Is
Self-Publishing Opening the Door to a Space Opera Renaissance?
When
e-readers first hit the shelves in the early 2000s, many book lovers predicted
the end of printed books and saw this emerging technology as a threat. But now,
a good few years later, we can see that both digital and print books have a
place in the market. We all have our favorite Kindle books, and fans of the pulp
genre are particularly spoiled by the fact that digital publishing is so
accessible for all. In fact, if you look at the most popular titles on various
Amazon charts, you’ll notice that self-publishing is becoming a huge chunk of
books sold. And with that, new (and old) genres are emerging to become real
favorites. Take the space opera for example – in the 70s and 80s, the genre was
big business, but these days it seems to have died down somewhat. But could
self-publishing be opening the door to a renaissance for this oft-neglected
genre? Let’s find out.
The
early days of the space opera
So where
did this most prestigious of science fiction sub-genres begin? Well, without
going into too much detail and writing a tome on the topic, there were a number
of authors in the late 1800s who did write on the topic of space; however few
refer to these as true space operas. Examples include Star ou Psi de
Cassiopée, written by French author C. I. Defontenay in 1854. There is some
division, therefore, on which title truly is the first space opera. Some
believe it to be The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year
2236 by Robert William Cole in 1900. It wasn’t until around the late
1920s that space operas began to appear as part of pulp magazines. In
fact, in the August/October 1928 issue of Amazing Stories, a story
called The Skylark of
Space E. E. Smith was published. This is a tale of
planetary exploration, romance, and all the other elements that make up a
‘true’ space opera. Many refer to Skylark as the first genuine
example of a literary space opera.
The
modern space opera
So now we
know where it all began, what has become of this sub-genre? Well, it seems to
have slipped into somewhat of a niche. Authors such as Ian M Banks (and his
famous Culture series), Alastair Reynolds and Peter F Hamilton
are all well-known proponents of the space opera genre. One of the hallmarks of
a space opera is its tendency to span multiple books. Because these stories are
so huge and expansive, it’s often necessary to do this – and it helps add to
the grand scale of the worlds these authors are creating in their works.
Despite so many authors working to add to the genre, it is certainly a niche
offering, with only a handful of writers doing this work (as opposed to crime
or other genres which have thousands of ‘big name’ authors).
The
role of self-publishing
It’s never
been easier to become a paid writer through Amazon’s
marketplace, all thanks to the low barrier to entry set by the company. Anyone
can throw their work up on the site to be purchased by others. With this open
door policy comes the potential for sub-genres such as space opera to come back
into favor – not through the preference of a publisher, but by people voting
with their wallets. Just look at the science fiction charts for Kindle and
you’ll see many examples of new space operas. One great example is the Expanse series
by James S. A. Corey. It may not be self-published, but it’s a breakout hit for
the genre and a proponent of digital sci-fi.
Do you
have what it takes?
If you
think you could add to this new renaissance and interest in space opera, there
are lots of ways that you can hone your craft and become the next big sci-fi writer. But before you write
anything down, be sure your skills are up to scratch – there’s nothing worse than
a digital book full of typos and grammatical issues. One idea is to become a
freelance writer to really sharpen your skills. By writing for a content service like wait.co.uk, you
can fill your days writing about a range of different topics – and really give
your writing a shot in the arm. The life of a writer is not for everyone, of
course, but if you find yourself tapping away at the keyboard like it’s some
kind of compulsion, getting involved in becoming a paid writer is a fantastic
thing to do.
Who knows?
You may well be the tip of the spear when it comes to the reinvention of the
space opera. By joining the many fresh authors who are self-publishing to the
Kindle store, you can help drive forward a movement that puts the power in the
hands of the people, not the publishers. So isn’t it time you did some
brainstorming? That space opera won’t write itself!
