Frequently Asked Questions
About Sylvia Engdahl and Her Books

Why I Write About the Future

This was originally a guest post at the blog "Mythical Books," but I don't know how long it wi[[ stay online there, and in any case, since it's one of the most frequent questions I'm asked, the answer needs to be in an accessible place.

People often ask why I chose to write science fiction. First of all, let me say that although my novels are set on future or hypothetical worlds and therefore have to be called science fiction, they are not typical of that genre and generally appeal more to people who read little if any other science fiction than to avid sci-fi fans (although there are exceptions, of course; some science fiction enthusiasts love them). As I’ve often said, I hate the “genre” system, which labels books in such a way that they will never be discovered by readers who don’t look at listings for genres they don’t usually enjoy. Formula fiction is easily categorized by genre, but when a writer directs a book to a wider audience than people who are seeking stories that fit a particular formula and who dislike departures from it, a forced genre classification does nothing but harm.

My novels don’t fit the usual requirements of the science fiction genre. They are not action/adventure stories. There’s nothing weird in them; they are not “far out” enough to suit the tastes of readers with an extensive background in sci-fi. On the other hand, there is little if any science. While I don’t violate known scientific fact with respect to near-future settings, when it comes to the distant future I use familiar ideas, such as faster-than-light travel, without offering a made-up explanation for it that is no more factual than the simple assumption that interstellar travel by means presently unknown to us will someday exist. I describe extraterrestrials as very much like us, not because I don’t realize that they are probably not at all like us, but because anything I might imagine would be no closer to reality than portraying them in a way that encourages reader identification with the characters. My aim is to express views of life that I believe are timeless and universal apart from the specific setting of a story, and since I am not writing fantasy, I feel that artificial, fantastic details are distracting.

So if I don’t want to conform to the conventions of the science fiction genre, why do I write about the future? For two reasons: first, the idea of a universe filled with countless inhabited worlds (an idea that was believed by almost all educated people in the 18th and 19th centuries, long before its recent revival by science) has always fascinated me. And second, because I believe that how people in our era think about the future is important. The expansion of human civilization into space is, my opinion, vital to our future survival; this has been one of my deepest convictions for nearly sixty years. I have little sympathy either with doomsayers who maintain that we are headed for catastrophe or with the notion that Earth is the only place of value and that it can remain isolated from the rest of the universe. Furthermore, I feel that it’s harmful to view extraterrestrials either as evil aliens likely to invade our planet or as “gods from outer space” who will arrive to give us all the answers and save us from ourselves. None of these views foster constructive efforts to solve our world’s problems, and they lead to a negative conception of our place in the universe that distorts the outlook of young generations. And so I attempt in my novels to combat them.

Above all, I want readers to look toward the future with hope, in the belief that however difficult our problems, and however slowly our species evolves, humankind will continue to move forward. Our world is one small part of a vast, wonder-filled universe that we will sooner or later encounter. People need to think of it in that light.

Questions About My Books

This is general information about the publication of my books. Be sure to see their own FAQ pages for information about specific novels.

How many books have you published?

Eleven novels, a nonfiction book, and several collections of essays, plus two omnibus editions of the novels and an anthology containstainig short stories by other authors as well as my own. (In addition, long ago I co-authored two YA nonficton books that are now outdated, another anthology, and a picture book.

In book catalogs there are more nonfiction books than this under your name.

While working as a freelance editor I produced many nonfiction anthologies for high schoola. Some catalogs erroneously list me as their author rather than their editor, but I wrote only their introductions. Since the purpose of these books was to present all sides of controversial issues, they do not reflect my personal views.

Which is your most successful book?

The best-known is my Young Adult novel Enchantress from the Stars (1970), which was a 1971 Newbery Honor book. The original edition was sold to more libraries than my others because it appeals to younger readers as well as to the teens for whom it wasi intende, and also to adults interested in literature for young people.

Many science fiction fans have never heard of your novels. Why is that?

The first six were originally issued as "children's books" even though, except for Enchantress from the Stars, they aren't interesting to most readers below their mid-teens. This means they weren't marketed in the same way as other science fiction; in the publishing business, books for teens are issued through the children's editorial and sales departments, which are entirely separate from those that handle adult novels. Until recently their hardcover editions were seldom carried by stores, and only the review media read by youth librarians generally saw them. Even the small-press adult omnibus of Children of the Star was rarely reviewed because few media will review reprints.

