Angry Robot Announce 2015 Open Door Period

phantasy

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Well there's no reason you can't submit and keep looking for an agent at the same time, they're not asking for exclusives :)

Yeah, I got that. But I'm thinking if I apply and get rejected, then once I get an agent, they won't let us apply again. And I'd much rather have an agent who has my back.
 

PeteMC

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Hmmm, I'm 70,000 words into a sci-fi novel....but it's not complete...should I try to enter this and see if they take me up on it as I finish it? I have another that is complete...but I wrote it with the idea of turning it into a comic/anime....and I have an artist already turning it into a comic. Would it be frowned upon to submit the story to become a book in that case?

Well you'd have to ask them really but I doubt you could have it both ways - I think AR will want pretty much all the rights to anything they acquire (they did with mine anyway). They're very responsive on Twitter if you want to pose the question though.

Yeah, I got that. But I'm thinking if I apply and get rejected, then once I get an agent, they won't let us apply again. And I'd much rather have an agent who has my back.

That's a good point, I think a rejection from AR is pretty much permanent for a given piece of work.
 

phantasy

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That's a good point, I think a rejection from AR is pretty much permanent for a given piece of work.

With that thinking in mind, I also I'm realizing that my ms isn't ready, so I don't want to submit anything I don't fully believe in. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but from online comments, I keep getting the idea that people are just applying to apply. Throwing caution to the wind, like this is a lottery or something, and that maybe, just maybe they'll get red.

Anyway, good luck to everyone applying.
 

Aggy B.

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With that thinking in mind, I also I'm realizing that my ms isn't ready, so I don't want to submit anything I don't fully believe in. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but from online comments, I keep getting the idea that people are just applying to apply. Throwing caution to the wind, like this is a lottery or something, and that maybe, just maybe they'll get red.

Anyway, good luck to everyone applying.

These folks are generally part of one of two groups. The first are those that are new to writing and don't yet realize that "editing and revision" doesn't mean running spell check and slapping ones contact info on the front page. (Sadly, these folks are not mythical. I have met some before.) The second group is those who have worked hard on their MS and reached a point where they let an editor decide whether their book is a good fit/well-crafted enough. (This is not simply shot-gunning MSs into the wild, but recognizing that we can all be a bit of a perfectionist at times. These are the folks that will send short stories to the big markets even when they are fairly certain they are not quite to that level yet, because it's hard sometimes to recognize when ones own work is truly pro-level.)

That being said, don't submit if you don't think the book is ready yet. There will be more open doors in the future and you want to be fairly confident in what you send out.

Aggy, doesn't qualify for any open door calls anymore
 

EMaree

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Hmmm, I'm 70,000 words into a sci-fi novel....but it's not complete...should I try to enter this and see if they take me up on it as I finish it? I have another that is complete...but I wrote it with the idea of turning it into a comic/anime....and I have an artist already turning it into a comic. Would it be frowned upon to submit the story to become a book in that case?

It sounds like you need to firmly make you mind up what you want to do with this story.
If you want it trade published, don't pursue the comics/anime route.
If you want it turned into a comic or anime, don't pursue trade publishing.

There are routes to do both. Some very trade authors sell anime and manga adaption rights and get spin-off adaptions, but they have no control over those adaptions which you might not enjoy. Other trade authors commission art and mini-comics for fun out of their own pocket, but these are usually snippets and scenes, not the full thing, and you would need a good agent if you wanted to finance a full comic adaption of a trade published work. Indie published authors have the freedom to release both a novel and a comic, but the financial cost of a comic adaption is huge, and selling anime rights would be difficult unless you have high sales.

If you want to pursue both routes, you're going to lose control in some areas and may have to make sacrifices. If possible, choose the route you want the most control over and stick with that.
 

Interfaced

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Unfortunately they don't accept previously self-published books (unlike the recent Hodderscape open door), or otherwise I would have jumped at this. Good luck all who submit! :)
 

JohnstonMR

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Hmmm, I'm 70,000 words into a sci-fi novel....but it's not complete...should I try to enter this and see if they take me up on it as I finish it? I have another that is complete...but I wrote it with the idea of turning it into a comic/anime....and I have an artist already turning it into a comic. Would it be frowned upon to submit the story to become a book in that case?

They're pretty clear they want only finished books, so unless you finish and polish it within the open call period, I'd say this isn't a good time to send it.
 

