Question for writers here

[EnriqueH]

I’ve been thinking to get back into writing and I’ve always wanted to write a Star Trek novel. Who knows if I’ll ever get it published, but I just wanted to write it for myself and if I get it published: great.

I wanted to buy a simple laptop just for writing. Don’t really need it for movies, games or anything fancy.

Do you guys recommend a laptop?

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm the wrong guy to ask about technical stuff, but I'm not sure it makes a big difference.

Just understand that, as far as professional publishing goes, Word is pretty much the default word-processing program that every company prefers or may even insist on.

Says one of the last authors on Earth to keep using WordPerfect--until I was finally told to knock it off and switch to Word.

 

[JJMiller]

I'm a laptop fan for gaming -- writing, not so much. I learned to type on manual typewriters and will always want a keyboard you have to hammer on (I use a Logitech Wave for the desktop and it's delightfully noisy).

That said, gaming laptops (I use an Asus) tend to be more durable than any of the regular ones have ever been for me, so that might be a direction to go.

 

[KRAD]

If you write a Star Trek novel front to back, I guarantee it will never get published. That's not how it works. You have to have an approved story outline before you even start writing the novel -- that's true for every licensed tie-in novel.

 

[Greg Cox]

If you write a Star Trek novel front to back, I guarantee it will never get published. That's not how it works. You have to have an approved story outline before you even start writing the novel -- that's true for every licensed tie-in novel.

Good point. It breaks my heart when people approach me at books signings and say something like "I've just written a 400-page SPIDER-MAN novel. How do I arrange to get it published?"

"Um, it doesn't work that way."

 

[Christopher]

To clarify, writing the work first and then selling it is how it's normally done with original fiction, something where the concepts and characters are entirely yours. But if it's media tie-in work, then that means working as a contractor for the owners of the property, so you need to get hired first and then do the work. One way to do that is to establish yourself writing original fiction first so that you can get their attention.

 

[KRAD]

Plus, if Simon & Schuster doesn't agree to publish your Star Trek novel, there's literally nowhere else you can go to, as they have the exclusive rights to Trek fiction. Plus, since it's owned by CBS/Paramount/Viacom/who-the-fuck-ever, you don't have any rights to it at all because it features characters they own, not you.

 

[JJMiller]

All true. But you would be free to change all the names in your manuscript and sell it as Fifty Shades of Space Fleet.

 

[Christopher]

All true. But you would be free to change all the names in your manuscript and sell it as Fifty Shades of Space Fleet.

Generally, if an editor or slush pile reader sees a manuscript that's clearly a Star Trek novel with the names changed, they'll immediately toss it aside along with the hundreds of others just like it they get every year. As a rule, the only way to get something like that published for profit is to self-publish (or to be famous like Seth McFarlane or John Scalzi -- although Redshirts only looked like a Trek knockoff at first). Better to create something genuinely original.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Plus, if Simon & Schuster doesn't agree to publish your Star Trek novel, there's literally nowhere else you can go to, as they have the exclusive rights to Trek fiction. Plus, since it's owned by CBS/Paramount/Viacom/who-the-fuck-ever, you don't have any rights to it at all because it features characters they own, not you.

IIRC, John Ordover used to recommend getting two science fiction novels published before attempting to pitch a proposal and sample chapters for a Trek novel.

 

[tomswift2002]

IIRC, John Ordover used to recommend getting two science fiction novels published before attempting to pitch a proposal and sample chapters for a Trek novel.

As I recall in VOI, Dreams of the Raven (1987) was Carmen Carter’s first professional sale, and she had written the entire book on spec, and only submitted the first 3 chapters at first.

 

[Therin of Andor]

As I recall in VOI, Dreams of the Raven (1987) was Carmen Carter’s first professional sale, and she had written the entire book on spec, and only submitted the first 3 chapters at first.

Yes, but she was a rare exception. Several fans-turned-pro made it in those early days. When it threatened an avalanche of fan proposals into Pocket Books, there was a strong warning that you had to submit through a recognised literary agent and have a proven track record.

 

[Kor]

I'm the wrong guy to ask about technical stuff, but I'm not sure it makes a big difference.

Just understand that, as far as professional publishing goes, Word is pretty much the default word-processing program that every company prefers or may even insist on.

Says one of the last authors on Earth to keep using WordPerfect--until I was finally told to knock it off and switch to Word.

That's interesting. I would have thought that there was some other software suite specifically tailored to book authors.

Kor

 

[Christopher]

That's interesting. I would have thought that there was some other software suite specifically tailored to book authors.

I think Word kind of is, in some ways. It's become such a standard practice in the industry to use Track Changes for copyediting that I'm not sure I'd remember how to do it the old-fashioned way with a red pen.

 

[EnriqueH]

Wow, lots of amazing feedback here, guys. Thank you.

 

[Greg Cox]

All true. But you would be free to change all the names in your manuscript and sell it as Fifty Shades of Space Fleet.

I once rejected a submission that was obviously a Janeway/Seven of Nine slash novel with the serial numbers filed off. After Fifty Shades of Grey sold a zillion copies, I did wonder if perhaps I had been too hasty . . .

 

[EnriqueH]

You know, I’ll probably eventually still write a Star Trek story anyway. I’ve always wanted to.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Yes, but she was a rare exception. Several fans-turned-pro made it in those early days. When it threatened an avalanche of fan proposals into Pocket Books, there was a strong warning that you had to submit through a recognised literary agent and have a proven track record.

IIRC, some Bantam-era novels were essentially fanfiction sent to the publishers. Hence the confusion that persists that it can still be done that way, when that was 40 years ago.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Of course if you just want to write something for the sake of writing it, there is always AO3.

 

[Damian]

IIRC, some Bantam-era novels were essentially fanfiction sent to the publishers. Hence the confusion that persists that it can still be done that way, when that was 40 years ago.

Having recently read some of the Bantam novels I can believe it. A number of them were sub-par.

You know, I’ll probably eventually still write a Star Trek story anyway. I’ve always wanted to.

More power to you. S&S used to periodically do collected stories written by fans. I recall there were a number of conditions and they had to be short stories basically. But IIRC a few of our resident novelists may have started that way--though I don't recall who. But it's been a while since they did that.

The last time they did I considered writing a story myself. I'm always complaining about how I'd love more post TFF novels so I figured I'd do my story in that time frame. But I barely got through two pages and it was awful. I don't have much of an artistic mindset and I think in many ways a writer is an artist. It's not just the main plot, but the characterizations, the dialogue, the thoughts of your characters and the scenery, among a million other things. I have an enormous amount of respect for novelists because it can't be easy writing a 300+ page book that people enjoy reading. And it can probably be easier to go on tangents if you're not careful and lose sight of the main plot.

It does sound like it's incredibly difficult to get to be an official tie-in writer these days. It sounds like you have to basically establish yourself before you can even be considered to be a novelists for Star Trek.