Marshal Rohr Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 To be honest, it feels like serfdom, this. 'We can't be bothered doing proper recruitment, or finding good stories, and want them to magically appear in our laps.' Ok, next you apply for a job, don't give them anything to prove your qualifications or skills and see how that works out. Er, they are not asking for any qualifications anywhere. They are expecting hundreds of pitches, which, besides a few winners, are then a trove of ideas to be mined for their other projects. Even if they don't (because let's be serious, 80% of entries in similar contests are crud anyway) it's still closer to a lottery and lucking into hitting the spot the judge will like, than any sort of merit or skill based contest. You can't show you're good at pacing or developing plot lines/characters in something so short. So, please. Pencil is kinda right, gig based job 'contests' are a big part of what is wrong with economy these days, but that's not really a topic for this thread. ADB made a post about BL taking ideas from these submissions and giving them to in house authors. IIRC, It boiled down to players not being likely to come up with a story the professionals haven’t already come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigil Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 You can't show you're good at pacing or developing plot lines/characters in something so short. So, please. This is so wrong. I don't even know where to start. Umm. Yeah. Most novelists HATE writing short stories because it's far more challenging to write a fully conceived and executed plot in 10,000 words than in a full length book. If you can write a good short story, you are a skilled writer. You have to develop characters and plot in the space of what would be a single chapter in a full length book. It. Is. Hard. The submission they're asking for is 500 words out of any part of the whole story. Like the previews you often see at the end of a book. You don't HAVE to develop characters or pace it, because they are explicitly just asking for a 500 word sample. 1) Of course it’s hard, but so is good writing. 2) 10k words is A LOT. It’s actually closer to a novella than a short story, most of which clock in at 4K-6k, if you’re submitting to market standard speculative fiction pubs. 3) To be honest, if you can’t pace and hook properly in a 500 word excerpt (including an inciting incident, complication, crisis and climax) why should BL believe you can maintain a reader’s interest for 10k words? It’s more than enough space, and something that someone who takes the craft seriously should jump at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 I'm always sorely tempted to submit something for these, but I'm honestly hesitant because it seems like a waste of time. In years past, it was pointed put that only one person was ever picked up from the public submissions and that that person was a relative of a BL employee. I have no idea if it's true, but if so, it's troubling but it's also off putting. If they're that picky, what's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Golem Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Peter Fehervari started writing for them through the BL submissions thing. He spoke about it in an interview on a podcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandlemad Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Robbie MacNiven too, I think he applied for a few years and was eventually chosen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabando Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 first submission is done, already planned a second and possibly a third. i wish i knew more about AoS so i could do something for that. I also have a 66k word book that i have 1.5 chapters left to write and thats only my first draft im fully expecting it to be closer to 90k when i'm done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indefragable Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 So...for the comments about “writing short stories is SO MUCH harder”.... no :cuss . Why do think they are doing that as a contest? I work in corporate recruiting and for roles that are anticipated to have a flood of applicants, often times the first interviews/skills tests are deliberately the hardest for that very reason. Something to think about, especially with the BL comments along the lines of “don’t worry about xyz, just send us something showing your BEST writing.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claws and Effect Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 I'm still trying to come up with an idea i like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelborn Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 I'm still trying to come up with an idea i like. Quite the opposite over here. Got too many ideas and I can't decide which of I should make use of. ^^ Really need to get something done. Already one month has passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malika666 Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 To be honest, it feels like serfdom, this. 'We can't be bothered doing proper recruitment, or finding good stories, and want them to magically appear in our laps.' Ok, next you apply for a job, don't give them anything to prove your qualifications or skills and see how that works out. Er, they are not asking for any qualifications anywhere. They are expecting hundreds of pitches, which, besides a few winners, are then a trove of ideas to be mined for their other projects. Even if they don't (because let's be serious, 80% of entries in similar contests are crud anyway) it's still closer to a lottery and lucking into hitting the spot the judge will like, than any sort of merit or skill based contest. You can't show you're good at pacing or developing plot lines/characters in something so short. So, please. Pencil is kinda right, gig based job 'contests' are a big part of what is wrong with economy these days, but that's not really a topic for this thread. ADB made a post about BL taking ideas from these submissions and giving them to in house authors. IIRC, It boiled down to players not being likely to come up with a story the professionals haven’t already come up with. Where did he say that? Because if that's the case, it would be rather worrisome. It would be kinda the equivalent of you recasting GW/FW models and openly selling them, but then of course 'legally' since you've given away all your rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Captain Alberic Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Yeah I’d quite like to see a quote of this post I have my doubts as surely he’d get into trouble with BL himself for posting something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Golem Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 I’m pretty sure he’s saying they don’t take peoples ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Bruinen Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 I could be very wrong, but my recollection of ADB's post (I think it was on the thread for the last round of black library submissions) was that they don't steal people's ideas (1) because they just wouldn't cos it's wrong, and (2) because the team have so many ideas of their own that they don't need to - they're so busy getting through all their own story ideas that they are definitely not short on ideas.So it's not so much that they don't think players can come up with anything that they haven't thought of already, rather it's that they have enough ideas of their own already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Bruinen Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Sorry to double post - I couldn't figure out how to add it to my first one. Here's the quote from the man himself. It's in response to essentially this same thread from 2 years ago for the 2016 BL submissions (link to that thread here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/320744-write-for-black-library/) hm... Now that I think about it.Do they really seek new authors, a couple of short stories or just new ideas to use them for themselves, 'cause they are running out of them? Rookie mistake. Google "Will a publisher steal my idea?" and consider your wrist gently slapped for that rookie myth. "To be absolutely blunt, this is a fear one hears only among amateur writers. Professional writers have lots of concerns of their own, but this isn't one of them." -- writing-world.com. And on a practical level, bear in mind how much you like 40K. Now imagine there's a building full of several hundred people and a large freelancer pool that like it that much too, but even more, as they've worked hard to make it their careers. Does it seem likely they're out of ideas? Ideas are free and everywhere. Having an idea is the easiest thing in the world, to paraphrase Neil Gaiman. Making that idea happen is the trick. And with 30 years of evocative, rich 40K lore, ideas are practically sunning themselves half-dressed in the sun, begging to inspire people already. You can't read a codex or a sourcebook without thinking "...dude, I have an idea." And on a knuckling-down uber-practical level, are BL really going to - for example - come to me or Dan or any of the other freelancers and say "Hey, dude! We know you've not had any ideas for a while, but you don't have to worry about feeding your family any more. We've finally got an idea for you, from some unpublished guys and girls online!" Bad Kelborn. Bad! Do not pass Go, do not collect £200. tl;dr -- Don't worry about it, dude. Submit, and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACK BLΠFLY Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Marshal Rohr ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Marshal Rohr ... You rang? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelborn Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Thank you, WeepingAngel. I was about to post that as well. I, too, had the same concerns about the last contest. Thankfully, A D-B clarified that and let's be honest: Those guys are working with Warhammer each and every day. Don't you think that they already got every possible constellation / idea in brainstorm sessions? It is not about to steal ideas or something like this. It is about to give the community a chance to present their own stuff AND to fill their newest format at the same time. Nothing more, nothing less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Captain Alberic Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Makes sense really did have my doubts about them stealing ideas considering their new fan friendly attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarth151 Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Meh. To be quite frank, them stealing idea out of you is kinda empty threat to you as a potential writer. If someone was so creatively bankrupt, they wouldn't be working at that job to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Meh. To be quite frank, them stealing idea out of you is kinda empty threat to you as a potential writer. If someone was so creatively bankrupt, they wouldn't be working at that job to begin with. It should also be noted most ideas aren’t good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indefragable Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Don’t forget that should one theoretically land a gig with BL somehow, s/he would not be given a blank check for writing whatever they want. They would be given assignments and briefs to write to, with good work opening up leeway for one’s own pitches. The part of I keep going back to is “just gives us a sample of your best writing.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarth151 Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Meh. To be quite frank, them stealing idea out of you is kinda empty threat to you as a potential writer. If someone was so creatively bankrupt, they wouldn't be working at that job to begin with. It should also be noted most ideas aren’t good It's not even that. It's that most of the ideas are just that: ideas. I can give you twenty good ideas for 40k story in as many minutes, but to actually turn it to something decent requires much more effort. The part of I keep going back to is “just gives us a sample of your best writing.” That part annoys me, to be honest. If I'm going to write a submission like that, I'm going to write what I think editors would like, not what I think is my best writing. What I consider my best is the stuff that I sincerely doubt I could push through the editorial if I had the clout comparable to Abnett. This is mercenary work more than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slan Drakkos Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Only just saw this. I'll be putting in a submission for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamy248 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 ^ Me too. I'm currently refining my 700-page epic "Khârn x Marneus Calgar" (with a few steamy cameos from Typhus ). Imho 'steamy fanfic/R18'-type stories have sooo much potential and it's a bit of a shame the Black Library hasn't branched out into such an interesting and potential-laden genre. Good luck to everyone else btw (you'll need it - wait till you see my 'Slaaneshi Surprise' on page 537)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depthcharge12 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Time to develop the fluff behind my Inquisitor who hates Primaris and is convinced Guilliman is an Eldar pawn. Isn’t that canon? I have good hopes for all of you! If they can hire Nick Kyme to keep writing stories, whatever you write will be much better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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