If these novels aren't interesting to most readers younger than teenage, why were some of their jackets marked "ages 10-14" -- a marking still visible on library copies of the original editions? Don't kids who like to read usually seek books with a suggested age level higher than their own age?

The original publisher felt the books would sell better that way than with a more realistic marking. An author has no control whatsoever over what's said on the jacket or in advertising. Personally, I think these labels, and the resulting placement of the books in library children's rooms, kept them out of the hands of the people most apt to like them. Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains and The Doors of the Universe in particular seem boring to readers who are too young to understand the issues with which they deal, and children sometimes find The Far Side of Evil disturbing.

Since mature teenagers generally read adult SF instead of children's books, why didn't you publish your trilogy as adult fiction in the first place?

Enchantress from the Stars won honors in the children's literature field. so that was the field in which I had sufficient reputation to sell the later books. Moreover, I didn't want to address my work exclusively to the "in-group" of SF fans. I wanted to reach readers who don't have backgroundin the SF genre, and science fiction publishers won't accept books that don't assume such background.

If most of your books are for older teens, why did you choose to become a children's book author?

I didn't! And it is frustrating to me to be called a "children's author" since only one of my eleven novels is of interest to chikdren, and even that one was originally intended for teenage readers. I had just one idea for a book that is enjoyed by children alhough it has no child characters, and because it was a literary and commercial success publishers tried ro captalize on that by implying that my others were for the same audience.

To be sure, there was no YA category in those days; all books not adult were marketed as "children's books" and sold mainly to the children's collections of libraries. Therefore, publishers promoted them as children's books although it was acknowledged that many such as mine were suitable only for advanced readers. This is less true today, when much more mature books than in the past are being issued as Young Adult and sold directly to teens rather than just to librarians. But the original assciation of mine with Enchantress branded me as a children's author, which has kept the rest of my work from reaching more than a fraction of its intended audience.

Many Young Adult science fiction novels are reprinted in adult mass-market SF paperback lines. Why weren't yours?

For one thing, it was felt that they weren't sufficiently action-oriented to attract large paperback audiences, which was true. Also, mass-market paperback lines are strictly organized by genre, and my books don't appeal to the majority of science fiction fans, who want stories further from reslity than mine. I think that in the 70s I was the only author of YA science fiction whose books were successful in hardcover, yet weren't sold for mass-market reprint. Later, the publishing field changed somewhat; and during the 2000s rack-size trade paperback editions of Enchantress from the Stars, The Far Side of Evil and Journey Between Worlds were supposedly marketed to both teen and adult sections of bookstores. But notably, these were not mass-market editions and were not issued by SF publishers--nor, except for Enchantress, did they sell well.

Weren't there some earlier trade paperback editions?

Enchantress from the Stars, The Far Side of Evil and This Star Shall Abide appeared in children's paperback form, and Enchantress had Scholastic and Troll Book Club edition distributed in schools. There were also 1989 Collier Books paperback editions of Enchantress and Far Side; these did reach the SF sections of some chain stores, although their covers (unfortunately, in my opinion) were designed to attract a younger audience.

Some of your novels appeared on feminist reading lists in the seventies. Did you aim for that?

I never thought about it. Enchantress from the Stars was the first science fiction novel with a female protagonist to be issued as YA (a classification that depends not on the age of the characters, but on which department of the publisher edits and markets the book). Feminists liked her, especially in the other novel where she appears, The Far Side of Evil, in which she assumes authority over a male colleague. But I'm not a women's rights activist; I wrote about a young woman because I found her easy to identify with, and I assumed that in a culture as advanced as I was portraying, men and women would naturally be equal. (Then with the trilogy, where I wrote from a male viewpoint, feminists complained that his world's society was sexist -- which indeed it was, because I was trying to show that it had reverted to a backward level socially as well as technologically.)

Why were your books suddenly republished after being out of print so long?

In the case of Children of the Star it was because the Internet and other new technologies have made it economical for small presses to offer books that don't have the huge mass-market appeal major publishers now require. In the case of my Young Adult books, it was largely due to the phenomenal success of Harry Potter, which created a demand for hardcover fantasy and science fiction for teens and is causing bookstores to carry more of it than in the past. The original hardcover editions of my books were sold almost exclusively to libraries, whereas the new ones were available in retail outlets.

Have there been any foreign editions?

Enchantress from the Stars and The Far Side of Evil were published by Gollancz in England during the 1970s, as was This Star Shall Abide under the title Heritage of the Star (which also had a UK paperback edition). Enchantress appeared in Japanese at that time. German, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Chinese, Hebrew, and Korean editions of Enchantress were published after the 2001 Walker edition appeared.

