WotC Open Call for Novel Proposals

[two]

5 months is definitely not too little if you consider the fact that by the time you start writing the first draft of your manuscript, you already have:
1) A one-page detailed synopsis of the story
2) The first three chapters
and the killer:
3) A three-sentence decription of every chapter in the story.

One of the biggest killers of writing projects (so I hear) is writer's block: what happens next? If you have the skeleton, you know what happens next.

Let's say you spend five hours each Saturday putting flesh on your skeleton. By the time the deadline rolls around, you will have over 100 hours put into your manuscript. You can easily type 3 pages an hour (a pretty good rate, for me, anyways), giving you a 300 page manuscript. In print, that 300 could easily become 400 (novels aren't printed on A4, you know!) pages, and makes for nice, thick novel.

The point? Start now! Spend a week writing your skeleton and get to work. You have nothing to lose but five hours each Saturday!

Yes, definately go for it. I just thought I'd make an obvious point, that you are doing a lot more than simply "typing" 3 pages an hour. You need to be writing three pages an hour. And since you have left no time for revisions, editing, or a 3rd party review, you need to be writing you final publishing-worthy prose at a rate of three pages an hour. No author on earth writes final copy at that rate.

I don't think it can be done on a weekend basis. I'd suggest:

Mon-Friday: 2 hours a night.
Saturday: 4 hours.
Sunday: 4 hours.

Get the synopsis done first, make a list of characters, their names and motivations, and have a clear understand of what genre you are writing in (high fantasy? low? sci-fi? What are the expections, what is your goal as an author)? Think about the plot, about the action driving the plot, about the characters world-view in relation to the plot. Plan on making a very exciting first three chapters. Start writing a draft.

Have first draft complete after 4 months. Take a day off, then re-read, and revise everything. Give it to a 3rd party, for editing/grammar/etc. With two weeks left, concentrate on the first three chapters, buffing them to a high gloss. Near deadline, send in submission. Then, after the submission dealine passes, buff the rest of the novel as you have buffed the first three chapters. Hopefully, if you win, or if they simply ask to see more, you will be ready.

Good luck, plan ahead, work hard, and I hope you have a great result!

 

[Halivar]

Excellent point, two. Nobody writes final draft at three pages an hour. But IIRC, the submission guidelines stated that they wanted a first-draft manuscript, with no spelling or punctuation errors. I definitely think a writer can handle that (as long as they have a third-party proofer, like an English teacher roommate (*wink* *wink*) proofing spelling and punctuation as you go).

Am I wrong about the first draft thing?

PS: Keep a notebook with four sections: characters, items, places, and world history. For the first three sections, be as detailed as possible, with the most ephasis on the first. For characters, include motivations, personality, and personal history. Make sure each character has a personality progression planned throughout the story. What to they want to be, and where do they end up?

Second, read this guy's process for writing called the "snowflake method". It's helpful for me.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

The answer will be "get my novel published" by almost all unpublished novelists, and I'd say most published novelists as well (who didn't have the benefit of good distribution and/or ad support for their published works).

I suppose my definition of "published authors" included "published, distributed, and marketed" by default-- which is an odd bit of bias, since as a small publisher/author, I am well aware that one can be "published" without making a particularly large splash.

The point of my post, however, was that I think the competition will lean heavily towards "amateurs," relatively speaking, and that there is cause for a bit more optimism for those who manage to polish up their submissions and get them in-- you won't be competing against 100,000 Salvatore's and Stackpole's.

Wulf

 

[Abulia]

I don't think it can be done on a weekend basis. I'd suggest:

Mon-Friday: 2 hours a night.
Saturday: 4 hours.
Sunday: 4 hours.

I disagree with this advice.

If you write at the reasonable pace of 500 words per hour, those 18 hours will generate 9K words a week. In two months you'll have 72K words, within the realm of a novel. With that said, there's merit in having an established daily schedule as "two" suggests for your writing. For those keeping score at home, 500 words at 10 point w/ 1" square margins, is roughly one typewritten "page." (Bah. See my comments later regarding writing "pages.")

The open call clearly states they want to see your first draft provided you "win"; not a polished final draft. I would make those first three chapters shine, however. So, by all means, spend your time on that material.

You need to be writing three pages an hour.

I'm going to call you out on this; no author that I know of discusses work in term of "pages per hour." It isn't an accurate measurement of production. It's all about word count, word count, and word count. Find out what your writing pace is, in words per hour, and then shoot for 60 to 90K. Make a schedule to hit that target.

And since you have left no time for revisions, editing, or a 3rd party review, you need to be writing you final publishing-worthy prose at a rate of three pages an hour.

No you don't! LOL! They want the first draft, not a final draft upon acceptance (i.e. "winning"). You should re-read the submission guidelines.

I'd like to recommend a book I picked up the other day on a whim, The Modern Library Writer's Workshop : A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch. The book is clearly directed at first-time authors but it has good advice, I feel, for any author, especially inspiration for writing. The first few chapters really help light a fire under you. (Link)

I only mention Mr. Koch's book because I abhor most of these types of products and this is the first one that really hit home with me. Take that for what you will.

 

[two]

Sorry, I did make an unstated assumption

Sorry, I did make an unstated assumption --

I don't think a first draft is going to be enough to win, even if that's the "minimum" of what WOTC requires.

The 10 winning submissions will probably include a few novels that were not written in the 5 month period, and that have been worked on for much longer and are going to be more polished than even a very professional first draft.

The winning entry will probably be "polished" from start to finish.

At the very least, if you send in a "rough draft," it will be competing against some non-rough drafters, which is a competetive disadvantage, no matter how good your prose, plot, or execution.

