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Well, unless your elf woman is trying to impress someone in downtown Seattle, I think it might still count...?
Angry Robot Round II: Epic Fantasy
- Thread starter Anne Lyle
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Well, unless your elf woman is trying to impress someone in downtown Seattle, I think it might still count...?
Anyone know if they have any rules against multiple or simultaneous submissions? And can we submit to both SC and AR (different novels, obviously)?
ISTR that the guidelines said no simultaneous submissions. better doublecheck yourself, though.
the guidelines did not say you couldn't.
As somebody who went through the meatginder of the last open month right to the very end, I'll say it's well worth it.
But, be aware of the odds.
Out of about 1000 submissions, about 23 made it through to the editorial team (2.3%). Three out those have been accepted and a few have been sent to the new Strange Chemistry imprint for consideration. At least one submission is in re-write phase for Angry Robot. So, you're looking at odds of less than 1% for acceptance.
I got rejected in the end, but not without a little feedback from editorial that made me feel good.
Also, be aware it's a long waiting process. Always remember: you won't be the only projects they have on their desks. They have agented manuscripts to consider, they're editing accepted manuscripts, there's marketing, etc..., and these guys already work long hours.
So, it's going to be a long wait. It took many of us about 9 months from when we submitted to our ultimate rejections. Some are still waiting based on their re-writes or if they got sent to Strange Chemistry.
Plus, a bunch of us who got to the editorial desk in the last round have now formed a writing group. I'd suggest that the new crop do the same thing: it's a way to make a great support group during the waiting period.
But, be aware of the odds.
Out of about 1000 submissions, about 23 made it through to the editorial team (2.3%). Three out those have been accepted and a few have been sent to the new Strange Chemistry imprint for consideration. At least one submission is in re-write phase for Angry Robot. So, you're looking at odds of less than 1% for acceptance.
I got rejected in the end, but not without a little feedback from editorial that made me feel good.
Also, be aware it's a long waiting process. Always remember: you won't be the only projects they have on their desks. They have agented manuscripts to consider, they're editing accepted manuscripts, there's marketing, etc..., and these guys already work long hours.
So, it's going to be a long wait. It took many of us about 9 months from when we submitted to our ultimate rejections. Some are still waiting based on their re-writes or if they got sent to Strange Chemistry.
Plus, a bunch of us who got to the editorial desk in the last round have now formed a writing group. I'd suggest that the new crop do the same thing: it's a way to make a great support group during the waiting period.
Ooo, I'll definitely need to submit something! Did any AWer land a contract with them during their Open Door period last year?
I don't believe she did; at least, she's not listed as one of those who was accepted last year on their blog (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Anne).
Those who were accepted through this:
Cassandra Rose Clarke (The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, The Assassin’s Curse)
Lee Collins (The Dead of Winter, She Returns From War)
Lee Battersby (The Corpse-Rat King, Marching Dead)
I'm not sure that any of them are from AW?
Some comments from two readers from the 2011 Open Door.
http://donnamareehanson.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/wrap-up-post-on-reading-for-angry-robot/
http://floor-to-ceiling-books.blogspot.com/2011/07/some-thoughts-on-angry-robot-books-open.html
http://donnamareehanson.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/wrap-up-post-on-reading-for-angry-robot/
http://floor-to-ceiling-books.blogspot.com/2011/07/some-thoughts-on-angry-robot-books-open.html
You're right! I met Marc from AR at a convention and pitched to him there - I got my offer in February 2011, before the Open Door Month, but it wasn't officially announced until early April.
Damn, my only finished epic fantasy is the one that AR rejected last year.
Can I write another one before April? I'm pretty good at bashing out a first draft. That would take me just over a month. I've got ideas for other fantasy books. I'd only have to get the first 15K polished for the deadline. As long as I had the story line down enough to get a synopsis.
I shall have a think about it tonight.
Can I write another one before April? I'm pretty good at bashing out a first draft. That would take me just over a month. I've got ideas for other fantasy books. I'd only have to get the first 15K polished for the deadline. As long as I had the story line down enough to get a synopsis.
I shall have a think about it tonight.
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You know the Robot Overlords read these forums, right?
Never query an unfinished novel. NEVER.
Hi, newbie here so I hope no-one minds me jumping in.
I met Marc Gascoigne at an event he did locally (I'm from Nottingham, where Angry Robot is based) and he is extremely nice and supremely knowledgeable about the genre. They really care about the authors, and know they can do things that bigger publishers can't. I have no links with them, that's just from meeting them at the event and from hearing other local authors talk.
I'd been revising my manuscript since rumour went around they were doing another Open Door--only for my novel to be in the wrong genre. If I had one in the right categories, I'd submit in a heartbeat.
