writermag.com • The Writer | 25society (there’s a lot to choose from), and expand
that out to the future. It will soon become dysto-
pian, trust me.”
Originality is vitally important, says Connor
Goldsmith, also from Fuse Literary. Among other
fictional areas he represents, he seeks both sci-
ence fiction and fantasy. “In today’s market, new
speculative fiction has to stand out as fresh,” he
notes. While in query letters, writers should men-
tion a few comparable titles to note how their
book is similar to others, don’t be merely imita-
tive, says Goldsmith: “It’s not enough to say that
your book is like Harry Potter or A Song of Ice
and Fire. Those are juggernauts of the genre!”
Your novel must be distinctive: “What matters is
finding an idea that speaks to you and feels differ-
ent from what you’ve seen before.”
If you don’t have a book project ready yet,
Goldsmith recommends beginning with small
SF/F magazines. “There are so many great venues
out there, and it’s a good way to build buzz as a
new author in the space.”
Martin Literary Management
Britt Siess, of Martin Literary Management, repre-
sents science fiction, fantasy, and horror. As to the
term “speculative fiction,” she finds this term rather
“tricky.” In fact, she’s careful about using it: “If you
aren’t classifying your story as SF or fantasy, why?”
She advocates using the term only “if it really
applies.” For instance, she says, “Sometimes,
there’s crossover. A book might have SF elements,
but the questions the story is asking are more
speculative in nature. If that’s the case, note it.”
The bottom line for her: “I find, as with any
book, it helps to know what a speculative story is
trying to explore. For example, are you taking
something you see happening in today’s society
and imagining the world that that might lead to?
Then find publishers who’ve previously published
works that are getting at that same question or
have shown interest in that topic,” she says.
In terms of craft, solid worldbuilding is
extremely important to Siess, but good world-
building alone is not enough, she says. It must be
“immersive,” or integral to the whole story. For
her, good speculative fiction requires “a good bal-
ance between worldbuilding and the plot. Read-
ers should feel like they’re in an entirely new
world, but they shouldn’t be confused.”
Which books don’t make it? For Siess, it’s those
that lack clear “rules” governing the whole: “I see
a lot of speculative fiction that jumps in too fast
and leaves me wondering what the rules of this
particular world are.” As far as that goes, she says, your
reader should work a little, but not too much: “A little guess-
ing helps build anticipation, but too much means a reader
can’t connect with the story.”
One big no-no for Siess: “Avoid 10 pages of exposition!”
Instead, she says, you should “weave worldbuilding into
the narration.”The Seymour Agency
According to Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency, which
represents a broad spectrum of fictional genres, if you’re
submitting science fiction, you “need to make sure there is
plausibility to the science. You can ask readers to suspend
their belief as long as it isn’t too out there, too implausible.”
If it is, she says, “you run the risk of alienating (pun
intended) your reader.”
Yet while scientific plausibility is essential to good Sci
Fi, Gwinn urges writers not to ignore the essentials of all
good fiction writing, namely “strong characters, conflict
between characters, and a resolution.” Much of the specula-
tive fiction she receives emphasizes “worldbuilding, gad-
gets, technology, weapons, or transportation” – but at the
expense of “the basic elements of novel writing, like com-
pelling dialogue and character and plot development that
move the story along.”
Once you’ve covered the genre basics, as well as the basics
of good fiction writing, you’re ready to submit, says Gwinn,
but be sure to find the right audience for your work. She offers
the following insights on marketing your finished novel:
“There is a spectrum, and readers of speculative fiction are
very educated and know if they like high fantasy, urban fan-
tasy, science fiction, shape-shifters, etc., so make sure you do
your research first, label your project correctly based on the
subgenre it fits into, and find Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
groups to join where the discussion is about books, movies,
graphic novels, comic books, etc., within those genres.”
Do be sure to develop that strong presence on social
media, she urges: “If you connect with fans while on the
journey to publication, you’ll have a fan base ready when
your book comes out.”Put in the work
Before you try your hand at speculative fiction, read widely
in the genres covered by this umbrella term. Read both
adult and YA speculative fiction. Do adequate research to
meet the demands of the genre you’ve chosen. When you’re
ready to submit, decide on a possible market for your work,
whether commercial or small press. But don’t submit until
you have a stellar work of speculative fiction.Jack Smith is the author of four novels, three books of nonfiction, and
numerous reviews, articles, and interviews. His collection of articles on
fiction writing, Inventing the World, was recently published by Serving
House Books.