Deadline: May 20th, 2016
Payment: $50, also if sales reach a certain threshold there will be royalties

The Twelve Days of Christmas. Everyone knows the song. And at some point, everyone has thought, “Man that must have gotten really disconcerting getting all those things from their ‘love’. There must be an easier way…”

And so we are making one: a way for people to give all these things to their love without the logistical nightmare.

The Patchwork Raven is calling for story submissions for an anthology based on the twelve gifts given in the well-known Christmas song. We’re hoping to have it available for this Christmas, which is why submissions are only open for a month. But I am a writer, I know what it’s like – writers thrive on deadlines right?

I am looking for interesting stories with one of the following titles:

• Twelve Drummers Drumming

• Eleven Pipers Piping

• Ten Lords a-Leaping

• Nine Ladies Dancing

• Eight Maids a-Milking

• Seven Swans a-Swimming

• Six Geese a-Laying

• Five Gold Rings

• Four Calling Birds

• Three French Hens

• Two Turtle Doves

• A Partridge in a Pear Tree

That is almost as much guidance as I am willing to give. They can be any genre, and the more twisty and surprising the connection to the title, the more likely I am to pick it. Those of you who have worked with me before will know that I love a story that surprises me. I also love stories in diverse voices. Show me a poly lesbian paladin. A female Indian noir detective. A trans Kenyan doctor living in Wellington. A bodybuilder who loves needlework. Challenge the usual boundaries. Write beautiful prose.

But most of all, tell me a good tale. I am looking for ONE story for each title. I may, over time, keep a tally here of what I get, so that if you come to the party late, you can see where the gaps are. If I don’t find anything I like enough for every title, I’ll extend submissions and, if necessary, save the book for Christmas 2017. But I would really like to get it out this year, so submit soon and brilliantly!​

Wordcount​

Stories should be anywhere between 2000 and 10000 words, but some leeway will be given in either direction for something that I find riveting enough. Be true to the story, not to the wordcount. ​

Payment

​Our goal is to get up to a point where we can pay pro rates, but while we are in our infancy, we just can’t do that yet. (SFWA’s pro rate is 6c a word – that’s the goal.) We firmly believe in paying creative people for their work (being creative people ourselves), so The Patchwork Raven will always be a paying market. For this anthology, all accepted stories will be paid a flat fee of $50. (Wordcount should serve the story, not the bottom line.) If the anthology becomes a runaway success, we will negotiate a royalty cut for each of the writers whose work appears in it.

​For the love of god, send me a clean manuscript.

​I’m not overly fussy about the form it comes in, but please keep it simple. Simple font, 12 point, 1.5 or double spaced, no fancy flourishes or coloured text or pretty borders. (All things I have received in submissions in the past.) Format should be .doc, .rtf or .txt. PLEASE proof-read it, or get it proof-read before you send it. Spelling and grammar errors will make me much less inclined to use your story unless it totally blows my mind. Simple, clean, correct.

I look forward to reading your astonishing submissions!

Via: The Patchwork Raven.