A cautionary tale

[threemonkeys]

I know a few of you have published SF anthologies of some sort over the years. This is for you...

I read an anthology called Omega edited by Roger Elwood. It appears to be an ambitions early '70s collection of stories by authors trying hard to push the "new wave" envelope. It does not work all that well but you had to admire the editor for trying to find out where things could be pushed.

I was interested enough to find out a little more so I looked up Roger Elwood's Wikipedia entry. You really should have a read. I really can't see anybody here ending up like this, but its worth having a look so you know who to blame when you can't get your anthology published.

In other news, today on National Radio was a report on Wikipedia planning changes to the way biographical entries can be updated.

Comments

[paul-ewins.livejournal.com]

I've got the Continuum series, that one actually has well known authors - Farmer, Wolfe, McCaffrey. Nobody has killed the Australian market for anthologies yet, but then there really isn't much being sold into the general market as opposed to the con-going crowd.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

There are mostly big names in Omega too (including Farmer and McCaffrey interestingly) - that is part of why I followed it up.

To kill the anthology market anywhere now, first it has to be alive and outside of the dedicated con-going crowd it only rarely shows signs of life. (Thinking in sales volume terms that is - not quality). I don't think it has ever recovered from Elwood.

[mundens.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I've seen several calls for submissions come past my eyes over the last few months, though admittedly most of them have been for fantasy/SF erotica/romance, rather than pure SF. From my limited exposure, it's not that they can't sell anthologies, it's that they can't find enough good authors to fill them! I keep seeing anthology submission deadlines being pushed back to try and get more good responses.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Good authors being a key concept there. To judge from some of the editors on my flist who have been slushing recently, there is no shortage of submissions. Payment makes a difference - the publishers who pay the most tend to get more quality submissions - not that any of them pay very much.

Having said that according to the book buyers/sellers I talk to, even the best anthologies really don't sell very well by comparison to novels.

[grant-stone.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sure, he crashed the anthology market. But let's not forget he also created the Dukes of Hazzard Scrapbook. Doesn't that count for something?

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

*cough* *splutter* Not while I'm eating...

Mind you, I was a big fan of the Dukes back when I was a kid so I won't mock