I really enjoyed talking to Peter Stampfel during our interview , and was in awe to have access to 
the information coming from the very top of science fiction and fantasy publishing.  Some of his 
answers really surprised me, others confirmed what I heard from other sources, but one thing is 
certainly true.  Everything I learned was very useful, things I always wanted to know but never 
before had a chance to ask. 

I wanted to highlight some things from the interview that I found most thought-provoking, in order 
of appearance. 

The quality of invented names is important in a well-written fantasy.  

I guess this really shouldn’t be a surprise – I remember flinching at names in some novels, and admiring 
names in others, but I never thought these names could be a selling point. Learning that an editor looks
for the quality of names as an indicator of the quality of writing would likely change my approach 
to naming when writing fantasy.   

Readers (and authors) tend to prefer shorter fiction these days. 

Even though I keep hearing of the publishers’ and agents’ guidelines about the recommended length 
of 100-120K words, I personally enjoy longer fantasy books and tend to think that real fantasy fans 
love longer work. Talking to Peter Stampfel made me realize I am living in the past. Talking to him 
finally turned some rusty gears in my mind and made me re-think some of my recent fantasy projects. 

We are experiencing the golden age of writing.

This thought was like a gust of fresh wind amidst the gloom of the dominating predictions about the 
decline of book publishing. I never thought of it this way, but indeed this couldn’t be more true. If the 
competition is especially fierce, we are seeing the best of the best that made it through the grinder. In 
this light, I also started thinking differently about books by new authors. They must be really brilliant 
to break through, and while it is still a bit of a gloomy thought for the struggling writers, it is highly 
promising for the readers on the look out for new superb-quality reading. 

Self-publishing is a good idea.

Now, there was an eye opener – and coming from the top publishing house, no less. While I am 
still cautious about whether most of the other top professionals share Mr. Stampfel’s view on this, 
I felt this was a window for those authors who have been holding off on self-publishing and shelving 
complete manuscripts in the hope of landing a big contract on their next work. If you are not sure 
about your unpublished novels – maybe it is best to hold off, but if you have a good book lying 
somewhere in the depth of your desk drawer (I mean, hard drive) – go for it! 

This certainly applies to the category of authors Mr. Stampfel mentioned, who would have been 
successful 20 years ago but lack the necessary twist to break through in the markets of today. Heck, 
I have encountered such authors myself and really enjoyed their unpublished work. I have somewhat 
of an old-fashioned mind set and like good old fantasy even if it has an overused, but well-executed 
plot, which makes it virtually impossible for such authors to land a good contract. And, I happen to 
know that my tastes for the 'good old' are shared by so many other readers out there! So, based on 
what I learned, it seems that self-publishing done properly is a really good idea for such people.

Self-publishing won’t hurt your chances of a future contract with a big publisher. 

I really hope Mr. Stampfel is right on this one! He certainly convinced me.

Comments? Suggestions? Additions? I would be very interested in opinions from other readers on 
what you found most useful – and/or most surprising in the interview. Please read the full interview 
at this link and leave comments! 
I also always welcome suggestions on whose interviews you would like to see next, and what 
questions do you want to ask. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section, or contact 
me by e-mail or Facebook.