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Old 01-25-2012, 08:15 PM   #1
Anne Lyle
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Angry Robot Round II: Epic Fantasy
Angry Robot are having another Open Door Month soon, this time solely for epic fantasy (a subgenre they haven't really done much of before).

Find out more here: http://angryrobotbooks.com/2012/01/t...-of-open-door/
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Old 01-25-2012, 08:36 PM   #2
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Kinda makes me wish I was working on an epic fantasy. :-p
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Old 01-25-2012, 08:47 PM   #3
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Wonder what they specifically mean with epic fantasy in this case. It is at the same time a very broad and a very narrow genre.
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Old 01-25-2012, 09:14 PM   #4
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Hmm...I looked the guidelines over but I might have missed it (speed reader; it happens)...can you submit to both the epic fantasy open door and the YA open door?
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Old 01-25-2012, 09:27 PM   #5
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As I read it, it was only epic YA fantasy?

Edit: never mind, read it wrong. Epic Fantasy and YA. Could be interesting.
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Old 01-25-2012, 10:05 PM   #6
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Hmm...I looked the guidelines over but I might have missed it (speed reader; it happens)...can you submit to both the epic fantasy open door and the YA open door?
Yes, if you have an adult epic fantasy and a YA novel ready to go. Just don't try and submit the same book to both
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Old 01-25-2012, 10:19 PM   #7
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Yes, if you have an adult epic fantasy and a YA novel ready to go. Just don't try and submit the same book to both
Oh good! This is one of those times I'm really happy that I have a backlog of *counts* nine manuscripts. O.o Oh lord, I really need a life.
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Old 01-25-2012, 11:03 PM   #8
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Too bad about the "no submission of re-drafts" from last year's competition. I completed a slew of changes since then to tighten up the ms....

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Old 01-26-2012, 12:00 AM   #9
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If I hadn't trunked my epic fantasy and switched genres, I might consider them.
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Old 01-26-2012, 12:03 AM   #10
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I think my trunk novel is out of the running anyway, since it's epic science fantasy (magic swords and sentient black holes, anyone?)
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Old 01-26-2012, 12:28 AM   #11
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oh wow, how cool is that. Doubt mine will be ready in time though...
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Old 01-26-2012, 12:44 AM   #12
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Now if only I had a MS ready....

ETA: I wish they were clearer about what "epic fantasy" they want. I have something that might fall closer to "political fantasy," but the consequences are "epic."

The YA guidelines say they don't want "contemporary," but what about "contemporary fantasy YA" or "contemporary SF YA."
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Old 01-26-2012, 01:40 AM   #13
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My CP emailed me this morning as soon as that email went out. Like so many of you, I just don't know that the MS will be submission-ready by the deadline.
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Old 01-26-2012, 02:37 AM   #14
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sentient black holes
Sentient black hole as written by Travis Tea in Atlanta Nights:

"Hunger.
Hunger. Hunger. Hunger."
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Old 01-26-2012, 02:52 AM   #15
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Pretty much. Only with a brain behind the hunger.

If I do any more work on it before April, and if my other genre stuff hasn't been repped yet, I might attempt. The beast is 140K.
And it won a 3rd place in a Del Rey Spectra contest last year.
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Old 01-26-2012, 07:04 AM   #16
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Okay, so now we need to assemble the juicy details on Angry Robot, so anyone interested in submitting can head into the matter well-informed. I know Angry Robot is a very impressive small publisher, but does anyone know:

-- What their distribution is like?
-- What a new writer can expect in a contract with them?
-- Any other information that's relevant to a writer thinking of submitting to them?

In this post, they mention they will want all English language territory rights, that they likely will offer eBook and audio versions in addition to the print version, and that they offer both advances and royalties.

Their AW thread is here: [Publisher] Angry Robot Books
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Old 01-26-2012, 10:23 AM   #17
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Hmm, can I knock out an epic fantasy in three months? Worth a shot...
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Old 01-26-2012, 11:21 AM   #18
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Okay, so now we need to assemble the juicy details on Angry Robot, so anyone interested in submitting can head into the matter well-informed. I know Angry Robot is a very impressive small publisher, but does anyone know:

-- What their distribution is like?
-- What a new writer can expect in a contract with them?
-- Any other information that's relevant to a writer thinking of submitting to them?
Their paperbacks are distributed to book stores in the UK and US, much like Big Six publications. I've seen at least a few of their books in the SFF section of every British book shop I've looked in.