Why did the British edition of This Star Shall Abide have a different title than the American edition?

Because Gollancz didn't happen to like the original title. It is quite common for the U.S. and U.K. editions of the same book to have different titles (even the first Harry Potter book!) This is very confusing, especially now that books can be obtained so easily via the Internet by readers all over the world. But title decisions are made by publishers; authors' preferences are not always accepted.

Why did you drop your middle name from most reprint editions of your books?

Originally, I used my full name, Sylvia Louise Engdahl, on my novels. But my British publisher felt that a double feminine name might make them less attractive to male SF buyers, and on reflection I decided that this is probably true. Furthermore, my full name is associated with my reputation as a "children's author," which I have tried to overcome in the case of books other than Enchantress from the Stars, especially since I began writing adult novels.\

What awards have you won for your writing?

Besides being a 1971 Newbery Honor book, Enchantress from the Stars later won the Children's Literature Association's 1990 Phoenix Award, which is given each year "from the perspective of time" to a children's book first published 20 years prior to the award's presentation, and it was a finalist for the 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year in the Rediscovery category.

This Star Shall Abide won a 1973 Christopher Award for "affirmation of the highest values of the human spirit."

My adult novel Stewards of the Flame won a bronze medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards.

Where do you get your ideas?

My novels grew out of my lifelong interest in space and my strong desire to convey how important our viewpoint toward space is to the future. As to the ideas for the central events in the stories, I wish I knew! They came to me than ten years before I wrote the books, and I didn't have any more until recently -- although, of course, I had lots of ideas about issues I wished I could express in the form of fiction.

Have you ever published any short stories?

No, I've never had ideas appropriate for short stories -- mine required complicated backgrounds. I co-authored two fairly long stories that appear in my anthologies: "The Beckoning Trail," co-authored with my friend Rick Roberson, in Universe Ahead (1975) and "Timescape," co-authored with my mother Mildred Butler, in Anywhere, Anywhen (1976). These were based largely on the ideas of the co-authors, not mine. They are now available in the expanded ebook edition of Anywhere, Anywhen, along with one other story, "Tranquility," written long ago but never published in print. In addition "The Beckoning Trail" appears as the Prologue to my novel Envoy of the Flame, which is a continuation of that story.

Will the other short story anthology, Universe Ahead, ever be issued as an ebook?

No. All the stories in it except those by me and by Rick Roberson, which are included in the ebook edition of Anywhere, Anywhen, were reprints of of fiction by other authors from science fiction books or magazines .. I no longer have any rights to them, as the permission fees paid covered only the original Atheneum edition.

What nonfiction have you written?

The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets (2012) is the history of opinions about extrasolar life -- which, contrary to common belief, was assumed to exist throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. It was originally published in 1974 with the subtitle Man's View of Other Solar Systems and the then-current modern chaptershave been updated,

From This Green Earth: Essays on Looking Outward is a collection of my space advocacy essays, now available in print and audiobook editiona as well as in ebook form. I have also published two ebook-only essay collections, Reflections on Enchantress from the Stars and Other Essays and The Future of Being Human and Other Essays.

Long ago I co-authored two YA science books, The Subnuclear Zoo: New Discoveries in High Energy Physics (1977) and Tool for Tomorrow: New Knowledge About Genes (1979) with Rick Roberson, who at that time was a science student with more training in those subjects than I'd had. These books were meant for 6th to 8th graders but turned out to be hard for most of them, yet too oversimplified for high school. The information in them is by now outdated and they will never be reprinted.

I also wtoteOur World Is Earth (1979), a picture book for young children. Ironically, though my books have usually been called too difficult for their intended age level, some reviewers thought this one was too easy -- they assumed it was a "science book" for primary grades whereas actually I meant it to be read aloud to preschoolers.

Why didn't you publish any novels between 1981 and 2007?

There have been only short periods in my life during which I could create stories at all. Thinking up the action in fiction has always been very hard for me -- I've had plenty of themes, settings and characters in mind, but in a story something has to happen! It's the happenings that I can't often come up with. Strange as this seems to my friends (and for that matter, to strangers) it's something I can't control. This is not "writer's block." I never have any trouble expressing thoughts in words. But my thoughts don't normally take the form of eventful narrative. Actually, the mystery is why I was able to write fiction during the late 60s and early 70s; before and for many years thereafter, my talents were more analytical than imaginative.

