Literary polygamy

[julesjones]

I have taken up with another writing partner (though not abandoned predatrix). We've worked together on assorted material for many years, but the Yule story for Loose Id's Festival of Lights is the first time we've gone all the way together as co-authors on a fiction piece. She's now on LJ, although hasn't said much as yet:

http://lindsey-mullen.livejournal.com/

Comments

[silly-swordsman.livejournal.com]

Yules' story? ;-)

Reminds me that I ought to get back to the Westala and Villtin Midwinter Tale I wrote as a Christmas present to afp a few years ago and trim it down to something readable for a general public, since I've been told by Baen that Usenet, unlike the Web, doesn't count as "first publication".

[julesjones]

if you can work it into something comprehensible to a general sf audience, then you *should*. [prods with pointy stick]

[silly-swordsman.livejournal.com]

Stripped bare, it's a simple time-travel story* in a generic fantasy setting, so yes, it should be reworkable. I need to prune the afp-directed allusions and the infodumps aimed at explaining the Taleverse for its regular readers, make it a lot tighter (15k words is at least 6k too many), and make it clear early that it's a humorous story with lots of allusions. And make the set-up work better - as it is, there's a fair bit of "because the author needs it for the rest" happening.

Um... Would it be too forward to ask for a beta-read once it's re-hammered?

* Of the go "back in time and change the future so that you can't remember you changed it" variety.

[julesjones]

You are welcome to ask for a beta-read, but be aware that I could be going through one of my occasional phases of being not able to read -- and I'm not up on current fantasy/sf, so am not the bets person to give advice on whether it's suitable for a market.

Definitely cut the word count if you can -- you'll be able to sell 9k easier than you can 15k. But if you're contemplating sending it to Baen's Universe, it's worth running it through the slush system attached to the Bar -- there was a thread in rasfc about it this very week. http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.arts.sf.composition/msg/e5c26b0dd4900875

[lindsey-mullen.livejournal.com]

Waves hand.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

[Giggles]

[julesjones]

That's not all your icon is waving...