent if the publisher didn't request it from the author in the first place?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Is not a manuscript unsolicited whether or not it is submitted through an agent if the publisher didn't request it from the author in the first place?

Yep. Generally, AKAIK, if a manuscript arrives at a publisher unagented and unsolicited it goes on the slush pile. If it arrives agented but unsolicited, it goes to the top of the slush pile. If it was solicited, it goes onto the editor's desk.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Can you even submit unsolicited Star Trek manuscripts these days?

You never could. Both the guidelines Daniel posted and the version you posted state right at the top that Pocket would only look at manuscripts submitted through agents.

And there are ways round that, if you already have a track record, though.

 

[Christopher]

Okay, maybe I didn't choose my words poorly. I thought that was the case, but I was confused by the language in the two different documents, because I assumed they were saying the same thing. The older one linked in post #1 just says that they'll only accept submissions through agents. The later one linked in post #3 says they'll only accept "requested, agented manuscripts" and that unsolicited MSs will be returned. Which is odd, because the rest of the guidelines in that link seem to be the usual ones for unsolicited MSs.

...Both the guidelines Daniel posted and the version you posted state right at the top that Pocket would only look at manuscripts submitted through agents.

And there are ways round that, if you already have a track record, though.

Well, of course. I've still never had an agent to this day. I was only referring to the parameters for considering new, uninvited authors. I considered clarifying that by talking about my own experience as an example for how established authors can get in the door, but for once I decided to go for brevity and save the more detailed analysis for later if it came up. Which it now has.

In point of fact, I doubt that very many of the authors currently working in Trek Lit got in through this submission process. Most of us were people who already had some pro writing credentials and caught the attention of the editors. Really, that's the best way to do it.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Is not a manuscript unsolicited whether or not it is submitted through an agent if the publisher didn't request it from the author in the first place?

Yep. Generally, AKAIK, if a manuscript arrives at a publisher unagented and unsolicitated it goes on the slush pile. If it arrives agented but unsolicitated, it goes to the top of the slush pile. If it was solicited, it goes onto the editor's desk.

What's amazing is the number of agents (not with Trek, thankfully, but elsewhere in the publishing world) who don't actually understand that, by saying "pitch me this" they *are* soliciting it...