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Old 01-27-2012, 12:43 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne Lyle
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.
That's useful to hear. Because their guidelines basically said "If you're wondering if your book is epic fantasy it probably isn't" I was concerned they wanted something relatively conventional.
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Old 01-27-2012, 12:52 PM   #27
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I think they want something that's identifiably epic fantasy - thus, less genre-bending than their usual fare - but probably still with an Angry Robot flavour.

When we were debating it on Twitter yesterday, Marc Gascoigne tweeted: "Books with swords, dragons, castles, battles."

So now you know!
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Old 01-27-2012, 12:55 PM   #28
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Quote:
"Books with swords, dragons, castles, battles."
Check, check, check, check.

Er, wait. Can we substitute castle with floating city? Is that acceptable? It's a palatial city.
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Old 01-27-2012, 03:13 PM   #29
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Check, check, check, check.

Er, wait. Can we substitute castle with floating city? Is that acceptable? It's a palatial city.
Just throw a few elves in to make up for it... or make the swords really big
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Old 01-27-2012, 03:38 PM   #30
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A friend of mine is thinking about submitting. I really hope she does, because I adore what AR is doing. I once wrote a novel with them in mind actually (I'm focusing on YA now so it's unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon.)

Good luck to everyone planning to submit!
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Old 01-27-2012, 06:18 PM   #31
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Oh, yeeeesssss....thanks for posting this! Must get to work!

Good luck, everyone!
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Old 01-27-2012, 06:23 PM   #32
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Just throw a few elves in to make up for it... or make the swords really big
But it's floating! Surely that should be enough!
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Old 01-27-2012, 06:51 PM   #33
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I think floating cities count as epic
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Old 01-27-2012, 07:14 PM   #34
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I think floating cities count as epic
Oh good!

Also epic? The amount of work I'm going to have to do to get it in shape in time.
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Old 01-27-2012, 07:24 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne Lyle View Post
they're looking for good books with an "Angry Robot" flavour
As much as I'd love to be published with AR, the more of their books I read, the more I realise that my writing lacks that flavour. It's a shame, but better off figuring this out now.
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Old 01-27-2012, 08:25 PM   #36
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Oh wait, this is epic fantasy and there stand amongst us those who are yet undecided and those who do not believe. You know what that means....... *gets up onto the table*

One day we shall look back upon this time and know that we had a chance. A chance to change our destinies. A chance to throw off the shackles of ridiculous time frames, and stand side by side, pens drawn.... *and I'm afraid the rest was drowned out by the cheers of REALLY motivated AWers*

Filking will follow shortly.
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Old 01-27-2012, 08:43 PM   #37
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Looks like they changed the wording from "epic fantasy" to "classic fantasy."
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Old 01-27-2012, 08:47 PM   #38
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Oh dude. I have a classic fantasy novel. I just need to edit the darn thing.
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Old 01-27-2012, 10:27 PM   #39
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From the guidelines:

"...classic fantasy – swords, magic, kingdoms, castles. You might describe it as high fantasy, epic, magical, low, classic, medieval, or whatever. If you’ve written an urban fantasy or supernatural modern day chiller, that’s great, but not what we’re wanting this time around."

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Old 01-28-2012, 01:47 AM   #40
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Holy crap, this is exactly what I'm writing, and Angry Robot sounds like a good fit for me. I doubt I'll have it ready by April, but it's something to work towards. Thanks for the heads up!
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Old 01-29-2012, 07:30 AM   #41
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(Screams and hammers fists on desk, eyes scrunched up, face distorted with distress)

AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!!!!! !

Bleh heh heh. I had my hopes up. I'm writing fantasy, but not classic fantasy, as it has no swords. Nope. Well, it might, but that would only be the annoying elf woman trying to impress somebody, and has nothing to do with it. WHAT. A. PITY.

Thanks for letting us know!
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Old 01-29-2012, 01:10 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by Luciamaria
Bleh heh heh. I had my hopes up. I'm writing fantasy, but not classic fantasy, as it has no swords. Nope. Well, it might, but that would only be the annoying elf woman trying to impress somebody, and has nothing to do with it. WHAT. A. PITY.
Assuming you're being serious here, I wouldn't automatically discount yourself. It's not like there's a checklist of elements that absolutely need to be in your story. Their two examples of what they don't want now (UF and thriller) are much, much further away from classic fantasy than your story is.

I took it as examples showing the flavor of the fiction. They're looking for books that people will see and say, "Yeah, that's fantasy." Not something that makes people tilt their heads and wonder about the exact genre, but fantasy itself is pretty broad.

Your story has elves. That sounds like the genre they're requesting to me. However, it can't compete with my planned submission, The Sword of the Magic Kingdom's Castle.
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Old 01-29-2012, 01:29 PM   #43
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I agree with Ian - it's more about avoiding contemporary fantasy than ticking all the boxes. The definition Marc gave came on the heels of a Twitter debate about what constituted "epic fantasy" - basically they seem to be looking for fantasy set in a pre-industrial world, in the tradition of Tolkien. They've already moved in this direction by picking up my series and that of David Tallerman, so it's a logical next move.

However I think my friend Andrew may have beaten Ian with his proposed entry: "Castle of Swords: Battle of the Dragons"
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Old 01-30-2012, 02:33 AM   #44
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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?
if they now have a YA imprint... well, I feel like holing myself away and finishing my stalled YA superhero novel. two months to their deadline, eh? gak.
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Old 01-30-2012, 03:58 AM   #45
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Mine is, on the surface, a fantasy secondary universe with sentient swords, runaway immortals, ancient cities locked in political intrigue, and several big threats to the world.

But it's really science fantasy on an epic scale. Some of the cities are still powered by re-purposed starship engines, the main race was genetically engineered as a cross between humans and the natives, and the second-biggest threat is a group of interstellar colonists.

It's more like Scott Lynch's or Jack Vance's work, or some early Jo Clayton or C.J. Cherryh.

If I'm still unagented by April, I'll submit the beast.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:09 AM   #46
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Quote:
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Mine is, on the surface, a fantasy secondary universe with sentient swords, runaway immortals, ancient cities locked in political intrigue, and several big threats to the world.

But it's really science fantasy on an epic scale. Some of the cities are still powered by re-purposed starship engines, the main race was genetically engineered as a cross between humans and the natives, and the second-biggest threat is a group of interstellar colonists.

It's more like Scott Lynch's or Jack Vance's work, or some early Jo Clayton or C.J. Cherryh.
Or Richard Morgan's A Land Fit For Heroes series! (Which I love and totally wish there was more of.)

The novel I'm considering submitting is also science fantasy, but it reads like fantasy. Swords? Check. Castles? Check. Godlike, insane A.I. from a different epoch? Um, also check. Hopefully, that's okay.
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Old 01-30-2012, 10:29 AM   #47
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Why can't they say "hard science fantasy" for their genre. boo
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Old 01-30-2012, 10:45 AM   #48
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I would be interested except that I'm not confident I'll have anything finished by April (I have 1,416 words in so far, all written today).
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Old 01-30-2012, 11:43 AM   #49
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However I think my friend Andrew may have beaten Ian with his proposed entry: "Castle of Swords: Battle of the Dragons"
Curses, I need to raise my game. Time to begin writing my masterpiece, The Dragon King's Dark Sword: Elvish Castle of the Quest Battle Chronicles.
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Old 01-30-2012, 03:05 PM   #50
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Curses, I need to raise my game. Time to begin writing my masterpiece, The Dragon King's Dark Sword: Elvish Castle of the Quest Battle Chronicles.
Whoaw, that names epic enough to submit without a book.
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