819 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
819 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
|
From /tmp/sf.10445 Thu May 6 19:45:48 1993
|
||
|
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
|
||
|
Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!gatech!news.ans.net!cmcl2!panix!ekh
|
||
|
From: ekh@panix.com (Ellen Key Harris)
|
||
|
Subject: Del Rey Internet Newsletter, May (long)
|
||
|
Message-ID: <C6GFD2.6uw@panix.com>
|
||
|
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
|
||
|
Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 14:10:13 GMT
|
||
|
Lines: 448
|
||
|
|
||
|
|DEL| REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES OF PUBLISHING
|
||
|
|REY| The DEL REY BOOKS Internet Newsletter
|
||
|
|
||
|
Number 4 (May 1993)
|
||
|
|
||
|
WHAT'S NEW IN THE STORES==========================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
THE FALSE MIRROR by Alan Dean Foster. Paperback.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Third book in Foster's series _The Damned,_ which concerns a
|
||
|
galaxy-wide war fought by the alien alliance called the Weave
|
||
|
against the mind-controlling Amplitur and their client races. The
|
||
|
war-abhorring Weave has hired the naturally warlike humans to do
|
||
|
its fighting for it. Then the Amplitur develop a counter-weapon:
|
||
|
an elite warrior unit matched in size and strength with humans.
|
||
|
Ranji, one of these warriors, is captured by a Weave patrol, who
|
||
|
discover unsettling facts about Ranji and his fellow soldiers.
|
||
|
Fast-paced, with a larger-scale feel than some Foster books.
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
LADY OF MERCY by Michelle Sagara. Paperback.
|
||
|
|
||
|
In the third book by Michelle Sagara, Erin wakes from her enchanted
|
||
|
sleep to find that her lover/enemy, the Dark Lord Stephanos, has
|
||
|
sacrificed the life blood of her dearest friends to keep her alive
|
||
|
through the ages. In fury, Erin renews her warrior's oath to take
|
||
|
up the fight of Light over Dark. Sagara's books are rich and dark,
|
||
|
with lots of tragic romance and blood--Bram Stoker meets "Beauty
|
||
|
and the Beast."
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
DEPARTURES by Harry Turtledove. Paperback.
|
||
|
|
||
|
A short-story collection by the author of the acclaimed Civil War
|
||
|
alternate history THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH. The theme of the
|
||
|
collection is "what would happen if history had deviated just a
|
||
|
little from the path it took?" The stories range from ancient
|
||
|
times to the far future. Locus has called Turtledove "one of the
|
||
|
finest explorers of alternate history ever."
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
KNIGHTS OF DARK RENOWN by David Gemmell. Paperback.
|
||
|
|
||
|
This is Del Rey's first mass-market paperback by England's popular
|
||
|
author of battle-filled heroic fantasies. We own at least 12 books
|
||
|
by Gemmell, which should give you an idea of how enthusiastic we
|
||
|
are about him. In this book, the legendary Knights who protected
|
||
|
the land have long ago disappeared, and the one still remaining--
|
||
|
the coward knight--has to face his greatest fears and rescue his
|
||
|
vanished companions from beyond a demon-haunted gateway. Locus
|
||
|
called this a "sharp, distinctive medieval fantasy."
|
||
|
|
||
|
DEL REY DATA======================================================
|
||
|
May books:
|
||
|
UPLAND OUTLAWS by Dave Duncan (F)
|
||
|
Part Two of _A Handful of Men_; 345-37897-0
|
||
|
Hardcover, 368 pp; cover art by Jim Burns
|
||
|
|
||
|
ECHOES OF THE WELL OF SOULS by Jack Chalker (SF)
|
||
|
A _Well World_ Novel; 345-36201-2
|
||
|
Trade paperback, 416 pp; cover art by Bob Eggleton
|
||
|
|
||
|
CRYSTAL LINE by Anne McCaffrey (SF)
|
||
|
A _Crystal Singer_ book; 345-38491-1
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Rowena
|
||
|
|
||
|
STORM CALLER by Carol Severance (F)
|
||
|
Book Two of _Island Warrior_; 345-37447-9
|
||
|
Paperback, 240 pp; cover art by Mark Harrison
|
||
|
|
||
|
--> DEL REY DISCOVERY: McLENDON'S SYNDROME by Robert Frezza (SF)
|
||
|
345-37516-5
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Peter Peebles
|
||
|
|
||
|
TO A HIGHLAND NATION by Christopher Rowley (SF)
|
||
|
A _Fenrille_ Novel; 345-35860-0
|
||
|
Paperback, 288 pp; cover art by Bob Eggleton
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
June books:
|
||
|
THE FALSE MIRROR by Alan Dean Foster (SF)
|
||
|
_The Damned,_ Book Three; 345-37575-0
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Barclay Shaw
|
||
|
|
||
|
LADY OF MERCY by Michelle Sagara (F)
|
||
|
Third Book of _The Sundered_; 345-37948-9
|
||
|
Paperback, 352 pp; cover art by Tom Stimson
|
||
|
|
||
|
DEPARTURES by Harry Turtledove (SF)
|
||
|
Short Stories; 345-38011-8
|
||
|
Paperback, 366 pp; cover art by Barclay Shaw
|
||
|
|
||
|
KNIGHTS OF DARK RENOWN by David Gemmell (F)
|
||
|
345-37908-X
|
||
|
Paperback, 304 pp; cover art by Mark Harrison
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
July books:
|
||
|
POWERS THAT BE by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (SF)
|
||
|
345-38173-4
|
||
|
Hardcover, 320 pp; cover art by Rowena
|
||
|
|
||
|
THE LOST PRINCE by Bridget Wood (F)
|
||
|
Sequel to WOLFKING; 345-37976-4
|
||
|
Trade paperback, 608 pp; cover art by Keith Parkinson
|
||
|
|
||
|
DOMES OF FIRE by David Eddings (F)
|
||
|
First book of _The Tamuli_; 345-38327-3
|
||
|
Paperback, 480 pp; cover art by Darrell K. Sweet
|
||
|
|
||
|
MINING THE OORT by Frederik Pohl (SF)
|
||
|
345-37200-X
|
||
|
Paperback, 480 pp; cover art by Barclay Shaw
|
||
|
|
||
|
THE SPELL OF THE BLACK DAGGER by Lawrence Watt-Evans (F)
|
||
|
345-37712-5
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Neal McPheeters
|
||
|
|
||
|
DEL REY DISCOVERY:
|
||
|
BRIGHT ISLANDS IN A DARK SEA by L. Warren Douglas (SF)
|
||
|
345-38238-2
|
||
|
Paperback, 304 pp; cover art by John Berkey
|
||
|
|
||
|
STAR TREK LOG 4/LOG 5/LOG 6 by Alan Dean Foster (SF)
|
||
|
345-38522-5
|
||
|
Paperback, 608 pp; cover art by David Mattingly
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
Special Announcement: Basement Full of Books
|
||
|
|
||
|
Can't find that out-of-print book you're looking for? It might be
|
||
|
available through BASEMENT FULL OF BOOKS, a list of books available
|
||
|
directly by mail from their authors. Most of the participating
|
||
|
writers are sf and/or science writers, with a scatter of poets,
|
||
|
journalists, and mystery writers. Most books are autographed, and
|
||
|
most participants will inscribe books on request.
