Call for submissions for a new writing collection! Poetry included!

[Rebecka Rowan]

*Approved by Black Dragon via email*

Hello, creative writing types. This is an open call for submissions to a new literary group called Fiction, Etc.

We are going to publish four collections a year of short creative fiction, and are currently looking for submissions for the first issue, to be published online in March. The theme for the first issue will be Subterfuge. Interpret that as you will. The only real demands are that your piece fit the theme, not be hate-filled garbage, and be under 4000 words. Poetry, prose, travel writing, anecdote, screenplay, whatever your favourite format is, that's what we want to see.

We will not edit or proof-read any of the submissions - so what you will see will be solely the responsibility of the writer; all we're doing is creating a platform for creative work. For all those writers infuriated by editorial control, this is for you. Whatever you send, goes into the collection just as it is. Hopefully, this will enable writers to develop their own editing skills, as well as make for an interesting read.

Also, for our first issue, we are playing with the idea of accepting literally any work that is sent our way. This may have to change in the future, but for now we're just very curious as to what we'll receive. Hopefully, this will give us a really wide range of what people are capable of, and won't just mean that we're inundated with poor work. We unfortunately can't offer payment for the work, but it should be an interesting project to be a part of, and this is your chance to be in it from the very first edition. All of us involved have other jobs, and will be working on this for free as well; it's all purely for the love of creative writing. Good news on that front is that the e-books will also be free to download, so no money exchanges hands anywhere.

Our website, still very much in development, is www.fictionetc.co.uk If there's anything you're not quite sure about, do take a look around there, but please bear in mind that some of it is very likely to change in the next week.

The first issue will go out at the end of March, but the deadline for submissions is 29th February, so do submit your creative work before then. I personally am very much looking forward to the fantasy and SF stories in particular.

Please email submissions, questions and clarifications to [email protected]

 

[sashamerideth]

Looks interesting.

 

[Giant]

Is this a Fantasy/SciFi site. Or are you accepting all works of fiction in any genre?

 

[Rebecka Rowan]

Any work, any genre, any format. I do admit, I have a penchant for fantasy and scifi myself, so that's what I'll be writing, but we're really looking for anything and everything. We've got a full set of rules on the website now, under submissions, but it's basic stuff really, only submit in .doc files, under 4000 words, has to fit the theme, etc.

So far we've had several poems, a few short stories, and someone has written to ask about the possibility of writing a mini-play, to which the answer was absolutely yes. It's all up to you. Thanks for the interest!

 

[Xanados]

"not be hate-filled garbage"
That's extremely vague, is it not? Care to elaborate?

 

[Graham Irwin]

But all I write is hate-filled garbage!

Kidding.

 

[JCFarnham]

"not be hate-filled garbage"
That's extremely vague, is it not? Care to elaborate?

I'm sure you can answer that yourself. Probably doesn't mean all your characters have to be wonderful people though

Anyway, I'm certainly hoping to submit something to this in future. Maybe for the next quarter? Someone remind me to get on the mailing list hehe

 

[Rebecka Rowan]

Thanks all for your interest

It is vague, but it's elaborated in a bit more detail on the site - www.fictionetc.co.uk . Basically, you can write about whatever the heck you like, as long as we can see (or you can justify) a decent reason for doing so, that isn't needlessly inflammatory. And yes, it is a little bit up to us, but I promise you that the only things we'll really veto are .

If it's the opinion of your character, by all means have them be as awful as you like, but if it's your own hateful opinion that has no justification whatsoever, dressed up in a story and solely designed to incite hate towards an individual or a group of people, then we just don't want that in the collection. It is dependent on our version of "hate", but I promise you that it would have to be really awful to not be included. It's not a censorship issue, it's an issue of what we want to be associated with, and we all agreed that we're fine with any themes whatsoever, if they have artistic justification, but we don't support mindless hatred. And that bar itself is set pretty high, so it would have to be really ugly vitriol to not make it in. And even then, the writer takes full responsibility for their own work, so would you really want to be associated with that sort of thing?

In other words, it can be hate-filled, if there's justification for it.

I hope that makes it clear. If you need clarification for a specific idea, or have more questions, do email me at [email protected]

 

[They'reWatchingUs]

Can I submit something for the next edition? Can you tell me the theme?

 

[Steerpike]

I don't know. You give up control over your work (potentially in perpetuity) for no payment. I'd think twice before submitting anything that you value. Just my personal view, and I'm sure others will differ.

 

[They'reWatchingUs]

I suppose it depends on what kind of work it is. If it isn't something you had thought would ever be published and it was just a bit of writing, to short for a small book, then it's ideal.

 

[Steerpike]

I suppose it depends on what kind of work it is. If it isn't something you had thought would ever be published and it was just a bit of writing, to short for a small book, then it's ideal.

