"editors tend to publish people they already know"
A Catch-22, surely.

It's shocking to me that this industry works the same way every other industry seems to work.

Same with tv and film studios. Not really shocking news.

This is why, if you expect to start getting published, you need to attend conventions and schmooze.

This story is an eye-opener: someone got a large advance for writing science fiction??!! Perhaps I'm not understanding the context correctly...

Of course they end up publish people they already know. But they also strain through the slushpile.
The biggest problem is that the same handful of editors have moved from one publisher to another for the last 20 years, which is why it seems like nothing has changed since cyberpunk "broke".

When I was growing up there were literally 50+ paperback impreints out there cranking out quality (and sub-par) sci-fi/fantasy/horror/thriller/action-adventure books. Now we're down to a handful. Anyone remember Lion? Merit Books? Prize? Toby Press? Centaur Press? Pyramid Books? Pendulum Press? Fawcett?

@gentlyclubbillpart2: Truer words. Maybe they mean a YA book with a SF theme?

@JoeytheHobo: It's not a Catch-22 -- it's quite easy to get to know editors. The Nielsen-Haydens who run Tor have their own blog, and the folks at Baen participate in their web forums. I know a guy who got published after getting into an argument with Eric Flint online.

This sounds like enough sour grapes to keep Welch's in business for a good while. Editors buy books they think will sell. Naturally they will consider buying from authors who have sold in the past. Almost just as naturally, they will often like those authors, since, after all, they share a lot of common interests. I think some people go to SF conventions and see all the editors and writers being friendly with each other and assume that the friendliness is the reason those writers are getting published.
And this is coming from a guy with three unpublished novels so far.

It's also helpful to remember that the fantasy and science fiction field is small enough that a majority of the active professional writers, editors and agents already know each other anyway. It's not so much of an old boy's club as a small high school.

(Disclaimer, I was interviewed for the cited article, and actively work in the sf/f field.)

And that's why my friends and I started our own small publishing firm, because we were frustrated authors who found it hard to get stories in the mainstream mags and had precious few other outlets for our work. As it turns out, we now publish a lot of work that might not see the light of day otherwise, because contrary to popular belief, schmoozing editors at cons doesn't mean they'll remember you when you send in your latest manuscript.

@NEFARIOUSNEWT

"schmoozing editors at cons doesn't mean they'll remember you when you send in your latest manuscript"

I can't speak for popular belief, but I can tell you that I don't know any pros who believe that schmoozing sells. A good story will sell. Where and to whom are somewhat different questions, but without good writing, all the schmoozing in the world means nothing. With good writing, it's irrelevant.

@seanohara: Ah. Understood.
Congrats to all those that receive such an opportunity!

This is why all of my writing will remain in a pile under my desk until I die, when, if I'm lucky, some enterprising relative will decide to get them published posthumously.

I haven't got the skills to schmooze or network. Hell, I can't even have a civil conversation like a human being unless I've got a half a pint of rum in me.

@braak: The only way to be certain you won't sell a story is to keep that pile under your desk. It's hard to break out of the slushpile in any genre, but SF people do take the responsibility to encourage new writers seriously.

Any editor is thrilled to discover a new talent. Conversely, no matter how big a name you are, if you write a total piece of crap, a magazine will not buy it. (I say this with experience reading submissions for a struggling magazine that could really have used some famous names to put on the cover.)

Plenty of authors break out without ever having gone to a single SF convention. Schmoozing and networking help in any profession, but the lack of those skills won't stop a talented writer from succeeding.

So send out some submissions already.

@inconstant_reader: You're right.

My plan is foolproof!

I spoke to a fairly well-known editor recently and asked him about nepotism in the industry. And he admitted, it's everywhere. It's how business is done. When you're running a magazine and are pressed for time and need a story, you grab one from someone you know. It's less stress that way. Same goes for novels, anthologies, etc -- every time-critical part of the publishing business, which is every part of the publishing business.

From the perspective of the outsider it sucks and it's unfair. From the perspective of the insider, it's the only way to get anything done in a chaotic, stressful industry.

If anyone finds another way to do it, let me know. Meanwhile I'm spending all my energies trying to get on the inside. (Preferably via brillant prose. I don't schmooze well.)

Of course, in this day and age it is quite possible to vanity publish a new novel and make somewhat decent money at it. With sites like LuLu, Createspace, and Booksurge added to a clever viral marketing program, you really could make more money self publishing.

I guess all I am saying is that these days if the system seems broken, don't fix it - circumvent it!

and editors tend to publish people they already know

They're called AGENTS. If you want to make it as a pro-feshun-al writer, you get an AGENT.

Actually, having read the essay, it comes down to, yes, it's incestuous, but really, pro editors care more about quality than personal relationships. All a personal relationship will get you is a look. It won't get you published.

I know lots of authors who know publishers and editors, and they *still* don't get published all the time. They get read, and rejected lots. That's life for a lot of new authors.

However...

One editor of a major publication house gave his girlfriend, an author, a large advance and bragged to his colleagues about making his next house payment.

Smack talking about an unnamed editor? io9 is heading closer to looking like an SF version of Defamer. It's just shameful.

@JoshJasper: Agents are for the weak and incontinent.

It's hard because SF is such a "community." However, the community is based on finding new talent and discovering new writers. I think part of the problem is that the market for SF short stories are shrinking.

I don't think it's shrinking for novels: besides Tor, most of the major publishers have several SF/F imprints, and let's not forget the small/new presses such as Small Beer, Pyr, Tachyon, etc.

In short: schmoozing is nice. If you can't schmooze, focus on your craft: write a kick-ass story. And for Pete's sake, SEND OUT YOUR STORIES!

Well people also buy from authors they know, how else would you explain the continuing success of hacks that have long run out of ideas?

So it is lower risk with some guaranteed sales, versus someone original and dynamic. Of course the pulp nature doesn't help, given Atwood's distancing of herself from the genre and the more literary forms being somewhat marginalized. Mieville and Maria Doria Russell were the last authors I read that had any pretensions towards actually caring about their writing, and they were years ago...

I also think it is the insular nature and relatively narrow focus of the fans. Sci-fi must appeal to the technophile/futurist crowd as well as the adolescent teenager/escapist crowd. As Gibson has stated, he stopped writing hard sci-fi because the world we live in is much crazier than what he could think of.

And much like other media, the role of the middlemen is declining. What I envision we are waiting for is the rise of a new type of distributor/commentator, the tastemaker. Why not publish your books yourself online or through one of the digital readers and hope that quality draws people? Music is heading this way slowly where labels are really losing their importance and websites like Pitchfork can make or break bands.

@ CHRYSS It's hard because SF is such a "community."

Oh come on. It's not at hard all. The fact that there's a community makes it easier, not harder. Does non-genre fiction have an easy way to meet editors and publishers? And the ability to meet people online makes things even easier.

@ AKATSUKI - Your problem with pulp concepts is a personal preference, not a measure of quality. What you like is not equal to good writing.

S.M. Stirling's The Sky People was a lot of fun, and an absolute homage to Jack Vance and other pulp writers.

@JOSHJASPER: well I did say that the community was predicated on finding new talent and new voices. But you're right, I should have just pointed out that it is a community but left out the word "hard." Forgive the lack of caffiene? The coffee maker's broken and I am desperate.

@AKATSUKI: I disagree about what you dub "literary" SF. Go read M. John Harrison's Light and Nova Swing.

Actually, what's been described isn't "nepotism" (the hiring of relatives) it's "favoritism" or "patronage" (the hiring of people you like or are dedicated to supporting).