Call For Submissions - blank tapes vol.2
TL;DR
- I want to publish your short weird fiction.
- You WON’T get paid upfront.
- I WILL split any royalties per author (if and when we break the threshold for payment on Amazon)
- To compensate you for your stories I will proofread/copy-edit one additional piece from you up to 5000 words.
Hi authors of all shapes and sizes.
In February I self-published a multi-author anthology of strange short fiction titled ‘blank tapes volume one: weird and dangerous tales’. You can find it here –
or
I am now looking to release a second volume and for that I need you. The first ‘blank tapes’ was a collection of weird fiction that brought fantasy, paranoia, absurdity, sci-fi, horror, misery and faeces to the reader. The combining theme was a sense of disassociation, though this was not planned.
What I’m looking from you now are misfit stories—ones that are just to strange to submit to conventional markets. Several of mine were rejected from places like Podcastle for being good but just too damn peculiar (the story just switches to screenplay format toward the end – fair enough for rejecting that one). This isn’t a brag about how wacky and unique I am. My day job is ghostwriting fantasy novels. Conventional stuff. But I do enjoy writing that really pushes the boundaries of weird and I hope you are too.
I’ll break it down to make it clear what I want:
THEMES:
Weird fiction is a tough one to define, so I won’t. If your work could fit alongside artists as disparate as Bunuel, Jeff Vandermeer, Shirley Jackson, Mieville, William Burroughs, JG Ballard, Robert Chambers, Barker and Lynch then you’re what I’m looking for.*
Push the boundaries both thematically and in execution. Experimentation is encouraged. There are plenty of what I call ‘light weird’ anthologies. I tend towards the more extreme end of the spectrum. Get loopy.
(*for the hardcore weird fans: I went for examples everyone could relate to, okay?)
I'll accept -
Poetry in all its forms.
Non-fiction (this is going to have to be something special, but I’ll allow it).
Non-narrative fiction.
Narrative fiction.
And any combination of the above.
The previous anthology indulged in paranoia, alienation, revenge, madness, absurdity, revulsion and disassociation. I’d love more of this but I want to be surprised too. Stories do not have to be considered ‘speculative’ either. Real-world based stories from a skewed perspective are encouraged.
LENGTH:
Anything from flash fiction to a novella. I would recommend that if you have something over 15k words you try publishing it as a standalone yourself but I’m more than happy to consider it.
CONTENT:
I’m straight up a virtue signalling, SJW, woke-aspiring, anti-gun, pro universal healthcare, introverted and repressed Englishman, however - Explicit and offensive content is allowed. Nothing is taboo; sex, gore, infanticide, torture, perversion, etc… you name it. But just so we’re clear I will not take anything that advocates or endorses discrimination to another (real-world) party. Does that include Nazis? You make the call.
Please remember that this is a slipstream/weird/strange/bizarro anthology so anything that relies too heavily on gross-out horror as its primary theme might not make the cut, but then again it’s all about how you sell it.
In a nutshell:
Lolita = good. Lolicon = bad.
Men Behind the Sun = good. Triumph of the Will = bad.
PUBLISHING HISTORY AND RIGHTS:
The author will give me first worldwide publishing rights, both print and electronic, for the purposes of the anthology. This means that you will no longer be able to sell your story for the first time. I know this is obvious, but it has to be said. Of course I want all-new material, but if you have something that you think fits and has already been published elsewhere and is now free for a new market than I will 100% consider it.
There is no exclusivity limitation on re-selling your story. I want the authors to be free to do what they want with their work. As soon as ‘blank tapes volume two’ is published you can sell re-print rights to your work.
I may ask for audio rights too in the future – I’m keen to make an audio book of this series too—but we’ll tackle that later.
You may submit multiple stories.
WHAT I'M NOT LOOKING FOR:
Horror, sci-fi and fantasy. If you’re a fan of the weird you’ll know that it’s near-impossible to avoid any of these three, but if your story falls slam-bang in the middle of that genre it’s not right for ‘blank tapes’. If your main character meets a faerie, an alien, or the wolf-man that’s not going to be enough to qualify it as weird. That’s straight-up conventional.
I don’t mind amateur writing, I’ll copy-edit and proofread everything I accept, but if it’s clearly poorly written I’ll graciously pass on it.
WHAT I’LL DO FOR YOU:
This is the part where you tell me to jog the fuck on. I started ‘blank tapes’ almost as a side project but I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I’m putting no personal money into this and so I AM UNABLE TO PAY YOU UPFRONT FOR YOUR WORK. Let’s be clear, I am not even offering exposure. The chances of this anthology becoming a global viral success are slim, but I’m going to try my hardest.
So that’s no money and no guaranteed exposure? Great, where do I sign up?
Sounds like a con and I don’t like not paying people for their work. I value what I write and so should you. Here’s what I will do however. For every piece that is included in ‘blank tapes volume two’ I will proofread and/or copy-edit an additional manuscript of up to 5000 words (give or take) for that author. This is what I have to offer, you can take it or leave it. I understand entirely if you choose to keep your story.
Editing is a skill and not everyone, including writers, can do it. Here’s my Upwork profile to give you some assurance that I know what I’m talking about when it comes to writing and editing and that my offer to work on your story is backed up with experience.
All royalties will be split equally between contributors. This will not be based on submission length. Length is not an indicator of quality (or so my girlfriend assures me), so I think it fairer to do an even split. If I get a lot of flash fiction (1000 words or less) I may revise this but I will keep you informed. I will include my own work and will consider myself as an equal contributor.
I’ll keep the contributors up to date with royalties. Bear in mind that Amazon only pays out three months after revenue for a single territory exceeds $100 (or equivalent local currency). The book may never reach this threshold.
My plan is to release the book via KDP select. This means it is exclusively for sale on Amazon.
I will publicise the book to the best of my ability. This means submitting to aggregator sites, news letters, review blogs etc… I’ll run promotions, contact local press, radio, setup interviews and spread the word on as many forums as I can.
This whole project is primarily a labour of love and was undertaken for fun but I will approach it in the most professional way I can. I sincerely hope that I can get some great authors behind this and as the series progresses we can get more visibility for everyone involved (exposure, yay).
Please ask any questions you may have in the comments.
Let yourself be known by sending a query with the subject BLANK TAPES to paul.f.huxley@gmail.com
