Finding a Tech-Friendly Novel Editor? 45
Brian J. asks: "I've recently completed a manuscript for a novel that depicts a heist involving elements of the Information Technology industry. Basically, a quartet of laid-off technology workers think they're going to get revenge against their former employer, but it doesn't work out that way. I was wondering if Slashdot knew of author's agents or editorial staff at publishers who have an affinity for technology, especially technology fiction, to whom I could send a query letter."
Office Space (Score:5, Funny)
Figure out who edited your favorite techno books (Score:5, Insightful)
Depending on how much you already know, try reading Getting Your Book Published for Dummies or Cory Doctorow's book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Science-Fiction (even though you aren't writing strictly sci fi, the general principles are the same). Most of the "serious" writing books I read weren't as good as either of those two, but hey, I'm either a dummy or an idiot when it comes to writing I guess
I actually thought you were looking for novel writing software - I'd be interested in that topic as well, I've tried out a few, but they don't seem to fit my needs as well as two open text editors (one for notes, one for writing).
Office Space ][ ?? (Score:1)
Oh about the agents/editors, since their are a lots publishers out there that publish technical and sci-fi books I am sure there are plenty of tech savvy agents/editors. Contact the big agencies/publishers and ask them.
A good editor (Score:4, Funny)
Re:A good editor (Score:1)
A friend of mine had a book published by a real publisher. He did the typsetting himself (with LaTeX), and had a local printshop print up a couple hundred copies for friends, local bookstores, online sales, etc. He sent a copy to a couple pro editors, and one was impressed enough to help revise a version 2 that got published professionally.
Re:A good editor (Score:2)
I've gotten rather good at turning my LyX docs into word files, but I'll NEVER stoop to developing docs in word.
1. LyX is the reason why I switched to linux.
2. I've published a paper and am working on a second in lyx, which will have to be
Re:A good editor (Score:1)
Two Possibilities (Score:5, Informative)
There are two possibilities.
(1) Your book is so technical that the layperson wouldn't understand it. That would mean that you really do need a technical editor and/or agent. However, your book will be harder to sell to publishers anyway because its audience will be limited to technical people.
(2) Your book, although it contains technical elements, would really be accessible to anyone. In that case, you don't really need a technical agent; you can use any agent. Such an agent might not be able to critique your technical accuracy, but if you can get the technical stuff right on your own, then it should be an added plus for readers who understand it.
The only difference between these types of books is that the latter explains things. A book for a general audience can still use technical language, but it makes it extra-clear whether a technical event is good or bad for the characters, and why.
I'd recommend going for the larger audience. Go over your manuscript pretending to be a non-technical reader. See if a non-technical reader can at least tell what the important plot events are. (If something bad happens, can the reader at least tell it's bad, or is it something that only a technical professional would realize is bad?) Find some non-technical people you know, and let them read the book, asking them if they find it interesting -- if they find your book boring, they are probably passing over technical stuff uncomprehendingly, and missing the main events.
If your book is targeted for a wide audience, you won't need any special technical skills on the part of your agent or your editor, and, besides, the book will sell better.
Re:Two Possibilities (Score:2)
"MOD PARENT UP"!
/. editors? (Score:3, Funny)
OK, maybe a bad idea.
Re:/. editors? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:/. editors? (Score:3, Funny)
try whoever published this book (Score:1)
By Duane Franklet
it gets technical and it's understandable
findout who did it and ask them....
What agents are for (Score:3, Insightful)
Useful Resources for Writers (Score:5, Informative)
Speculations [speculations.com] has a ton of good advice, and don't miss The Rumor Mill [speculations.com], especially the Caveat Scrivener sections.
SFWA [sfwa.org], the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. If you know anybody in SFWA, ask to look in the back of the directory at the list of agents representing members.
SFF.net [sff.net], which hosts most of SFWA's online conversation in newsgroups.
Preditors & Editors [anotherealm.com] is another outstanding resource; if you have any doubts about whether your agent, editor, or publisher is on the level or not, go poke around there.
Re:Useful Resources for Writers (Score:2)
Online Writing Workshop [onlinewrit...rkshop.com] sponsored by Del Rey publishers.
Who do you know (Score:3, Insightful)
Kind of sickening, but forget that part, just do it.
And, good luck!
You Shouldn't Need A Tech Friendly Contact (Score:5, Insightful)
If you've worked well within the craft of writing, you'll have a good story and compelling characters and anyone, tech friendly or not, will be interested. If, on the other hand, you've written a story about a lot of cool techno tricks to amaze the reader, they you're basing the story on a gimmick, and it won't be of interest to anyone.
For example, in it's time, Run Silent, Run Deep involved a lot of high tech stuff (it's not high tech anymore, but it was as advanced in its day as movies like Sneakers were). It wasn't the technical details that made the book sell (although they helped a lot with the setting). It was the simple conflict set up between a good submarine captain and a very clever former sub captain who was taking out almost every sub the Allies had in one area. It's true, the tech stuff helped, but it was only added color to help the setting.
If you don't have a good solid story and good characters, and the book depends on the tech stuff and therefore depends on a tech friendly editor, you haven't written a story -- you've written a self-indulgent fantasy.
I truly hope the case is the former, and not the latter. If so, anything you do that gets you out of the slush pile and onto someone's desk -- anyone's desk -- is all you really need.
Agents the way (Score:1)
Re:Agents the way (Score:2)
Agent Smith: Give me the keys to Zion!