|
||
|
|
||
|
BASEMENT FULL OF BOOKS exists primarily in electronic form. It's
|
||
|
available by e-mail from mcintyre@yang.cpac.washington.edu, or by
|
||
|
anonymous ftp at pit-manager.mit.edu under usenet/news.answers/
|
||
|
books/basement-full-of-books. The booklist is a service for
|
||
|
readers and writers, and all arrangements are between reader and
|
||
|
writer, not through the list's compiler. There's no charge to list
|
||
|
books, and no charge to readers to receive the list electronically
|
||
|
(except whatever your home system charges for e-mail). Vonda N.
|
||
|
McIntyre compiles the list. Her street mail address is POB 31041,
|
||
|
Seattle, WA 98103-1041 USA. She can be reached on the Internet at
|
||
|
mcintyre@yang.cpac.washington.edu, on CompuServe at 72077,61, and
|
||
|
on GEnie at V.MCINTYRE1. A printout of the list can be had for a
|
||
|
mailing label and $1; if you send an SASE, you can have an excerpt
|
||
|
that includes everybody's address.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Version 6.15 includes books by past and present Del Rey authors
|
||
|
John Brunner, Juanita Coulson, James Gunn, and Joe Haldeman, as
|
||
|
well as William Barton & Michael Capobianco, Bruce Boston, David
|
||
|
Brin, Jeff Carver, Valerie Nieman Colander, Joel Davis, Dayle A.
|
||
|
Dermatis, Gene DeWeese, Harlan Ellison, M. J. Engh, Sheila Finch,
|
||
|
Colin Greenland, Gwenyth Hood, Norman F. Joly, Eileen Kernaghan,
|
||
|
Victor Koman, David Kopaska-Merkel, Edward M. Lerner, Vonda N.
|
||
|
McIntyre, Thom Metzger, Hank Nuwer, Alexei & Cory Panshin, Bill
|
||
|
Ransom, Robert J. Sawyer, J. Neil Schulman, Richard Seltzer, Dave
|
||
|
Smeds, John E. Stith, L. A. Taylor, Gene Wolfe, Jane Yolen, and
|
||
|
George Zebrowski.
|
||
|
|
||
|
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Leo Frankowski=================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
Leo Frankowski is one of Del Rey's surprise discoveries--an author
|
||
|
of light, entertaining SF novels that are a lot of fun despite
|
||
|
their flaws. His _Adventures of Conrad Stargard_ series tackles
|
||
|
the Connecticut Yankee problem head-on by sending a 20th-century
|
||
|
engineer to 13th-century Poland with no advance notice whatsoever.
|
||
|
As you might guess, the engineer accomplishes quite a lot in the
|
||
|
course of five books (so far), including getting knighted,
|
||
|
"inventing" prefab housing, Playboy clubs, the steam engine,
|
||
|
universal education, and women's lib, and of course facing the
|
||
|
Mongols, who are scheduled to invade and defeat Poland just ten
|
||
|
years after Conrad arrives. Though the series is the absurdly
|
||
|
optimistic type of Connecticut Yankee story, it's more fun than
|
||
|
most to read for the engineering/invention details: how to build a
|
||
|
dyeing factory, how to make a working worm gear from scratch, and
|
||
|
so forth. The little details, which are often glossed over in
|
||
|
other CY books, are paid attention here, and it's fun to watch.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Books are listed in chronological order except for the first one,
|
||
|
and all are SF.
|
||
|
|
||
|
COPERNICK'S REBELLION (4/87; 345-34033-7)
|
||
|
|
||
|
_The Adventures of Conrad Stargard_
|
||
|
THE CROSS-TIME ENGINEER (2/86; 345-32762-4)
|
||
|
THE HIGH-TECH KNIGHT (3/89; 345-32763-2)
|
||
|
THE RADIANT WARRIOR (7/89; 345-32764-0)
|
||
|
THE FLYING WARLORD (10/89; 345-32765-9)
|
||
|
LORD CONRAD'S LADY (9/90; 345-36849-5)
|
||
|
|
||
|
About the Author:
|
||
|
Leo Frankowski was born on February 13, 1943, in Detroit. He
|
||
|
wandered through seven schools getting to the seventh grade, and
|
||
|
he's been wandering ever since. By the time he was forty-five, he
|
||
|
had held more than a hundred different positions, ranging from
|
||
|
"scientist" in an electro-optics research lab to gardener to airman
|
||
|
to chief engineer. Much of his work was in chemical, optical, and
|
||
|
physical instrumentation, and earned him a number of U.S. patents.
