In preparation for Urania’s special call, What Honor Requires, I thought share a few things about my personal preferences that might help authors figure out how to approach their stories. Before I start, though, I want to emphasis that I am not asking submitting authors to imitate other authors’ styles. I am certainly not saying that a work will be rejected because it doesn’t suit my personal preferences. Above all, I am looking for well-told stories with strong plots and stronger characters. I’m looking for stuff that will fit with our imprint and sell.
If you want to know what your initial audience is like, though, here are a few pointers:
I’m not fond of story hooks that start with flashbacks. Despite that, I’m a big fan of David Weber and his Honor Harrington / Merlin Albin series, both of which use that technique. Weber uses the trick well for the purpose of building up to the big action moments in his books. Still, I’m of the opinion that he over-uses that trick sometimes. So be careful if you decide my fandom of his work means you can get away with the same thing. If you do it, you’d better do it with forethought and deliberate purpose. It had better be great.
I’m also a fan of Mercedes Lackey’s Herald series and Kristian Britain’s Green Rider series. Technically, neither series is actually military in nature, but they do have certain military characteristics that endear them to me. However, do remember that this call is about serving military, retired military, drafted military, etc. While you are free to do with your military person / people as you wish, just make sure your protagonist has some connection to the military as that is who this call is meant to honor.
Janny Wurt’s Wars of Light and Shadow series and Robert Jordan’s (with Brandon Sanderson) Wheel of Time series are more of my favorites. If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that I favor ensemble cast pieces. However, I’m also a big fan of Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longknife series, which is told from the POV of a single character: Kris Longknife. If you’re a fan of the ensemble, just make sure you don’t add too many characters, or use too many characters with similar names. Not every reader can deal with ensemble pieces like this, which is something I will have to keep in mind when making my final selections for Urania.
I like space opera. I like “other world” or alternate history fantasy pieces. If you want to mix science and fantasy into science-fantasy, like steampunk and magic, I’ll read that too if the premises are believable. I’m a bigger fan of period fantasy than I am of urban fantasy, but I like to read urban fantasy also. If you can give me an urban fantasy, or even a modern fantasy (doesn’t have to be urban) piece that relates to the call, then feel free to send it in.
I like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Babylon 5. Musa doesn’t do fanfic, but if you have a unique and non-derivative piece in the style or flavor of these series, send it in. John Scalzi’s novel Redshirts is an an unapologetic example of a derivative work, but his was done as deliberate satire of Star Trek. While I do enjoy comedy as much as I enjoy tragedy, I’m not looking for pieces that make fun of military personnel. Procedures, maybe. Troops, not so much. The call is called “What Honor Requires” so please keep that premise in mind, even when writing a comic piece.
Oh, and to make the point clear: I like comic stories. I like tragedies (that aren’t pointless). And I like mysteries, quests, and action-drama pieces. That leaves a lot of room for story-telling choices.
Please remember: while I love a lot of series books, this particular call is open for single books only. The novella or novel must stand on its own. If you have a series in mind and your book is accepted for publication, we can discuss a series publication later. But don’t expect a claim of “First in a new series” in your cover letter to carry any weight. In fact, please leave any statements like that out of your cover letters so you don’t inadvertently prejudice the slush reader(s).
There are multiple story types and story-telling devices. There is the external-driven conflict with little to no character development. There is the internal-driven conflict with nothing but character development and little to no external conflict. There is the “slice of life” story telling (like Hemmingway) in which there is next to no development at all. I prefer stories that combine both the external and internal / character conflicts. “Slice of life” stories do not, in my opinion, work well with novellas and novels (they should only ever be used with short stories). That being said, please do not submit “slice of life” pieces for this call. Make sure your characters are conflicted, and that they are making the choices necessary to move the story along.
I like world-building, and I like descriptions. But I would rather you show me both, than tell me. Make these things part of the plot and the story development. If this request confuses you, I point you to the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, who did a beautiful job of rendering description and mood as part of the story development.
Lastly, write from your heart. If you don’t love the work you submit, or understand the characters you are writing about, it will show. I am looking for novellas and novels that speak as much to their authors as they speak to the readers, that show a care for craft and poetry as well as a care for technical proficiency. Whether you are writing about heroes, villains, or anti-heroes (and I will read good stories about any of these choices), make sure the situations and the characters speak to a universal audience. If you care about your work and present it well, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the type of fiction I prefer for my personal reading. I will read almost anything that sings with that kind of passion.
Let me know if you have any questions on the above.
In my own theatre-esque version of best wishes, “Break a pencil!” I look forward to reading and receiving submissions once the call opens in 2013.