To be sure, part of the trouble is that unlike most science fiction authors, I am not interested in imagining "what if" situations that don't match my actual convictions about the universe and about future human evolution (though of course, I often present ideas metaphorically rather than literally). What inspires me to write is the expression of my views on these subjects through the experiences of fictional characters. I could not, for example, write about an advanced form of life that solved its problems without expanding beyond its home world, because I believe that space colonization is the only solution to the problems that arise at the stage of evolution where it becomes possible. And I couldn't write about the Service of my Elana books intervening in the affairs of a world that could survive on its own, because I believe truly advanced beings wouldn't do that. So I'm limited by more than lack of imagination; any story situation I use has to fit my opinions.

In 2005 I was, to my great surprise, "struck by lightning" with the idea for a story again and wrote my adult novel, Stewards of the Flame, which I published in 2007. The ideas for the four later "Flame" novels came to me one at a time, without my having any prior expectation of continuing the story. These novels are not suitable for children or young teens and are intended for an entirely different market from the one in which I have been best known.

For a more formal and detailed explanation of why I haven't written more novels, see my essay in What It Takes to Write a Novel, originally published online by Critique Magazine and now available at this website.

Why did you publish your adult novels yourself?

Because publishers of adult fiction demand that it be strictly categorized by genre, and these novels don’t fit genre requirements. Since they're set in the future on another planet, they're considered science fiction -- yet like my YA novels, they appeal more to general audiences than to those with extensive science fiction background. This means they're not suitable for adult SF lines, and in any case I want them to reach other readers, too. At my age, I feel it’s unlikely that marketing criteria will change during my lifetime, so the only way get the story into the hands of adult readers was to publish on my own.

But isn't it unprofessional for an author to pay for a book's publication?

Not anymore. I did not pay anything other than small registration fees (and fees for licenses to use the cover art). I have desktop publishing and professional copyediting experience, so although the books are printed and distributed by Amazon.com's print-on-demand subsidiary, I did the design and typesetting personally on my own computer, and even designed the covers. It is not unprofessional to pay for these things individually, however, and authors who lack the skills are strongly advised to do so. This is different from "vanity press" publishing where an author pays a publishing company to issue the book as if it were traditionally published.

During the past few years self-publishing, now known as indie publishing, has become common and respectable. Now that authors can easily publish ebooks at no cost and get them distributed to major retailers, independent publishing is thriving, and many believe that in the future it will dominate the publishing field. I have personally issued all the YA books to which the rights have reverted to me, as well as my indie novels, in both ebook and paperback editions, as many other professional authors are doing with their backlists.

What is Ad Stellae Books and why is it listed as the publisher of your recent books?

Ad Stellae Books is my personal imprint, not a publishing company. I preferred having my own to using ISBNs belonging to print-on-demand companies, which mark a book as self-published when it is listed in a catalogs even though not on the book itself. The time may be coming when there will be no disadvantage to this, but it's not quite here yet. (For awhile it was not possible for indie books using special ISBNs to be listed in the distributor's catalog from which libraries buy, so in order to make mine available to libraries I republished some of them under the printer's ISBN. This means that although "Ad Stellae Books" appears on their title pages, it has not always been listed as the publisher in catalogs. However, all copies printed in 2022 or later have Ad Stellae ISBNs.)

Why was there a period when the ebook editions of the Flame duologies were unavailable anywhere except at Amazon.com?

Because Amazon demands the exclusive right to distribute them if they are made available for free borrowing by subscribers to Kindle Unlimited. Also, Amazon promotes ebooks exclusively available there, so that they are seen by many people who would not otherwise know they exist. I don't approve of this policy since I don't believe any retailer should have the sole right to sell a book, but I felt forced to accept it in order to get new readers. For a while more people read these novels through Kindle Unlimited (under which authors are paid by the number of pages read) than were buying them from other retailers. However, not enough did so to justify limiting their distribution..

Why aren't your books in more public libraries?

In the case of my YA novels, it's because their original copies have worn out or been lost and except for Enchantress from the Stars, libraries prefer to buy recent books rather than replace older ones. With my adult novels, it's because most have a policy against buying books that are not reviewed by the major review media, and there is no way to get a review in any of the major media without submitting galleys months in advance of publication (and even then, they rarely review self-published books). I sent many review copies of Stewards of the Flame to public libraries, asking them to consider the copy a donation even if they chose not to buy more, but only a few put it into their collections. I suspect they do not have staff available to look at unsolicited books, even if by authors whose earlier books they already have. Books put in donation barrels are generally sold at used book sales.

