Furry Writers' Guild Forum

Seeking editor for the next guild anthology

Announcements
#1

One of my last goals for the remainder of my term is to get the process started for a second FWG fiction anthology. Since it’s something I have neither the time nor the skills to do on my own, I need to find someone who can head up the project and get things moving. Here are the qualifications I’m looking for:

[ul][li]Must either be a current member of the FWG or meet the criteria for membership.[/li]
[li]Must have edited or co-edited at least one anthology of fiction (furry or non).[/li][/ul]

Besides the obvious tasks of selecting and editing stories for publication, the editor will oversee and coordinate all aspects of the anthology, including:

[ul][li]Facilitating selection of a theme (ideally by member poll on the forums)[/li]
[li]Working with the publisher to meet their requirements/schedules[/li]
[li]Setting appropriate deadlines for submissions, edits, etc.[/li]
[li]Bringing in co-editors, slush readers, and/or proofreaders from the FWG membership, as the editor deems necessary[/li]
[li]Providing status updates to the FWG president on a regular basis (ideally monthly)[/li][/ul]

Payment is negotiable. While I’d like for the cost of the anthology to be covered by the treasury, I strongly suspect that will require passing the hat for more donations, so if you’re able to contribute financially to the project, that of course would be very much appreciated. :slight_smile:

If you meet these qualifications and are interested in helping out the FWG by heading up this project, please email me at furwritersguild at gmail.com. Deadline to contact me is February 21; I’d like to have an editor appointed and the process started by March. Any questions, drop me an email or ask here.

#2

Do we have a publisher for the second anthology? Or would that need to be included in the duties?

#3

Nothing’s been lined up yet, no, so that would be part of the editor’s job.

#4

There’s a part of me that’s always going to want to do this, but the logical part of me wants to put that part into a crazy house.

#5

I’m conversing in the Shoutbox as I type this, and the subject of articles in fiction collections came up. May I suggest that whoever edits this might want to solicit an article (to be donated) from a notable furry author on what the term “Furry Fiction” means to them? I’d further suggest that this be carried forward as a sort of tradition, so that many different voices are heard and their opinions, offered during the still-early days of our artform, might be preserved for posterity.

Just an idea…

#6

That would work well with an open furry anthology without a theme, but most of the time the forewords tend to be related to the anthology theme if there is one. We’ll see how it develops.

#7

If I could make a suggestion, that would be an excellent piece for an article or two in GoAL. You should write one up and send it to Sean.

#8

If he (or anyone else) were to ask for one, I’d be honored.

#9

I’d definitely want something like that for GoAL. We can talk sometime outside of this thread =)

#10

I would love to volunteer to be a slush pile reader.
My Ego would like to volunteer to be editor, but I still kinda worry about running and hiding again.
I can handle the slush pile reading, it would be pretty much like the reviews I’m doing now, I would think.

#11

I’d also like to volunteer to help because I have never worked in an anthology and would like to put one or a few together in the future.

#12

I’ve added a deadline to contact me - February 21. So far I’ve had one qualified applicant, but I want to get the word out a bit more before I make a decision.

#13

I’d also like to have this clarified, since I’ve had people comment in conversation they aren’t exactly sure what this means. I figure it’s this:

The FWG Treasury will pay for as much of the author payments and other expenses as it can. The editor will be in charge of paying for the rest of author payments. In return, the editor will receive back the amount they paid to authors, as well as a negotiable amount of funds from the royalties.

Is this correct?

#14

Also who can submit to this anthology? Anyone of Guild Members? Or will that be decided by the editor? I know this was a thought for future FWG collections

#15

When I said “negotiable,” I meant “negotiable,” as in, I don’t have things set in stone and I’m willing to work with how the editor usually does things and see what agreements we can come to. I’ve had one person contact me so far, and they’ve offered to donate their editing fee, so obviously that’s something that isn’t clearly set. If the guild can pay for all the expenses involved in publishing the anthology, I’d like that, but that may or may not be possible. I know different editors and different publishers have different ways of handling these aspects, so that’s why I left it a bit vague. I’d be open to the scenario you described, but I might be open to other scenarios as well. That’s as clear as I can be about it at the moment.

As far as who can submit, I’d personally prefer to see it limited to guild members or those who are qualified to be guild members, since it is “Tales From the Guild,” but until we actually get an editor on board, that’s kind of putting the cart before the horse. :slight_smile:

#16

I’ve never worked on an anthology before as an editor, so I don’t qualify for that, but I’d totally love to help out as a slush pile reader. :slight_smile:

#17

The member-wide email I sent out yesterday has gotten some good responses, and there may be others coming in before the deadline, so I do expect to be able to announce an editor on March 1.

Just a note to everyone contacting me (here or privately) about doing slush or proofing – that’s going to be something that’s handled by the editor, so once we have an editor officially on board, I’ll pass all your names along, and then they’ll go from there to decide what they need and contact volunteers if necessary.

#18

How often are anthologies published by “amateur” editors?

I have an idea for a theme but have no experience.

#19

It’s not unusual Z. Editors DO have to start somewhere, after all. But in this case, I imagine that if no experienced editors put their hats in the ring, then either alternate experiences would be considered or the project would be postponed.

Once an editor is selected, the theme will be selected, most likely thru a poll of some sort will be opened up for themes. Depending on the editor, some themes might be easier or harder to address than others. I’d never be able to judge poetry properly, for example. Another editor might not be able to accept the thermal dynamic blind-spots in a Victorian steampunk and reject great stories. And another might be too liberal with allowing Americanisms in 18th century Europe (“Me and the guys think that’s swell.”).

One of the qualifiers for a good editor would be knowing what they are qualified for. That usually takes some sort of experience.

#20

Just a note that I’d planned to spend this morning getting back to everyone who applied, but work has thrown extra hours at me again, so I probably won’t get to it until later tonight or the next couple days. I will respond to everyone who applied, though, and I’ll have an official announcement for everyone as soon as I’ve touched base with the person and made sure they’re still available/interested.