Best of luck to all who do submit.
--GreenSquares
I met Marc Gascoigne at an event he did locally (I'm from Nottingham, where Angry Robot is based) and he is extremely nice and supremely knowledgeable about the genre. They really care about the authors, and know they can do things that bigger publishers can't. I have no links with them, that's just from meeting them at the event and from hearing other local authors talk.
I'd been revising my manuscript since rumour went around they were doing another Open Door--only for my novel to be in the wrong genre. If I had one in the right categories, I'd submit in a heartbeat.
Best of luck to all who do submit.
--GreenSquares
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Yeah I know that. It wouldn't be unfinished though just not completely polished.
It's an interesting lesson in deadlines if nothing else.
Incompletely polished =/= ready to submit. What do you do if you get a request for full straight away - ask them to wait? Not very professional.
I heartily approve of deadlines - it's what got my book finished and out of the door to agents in time to pitch to AR.
If I work like a trojan between now and April then I might be able to get the thing finished to a standard that I'm happy with. The beauty of not having a life is that I only leave the house for work and football. If it's a mess still in April then I won't submit it. I probably didn't say that right in my last post. For me having the storyline set in stone is the hardest thing. If I can get that done by April then I'm in with a chance of finishing on time. Final polishing for me means that I'm going through and correcting commas and changing the odd word. I'll have already gone through everything else.
What I have to do is look at where I am when I've written it and see where to go from there. If nothing else then I'll have written another of the 23 novels on my list.
Fair enough. My first (and second, and sometimes third) drafts are never to a standard that I would dare submit to a new editor. Once they know you and know the standard of writing you're capable of, it's a bit different 
I'd say it's unlikely an entire novel banged out in 3 months will get through, but I'd like to be proven wrong.
I did get through to the last round with pretty much a first draft of my first novel that I'd read through a couple of times and thought was polished. I laugh at my former self, now. However, that was a first draft I'd worked on for a long time. I was the gross exception rather than the rule. I'd take the time to make the best book you can. They'll probably do another Open Door month in the future. And you can always get in if you find an agent.
Lee Battersby and Lee Collins both float around AW in our forum, but I dunno if they post elsewhere.
I did get through to the last round with pretty much a first draft of my first novel that I'd read through a couple of times and thought was polished. I laugh at my former self, now. However, that was a first draft I'd worked on for a long time. I was the gross exception rather than the rule. I'd take the time to make the best book you can. They'll probably do another Open Door month in the future. And you can always get in if you find an agent.
Lee Battersby and Lee Collins both float around AW in our forum, but I dunno if they post elsewhere.
Yeah I understand all that. It probably won't get anywhere. The one I sent last year which I have worked on for about 8 years on and off didn't get anywhere. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't at least give it a go.
And if nothing else it will show me what I'm capable of or not capable of.
And if nothing else it will show me what I'm capable of or not capable of.
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Lee Collins here. I landed a contract with them through the Open Door month for my novel The Dead of Winter. My waiting period was from March through October, and I was one of the first two announced, so (as my reader Amanda Rutter put it) "set yourself in for a wait" if you decide to submit. It look as though AR Prime is doing away with the intermediary readers this time around, though, which may mean shorter consideration periods.
One piece of advice: as Anne Lyle mentioned in the first AR thread, have at least a synopsis of a second book (sequel or not) ready to go if your full manuscript gets escalated to Marc and Lee. Before they sent me an offer for my book, they asked what else I had in mind, either for the characters from The Dead of Winter or a separate book. I whipped up a two-page synopsis for the sequel that had been rolling around in my head for a year or so, but I would have saved myself a good deal of stress if I'd already had it ready to go.
The experience itself has been fantastic. Marc, Lee, and Darren are great to work with, both personable and professional in their correspondence. I have very little experience in or knowledge of the publishing world, and they've been very helpful in teaching me the basics of marketing and conventions and whatnot.
If you have something that meets their criteria, I definitely encourage you to submit to one or both.
One piece of advice: as Anne Lyle mentioned in the first AR thread, have at least a synopsis of a second book (sequel or not) ready to go if your full manuscript gets escalated to Marc and Lee. Before they sent me an offer for my book, they asked what else I had in mind, either for the characters from The Dead of Winter or a separate book. I whipped up a two-page synopsis for the sequel that had been rolling around in my head for a year or so, but I would have saved myself a good deal of stress if I'd already had it ready to go.
The experience itself has been fantastic. Marc, Lee, and Darren are great to work with, both personable and professional in their correspondence. I have very little experience in or knowledge of the publishing world, and they've been very helpful in teaching me the basics of marketing and conventions and whatnot.
If you have something that meets their criteria, I definitely encourage you to submit to one or both.
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