In order to put out a great wuxia fiction anthology, at a length of about 100,000 words, I’m going to need some great stories. That’s where you come in. If you’d like to submit a story for consideration in the anthology, the submission form is below. All submissions are handled by Hey Publisher; you will need to either login through Facebook, Twitter, or Yahoo, or create an account with Hey Publisher. You can do all of that in through the form below, any way you choose to login is quick and easy.
First, read these guidelines to make sure your story is in-line with what I’m looking for, and also to make sure you want to submit a story for this anthology.
What are you looking for?
You’ve probably guessed it: wuxia. I want wuxia stories. If your story isn’t wuxia, then submitting it here won’t do you any good. Even if your story is really good, the focus of this anthology is the wuxia genre. The anthology is intended for those who have never heard of or read wuxia before, and for those who have. So for the noobs I want to introduce the genre to them properly, and the veterans will know if I haven’t done that. And since the whole point of this project is to promote the wuxia, then I’m going to have to insist that your story be an example of said genre. If it is, then please submit it below. If not, you’re better off submitting it elsewhere.
If you’re not sure what wuxia is, you can read about it here.
Yeah, it’s wuxia. But is it your kind of wuxia?
Yes, it is. Because I don’t have any specific kind of wuxia I’m going for. It can be old school or new school, it can be proto-wuxia, such as some of the chuanqi of the Tang era (an example of that would be “The Kunlun Slave” or “The Curly Bearded Stranger”), or anything else. Maybe you have your own unique style you’d like to try out. Let me have it. I don’t want a book full of Jin Yong rip-offs. Some stories in that vein are fine, and I would like to see some, but I want some variety as well. With the English language we have the opportunity to take the genre in new and unexpected territories, and to use different techniques to tell our stories. We needn’t try to copy Chinese writers. What exactly I mean by that will be left up to the writers. If a standard Jin Yong or Gu Long kind of story is your thing, then send it in. But if you’re trying something new or different, then I want to see that too. The most important consideration is that it is a good story, which means it should have compelling characters put in interesting situations. Your story should have that regardless of the genre.
So I am open to stories set in modern settings as well. The essence of wuxia lies in the values expressed by the two characters that make up the word, 武 and 俠, not the time period the story takes place in. Again, feel free to experiment.
I think it’s wuxia.
Great. Send it in. If your story is a borderline case, or you’re not quite sure if it’s wuxia, then send it in anyway. The worst that can happen is it gets rejected. You don’t need to query first. Make sure you look at the “What is Wuxia?” page linked to above before making your final decision, though. There is some leeway. “Martial arts fiction” is how wuxia is often translated into English, and while that is an over-simplified translation, it’s a good guide. However, the xia part of wuxia deserves attention to. I believe it is possible to have a wuxia story that does not have any fighting in it at all, but there must be a lot of xia in that case. I’ll stop there before I complicate the issue too much. It is a tough genre to define.
How do you want it?
As stated above, all submissions must be made through Hey Publisher. The form is below. The form will accept .doc, .rtf, and .txt files. It will not accept the new .docx format for some reason, so if you are using a newer version of Word, make sure to save it as .doc instead of .docx. Sign up is easy on the form. You can go through one of various social network services, or just create an account with Hey Publisher. Either way, it only takes a few seconds. Do not email me your submission. All email submissions will be deleted without being read, no exceptions.
For proper manuscript formatting, see William Shunn’s Proper Manuscript Format. If you’ve ever submitted a story to a magazine before, then you’re probably already familiar with these formatting guidelines. You don’t need to include your mailing address, if you don’t want to. Make sure you have a valid email address on there, though. One that you regularly check.
How long should it be?
2,000-30,000 words. Anywhere in between there is fine. That means no flash fiction, and no novels. Also, no novel excerpts will be considered. No excerpts of any kind will be considered, actually. I want a complete, self-contained story.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. I anticipate the submission process to be a long one, so I don’t mind if you submit to more than one place at once. Just make sure the other place(s) you submit your story to feel the same way.
Multiple submissions are accepted. If you only have one story to send, that’s fine. If you have three stories you would like to be considered, that’s fine too. I’m looking for the best wuxia stories I can find, so let me see all of them (well, all the good ones. Don’t submit the bad ones). You can have more than one story published in the anthology.
