A Whateley Academy Tale
Submission Guidelines
First off, all of us are pleased and flattered our work has been so well received in the community. So much so, that we’ve already started to get requests for writing, prompting this guide line. If you’re not interested in writing in the Whateley Academy Universe, you need not read any further.
If you are interested in writing in the universe, there are some things you should be aware of first.
1 Acceptance of submission means and requires that you give your consent for your characters to appear in stories other accepted authors write in the Universe. A certain amount of professional courtesy is expected for such appearances. The characters creating author has final say on how their character is portrayed.
2 The Universe Creators have final say on whether or not something fits or is allowed to happen in that universe. There are NO exceptions to this rule.
3 The Universe Creators are the authors writing under the names, Bek D. Corvin, Maggie Finson, Starwolf, Babs Yeruncle and Scrambler J.
4 The Submitting Author (that’s you) agree to any contract of publishment to be negotiated by the Universe Creators. Such a contract shall be negotiated in good faith and you will be paid an equitable sum for any story/novel/novella etc, to be published in hard format. Further, should such a contract be signed, you agree, sight unseen to the choices of the Universe Creators and grant them and their Publisher right of first release.
Ok, that’s enough legalese for now. J
What all of that means is, you don’t abuse anyone else’s character and they won’t abuse yours. Bek, Maggie, Babs, Starwolf and Scrambler J have the right to tell you that you can’t blow up in the Academy in your story and you have to abide by that ruling. Also, if they manage to convince a publisher to publish all these fine works out in the real world, you will be paid for your stories, but agree to let them negotiate on your behalf and allow that publisher to publish your stuff.
Now, on to the important stuff. Want to write a story? Cool! Here’s how to go about it.
1. Send a DETAILED description of your character(s) to the Universe Creators using the following format:
Hero Name “Nickname” (2F) (Year of school Sex)
Name : Real Name
Height:
Weight:
Age:
Hair: Color and style
Eyes: Color
Face: Shape and rough description
Build: Slight/athletic/muscular, etc.
Race+: Your characters race and sexual orientation
POB: Where they were born
Assoc: What cottage and team your character is in
Author: Your Name
Appearance: What the character physically looks like
General Description: A brief description of how your character behaves and what their origins are. This is IMPORTANT. This is how the other authors will know how to portray your character.
Powers: What powers your character possesses. Be specific and through.
Skills: Any other skills that make your character stand out.
Personality: Another important one that helps the other authors know how your character should be portrayed.
Weaknesses: Can’t be around kryptonite under a full moon? Let us know here.
2. Send a brief, but through synopsis of your story idea. DO NOT START WRITING. Just a couple of paragraphs to give us an idea of what you plan to do and when it will take place. The further out you plan, the more likely you’ll be accepted. Reading a story and wanting to pick up something right after it is hard. We have stuff going on that you won’t know about, yet.
3. Write a brief section, chapter or so, 5 pages at most and attach it to the email. This will give us a look at your writing craft. This is important and no submission will be accepted without it. It does not have to be Whateley centric. Just neat, well written and EDITED.
4. IF your idea is accepted, you’ll receive an email with a large attachment, The Whateley Academy Universe Bible. The holy grail of this universe. You will then READ that file, there’s a LOT of important information in there. It saves you asking questions and is an invaluable research tool
5. You will NOT distribute that file to ANYONE. Any accepted author who shares the bible will have their stories stripped from the site and their acceptance revoked.
6. Write!
If you don’t hear back quickly, don’t panic. We’re pretty busy. If you haven’t heard anything yes or no in a week, send a short email with Whateley Submission Follow Up in the Subject line.
If you’re not accepted, a reason why will be in the email you’re sent. We aren’t being needlessly cruel, but we want the caliber of this universe to be upheld.
Once everything you need is together, send an email to either (NOT both) Bekdcorvin@aol.com or mfinson@cox.net.
Thanks for taking part in this great experiment and a heartfelt thank you to all our readers.
The Universe Creators