There is one way to get a book into a library, however, and that's for a local patron to submit a request for it. If anyone reading this will do so I will be deeply grateful! Also, the Smashwords ebook editions of my books have recently become available free to libraries through OverDrive, but since Smashwords offers thousands of titles, libraries don't realize mine can be obtained there. I would greatly appreciate help in making them aware of it. Some people think that authors aren't eager for their books to be in libraries for fear that it would cut into sales of personal copies. That isn't true. Being in libraries is the best publicity a book can have. The more people read a book, the better known it becomes, whereas if nobody has a chance to see it, few copies are sold to people not already familiar with the author's work.

Why do you write only science fiction?

See the article above. Apart from wanting to devote my time to the issue of humankind's future, I've never had any ideas for stories set in the present or past. It's the thought of what may happen in the future--or elsewhere in the universe--that inspires mr

In the past everything you wrote was focused on that conviction. Why did you turn to other themes in your adult novels?

Until comparatively recently I rarely expressed myself publicly on any topic except space -- and this was deliberate, since I believe that developing a permanent presence in space is the most important issue humankind needs to deal with. It is a nonpartisan issue, and I haven't wanted to let my opinions on other subjects distract people from what I say about it, or to drive half my potential readers away because my political views don't match theirs.

However, I had been writing about space for more than 40 years and had reached the age where I'm increasingly aware that I don't have a great many years left to put off presenting ideas about other issues I care about. So In the Flame novels I did express some controversial views, and I focused on future human powers such as ESP because I think these are advanced capabilities that will be developed as humankind continues to evolve. I believe they will lead to greater understanding among people- -and ultimately to understanding between ourselves and species that have evolved on other worlds.

Moreover, space colonization is a premise of those duologies in a larger sense than the plot preventing them from being set on Earth. To turn to "inner space" before making sufficient effort to spread into outer space, as some people advocate, would be self-defeating, since colonization of space is necessary to our long-term survival. Thus at the stage where advanced psi powers become widespread, there will necessarily be many colonized worlds; the mere assumption that the two developments are inseparable is in line with what I've been saying all along.

What has been your most gratifying response from your readers?

For many years I said that apart from the awards I'd received, I was most pleased by the remark of an adult reader of Journey Between Worlds who told me it convinced her that the space program is worthwhile.

But in 1997, within two weeks of the opening of this Web site, that changed. Nothing in my experience has ever pleased (or astonished) me more than the discovery of how many adults remember my books from their childhood or teen years and feel that they were influenced by them. In my pre-Internet years, I received praise from reviewers and librarians and sometimes got mail from children assigned to write letters to authors in school, but only on rare occasions did I hear from readers who reacted personally to the novels. I have been deeply touched to learn they've had lasting impact.

Is there anything you regret about your books, that you wish you'd done differently?

I have been sorry that I connected The Far Side of Evil to Enchantress from the Stars instead of using another protagonist. The two novels, despite being set in the same SF "universe," are otherwise independent and appeal to different audiences, although many older teens and adults like both. The younger readers of Enchantress are often disappointed that the second story isn't a continuation of the first, or are depressed by the subjects with which it deals. Of course, when I wrote it, I had no idea that Enchantress would become a Newbery Honor Book and be given to as many pre-teen readers as it was, so I didn't foresee that problem. Nor did I realize that few of the older teen readers for whom The Far Side of Evil was intended would discover a book that was labeled as a "sequel" to a children's book (a label I now want to avoid).

What in your opinion is the biggesr problem in writing and publishing today?

The arbitrary, rigid labeling of books by genre and/or by age, which prevents many of the best books from beig discovered by the readers who would like them most. Thix works for "fomula fiction" but not for books likely to be enjoyed by readers who aren't strong devotees of a formula. For categories such as historical fiction it's not too damaging because everybody knows there's a wide range of books in that category. and there is no "in group" of "experts" controlling what gets publshed, For science fiction, anong others, it is deadly.

Categorization by age is even worse. I believe no book intended for recreational reading by anyone older than ten should be set apart by label, library call number, or editorial and marketing department. These divisions are obsolete. YA books are more mature than in the past. There are no longer any taboos as to what they can deal with, except those that apply to content that many adults prefer not to encounter--which is why a growing number of adults read YA books. Many young readers enjoy adult novels such as "cozy" mysteries, whereas so much adult fiction now contains explicit sex and excessive foul language that it's dfficult fot prople whole dislke this trend to find anyting to read. Woudn't it be better to scrap all existing classifications and label books only with a "mature content" score? Suitability for partiicular interest or age groups is best stated or implied in the book description and reviews, not specified in a frozen classification, though of course bookstores and libraries would continue to post flexible lists of suggestions.

