Beklediğimden daha iyi ve fazlasıyla yardımcı olabilecek bir eser. Bu konularda bir şeyler yapmak isteyen herkesin elinin altında bulundurmasında fayda var. Sanırım eksi diyebileceğim tek nokta bazı resmi konularda sadece ABD ve Kanada üzerinden bilgilendirmiş olmaları ancak buna rağmen bir fikir sahibi olmanızı ve buradaki yasaları, kontratları incelerken yabancı kalmamanızı sağlıyor. ( )

Cory Doctorow gave me this book about five years ago, and I've been putting off reading it while I, in the meantime, formulated my craft at writing speculative fiction. WHY DID I DO THAT!?

Seriously.

Well, the main reason I've been putting it off is because it has the word "Idiot" in the title. I'm not one of those who tends to favor books that call their readers idiots or dummies. I, generally, prefer books that have words like "Learning," "Using," "Cookbook," and "Nutshell" in the titles, but O'Reilly doesn't publish many books on writing science fiction. Go figure.

But, my respect for Doctorow, at least as a writer, trumped my lack of wanting to actually read an Idiot's book, so I read it, and I'm glad I did.

If you're an aspiring writer, or perhaps, a fledgling writer, this is one shop-talking book that won't, for a moment, make you feel like an idiot, complete or otherwise. Doctorow and Schroeder do an excellent job of taking you through the writing, publishing, and contracting process, covering as many bases as possible in the wild world of science fiction publishing. It opened my eyes to new things, and refreshed my memory on a bunch of the stuff I already knew.

This is a must read for anybody wanting to get into spec fic as a career, or even a hobby. And if you're embarrassed by the word "Idiot" on the cover, just get a little strip of black tape. Now, you're reading "The Complete Guide to Publishing Science Fiction," a more fitting title. ( )

Who should read this book? ANYONE who is writing SF, fantasy, or horror, or any blend thereof. Whether you're just starting out or getting ready to shop your novel or short story, there's something for everyone (both short story writers AND novelists).

But, please keep in mind that this book IS out of print. You can find used copies on Amazon.com or ABE Books.com, or you can download a digital copy off Amazon.com. The book is worth it though, even though some information is out of date. The writers are aware of this, and encourage you to do your homework before you leap. They even give you the resources to do it!

So go, read, be merry, and learn a lot in the process! :)

For a full review, just click here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.com/3933.html ( )