I could be wrong, there might be exceptions, but never send in something rough when it can be polished -- even if it means working that much harder.

This is an assumption of mine. But given the state of publishing, where editing/editors are a rare breed, and publishers hardly ever pluck a "diamond in the rough" when there is an adquetely shiny semi-precious stone sitting there, ready to hit the presses, I don't feel it's too far off the mark.

I'm honestly giving the best advice I can think to give. I'm not trying to scare people off or anything. Writing a novel in 5 months is like competing for a marathon. You don't train once a week. It's not going to be easy, and there will be plenty of chances to drop out. It's also incredibly rewarding when you pass the finish line.

So...start today, work as much as possible, don't burn out, keep the goal in mind, and I hope it all turns out great.

(and if one of you writes 4 hours a week, sends in a rough draft, and wins the competition, I'll be the first to congratulate you, after picking up my jaw off the floor!)

 

[Halivar]

Another excellent point, two. Consider, though, that it looks like what WotC is looking for is a writer for a book series who can pump out new books relatively quickly and consistently (a word factory). Methinks people sitting on manuscripts they've been polishing for three years are going to be less attractive than someone who can pump out a 400-page novel in five months.

I could be wrong, but it's something to think about.

 

[Abulia]

I don't think a first draft is going to be enough to win, even if that's the "minimum" of what WOTC requires.

Wow. So the submission guidelines are wrong? They're lying to us?

The 10 winning submissions will probably include a few novels that were not written in the 5 month period, and that have been worked on for much longer and are going to be more polished than even a very professional first draft.

Yet haven't been published anywhere else? If they're that good then why would they wait until now? ("My work is too good for Pocket Books or TOR -- I'll wait until those Wizards guys have an Open Call….")

The winning entry will probably be "polished" from start to finish.

I, again, disagree. Editors tend to be a pretty smart lot and the folks at Wizards have a lot of expertise in this arena. I'm confident they're able to look past the normal threshold of acceptable first draft errors and see the potential in a manuscript. They're looking for that potential, not strict adherence to the Elements of Style and a polished manuscript that struggles with story elements or cardboard characters.

It's an open call, ergo the entry bar has been set to that level. I see your points and in any other set of circumstances might agree with you.

Should you polish your work? Absolutely, especially those first three chapters. Should you plan on doing three rewrites in five months and outsource a professional editor prior to entry? No. Does your first draft need to be "final publishing-worthy prose?" Absolutely not.

I'm honestly giving the best advice I can think to give. I'm not trying to scare people off or anything.

I'll take you at your word but your "advice," I feel, says otherwise.

Just write, folks. Set realistic expectations but don't get sucked in by the doom-and-gloom predictions. It's an open call -- they're looking for you.

Out of curiosity -- and I'm likely going to regret this -- what are your credentials, specifically?

 

[two]

Bah, I give up. So much for giving advice, particularly when it wasn't (granted) asked for.

Everyone, do your best, write as much as you can or as little as you dare, or a happy medium.

Abulia, I'm sorry if my unrequested advice sounded like "scare tactics" or something. I hope I didn't put anyone off entering, and that I did on the other hand light a fire under somebody's behind.

Abulia -- I don't have "credentials" as such (do I need them?). I work as a writer full time (making a good living), have published technical, literary, non-fiction, academic, and gaming-related stuff. I have not yet published a novel, but am working on it, as are many other people. I abhor creative writing courses, "graduate" seminars on the "writing process", "how to" books, and personally think that reading loads of great books (and thinking intently about them) is the best way to become a non-hack writer. But hey, that's just me. Millions disagree.

OK enough of all this Sturm und Drang. You stop reading, and get writing. I'll stop writing (on EnWorld) and start writing. Come back in six months or so, and everyone let us know how you did! Bye until then!

 

[Jasnkat]

Should you polish your work? Absolutely, especially those first three chapters. Should you plan on doing three rewrites in five months and outsource a professional editor prior to entry? No. Does your first draft need to be "final publishing-worthy prose?" Absolutely not.

I'll take you at your word but your "advice," I feel, says otherwise.

Just write, folks. Set realistic expectations but don't get sucked in by the doom-and-gloom predictions. It's an open call -- they're looking for you.

Out of curiosity -- and I'm likely going to regret this -- what are your credentials, specifically?

First, since you're asking credentials, here's mine: I'm a published writer, with several contributions to d20 books, my own PDF (_The Labyrinth of Oversoul_), a MechWarrior novel coming out in December, and two other novels available only in foreign editions (for _Crimson Skies_). I plan on submitting to this open call, and I plan on polishing my first three chapters as close to "publishing-worthy prose" as I can. I'll also polish the rest of the manuscript to a similar level--if I somehow make the final ten, I'll want my manuscript to stand out (assuming I'm writer enough to do so). If I don't make the final ten, the manuscript's going off to other publishers, and they'll want to see a polished product, too.

The reason I say this is: I'm your competition. This is what I'm doing. You (and this is meant to be a generic "you", not directed to Abulia) should do however many revisions you think you need to beat me or someone like me.

On another matter: some previous posts talked about what type of writer this call will attract, assuming it will be mostly amateurs because of a lack of royalties. However, the guidelines say nothing about whether there will or will not be royalties--it only says WotC will buy the rights. Royalties are one form of payment for rights, and since most novel contracts with game companies that I've seen or heard about have royalties, I would assume this one does too.

Jason H.

 

[caudor]

For when you gotta write a novel in a hurry...

November is: National Novel Writing Month, so you might also consider signing up for the "Kamikaze Novel Writing" event.

nanowrimo = 50,000 words in one month.

Here's a link for more info:
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/10/16/142201.shtml?tid=192