Information About My Personal Life

Where do you live?

Since 1988 my home has been in Eugene, Oregon. Before that, I lived in Portland, and earlier, in Los Angeles, with short stays in other places. I like Eugene best and am settled here permanently.

Do you have a family?

No, not since my mother died at the age of 90. For many years we lived together; she too was a writer (under her maiden name, Mildred Allen Butler). I have no close relatives.

When and where were you born?

Apparently this is something teachers feel should be stated in school book reports, since students have written to ask me! It's no secret: I was born in Los Angeles in 1933.

What nationality is your last name and how do you pronounce it?

It's Swedish; my father was born in Sweden in 1881. However, he came to America as a small child and remembered nothing about Sweden, so I have no knowledge of my Swedish heritage. The name is pronounced "ENG-doll."

Where did you go to college?

I got my degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1955. Before that, I briefly attended Pomona College in Claremont, California; Reed College in Portland; and the University of Oregon in Eugene. Later, I did graduate work at Portland State University.

As a child, did you hope to be a writer?

No. I never wrote stories until I was in college, and then only about experiences I'd had on childhood vacations and as a camp counselor (none of which had enough substance to be publishable). I didn't get ideas for science fiction until my early 20s, which is surprising because I had believed in the importance of space travel since the age of 12.

What inspired you to become a writer as an adult?

I wanted to express my beliefs about space and the future. At first I tried writing short stories, but my ideas proved unsuitable for that, so I put them aside. Later on, when I had more time, I developed my novels from them.

Are you a full-time writer?

While I was writing my YA books I listed my occupation as "writer" because during those years I had no other profession, but I never earned my living by writing. (I wouldn't want young aspiring writers to think that writing a few books like mine can support a person.) My main responsibility at that time was serving as companion to my elderly mother. More recently, I worked as a freelance editor of nonfiction anthologies; I wrote my adult novels in my spare time. Now I am retired.

Did you have an earlier career other than writing?

Yes, two separate ones. In my youth I taught 4th grade for a year; that was what I had trained for in college, what I'd always thought I wanted. I also hoped to become a camp director; I had been a counselor or unit director at several camps (my favorite was Camp Sweyolakan on Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho) and then in the summer of 1956 I was resident director of a small camp in Oregon. But I found I wasn't suited to teaching, so I no longer had summers free for camp work.

After that, from 1957 to 1967, I was a programmer and then computer systems specialist for the SAGE Air Defense System, at a time when programming was a brand new field and trainees with degrees in other areas were being hired. (This picture shows a small portion of the SAGE computer's room-sized console complex: the actual computer occupied a much larger room.) I worked entirely in assembly language, doing mainly what's now called systems programming; higher level languages did not yet exist. Times have changed . . . I wrote a series for a BBS once titled "Rip Van Winkle's View of Microcomputing" and even that is now very ancient history.

Have you done any programming since then?

In the early 80s I wrote and attempted to sell assembly-language software for my TRS-80 computer, but I couldn't pay for enough advertising to get the venture off the ground. Then when I first got an IBM-compatible computer in 1987, I quit programming, because all the software I needed was already available as shareware and there seemed to be no point in reinventing the wheel. I miss it sometimes, but my knowledge is now far too obsolete to update without more time than I could devote to it.

What else have you done since besides freelance editing?

From 1985 until 1997 I was a part-time online staff and faculty member of Connected Education, Inc. of White Plains, New York, which offered online courses for college credit. I taught "Science Fiction and Space Age Mythology" several times through Connected Education for graduate credit from New York's New School for Social Research. That course (which dealt with pop-culture rather than literary SF) was based partly on my background in anthropology, a field in which I did graduate study in the late 70s. My "lectures" for it are now here at this site.

I also taught "Technology and 21st Century Medicine" and team-taught "Computer Conferencing in Business and Education" through Connect Ed for New School credit. All of these were Media Studies courses, focused on analysis of our culture's outlook.

I created and maintain a site for author Shirley Rousseau Murphy. And for many years i was active in volunteer work for the Eugene Public Library, for which I desktop-published a bimonthly newsletter.

What SF and/or fantasy books have influenced you most?

