Furry Writers' Guild Forum

Arcana - Call for Submissions

Publishing and Marketing
#21

Today’s the last day! Submissions are still open for all cards minus the ones marked as invitation only. I look forward to seeing all of the different ways folks choose to interpret their card. I’ve seen a lot of good submissions come along!

All of the submission stats are visible on the cards page. Theres still some cards that need some love: The Tower, The Star, and Judgement all have only one submission, and, surprisingly, The Lovers has none at all! There’s still some time, though, and if need be, we’ll have an extension period for cards that need a bit more time to get the words they deserve.

Thanks to all who submitted! Once submissions have closed completely, I should have decisions out within a week or so. I hope! There’s a lot to read, so I may take a bit longer.

Also, thanks again to Thurston Howl for his unending patience :slight_smile:

#22

Writing erotica seems to be all the rage in the furry fandom…I guess writing any romance softer and tamer than that, on the other hand, is hard to come by??

#23

My novel, In a Dog’s World, is a very tame romance. https://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=789

#24

Submissions for Arcana are now CLOSED. I am willing to accept extensions through Wednesday if you contact me personally, and later if there are extenuating circumstances. My next steps are to start slushing and such.

Here are the final numbers:

[table]
[tr][td]0 - The Fool[/td][td]Makyo[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]I - The Magician[/td][td]2 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]II - The High Priestess[/td][td]Invitation - th’ buni[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]III - The Empress[/td][td]2 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]IV - The Emperor[/td][td]3 submissions, 1 extension[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]V - The Heirophant[/td][td]3 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]VI - The Lovers[/td][td]0 submissions - yikes[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]VII - The Chariot[/td][td]4 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]VIII - Strength[/td][td]2 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]IX - The Hermit[/td][td]2 submissions, 1 extension[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]X - Wheel of Fortune[/td][td]Invitation - Lunostophiles[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XI - Justice[/td][td]Invitation - Searska[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XII - The Hanged Man[/td][td]Invitation - Sparf[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XIII - Death[/td][td]3 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XIV - Temperance[/td][td]2 submissions, 1 extension[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XV - The Devil[/td][td]2 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XVI - The Tower[/td][td]2 submissions, 1 extension[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XVII - The Star[/td][td]2 submissions[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XVIII - The Moon[/td][td]Invitation - Kyell Gold[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XIX - The Sun[/td][td]Invitation - George Squares[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XX - Judgement[/td][td]1 submission[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]XXI - The World[/td][td]Invitation - Ryffnah[/td][/tr]
[/table]

As you can see, some cards are lacking enough submissions (The Lovers? Really!?) to really be fair. Once I’ve had a chance to regroup and organize things, I will reopen for a second call for submissions for just those cards. I’ll announce it here, on my Twitter, on the Slack, on the Telegram group, and on my site. If you have some ideas, keep your eyes peeled! All of those cards with zero or one submission will reopen, and perhaps some with 2 submissions. I’ll let you know after talking things over with Thurston.

I’ve posted a retrospective of the submission process here for those interested.

Thank you all for being such awesome writers, and thank you Thurston for your unending patience :smiley:

Cheers,

~M

#25

That was an honest and very informative glimpse into the editing process; thanks for that. I think you did many things right, namely with presenting an interesting theme, freedom of interpretation, and payment to entice writers into submitting. I believe writers should be paid for their work if possible, though I understand if small publishers and presses are limited and hampered by financial issues to make that not feasible (once they grow in resources and support, however, they ought to pay their contributors in some form).

This was quite an ambitious project, for sure, and I commend you for taking it on. The very act of presenting twenty-two cards/writing prompts, plus the small writing community, spreads yourself thin in the amount and variety of submissions for each card. Solicits/invites does help curb the problem of spreading yourself even thinner, though. Perhaps a second call would pull in more submissions, either to spread the word better or give people more time to work on something. The editing process is as much as a learning experience as the submission process, it seems. :slight_smile:

#26

Hope I submitted properly. Can’t wait to see how it goes :slight_smile:

#27

I’d agree with Sibir. Generally, things were clear and it went very well. Thanks for the retrospective, it was very informative.

I think you’re right about just putting down the submission count for each entry, the current system made me think if I wrote for a 2/3 category and someone else submitted a 3rd before I did, then the submissions would be “closed” and I’d have to throw out what I’d written and choose another category. Just listing the submission count should be enough.

Also, really weird how The Lovers got no submissions, you’d think in the furry community…

EDIT: Oh, and I appreciate the paying for submissions. Really shows you respect and value the writers’ work.

