That's what happened with me. I submitted my MS to Juliet on Monday, had an offer of representation on Tuesday from her, and SC phoned me with the publication offer on Thursday.
That was one hell of a week.
Strange Chemistry Unagented Open Submissions starting May 1 (2013)!
- Thread starter Debeucci
- Start date
That's what happened with me. I submitted my MS to Juliet on Monday, had an offer of representation on Tuesday from her, and SC phoned me with the publication offer on Thursday.
That was one hell of a week.
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They're accepting contemporary this year? I've got one that requires a bit of polishing but I think they might like, so I'm going to go for that. Got nothing out there at the moment so why not? I'm about 17k into a dystopia which is probably more their typical cup of tea but I don't think I'm going to have that both submission ready and completed by October.
My timeline:
Submitted: 30 March 2011
Request for full: mid-June
Notification full was going to editors: mid-July
Revision request: late November
Revised manuscript re-submitted: early March 2012
SC Offer: March 22, 2012
So very nearly a year.
Eeeps. Patience is going to be key. O_O
I submitted today, so now it's waiting to see if they're interested.
Did either of you that submitted get a response/acknowledgement of receipt email back? I submitted but got nothing from SC to indicate that they received my submission...
Eep. Knew there was something I forgot when setting it all up... I need an Out of Office on that inbox to say things have been received!
Amanda - Strange Chemistry editor
p.s. If anyone wants to know their submission has been received safely up to this point, then please ask and I shall check the inbox.
Amanda - Strange Chemistry editor
p.s. If anyone wants to know their submission has been received safely up to this point, then please ask and I shall check the inbox.
Thanks for posting, I was wondering about that.
My submission was for Distant Horizon.
Thanks for posting, I was wondering about that.
My submission was for Distant Horizon.
Yep, yours has been received.
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Strange Chemistry Open for Unagented Submissions
I'm not a YA writer but I saw this on my twitter feed this morning so I thought I'd pass it along:
Strange Chemistry Unagented Submissions 2013
Okay, I know that some of you have been waiting for a long while for this announcement! Strange Chemistry is once again opening to unagented YA submissions. We opened to unagented submissions last year and, although a number of novels came close, none of them completely matched what we were looking for, but this has not deterred us from trying again!
This year the unagented submission period will last for SIX months. It is opening on May 1st and closing 31st October. This gives you half a year to prepare the best submission you are able. If your novel is not quite ready right now, please take the time to polish and give yourself the very best chance of publication.
Here's the link: http://strangechemistrybooks.com/2013/04/26/strange-chemistry-unagented-submissions-2013/
I'm not a YA writer but I saw this on my twitter feed this morning so I thought I'd pass it along:
Strange Chemistry Unagented Submissions 2013
Okay, I know that some of you have been waiting for a long while for this announcement! Strange Chemistry is once again opening to unagented YA submissions. We opened to unagented submissions last year and, although a number of novels came close, none of them completely matched what we were looking for, but this has not deterred us from trying again!
This year the unagented submission period will last for SIX months. It is opening on May 1st and closing 31st October. This gives you half a year to prepare the best submission you are able. If your novel is not quite ready right now, please take the time to polish and give yourself the very best chance of publication.
Here's the link: http://strangechemistrybooks.com/2013/04/26/strange-chemistry-unagented-submissions-2013/
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This made me smile so much, I can't imagine the frustration of waiting, hoping, and then all that whooping that those two acceptances rolling in almost together! Give's cloud nine a whole new meaning!
I might be submitting, I have yet to finish the editing phase of my current WIP, there are a few months ahead of us yet. Good luck to all those that do!
That and the fact that SC already has a good stable of novels in the area that the WIP leans toward - yours included Laura, so we shall see.
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I had a sub out to a publisher while agents had fulls. If an agent takes you on, you can discuss the SC sub, and withdraw it if the agent wants to try elsewhere. Or, if SC bites, you can contact the four agents and find out if any of them wants to rep you on the sale.
You can also wait until the last minute to sub to SC, thus giving the agents max response time. Just make sure to have the package ready to go.
The social media thing bothers me. I can't see why this should be a pre-requisite at all. It has nothing to do with how good your novel is or how marketable it is - all it proves is that you spend an inordinate amount of time making internet noise, rather than honing your craft (as I am doing now).
It depresses me that we have got to this stage - writers should be spending time writing and polishing, not blogging and tweeting.