Contracts seem pretty standard - rights revert if your book goes out of print or is no longer available to buy online, for example. Mine went through a top London agent, so there's certainly nothing dodgy lurking in there!

They're currently a very small outfit - two editors and a publicity guy - but very enthusiastic and friendly. The head honcho, Marc Gascoigne, has many years' experience in genre publishing in the UK, so although Angry Robot is the new kid on the block, it's head and shoulders above most of the little startups out there. Editorial standards are very high - my ms was cleaner than most, and it still went through a couple of rounds of proofing before it went off to the printers.

Did I mention that Marc won the World Fantasy Award last year in the "Special - Professional" category for his work on AR? Their authors and cover artists regularly win awards too...

As the entrants in the last Open Door discovered, they're not just looking for good books - they're looking for good books with an "Angry Robot" flavour, which is very hard to define but generally means something that's far enough off the beaten track to not be readily comparable to stuff that's out there, but not so interstitial that it's uncommercial. Epic fantasy is a new direction for them, and I expect they will want something a little bit different from the Wheel of Ice and Truth kind of stuff that the Big Six are putting out


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In this post, they mention they will want all English language territory rights, that they likely will offer eBook and audio versions in addition to the print version, and that they offer both advances and royalties.
This is correct. All their books now come out simultaneously in the UK and US, in paperback and all popular ebook formats, with the audiobook following a few months later. Audiobooks are a new addition, so there aren't many of their backlist on audio, but new titles are all being recorded. E.g.

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-State-A...7563975&sr=1-1 (mine isn't listed yet, but is under way)

Advances and royalties are pretty much what you'd expect as a debut SFF author - not enormous but certainly around the industry average.
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Old 01-26-2012, 11:51 AM   #19
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Hrm. Now I can't decide whether to send in my YA sci fi or my YA fantasy...crud.
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Old 01-26-2012, 02:23 PM   #20
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Hmm, can I knock out an epic fantasy in three months? Worth a shot...
NANOWRI-3-MO anyone?

Quote:
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They're currently a very small outfit - two editors and a publicity guy - but very enthusiastic and friendly...
Thanks for your detailed reply. I've often been advised to start with the big name publishes and work my way down. Now that you have signed up with AR (Congrats by the way) what do you feel the advantages are (for those who are lucky enough to have more than one option) of skipping the big-boys and going straight to AR?

hope you don't mind us picking your brain like this...
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Old 01-26-2012, 02:39 PM   #21
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What I like about AR is that they really "get" the modern publishing landscape - they're not dithering about whether ebooks are the way forward, they're putting them out as standard. Not just Kindle and iBooks, either, but DRM-free ePubs so even those with older ereaders can buy and convert.

They're also not afraid to try new things, from annual subscriptions to collaborative projects that actually welcome fan contributions (fiction, art, etc), and they encourage their authors to engage with fans through social media, blog tours, etc. This makes for a hugely enthusiastic reader base, and also makes being an AR author a lot of fun!

In summary, you get most if not all of the benefits of being with a Big Six house, but with the friendliness of a small press.
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Old 01-26-2012, 03:10 PM   #22
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Hmm, can I knock out an epic fantasy in three months? Worth a shot...
Haha, I'm currently wondering if I can finish my WIP in 3 months just so I can give this a shot myself.
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Old 01-26-2012, 03:31 PM   #23
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In summary, you get most if not all of the benefits of being with a Big Six house, but with the friendliness of a small press.
Plus, Marc Gascoigne is an old, old, old school pencil 'n' paper gamer & writer and I loved his stuff when I was a wee lad.
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Old 01-26-2012, 05:07 PM   #24
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Thanks, Anne Lyle!

Angry Robot has certainly been pinging my radar as a very intriguing small publisher lately. I've got a manuscript that I think might be perfect for them...
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Old 01-27-2012, 02:44 AM   #25
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Now here's a challenge. I do have a YA SF novel (see sig) in a skeletal and not very satisfactory draft. Can I rewrite it to 60-90k, get it beta-ed revised and submitted all in three months? <takes deep breath>
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