Kevin's Watch

Thanks for clearing up my confusion over the committees, TOM.

ChoChiyo wrote:Totally do-able. Thanks!

What are the word limits and so on?

Is there a place where this info exists?

And is there a specific theme or genre--or is it anything goes?

(My preference is Fantasy/SF, but I am flexible.)

I think it's been established that the limit is 10 000 words, with a preference for people to aim for around 5 000.

As far as theme/genre - that question has been raised, but I don't think it's been resolved yet.

Anyone?

I would think given the nature of Kevin's Watch that Sci/Fi Fantasy would seem most appropriate, however I'm not against submissions that fall outside those genres.

aTOMiC wrote:I would think given the nature of Kevin's Watch that Sci/Fi Fantasy would seem most appropriate, however I'm not against submissions that fall outside those genres.

Took the words from my mouth.

Thanks for responding so quickly, guys.

And yeah, I'm pretty sure that most contributors' preference would, like Cho's, be sf/f. As aTOMiC says, it's kind of a given, considering the nature of the Watch.

Waynhim Barrister wrote:

aTOMiC wrote:I would think given the nature of Kevin's Watch that Sci/Fi Fantasy would seem most appropriate, however I'm not against submissions that fall outside those genres.

Took the words from my mouth.

You and I are of a single accord.

I withdraw. Good luck everyone

CovenantJr wrote:I withdraw. Good luck everyone

Withdrawal NOT accepted!

Edge wrote:

CovenantJr wrote:I withdraw. Good luck everyone

Withdrawal NOT accepted!

Yeah, CJ. You have two months. If a good idea pops in your head come on back! "We're stronger with you than without you!"

Thanks for the gracious objections, but it's a pressure issue. Nothing I've written has been intended for readers, and knowing that people will read this is giving me some form of writer's block. I'd rather withdraw than lose the ability to write

Edge wrote:I think it's been established that the limit is 10 000 words, with a preference for people to aim for around 5 000.

I'd say if the story requires fewer or more words to make it good, these target counts are perfectly (eagerly) flexible.

I'm so full of hot air the question is can I remain under 5000 words? (is TC Fan Fic acceptable or not?)

Also: has anyone made Variol (please ban me Jay ) Farseer aware of this? He is a very gifted writer...

Should this thread also be posted in other places around the Watch, to spread the word about the anthology?

Yes, and let's give any of the professionals who happen to be between projects a special alert.

Syl, I seem to remember you write nonfiction professionally, don't you? What about Romeo?

Flattering that you would say so, Joy, but I do not. Go Navy, and all that.

danlo wrote:I'm so full of hot air the question is can I remain under 5000 words? (is TC Fan Fic acceptable or not?)

Also: has anyone made Variol (please ban me Jay ) Farseer aware of this? He is a very gifted writer...

I don't think we can have a TC fanfic, as the book will be on sale.

Yes, you can have under 5000 words, by all means.

I think this all sounds fantastic! Dragonlily, it'll be awesome working with you! Maybe we need to have a discussion about what the parameters will be--how much editing are we actually going to do--and stuff about style & whatnot. (I do edit professionally, but only nonfiction so far.) Also, it might be a good idea, when we get to the editing process, to decide just how much back-and-forthing we want to do with our authors--unless there's a specific system in place, it could get rather bogged down. Sorry, maybe this should be in pms--it's just so exciting!

Waynhim Barrister wrote:

danlo wrote:I'm so full of hot air the question is can I remain under 5000 words? (is TC Fan Fic acceptable or not?)

Also: has anyone made Variol (please ban me Jay ) Farseer aware of this? He is a very gifted writer...

I don't think we can have a TC fanfic, as the book will be on sale.
Yes, you can have under 5000 words, by all means.

I agree with you, Bub. It is not possible for us to publish anything but original works.
Danlo sounds like he's worried about exceeding 10k words. My only true concern about the length of each story is that I would like for everyone who wants to contribute something to have the chance to be included. As I recall Cafepress, for example, charges for each book depending upon the number of pages. I would hate for our anthology to end up costing as much as a popular hardback and become a hardship for members to purchase because of the overall page count. I would like to maximize the number of submissions if possible. We have a lot of very creative people at KW and I'm anxious to read everyone's work.

I also have just recently sent off my copyright application for my personal book. I am not experienced enough to know how copyright is handled for multiple authors in a short story collection. Anyone have a clue what we should do in this case or know if submitting copyright is even necessary?

It shouldn't be necessary to file for copyright. It's not expensive, but it's a bit time consuming. All we'll really need to do is plop that happy little © symbol on each story and we're all set. We'll also need a line somewhere (maybe where the copyright page usually is) that says that each story is the property of the author, and all rights are reserved. It formalizes things a little bit without having to do all the paperwork.

If we were applying for an ISBN or getting ourselves into the Library of Congress Catalog, it'd be different, but if we're self-publishing through cafepress for the enjoyment of other Watchers more than anything else, then I don't see it being necessary. It seems to me we should keep this as simple as possible the first time around, as we'll probably have enough to do keeping things on schedule in the first place.

Btw, what is the schedule??

I agree with what you posted, Myste. That settles the copyright matter in my mind.

The schedule is tentatively set at 60 days or the end of January with the hope of the book being available sometime in February. The true publication date should be associated with the editing process. If a large number of submissions are entered near or at the deadline there may be a great deal of editing to do before we can arrive at a publication date. I plan to submit my story in the next 30 days and I've heard that some members have already completed their work so there may be a good deal of editing work completed before we reach the deadline. We'll just have to be flexible with the publication date.
Of course I haven’t touched on what the selection process might entail.