Previously published stories are accepted. The best stories might not be the newest stories. If your story has been published before, such as in a magazine or on a blog, then you can still send it to me. If it’s a great wuxia story then I want to showcase it to the English-reading world in this anthology. It would be silly to say no just because another magazine had published it already.
What will the submission process be like?
First, write a great story. Edit/rewrite/revise that great story. Make sure someone besides you reads it, so you can be sure it’s good. Then submit it to me, via the form below. Your story will then be sent to me. When I open your submission to read your story you will receive an email saying so. At this point, wait for a bit. How long the wait will be is unknown. If I immediately am not interested in the story, then you will receive a rejection notice pretty soon, probably no more than a week after I start reading it.
If I like your story, then prepare to wait longer. If your story is a “maybe” then I will put it under consideration and you will receive an email saying so. This will likely be the longest wait period, and I can’t begin to say how long that could be. I want to find the best stories, but that could take a while. I’m sure some of the best stories haven’t been written yet as I type this. So hang tight. That’s why simultaneous submissions are allowed. I will update this website frequently to let everyone know how the selection process is going, so you can keep up with my progress that way.
Eventually, I will either accept your story or reject it. If your story is rejected, you will get an email saying so. If it is accepted, you will get an email saying your story has been accepted.
How much does this thing pay?
1-5 cents per word, depending on how much money I raise for the project. I would like to be able to pay everyone 5 cents a word, but that means I would have to raise $5,550 USD. Here’s hoping. But for the purposes of deciding if you want to submit a story to me, plan on 1 cent per word. That’s probably the most realistic guess. Tell everyone you know about this project and ask them to donate so there will be more money to pay the writers.
What rights are you seeking?
Anthology rights. That means I’m buying your story for the purpose of publishing it in an anthology. The anthology will be printed, and it will also be available in electronic format. This anthology will be published globally, so I will be seeking permission to publish it everywhere. However, aside from the print and online versions of the anthology, I don’t want anything else from you. You are and will remain free to publish your story anywhere else you want. You retain the rights to your story; you’re just giving me permission to publish it in my anthology and sell it globally in print and in electronic formats.
I’m not seeking First-anything rights. Even if this anthology is the first place your story will be published.
Wait, there is one more thing I want. I want the exclusive right to publish your story. Meaning that your story can’t be published at the same time as my anthology is published. Obviously, if it’s already been published then that’s fine, but you can publish it anywhere else new while I’m publishing it in my anthology. I am seeking exclusive rights to publish your story for three months after the publication of the anthology. So once the anthology has been out for three months, you can publish your story anywhere you please.
What about Artwork?
What about artwork? Well, I’m going to need some. I need a cover for the anthology. I’m looking for full color artwork, either a full scene or a character with a minimal background. Landscape or portrait are both okay, but if your artwork is a landscape layout then the right side will need to be able to stand on its own. Your piece will also need to be available in 300 dpi, preferably in .tiff format. You don’t need to worry about any text on your design as I will be adding that later.
Payment is $100 USD for pre-existing works. If you are interested in creating an original piece for the cover, then feel free to contact me. Payment for original pieces is $200 USD. Your artwork will be used on both the print and digital versions of the anthology, as well as on the website for purposes of promotion (for example, for use in a header image or as a screenshot of the book itself). You retain rights to your work and you may continue to sell your pre-existing artwork as usual. If you created a piece specifically for this anthology, then you will be able to sell your art, such as prints of it, as you would any of your other art. I’m just seeking rights to use it as needed for the anthology.
If you would like to submit your art for consideration, or if you have a question about the submission process, email me at art@books.genreverse.com. You may send a smaller version of the artwork you would like to be considered so that the file size won’t be too large. But make sure it is large enough to see it; so don’t send a thumnail of your work. If you are interested in creating an original piece for the anthology, email at the address above and include a link to a gallery of your past works. I’ll get back to you.
Anything else?
I think that’s it. Like I said, I anticipate a long submission process. I don’t want to rush things and put out an anthology of mediocre stories. This is our chance to show the English-reading world what wuxia is all about. I don’t want to waste the opportunity. So I plan to wait until I have enough good stories to make the anthology worthwhile. I don’t know how long that will take. So thank you for your patience, and take your time with your story. Make sure it is the best it can be before you send it in.
