Concerning the novel guidelines

[DimesDan]

I've got a question

When Strange New Worlds was being published, one of the rules was that only writers from the USA and Canada (excluding Quebec) could enter due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world. Anyway, I'm guessing these legal implications don't actually matter normally as James Swallow, Una McCormack and Lonemagpie (sorry, I don't know your "real life" name) are all from Britain. But, is there any difference in the way between an American and say, a Brit submitting their novel outline?

 

[Defcon]

and Lonemagpie (sorry, I don't know your "real life" name)

It's David A. McIntee.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I've got a question

When Strange New Worlds was being published, one of the rules was that only writers from the USA and Canada (excluding Quebec) could enter due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world. Anyway, I'm guessing these legal implications don't actually matter normally as James Swallow, Una McCormack and Lonemagpie (sorry, I don't know your "real life" name) are all from Britain. But, is there any difference in the way between an American and say, a Brit submitting their novel outline?

Yes. They're not allowed to have all those extraneous "u" thingees in the odd words.

Otherwise, everything's the same.

 

[Greg Cox]

I've got a question

When Strange New Worlds was being published, one of the rules was that only writers from the USA and Canada (excluding Quebec) could enter due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world. Anyway, I'm guessing these legal implications don't actually matter normally as James Swallow, Una McCormack and Lonemagpie (sorry, I don't know your "real life" name) are all from Britain. But, is there any difference in the way between an American and say, a Brit submitting their novel outline?

I can't imagine why. SNW was technically a "contest," so arcane gaming rules applied. But American publishers do books with British and Canadian authors all the time, and vise versa. As an editor, I've acquired books from Brits like Peter Hamilton, Graham Joyce, etcetera. There were never ever any extra legal hoops to jump through. It was just like buying a book from an American author.

(Although shipping author copies through Customs could be a pain sometimes . . . .)

 

[MichaelS]

Otherwise, everthing's the same.

I can attest to this. There's no special procedure involved if you're a non-US writer.

However, you do have to wrangle DHL into submission on a regular basis.

 

[JarodRussell]

Otherwise, everthing's the same.

I can attest to this. There's no special procedure involved if you're a non-US writer.

However, you do have to wrangle DHL into submission on a regular basis.

Have you been mediated by an Austrian or American literary agency for your submission to Pocket Books?

 

[Greg Cox]

It works the other way, too. I've been writing for Titan for years now.

 

[MichaelS]

Otherwise, everthing's the same.

I can attest to this. There's no special procedure involved if you're a non-US writer.

However, you do have to wrangle DHL into submission on a regular basis.

Have you been mediated by an Austrian or American literary agency for your submission to Pocket Books?

No, I don't have an agent yet. It's worked out okay so far. However, I do plan on looking for one, once Steve and I have an original novel to shop around.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ For those who no doubt will be wondering, it's worth noting that Steve and Michael were invited to pitch SCE stories to Keith back when the e-Book line was humming. They didn't submit their stuff cold, like some folks here are pursuing. Different situations.

 

[DimesDan]

and Lonemagpie (sorry, I don't know your "real life" name)

It's David A. McIntee.

Thanks, it was probably a simple case of looking at David's profile not that I think about it/

Yes. They're not allowed to have all those extraneous "u" thingees in the odd words.

Otherwise, everything's the same.

But it's called English and I can put I u anywhere I bloody well please

I can't imagine why. SNW was technically a "contest," so arcane gaming rules applied. But American publishers do books with British and Canadian authors all the time, and vise versa. As an editor, I've acquired books from Brits like Peter Hamilton, Graham Joyce, etcetera. There were never ever any extra legal hoops to jump through. It was just like buying a book from an American author.

(Although shipping author copies through Customs could be a pain sometimes . . . .)

Otherwise, everthing's the same.

I can attest to this. There's no special procedure involved if you're a non-US writer.

However, you do have to wrangle DHL into submission on a regular basis.

Cheers guys for that input, I thought it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference if someone was submitting from outside the USA/Canada or not, but thought I'd ask anyway.

This may be worth creating a new thread, but I'm guessing that the vast majority of Trek authors are from North America.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ Sure, but I work in outer space.

 

[xortex]

You can Paypal that dollar to me anytime now.

Yay, my first published work!

By his avatar, he's offering you to pay him two dollars.

 

[DimesDan]

^ Sure, but I work in outer space.

And are you telling me you don't have any money in outer space?

 

[Dayton Ward]

Hell, I'm telling you I don't have any money at all.

 

[Therin of Andor]

When Strange New Worlds was being published, one of the rules was that only writers from the USA and Canada (excluding Quebec) could enter due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world.

The restriction was only to do with the awarding of prizes.

 

[DonIago]

You can Paypal that dollar to me anytime now.

Yay, my first published work!

By his avatar, he's offering you to pay him two dollars.

I don't think that gesture means what you think it means.

 

[DimesDan]

When Strange New Worlds was being published, one of the rules was that only writers from the USA and Canada (excluding Quebec) could enter due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world.

The restriction was only to do with the awarding of prizes.

I did actually know that as Marco or JMF came in and said as much in a thread on why entries were not allowed from outside of North America (excluding Quebec) and why there wasn't a European version of the competition. Anyway, I guess I should have said and not just put "due to some legal issues with differing legal systems around the world"

 

[JarodRussell]

Is there anything in the guidelines about the length of the story? I find Trek books to be rather short, compared to - let's take a name everyone should know - Tom Clancy novels for instance.

I remember way back when Christopher told me something along the lines of "If by the third chapter the main story isn't recognizable, then it certainly won't be a good novel". Now that I jumped into Trek novels again and recognized they have an average of like 20 chapters, I know what he means by that.

*edit*

Ah, I found the exact quote:

Well, if your first three chapters give no indication that it's a crossover, that's another one of those fundamental structural flaws that mean you need to rethink your approach.

Many novels I've read give no indication at all about the real story in the first 3 chapters. But then again, they are much longer than the usual Trek novel.

 

[Thrawn]

AFAIK, a rough wordcount is established in the contract, and can vary a bit. About a decade ago, Trek books were usually 60-80,000 words; nowadays, it's more like 80-100,000 words, with a few outliers (DRG3 foremost among them).

But that's still pretty flexible; if I recall correctly, The Buried Age was commissioned to be around 100k and ended up being about a third again longer.

Still, you're right that Tom Clancy books are substantially longer, and even some Trek books are structured really differently. (The main plot of Mission: Gamma: Twilight doesn't begin for almost 200 pages, for instance). I think the point here is that, for a submission like this, the editor needs to instantly know what the book is about. You can play around with the structure a little more once you're established.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Generally speaking, Trek novel contracts specify a 100,000 word count, and have done so for quite some time. That said, some have come in shorter, and others much longer.