Science-Fiction Handbook
Dust-jacket of first edition | |
Author | L. Sprague de Camp |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Writing |
Publisher | Hermitage House |
Publication date | 1953 |
Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Pages | 328 pp |
Science-Fiction Handbook, subtitled The Writing of Imaginative Fiction, is a guide to writing and marketing science fiction and fantasy by L. Sprague de Camp, "one of the earliest books about modern sf."[1] The original edition was published in hardcover by Hermitage House in 1953 as a volume in its Professional Writers Library series. A revised edition, by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, titled Science Fiction Handbook, Revised, was published in hardcover by Owlswick Press in 1975 and as a trade paperback by McGraw-Hill in 1977.[2][3] An E-book version of the revised edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on April 30, 2014.[4][5]
Summary
The book comprises a comprehensive guide explaining how to write and market science fiction and fantasy. Peripheral subjects such as lecturing and bookkeeping are also discussed, and a short history of the field of imaginative fiction is included. The revised version excised outdated material, updated the historical section, and added more information on the business and records-keeping end of being a writer.[2]
Contents
Original edition (1953) | Revised edition (1975) |
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A Note on the Professional Writers Library | |
Preface | Preface |
The World of Imaginative Fiction | The World of Imaginative Fiction |
The Origins of Imaginative Fiction | |
Modern Imaginative Fiction | Modern Imaginative Fiction |
Markets and Editors | Editors and Publishers |
Readers and Fans | Readers and Writers |
Writers of Imaginative Fiction | |
Preparation for a Science-Fiction Career | Preparing for a Science-Fiction Career |
Where do You Get Those Crazy Ideas? | Those Crazy Ideas |
Plotting an Imaginative Story | Plotting an Imaginative Story |
Writing an Imaginative Story | Writing an Imaginative Story |
Selling an Imaginative Story | Selling an Imaginative Story |
The Business Side of Writing | |
Being an Imaginative-Fiction Writer | And When You Have Arrived |
Notes | Notes |
Bibliography | Bibliography |
Index | Index |
Reception
Groff Conklin of Galaxy Science Fiction praised the book, stating that it was "Recommended even for people who don't want to write".[6] Alexei and Cory Panshin praised the original edition as "a marvelous and ungainly book . . . a stewpot of everything De Camp could imagine a writer of SF needing to know." However, reviewing the revised edition, they declared that "A venerable classic has been consistently simplified, softened and trivialized" and concluded that what remained "was not adequate to the problems of writing contemporary SF."[7] Malcolm Edwards and John Clute called it "a useful compendium of information and advice for aspiring writers in its original edition, [though] it gained little from its subsequent revision – indeed, the revised version omitted some material of interest."[1]
Awards
In 2004 the original edition was among the nominees for the 1954 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Related Book.[8]
Notes
- ^ a b Malcolm Edwards and John Clute. "de Camp, L Sprague". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight. London: Gollancz, updated 6 May 2014. Web. Accessed 23 September 2014.
- ^ a b Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. pp. 88–89.
- ^ Science-Fiction Handbook title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- ^ Orion Publishing Group's entry for e-book edition
- ^ Amazon.com entry for e-book edition
- ^ Conklin, Groff (May 1954). "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf". Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 129–133.
- ^ "Books", F&SF, July 1976, p.36
- ^ 1954 Retro-Hugo Awards on the official Hugo Awards website
- v
- t
- e
Interplanetarias
Krishna |
|
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Kukulkan |
|
Other |
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- "The Roaring Trumpet" (1940)
- "The Mathematics of Magic" (1940)
- The Castle of Iron (1941/50)
- The Wall of Serpents (1953)
- The Green Magician (1954)
- Sir Harold and the Gnome King (1990)
- Sir Harold of Zodanga (1995)
- The Tritonian Ring (1951)
- "The Eye of Tandyla" (1951)
- "The Owl and the Ape" (1951)
- "The Hungry Hercynian" (1953)
- "The Stronger Spell" (1953)
- "Ka the Appalling" (1958)
- "The Rug and the Bull" (1974)
- "The Stone of the Witch Queen" (1977)
- The Goblin Tower (1968)
- The Clocks of Iraz (1971)
- "The Emperor's Fan" (1973)
- The Fallible Fiend (1973)
- The Unbeheaded King (1983)
- The Honorable Barbarian (1989)
- The Incorporated Knight (1987)
- The Pixilated Peeress (1991)
speculative
fiction
Novels |
|
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Short stories |
|
- The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
- The Arrows of Hercules (1965)
- An Elephant for Aristotle (1958)
- The Bronze God of Rhodes (1960)
- The Golden Wind (1969)
- The Wolf Leader (1950)
- Swords and Sorcery (1963)
- The Spell of Seven (1965)
- Conan the Warrior (1967)
- The Fantastic Swordsmen (1967)
- Conan the Conqueror (1967)
- Warlocks and Warriors (1970)
- 3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
- Tales Beyond Time (1973)
Science and history |
|
---|---|
Lit crit and biography |
|
- The Conan Swordbook (1969)
- The Conan Grimoire (1972)
- To Quebec and the Stars (1976)
- The Blade of Conan (1979)
- The Spell of Conan (1980)
- Demons and Dinosaurs (1970)
- Heroes and Hobgoblins (1981)
- Phantoms and Fancies (1972)
- The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953)
- The Virgin of Zesh & The Tower of Zanid (1983)
- The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
- Wall of Serpents (1960)
- The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
- The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
- The Enchanter Reborn (1992)
- The Exotic Enchanter (1995)
- The Mathematics of Magic (2007)
- The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (1953)
- The Reluctant King (1985)
- Conan (1967)
- The Conan Chronicles (1989)
- The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
- Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
- Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
- Conan the Adventurer (1966)
- Conan the Avenger (1968)
- Conan the Freebooter (1968)
- Conan the Swordsman (1978)
- Conan the Usurper (1967)
- Conan the Wanderer (1968)
- Sagas of Conan (2004)
- Tales of Conan (1955)
- The Treasure of Tranicos (1980)
- Aristotle and the Gun (2002)
- The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (1978)
- Divide and Rule (1948)
- Footprints on Sand (1981)
- A Gun for Dinosaur (1963)
- The Purple Pterodactyls (1980)
- The Reluctant Shaman (1970)
- Rivers of Time (1993)
- Scribblings (1972)
- Sprague de Camp's New Anthology (1953)
- Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953/78)
- The Undesired Princess (1951)
- The Virgin & the Wheels (1976)
- The Wheels of If (1948)
- Years in the Making (2005)
- GURPS Planet Krishna (1997)
- The Enchanter Completed (2005)