Helsinki musings

So I'm back in the UK again, and it's nearly a week since I arrived in Helsinki.  I haven't been able to adjust to domestic life back home yet, so I thought I'd talk about my experience of Worldcon today.

The panel I was on considered the elements of SF stories versus what appeals in mainstream fiction.  I appeared with Lee Harris (Senior Editor, Tor.com), Marcus Gipps (Commissioning Editor, Gollancz), and Austrialin novelist Sam Hawke.  The panel decided the question was problematical, and for me personally, I write SF because that's what I love.

The Editor's Dream panel I attended discussed dealIng with changes an editor wants to a story.  The  panellists said that authors had to be open to changes, and that it helps to assume you're dealing with a good editor.  (Spoiler - not all editors are good).  We should evaluate required changes after taking a deep breath.  But sometimes, if you really don't like the change, it might be better to withdraw the story.

At the Common Mistakes from the Slushpile panel I learned that Gollancz had 1,700 submissions for their last Open Door reading period.  And that the editors themselves read them.  The panel  reminded us that editors reject most submissions from agents too.

So what makes a story a yes?  The first two pages need pace and plot, not world-building.  They're looking for an interesting voice and a good first paragraph.  It's the quality of the writing that matters.  Personalise your cover letter to each editor.  And they tend to read the synopsis after the manuscript.  Marcus Gipps said that Collancz don't worry about an author having a social media following.

The AI in real life and SF panel reminded me how limited real-life AI still, is - and how often systems fall over.  The panel considered that a fully sentient AI was a long way off.  They wondered if we'd feel sad killing an AI pet, even if it wasn't sentient.  The panel didn't think we'd get to conscious AI. They thought a breakthrough would be needed for that, but they don't even know the nature of that breakthrough yet.

I did manage to take time off and go into Helsinki, which is an elegant city.  The harbour was busy, and the old market full of fresh fish and Finnish foods.  We had free travel cards, and the city was a five minute journey from Pasila station, which was five minutes' walk from the con.  Senate Square is dominated by the white cathedral with its classical portico and columns, and there are many fine classical buildings.  I didn't have enough time free to get a ferry to the islands, but I did have time to walk through the elegant Esplanadi Park.  If you ignored the language, you could think yourself back in England, with familiar trees and plants.

I learned a lot, had fun, ate too much chocolate cake, and was disappointed by the Hugo Best Novel result.  But overall, it as a great con with lots of memories, and much encouragement of me as a writer.

I'd better start saving up for Dublin in 2019 now.