Finally, please help spread the word about this project. Tell everyone. Even if the person doesn’t have any interest in writing a story for the anthology, he or she may still be interested in reading the final product. We need all the support we can get.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: art@books.genreverse.com
For submissions: submit here (scroll down)
Website: http://wuxia.genreverse.com
First, read these guidelines to make sure your story is in-line with what I’m looking for, and also to make sure you want to submit a story for this anthology.
What are you looking for?
You’ve probably guessed it: wuxia. I want wuxia stories. If your story isn’t wuxia, then submitting it here won’t do you any good. Even if your story is really good, the focus of this anthology is the wuxia genre. The anthology is intended for those who have never heard of or read wuxia before, and for those who have. So for the noobs I want to introduce the genre to them properly, and the veterans will know if I haven’t done that. And since the whole point of this project is to promote the wuxia, then I’m going to have to insist that your story be an example of said genre. If it is, then please submit it below. If not, you’re better off submitting it elsewhere.
If you’re not sure what wuxia is, you can read about it here.
Yeah, it’s wuxia. But is it your kind of wuxia?
Yes, it is. Because I don’t have any specific kind of wuxia I’m going for. It can be old school or new school, it can be proto-wuxia, such as some of the chuanqi of the Tang era (an example of that would be “The Kunlun Slave” or “The Curly Bearded Stranger”), or anything else. Maybe you have your own unique style you’d like to try out. Let me have it. I don’t want a book full of Jin Yong rip-offs. Some stories in that vein are fine, and I would like to see some, but I want some variety as well. With the English language we have the opportunity to take the genre in new and unexpected territories, and to use different techniques to tell our stories. We needn’t try to copy Chinese writers. What exactly I mean by that will be left up to the writers. If a standard Jin Yong or Gu Long kind of story is your thing, then send it in. But if you’re trying something new or different, then I want to see that too. The most important consideration is that it is a good story, which means it should have compelling characters put in interesting situations. Your story should have that regardless of the genre.
So I am open to stories set in modern settings as well. The essence of wuxia lies in the values expressed by the two characters that make up the word, 武 and 俠, not the time period the story takes place in. Again, feel free to experiment.
I think it’s wuxia.
Great. Send it in. If your story is a borderline case, or you’re not quite sure if it’s wuxia, then send it in anyway. The worst that can happen is it gets rejected. You don’t need to query first. Make sure you look at the “What is Wuxia?” page linked to above before making your final decision, though. There is some leeway. “Martial arts fiction” is how wuxia is often translated into English, and while that is an over-simplified translation, it’s a good guide. However, the xia part of wuxia deserves attention to. I believe it is possible to have a wuxia story that does not have any fighting in it at all, but there must be a lot of xia in that case. I’ll stop there before I complicate the issue too much. It is a tough genre to define.
How do you want it?
As stated above, all submissions must be made through Hey Publisher. The form is below. The form will accept .doc, .rtf, and .txt files. It will not accept the new .docx format for some reason, so if you are using a newer version of Word, make sure to save it as .doc instead of .docx. Sign up is easy on the form. You can go through one of various social network services, or just create an account with Hey Publisher. Either way, it only takes a few seconds. Do not email me your submission. All email submissions will be deleted without being read, no exceptions.
For proper manuscript formatting, see William Shunn’s Proper Manuscript Format. If you’ve ever submitted a story to a magazine before, then you’re probably already familiar with these formatting guidelines. You don’t need to include your mailing address, if you don’t want to. Make sure you have a valid email address on there, though. One that you regularly check.
How long should it be?
2,000-30,000 words. Anywhere in between there is fine. That means no flash fiction, and no novels. Also, no novel excerpts will be considered. No excerpts of any kind will be considered, actually. I want a complete, self-contained story.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. I anticipate the submission process to be a long one, so I don’t mind if you submit to more than one place at once. Just make sure the other place(s) you submit your story to feel the same way.
Multiple submissions are accepted. If you only have one story to send, that’s fine. If you have three stories you would like to be considered, that’s fine too. I’m looking for the best wuxia stories I can find, so let me see all of them (well, all the good ones. Don’t submit the bad ones). You can have more than one story published in the anthology.
Previously published stories are accepted. The best stories might not be the newest stories. If your story has been published before, such as in a magazine or on a blog, then you can still send it to me. If it’s a great wuxia story then I want to showcase it to the English-reading world in this anthology. It would be silly to say no just because another magazine had published it already.
