Eberron Novel Proposal: Open Call

[nikolai]

I'm tempted. Although the fact that they're giving people a full year to crank out 90,000 words is a bit odd.

I don't think this is that odd. It works out at c. 2,000 words a week, which is pretty good going for someone who's not a full time writer. And a book a year is also the going rate of production for many of the big name fantasy authors.

There's two other interesting sites anyone who is going to go for the open call should look at. The General Book Submission FAQ and the Novel Submission Guidelines. The first gives "what they look for in a submission". The second mentions exact details of what they want in the cover letter and the ideal formatting of the writing sample.

It's odd that they don't talk at all about payment or anything. I mean, with a media tie-in, I'm not expecting discussions about royalties, but "Hey, this is worth $xxxx" would be nice.

I suppose that comes once the winning proposal is chosen. I suppose they want to keep things simple for the moment, and not swamp everyone in un-needed details. But it looks like the author will likely get royalties.

The novels in each of the shared-world book lines are written on a work-for-hire basis. This means that Wizards of the Coast contracts with authors to write the books on a royalty (or in some instances flat-fee) basis and retains all rights to the characters, settings, and stories we publish in these lines.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/main/submissions

 

[Hand of Evil]

I joke and I apologize for it, this is a wonderful opportunity for an writer to break into a very difficult endeavor.

 

[takyris]

I don't think this is that odd. It works out at c. 2,000 words a week, which is pretty good going for someone who's not a full time writer. And a book a year is also the going rate of production for many of the big name fantasy authors.

Hey, nikolai:

2000/week is really on the low side, even below average for someone with a full-time job. As for the book/year model, one book per year is the model for authors who write large fantasy novels (which range from 120-2xx-thousand words). This is significantly shorter. Also, media tie-in writers have much faster production rates, usually because they're writing something that's so much shorter.

re:details about royalties

I suppose that comes once the winning proposal is chosen. I suppose they want to keep things simple for the moment, and not swamp everyone in un-needed details. But it looks like the author will likely get royalties.

Well, the trouble with that idea is that it flies in the face of the way that all other major publishers work. A pro-level fiction anthology doesn't advertise itself by saying, "Hey, write for us -- if we accept you, we'll tell you how much money you'll be getting." That kind of approach keeps experienced writers away. I'm not saying that they should lay out the full contract for us, but something a bit more specific would be nice. If I'm writing for a flat fee or $1,000, that's a bit different from writing for $10,000 and royalties. The $1000 is still nice, and the overall concept is still a good way to get into the business, but I'm disappointed that the approach is one that ignores so many of the professional customs. It makes it look a lot more like a fan-contest, and a lot less like an actual "in" to the WotC media writing world. But that's just my perspective, and my perspective is admittedly a bit jaded by spending much of my waking life perusing writing guidelines.

 

[Vigilance]

Right Taky...

But this pitch isn't *for* experienced writers now is it?

They are specifically looking for someone new.

In a way it fits, since Eberron itself was a sort of "open call" setting. Though I'm sure SK Reynolds is cheesed that they are putting out the call rather than going with the WOTC experienced staff

Chuck

 

[your father is]

^The open call is just an extension of WotC's general submissions. They'll be using the Eberron ten-pagers as writing samples, same as if you'd sent in a writing sample. Tor and Baen don't specify how much you'll get if they accept a manuscript over the transom -- why should it be any different at WotC?

As to word counts/timeline, takyris is quite correct that 2000 words a week is (really) low. However, Vigilance is right that there may be inexperienced writers involved, so it's probably smart for WotC to implement an unusually long deadline. Before I get too mushy saying everyone is right, here's something to scare us all: Jeff Mariotte has completed six novels in 2004 so far -- that's six novels in six months, while also working as editor-in-chief of IDW comics. Personally, I can't pull off more than 5000 words a week.

Oh yeah -- is there any interest in starting a workshop to critique Eberron stories and share resources? We could probably do it through a Yahoo group, or something like that.

 

[takyris]

But this pitch isn't *for* experienced writers now is it?

They are specifically looking for someone new.

Good point -- and I can then compare this to a "first novel" contest instead of a standard submissions process. That makes sense.

In a way it fits, since Eberron itself was a sort of "open call" setting. Though I'm sure SK Reynolds is cheesed that they are putting out the call rather than going with the WOTC experienced staff

Well, the one thing that still doesn't entirely fit is that a "first novel" contest is specifically for new people, and usually excludes people with more credits. This contest doesn't -- although the general layout does.

