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  1. Lazzamore

    Lazzamore Member

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    How to go about this?

    Discussion in 'Traditional Publishing' started by Lazzamore, Jan 17, 2018.

    First off, I'm unsure if this is the correct sub-forum. Pardon me if I was wrong to post this here.

    A publishing company I would like to work with is accepting new writers to have their work appear in an anthology they are planning, and I would like to submit my work for them. They are asking for a 500 word excerpt and a synopsis, and submissions close on April 10th.

    So I figure it this way: I have to figure out what story I will write, write the excerpt (they were pretty clear to my understanding that from this point they would want to work with me on the rest of it, provided my level of skill is 'up to snuff'), and then polish the excerpt until I have my submission ready before April 10th.

    How long should I spend deciding which story to use? How long should I spend polishing its excerpt? And finally, should I take as much time as I was given (into April), or is it better to get the submission in early?
     
  2. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    While it's possible, I have never come across a publisher seeking writers for an anthology where they request an excerpt and synopsis, and then assist the writer writing the story based upon those two elements. Unless I misread your post.

    Most of the time, publishers request the full short story, and they will read as much as they desire. Very often an editor can decide within the first page or two if the story might be for then and to spend more time reading until the end. A synopsis of the story will clue the editor in on what to expect from the story, although an excerpt could fill in for the full story submitted.

    Is there any information to writers what sort of contract will be offered for the story? Payment (and method of payment), what rights will be used, how long before rights revert back to the reader, do they accept reprints, etc.

    Is it a themed anthology? Are they interested in a particular genre, and story length?

    Those are my initial thoughts.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2018
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  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I've never seen excerpt and synopsis request for short stories, either.

    Which isn't necessarily a problem, but it makes it kind of hard to apply standard rules to a non-standard situation. What is it about the company that makes you interested in working with them? Do you have any contacts there or know anyone who writes for them that might be able to help you out?
     
  4. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    Thirded. I had a short story accepted to an anthology that's coming out in a couple of months and they wanted the full manuscript.

    Even with a novel, when publishers request an excerpt it's usually with the understanding that the first draft is done but they only want to see part of it, not that the submission is an active WIP. Who is the publisher?
     
  5. Lazzamore

    Lazzamore Member

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    The Publishing company I am hoping to work with is called Black Library, which is a novel and short story publishing wing of the gaming company Games Workshop. Here's the advert I saw that alerted me to what they are doing: https://www.warhammer-community.com/writeforblacklibrary/

    The theme of the anthology is undoubtedly their universes for Warhammer 40k and other products they are responsible for.

    It's possible that I misread, but I believe the advert says to send a 500 word excerpt (nothing more) and a synopsis.
     
  6. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    This is an unusual situation as they're basically soliciting fanfiction. Personally I'm not crazy about the fact that they will own the rights to your work and don't seem to be offering any payment, but then again the source material is their intellectual property so that's probably fair.
     
  7. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    The stories are obviously set in the game world (which is different from most anthologies), and they do have listed themes, although generally broad.

    From what is said, it appears the excerpt is a writing sample (from your proposed story) and the synopsis is to see if the storyline might be one of interest.

    I would outline the story, pick what you believe would be an interesting part (action which displays character and relevance to the Warhammer world setting), and write that section.

    This would probably be along the lines of a work for hire situation, where you would not 'own' the final content/copyright as you're using trademarked content for the story. The contract would contain this information.

    If you haven't, I would take a look at some samples of previous works published by the company under a similar proposal for authors, to get a better notion of what they might be looking for. Not to carbon copy, but if there is a trend toward types of action, POV, dialogue, etc., that may benefit your efforts in making the cut.

    I've never written for such a format, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
     
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  8. Lazzamore

    Lazzamore Member

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    That is my main concern at this point, yes.

    But that aside, @TWErvin2 : I have been reading Black Library books, yes, though reading the ones from the last time they did something like this is very smart, thank you.

    Though I must confess, I'm conflicted by their 'no royalties' clause: While you're here, could any of you answer one more question? I have a character I have had for a while, born as a bit of a fan fiction for Warhammer, right? I'm wondering if this is a good enough deal to give them this character I'm so attached to. On one hand, I would forgo much payment if it meant future work, but I don't know that I can count on that, and I don't want to lose the characters if they are only going to ask for one story from me. My question is: would this be a worthwhile thing to do?
     
  9. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    Technically, an excerpt is part of a story already written, or partially written.
    They want a sample of what would be submitted to them.

    I am very familiar with their property and books/stories. They have their own way of everything and want to mold those that write for them. Each writer at Black Library has their own voice but there is always an underlying sameness that makes it boring for me to read 2 in a row.

