Strange New Worlds Book Seeking Contributors

[BobF60]

Please note that the following message has been approved by the Trek BBS admins & moderators and that the board itself isn't promoting the book and that the poster, Pencil Tip Publishing, is seeking contributions only to said book and not selling it.
PRESS RELEASE

Pencil Tip Publishing is pleased to announce the latest volume in our What The Fans Think series of books…..

WHAT THE FANS THINK: STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS VOLUME ONE

Unapologetic and critical fan reviews and assessments

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an extremely popular American science fiction television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet for the streaming service Paramount+. It is the eleventh Star Trek series and debuted in 2022 as part of Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. A spin-off from the series Star Trek: Discovery, it follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the starship Enterprise in the 23rd century during the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Volume One will concentrate on series 1-3.

Submissions for What The Fans Think: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Volume One are now open and this is where we looking to work with fellow Star Trek fans.

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WHAT THE FANS THINK is Pencil Tip’s series of books where the fans review and assess their favorite television series.

Fan opinion can be extremely critical, often harsher than that of the meanest television critic. But when the fans love something, you know it. Praises are heaped in droves.

Each volume will concentrate on a specific series and will feature original reviews, essays and analysis of every episode of that particular series. The fans will have their say on what they think are the best, worst and merely average episodes of a series. You just might be surprised by what they have to say.

To date we have published What The Fans Think books on Space: 1999, Torchwood, Blake's 7, UFO, Sarah Jane Adventures, The Tomorrow People, and Class.
Pencil Tip Publishing is a small independent publisher based in Vancouver Canada producing quality, entertaining, and interesting books focusing on cult & genre television, short-story collections, original fiction, and Doctor Who.

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To learn more about What The Fans Think: Star Trek Strange New Worlds Volume One and/or how to contribute, please visit the Pencil Tip Publishing site at www.penciltippublishing.com. (Click on the Submission Guidelines post.)

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

When I saw this headline, I thought it was talking about the anthology series:

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Strange_New_Worlds_(anthology)

Maybe edit the thread title to make it clearer?

 

[Greg Cox]

What is the pay rate? I can't find that in the Submission Guidelines.

 

[Steve Roby]

I don't think they pay. Their books are mainly written by fan contributors and sold through lulu.com. Some of their books are interesting, though the quality can vary depend on the contributors.

 

[T'Bonz]

I'm not seeing a pay rate. Which means, to most who care about their writing, it's a no-go.

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't think they pay. Their books are mainly written by fan contributors and sold through lulu.com. Some of their books are interesting, though the quality can vary depend on the contributors.

Okay. Just curious.

Seemed oddly absent.

 

[Steve Roby]

Bob Furnell, the publisher, is a regular on Gallifrey Base, and a lot of his publications are Doctor Who-related. I’ve probably got seven or eight of his company’s books. The lines between professional publications, licensed publications, and fan productions are blurrier in the Doctor Who world.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Which means, to most who care about their writing, it's a no-go.

Well, that depends on how one defines "caring about one's writing." While I would never pay a vanity house to subsidy-publish any of my stuff, I would, if all else failed, print it myself, or offer it online, in PDF form, under some form of Creative Commons license. Because (given the fact that I have a reasonably lucrative day-job) I care more about sharing it than I do about revenue.

But that does NOT mean I think any less of those who make their living at writing, depending on royalties to put food on the table. Indeed, I think more of the pros, precisely because (as with any other career in the arts) it's a fairly high-risk line of work. Not risky the way walking into a burning building is risky, or confronting armed criminals, or getting shot at in a war zone, or getting shot into orbit on the nose of a ballistic missile, or test-piloting aircraft. Risky in terms that one might not necessarily know whether one might end up waiting tables or flipping burgers because the book one poured one's soul into ended up flopping.

In writing, I am an amateur, and will likely never turn fully pro. But to quote John Houseman's line in the 1980 telefilm. A Christmas Without Snow,

Mrs. Burns is right, of course; you are amateurs, unlike certain pseudo-professionals like myself who insist on slave wages. Your voluntary and steadfast attendance at these rehearsals fully qualifies you for any definition of the word "amateur". What Mrs. Burns and many others are wrong about is the meaning of the word, which has to do with motivation, not quality. Remember "amo, amat, amas", the Latin verb "to love". The meaning of "amateur" is "he or she who does a thing for the love of it". There is no higher reason for singing than the love of doing it. In that respect, you do qualify as amateurs. And I salute you for it.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Risky in terms that one might not necessarily know whether one might end up waiting tables or flipping burgers

I feel that's most jobs these days. And I suspect it will only get worse.

because the book one poured one's sole into ended up flopping.