|
||
|
|
||
|
In 1977, he took on yet another career, as owner and manager of
|
||
|
Sterling Manufacturing & Design, the only mostly female engineering
|
||
|
xDcompany in the Detroit area. Sterling designs electrical and fluid
|
||
|
power controls for automatic special machines. It also produces
|
||
|
Formital (R), a stretchy metal that is useful in fixing rusty cars.
|
||
|
He still owns Sterling Manufacturing & Design but got tired of
|
||
|
design work several years ago and now spends much of his time
|
||
|
writing and pursuing his various hobbies: reading, making mead,
|
||
|
drinking mead, dancing girls, and cooking.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Frankowski's writing has earned him nominations for a Hugo, the
|
||
|
John W. Campbell Award, and a Nebula, but he hasn't won anything
|
||
|
yet. A lifelong bachelor, he lives in the wilds of Sterling
|
||
|
Heights, Michigan.
|
||
|
|
||
|
IN DEPTH==========================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
Cover designers are some of the crucial behind-the-scenes personnel
|
||
|
in the book business. They're the ones who take a raw illustration
|
||
|
and come up with a complete cover. David Stevenson is Del Rey's
|
||
|
designer, and is the source of the greater variety and increased
|
||
|
sophistication in cover type and layout that our books have been
|
||
|
sporting lately. Here he talks about what cover design involves,
|
||
|
and the quirks of working with sf and fantasy titles:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Between the covers of any fantasy or science-fiction book lies an
|
||
|
imaginary world of adventure, and for many readers, the door into
|
||
|
this world is the book's cover design. As a senior graphic
|
||
|
designer at Ballantine/Del Rey Books, I have the opportunity to
|
||
|
visually introduce tales of soaring creativity to a discriminating
|
||
|
audience--readers who are unlike any other readers, largely because
|
||
|
of the nature of the sf/fantasy genre itself. Within chapters,
|
||
|
even pages, readers of sf and fantasy are called upon to grasp and
|
||
|
absorb theories and characteristics that often contradict the
|
||
|
mechanics of our own world. Familiar concepts of the elements,
|
||
|
gravity, and human (or inhuman!) relationships are suspended in
|
||
|
favor of strange creatures, new technologies, complex power
|
||
|
struggles, and environments that challenge logic. In short, the
|
||
|
astuteness required of sf/fantasy readers points to an underlying
|
||
|
open-mindedness seldom found in other, more literal readers.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Given this, one would expect sf and fantasy book covers to show a
|
||
|
higher degree of conceptual sophistication than is presently
|
||
|
exhibited. This lack of sophistication is due, in large part, to what
|
||
|
I see as the publishing industry's assumption that gadgets and dragons
|
||
|
are what make readers pick up an sf/fantasy title. As Nicola Griffith,
|
||
|
author of AMMONITE, mentioned here in the February issue, stereotypes
|
||
|
seem to run rampant in book publishing, and nowhere more so than in
|
||
|
the sf/fantasy category--where there seems to be a condescending
|
||
|
underestimation of the reader and the genre as a whole. Admittedly,
|
||
|
genre novels often employ tried-and-true cliches such as future-tech
|
||
|
hardware and mythological beasts, but I think these should be
|
||
|
recognized for what they are: not the focus of simplistic plots but
|
||
|
devices in the larger stories of revenge, redemption, perseverance,
|
||
|
trust, etc. I would like to see these more abstract emotions brought
|
||
|
to the forefront and the laser guns downplayed.
|
||
|
|
||
|
In the meantime, my role as a graphic designer begins when the
|
||
|
illustrator delivers a painting depicting a scene or visual
|
||
|
elements from the book being designed. This painting is the result
|
||
|
of a collaboration between the illustrator, the art director, and
|
||
|
the editor, who have previously discussed the story and its visual
|
||
|
possibilities. Once I have received the painting and a synopsis of
|
||
|
the book, my responsibilities start with the integrating of the
|
||
|
illustration with an evocative title logo. Our company's design
|
||
|
department is completely computerized at this point, and the
|
||
|
possibilities for developing innovative type grow daily. A common
|
||
|
procedure is to begin with a readily available typeface for the
|
||
|
title and then hand-alter it to fit the overall mood of the story,
|
||
|
often adding drop-shadows, outlines, or highlights.
|
||
|
|
||
|
After establishing the front cover's main elements--illustration
|
||
|
and title/author type--the rest of the cover is assembled. The
|
||
|
spine and the back cover are generally laid out to echo aspects of
|
||
|
the front cover, giving the entire cover a sense of unity. This is
|
||
|
sometimes accomplished by repeating panels, borders, typefaces, or
|
||
|
dingbats (small ornamental graphics) used on the front. The "nuts
|
||
|
and bolts"--the book's code numbers, prices, and company logo--are
|
||
|
then added to finish off the cover. Throughout this process,
|
||
|
colors are selected and placed to be visually appealing and, again,
|
||
|
to evoke the mood of the book. For visual familiarity, books in
|
||
|
the same series or by the same author are designed in a matching
|
||
|
format.
|
||
|
|
||
|
From here, the cover is printed, corrected for color errors or
|
||
|
variations, and reprinted. Then it is bound around the books
|
||
|
themselves and they are sent on their way, landing, we hope, in the
|
||
|
hands of many sf and fantasy fans who like to read on the cutting
|
||
|
edge of imagination.
|
||
|
--David Stevenson
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q & A=============================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q: Charles Sheffield's TRANSCENDENCE is referred to as the
|
||
|
"concluding volume" of the _Heritage Universe_ series, but in
|
||
|
several sources I have seen mention of a fourth title,
|
||
|
CONVERGENCE. Is there a fourth book in the series, and when
|
||
|
might it be released?
|
||
|
A: Sheffield has written a fourth book, but it has not been bought
|
||
|
yet. This means that it probably won't be available for at least a
|
||
|
year or so.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q: I was wondering if Del Rey has a mail-order system that I can
|
||
|
use to get my books a little quicker than the bookshops over
|
||
|
here (UK) do.