WriteMinded

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Hi -

Stupid Question #1. Did y'all double-space your synopsis? I couldn't find a place where they specify that particular requirement. 2-3 pages of double-space is not much to convey what a 150k novel contains.

Stupid Question #2. I'm sure I'll be back with one soon.
 

PeteMC

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Hi, no you can single-space your synopsis. Standard Manuscript Format only applies to the actual sample pages.
 

jjdebenedictis

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Hi -

Stupid Question #1. Did y'all double-space your synopsis? I couldn't find a place where they specify that particular requirement. 2-3 pages of double-space is not much to convey what a 150k novel contains.
Some advice I got, waaaaay back, is that you double-space the synopsis whenever it's more than 1 page long. The reason you do this is to make the pages easier to read. Publishing professionals have to worry about eye-strain, and you're helping them out (and encouraging them to not toss your pages out the window in despair when they see what -- after reading double-spaced manuscripts for long enough -- looks like a mammoth block of cramped text.)

Thus, a 1-page synopsis is 1 page long, single-spaced, and a 2-page synopsis is the exact same document except double-spaced.

Truth is, when it's only two pages, I single-space it also, but I would recommend double-spacing the synopsis if it gets any bigger than that.
 

PeteMC

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Truth is, when it's only two pages, I single-space it also, but I would recommend double-spacing the synopsis if it gets any bigger than that.

I'd suggest a synopsis really shouldn't run to more than two single-spaced pages. Any more than that and it's becoming more of an outline than a synopsis, which isn't the same thing.
 

WriteMinded

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Hey, thanks guys, so much. I've been tearing my hair. Funny thing, I've worried this book's plot isn't complicated enough, but only having a couple of pages to tell the story has forced me to focus on only one aspect of it. Now it seems much more complex.
 

jjdebenedictis

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I'd suggest a synopsis really shouldn't run to more than two single-spaced pages. Any more than that and it's becoming more of an outline than a synopsis, which isn't the same thing.
Oh, I agree, but some agents/publishing houses will specifically ask for a 5- or a 10-page synopsis. I suspect it's a case of the terms 'outline' and 'synopsis' not being consistently defined across the industry.

Rule of thumb: If they ask for a synopsis, send them one page preferably and two pages maximum. If they ask for a 5-to-10 page synopsis, however, send 'em exactly what they asked for.
 

eqb

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They've started to read submissions, according to what I've read. They don't wait until after the Open Door to send out rejections or requests for fulls.

That said, I suspect people won't hear anything before January.
 

PeteMC

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Yes they've started reading, but it's a bit early to be expecting to hear anything yet. I'd give it until the end of January at the least (i.e. once the Open Door has closed) before you start the obsessive email checking :)
 

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I just submitted. I saw on their site that they expect the wait time to be 3-6 months. Now whether that's 3-6 months from the time you submitted or from the time their submission window closes, IDK, but I'm not expecting them to respond until sometime after Mardi Gras.
 

eqb

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Yes they've started reading, but it's a bit early to be expecting to hear anything yet. I'd give it until the end of January at the least (i.e. once the Open Door has closed) before you start the obsessive email checking :)

Yes, pretty much what I've heard. They started reading on the 8th, but each sub gets read by two editors or readers before they send out a response. So rejections might go out as early as the beginning of January, but requests for fulls, etc. will take longer.
 

PeteMC

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Yeah I agree - I don't know for sure but I suspect a "no" from the first person to read a MS means a "no" in general, whereas if the first reader likes it then it goes on to someone else for a second opinion and a full request is only made if they both like it.

I could be wildly wrong but considering how much time it takes to read full manuscripts I think they'll probably want a consensus that something is worth following up on before making any sort of commitment to read it all, if that makes sense.
 

Chris Wright

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Well, that's my hat thrown into the ring. I have to agree with the comments above about how putting a synopsis together is a real challenge. With such limited space, which characters/events is it best to mention and which to ignore? Especially when the 2-3 pages (double spaced I've gone for) is larger than the 1 single spaced which Hodderscape wanted so there's room to add a bit more.

Still, the Submit button is pressed and it's now out of my hands. Good luck to all...
 

Evelyn

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I've joined the fray. I pressed the submit button, so now it's a matter of waiting.

Am I the only one that took three hours to prepare the document and get it just the way they asked for? Yikes.
 

EMaree

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I'm in as of 30/12/2015. Glad to be in such good company. :) I can definitely agree that synopsis are the worst.