Gollancz Open Submissions in January 2016

Well this one is friendlier to the length of my novel than the HV open sub period, at least.

Weirdmage said:

will only accept physical submissions at the first stage.

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*Sad face*... Oh, well, we'll be sending paper around globe, I guess.

Awesome! They're going to be quite a few publishers opening up over the next few months.

Another open door? This is starting to feel like the universe's way of telling me to get my butt signed up for NaNoWriMo and PRODUCE, DAMMIT.

On the bright side they don't seem to be asking for a return envelope, so at least I can skip the horror that is the International Reply Coupon.

Granted, I loathe paper submissions but they're made a lot easier if the recipient answers by email or something. I don't even mind a form "No thanks, we've dumped your manuscript in the recycling bin", just don't make me get any more funny looks at the post office when asking for last century's postal methods. I swear they're about to try selling me on getting a donkey to deliver the mail as well, as long as I'm Posting While Luddite.

OJCade said:

On the bright side they don't seem to be asking for a return envelope, so at least I can skip the horror that is the International Reply Coupon.

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Ach, those things. Not only archaic, but they cost about triple what the postage itself would. I could far more easily order some the receiver's local currency from my bank and then mail them that.

Once upon a time, you could order US postage right from the USPS website and they would send it to you anywhere in the world. Then they were hit with budget cuts, and alas, no more... (Although I don't know if that's still true; paper submissions are thankfully mostly a thing of the past, and so I haven't needed US stamps.)

OJCade said:

On the bright side they don't seem to be asking for a return envelope, so at least I can skip the horror that is the International Reply Coupon.

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It's so ridiculous that they're still required in so many places.

They want...a paper copy? In this age? Uh..nope.

KMTolan said:

They want...a paper copy? In this age? Uh..nope.

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I think Tor still requires paper subs for unsolicited novels, too. It's one way they keep everyone from flooding them with submissions.

Just wanted to boost this one up a bit as I was recently reminded that this is now open.

http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2015/10/gollancz-direct-submissions-january-2016/

Looks like they got a pretty good response!

https://twitter.com/Gollancz/status/690525519041925120

They said they think they got about 600 submissions.

Ugh, more and more, I'm disliking open submissions. Why do they assume unagented stuff is worth the time? If they only pick one or two anyway, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I have no confidence in getting accepted by one of these things.

Eh, it's not much different from sending an unsolicited manuscript to a literary agent. They receive even more dross that they have to sift through and have equally time amounts that they actually pick up. Except in their case it doesn't mean that the book will get published.

phantasy said:

Ugh, more and more, I'm disliking open submissions. Why do they assume unagented stuff is worth the time? If they only pick one or two anyway, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I have no confidence in getting accepted by one of these things.

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You can't win the lottery if you don't play.
Also think of this. Any submissions call receives on average 50% unprofessional work. Despite the clear instructions they'll be sifting through manuscripts typed in Comic Sans, romance novels, and a few where English isn't the first language of the writer. So you're really competing with about 300 readable novels.
Of those 300 many aren't likely to be very good. There's a reason they're unagented.
Any manuscript that has a good hook and is well written and well formatted will probably end up somewhere inside a comparatively small mountain of paper on an editor's desk.

phantasy said:

Ugh, more and more, I'm disliking open submissions. Why do they assume unagented stuff is worth the time? If they only pick one or two anyway, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I have no confidence in getting accepted by one of these things.

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Considering a good agent is probably getting 600 queries a week (if not a DAY), I don't think those odds are so bad. This is publishing, after all. Needle in a haystack is pretty much the norm!

noranne said:

Looks like they got a pretty good response!

https://twitter.com/Gollancz/status/690525519041925120

They said they think they got about 600 submissions.

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That's a fun picture thanks.

Note that they are talking about booking a meeting room. Makes me wonder if one of the reasons they want paper submissions is so they don't have to print them off themselves. If you are taking yourself off to a meeting room (away from phones and email) then paper makes sense. (Also, if it were me, I'd prefer to read on paper, not the screen.)

So we roughly know the numbers submitted to Hodderscape and VG. Angry Robot submission is still open. When that closes, there is going to be the chance for some interesting statistics relating to how many were submitted.

HS - email submission and as many manuscripts as you like
VG - paper submission and as many manuscripts as you like
AR - email and only one manuscript

So far, VG goes have fewer submissions than HS, so maybe sending paper only has reduced the numbers. BUT maybe people who submitted multiple manuscripts for HS have not submitted as many to VG. No way of knowing...... but lots of room for speculation.

Gillian Redfearn, one of the VG team has posted a picture of her personal heap of manuscripts with the tag "and so it begins"

https://twitter.com/GillianRedfearn

So, she's started reading - whee.

And boy do I wish for a non-business like envelope on my submission - so I could spot the luminous pink or orange in the pile..... And if she posts more pictures I could see how close she was getting........ <SFX rising voice, excited squeak/>

Or then again, maybe I'd never spot it in that pile, 'cos it'd be in the round filing cabinet.

I like how they post photos of the teetering piles of manuscripts and the daunting task ahead. Wondering how soon the first rejections will go out. Blarg.

There won't be any individual rejections on this one. They said they'll post an update when they're finished the whole lot. They'll only contact us individually "where we think there is a useful conversation to be had with the author, or we can offer sensible advice to the author."

This really is one to try and put at the back of the mind if you can.

Ah, good to know. Now if by chance I get an email from them I won't be afraid to open it.

It appears they are sending out some rejections by paper post. I've just had a letter containing a handwritten card with a bit of specific advice for my story, something well worth considering.

It's a rejection, but I feel quite positive about it. That was a nice touch considering the volume they have to get through.

Sorry about the R, but you're right to feel positive about the feedback. Most probably won't hear back at all.

Any comments are so much better than the non-specific 'not for us' email.