|
||
|
A: Readers anywhere overseas can order books by mail from our
|
||
|
warehouse, paying cover price and postage. In fact, anyone can
|
||
|
order books by mail from our warehouse. If you're interested, e-
|
||
|
mail me at ekh@panix.com for full details.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q: How do people in the publishing industry get started? What are
|
||
|
the qualifications for editors, agents, etc.?
|
||
|
A: Most editors get started as editorial assistants, doing
|
||
|
scutwork for editors, and learn the business and how to edit by
|
||
|
example (and by reading editors' revision letters, rejection
|
||
|
letters, and readers' reports). Native skills for editors include,
|
||
|
in my opinion, a facility with language, a love of reading, and an
|
||
|
analytical mind--the ability to figure out what's wrong with a
|
||
|
piece of writing and give advice on how to fix it. People with
|
||
|
these skills can then be taught to refine their critiques of
|
||
|
manuscripts, assess books for quality of writing and salability,
|
||
|
and line edit, as well as perform the more marketing-oriented tasks
|
||
|
like writing cover copy, choosing cover art, and presenting a book
|
||
|
to the sales department. Editors must be able to work well with
|
||
|
authors and make suggestions, not demands; and editors must also be
|
||
|
willing to work for relatively small salaries. :-(
|
||
|
|
||
|
I know less about becoming an agent, but starting out as an
|
||
|
assistant to a successful agent is one way to go. Having lots of
|
||
|
contacts in the field, a keen eye for salable manuscripts, and a
|
||
|
good business sense couldn't hurt.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q: In the _Writer's Market,_ Del Rey's response time to
|
||
|
manuscripts is "long." How long is long?
|
||
|
A: "Long" in sf/f book publishing usually means about 10 months,
|
||
|
give or take. For us, the _Writer's Market_ report is a little out
|
||
|
of date, since our unsolicited sf manuscripts are usually responded
|
||
|
to within a month or two (brag, brag). The few manuscripts needing
|
||
|
second readings might stay as long as 6 months. Fantasy is slower,
|
||
|
but speeding up--they hope to get to a maximum stay of 6 months
|
||
|
eventually. Keeping manuscripts for months on end is not what
|
||
|
anyone wants to do--besides inconveniencing the authors, it makes
|
||
|
more work for the people who answer the letters and calls about
|
||
|
manuscripts we're holding--but publishing is run on such a tight
|
||
|
schedule that there are often many tasks that need doing right
|
||
|
away, if not yesterday. And unfortunately precedence has to be
|
||
|
given to books and authors already under contract.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q: In the sixties, when Ballantine (of which Del Rey is an
|
||
|
imprint) was trying to find (or generate!) novel series that
|
||
|
would sell as many copies as Edgar Rice Burroughs books, one of
|
||
|
the incipient copycat series was DOLPHIN BOY/DAUGHTERS OF THE
|
||
|
DOLPHIN/DESTINY AND THE DOLPHINS by a "Roy A. Meyer(s)." They
|
||
|
had a superficial Brit tone similar to some of the Burroughs'
|
||
|
affectations when he was trying to impress. The books didn't
|
||
|
do terribly well, and Ballantine appears to have dropped
|
||
|
them about 25 years ago. Who was the writer who perpetrated
|
||
|
those things, _really?_
|
||
|
A: Roy L. Meyers was an English doctor and writer born in 1910.
|
||
|
The three books were sold to Ballantine through a reputable British
|
||
|
agent, were published in the late 60s, and went out of print for
|
||
|
good sometime in the 70s. If the guy's not real, he's done a great
|
||
|
job of keeping up appearances. _The Science Fiction Encyclopedia_
|
||
|
calls Meyers' style "wooden," and says the books' "mixture of
|
||
|
melodrama and didacticism may not be to everyone's taste."
|
||
|
|
||
|
IMHO: Editing=====================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
Editing a book is a multi-leveled process, and so one of the skills
|
||
|
good editors develop is the ability to think on more than one level at
|
||
|
once. The three main levels in the editing of a book are
|
||
|
developmental editing, line editing, and copyediting. In the best of
|
||
|
all possible worlds, these go on at three different stages:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Developmental editing: the editor reads through the book, noting
|
||
|
weak scenes, boring parts, plot inconsistencies, structural
|
||
|
problems (like too-lengthy chapters), or repeated stylistic
|
||
|
pitfalls (like using the same metaphors over and over--"X read
|
||
|
[emotion goes here] in Y's eyes"). Then the editor writes a letter
|
||
|
to the author, addressing each problem and perhaps suggesting a
|
||
|
solution: "Chapter 10 is 53 pages long, but most of your other
|
||
|
chapters are 20-25 pages long. Is there anywhere you can split up
|
||
|
Chapter 10 to make it two chapters, or is it extra-long for a
|
||
|
reason I didn't catch?" The author then revises the manuscript to
|
||
|
solve the problems he or she agrees with the editor on; if they
|
||
|
disagree, negotiation and persuasion from both sides is in order.
|
||
|
At Del Rey, our editorial logic is usually based on the fact that
|
||
|
we, too, are readers, and things that confuse us, bore us, or don't
|
||
|
ring true will have that effect on the book's audience as well.
|
||
|
But final decisions are almost always up to the author, whose book
|
||
|
it is, after all.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Line editing: the editor reads the book carefully, pen in hand,
|
||
|
making changes in wording, word order, and sentence construction,
|
||
|
and smoothing out things like awkward or unnecessary dialog tags
|
||
|
("he said," etc.), repetition of uncommon words (like
|
||
|
"scampering"), and confusing sentences. This is also the point at
|
||
|
which the editor should notice that a character has red hair on
|
||
|
page 49 and brown hair on page 72, or that a character inexplicably
|
||
|
knows something he or she can't possibly know. Depending on how
|
||
|
extensive the first revision letter was, the editor may find larger
|
||
|
weaknesses for the author to fix as well. This go-round almost
|
||
|
always leads to a second revision letter, which I call the "picky
|
||
|
questions" letter since it is usually composed of minor problems.