    From the Q&A page:
    Will I need to have written my entire story by the end of the submissions window?

    No, you won’t need to have the whole story written. If we are interested in your submission, we will work with you to produce the finished story.
     
  10. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    Personally I would not enter into an agreement with any company where I had to give up the rights to my work, and especially not for free. It just doesn't sit right with me, but I can really only speak to my own feelings, really.
     
  11. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I've seen something like this before when it says just by submitting you are granting them some sort of rights and there is no money involved (at least not that you'll see). So, I never submitted. However, I might now. If it was a place I liked and wanted to get in with, this could be a way to do it. And the place that you're dealing with has been around 20 years and you are familiar with them and their work. It's true that they're not paying you, but they are going to help you write a story that might not have come out as good without their help. This is not to say you're not an awesome writer. You very well could be. But I know what a good editor can do. And your name will be on the story. Sometimes a credit is worth more than money, in my opinion. And working with a great editor and possibly building connections with these guys could lead to future and paid work. I don't know this place you are specifically interested in at all. And I agree that these terms aren't the best for a writer. But if you want to do it, I think you should go for it. Maybe leave out that part you're worried about or try with something else completely. But giving up the rights to one short story, surely wouldn't break any of us.
     
  12. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    This may help some understand how black library works with submissions.
    My feeling has been that you work for black library rather than as an individual. Either you are assigned something to write about, or you come up with something that fits their worlds. They have to do it this way as a they need to have total control of what they put out, like star wars.
    I would love to write for them but have almost no knowledge of the inner workings of their franchises. The other thing that would trip me up is that they want everything in England english.

    Copied this off a website-

    If there’s one question I get asked more than any other, it’s “how do you become a Black Library author.” That’s totally understandable, given that at the time of writing I’m one of Black Library’s newest recruits, and until I was chosen I’d been trying via the selection process for a full decade. Older and wiser scribes than I have already provided some top tips on bringing your writing up to a publishable standard, so I’ll keep this post focused the specifics of the submissions process itself.

    To my knowledge, since the Cold Hand of Betrayal anthology back in 2006 there have been three ways to submit your unsolicited work (a.k.a. without requiring the services of a literary agent) to Black Library. The first method is via a fixed anthology format. Black Library comes up with a subject for a collection of short stories, for example, Planetkill, and new writers are encouraged to submit within the guidelines.

    The second method allows authors a little more creativity. Black Library sets broader parameters, and allows writers to submit their own work. For example, last year the only rule of thumb during the submission period was that all short stories had to focus on characters belonging to the Imperium of Man.

    The third and rarest method of selection is via a standard job advertisement on Games Workshop’s recruitment site. Those who impress sufficiently with their cover letter are asked to complete a few brief writing tests, and those who do well enough with those are admitted to the author team. That was how I got in, after a decade of hammering away at the open submissions.

    All three of these processes generally happen just once every year or two, normally in the springtime. If the method being used is the first or second one described above, Black Library typically offers a two month window for people to submit their stories. No stories outside of that time frame, at any other time of year, will be considered, and those who submit also have to adhere strictly to the rules (so, for example, don’t submit a novel if they only ask for short stories).

    That’s really the long and the short of it. Beyond waiting patiently for the next open window and sticking to the rules, the next best thing you can really do is keep reading and writing. And remember, don’t give up!
     
  13. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    If the character is clearly an inhabitant of the Warhammer universe, you may as well give it up because you won't be able to publish it under any non-Warhammer banner anyway. Copyright issues.

    If the character is less tied to Warhammer, I'd say you could change the character enough to distinguish it from the one you "give" to this publisher and still keep the essential details you love about it. Like, instead of being Black Devon the Drow who wields the glowing great sword Glyndior, maybe it's Red Ryan the Dark Elf who wields the flaming hammer Diasmapan. Or whatever. I'm really not sure how they'd be able to challenge you for other characteristics...
     
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  14. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    From what I have read in author interviews some years back, work for hire deals, where the author writes in a created universe, is paid a flat fee for his work. That is the end of the income for the author, for that work. The publisher never pays royalties to the author. A successful story or novel may, however, bring about another offer for a similar gig from the publisher, but possibly with better terms of pay.

    This is close to what the publisher in question is proposing. However, I did not examine the website and the offer, to see what compensation, if anything, they pay the authors. I just saw in the comments above discussing no royalties.

    I think you will find that if there is no pay, and you just want to go into it for the fun and experience, and to have something you wrote published and read, cool enough. As far as advancing your career with gaining readership, probably not so much, unless you end up writing your own works that are very similar in content. And that could be an issue, depending on how close they follow, if that makes sense.
     

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