In that case, it probably deserved to flop. I wouldn't buy a book with a fish poured into it, either.

 

[The Wormhole]

I wouldn't buy a book with a fish poured into it, either.

I might be convinced to borrow such a book from the library.

 

[Christopher]

In that case, it probably deserved to flop. I wouldn't buy a book with a fish poured into it, either.

If you poured your sole into a book, does that mean it would have a lot of footnotes?

 

[Therin of Andor]

In that case, it probably deserved to flop. I wouldn't buy a book with a fish poured into it, either.

Maybe it could have come out on micro-fische?

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

In that case, it probably deserved to flop. I wouldn't buy a book with a fish poured into it, either.

Thanks for the heads-up. And as it happens, there's another typo that I spotted without help, and I'm going to go correct it.

 

[BobF60]

HI all. I've just read over everyone's posts and I think there's been some misunderstanding about Pencil Tip and the forthcoming book. I can fully understand any confusion and doubt, as I suspect many of you have never heard of Pencil Tip before this post.

First off, for the (What The Fans Think) Submission Guidelines, the direct link is at: https://penciltippublishing.com/submission-guide-lines#info-two. There is also a link to download a PDF version of the guidelines at the end of that section.

Second, some background on Pencil Tip Publishing. Pencil Tip is a small independent publisher based in Vancouver Canada. Pencil Tip is a legit, legally registered publishing company - we are not a vanity publisher. We have been in business since 2015 and have published over 20 books. Depending on the type of book some writers have been paid as well as earned royalties. Several of our books have been vehicles to raise money for a chosen charity. For example, our recent X-Men anthology, Rogue & Gambit: Burning House, is raising funds for the BC Cancer Society. Other charities we have supported have been for mental health, the BC SPCA, and others.

Additional to our books, Pencil Tip publishes a cult TV magazine, Chromakey.

Third, the What The Fans Think series of books are unofficial and unauthorized publications. Each book in this series is written by and for fans of a specific series. Contributors for these book are not paid (in a cash amount) however as a thank you for contributing, each contributor gets a contributor copy of the book plus a sizeable discount on purchasing additional copies.

As Steve Roby mentioned in one of his posts earlier in this thread, "...the publisher, is a regular on Gallifrey Base, and a lot of his publications are Doctor Who-related.... The lines between professional publications, licensed publications, and fan productions are blurrier in the Doctor Who world."

Fourth, I realize that most of you on this forum are unlikely to know who I am. As a bit to introduce myself, I have been a sci-fi fans for close to 40 years. I have run several fan groups (TASC - Telefantasy Appreciation Society of Canada), I have organized over 20 small-to-large scale conventions (Who Party West 1 & 3, TMOVsocials 1-9) as well as assisted with programming with the local Vancouver SF convention, V-Con. In the early 90s I was involved in searching for lost episodes of Doctor Who in Canada, as well I worked on the documentary Bidding Adieu (re the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie). My background is as an Executive Assistant. I have taken writing and editing courses through Simon Fraser University and the Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education (Publishing). I have been writing for over 30 years, am a published author, have edited and written for several fanzines and magazines including many of my own. I have interviewed numerous celebrities including: Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, William Roache (Ken Barlow on Coronation Street), Mollie Sugden (Mrs. Slocombe on Are You Being Served), Sophie Aldred, Nicola Bryant, Mary Tamm, Kevin Sorbo, Robert Lewellyn & Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf), Sylvia Anderson (Thunderbirds, Space: 1999) and more.

Not sure what else to tell you. But please be rest assured I'm not some nut case trying to con writers out of their money, nor am I scam artist. Like all of you I'm primarily a fan of sci-fi television overall And to assure you, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them either in this thread, in a PM, or feel free to email me at: penciltippublshing@shaw.ca.

As to the book, if you'd like to contribute to the project, that would be greatly welcomed and appreciated. If you don't wish to, hey, I understand, and I completely understand if people on this forum are skeptical or doubtful. Hey, I would be too. As to a charity for this book, we haven't picked one yet, but I'm currently leaning towards an dementia related charity in honor of my oldest sister.

So I hope the above goes some way towards clearing up any misconceptions, misunderstandings, etc.

Bob