My all-time fantasy favorites are Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Ursula LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea, and The King Must Die by Mary Renault. As for science fiction, in my youth I especially enjoyed Robert Heinlein's YA novels -- which I read one by one as they came out -- and some of his other early fiction (I didn't like his later novels as well). I was also fond of Zenna Henderson's "People" stories and some of the work of Arthur Clarke. I don't want to single out any more recent science fiction, as it hasn't influenced ny own work and I haven't read enough of the novels most familiar to fans of the genre to declare meaningful preferences. I will say, though, that recently I have particularly enjoyed Nathan Lowell's "Golden Age of the Solar Clipper" series, which unlike most sci-fi about starships, is focused on merchant ships rather than space battles.

Despite my lifelong interest in space, I have never been a "science fiction fan" in the sense the term is generally used, because I don't personally care for fiction that goes out of its way to portray lifeforms and civilizations far removed from humanity as we know it, or that's in any sense "weird" -- nor do I often enjoy action stories. Thus I don't have wide background in the SF/fantasy genre and have had no connection with the subculture that surrounds it -- although this doesn't mean I don't admire the skill and imagination of authors in that field, especially of those who have inspired members of the subculture to believe in a spacefaring future for humankind.

On the whole, I prefer novels that focus less on adventure or "far-out" concepts than on the ordinary activity, feelings, and/or moral dilemmas of the characters. And however great its literary quality may be, I have no patience with fiction that presents a pessimistic -- and therefore, in my opinion, false -- view of human progress or of humanity's place in the universe. (For more detail about my preferences, see my essay Why I Don't Read Much Science Fiction.)

Now, because of vision problems, I read only ebooks, which are much easier on my eyes than print. This meant I had a houseful of books -- mostly nonfiction -- that I had long intended to read or reread, but no longer could even if I had more time for reading. Recently, when I became disabled and moved to an assisted living facility, I donated them all to the Friends of the Library. I miss having those I'd collected over the years, which is silly because I couldn't read them anyway. I'm replacing a few of my favorites withKindle editions.

What are your hobbies?

Anything I can do with my laptop computer, though because of failing vision and hearing that's becoming less and leas. Online communication has meant a great deal to me ever since I got my first modem in 1984. While caring for my aging mother I wasn't able to leave the house often and had few outside personal contacts. More recently, though due to health problems I was confined to home again and unable to travel for some years even before moving to assisted living, through the Internet I'm in touch with the world. I enjoy messages from my readers, and I'm always happy to answer questions by email, though health and vision problems now keep me from answering as promptly as I once did.

Advice for Aspiring Writers

What advice do you have for young people who want to write?

First of all, read a lot! You can't learn to write unless you become familiar with what has already been written -- with how good writers use words, how they describe characters and turn imagined events into stories. Especially if you're still in school, it will get easier to find words for your ideas after you've spent more years reading.

Second, if you have ideas for stories, write them down, even if you can't express them as well as you'd like to. Don't worry about how good your writing is while you're working on a first draft; write simply because you enjoy it, or have a story you want to tell. The time to perfect it is later, after you have let it alone for a while. Save everything you write, whether or not you think it is worth saving! Ideas tend to disappear unless they are preserved in written form. Besides, someday when you have more skill you may want to revise your early work.

What training is needed to become a writer?

Well, of course you need to do well in English in school. Beyond that, a writer may or may not have formal training; some do and others don't.

If you are seriously interested in writing fiction, go to your public library and get some books on how to do it. There are many, which your librarian can help you find. I started reading such books when I was about 12 -- long before I had any intention of being a writer -- because my mother wanted to write and she had them around the house; that may be why as an adult I didn't need any formal training.

In college, or if you have finished school, you may want to take classes in creative writing. Some writers are greatly helped by sharing their work with fellow-beginners and/or having it critiqued by a teacher. For others, it's inhibiting; they freeze up and cannot write well if they think somebody is going to see their work before they themselves are satisfied with it. And even experienced writers may lose enthusiam for a story if they show it too soon. If you are like this, don't listen to people who urge you to join a group.

The people who benefit most from classes and workshops are those who have lots of ideas and find that words flow freely, but who have trouble in choosing the right words or in organizing their material into well-structured stories. The latter is a skill that can be learned; the former comes naturally, if it comes at all.

Where do writers get their ideas?

There is a fine explanation of the creative process on my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy's FAQ page, which you should read if you want to write fiction.

How should a person prepare for a career as an author?

By acquiring other skills with which to earn a living. You can't plan to support yourself by writing novels; very few authors earn enough to do so, and in all but rare cases it happens only after they've had many years of experience. The vast majority have some other means of support, either a job or the income of a spouse. This is not a bad thing, because a writer needs to gain experience in living, in active involvement with the world; otherwise he or she would have little to say to readers.

