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Star Trek: Orders of Magnitude

(C) 2003-2005, J.M. Berger

Star Trek is a trademark of Paramount Pictures. This content is presented for entertainment only.


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About this story

Star Trek: Orders of Magnitude is a book proposal I wrote in 2002 and early 2003. In late 2002, I began looking for an agent and found someone willing to submit my work to Pocket Books, the sole licensee for Star Trek fiction. Getting an agent was a prerequisite for submitting. It was a lot of work, but I was glad to do it. I've loved Trek my whole life, and I really wanted to write this book.

In March 2003, my agent submitted the chapters to the appropriate editor at that time. Six months later, the editor had not returned any of my agent's calls or e-mails. Then I read a news item that he was leaving for a new position.

My agent contacted the new editor. He had not been given my MS. Once again, my agent submitted the M.S. TEN MORE MONTHS passed, and still no response. My agent finally contacted a superior editor at Pocket Books. The Trek editor who responded said that they loved the M.S. but that it wasn't consistent with continuity in the "A Time To..." series which had gone to press well after I originally submitted the M.S.

The editor said they had notes for me and I could resubmit. In the meantime, I picked up the first book in the "A Time To..." series and discovered several of my favorite elements would have to be dropped because they were too similar to elements in the book (and that was just the first book in the series). Meanwhile, the Trek editor once again stopped responding to my agent's e-mails and letters. I never received the promised notes.

Rejection is part of the business. C'est la vie. I was not pleased with how my submission was handled, but realistically, there is nothing I can do about it. I am telling this story only so that you, as readers, will not think that I borrowed or stole any elements above from the "A Time To..." series. (I don't intend to imply the reverse, either.) As noted, I wrote this before those books published.

Anyway, here we are. These chapters and the plot synopsis for Star Trek: Orders of Magnitude were sitting on my hard drive, gathering metaphorical dust.

I write because I want people to read my work and hopefully enjoy it. Since this proposal can't be published in print, I am providing it here as a work of fan fiction, so that all my work will not go completely to waste. I hope you enjoy it.

J.M. Berger, March 2005

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