|
||
|
Again, the author makes the corrections that feel right and
|
||
|
negotiates about the criticisms that don't seem valid. Then the
|
||
|
editor adds in the author's changes--which can be as small as one
|
||
|
word and as long as a handful of insert pages--and the manuscript
|
||
|
is ready for copyediting. Some authors see the edited manuscript
|
||
|
along with the "picky questions" letter; at Del Rey, authors
|
||
|
usually don't, but we consider all editorial changes to be more
|
||
|
suggestions than final wording, and authors are free to make small
|
||
|
changes in the galley stage at no cost to them. A good editor,
|
||
|
though, picks up the style and diction of the book as he or she
|
||
|
reads and will use that style when making any changes that are
|
||
|
necessary; our authors are usually happy with almost all the line
|
||
|
editing done on their books.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Copyediting: the copyeditor, who at Del Rey is a freelance person,
|
||
|
not an in-house employee, goes through the book very carefully,
|
||
|
correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors and conforming
|
||
|
the book to house style. (We follow _The Chicago Manual of Style_
|
||
|
and Webster's 9th.) Names are checked for consistency of spelling,
|
||
|
references to real people, places, and trademarked products are
|
||
|
checked for correct spelling, and any discrepancies or continuity
|
||
|
problems the editor missed (like changing age or hair color) are
|
||
|
noted for the editor or author to fix.
|
||
|
|
||
|
That's the clean-cut, simple version. The working truth is that
|
||
|
sometimes, depending on schedules, the editor skips the first read-
|
||
|
through and deals with everything in one revision letter.
|
||
|
Sometimes, if an author is a very clean writer, the second read-
|
||
|
through is skipped and what little line-editing needs doing is left
|
||
|
to the copyeditor. Often a book will be sent to the copyeditor
|
||
|
before the revisions come back from the author, and the editor will
|
||
|
read and deal with the copyeditor's queries at the same time as
|
||
|
putting in the author's corrections. There are almost as many
|
||
|
quirks to the editing process as there are books--or it seems that
|
||
|
way on more frustrating days, anyway. But editing is probably the
|
||
|
most challenging and most skilled part of an editor's job. There
|
||
|
are lots of people who know a good book when they read it, and many
|
||
|
who can reject bad ones. But knowing how to help an author turn a
|
||
|
good book into a great book is a rarer talent.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Ellen Key Harris
|
||
|
Associate Editor
|
||
|
Del Rey Books
|
||
|
ekh@panix.com
|
||
|
|DEL|
|
||
|
==============================================================|REY|
|
||
|
|
||
|
From /tmp/sf.10445 Thu May 6 19:46:12 1993
|
||
|
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
|
||
|
Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!Germany.EU.net!gmd.de!ira.uka.de!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!gatech!news.ans.net!cmcl2!panix!ekh
|
||
|
From: ekh@panix.com (Ellen Key Harris)
|
||
|
Subject: Del Rey Internet Newsletter (long)
|
||
|
Message-ID: <C21E2C.Ht4@panix.com>
|
||
|
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
|
||
|
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1993 17:03:48 GMT
|
||
|
Lines: 348
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|DEL| NAME GOES HERE
|
||
|
|REY| The DEL REY BOOKS On-Line Newsletter
|
||
|
|
||
|
Number 1 (February 1993)
|
||
|
|
||
|
IMHO (or, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?)===================================
|
||
|
Welcome to the new Del Rey Internet newsletter! We're going to be
|
||
|
posting an issue every month to let you know about the books that
|
||
|
are coming out soon, tell you what authors you're interested in are
|
||
|
up to, and explain a little of what goes on behind the scenes in
|
||
|
the halls of Del Rey. (That shouldn't be too hard, because our
|
||
|
combined hall space is only about 23 feet.) Since this is our
|
||
|
first issue, I thought I'd run through the sections we're starting
|
||
|
out with:
|
||
|
WHAT'S NEW IN THE STORES: Descriptions of our latest titles.
|
||
|
Since bookstores receive our books about a month before the
|
||
|
official publication date, the February issue's latest titles are
|
||
|
March books--but they're out there now (or they will be very soon--
|
||
|
stockroom speed varies from store to store).
|
||
|
DEL REY DATA: Our most recent and soon-to-come titles, with
|
||
|
page lengths and cover artists. Intermittently, we'll let you know
|
||
|
here about books we've acquired, projects we've just begun, and
|
||
|
manuscripts that have just been turned in.
|
||
|
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE MONTH: Most months we'll be including a
|
||
|
bibliography/biography of one of our authors--either one who has
|
||
|
been being discussed on the Net, or one whose books are relevant to
|
||
|
a currently popular discussion subject. This month's author is
|
||
|
Canadian Dave Duncan, author of THE CUTTING EDGE and the _A Man of
|
||
|
His Word_ series--the kind of fantasy writer I like best: one with
|
||
|
a sense of humor! (Unfortunately, this asset doesn't really show
|
||
|
very well in a bibliography.)
|
||
|
IN DEPTH: This is our authors' chance to show you what goes
|
||
|
on _behind_ the books you read: why they wrote them, how they
|
||
|
wrote them, and what they think about science fiction, fantasy, the
|
||
|
writing life, publishing, and almost anything else of interest.
|
||
|
This month Nicola Griffith, author of February's Del Rey Discovery
|
||
|
title AMMONITE, explains how her first novel flies in the face of
|
||
|
the stereotypes she sees--and despairs of--in a lot of sf and
|
||
|
fantasy.
|
||
|
Q & A: Obviously, a question-and-answer section. Send
|
||
|
questions to me, ekh@panix.com; questions of general interest will
|
||
|
be addressed each month.
|
||
|
IMHO: The Del Rey newsletter's version of an editorial.
