1. Short Story Markets

This is how a lot of science fiction writers got their start before publishing novels, and for many aspiring writers out there this is the best route in terms of actually landing a literary agent. The common assumption by people is that just because short stories are shorter to write, they are easier to write. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The short story takes the breadth and depth of a novel and condenses it to maybe ten pages. If agents see that you’ve been published in several short story markets, this can only work in your favor if you have a manuscript ready to submit. Go to Ralan’s webstravaganza to see what markets are currently out there.

2. Start a Blog

Blogs aren’t the same as they were ten years ago, not even five years ago. Some websites like Shoemoney.com, entrepreneur’s-journey.com, and Problogger.com make thousands each month on their respective blogs. For prospective authors they are media platforms, plain and simple. First-time authors get very little funding in terms of marketing and publicity for their first novels, so if an agent sees that you can reach 10,000 unique visitors a month or more, this can only work in your favor. It’s also a good way to gain a little money on the side.

3. Visit Trade Conventions, Book Signings, and Various Industry Events

There’s something very impersonal about sending a manuscript to an agent. I make it a point to attend book conventions, book signings, and various industry events. Not only does this give you a chance to meet literary agents, authors, and editors face to face but it’s also the perfect opportunity to network amongst the hoi polloi of the publishing industry. Now there’s a right and a wrong way to pitch to a literary agent, a quick one-minute pitch (often referred to as an ‘elevator pitch’). Literary agents are busy people, you don’t want to talk their ears off. With publishing, a lot of the time, it’s not what you know but who you know. And this is a great way to meet those top level players in your industry.

4. Build a Reputation as a Writer and an Editor

This is probably the least likely method of getting a literary agent but for people in my situation it doesn’t hurt. I’m an editor for two automotive trade magazine,s I’ve had articles published in several trade and consumer magazines, I know the ins-and-out of the publishing process, and I have a very respectable portfolio under my hat. Now I’m not boasting here, but many agents want to know that when they sign up a new client that they have someone that will work with them, not against them. As a relationship between an agent and a client can last for years, they need to know that this person is a good fit, and what better way to do that then by having a person that already knows what to expect when they have a book published.

New Years Resolutions Completed:
– #13 Get Fifteen Articles Published
– #21 Make $250 selling short stories/articles
– #24 Get invited to three events as a reporter
– #40 Make 15 Business Contacts
– #67 Make $250 selling articles

For the complete list of New Years resolutions (Click Here).

For me Locus is the premiere trade magazine for the science fiction and fantasy publishing industry. So when they post their annual nominees for their Locus Award I tend to take notice and pay attention for what’s hot and any approaching trends. Here is the short list from all categories. Enjoy!

Science Fiction Novel

Matter, Iain M. Banks (Orbit UK)
City at the End of Time, Greg Bear (Gollancz, Del Rey)
Marsbound, Joe Haldeman (Ace)
Anathem, Neal Stephenson (Atlantic UK, Morrow)
Saturn’s Children, Charles Stross (Orbit, Ace)

Fantasy Novel

The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow)
Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt)
The Bell at Sealey Head, Patricia A. McKillip (Ace)
The Dragons of Babel, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
An Evil Guest, Gene Wolfe (Tor)

First Novel

Thunderer, Felix Gilman (Bantam Spectra)
Black Ships, Jo Graham (Orbit US)
Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory (Ballantine Del Rey)
The Gone-Away World, Nick Harkaway (William Heinemann, Knopf)
Singularity’s Ring, Paul Melko (Tor)

Young Adult Novel

Little Brother, Cory Doctorow (Tor)
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, Bloomsbury)
Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Knopf)
Nation, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK, HarperCollins)
Zoe’s Tale, John Scalzi (Tor)

Novella

“The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 10-11/08)
“Pretty Monsters”, Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters)
“The Tear”, Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
Once Upon a Time in the North, Philip Pullman (Knopf)
“True Names”, Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)

Novellette

“Pump Six”, Paolo Bacigalupi (Pump Six and Other Stories)
“The Ice War”, Stephen Baxter (Asimov’s 9/08)
“Shoggoths in Bloom”Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s 3/08)
“The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away”, Cory Doctorow (Tor.com 8/08)
“Pride and Prometheus”, John Kessel (F&SF 1/08)

Short Story

“King Pelles the Sure”, Peter S. Beagle (Strange Roads)
“Boojum”, Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette (Fast Ships, Black Sails)
“Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
“The Kindness of Strangers”, Nancy Kress (Fast Forward 2)
“After the Coup”, John Scalzi (Tor.com 7/08)

Magazine

Analog
Asimov’s
F&SF
Realms of Fantasy
Subterranean

Publisher

Ace
Baen
Night Shade Books
Subterranean Press
Tor

Anothology

The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, eds. (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Galactic Empires, Gardner Dozois, ed. (SFBC)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s)
Eclipse Two, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade Books)
The Starry Rift, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Viking)

Collection

Pump Six and Other Stories, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)
The Drowned Life, Jeffrey Ford (HarperPerennial)
Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link (Viking)
The Best of Lucius Shepard, Lucius Shepard (Subterranean Press)
The Best of Michael Swanwick, Michael Swanwick (Subterranean Press)

Editor

Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
David G. Hartwell
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder

Artist

Bob Eggleton
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess
Michael Whelan

Non-fiction/Art book

Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction, Paul Kincaid (Beccon)
Rhetorics of Fantasy, Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press) P. Craig Russell
Coraline: The Graphic Novel, Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins)
Shaun Tan, Tales From Outer Suburbia (Allen & Unwin; Scholastic ‘09)