Want to Sell a Superhero Story?

[Corrina]

The publisher who picked up my superhero story, Phoenix Rising (coming out in November) is asking for submissions for a superhero anthology. Yes, it has to have a romance but it's an anthology so the marketing people will really push it so it might end up earning low four figures in royalty payments.

The publisher is also LGBT friendly.

*************

It's up, up and away we go, to a world of superheroes and supervillains, where heroes and/or heroines with special abilities and crime-fighting prowess protect the public…and fall in love.

I'm very happy to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be-titled spring 2012 superhero romance anthology. For more information on what I'm looking for when I ask for superhero stories, check out these entries on wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero_fiction

I'm open to M/F, M/M, F/F, or multiples thereof, any sexual heat level, and the romance must end happily ever after or happy for now.

The novellas must range between 25,000 to 30,000 words in length, no more, no less—please note, only manuscripts that fall in this word count will be considered for this anthology—and will be released individually as ebooks in spring 2012 and in print approximately one year later.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material—previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor.

Please note: fanfiction of popular, trademarked and copyrighted superheroes will not be considered. Only original works please.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:

The full manuscript (of 25,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Also include a letter of introduction/query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it is a special project.

As well, when you send your manuscript, be sure to use the naming convention Superhero_Title_MS and Superhero_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn't get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my e-reader.

Submissions are open until September 1, 2011. No submissions will be accepted after this date—no exceptions. A final decision will be made by October 1, 2011. Send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Superhero Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Sasha Knight (sasha@samhainpublishing.com) though do your due diligence and read this anthology call completely and check the Samhain Submission FAQ page before emailing.

www.samhainpublishing.com/submission-faqs

Permission to forward or repost granted

--
Sasha Knight, Senior Editor
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
"It's all about the story."
http://www.samhainpublishing.com

[ZimMan2]

BLARGH.

I've got the first part of a pulp serial about a superhero I'm working on done, but the only remotely romantic angle is that the main character is married, and the first part is mostly setup, and there's probably a million other things wrong with it since I haven't made revisions since the first typed draft. Oh, AND it needs to end happy? Yeah, given that I'm going for a noir angle, not likely.

So close to a chance at publication.

[Chris Jones]

Interesting. I've had an idea for a superhero romance for a while. I might give this a shot.

[Corrina]

BLARGH.

I've got the first part of a pulp serial about a superhero I'm working on done, but the only remotely romantic angle is that the main character is married, and the first part is mostly setup, and there's probably a million other things wrong with it since I haven't made revisions since the first typed draft. Oh, AND it needs to end happy? Yeah, given that I'm going for a noir angle, not likely.

So close to a chance at publication.

I hear you. My first drafts suck too. And if the story isn't a romance to start with, shoehorning one in might not work.

I've actually got a sequel to my superhero story but it's novel length. I have to come up with a short story by September. I deliberately created a bunch of supporting cast members that I could use in subsequent stories but now I'll have to think about which will can get his or her own short story. Or maybe create a new world. But that's the hard part. The story itself won't take long to right but deciding on the worldbuilding and why superheroes exist is the hard part.

Must ponder.

Chris, go for it. Samhain is a good publisher and, as I said, they push the anthology collections.

[JTPencils]

Corrina, do they already have artists lined up for these tales?

[Corrina]

They have their own cover artists, JT, and I think the stories themselves are all prose, no sequential art. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure how they hire cover artists. I could poke around and find out. I would guess they're mostly freelancers.

[Stamenflicker]

You had me up until... "happily every after."

[Chris Jones]

Well, excellent. I was wondering what I was going to do with myself tonight, and it seems that the answer has dropped right into my lap

Do you think that later on something like a "feedback thread" for this anthology would be possible to make, where we can read and critique each other's work in an atmosphere that's encouraging but driven to produce the best stories possible?

[ever_seeking]

Sounds interesting. Good luck to all submit.

[stealthwise]

Any samples/examples of the type of fiction they normally publish? Might help some writers understand better what it is that Samhain is looking for.