How to get a star-trek novel published?
- Thread starter Urge
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Doesn't work that way with licensed fiction. Before you write a Star Trek novel, you need approval from CBS, the owner of the property. So you start with an outline that you submit to the editor, and if the editor and CBS approve it, then you get to write the manuscript (making sure to incorporate whatever changes they ask for).
But first you have to get in the door. For newcomers, there's a submission process involving submitting an outline and three sample chapters of a book, but it's more an audition than anything else, and if you did get in the door, you'd probably be asked to develop a different project with the editor.
However, things in the Pocket editorial department are kind of up in the air right now, so this isn't a great time to try to get in the door.
Bottom line, if you've got a story in progress that you're enjoying, just be happy with that, and maybe post it on a fan-fiction forum when it's done. Writing ST fiction professionally is like any other profession -- you have to apply for the job, compete with other applicants, train to develop the necessary skills, work according to the guidelines and needs of your employer, etc. And that takes a lot of time and work and dedication.
But first you have to get in the door. For newcomers, there's a submission process involving submitting an outline and three sample chapters of a book, but it's more an audition than anything else, and if you did get in the door, you'd probably be asked to develop a different project with the editor.
However, things in the Pocket editorial department are kind of up in the air right now, so this isn't a great time to try to get in the door.
Bottom line, if you've got a story in progress that you're enjoying, just be happy with that, and maybe post it on a fan-fiction forum when it's done. Writing ST fiction professionally is like any other profession -- you have to apply for the job, compete with other applicants, train to develop the necessary skills, work according to the guidelines and needs of your employer, etc. And that takes a lot of time and work and dedication.
Pocket Books won't accept unsolicited manuscripts about the Shatnerverse. If you can find an agent who'll submit your proposal-and-sample-chapters from a standalone novel set, snugly in the canonical series of TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT, you have a (slight) chance of making it through to the next hurdle.
Christopher said:
None of which, frankly, sounds like a lot of fun.
But I guess it's not supposed to be.I figured I'd add that "Star Trek" doesn't have a hyphen in it.
It's fun in the sense that working hard at a profession you love is fun. But it is a profession, not a hobby, and it takes a long-term commitment.
Hmm...so, now's not the best time, to apply?
How long until it should become a good time, then?
Leave such decisions to your agent.
^Noted and logged. 
I'll hold you to that.
WE WILL BEGIN THE COUNTDOWN, LADIES AND GENTELMEN!!!
I'll hold you to that.
WE WILL BEGIN THE COUNTDOWN, LADIES AND GENTELMEN!!!
Because things are up in the air, I have no way of knowing when would be a good time.
That's quite a tall order. You would a) need an in with the trek editors (having convinced them that you're good enough), b) need the trek editors to be interested in publishing more shatnerverse novels, and c) convince Shatner to ditch his usual co-writer(s) and let you ghost-write the whole thing. I'd say your first goal should be to get hired to write treklit and worry less on getting into the shantnerverse.
Well, your first goal should be to develop your skills as a writer, period, and to write original fiction to submit to other markets. It's broader experience and there are more options to sell and refine your craft. That's a good way to get the attention of an editor.
It's easy to assume your ideas are great if you lack the experience to know the difference between a viable idea and an unviable one. When I started out, I thought my ideas were terrific, but once I started getting rejections and discovering how high the bar really was, I came to recognize that my "brilliant" ideas were sorely lacking in a lot of the fundamentals. This is why there are editors. You can't really know how good an idea is until you run it past someone else, someone with perspective.
So just as a general rule, don't ever tell an editor that your idea is the greatest thing ever. It's their job to decide if it's good. And if it really is good, then it will speak for itself. Telling an editor that your work is brilliant just makes you sound clueless and arrogant.
If anything, were I an editor, I'd have more faith in a writer who expressed doubt about the quality of their work. Because the people who are dissatisfied with their work are the ones most strongly motivated to work hard to improve it. If you assume your work is brilliant, you have no incentive to push yourself to make it better.
So just as a general rule, don't ever tell an editor that your idea is the greatest thing ever. It's their job to decide if it's good. And if it really is good, then it will speak for itself. Telling an editor that your work is brilliant just makes you sound clueless and arrogant.
If anything, were I an editor, I'd have more faith in a writer who expressed doubt about the quality of their work. Because the people who are dissatisfied with their work are the ones most strongly motivated to work hard to improve it. If you assume your work is brilliant, you have no incentive to push yourself to make it better.
Yeah, I imagine an editor will look more kindly upon a person who says "I think I have something good here. Would you take a look at it?" than a guy who says "My stuff is better than anything you've overseen/bought in the past." Just think about your audience: do you want to sound insulting/arrogant (thereby naturally leading to a desire to knock you down a peg), or do you want to engender kindness and a willingness "build you up?"
The whole point of an editor is to improve manuscripts. They're not going to want to work with a guy who thinks they already have a perfect product (as it just means the editorial work is going to be unappreciated).
The whole point of an editor is to improve manuscripts. They're not going to want to work with a guy who thinks they already have a perfect product (as it just means the editorial work is going to be unappreciated).
^Actually the point of an editor is to improve writers. Editors are always looking for writers whose talent they can nurture and develop. But of course that can't happen unless the writer is ready and willing to learn, to recognize the need for improvement and be motivated to work for it.
To be fair, you need a certain amount of cockiness to even submit your work in the first place. You need to have confidence in your own work, while also being willing to listen to editorial device.
The original poster may have gotten a little over-enthusiastic, but you don't want to be excessively humble and self-deprecating either. You need to sell yourself and not be too shy about it.
(My agent long ago beat any traces of false modesty out of me!)
Yeah, it's never a good idea to insult the previous books, but I'm not sure that's what the OP intended.
The original poster may have gotten a little over-enthusiastic, but you don't want to be excessively humble and self-deprecating either. You need to sell yourself and not be too shy about it.
(My agent long ago beat any traces of false modesty out of me!)
Yeah, it's never a good idea to insult the previous books, but I'm not sure that's what the OP intended.
Confidence is important, sure, but you're not going to convince an editor your work is great just by declaring it. The only thing that'll prove that is the work itself. That's why most submission guidelines say that a cover letter should be brief and informative about the author rather than being an exercise in hucksterism about how brilliant the story is. Let the editor make that decision by reading it.
Very good advice.
I recall an individual who tried to pitch a script to me when I was interning at a (now defunct) production company some years ago.
His pitch was that it would cost a certain amount, and that it was a very good script.
The script sucked; and, too, he pissed me off in the manner he got into the office (and, of course, having me do script coverage) but that is another story.
I'm digressing. Excuse me.
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