[ePub] Simon451

Wow, even if it's a little on the bare side, still well put together. It doesn't say for how long they're accepting submissions for, but this sort off lights a fire under your butt to get those going, doesn't it? I know I won't want to waste too much time on my mss... I don't want to rush it but I want to try out for this.

Hmmm. I am not sure I'd want to go unagented to any of the Big Five. At least, not without assurance that I could seek an agent if I got an offer. So check those submissions clauses, folks.

ETA: at the very least, I'd wait to submit anything until after I see some submissions guidelines. Anything further showing up in PW?

I am getting the impression this is more a contest than an open call. Sounds like they are only going to pick 1 winner who will get a publishing contract, $3,000 advance and a trip to NYC for the Simon 451 launch party...

They also are very specific on how to submit and how they want the work formatted.

Submissions are open 2/3/14 to 3/31/14. 250 word query and first 50 pages. Entrants will be notified of receipt of submission and again within 30 for additional pages or rejection. Depending on number of entries.

All work must be original and can not have been published anywhere else in any form, or so the site implies. In other words, I don't think they want self published works.

Who owns the non-winning entries? Does the winner get to consult with an agent on the contract?

This sounds a lot like the contest Random House ran in spring 2011. I was lucky enough to place high enough in it to win a big box of books. The grand prize winner did get published by RH, but I don't know if any of the other finalists did. It was a fun experience but I'm rather glad it didn't lead to anything with my mms. I needed to go another direction with it.

It's another digital-first venture. More detail here.

If anyone gets an offer, I'd be interested to see the contract--digital-first imprints sometimes offer worse terms than print-and-digital imprints.

- Victoria

That's what I'm concerned about.

Hey, I'm an undergrad!

Totally wish that this was my genre, and that I had something ready. Sounds like a great opportunity to get one's foot in the door.

I'll definitely be sure to follow this one.

I was all excited until they said they are not accepting YA. That leaves me out.

Good luck to those who submit!

Sounds like things are looking up for Simon451.

Gillian Anderson is returning to the genre that made her a cultural icon – but it’s not on television. The newest project from the star of The X-Files is a book franchise called the EarthEnd Saga, a collaboration with co-writer Jeff Rovin, a prolific geek whose extensive bibliography includes works in the best-selling Tom Clancy’s Op-Center series. The first novel, entitled A Vision of Fire, will be published in October by Simon & Schuster through a new imprint devoted to literary and speculative fiction across all genres called Simon451, a nod to legendary author Ray Bradbury’s dystopian/sci-fi classic Fahrenheit 451.

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That's lovely. I still want to see the contract for those of us who will be approaching via slushpile.

ETA: something pinged my memory so I hopped on a more research-friendly terminal. S&S has also paired with the subsidy publisher Archway. The over-cautious, uncharitable part of me wonders how many commercially-unusable manuscripts in the Simon451 slushpile are going to get pitches from Archway?

Look, this could be a great opportunity for writers looking for just the right house. It could also be a roadblock. Time and more information will tell.

I don't have anything ready to sub to them. I don't see it as too bad a gamble, but you never know. I haven't popped a digital first big house deal yet, but I'm curious about how close they come (or far away) to their standard contract terms, and if an agent would really do any good in this situation. I'm feeling something along the lines of a non-negotiable contract here and I have no proof to back that up.

Anybody out there that has gotten a digital first contract offer from one of the biggies?

tri

Most are different...

Not that I want to say anything nice about Archway, but I've yet to hear from anyone who approached S&S--or any of the other major publishers that Author Solutions runs self-publishing services for--and was referred to the pay-to-play division.

On the flip side, Archway and other Author Solutions "imprints" are aggressively using the names of their publisher parents to rope in naive authors. So there's that.

- Victoria

Simon451

I didn't see this anywhere so I thought I'd start a thread, though it is part of Simon and Schuster.

https://simon451.submittable.com/submit

What about the fine print?

When going through the submission process for Simon451, the following blurb came up. Has anyone come across anything like this before?

"In connection with your Submission, you acknowledge that Simon451 may already be exploring, may have already explored, or may in the future explore publications with concepts and ideas generated by others that are similar to and may resemble your Submission. As a condition of your Submission, you agree that you shall not have any claim against Simon451 arising out of any such similarity in any future publications by Simon451 and third parties."

Basically it says "you agree not to sue us if we reject your story about sparkling werewolves and we later publish a story about sparkling werewolves". Or that's always been my understanding of those such disclaimers. I could be wrong.

I just know that the movie industry does that if you send in a COLD synopsis of your work. They won't consider at all and it's because of law suit reasons.

Apparently S&S doesn't want any flak in that area. But it's the first time I've seen something like that in print from a publisher. Maybe I've not been looking too closely, though

tri

I've seen language like that from publishers before, but never from a major publisher.

I suspect that there was an incident involving someone yelling "I'll sue" after just such a "sparkling werewolf" event and this is the result.

James D. Macdonald said:

I've seen language like that from publishers before, but never from a major publisher.

I suspect that there was an incident involving someone yelling "I'll sue" after just such a "sparkling werewolf" event and this is the result.

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I'll betcha that was the reason. It makes sense.

triceretops said:

I'll betcha that was the reason. It makes sense.

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See, for example, this thread: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274400

I may have overlooked it but I see no word count?

Each genre listed has its own submissions guide...

I have a science fiction novel ready but it's a romance and they don't say they take science fiction romance so I am wary of submitting. Is anyone submitting romance to them?