Black Library: May Submission Window

[CasperTheGhost]

Howdy,

For those that don't know:

The next open submissions window will begin May 2011.



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In 2011 Black Library will be looking for new writers to join the hallowed ranks of our best-selling Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 authors. Prospective authors will be able submit to us in the following ways:

Short Stories

We require a single paragraph summary, a 500-1,000 word synopsis and 1,000 words of sample text. If accepted the final word count for short story manuscripts is typically between 5 and 8 thousand words.

Novels

We require:

•a 1,000 word summary
•chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the entire novel (no more than 6 pages) and
•the first 3 chapters (10,000 words minimum).


When accepted the final word count for novel manuscripts is in the region of 100 thousand words.


Writers whose work we consider fit for publication will be contacted within 8 weeks of a submission window closing. Rejected submissions will not receive a response.

Any submissions which do not adhere to the submissions guidelines will be rejected.

Unfortunately, we are not currently looking for Horus Heresy or Time of Legends submissions .

Please e-mail all submissions as a single attachment (in Word format, 12pt Times) to: submissions@blacklibrary.com (this e-mail address is for submissions only and we will not reply to any queries we receive via this address), there is no automated receipt response.

So, who's thinking of entering? I'm thinking of writing up a piece for it, already have an idea in mind (my current project is Great Crusade short stories but that's obviously out the window).

We can use this space as a support group or just general chat, anything really to help encourage us all along to writing something out. As for me I'll most likely submit a short story rather than a full length book, I've been known to randomly ramble off topic and change projects when I attempt a full length novel.

And, while I'm here, some helpful tips from Gav in another thread:

Don't assume the editor will know anything other than what you write. The one BL synopsis I had rejected (years ago...) made that mistake, hoping that the editors would pick up on the subtext of the story. I find putting [editorial comments] in parantheses works quite well.

At this point Kage stabs the man in the back [proving that he was lying earlier and hasn't changed at all] and takes his bolt pistol.
As for the fanciness of the writing, keep it concise and to the point, and make sure everything is explained in the short space you have, before worrying about style.

Gav

[Sly Marbo]

Speaking of submissions, I have a question-

The official BL FAQ says:

Can I include an established character in my proposal?
We recommend that you don't use characters already established elsewhere in Games Workshop publications or Black Library novels as this may mean your story won't fit well.

What exactly does “established character” mean? Does it mean any character ever mentioned in a BL novel, Codex or any other published material or a “major” character like for example Ragnar Blackmane, Ciaphas Cain, Eisenhorn etc (a character about which novels have been written)?

I can’t seem to get a proper answer to this and the reason for asking is this: I have written half a dozen stories (and plan on writing more) featuring characters that are mentioned in Codices, but nobody has written a story about them yet (as far as I know). For example: Sergeant Harker, Marbo, Sergeant Bastonne etc. I don’t know if these characters are “established” or not, and I don’t want spend time writing stories which will get rejected merely because of such ambiguous rule.

If anyone could clear this up, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Charax]

An established character is anyone who has been mentioned by name anywhere. Marbo's an established character, Blackmane's an established character, some marine mentioned in passing in the background scene in a novel published decades ago is an established character.

If they have a name, they're established. (and there are some situations where even unnamed characters can be said to be established). It basically means "Use original characters only"

[Sly Marbo]

Thanks for clearing that up. Damn shame, though, I always thought that if nothing has been written about the character by an author (short story, novel etc.) you could write about him/her. This way, awesome characters like Marbo for example, don’t get the kind of attention they deserve.

Now I know I’ll have to slightly rewrite my stories and change the character names.

In interest of keeping the discussion running - does anyone have any information or opinion as to what the editor likes or wants for this submission window?

[CasperTheGhost]

By the looks of things it is rather open-ended. The only stated no go zones are the Horus Heresy and The Time of Legends series. The rest, both Fantasy and 40k, seems to be find to work with.

[asphodel]

This website seems to be great for this material too.

I'm thinking about submitting - I've just got one idea though, and I can only really do a short story at this point so I'm hoping to get my act together to pump out a half-decent story. In the next couple months.

[narrativium]

Marbo: it's best to avoid named characters entirely. However, if you do need to - avoid Black Library characters at all costs, but special characters can cameo. So you can write an Ultramarine character, and Marneus Calgar can send him on a mission, but Uriel Ventris can't.

I've got a couple of ideas in mind - four short stories and two novels, at this time - but it's anyone's guess as to how many if any actually make it to pitchable form.

[Sly Marbo]

I see. Like I said, it's a shame we can't write about established characters whose stories haven't been done before. I presume that if I wanted to write a story about an established character, I would first need to be published by the BL and then I would get permission?

I have four short stories completed, one half-completed, and two new awesome ideas, as well as a novel idea which I'm finishing up. I'm aiming at this submission window with vigor since I want to get published by the BL, and I’m feeling lucky.

So far I’ve been concentrating on Imperial Guard stories, focusing more on characters than on generic battles (of course, there’s still plenty of action). I hope at least one of these gets selected.

[narrativium]

Yeah, for established characters you'd need permission. (Such as the recent Treacheries window, in which permission was given for four specific Chaos Marine characters.) Prove you can write in the universe first, then you can start asking about the special items in the toybox.

[kurisawa]

I see. Like I said, it's a shame we can't write about established characters whose stories haven't been done before. I presume that if I wanted to write a story about an established character, I would first need to be published by the BL and then I would get permission?

I have four short stories completed, one half-completed, and two new awesome ideas, as well as a novel idea which I'm finishing up. I'm aiming at this submission window with vigor since I want to get published by the BL, and I’m feeling lucky.

So far I’ve been concentrating on Imperial Guard stories, focusing more on characters than on generic battles (of course, there’s still plenty of action). I hope at least one of these gets selected.

Did you know Sly Marbo features heavily in the Catachan IG story included in the first IG omnibus (the actual title escapes me right now)?

If not, I would suggest a lot more research on the genre might be a good idea before submitting.

K.

[Sly Marbo]

Did you know Sly Marbo features heavily in the Catachan IG story included in the first IG omnibus (the actual title escapes me right now)?

If not, I would suggest a lot more research on the genre might be a good idea before submitting.

K.

I think the story is named Better the Devil, but I'm not completely sure; either way, I haven't read it.