Ask Steve Perry

[steveperry]

What does the title 'Turnabout' have to do with the story?

I saw it as the hunter becoming the hunted - Sloane goes out there and starts picking off the Predators, essentially beating them at their own game.

Xeno has it nailed exactly. Look up the word "turnabout," it should be a pretty good clue to how the story will go.

As for working at DH, I suppose it is possible just to walk in off the street and get a job as a writer without any credits, but I don't know of anybody who has done it -- certainly not on the book end.

If you are looking for a doctor, chances are you'd rather be treated by somebody who went to medical school, did an internship, maybe a couple years of residency in a specialty, and then opened a practice.
Probably your first choice wouldn't be somebody who is an actor playing a doctor on TV who knows a lot of medical terminology but has never treated a real patient.

There is a fair amount of competition for writers in an established universe that has a big readership. The people who run those can pick from among a lot of really good writers who have track records -- they write cleanly, deliver on-time, and are easy to get along with. A newbie who has an idea but no history might or might not be able to deliver a book in a couple of months -- the editors have no way of knowing, and why would they take the risk that, come delivery date, the newbie is only a quarter of the way through the ms and bogged down so bad that s/he can't finish it?

I'll repeat this, because it is critical that you understand it:

Ideas by themselves aren't worth much.

A lot of people who don't write believe that an idea is the most important thing in a story. It isn't. I can't tell you how many times I've have people approach me -- and every pro writer I know -- with this proposition: "Hey, look, I have this terrific idea for a book. Tell you what -- I'll give it to you, you write it, and we'll split the money."

It doesn't take much effort to come up with an idea that will work for a book. You can probably find ten in the local newspaper on any given day. Turning an idea into a three or four hundred page manuscript is where the rubber meets the road.

Nobody wants to talk to you if you say, "Hey, I have a great idea for a book!" If you have a finished ms that flies like a bat out of hell and keeps them turning pages to get to the end, that's what they want. You have to have something to show them. And it's a lot more impressive if it's published and you got paid for it.

If they are looking for somebody who can write science fiction or fantasy and you have a couple of novels in the genre that sold okay, you could be a contender. But even then, there will still be a lot of others you have to get past. You know how many people would give their left nut to be able to write a Star Wars novel? I had thirty books to my credit when I got a shot at my first SW's novel, I had Mike Richardson and the editor at Bantam going to bat for me at Lucasfilm, and I still had to send them books to audition.

If you are somebody that nobody knows, no track record, what have you got going for you?

There might be another path to get there, but I suspect it would be a lot like climbing Everest without oxygen ...

Got to get back to work -- Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead are waiting for me ...

[steveperry]

In an extended universe comprised of such a motley of viewpoints, I doubt I could do better. But, perhaps in my own way, just as good?

Anything is possible. But given what comes across in your posting, I don't think it's likely. I wouldn't hire you.

It isn't your universe, it belongs to somebody else, and if you want to work for them, your attitude matters. When my daughter and I wrote AvP:Prey, we were novelizing the graphic novels. We had some leeway in how we did it, and we took it, but the story was what it was, and if we had told the publisher and editor the kind of thing you've been telling me, I suspect we'd have been fired.

Asking a reasonable question is fine. Indicating that the guy who created a name doesn't know how to pronounce it indicates a certain lack of thought. There are times to be confrontational, but if, in a forum wherein the written word is the tool that you have to communicate and you can't demonstrate much ability to do it? That doesn't make me think that you have the skills to write professional-level fiction.

Editors don't have time for somebody who they think is apt to be in their face with attitude. Much easier to hire somebody who can do the work and who isn't going to be busting their balls instead.

I'm a fanboy. I get peeved at universes in which I read when the writers don't do things the way I think they should. But if I say so aloud, I pick my words carefully. I don't see that you've done that.

[Predator755]

Alright, I think Ive got it down. Thank you very much for your advice and taking the time to respond to us!

[Carnal Calligraphy]

I've apologized for my earlier rants, I'm not sure what else I should do.

Of course, I didn't enter this forum looking for a job Mr. Perry.

In all honesty I hope that you can accept my apology, and thanks for the tips. I'll choose my words more carefully next time.

[steveperry]

I've apologized for my earlier rants, I'm not sure what else I should do.

Of course, I didn't enter this forum looking for a job Mr. Perry.

In all honesty I hope that you can accept my apology, and thanks for the tips. I'll choose my words more carefully next time.

Here's the thing -- all of your posts are public and easy to find. You have a point of view, you state it provocatively, and defend it. Which is fine, but which also reveals your attitude. What comes across is that Fox, Dark Horse, and I should heed your opinion. I believe I've explained that I don't think much of that notion, and why Fox and Dark Horse aren't apt to, either.

Confrontation runs through most of your posts. Kicking in the door to the bar, calling folks names and offering challenges is not the way to get into a reasonable conversation.

You indicate that, in your own way, you think you can "do as good" (as a writer) in the universe. You say you aren't looking for a job, but it obvious that you have been doing fan-fic and consider that you can run with the pros. I hear that you'd love to get a chance, and if you did, you'd blow us all off the stage.

Subtext is a wonderful thing. Lot of stuff between the lines.

I can accept your apology, if it is honestly offered, but I don't believe that it is. (And in fact, it doesn't really sound like a apology anyhow: " i apologize, Mr. Perry, if I have in effect offended you in some way."
Rather like calling somebody stupid and then saying, "I'm sorry you're stupid.")

