By COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer

	Years ago, in a publishing world far, far removed,
the short story market was the gateway to success
for a prospective science fiction writer, but times
have changed and today a novel approach works
best.
	That, at least, is the advice given by Steve Miller
and Sharon Lee, a husband and wife team who
have gained a measure of fame, although no for-
tune as yet, as writers, editors, reviewers and pub-
lishers of science fiction.
	The two Winslow residents recently held a pre-
sentation at Waterville Public Library on the va-
garies of the publishing world, including the tip that
thick manuscripts fare better than short stories if
becoming a published sci-fi writer is your goal.
	"It is much easier for a first-time novelist to
break into the field," Lee told the dozen or so lis-
teners assembled at the library.
	The reason, as Miller explained, has to do with
the dramatic changes in the science fiction pub-
lishing industry
	Thirty years ago science fiction magazines were
everywhere. Go to the corner bookstore and you
probably had a choice of three dozen or more.
	That's not true any longer, Miller explained. The
market for short stories in general has shrunk
enormously, and the science fiction magazines left
tend to stick with established writers, he said.
	At the same time, Miller and Lee stressed
that to some degree, almost no rules apply
when it comes to getting published because the
nature of the industry is to be unpredictable, as
  well as infuriating.
"If you like to write short stories, by God, write
them," Miller said. "You may get known that way"
	If one golden rule applies, though, a rule that al-
ways holds true, then it pertains to the creative
process itself, the undeniable fact that a writer
must write a book before he or she can get it pub-
lished.
	"We are finding that people who want to write
have to get their butt out of the couch and into the
right chair," Miller said.
	Miller added that however his audience inter-
prets "right chair," the point remains valid.
	Miller and Lee have shown they possess the
right stuff to succeed in the science fiction world.
	As collaborators, they wrote a series of books and
short stories centered on the Liaden Universe.
	Three domestic publishing houses have either
printed or electronically released the Liaden
books, and several foreign language publishers
have signed up as well.
	When not writing books or short stories, Miller
and Lee typically are engaged in editing, reviewing
or publishing works of science fiction or fantasy.
	Lee was the first full-time executive director of
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Ameri-
ca, and recently began her second year as the or-
ganization's president.
	Miller became an independent publisher in 1991
— founder of SRM Publisher, Ltd. — and has dis-
tributed much of his own writing and collaborative
efforts with Lee through that label since then.
	Much of the advice they gave during their presen-
tation focused on the need for persistence and the
wisdom of being an objective critic of your writing.
	"You may write every day thinking, 'I'm writing
what I love to read,'" Miller said, "but you may find
that what you love to read is not what you write
well."
	The truest mark of a writer, however, is an ab-
solute commitment to write, both Miller and Lee
said.
	Certainly, they are a grand testament to this
recommendation. They survived on an assort-
ment of jobs, some utterly unrelated to writing,
over the years as they churned out stories in
whatever spare time they had available.
	"The Tomorrow Log" was their must recent
print collaboration to be released, while "Low
Port," an anthology edited by Lee and Miller,
will be available in September through Meisha
Merlin Publishing, Inc.

Colin Hickey—861-9205
chickey@centralmaine.com