Strange New Worlds

[Janos]

Is Strange New Worlds still being done or is there no longer a push for this kind of anthology "contest" books?

I've been away from online ST novel forum(s) for a few years, but have picked up a few ST novels over the intervening years. Anyhow, that said, I don't remember the last time I saw a new SNW edition. With these editorial changes I'm hearing about, was this anthology on the chopping block?

 

[Christopher]

SNW ended at volume 10 back in 2007, before the economic crash that triggered the editorial changes of recent years. It was ended simply because it was unprofitable. Doing it as a contest and hiring a freelance editor for it added costs to the production end, and since there were no name authors involved, it had limited audience appeal. It had been losing money for years, and it's amazing it lasted as long as it did.

 

[Nathan]

I remember when SNW Vol 1 came out. I thought it was great. Even the later volumes that came out, I thought overall they were great reads.

Yeah, I'm sure there were some clunkers of stories in there, but some I thought, "Sheesh, I'd read more of this guy's/gal's stuff, too bad the person isn't a regular author to the ST Line."

In fact, I thought several stories were better than than some of the books being cranked out by published authors at the time. (I'm referring when TOS/TNG books were numbered)

Chris is probably right in that it wasn't a money maker, but glad it lasted as long as it did.

Oddly enough, I buy most of my ST books used and have a couple of used book stores in the area where I live. I don't often seen SNW books on the shelves. Don't know if there is a low amount out on the market or those who bought them never traded them in (like myself).

 

[Defcon]

Just to add to Christoher's post: In 2009 I interviewed Dean Wesley Smith (the main editor for the SNW anthologies) and several authors about the contest.

Among other things we talked about the (possible) reasons it wasn't continued.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I'm sure there were some clunkers of stories in there, but some I thought, "Sheesh, I'd read more of this guy's/gal's stuff, too bad the person isn't a regular author to the ST Line."

Some SNW authors did become ST novelists, including Dayton Ward, Ilsa J. Bick, Bill Leisner, and Geoffrey Thorne, among others.

 

[Janos]

Thanks. Too bad. I picked up Volume 5 and was tempted to submit a story for 6, but didn`t.

Anyhow, can anyone tell me if any of SNW volumes included stories about (a) the Mirror Universe, (b) Q and/or the Squire of Gothos, and (c) Captain Pike or any of the lesser known Enterprise Captains, e.g. Harriman, etc.?

Cheers.

 

[Christopher]

There were Q stories in volumes I, III, IV, VI, and 10, sometimes more than one in each (there were 8 in all). I don't think there were any Mirror Universe or Trelane stories. There's a Pike story in volume I and a Harriman story in volume VII.

 

[sulfur]

The full list of stories (and their loose contents) is available on both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta.

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Strange_New_Worlds
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Strange_New_Worlds

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

Thanks for the Memory Beta reference. I hadn't looked there.

Hmm... my little story is going to be forever known as short and sweet...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Yeah, I'm sure there were some clunkers of stories in there, but some I thought, "Sheesh, I'd read more of this guy's/gal's stuff, too bad the person isn't a regular author to the ST Line."

Some SNW authors did become ST novelists, including Dayton Ward, Ilsa J. Bick, Bill Leisner, and Geoffrey Thorne, among others.

I hope whoever wrote Immortality Blues did, because that is far and away my favorite SNW story.

 

[Christopher]

I hope whoever wrote Immortality Blues did, because that is far and away my favorite SNW story.

That was Marc Carlson, who has no other professionally published fiction credits, though apparently he has some fiction published at his website.

But I agree, that was an excellent story.

 

[vegaslover62]

I submitted four stories to SNW, two of them making it out of the slushpile, but there was a fifth one I wrote years ago that I didn't think much of until after the contest ended. After hearing my beta readers say it's their favorite story, I wish I had known it back then. It surely would have been a contender, hindsight being 20/20 and all that...

 

[Brikar99]

I submitted four stories to SNW, two of them making it out of the slushpile, but there was a fifth one I wrote years ago that I didn't think much of until after the contest ended. After hearing my beta readers say it's their favorite story, I wish I had known it back then. It surely would have been a contender, hindsight being 20/20 and all that...

I hear that... I kicked myself for not submitting anything until the 9th year.

Still, SNW was a great experience. It's too bad it wasn't more profitable, and couldn't stick around longer.

 

[Janos]

Still, SNW was a great experience. It's too bad it wasn't more profitable, and couldn't stick around longer.

Why doesn't do an e-version of it? Less cost and still allows you find new writers.

 

[Christopher]

Why doesn't do an e-version of it? Less cost and still allows you find new writers.

It's a common misconception that eBooks cost less to make than print books. In fact, the physical costs of printing a paper book are minimal compared to the cost of paying the writer(s), editor(s), cover artist(s), copyeditors, proofreaders, typesetters, graphic designers, etc. who participate in the creation of a book.

And running SNW as a contest made it considerably more complex and expensive than a typical anthology. You needed more freelance editors and assistants to sort through the thousands of entries and gradually winnow down the list, and it took them a lot of paid time to do so (which is why SNW was edited by a freelancer -- the regular editors just couldn't spare the time). You needed to pay lawyers to work out the contest rules. You needed to set aside prize money for the winners, as well as payments for the runners-up who got their stories published. None of those costs would be ameliorated by publishing it electronically.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Still, SNW was a great experience. It's too bad it wasn't more profitable, and couldn't stick around longer.

Why doesn't do an e-version of it? Less cost and still allows you find new writers.

Try the FanFiction forum here.

My personal recommendations: First Contact: The Iron Horse (I hear that a full length novel version might be coming!) and Sigils and Unions (one of the most engaging explorations of Cardassian culture I have ever read).

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

And there's always FanFiction.net. The quality is spotty, but there are occasional gems. I put my old stories up there, just for the fun of it...

 

[TGTheodore]

SNW was an excellent validation and coda to my Trek writing. I had pitched to TNG, DS9 and VOY at Paramount for ten years, resulting in one (ultimately canceled) sale to DS9. After fruitless pitches to Voyager, I pretty much had it with writing Trek. I didn't even try for Enterprise.

But a friend pointed me to SNW, and I got in the first three years I submitted.

It was nice to know that once my final product was actually read that it was printworthy. (Like a lot of screenwriters, I am a terrible pitcher.) I also met a lot of amazingly great people through SNW. And I was invited to pitch to a few Trek anthologies. Almost made it into Constellations.

SNW was a great decade.

--Ted