I don't know about ideal. I'll just list all of my concerns here, and then leave the issue alone. I don't want to look like I'm beating up this particular market, and they are being upfront about the deal so each author can make their own decisions. Here are my concerns:

1. Anytime you give away a story to be published you are giving away First Rights. If the story has value, those rights are valuable. Be aware of it.

2. If you later find a market that takes reprints, they may want you to have the free version removed. An editor is not going to want to pay you for a story and then have to compete with a free version of that story that is already out there. Here, you can't remove the free version. You're essentially giving away, for free, a perpetual, royalty-free license in your story.

OK, you say, but so what? The story isn't something I ever thought I'd sell. I'm more in it for the exposure. That's not necessarily bad, but lets look at what exposure you are getting.

3. The publisher isn't going to edit anything that comes to them. Sure, you may edit your story well enough, but who knows what the other authors will do?

4. The publisher 'may' just go ahead and take everything that comes to them.

So now you've not only given away important rights, for free, but you have no assurance of the quality of publication your work will appear in. There is no editorial control, and maybe even no threshold level of competence for getting into the publication. Exposure is important, but so is the means of your exposure and the association of your name with a project. You could end up with your name associated, perhaps in perpetuity, with a compilation of absolutely terrible, unedited stories, and there is nothing you can do about it once it is published. This is your reputation we're talking about.

There's nothing ideal in terms of helping you advance your career, or getting your name out in front of readers, when it is done by including your story in a collection of unscreened, unedited, who-knows-what. I guess you could use a pseudonym you never plan to use again, but that defeats the purpose of getting exposure.

At any rate, sorry to rain on the parade, but I'd really give this some serious thought before submitting anything with your name on it to be included in a collection of unreviewed, unedited stories. At the very least, I'd submit the story contingent on being able to see every other story that goes into the work prior to publication. I'd also ask to see the cover and a sample of how the final story will appear in the work. This is going to have your name on it, after all, and once it is published there is nothing you can do about it if it is a mess.

 

[Ghost]

I had a few of same concerns as Steerpike. The work will reflect on the editors even if they do no editing. I understand not wanting to interfere with an artist's vision, but I'd worry about the quality of the magazine as a whole. As a reader, I have no interest in reading work where writers try to develop their own editing skills.

The submissions guidelines are sort of vague. I'm assuming the phrase "in perpetuity" pops up in the contract, even if it's nonexclusive. It seems like the e-zine might accept reprints, but it's unclear to me.

If you're interested in submitting here, it's easy enough to download the PDF and see for yourself if you like it. I'm not sure how much exposure you'd really get, though.

 

[Rebecka Rowan]

Hello all, I guess I should probably clarify some things. Firstly, it's more of a writing group than any kind of organisation. It's not for super amazing exposure for your writing, it's more to do with the fun of having a writing challenge and seeing what other people come up with too. That's the same with the editing aspect of it as well. The point is seeing where people go from the theme. If you're not interested in that, then this isn't really for you.

We've currently got two issues up on the website, so do feel free to have a look and see if it's the sort of project you'd be interested in. Though it would be a logistical and time-consuming nightmare to send every writer a copy of every other writer's work before it's up on the site, so even though that seems like the "least" that you'd want, it's just not the sort of thing that there's time for. If that makes you incomfortable, then you obviously shouldn't submit anything. We have enough writers just having fun with it, so we can't really accommodate that sort of time-consuming request. There's no pressure of any kind, it's entirely for fun.

It started as a small social thing, and we thought we'd extend it to any other writers looking for something to get involved in. It's why we don't want to make any money from it, why everything is free, and why we don't want any of the copyright to it. Your writing is totally yours, to do with as you wish. The only reason we can't take it out is because that would be a massive hassle, when this is an in-our-free-time thing, but this is made really clear on the site. If you don't want it put in the collection, don't send it to us!

This isn't a traditional collection of stories. It's an experiment in writing and ideas. And we don't have time to edit and proof what comes in, nor do we want to, because we think it's fascinating to see versions of writing as raw or refined as the writer wants. If you feel like this would reflect badly on your work, or if you're the kind of writer who has great ideas, but problems with grammar or something, then that's up to you to decide whether this is your sort of thing.

I can understand, as a Sub Editor in my day job, why this would be a contentious issue if we were looking to make money from it, or sell it on to someone else, but it really is like a writing group saying "Hey, we did these things. And we're proud of them. It's kind of an interesting idea for a collection, so maybe you'd enjoy reading it too." And it's only once every quarter that something needs submitting, so it's a not very time-consuming way to have a deadline that you have to stick to in order to get some writing done. Because I know that I personally am rubbish with writing creatively unless I have a strong deadline.

Hope that answers any/all of the questions. Basically, if you don't like the idea of it, don't submit. But we're always interested in reading wherever it is that people take the starter word, and maybe it's the sort of thing that some people would be interested in doing in their free time. So far we've had topics of Subterfuge and Caprice, and we're now either on Dirt or Ephemera, depending on which way the vote swings. Thanks and hello to anyone interested, if you want to email me and find out more, it's [email protected]