|
||
|
Despite its title, though, I don't intend to use this space to put
|
||
|
forth my opinions (humble or not) as if they're newsworthy--I'd
|
||
|
rather keep my opinions incidental and spend my time explaining
|
||
|
some "insider" details of the publishing world. Have you ever
|
||
|
wondered how a manuscript becomes a finished book? Who writes the
|
||
|
copy on the front and back covers, and how? What really goes on in
|
||
|
the slushpile? And cover art is chosen and developed? If so, this
|
||
|
is the space to watch.
|
||
|
Usually, you'll find IMHO at the end of the newsletter, not
|
||
|
the beginning; but for this inaugural issue, I wanted to start off
|
||
|
by explaining what we're doing and how we'll be doing it. And
|
||
|
_why_ we're doing it: we're doing it because of you. The Internet
|
||
|
is a great way to make contact with readers like you--people who
|
||
|
read sf and fantasy and think about it, too. Sure, we want you to
|
||
|
know about our books and our authors, but we also we want to give
|
||
|
you a way to ask questions about publishing and get the real story.
|
||
|
If all we wanted was to sell more books, it would be easy to post a
|
||
|
message every once in a while about when the next David Eddings,
|
||
|
Terry Brooks, or Anne McCaffrey hardcover was coming out. But what
|
||
|
we're trying to do--and this may be too ambitious, but you never
|
||
|
know until you try--is open up a channel of easy, inexpensive
|
||
|
communication between you, the readers, and us, the publisher. We
|
||
|
know from experience that it's frustrating to be a reader if you
|
||
|
don't know what's going on. Why aren't books in a series published
|
||
|
all at once? Why do book prices keep going up? Why do books
|
||
|
become unavailable a year or two after they're published? So we'll
|
||
|
do our best to answer questions like these--and give you a real
|
||
|
look behind the scenes.
|
||
|
Let us know what you think. Especially if you have any good
|
||
|
ideas for a name...
|
||
|
|
||
|
Ellen Key Harris
|
||
|
Associate Editor
|
||
|
Del Rey Books
|
||
|
ekh@panix.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
WHAT'S NEW IN THE STORES===========================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
THE TALISMANS OF SHANNARA by Terry Brooks. Hardcover.
|
||
|
The descendants of the Elven house of Shannara had all
|
||
|
completed their quests. Walker Boh, using the power of the Black
|
||
|
Elfstone, had restored the lost Druid's keep, Paranor, and had
|
||
|
become the last Druid himself. Wren had found the missing Elves
|
||
|
and brought them back from the island of Morrowindl to the Four
|
||
|
Lands. Now she was Queen of the Elves. And Par had found what
|
||
|
quite possibly was the legendary Sword of Shannara.
|
||
|
But their work was not yet done--the Shadowen still swarmed
|
||
|
over the Four Lands, poisoning all with their dark magic. And the
|
||
|
leader of the Shadowen, Rimmer Dall, was determined that the scions
|
||
|
of Shannara would not share with each other the knowledge that
|
||
|
would end the sickness. Against Walker Boh, then, he would
|
||
|
dispatch the Four Horsemen. To Wren Elessedil, he would send a
|
||
|
friend who would betray her. And for Par Ohmsford, whose wishsong
|
||
|
was growing steadily more uncontrollable, he had the most evil plan
|
||
|
of all . . .
|
||
|
The charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon were
|
||
|
doomed to fail--unless the Shannara children could escape the traps
|
||
|
being laid for them, and Par could find a way to use the Sword of
|
||
|
Shannara...
|
||
|
-------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
ELF QUEEN OF SHANNARA by Terry Brooks. Paperback.
|
||
|
"Find the Elves and return them to the lands of men!" the
|
||
|
shade of the Druid Allanon had ordered Wren.
|
||
|
It was clearly an impossible task. The Elves had been gone
|
||
|
from the Westlands for more than a hundred years. There was not
|
||
|
even a trace of their former city of Arborlon left to mark their
|
||
|
passing. No one in the Westlands knew of them--except, finally,
|
||
|
the Addershag.
|
||
|
The blind old woman had given instructions to find a place on
|
||
|
the coast of the Blue Divide, build a fire, and keep it burning for
|
||
|
three days. "One will come for you."
|
||
|
Tiger Ty, the Wing Rider, had come on his giant Roc to carry
|
||
|
her and her friend Garth to the only clear landing site on the
|
||
|
island of Morrowindl, where, he said, the Elves _might_ still
|
||
|
exist, somewhere in the demon-haunted jungle.
|
||
|
Now she stood within that jungle, remembering the warning of
|
||
|
the Addershag: "Beware, Elf-girl! I see danger ahead for you...and
|
||
|
evil beyond imagining." It had proved all too true. Wren stood
|
||
|
with her single weapon of magic, listening as demons evil beyond
|
||
|
all imagining gathered for attack. How long could she resist?
|
||
|
And if, by some miracle, she reached the Elves and could
|
||
|
convince them to return, how could they possibly retrace her
|
||
|
perilous path to reach the one safe place on the coast?
|
||
|
-------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
EMPIRE'S END by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch. Paperback.
|
||
|
|
||
|
AT LAST! THE EXPLOSIVE FINALE OF STEN'S ADVENTURES AS THE ETERNAL
|
||
|
EMPEROR'S MOST TRUSTED FRIEND, BODYGUARD, TROUBLESHOOTER...AND
|
||
|
ASSASSIN!
|
||
|
|
||
|
SEE Sten undertake the ultimate treasure hunt, as he and his
|
||
|
comrades seek out the source of the Eternal Emperor's power: Anti-
|
||
|
Matter Two.
|
||
|
LEARN the secret of the Eternal Emperor's past: Who is he?
|
||
|
Where did he come from? And how did he become immortal?
|
||
|
WATCH as the loyal Sten turns traitor at last, turning on the
|
||
|
Eternal Emperor to save his own skin...and the Empire itself!