And of course, I'm probably being a bit snarky, like SK Reynolds was about Eberron -- since there's not exactly a dearth of good writers trying to make it in the business to begin with, using a layout that appeals to people who haven't written much previously gives me the impression that they're more interested in non-writers than in writers.

It's probably not gonna be a huge deal either way. And of course, I'm still entering. I've been interested in breaking into the media tie-in market for awhile.

Tor and Baen don't specify how much you'll get if they accept a manuscript over the transom -- why should it be any different at WotC?

Well, for starters, they're working it in a different way. Tor and Baen don't have to specify that information, because it's public knowledge in most cases. The average advance for a first novel is $6,000 or thereabouts, or was a couple years ago. If they think you're the next Jordan or Goodkind, they give you more. A few people get less, particularly for contests. The rights purchased are pretty well-established. You can download a copy of a standard novel contract from the SFWA website.

Media tie-ins use a different system -- rather than paying royalties, most times, they give a flat-fee that's potentially larger than the author would get in a normal advance (barring Jordan-or-Goodkind-ness), and that buys ALL rights to the novel. The author has just given it away in its entirety, and doesn't own any of the side characters he invented or anything. (I'm not clear about the rare cases where someone might want to make your tie-in-novel into an episode of the show you're writing for, because it's so good -- you might retain rights for that. But I'm not sure.)

As far as writing count... dude, yeah, that's a fair amount of writing. I'd have to quit a few of my other hobbies to crank out 500k words per year...

 

[your father is]

Tor and Baen don't have to specify that information, because it's public knowledge in most cases. The average advance for a first novel is $6,000 or thereabouts, or was a couple years ago... You can download a copy of a standard novel contract from the SFWA website.

I didn't know that, I'll have to have another look

I seem to recall that WotC does (or at least did) give a royalty percentage higher than I would have thought. I believe Pocket pays a 1 - 2% royalty in addition to their flat-fee for Star Trek fiction (just for comparison). And of course, takyris is right that WotC will own all rights to the work.

 

[Vigilance]

And of course, I'm probably being a bit snarky, like SK Reynolds was about Eberron -- since there's not exactly a dearth of good writers trying to make it in the business to begin with, using a layout that appeals to people who haven't written much previously gives me the impression that they're more interested in non-writers than in writers.

Well SKR was saying that the R&D staff currently emplyed by WOTC at the time of the contest (many of whom were subsequently laid off) were perfectly capable of delivering a world to WOTC for less money than they spent on the contest.

And he's probably right.

However it wouldnt have been a world like Eberron. It would have been something much blander, less ambitious (and of course once you add the boatload of free advertising WOTC got it becomes a CLEAR win for them).

Similarly, while they may get a lot of submissions from people who have never written before, and while those submissions may be rougher around the edges, those people are the ones most likely to give you something *different*.

JK Rowling, the non-writer who spun tales about magic to her son came up with the biggest publishing juggernaut, maybe since Dickens. You aren't going to get something new by tapping the genre writing crowd or the guys who majored in creative writing in college.

Chuck

 

[ragboy]

Oh yeah -- is there any interest in starting a workshop to critique Eberron stories and share resources? We could probably do it through a Yahoo group, or something like that.

This is a great idea. Who's going to set it up?

 

[nikolai]

Hi takyris;

Okay - I concede that c. 2000 words a week is on the low side. But I think Wizards has made the right call. I think it's a sensible target that whoever wins will be be able to comfortably make, and be happy with what they've writen, without having an oppressive deadline handing over them. It is also the deadline, and I presume going over would cause scheduling problems. They don't want meeting it to be a struggle, and I'm sure they won't have any complaints if they get the manuscript sooner.

And of course, I'm probably being a bit snarky, like SK Reynolds was about Eberron -- since there's not exactly a dearth of good writers trying to make it in the business to begin with, using a layout that appeals to people who haven't written much previously gives me the impression that they're more interested in non-writers than in writers.

For what it's worth, I think the contest will have a similar result to the Setting Submission contest. I don't think someone totally outside the loop will win. The contest rules aren't that different from the usual submission rules - except they're explicitly naming the type of book they want.

Well, for starters, they're working it in a different way. Tor and Baen don't have to specify that information, because it's public knowledge in most cases. The average advance for a first novel is $6,000 or thereabouts, or was a couple years ago. If they think you're the next Jordan or Goodkind, they give you more. A few people get less, particularly for contests. The rights purchased are pretty well-established. You can download a copy of a standard novel contract from the SFWA website.

Perhaps a better analogy would be if you sent a manuscript sample to an an agent. You don't know what the exact contract you'll be offered if you're picked up will be. Wizards doesn't even specify this for their standard submission process.