HeroQuest
Issaries, Inc. |
Freelancers Start HereDear Prospective Author,Thank you for your interest in writing for HeroQuest. What we seek most is professional quality writing of informed Gloranthan content, accurate rules knowledge, and adherence to deadlines. If you are interested in contributing to one of our books which is already in progress, then email me separately to discuss the possibilities. We are also interested in hearing from artists. We only produce works set in Glorantha and/or using the HeroQuest rules system. Professional quality means that we don't want to have to revise or rewrite your work unnecessarily. You are responsible for submitting your best work, and while your book's editor will fix minor errors, we do not expect to have to carry out major rewrites because your manuscript is inaccurate or unclear. We have a set of writing guidelines (PDF format, 162 kB), which you must follow if you are to write for us. That said, you must also accept that your manuscript will be changed during the editorial process, which could involve anything from minor tweaks to style and detail to major structural and thematic revision. This is an inevitable part of the process, not least as our requirements may change over time. You will generally be invited to comment and even carry out some or all of those changes, but if you submit material, you must accept that we have the right to make such changes as are necessary as part of our common aim of producing the best books possible. Informed Gloranthan content means that we rely upon you to be accurate in your depiction of the world. We will work with you to develop your book, but we regrettably do not have the time to answer every question and certainly will not be able to spend time working with you before a proposal is agreed upon, so send us a first submission dealing with a subject that you know well. Approved authors (both established and potential) will gain access to the private Author's Site, which has considerable unpublished data, a timeline of important events in the Hero Wars, and unfinished works to allow you to expand your knowledge. Accurate rules knowledge means that you must write within the HeroQuest game system. We do not want variant rules of any type; if you are unclear about a rule, we have an extensive FAQ on our web site to which you can refer. Adherence to Deadlines is critical. If you receive an assignment and fail to meet the deadline, you endanger the book and our whole production schedule. Because of time and monetary restrictions, we cannot afford to assign more work than we plan to publish. If an assignment is late, the entire book must be delayed while we find an author to complete the work. If you have already published material through a web page, magazine article, or Issaries itself, please point me at the location where I can find the work. If your publication was in a magazine, be aware that I may not have the issue in question, so be prepared to send an electronic version or a photocopy if I ask for it. If you are not a published Gloranthan/HeroQuest writer, then we need initially to get a feel for your writing ability and grasp of the rules. The best approach is for you to write a short scenario (between 1000 and 3000 words), heroquest, or relevant game article. It is often tempting to produce a background article rather than a playable episode, but be warned that this is our least favorite option. We know from experience that it is possible to write interesting background material but not have a good sense of how the game plays. We also find submissions of creatures or magic without context have limited usefulness. Thus, we strongly encourage you to opt for a scenario or heroquest. If you also want to provide separate background information, description, myths, and the like, then this is fine. The online scenario outline will aid you in preparing any scenario. Note also that any submission must include an Author's Release Form (PDF format). Print this out, sign and date it, and mail it to us as described on the form or scan it and send the scanned image. Unless you say otherwise, we will assume that you are happy for us to assume ownership of the submission also freely to use it on our website or elsewhere (giving you proper credit). We prefer submissions sent electronically to our acquisitions editor, in RTF or Microsoft Word for Windows (PC) format. Please use this style template (this is a ZIPped Word document with explanations of the styles to use). Please email us for guidance if you cannot send files in this format. Because of our small staffing, we cannot accept submissions in non-electronic format at this time. Once you are satisfied with your submission, send it to the acquisitions editor. If your submission or proposal is rejected then I will tell you why as honestly and fully as possible. After all, most submissions are rejected for one reason or another or else heavily reshaped and revised before acceptance. You ought not to take this personally: even the best writers get rejections, and just because a submission does not match our current plans, this does not mean that it was no good, and your next proposal might be accepted with glee. We want to work with you and hear from you, because the wider community of writers, contributors, gamers, and fans is what makes the world of Glorantha the magical place it is. Good luck!
Greg Stafford Author LinksAuthor's Site (password required) Contains additional resources and reference materials for approved authors. Once approved, complete and return a Non-disclosure form (PDF format). Print this out, sign and date it, and mail or fax it to us as described on the form. A note to AOL users: we have reports of problems to login to the author site using the AOL browser. This does not show up with other major browsers (Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer).For more information, contact the acquisitions editor.
Benchmarks and Story Arcs
Writing Guidelines
Style Template
Formats and Outlines (These will be updated once HeroQuest is released to reflect changes made in the game) |