The idea that they want to make sure the author is going to self promote on their social media also seems strange to me. This can surely make absolutely no difference in exposure to a non-vanity publishing house?
Do they really want authors who cheerlead their own novels to their echo-chamber of friends? The audience is limited to say the least and self promotion from authors is vulgar.
It is fair enough asking authors who are signed to put up some sort of presence and make an effort to help the book, but using it as a determining factor for selection is crazy, for me.
I'll be subbing in any case, but I have no intention of putting up my personal networks up for scrutiny like this - depressing that it might cost me.
It depresses me that we have got to this stage - writers should be spending time writing and polishing, not blogging and tweeting.
The idea that they want to make sure the author is going to self promote on their social media also seems strange to me. This can surely make absolutely no difference in exposure to a non-vanity publishing house?
Do they really want authors who cheerlead their own novels to their echo-chamber of friends? The audience is limited to say the least and self promotion from authors is vulgar.
It is fair enough asking authors who are signed to put up some sort of presence and make an effort to help the book, but using it as a determining factor for selection is crazy, for me.
I'll be subbing in any case, but I have no intention of putting up my personal networks up for scrutiny like this - depressing that it might cost me.
No one's saying to offer up your personal Facebook! I created a Twitter and a Facebook page for the main purpose of being my "author" self. I mean, I'm still pretty much the same person on Twitter I am in real life, but I self-censor: try to remain upbeat most of the time, don't tweet anything overly personal. I have a personal, locked livejournal--I never mentioned that. I made a public wordpress and update about writerly things every now and again. It really doesn't take that much time, and they're not looking for you do to do ALL the social media or they won't sign you.
But it can and does make a difference to be an active author on social media. I am 100% positive I've sold more books that I otherwise would have because of social media. For instance, I interacted with book bloggers I have common interests with, so it maybe made them bump Pantomime up their list. I participated on a twitter chat about GLBT books. I wrote a blog post on how to help debut authors that had 1500 views in 2 days--that's 1500 people who learned who I was right after the book dropped. Any publisher only has so much time to devote to each title. You obviously have a vested interest for your book to do the best it can - hence why whatever marketing you do in tandem can only help (unless you go off on crazy misogynist/racist/political rants or something). As my friend said to me, you are hired by the publisher for the books, but you are your own self-employed business as a writer. I try to learn as much as I can about the industry. It's not just writing the books and nothing else, anymore. Look at John Scalzi and Neil Gaiman - big names in SFF. They could just write books and rely on the publishers to do marketing. But they don't.
Authors are now brands in a lot of ways. When I meet people at an event, I'm not only hawking Pantomime to them--I'm interacting with them as Laura Lam the author, who will have many more books out (hopefully) than just Pantomime. They'll remember me for future books.
But it can and does make a difference to be an active author on social media. I am 100% positive I've sold more books that I otherwise would have because of social media. For instance, I interacted with book bloggers I have common interests with, so it maybe made them bump Pantomime up their list. I participated on a twitter chat about GLBT books. I wrote a blog post on how to help debut authors that had 1500 views in 2 days--that's 1500 people who learned who I was right after the book dropped. Any publisher only has so much time to devote to each title. You obviously have a vested interest for your book to do the best it can - hence why whatever marketing you do in tandem can only help (unless you go off on crazy misogynist/racist/political rants or something). As my friend said to me, you are hired by the publisher for the books, but you are your own self-employed business as a writer. I try to learn as much as I can about the industry. It's not just writing the books and nothing else, anymore. Look at John Scalzi and Neil Gaiman - big names in SFF. They could just write books and rely on the publishers to do marketing. But they don't.
Authors are now brands in a lot of ways. When I meet people at an event, I'm not only hawking Pantomime to them--I'm interacting with them as Laura Lam the author, who will have many more books out (hopefully) than just Pantomime. They'll remember me for future books.
Thanks, Lady Silver! In that week I had some agent rejections, too--it was the biggest emotional rollercoaster. But it's a week I wish I could keep in a bottle and go back and revisit sometimes. All that hope and elation and relief.
Good luck submitting! Plenty of time to edit before Halloween
I understand what you are saying and if it was for my own book, self published, I would agree (as I am doing these things).
However, coming from a publisher I have to say that this looks more and more like a red-flag to me. The whole point of being an author is to write books - not to be a marketing agent for books. In self-publishing this is a necessary evil which comes with the territory.
