Temporary cover art

This project has been cancelled.

Make your way focuses on interactive storytelling. Meaning simply that the works within will each tell a story, and require some level of interaction from the audience.

WHAT DO WE WANT FOR THIS ANTHOLOGY?

Meaningful choosable path fiction will likely be the bulk of the volume, but I’d like to see other expressions of interactive storytelling as well. Folding poems? puzzles? multiple-choice comicbook? card games? Stuff I haven’t thought of? Does it require the audience to have a pencil or a dice or a scissors? does interacting with the work destroy the pages? That’s all okay.

Really, we want to see almost anything you can come up with that is both a story and interactive, so it might be easier to tell you the few things we are not looking for:

WHAT DON’T WE WANT?

We’re not looking for puzzles or games that have no story to tell. Crossword puzzles and mazes are neat, but unless it also tells a meaningful story, this is not the right market for it.

Also keep in mind that not all choosable path stories have to be about life and death situations. If most of the ‘endings’ result in an unsatisfactory death or ‘failure’ for the  POV character, we’re likely to pass, unless it’s doing something interesting and new in that space. Choosable path fiction should not always be about trying to figure out how to allow the character to survive.

We don’t want a lot of digital interaction. We might accept one or two stories that require the audience to use a phone or web browser for part of the experience, but there are plenty of other places for digital interactive fiction, and, while we may release an eBook edition, this will be a print anthology first and foremost, so everything needs to be able to work in that format.

In the same vein, we won’t be able to handle anything that relies on color. The book will be printed in black and white, so unless the audience is somehow providing the color themselves, there will be no color outside the cover.

Adult content and topics are acceptable, but no graphic sex or gore please.

There is no hard limit to the number of pages that a single work can take up, but keep in mind that it is an anthology with other works, and so should not be a full book worth of content on its own.

COVER ART

We will also be accepting submissions for cover art. Ideally the cover will be interactive in some way, while also leaving room for the title and back-copy. It’s acceptable to submit sketches and ideas for consideration.

 

SUBMISSIONS

Previously published work is okay, as long as A) it’s over a year past the original publication; B) you let us know where it was published previously, so we can credit them in the book; and C) you have the ability to sell the exclusive print rights. It’s the submitter’s responsibility to ensure they have the rights to their work before submitting. If the work is self-published online (like in a personal blog, forum, facebook, deviant art, etc.) We’d like it taken down upon acceptance into the anthology, and remain down for one year past the anthology publication date. More restrictive rights will be requested for cover art.

If your work is accepted, you will grant Manawaker Studio the right to publish the work exclusively for one year starting at the time of the publication of the anthology. (If the story is a reprint, it’s non-exclusive, but it needs to not be available online for free during the contracted time as mentioned above.) The book may stay in print indefinitely, but is non-exclusive after the first year. The work or parts of it may also be used for promotional purposes in print or online.

Original creator(s) will retain all other copyrights.

It is okay to submit multiple works, especially if they are very different or if they are interconnected.

Simultaneous submissions are okay, just make sure you tell us right away if your work is accepted elsewhere.

COMPENSATION

Compensation for inclusion in the anthology will be a copy of the final book and a semi-pro payment of (in USD):

  • 1¢ / word for text fiction
  • 10$ per page of sequential art fiction
  • Works that do not fit into the category of either text or sequential art will be offered a comparable payment at the time of acceptance.
  • $100 for the cover illustration

A sample contract sits here, if you are interested. It will be used as a template for all contracts with the exception of the cover art.

Contributors may order the physical book at a discounted price, so that they may resell it at signings, readings, and shows without having to bump the cost above the MSRP. If an eBook is released, contributors will be permitted to distribute it without cost (within limits).

All submissions should be sent to submissions@manawaker.com with ‘Make Your Way Submission’, your last name, and the title of the work in the subject line. Include a brief cover letter and a bio (65 words max) in the body of the e-mail. If you’d like a URL for an online portfolio or blog included with your bio, give that as well.

Include submissions in whatever file type is most appropriate for the work. If I can’t find a way to open it, I’ll let you know and we’ll figure something else out.

We would also appreciate a brief artist’s statement, explaining the influences for the work, and how it’s intended to be interacted with. If it’s a puzzle, I would like the solution and an explanation of how the solution is come to. (these are not for publication, it’s just to help the editor.)

Response times will vary wildly, ranging from a couple weeks to six or more months. Generally, rejections will be faster than acceptances.

There is currently no deadline, with plans to keep the sub call open until the book is full.

The publication date is equally nebulous.

Any questions about the project or these guidelines (or any queries after submissions) should be sent to contact@manawaker.com.