#28

I think this says a lot about the interests, priorities, and nature of the furry fandom. There are anthologies and substantial authorship + readership dedicated to just erotica. The furry genre provides freedom, welcome arms, and a safe space to write and read such things. At the same time it leads to the funny little irony that nobody turned out even just one non-erotic romance for Arcana. That surprised me, but the more I thought about it, it didn’t. (shrug) I’m sure there are works of general romance out there, like Ryffnah’s, but they seem few and far between compared to the popularity and prevalence of erotica. Why’s that? I suppose it’s part of the movement to debunk the misconception held by the general public that talking animals are childish. It’s like furry erotica as a whole is trying to say “talking animals aren’t just kiddy stuff! We’ll show you it can appeal to adults too. It can be gritty or dirty or kinky and still be readable/marketable.” That’s just my observation, anyway. Feel free to agree or disagree.

#29

There is actually an entire anthology that deals with different aspects of love and it’s all PG-rated: Fragments of Life’s Heart by Mando and Munchkin. https://www.rabbitvalley.com/item/9469/1334/Fragments-of-Life-Heart-edited-by-Mando-and-Munchkin

Perhaps people expected a lot of stories to be written for the Lovers, so everybody managed to avoid it by writing for other cards? People could also just have been more inspired by other cards.

#30

Hi Arcana Folks!

I was going to say Arcanites, but I’m pretty sure that’s just one letter off from a Pokémon.

I was stunned by the submissions I received. The quality was out of this world, and the subsequent decisions way harder than I had expected. I wasn’t sure how this Anthology would be received, but dang, y’all wrote your tails off!

All stories have been read, difficult decisions made, and letters sent off. I invite all authors who have any questions to hit me up over email, Telegram, or the Slack, and I’ll try and answer as best I can!

Thank you all for the privilege of being able to read so much of your wonderful words. I look forward to reading a whole boatload more ^^

#31

Indeed, yet I accept and embrace Arcanine wholeheartedly. ;D

#32

Hi all! Thank you for being so patient with me! Lots of reading, lots of editing.

Here is the table of contents for Arcana:

[table]
[tr]
[td]0[/td][td]The Fool[/td][td]The First Step[/td][td]Madison “Makyo” Scott-Clary[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]I[/td][td]The Magician[/td][td]Cat’s Paw[/td][td]Mut[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]II[/td][td]The High Priestess[/td][td]Catalyst[/td][td]Kristina “th’buni” Tracer[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]III[/td][td]The Empress[/td][td]Domestic Violence[/td][td]Frances Pauli[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]IV[/td][td]The Emperor[/td][td]Joseph and the Technicolor Fur Coat[/td][td]Stephen Coghlan[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]V[/td][td]The Hierophant[/td][td]The Lunatic[/td][td]C.M. Averin[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]VI[/td][td]The Lovers[/td][td]Love Not Misplaced[/td][td]Hypetaph[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]VII[/td][td]The Chariot[/td][td]Avoiding the Subject[/td][td]TJ Minde[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]VIII[/td][td]Strength[/td][td]Chasing the Dragon[/td][td]Baxil[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]IX[/td][td]The Hermit[/td][td]While It Lasts[/td][td]John Kulp[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]X[/td][td]Wheel of Fortune[/td][td]The Dragon of Volcano Island[/td][td]Madison Keller[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XI[/td][td]Justice[/td][td]Red[/td][td]Searska GreyRaven[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XII[/td][td]The Hanged Man[/td][td]Unbound[/td][td]Chris “Sparf” Williams[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XIII[/td][td]Death[/td][td]St. John’s Bridge[/td][td]Rose LaCroix[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XIV[/td][td]Temperance[/td][td]A Temper for Order[/td][td]Frances Pauli[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XV[/td][td]The Devil[/td][td]Faux[/td][td]Atrum[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XVI[/td][td]The Tower[/td][td]The Storm[/td][td]J.S. Hawthorne[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XVII[/td][td]The Star[/td][td]No Peas in My Garden[/td][td]Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XVIII[/td][td]The Moon[/td][td]Who Fights With Monsters[/td][td]Kyell Gold[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XIX[/td][td]The Sun[/td][td]Remembering Sisyphus[/td][td]George Squares[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XX[/td][td]Judgement[/td][td]A Time for Giving[/td][td]Allison Thai[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]XXI[/td][td]The World[/td][td]The Unification of Worlds[/td][td]Mary E. Lowd[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Again, thank you, all who submitted. I was blown away by the quality of writing. Y’all are fantastic :slight_smile:

#33

That looks like an excellent lineup! Can’t wait to read it!

#34

Arcana is NOW AVAILABLE!

You can find it here: http://thurstonhowlpub.storenvy.com/products/22227398-arcana-a-tarot-anthology

It is also available on Amazon, but please consider purchasing it on the above link, which will help THP out much more!

Thank you, all of you contributors and readers.