Fix-up

As a fixup , or fixup ( english to fix sth. Up sth. Fix ' ) is in the literature, especially in the field of science fiction and fantasy referred arising out of a multiple, originally independently published texts work. In contrast to the collection, in which the texts of an author (e.g. stories) appear in a volume essentially unchanged, the texts are revised in terms of style and content in the fix-up so that the impression of a coherent work is created. In the case of a rather loose connection, this can be done through a frame narration . Often, however, the original texts are not embedded in a frame, but are directly linked to one another by means of transition material, which is useful, for example, when several stories are set in the same fictional reality .

The term is attributed to the author AE van Vogt by the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . The background to this is the market change that took place in American science fiction in the 1950s, in which on the one hand the classic pulp magazines struggled with sales difficulties and accordingly the conditions for authors deteriorated, and on the other hand the market for SF paperbacks grew rapidly and suitable texts were sought. In the pulp magazines, short stories and short stories of moderate length were in demand, while the paperbacks mainly asked for novel-length texts. So it made sense for the authors to assemble a novel-length work from suitable shorter texts. In an interview with Robert Weinberg , AE van Vogt recalls:

“In the early fifties the paperbacks business started and novels were the most popular. So I started looking through my work looking for things that I could put together. It was purely commercial. The pay was bad, but it was paid. […] Simply put: a novel sold, but the individual stories only rarely. Hence the big idea and the fix-up novels came about. It was a purely commercial idea at a time when income was measly and pulp writers were starving across the country. It wasn't until later that I found out that some people criticized the fix-ups. I could only shake my head at them: for me they were obviously amateurs with no idea of the business of science fiction writing. "

A well-known example of a fix-up is van Vogt's The Weapon Shops of Isher (German as Die Waffenschmiede von Isher ), the parts of which originally appeared in Astounding in July 1941 and December 1942 and in February 1949 by Thrilling Wonder , the fix-up appeared in 1951.

An example of a fix-up outside the SF is the detective novel The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler , for which Chandler used text previously published in the pulp magazine Black Mask . Chandler spoke in this context of the "cannibalization" of his own texts.

literature

John Clute , David Langford : Fix-up. In: John Clute, Peter Nicholls: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . Online edition, August 2, 2012, accessed October 29, 2017.
Michael Swanwick: A Nettlesome Term that has Long Outlived its Welcome. In: The New York Review of Science Fiction (July 2007).

Individual evidence

↑ In the early fifties the paperback publishing business began; and they wanted novels primarily. And so I began to look over my work to see what I could fit together. It was strictly commercial. [...] Let's put it very simply: a novel would sell whereas the individual stories seldom did. Hence, the great thought came; and the fix-up novels began. It was a strictly commercial idea in a period when incomes were tiny, and pulp writers all across the land were starving. It was only later that I learned the fix-ups had their critics. I could only shake my head over these people; to me, they were obviously dilettantes who didn't understand the economics of writing science fiction. Robert Weinberg: AE van Vogt: The Weinberg Interview. 1980, Retrieved October 29, 2017.

[1] In the early fifties the paperback publishing business began; and they wanted novels primarily. And so I began to look over my work to see what I could fit together. It was strictly commercial. [...] Let's put it very simply: a novel would sell whereas the individual stories seldom did. Hence, the great thought came; and the fix-up novels began. It was a strictly commercial idea in a period when incomes were tiny, and pulp writers all across the land were starving. It was only later that I learned the fix-ups had their critics. I could only shake my head over these people; to me, they were obviously dilettantes who didn't understand the economics of writing science fiction. Robert Weinberg: AE van Vogt: The Weinberg Interview. 1980, Retrieved October 29, 2017.