|
||
|
|
||
|
ETERNITY IS DOOMED TO END. AND IF STEN HAS HIS WAY, IT WILL END
|
||
|
SOONER THAN LATER!
|
||
|
-------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
DANCER OF THE SIXTH by Michelle Shirey Crean. Paperback.
|
||
|
Dancer, second in command of the military intelligence unit
|
||
|
called the Sixth Service, was a hotshot fighter pilot known for her
|
||
|
utter fearlessness. But there were things in Dancer's past she
|
||
|
could not face--and much she could not even remember. For her own
|
||
|
good--or for their purposes--the Sixth Service had long ago
|
||
|
conditioned her to forget.
|
||
|
But then Dancer came face-to-face with her past. A military
|
||
|
stunt fighter crashed on an outpost planet where the Sixth was
|
||
|
stationed, and the rescued pilot, a member of the crack Aerial
|
||
|
Demonstration Team, claimed Dancer's own name--and wore the same
|
||
|
face. The woman was flying drugged--unheard of for a member of the
|
||
|
Team. And the Team had been flying where it had no reason to be,
|
||
|
especially during peacetime.
|
||
|
Something was definitely not right. So when the Team demanded
|
||
|
its pilot back, the Sixth kept her. In her place went Dancer,
|
||
|
disguised as herself--unaware that her past was to play a crucial
|
||
|
role in her immediate future...
|
||
|
|
||
|
--> DEL REY DISCOVERY
|
||
|
Experience the wonder of discovery with Del Rey's newest authors!
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
TAKING FLIGHT by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Paperback.
|
||
|
Kelder had always dreamed of a life more exciting than what
|
||
|
waited for him on the family farm. So when a fortune teller
|
||
|
predicted a glorious future, that he'd roam free and unfettered and
|
||
|
be a champion of the lost and forlorn, he immediately set out on
|
||
|
the fabled Great Highway to Shan in search of adventure.
|
||
|
But once he was on the road, life was hardly as exciting as
|
||
|
he'd hoped--until he met Irith. She was the most beautiful girl,
|
||
|
and the only girl with wings, that Kelder had ever seen. They
|
||
|
teamed up to see the world, and then Kelder found adventures
|
||
|
aplenty: There were bandits and demons and there were curses to
|
||
|
lift, wizards to seek spells from, orphans to champion, and
|
||
|
legendary cities to visit. For the young and carefree, life on the
|
||
|
Great Highway was filled with fun, action, and magic.
|
||
|
But Kelder began to wonder about his beautiful companion.
|
||
|
Irith certainly had seen a lot of the world for one so young--and
|
||
|
everyone along the highway seemed to know her . . . Soon
|
||
|
discovering Irith's secrets became Kelder's greatest adventure of
|
||
|
all ...
|
||
|
|
||
|
DEL REY DATA=======================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
February books:
|
||
|
THE OATHBOUND WIZARD by Christopher Stasheff (F)
|
||
|
Hardcover, 400 pp; cover art by Darrell K. Sweet
|
||
|
DARK PRINCE by David Gemmell (F)
|
||
|
Trade paperback, 576 pp; cover art by Tom Stimpson
|
||
|
THE CALIFORNIA VOODOO GAME by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes (SF)
|
||
|
A _Dream Park_ Novel
|
||
|
Paperback, 352 pp; cover art by Dorian Vallejo
|
||
|
DOG WIZARD by Barbara Hambly (F)
|
||
|
Paperback, 448 pp; cover art by Michael Herring
|
||
|
--> DEL REY DISCOVERY: AMMONITE by Nicola Griffith (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 368 pp; cover art by Bruce Jensen
|
||
|
SKY ROAD by Ann Tonsor Zeddies (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 448 pp; cover art by David Mattingly
|
||
|
---------------------------------------------
|
||
|
March books:
|
||
|
THE TALISMANS OF SHANNARA by Terry Brooks (F)
|
||
|
Hardcover, 464 pp; cover art by Keith Parkinson
|
||
|
THE ELF QUEEN OF SHANNARA by Terry Brooks (F)
|
||
|
Paperback, 368 pp; cover art by Keith Parkinson
|
||
|
EMPIRE'S END by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 448 pp; cover art by Bruce Jensen
|
||
|
--> DEL REY DISCOVERY: DANCER OF THE SIXTH by Michelle Crean (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Michael Hescox
|
||
|
TAKING FLIGHT by Lawrence Watt-Evans (F)
|
||
|
Paperback, 288 pp; cover art by Tim Hildebrandt
|
||
|
THE STAR WARS TRILOGY by Lucas, Glut, & Kahn (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 480 pp; cover art from the Star Wars movie poster
|
||
|
---------------------------------------------
|
||
|
April books:
|
||
|
THE SPOILS OF WAR by Alan Dean Foster (SF)
|
||
|
Book Three of _The Damned_
|
||
|
Hardcover, 288 pp; cover art by Barclay Shaw
|
||
|
THE CUTTING EDGE by Dave Duncan (F)
|
||
|
Book One of _A Handful of Men_
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by Jim Burns
|
||
|
TRANSCENDENCE by Charles Sheffield (SF)
|
||
|
_The Heritage Universe,_ Book Three
|
||
|
Paperback, 304 pp; cover art by Bruce Jensen
|
||
|
THE NAPOLEON WAGER by William R. Forstchen (SF)
|
||
|
_The Gamester Wars,_ Book Three
|
||
|
Paperback, 320 pp; cover art by David Mattingly
|
||
|
--> DEL REY DISCOVERY: THE DRYLANDS by Mary Rosenblum (SF)
|
||
|
Paperback, 288 pp; cover art by Peter Peebles
|
||
|
|
||
|
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE MONTH: Dave Duncan============================
|
||
|
|
||
|
People have been wondering about Duncan's latest hardcover, THE
|
||
|
CUTTING EDGE, whether it's related to his _A Man of His Word_
|
||
|
series (it is--the new series takes up with the same characters
|
||
|
many years down the road),and what else he's written, so...