What will the submission process be like?
First, write a great story. Edit/rewrite/revise that great story. Make sure someone besides you reads it, so you can be sure it’s good. Then submit it to me, via the form below. Your story will then be sent to me. When I open your submission to read your story you will receive an email saying so. At this point, wait for a bit. How long the wait will be is unknown. If I immediately am not interested in the story, then you will receive a rejection notice pretty soon, probably no more than a week after I start reading it.
If I like your story, then prepare to wait longer. If your story is a “maybe” then I will put it under consideration and you will receive an email saying so. This will likely be the longest wait period, and I can’t begin to say how long that could be. I want to find the best stories, but that could take a while. I’m sure some of the best stories haven’t been written yet as I type this. So hang tight. That’s why simultaneous submissions are allowed. I will update this website frequently to let everyone know how the selection process is going, so you can keep up with my progress that way.
Eventually, I will either accept your story or reject it. If your story is rejected, you will get an email saying so. If it is accepted, you will get an email saying your story has been accepted.
How much does this thing pay?
1-5 cents per word, depending on how much money I raise for the project. I would like to be able to pay everyone 5 cents a word, but that means I would have to raise $5,550 USD. Here’s hoping. But for the purposes of deciding if you want to submit a story to me, plan on 1 cent per word. That’s probably the most realistic guess. Tell everyone you know about this project and ask them to donate so there will be more money to pay the writers.
What rights are you seeking?
Anthology rights. That means I’m buying your story for the purpose of publishing it in an anthology. The anthology will be printed, and it will also be available in electronic format. This anthology will be published globally, so I will be seeking permission to publish it everywhere. However, aside from the print and online versions of the anthology, I don’t want anything else from you. You are and will remain free to publish your story anywhere else you want. You retain the rights to your story; you’re just giving me permission to publish it in my anthology and sell it globally in print and in electronic formats.
I’m not seeking First-anything rights. Even if this anthology is the first place your story will be published.
Wait, there is one more thing I want. I want the exclusive right to publish your story. Meaning that your story can’t be published at the same time as my anthology is published. Obviously, if it’s already been published then that’s fine, but you can publish it anywhere else new while I’m publishing it in my anthology. I am seeking exclusive rights to publish your story for three months after the publication of the anthology. So once the anthology has been out for three months, you can publish your story anywhere you please.
What about Artwork?
What about artwork? Well, I’m going to need some. I need a cover for the anthology. I’m looking for full color artwork, either a full scene or a character with a minimal background. Landscape or portrait are both okay, but if your artwork is a landscape layout then the right side will need to be able to stand on its own. Your piece will also need to be available in 300 dpi, preferably in .tiff format. You don’t need to worry about any text on your design as I will be adding that later.
Payment is $100 USD for pre-existing works. If you are interested in creating an original piece for the cover, then feel free to contact me. Payment for original pieces is $200 USD. Your artwork will be used on both the print and digital versions of the anthology, as well as on the website for purposes of promotion (for example, for use in a header image or as a screenshot of the book itself). You retain rights to your work and you may continue to sell your pre-existing artwork as usual. If you created a piece specifically for this anthology, then you will be able to sell your art, such as prints of it, as you would any of your other art. I’m just seeking rights to use it as needed for the anthology.
If you would like to submit your art for consideration, or if you have a question about the submission process, email me at art@books.genreverse.com. You may send a smaller version of the artwork you would like to be considered so that the file size won’t be too large. But make sure it is large enough to see it; so don’t send a thumnail of your work. If you are interested in creating an original piece for the anthology, email at the address above and include a link to a gallery of your past works. I’ll get back to you.
Anything else?
I think that’s it. Like I said, I anticipate a long submission process. I don’t want to rush things and put out an anthology of mediocre stories. This is our chance to show the English-reading world what wuxia is all about. I don’t want to waste the opportunity. So I plan to wait until I have enough good stories to make the anthology worthwhile. I don’t know how long that will take. So thank you for your patience, and take your time with your story. Make sure it is the best it can be before you send it in.
Finally, please help spread the word about this project. Tell everyone. Even if the person doesn’t have any interest in writing a story for the anthology, he or she may still be interested in reading the final product. We need all the support we can get.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: art@books.genreverse.com
For submissions: submit here (scroll down)
Website: http://wuxia.genreverse.com
