4 ms·

It's quite an achievement. I was once interested in publishing a SF anthology. Formatting and editing was nbd -- I was going to use Amazon's KDP software pack

It's quite an achievement. I was once interested in publishing a SF anthology. Formatting and editing was nbd -- I was going to use Amazon's KDP software package for most of it, which can take a .docx and output an ebook in 5 minutes. I've done it before for non-anthology books I've published, and it couldn't be easier, though I understand why people might avoid Amazon in this day and age. The real trouble was getting the rights to all of the different stories! Though everybody I was able to get in touch with was great -- in particular, Peter Watts, Alan Dean Foster, David Moles, and Walter Jon Williams -- many authors were totally impossible to reach! I ended up scrapping the idea after a few stories I was intent on collecting in the anthology were unobtainable. (And this after I had already paid an initial sum to many of the authors.) Finding alternates and embarking on more contract negotiations just seemed like too much work. Anyway, I bought your anthology, will review when I'm done reading, and sincerely respect the hard work that went into it!

mojoe 11mo ago
Thanks, you're completely correct, rights acquisition was the most difficult part! The absolute hardest story in the anthology to get rights for was "Stars Don't Dream" by Chi Hui. It's a translation of a story that won an award in China, but Chi Hui doesn't speak English, and her contact info was extremely hard to obtain (I had to get help from the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine). We did the entire contract discussion via a combination of Google Translate and my very weak Mandarin I learned in college. (I'm a huge Peter Watts fan, btw)
ssivark 11mo ago
Just a thought... would it make sense to maintain a govt/central registry of copyright owners, and have an "official" means of contacting them, on which they have an SLA to respond (say 3 months) which might be part of the ground rules for maintaining rights. From a macro societal perspective, would this evolve "copyright" into a more balanced (value generating) deal for all of society?
- helterskelter 11mo ago
  I have no idea how accurate this comment from last week is, or if it applies beyond games, but the model is interesting: > Japan has a scheme for orphaned games where if you can prove you did due diligence in searching for a rightsholder and couldn't find one, you can go ahead with rereleasing the game and the royalty payments get held in escrow by the government in case the rightsholder comes forward. I wish the US had something similar for cases like these. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45877983#45878084 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45877983#45878084
  - ajkjk 11mo ago
    hearing about Japan doing things intelligently gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling. (previous example that I remember: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/05/27/companies/japan-post-digital-address/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/05/27/companies/j... )
  - ghaff 11mo ago
    At least with books, it's mostly individual authors who are most opposed to orphan works legislation. Disney isn't going to forget about whatever legal hoops are needed to maintain copyright. Individual authors (or their estates) may well do so.
- jll29 11mo ago
  The whole basis of licensing law is everything is forbidden unless you have a written license permitting it from the copyright owner. This is contrary to most (all?) other parts of the law where everything is allowed that isn't forbidden. So it's the right of authors to ignore email requests to discuss a re-publication if they so wish.
  - BrenBarn 11mo ago
    It is, but I think what the comment you're replying to is saying is that the world might be better if things didn't work that way.
tenacious_tuna 11mo ago
Can you name the works you'd collected? That's a killer lineup, I'm a huge fan of Walter Jon Willams and have enjoyed what Watts I've read.
- A_D_E_P_T 11mo ago
  It was intended as a sort of military SF anothology, with the word "military" also encompassing revolution, insurgency, and various other 4GW concepts. The stories spanned the period from roughly 1980-2020, with many published from 2010-2020. The list was: > A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel > ZeroS by Peter Watts > A Soldier of the City by David Moles > The Beast Adjoins by Ted Kosmatka > Lady Be Good by Jack Campbell > Mid-Death by Alan Dean Foster > Weaponized Math by Jonathan Brazee > Prayers on the Wind by Walter Jon Williams > Highwaymen by Ken MacLeod > Second Skin by Paul McAuley > The Dread And Fear of Kings by Richard Paul Russo > Herbig-Haro by Harry Turtledove > The Lost Dorsai by Gordon Dickson > Cincinnatus by Joel Rosenberg > The Proud Foot of the Conqueror by Reginald Bretnor It's the stories lower on the list that were unobtainable. Dickson, Rosenberg, and Bretnor being dead (may they all rest in peace,) did not help matters.

mojoe 11mo ago

Thanks, you're completely correct, rights acquisition was the most difficult part! The absolute hardest story in the anthology to get rights for was "Stars Don't Dream" by Chi Hui. It's a translation of a story that won an award in China, but Chi Hui doesn't speak English, and her contact info was extremely hard to obtain (I had to get help from the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine). We did the entire contract discussion via a combination of Google Translate and my very weak Mandarin I learned in college. (I'm a huge Peter Watts fan, btw)

ssivark 11mo ago

Just a thought... would it make sense to maintain a govt/central registry of copyright owners, and have an "official" means of contacting them, on which they have an SLA to respond (say 3 months) which might be part of the ground rules for maintaining rights. From a macro societal perspective, would this evolve "copyright" into a more balanced (value generating) deal for all of society?

helterskelter 11mo ago
I have no idea how accurate this comment from last week is, or if it applies beyond games, but the model is interesting: > Japan has a scheme for orphaned games where if you can prove you did due diligence in searching for a rightsholder and couldn't find one, you can go ahead with rereleasing the game and the royalty payments get held in escrow by the government in case the rightsholder comes forward. I wish the US had something similar for cases like these. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45877983#45878084 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45877983#45878084
- ajkjk 11mo ago
  hearing about Japan doing things intelligently gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling. (previous example that I remember: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/05/27/companies/japan-post-digital-address/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/05/27/companies/j... )
- ghaff 11mo ago
  At least with books, it's mostly individual authors who are most opposed to orphan works legislation. Disney isn't going to forget about whatever legal hoops are needed to maintain copyright. Individual authors (or their estates) may well do so.
jll29 11mo ago
The whole basis of licensing law is everything is forbidden unless you have a written license permitting it from the copyright owner. This is contrary to most (all?) other parts of the law where everything is allowed that isn't forbidden. So it's the right of authors to ignore email requests to discuss a re-publication if they so wish.
- BrenBarn 11mo ago
  It is, but I think what the comment you're replying to is saying is that the world might be better if things didn't work that way.

tenacious_tuna 11mo ago

Can you name the works you'd collected? That's a killer lineup, I'm a huge fan of Walter Jon Willams and have enjoyed what Watts I've read.

A_D_E_P_T 11mo ago
It was intended as a sort of military SF anothology, with the word "military" also encompassing revolution, insurgency, and various other 4GW concepts. The stories spanned the period from roughly 1980-2020, with many published from 2010-2020. The list was: > A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel > ZeroS by Peter Watts > A Soldier of the City by David Moles > The Beast Adjoins by Ted Kosmatka > Lady Be Good by Jack Campbell > Mid-Death by Alan Dean Foster > Weaponized Math by Jonathan Brazee > Prayers on the Wind by Walter Jon Williams > Highwaymen by Ken MacLeod > Second Skin by Paul McAuley > The Dread And Fear of Kings by Richard Paul Russo > Herbig-Haro by Harry Turtledove > The Lost Dorsai by Gordon Dickson > Cincinnatus by Joel Rosenberg > The Proud Foot of the Conqueror by Reginald Bretnor It's the stories lower on the list that were unobtainable. Dickson, Rosenberg, and Bretnor being dead (may they all rest in peace,) did not help matters.