Basically it comes down to this: If having a pre-existing social media profile and activity history are requirements for success in this call for submissions, then this publisher is treating this process in the similar vein to a vanity publisher. How are we to know that they are not selecting the authors with the most twitter followers as their primary selection criteria?
With a ready-made audience and a free marketing employee (the author), the risk to them is decreased and the legitimacy of the submissions process is compromised.
I know that they are a legit publisher but this element feels shady to me. I would like to know what Victoria Strauss and co think about it tbh.
Strange Chemisty are not one of the big five publishers. They're a smaller publisher, an imprint of the very reputable Angry Robot, which means their advertising budget isn't as large as the bigger publishers.
This shifts some of the promotion onto the author, though you can see from the Strange Chemisty website, Twitter and Facebook that they still do a lot of work interacting with fans and getting the books reviewed.
Also, even the big five require promotional work on the author's behalf -- Twitter and Facebook are considered a bare minimum once you've received a book contract. Have a look online for some recently released debut authors you like and chances are they'll have an active online prescence.
If you have any concerns about a publisher Absolute Write has a subforum where the members will check them out.
Victoria can also be approached directly with your concerns through Writer Beware! or a private message on this forum.
I will say, though, that I think your concerns are completely unfounded. I've interacted with Strange Chemistry a few times as a reader, as well as during their last open call, and they've always been professional.
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It's not a requirement. It's a bonus. As I've said before, when I submitted, I had no public persona. After I learned more about the industry and saw how pretty much every author has a Twitter and a blog, I made them. There are some Angry Robot/SC authors who aren't as active on social media. They were still signed.
Writing is not a vacuum, and it hasn't been for a long time. Marketing and self-promo is a large part of the writing job, whether you're published by Pan Macmillan or put your book up on Kindle yourself. It's not even remotely a red flag. What about going to events? BEA is coming up, and lots of authors are going there, flown by their publishers, to promote the heck out of themselves.
Calling SC or any publisher a vanity publisher because they want their authors to help promote their product is rather rich. I've been edited multiple times, they commissioned original artwork, my books are on the shelves in Hawaii to Canada to Heathrow Airport. A friend sent me a photo of my book in New Zealand.
My own self-promo and blog tour helped get the word out, but Strange Chemistry still do way more for me than I'd ever know how and I'm grateful for that.
Even you posting on here is social media, and to be honest, basically insulting the publisher you're planning on submitting to when the commissioning editor has posted on the thread seems rather foolhardy to me.
I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect writers to 'up the ante' once they are signed. Self promotion helps the publisher AND the author. If you've got an awesome, fantastic, best thing they've ever read MS and little or no social media presence, they aren't going to immediately chuck you to one side, but yes - they may ask you to get a bit more actively engaged. Seems reasonable to me...
Even in a large publishing house, you're expected to do a good bit of your own legwork and marketing. That's just the reality of it all. Especially if you're a debut with a limited name. Unless your work is so brilliant they threw a 6 figure deal at you, you're not getting much of a marketing budget.
If you think you can just be the "artist" and shouldn't have to lift a finger to promote yourself, then you're in for a shock. Half of being a professional writer is writing. The other half is selling. (Maybe more than half)
If you think you can just be the "artist" and shouldn't have to lift a finger to promote yourself, then you're in for a shock. Half of being a professional writer is writing. The other half is selling. (Maybe more than half)
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As someone with zero social media presence, I don't have a problem with Strange Chemistry wanting some. I planned on creating accounts at some point anyway. All SC is doing is making me get to that step a bit faster.
I think regardless of who you're publish with it's a good thing to have. Any way to connect to people is going to help sell books. Yeah, the publisher will be doing their own promotion and marketing but if the author can help out, why not?
I think regardless of who you're publish with it's a good thing to have. Any way to connect to people is going to help sell books. Yeah, the publisher will be doing their own promotion and marketing but if the author can help out, why not?
"Even you posting on here is social media, and to be honest, basically insulting the publisher you're planning on submitting to when the commissioning editor has posted on the thread seems rather foolhardy to me."
Laura said it best. If you're leary about publishing with them or have something against their guidelines, don't submit. It doesn't make sense why you would complain about telling them of your social media status and still want to submit.
Asking questions is one thing, but claiming that a publisher is vanity and not fully understanding them seems foolish to me too.
Laura said it best. If you're leary about publishing with them or have something against their guidelines, don't submit. It doesn't make sense why you would complain about telling them of your social media status and still want to submit.
Asking questions is one thing, but claiming that a publisher is vanity and not fully understanding them seems foolish to me too.