The story behind Caltech’s first speculative fiction anthology - part 1
Looking back, a year-ish after publication
Dear readers,
This month, I got to cross an item off my bucket list: speak at the SFWA Nebula Conference. I was a panelist on the topic of “Short Fiction Collections,” where I got to tell the story of how Caltech’s first speculative fiction anthology came into being. I’ve been meaning to write a post about that story for ages, and now that Inner Space and Outer Thoughts is about a year old, it feels like the right time.
As I walk you through the anthology’s creation and publication, I’ll share some relevant excerpts from my personal diary. (I keep a meticulous record of my life, in part because losing my memories is my greatest fear. This may not come as a surprise to those who have read my story “Teaspoons.”)
It all began in early 2020, when Tatyana Dobreva—a fellow member of Caltech’s creative writing club, TechLit—pitched the idea of putting together a collection of science-inspired fiction. Shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown began, we sent a call for story submissions to all students and employees of Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages. Twelve members of the TechLit club, including myself, volunteered to serve on the editorial board. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
The first hurdle we had to clear was gathering enough stories to fill a book. But, as you can see from my journal entry dated 6.18.20, we were pleasantly surprised by what we received from our fellow scientists and engineers:
“We have finished reviewing the first round of story submissions for our book of speculative fiction (whew!). There were some really good ones in there. It is thrilling to dive into a story that almost no one else in the world has read and to discover that you cannot put it down till you find out how it ends.”
While reviewing story submissions, we also reached out to Caltech alumni sci-fi writers to ask for reprint contributions (stories that have already been published elsewhere). It was incredibly encouraging that all the professional writer alumni we contacted were excited about the collection and eager to support it.
7.21.20: “The anthology is going well!!!! David Brin will contribute a reprint and write a foreword! He also shared some writing advice from his blog, which included a blurb about his personal journey from scientist to writer that I identified with: ‘A series of luscious and wonderful surprises may come as success drags you (kicking and screaming?) away from your day job. It can be a great feeling, especially if you keep your ambition and effort high and expectations low.’”
By mid-July 2020, we had finalized acceptances and self-assigned editors to each unpublished story. This kicked off a year of developmental editing, in which the authors majorly revised or entirely rewrote their pieces. This process taught me a lot about the interpersonal aspects of being a good editor. My natural instinct was to focus on what needed to be improved, but I learned that there is a right way to deliver that feedback; authors who lose faith in their stories don’t enjoy working on them. (This may be a no-brainer to the social adepts out there, but I learned the hard way.) And praise does more than boost morale—it shows authors what they’re doing right, so they can keep doing it.
As you can imagine, this revision process consumed an enormous amount of the editors’ free time. We all had demanding jobs at Caltech or JPL as students, postdocs, data scientists, etc. I, myself, was in the middle of a biochemistry PhD. Before the anthology, I had been working on a science fantasy novel called Venefice and was already getting feedback from readers in my TechLit critique group. I had to put that project on hold while serving as the anthology’s editor-in-chief:
9.7.20: “I paused my Venefice critique group because the anthology is taking up so much of my time. My readers said they want to resume monthly meetings as soon as I can write again. I’m glad they’re hooked, but sad I don’t have time to write.”
However, for me, the detour was worth it. Community art projects like this anthology have a way of bringing people together. The forever-friends I made on this journey helped combat feelings of isolation throughout lockdown and the arduous years of grad school that followed. The mentors I gained have made me a better writer and opened doors for me into my dream career. It was a long and difficult project—almost four years from start to finish—but if I went back in time, I’d do it all over again.
Having said that… I’m absolutely stoked to have my writing time back! Stay tuned for updates later this summer on the sci-fi novel I’m writing with Sam Clamons: The Ghosts of Gadolin.
Next month, I’ll share how TechLit’s pursuit of traditional publishing went and why we ultimately decided to self-publish Inner Space and Outer Thoughts. I’ll describe what self-publishing entailed: cover art commissioning, typesetting, publication agreements, establishing a publishing imprint, and more. If you’ve got any burning questions about the ins and outs of self-publishing, send me a message or ask in the comments below, and I’ll include the answers in my next post.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Rachael
I wish I'd heard about this. If you ever do another, please think of me, even if I flunked out after my freshman year.