Atlan Universe

I'll give you a glimpse of one of my universes, the planet where Atlans live. Saying it that way, it sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? Yet, most of the stories I've written (or have planned) about the Atlans are fantasies. The planet is earthlike, the native inhabitants 'human'. Atlans are descended from aliens (as well as the locals), and while they look like the natives, they have powers no natives have. But only the females.

It is a combination of the legends of Amazons and Atlantis; at one point, their original island home –a 'dormant' volcano – erupts, and the Atlans scatter in fishing boats, to find new homes as best they can. I know, it's been done. Amazons have been done, Atlantis has been done, probably the two together has been done. I've heard many times, 'There are no new stories, only new treatments of old stories.' I have to hope that MY treatment is not cliché.

The origin of this 'race' is science fiction, because the original 3 'colonists' were children of alien explorers. The crew member who was supposed to 'take care' of them left them here when the ship left. I don't have a lot of stories planned for those three original Atlans; fishermen get stranded on their island after a huge storm, and the girls find themselves pregnant. They find they have 'powers' that the natives don't, and which can only be inherited by their daughters.

I have stories planned from the time of the city-state on that island through centuries of history, and even one set in what would be considered 'modern'. Most of them would be in what we Earthlings consider pre-history. With that kind of time-frame, and the fact the Atlan powers are considered 'magic', these stories wind up being fantasy. Now if I can just make them 'fantastic'!

Know the Industry?

Authors are told to 'learn the industry'. If you can't actually work in the publishing industry, then you're supposed to study the trade magazines, and learn what you can that way. As far as I can figure out, "trade magazines" for the "publishing industry" equals Publisher's Weekly. At least, that's the only magazine dealing with the publishing industry that I can find at the Omaha Public Libraries, and I can't imagine any other place in this berg more likely to have such magazines.

Anyway, for some time now, I have dutifully made my way to the library on a particular day of the week, just to read the most recent issue of Publisher's Weekly. Well, the most recent they have available; by the time they get it processed and ready for use, it's a month old. So by the time I read about an 'up-coming' book signing or fair, it's already gone by.

What am I looking for as I read this magazine? Nobody ever explained that to me, except for a blanket statement, like, "Oh, you know, what editor is moving where, what agent is selling manuscripts like hot cakes." These days, does that knowledge do me any good? Seems to me I don't need to know the latest editor at Penguin or DAW, or wherever, because you don't submit directly to the big publishers anymore; most of them no longer have slush piles. They expect agents to do their first reading for them.

And even if you can figure out which agent is selling manuscripts 'like hotcakes', that agent is probably too busy to take on another client, so what does that get you?

So, I'm reading, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Is there a Cliff Notes for this magazine, something to point out the important bits?