|
||
|
Books are listed in chronological order, and are fantasy
|
||
|
unless noted (SF).
|
||
|
|
||
|
A ROSE-RED CITY
|
||
|
SHADOW (SF)
|
||
|
The Seventh Sword:
|
||
|
THE RELUCTANT SWORDSMAN
|
||
|
THE COMING OF WISDOM
|
||
|
THE DESTINY OF THE SWORD
|
||
|
WEST OF JANUARY (SF)
|
||
|
STRINGS (SF)
|
||
|
HERO! (SF)
|
||
|
THE REAVER ROAD
|
||
|
A Man of His Word:
|
||
|
MAGIC CASEMENT
|
||
|
FAERY LANDS FORLORN
|
||
|
PERILOUS SEAS
|
||
|
EMPEROR AND CLOWN
|
||
|
A Handful of Men:
|
||
|
THE CUTTING EDGE
|
||
|
UPLAND OUTLAWS (forthcoming)
|
||
|
THE STRICKEN FIELD (forthcoming)
|
||
|
THE LIVING GOD (forthcoming)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dave Duncan was born in Scotland in 1933 and educated at Dundee
|
||
|
High School and the University of St. Andrews. He moved to Canada
|
||
|
in 1955 and has lived in Calgary ever since. He is married and has
|
||
|
three grown children.
|
||
|
After a thirty-year career as a petroleum geologist, he
|
||
|
discovered that it was much easier (and more fun) to invent his own
|
||
|
worlds than try to make sense of the real one.
|
||
|
|
||
|
IN DEPTH===========================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
Ursula K. Le Guin called AMMONITE, February's Del Rey Discovery, "a
|
||
|
knockout first novel, with strong, likeable characters, a
|
||
|
compelling story, and a very interesting take on gender." A
|
||
|
fiercely humane first novel by Nicola Griffith, AMMONITE propels
|
||
|
the reader on a parallel journey of internal and external
|
||
|
exploration into a world of challenge, ritual, and confrontation--
|
||
|
both with the self and the alien without. It is the story of
|
||
|
Marguerite Angelica Taishan--Marghe--a woman who has lost
|
||
|
everything once before and who now, by going to the planet Jeep at
|
||
|
the behest of the Durallium Company, may be about to lose
|
||
|
everything once again.
|
||
|
Here Nicola Griffith talks about writing AMMONITE:
|
||
|
|
||
|
"Are women human?" That question forms the subtext of more
|
||
|
speculative fiction novels--fantasy, SF, horror, utopia and
|
||
|
dystopia--than I can count. I intended AMMONITE as a body blow to
|
||
|
those who feel the question has any relevance in today's world.
|
||
|
I am tired of token women being strong in a man's world by
|
||
|
taking on male attributes: strutting around in black leather,
|
||
|
spike heels and wraparound shades, killing people; or riding a
|
||
|
horse, swearing a lot, carrying a big sword, and killing people; or
|
||
|
piloting a ship through hyperspace, drinking whatever pours,
|
||
|
slapping boys on the back, and killing people. I am equally tired
|
||
|
of women-only worlds where all the characters are wise, kind,
|
||
|
beautiful, stern seven-feet-tall vegetarian amazons who would never
|
||
|
dream of killing anyone. I am tired or reading about aliens who
|
||
|
are really women, or women who are really aliens.
|
||
|
Women are not aliens. Take away men and we do not
|
||
|
automatically lose our fire and intelligence and sex drive; we do
|
||
|
not form hierarchical, static, insect-like societies that are
|
||
|
dreadfully inefficient. We do not turn into a homogenous Thought
|
||
|
Police culture where meat-eating is banned and men are burned in
|
||
|
effigy every full moon. Women are not inherently passive or
|
||
|
dominant, maternal or vicious. We are all different. We are all
|
||
|
people.
|
||
|
A women-only world, it seems to me, would shine with the
|
||
|
entire spectrum of human behavior: there would be capitalists and
|
||
|
collectivists, hermits and clan members, sailors and cooks,
|
||
|
idealists and tyrants; they would be generous and mean, smart and
|
||
|
stupid, strong and weak; they would approach life bravely,
|
||
|
fearfully, and thoughtlessly. Some might still engage in fights,
|
||
|
wars, and territorial squabbles; individuals and cultures would
|
||
|
still display insanity and greed and indifference. And they would
|
||
|
change and grow, just like anyone else. Because women are anyone
|
||
|
else. We are more than half humanity. We are not imitation
|
||
|
people, or chameleons taking on protective male coloration, longing
|
||
|
for the day when men go away and we can return to being our true,
|
||
|
insect-like, static, vacuous selves. We are here, now. We are
|
||
|
just like you.
|
||
|
But AMMONITE is more than an attempt to redress the balance.
|
||
|
It's a novel. One about people--how they look at the world and how
|
||
|
the world makes them change; one that attempts to look at biology
|
||
|
and wonder "what if..."; one that shows readers different ways to
|
||
|
be; one that takes them to other places, where the air and the
|
||
|
temperature and the myths are not the same. If, a week after
|
||
|
reading AMMONITE, you pause over lunch, fork halfway to your mouth,
|
||
|
and remember the scent of Jeep's night air, or on your way to work
|
||
|
daydream about the endless snow of Tehuantepec, or wonder for a
|
||
|
moment as you climb into bed whether or not a virus _could_ enhance
|
||
|
our senses--then I've done my job.
|
||
|
--Nicola Griffith
|
||
|
|
||
|
Q & A==============================================================
|
||
|
No questions this month. For "why are we doing this?" see IMHO.
|
||
|
|DEL|
|
||
|
==============================================================|REY|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
--
|
||
|
|
||
|
Ellen Key Harris ekh@panix.com
|
||
|
Associate Editor, Del Rey Books |DEL|
|
||
|
201 E. 50th St., NY, NY 10022 |REY|
|
||
|
|