"Advances have fallen, generally, for everything except the biggest potential bestsellers. Given all the changes, both economic and technological, SF hasn't done too badly"
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A little industry realpolitik hides inside Foster's mild phrasing. "Advances have fallen" sounds like weather, not policy, but it's a quiet admission that publishing's risk tolerance has collapsed. The money that once floated midlist careers now piles up around "the biggest potential bestsellers" - a euphemism for brands, franchises, and books that can be marketed like movies. Foster, a working pro who has written both original novels and high-profile tie-ins, knows exactly what that shift does: it doesn't just shrink paychecks, it narrows the kinds of stories publishers can afford to take chances on.
The second sentence does a different job. "Given all the changes, both economic and technological" gestures at the double squeeze: conglomeration and retail consolidation on one side; e-books, Amazon leverage, piracy anxieties, and algorithmic discovery on the other. It's a way of saying, don't romanticize the past, but don't pretend the rules haven't been rewritten. The subtext is almost a shrug with teeth: authors are being asked to accept less up front, shoulder more uncertainty, and keep producing anyway.
Then comes the sly optimism: "SF hasn't done too badly". Science fiction is historically resilient because it metabolizes disruption; its readers chase novelty, its fandom builds community, its ideas travel well across media. Foster isn't celebrating the system. He's pointing out that in a market that increasingly rewards scale, SF's cultural footprint - games, film, streaming, online communities - gives it a weird kind of protection, even as the people writing the books feel the squeeze.
The second sentence does a different job. "Given all the changes, both economic and technological" gestures at the double squeeze: conglomeration and retail consolidation on one side; e-books, Amazon leverage, piracy anxieties, and algorithmic discovery on the other. It's a way of saying, don't romanticize the past, but don't pretend the rules haven't been rewritten. The subtext is almost a shrug with teeth: authors are being asked to accept less up front, shoulder more uncertainty, and keep producing anyway.
Then comes the sly optimism: "SF hasn't done too badly". Science fiction is historically resilient because it metabolizes disruption; its readers chase novelty, its fandom builds community, its ideas travel well across media. Foster isn't celebrating the system. He's pointing out that in a market that increasingly rewards scale, SF's cultural footprint - games, film, streaming, online communities - gives it a weird kind of protection, even as the people writing the books feel the squeeze.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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