When I recall you saying that I f****ing well should ask your opinion about how things should be in the Aliens universe, it disposes me to consider you arrogant. When I see you telling other folks on this board to stop kissing my ass, I don't hear the voice of sweet reason. When you try and spin it so you weren't being insulting but merely asking an honest question, you are being disingenuous. You are still pounding the same drum, and as long as you do, saying "I'm sorry" in a non-apology mode doesn't wipe the slate clean.

No big deal.

[Carnal Calligraphy]

I will admit that there are a few things that I have said I still stand by, but in retrospect most of the things I said were pompous and came across wrong. This is why I've not posted on this thread for quite some time. I was deflating my ego in order to accept the faults as best I could. I DO fully understand you stance, and I've attempted to put myself in your shoes and imagine what other fans would dislike about my work. It's worked magnificently. I am sympathetic to the position you're in, and maybe I just have an isufficient amount of tact as opposed to the norm. I've read the rest of this thread, and I've seen how diplomatic everyone else was, regardless of their grievance. It's absolutely impossible to please everyone. I see that now. If I achieve nothing else here, I simply want you to know that I am genuinely sorry for my antics.

[Xenomrph]

A "continuity" question for Mr Perry... with a twist!

How do you view the myriad Aliens, Predator, and AvP materials? Like, are they part of one continuous timeline, so things that took place in, say, the first 'AvP' movie also occured in your Aliens novels, and your AvP novel?

[steveperry]

In series based on a well-known property, like Conan or Star Trek or Star Wars or the Aliens/Predator series, the extensions of the universe tend to fall into two categories -- canon and non-canon. I use the term here not in the musical sense, but in the religious meaning, that of books considered genuine and valid.

Who decides which is which is usually whoever owns the property. In Star Wars, the movies are canon. Some of the other stuff is, but some is not clearly so. Anybody remember the Marvel Comics in the Star Wars saga that feature Jaxxon, who is a giant green rabbit?

You know whoever wound up doing continuity wished that one into the cornfield.

Conan's history in the movies doesn't match that in the books. Attempts were made to cover this by saying, "Some say Conan was a pitfighter from Cimmeria, while others have it that he was a thief ..."

Generally when these things start, nobody thinks about continuity because nobody really expects them to take off like they sometimes do. Nobody had a clue making the first SW's film that it was going to be the blockbuster it became. And by the time somebody tried to get a handle on it, there was a lot of material that went way out there and wasn't considered canon.

When I started working for SW's, I asked them for a map of the galaxy. They laughed at me.
There was a fan who painstakingly went through all the material he could find and laid out the planets and locales and such. He sent me a copy of what he'd done. I mentioned it to Lucasfilm.
Eventually, they bought it from him and used the material.

All of which is to say that I don't have anything to do with the continuity of the series for which I write. Some of what I have done becomes canon. I've seen bits worked into subsequent movies, a spaceship here, a sequence there, but that's not my decision. I try and do the best I can to stay in line with the story as I understand it.

[Xenomrph]

For trivia's sake, that Jaxxon stuff from the old Star Wars comics has actually been "ret-conned" into canon (for better or for worse). I think it was Pablo Hidalgo, an a former writer for West End Games who worked on the old Star Wars RPG and now works for LucasFilm, who was a self-admitted Jaxxon fan who made it his personal mission to get Jaxxon put back into the continuity as actual Star Wars canon, and since then Jaxxon has been name-dropped in a few of the books and reference guides and issues of Star Wars Insider magazine as a way to "reactivate" him as a canonical character. You can read more about it here.

Take that as you will, I guess.

[nexus]

Hi again Steve, you've answered some questions for me in the past and it hank you for that.
i'm just curious from you saying your a fan boy........if you were given absolute free reign what would be you ultimate geek out story to write?

weather it be rewriting the original star wars or a crossover with Dachande hunting Boba Fett?
What would make your geek'o'meter explode as you were writing it

[Carnal Calligraphy]

The idea of a predator hunting Boba Fett just made my geek'o'meter go off.

[Nobody]

!
My head just exploded
!

[steveperry]

For trivia's sake, that Jaxxon stuff from the old Star Wars comics has actually been "ret-conned" into canon (for better or for worse). I think it was Pablo Hidalgo, an a former writer for West End Games who worked on the old Star Wars RPG and now works for LucasFilm, who was a self-admitted Jaxxon fan who made it his personal mission to get Jaxxon put back into the continuity as actual Star Wars canon, and since then Jaxxon has been name-dropped in a few of the books and reference guides and issues of Star Wars Insider magazine as a way to "reactivate" him as a canonical character. You can read more about it here.

Take that as you will, I guess.

Putting the pooka's name hither and yon sounds like a hoot, but I'd be real surprised if he ever achieves canon. Never was, and like the Books of the Apocrypha I don't see it.

I was thrilled when Dash's ship made a brief appearance in the remastered Ep. IV, but then again, having Greedo shoot first? No way.

As to ultimate fanboy stories? Too much space to narrow it down, especially once you allow for cross-universe stuff. The mind boggles.

[Space Disc Jockey]

Hey Steve,

What do you think about the idea of a Predator or a Aliens vs. Predator story taking place in feudal Japan, during the Samurai? Do you think that would be a good setting? I kind of see the Predators, as almost like samurai warriors. Maybe the Predators are "demons" and Aliens are "dragons" to the Samurai.

[Nobody]

Reminds me of Concrete Jungle with that last question.