New Fantasy Anthology (aka the DISTAFF women again...)

I know our word count is a hard limit, but could we consider any flexibility in story length? Just putting the idea out there for discussion, because I've spoken to one of our lovely writers who has a great story just under 2k. I've a feeling there might be others in this situation, too.

Any thoughts?
 
While I wouldn't want anyone to pad a story, is there perhaps an way of expanding the piece? Not just to make the word count, but to create something that is more complex eg the addition of a subplot supporting the theme.

I don't know why the 3,000 words minimum was chosen for the original Distaff, but it seems to me to be about right -- I think it's a good idea to elevate the stories beyond flash fiction into something more substantial, so the anthology has weight, literally and figuratively.

Whether we could accept one story so far under the limit might depend, though, on the word count we have for the others and whether the total would appear to give value for money for anyone buying the anthology. I've no idea if there's a sweet spot for word/page count and/or number of contributors.
 
Good idea. For Distaff, we also mentioned what kind of SF it was, which helped when it came to sorting out the groups for critiquing. It's probably not so important this time around, but a few words describing what branch of fantasy each story is might add a frisson of interest to potential readers looking at the thread!
 
Juliana said:
Maybe those of us who have at least first draft done can post word count to be added to Serendipity's fabulous list? That way we can have a general idea...

Mine: 'Taste of Honey' – 8900 words
Click to expand...

Oh you're letting this little geek-lister lose on a major modification - lovely, yum-yum...

  1. Juliana Spink Mills - done and had it critiqued and done the edits
  2. Kerry Buchanan - done and had it critiqued (and maybe still hunting typos!), 8900 words
  3. Mouse - done and had it critiqued. 5100 words
  4. millymollymo - after a flurry of flounces has sent in story, but may decide to have a few more flounces yet
  5. Serendipity - after a mad rush of blood to the head, produced story. 5500 words.
  6. Susan Boulton - almost finished story
  7. crystal haven - three-quarters through writing after starting again
  8. Nixie - in search of concentration for writing story
  9. Abernovo - words are being written, but needs encouragement to write more
  10. The Judge - nope stage
  11. Jo Zebedee - waiting for the last minute panic to settle before starting to write (normal mode for Jo?)
  12. Teresa Egerton - unknown
 
I'm tentatively curious about this project, but for now, considering just waiting before (maybe) getting involved. What is the copyright situation for any shory story published in Distaff? Will it then be impossible to republish elsewhere at a later date, as part of a larger story?
 
Margaret Note Spelling said:
I'm tentatively curious about this project, but for now, considering just waiting before (maybe) getting involved. What is the copyright situation for any shory story published in Distaff? Will it then be impossible to republish elsewhere at a later date, as part of a larger story?
Click to expand...

Hello Margaret Note Spelling,

Short answer is we're likely to follow the same contract format as the original Distaff - which basically says that you are free to get your story published elsewhere after a given time limit (Off the top of my head, it wasn't more than a year), unless it is going to be included in a Best of anthology, in which you can get it republished there immediately. This is what happened to Susan Boulton's Distaff story, Ab Initio, which has this week been published in the Best of British Science Fiction 2019. Hope this helps.
 
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Oops - geek-lister was too anxious to get to her home-grown strawberries - yum-yumity-yum. With apologies to Juliana and Kerry for the previous mix-up, the list now reads...

  1. Juliana Spink Mills - done and had it critiqued and done the edits. 8900 words.Title - Taste of Honey
  2. Kerry Buchanan - done and had it critiqued (and maybe still hunting typos!., 8900 words. Title - Fae-tal Attraction
  3. Mouse - done and had it critiqued. 5100 words
  4. millymollymo - after a flurry of flounces has sent in story, but may decide to have a few more flounces yet
  5. Serendipity - after a mad rush of blood to the head, produced story. 5500 words. Title - A Fooling Time
  6. Susan Boulton - almost finished story
  7. crystal haven - three-quarters through writing after starting again
  8. Nixie - in search of concentration for writing story
  9. Abernovo - words are being written, but needs encouragement to write more
  10. The Judge - nope stage
  11. Jo Zebedee - waiting for the last minute panic to settle before starting to write (normal mode for Jo?)
  12. Teresa Egerton - unknown
  13. Maybe Margaret Note Spelling?
For your information, Distaff came in at roughly 45,000 words for all the stories combined. The numbers we have above roughly add up to 17800+10600=28400
 
Okay, thanks, copyright no problem for me. I have the seeds of an idea that I think I could probably flesh out by June 30, but I'm a little hesitant to commit. I'll do some work on it and see where I am in a week, how's that?

Also, is there anywhere I can access the last anthology and see what it was like?
 
Margaret Note Spelling said:
I'm tentatively curious about this project, but for now, considering just waiting before (maybe) getting involved. What is the copyright situation for any shory story published in Distaff? Will it then be impossible to republish elsewhere at a later date, as part of a larger story?
Click to expand...
Well, don't take too long to decide -- we'd like the story by the end of June! (But as I've said before, undoubtedly we'd be happy to wait for a while if the story is well begun by then.)

As for copyright, as Serendipity says we dealt with this in the original Distaff contract, and it's unlikely to change much for this one. The exact terms were the group had the exclusive rights to each story from the date of the agreement until six months after the date of publication of the anthology. (It was a bit more long-winded than that, since I drafted it, but that's the crux of it.) During the six months, it's OK to submit and be published in a "Best of" anthology or equivalent, and thereafter it's open to each contributor to do anything she wants with her story.

That help?


EDIT: crossed with your post! Yep, see how you get on over the next week, but don't worry if it's not 100% finished by the 30th. As for the anthology, I think you can have a look at its insides on Amazon, doubtless someone will have a link.
 
The Judge said:
As for the anthology, I think you can have a look at its insides on Amazon, doubtless someone will have a link.
Click to expand...
Just search for "Distaff" in the Kindle store on Amazon. It's the first thing to come up. Or just click here.
 
And in a something of a surprise for all concerned, not least me, I had an idea for the anthology this morning while tramping through a new part of the Forest. (New to me, that is. I'm pretty sure it's been there for the last 1,000 years and counting.)

So, for Serendipity's list:

The Judge - has an idea and writing taking place (400 words so far). Working Title - Finders, Keepers. Fantasy type - traditional, fae.
 
Oh geekinations - I feel like a hippopotamus wallowing in some cooling lists....
  1. Juliana Spink Mills - done and had it critiqued and done the edits. 8900 words.Title - Taste of Honey
  2. Kerry Buchanan - done and had it critiqued (and maybe still hunting typos!., 8900 words. Title - Fae-tal Attraction
  3. Mouse - done and had it critiqued. 5100 words. Title - The Frog Prince
  4. millymollymo - after a flurry of flounces has sent in story, but may decide to have a few more flounces yet
  5. Serendipity - after a mad rush of blood to the head, produced story. 5500 words. Title - A Fooling Time
  6. Susan Boulton - almost finished story
  7. crystal haven - three-quarters through writing after starting again
  8. Nixie - in search of concentration for writing story
  9. Abernovo - words are being written, but needs encouragement to write more
  10. The Judge - inspiration struck - now started writing
  11. Jo Zebedee - into the moderate panic part of her writing-at-the-last minute cycle
  12. Teresa Egerton - unknown
  13. Maybe Margaret Note Spelling?
Running known word count: 28,400 (Aim c. 45,000 to match Distaff)

Jo - sending a few bolts of lightning your way for enhance your creativity....
 
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