Science Fiction Editing Services

When it comes to writing for a specific genre, there are conventions that pertain to the manuscript length, character types, settings, themes, viewpoint, plot, tone, and mood that will affect the end-product’s attractiveness and general enjoyment. The readers of commercial fiction have become accustomed to certain styles and expectations, and meeting these expectations are crucial in ensuring that a writer’s work reaches the hands of his or her intended audience. When it comes to the science fiction genre, readers expect to be wowed, with it being one of the most imaginative genres of literature.

The most popular tropes and plot lines have all been explored, yet they remain new every time; the limit of a science fiction novel is really the limit defined by a writer’s imagination. From imagining post-apocalyptic Earth to imagining a fully AI world, the thematic content to be explored by a science fiction work is generally limited only by the frontiers of an author’s imagination. However, authors of science fiction works would know that writing a plot-hole free manuscript and a book that can effectively inspire readers to suspend their disbelief is the trickiest part of creating a well-rounded and digestible work.

Works that are too outlandish and too unlikely are usually the works that gather dust on the shelves (outlandishness and walking the fine line between reality and fiction are traits that are best employed in works of fantasy). Instead, works such as The Hunger Games and or The Handmaid’s Tale are so prolific because they force you to believe that you could live in the reality about which you are reading. Science fiction perfectly blends the present reality with future speculations; epic works of science fiction are haunting, terrifying, and endlessly exciting not because the ideas are unattainable, but because they are entirely possible.

As such, the excellent science fiction writer has a long list of consultants from astronauts to thermonuclear astrophysicists. Importantly, one of their most valuable consultants is also the science fiction editor.

WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?

Science fiction has been defined by some as “speculative fiction,” although Margaret Atwood would be unhappy with this definition as she finds there to be a distinction between science fiction and speculative fiction. Others define science fiction as stories that report on imagined ideas that do not exist in the real word. However, most people agree that excellent works of science fiction combine both ideas; science fiction encompasses work that imagine things that could but do not yet exist in the world.

Science fiction is divided into two overarching subcategories: hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi. Hard sci-fi is based on scientific fact: they are derived from the natural scientific fields, including physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Soft sci-fi are those works that are potentially not scientifically accurate and inspired by “soft” sciences, such as subjects pertaining to the social sciences, including psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

There are many subgenres of science fiction. These include fantasy, supernatural, utopian, dystopian, space opera, space western, cyberpunk, and steampunk sci-fi stories. These many subgenres can include elements such as space travel, time travel, superhero origin stories, modern technology, imagined future technologies, and fictional worlds. Classics of science fiction include Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, and The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Most sci-fi writers have to engage in some worldbuilding. While all writers do this to some degree, the sci-fi writer has to create more fine-tuned and extensive details that can be plausible within a range of well-defined rules. In other words, sci-fi writers have to construct entire worlds that are at-once believable and unimaginable. When constructing an entire world or universe, there are may factors to consider: the history of the land, whether the world is organized by countries, the backstories of the relevant nations, the history of these nations’ occupants, the biological makeup of the occupants, the flora and fauna of the structural setting, and perhaps even an invented language.

These acts of worldbuilding pertain to other genres such as those of fantasy, which is why the definition of a science fiction work has been so tenuous and fluid. Therefore, having an editor is invaluable as he or she is trained at looking for plot holes and inconsistencies. Apart from looking at the micro aspects of your writing such as the grammar, the syntax, and the best possible word choice, editors look at the macro story line and constructed world to tell you if something is lacking clarity or doesn’t make sense.

Rather than face backlash from fans after the novel’s publication, the best sci-fi books undergo a thorough vetting process that includes multiple passes by not one but multiple editors.

Furthermore, an excellent sci-fi novel creates a delicate balance between relatable and believable characters and a plotline that identifies a big idea. The kind of big ideas I am referring to are those that go beyond the known boundaries of what is currently available in the scientific world. For example, in The Three-body Problem by Cixin Liu, the idea is pretty simple: an alien race is set to invade the Earth in 500 years. However, what made this story so sensational is the fact that the alien planet orbits two different suns, and the race of people on the planet undergoes a constant and rapid ice ages and periods of extreme heat.

By offsetting the insanity of a race of alien creatures that can dehydrate themselves with the very explored idea of invasion, Liu creates a believable backdrop to set up a big idea. When authors are dreaming up of big ideas, the understandability of their ideas can often become lost in their excitement and passion; it takes an objective eye to identify areas where links have not been made and where connections have not been fully fleshed out. Editors help to bridge this gap and to identify ways in which a manuscript can operate in that sweet margin in which the work is so complete, its hard to believe such a world doesn’t actually exist.

As such, I think a writer’s biggest asset is a good editor. A good editor will tell you if your ideas are being recycled, if your work is too nuanced, and if your imagination can be stretched out even further. Editors are an invaluable part of both the writing and production process. To ensure your work is well-received by audiences, consulting an editor is essential.