Of course, you can prepare for a related profession, like journalism, in college. But if you intend to write regularly, you may prefer to take some kind of job that will leave your evenings and weekends -- and your creative energy -- free for writing. On the other hand, if you choose a demanding profession, you can still write in what free time you do have, and switch careers later if your books are successful. Your first career may even give you material to write about; for example, several well-known authors of bestselling novels started out as doctors.

How do you get a book published?

Traditionally, by submitting it to publishers that have published similar books. Be warned that it is very difficult for a new author -- or even for an experienced author -- to get published nowadays. It normally takes many months or even years to find a publisher that is interested, because publishers receive far more manuscripts than they can accept. But don't be discouraged by rejections. Books that are eventually successful are often rejected by many publishers before acceptance.

Unfortunately most publishers now require submission through literary agents, and getting an agent is not easy. To find the names and addresses of publishers that will still consider unsolicited manuscripts, look in a book called The Literary Marketplace, which you will find in most public libraries. You can also learn from library books how to format your manuscript and what to say in the cover letter. Never submit a manuscript to a publisher that places ads in newspapers or magazines saying "Authors Wanted" -- those publishers require authors to pay the cost of editing and production. Such publishers are known as "vanity presses" because although they publish books under their own imprints as if they were traditional publishers, they accept all books submitted to them, regardless of quality, instead of only those selected by an editor.

I should say something here about self-publishing (now known as indie publishing) which has become common since the development of technology that allows "on demand" printing of books -- that is, printing just a few at a time, which costs far less than the traditional system of printing thousands and taking a chance that they will sell. There are now companies that print books without charging the author anything, or at most a small set-up fee, if he or she produces the actual files from which the printing is to be done -- something that requires experience, copyediting skills, computer skills, and expensive software -- or personally hires experts to do it. This is not the same as sending a manuscript to a vanity press.

Since around 2010 a new, major trend has developed: the self-publication of ebooks. This may change the rules of the publishing game, because it is now possible for anyone to publish an ebook that will be offered in the catalogs of Amazon.com and other major retailers. It doesn't cost anything except a percentage of each copy sold (though a writer without editing experience would do well to hire a professional copyeditor to go over the manuscript before publishing it). Many thousands of books are now being produced in this way, and the chief problem is how prospective readers can tell the good ones from the bad ones; a sample of each book is available but there are far too many to sample. Some kind of reviewing system apart from informal reviews on individual blogs is badly needed.

Is indie publishing a good way for a writer to get a start?

Until recently, neither self-publishing nor vanity publishing was a wise thing for a young author to do, because -- contrary to what many amateurs assume -- having a book published that way does not help an author to get later work published in the traditional way. It does just the opposite; publishers prefer new authors to those who have self-published unless their indie books have sold exceptionally well. On the other hand, because there are now so many more good books being written than the traditional publishing industry can possibly issue, the majority of writers have to choose between indie publishing and never publishing at all. However, you should not expect that indie publishing will enable you to earn much of any money.

Self-published books do not reach nearly as many readers as traditionally-published books -- although, on the other hand, they stay in print indefinitely and remain available to new readers, whereas traditionally-published books, if not bestsellers, generally go out of print quickly. A very few authors make more money from indie books than they would from traditionally-published ones and some experienced authors, who already have a great many fans, now self-publish by choice. But most indie authors, even those with long experience, sell only a few copies. I sell very few myself. The trouble is that no matter how good a book is, there are now so many books published each year that new readers will never hear of it -- there are far too many listed to browse through, let alone read.

It is very important for a new writer to avoid publishing an ebook too quickly before being sure that it won't strike readers as amateurish. Some, but not all, of the things that make an ebook look unprofessional are errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation; inconsistent tense within a sentence or paragraph; informal word usage that's okay in dialogue but considered unacceptable in narrative (for example, "like" in place of "as if"); overuse of hackneyed phrases; and statements from the author's viewpoint that intrude on narrative from a character's viewpoint. If a book is issued by a publisher, the publisher's copyeditor will catch these things. But if you are publishing it yourself and cannot afford to hire a copyeditor, you need to pay careful attention to them. Correct formatting of your word processor file is also essential. A good guide to ebook formatting is the free one available at Smashwords.com.

Can I send you a story I've written?

I'm sorry, but I just don't have time to read and make comments on unpublished stories. I've often gotten this request, and it wouldn't be fair to look at a few people's work when I can't do it for everyone who asks.