Neo: I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave.
Agent Smith: My name's not Dave, it's... I dunno what the hell my first name is. Maybe it is Dave. I'm Agent Smith.
(pause)
Neo: What were we talking about?
Put it online. (Score:3, Interesting)
Ask people to read it, and provide them the ability to post comments, including alternative renderings, page by page! They have to follow the rule of positive criticism (They must provide an argument for why their alternative rendering is 'better').
Then you can have all the editors you want! You could have forty pages of editorial credits! That's pretty high tech, possibly unprecedented! Good reason for additional PR.
Bet you won't do it, because your too precious about making money!
Hey, how about you give this novel to the internet, see what the response is, get famous for authoring the first(?) non-hypertext opensource novel!
Once you are famous, then you can get rich, if you get a good agent!
Re:Put it online. (Score:1)
then I could see a whole PR exercise, you release a few pages at a time and get the responses,
and as your working on the response release a few more pages.
Eventually you would have too much information but a very customer orientated set of notes for a story
(a book for internet geeks?).
I like it a lot
Nit
Re:Put it online. (Score:1)
If you really don't know the answer to that question, then you should probably do a little more light reading [copyright.gov] and little less commenting on Slashdot. Just a thought.
Re:Put it online. (Score:1)
John Sundmans Yahoo group: * [yahoo.com]
Project Gutenburg: * [promo.net]
WetMachine [wetmachine.com]
And some information about creative commons act: * [creativecommons.org]
I hope this makes up for my transgression
Nit
Re:Put it online. (Score:1)
This is more or less proven to work. (Score:3, Informative)
I must admit that I got a hell of a lot of help editing the thing for typos and some decent editorial advice from the effort. As well as just over $1,000 up to now.
I have yet to accomplish the "get rich" part, am still working on the "get a good agent" step. That is looking at least slightly more do-able than it would have been before I put the book online.
Re:This is more or less proven to work. (Score:1)
More or less exactly what I envisioned when I posted the suggestion. It even got an article on slashdot!
Funny that a typical slashdot response is "Man, like, he tied the transistor bases together on the butterfly -fnah- Like that won't work, dude." -- completely right, but possibly missing the point.
I bet that it gave you a lot of ideas about how to improve your writing as well, no?
Check out Their Lists (Score:4, Interesting)
Think of the four or five books that are most like what you've written. Look up the authors' names in Who's Who or Contemporary Authors to find out the names of their agents. Research the agents to find out if they're likely to want to represent other stuff.
Send them no more than about 20 pages, a chapter or two, with an outline of the whole and a promise to send the whole if they request it, which will make it look far less intimidating on the slush pile. Choose what you send carefully: it should be the part of the book that would be most likely to entice a read to turn to the next chapter, but should be easy enough to understand and read on its own (it shouldn't be too hard to get into). Remember that the reader is likely to toss it down within the first few paragraphs if it's not interesting, and that the reader almost certainly will not be technically oriented.
It will be on the slush pile; unless you've published short stories or done tv scripts or something that has already brought you to the attention of an editor or agent, that's where it goes, waiting for an editorial assistant or agent's assistant to get to it when they have spare time (which is why sending a smaller package is so important - it will look like something that can be knocked off in a few minutes. That's also why it's so important for it to be immediately engaging: if it's not, the EA/agent's assistant [not sure what they call these in agent's offices] will just toss it aside to be returned).
Finally, have patience. You probably won't get it published, and if you do, it probably will take a long time to find a buyer. Very few books get snapped up by the first agent or publisher who reads it.
Strange. (Score:3, Insightful)
Usually, you can get the process going with just a few sample chapters. It is not a short process, and you're going to be doing lots of waiting now. Maybe start writing your next book, and this time get a publisher on board before the book is done.
Re:Strange. (Score:3, Insightful)
slashdot (Score:1)
Some suggestions (Score:2)
The first, Dog Days, by Daniel Lyons (sometimes Dan Lyons) is a very entertaining tech/crime caper. It's well worth a read.
The second, Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland, is pretty high on the geeky stuff, but also a very human novel; it's closer to 'high literature' than Dog Days or most of the novels that slashdotters tend to read. It's also my favourite book.
You could d
How to get your novel read by editors (Score:3, Funny)
1.Write an decent first page. Must have some highly quotable, short paragraphs. Have a cliffhanger right at the end of the page.
2.Print 10 000+ copies of the first page.
3.Get a single engine prop plane (preferrably a crop-duster). Fly over a major city and dump your leaflets all over. (N.Y. is best - N.Y.Times have nationvide circulation but you will have to watch out for wind blowing towards Hudson river and seashore.)
4. As you are getting arrested, mention the troubles with editors ignoring your novel as the reason for doing it.
5. Give plenty of interviews. Save some copies of your sample first page to hand out to the journalists. Avoid any references about devout muslim pilots.
Baen Books - Slashdot's Favored Publisher (Score:1)
2: Go to Baen's Bar
3: Waste day reading forums on authors and books until you remember why you are there.
4: Go to the Slushpile (a forum)
The remainder is left as en exercise...
Re:Baen Books - Slashdot's Favored Publisher (Score:1)
(&^$%^%#$ Omnikey - I want another Model M for home!)
Are you looking for an editor or a publisher? (Score:2)
Most publishing houses employ editors, who will go over books that they have contracted for, but if you're
Need an Editor? (Score:2, Funny)