December 12th, 2001
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Our primary focus is roleplaying games. Listed below are the kinds of books we want to publish.
Sourcebooks
A sourcebook contains information such as rules expansions, campaign locations (like cities, towns, villages, wilderness settings, etc.), new gadgets or equipment, spells or magic items, material to aid in or enhance character creation, non-player characters, and so on.
Sourcebooks make up the majority of supplements for our games. Each sourcebook should focus on a general area, theme or topic for the game. Some examples include The Mystic East, a sourcebook for the Pulp Fantasy RPG, which brings the world of Pulp Fantasy to the Far East; it allows players to create Far Eastern characters and GMs to present Far Eastern NPCs and adventures.
Sourcebooks should be written so as to be useful not only to GMs but to players as well. This allows us to market the books to all the fans of a particular game, or genre.
If your proposed book does not include material for both players and GMs, then you need to go back and rework it. How can you spruce it up? What would your players want to see in such a book? What would you, as a GM, want to see in it?
Sourcebooks are generally published at 96 pages, 128 pages, or 160 pages. Some exceptions may be made for a particularly interesting manuscript or a special product (such as a 48 limited-scope sourcebook), but generally we will edit the manuscript to fit one of these lengths.
Adventure Anthologies
Adventure anthologies (also known as "scenario books" and "modules") are books which contain scenarios for use with a particular game. Adventures should be written for 4 to 6 players (the size of the average gaming group) of low to medium experience. Adventures help new and experienced players alike, and help to keep up interest in our games.
We want to publish adventures either 16 or 32 pages long. Thus, for a 96 page book, we could publish either three 32-page adventures or six 16-page adventures.
Campaign Books
Campaign books detail an entire campaign "world," providing an established setting in which to play the game. Campaign books also provide a fair amount of source material and a few adventures. These are the most diverse of the different types of books we publish.
Lengths can range from 96 pages to 256 pages.
Other Products & New Ideas
We are open to new ideas and suggestions for enhancing the marketability of our product lines, including licensing ideas (like character generation software and T-shirts) and new media (like interactive CD-ROM products and audio CDs).
To get more information about any of the above product lines, including graphics and pictures from the lines, drop by our web page at http://www.battlefieldpress.com/.
SUBMISSIONS PROCEDURE
To become a writer for Battlefield Press, Inc., all you have to do is send us a proposal (see below). If we like your product proposal enough, we'll ask you for a full draft and send you a copy of the Battlefield Press, Inc. Writer's Guide.
Once you have the Writer's Guide, you should write your manuscript, following the information in the Writer's Guide. If the manuscript still looks promising, we will sign a contract, and then do revisions of the manuscript until it is ready to be published. Most manuscripts require several drafts from the author, and the total process (from proposal to publication) can take many months, or longer. Authors are paid either with a flat payment or through royalties.
The following information will help you to send us your submission (product proposal or manuscript) in a format that is easy for us to work with. Please read the following information carefully, as failing to follow the guidelines presented here can take your proposal out of consideration!
Hardware
Computers: Battlefield Press, Inc. is a PC-based shop. We operate with an AMD Athlon 800 w/650 Mb of RAM.
Media: We can accept submissions on 3.5" floppy disk or CD-ROM. Disks must be PC-formatted.
Modem: We use a DSL Connection for electronic transfer of files, and have access to Internet e-mail and the World Wide Web.
Format
: Any proposals sent in electronic format (i.e., on diskette) must be accompanied by a signed product release form. We must have the signed release form on file (i.e., in our hands) before you send a proposal or submission via e-mail or ftp transfer.
You can submit material to Battlefield Press, Inc. using one of the following media:
Paper: We accept only product proposals on paper. Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format (see below). Let me repeat - ; we do not accept hard copy printouts of finished manuscripts, unless accompanied by electronic files.
Diskette: Submissions can be sent on diskette. We can read Mac- and PC-formatted 3.5" floppy disks, 100Mb Zip disks, or CD ROMs.
Electronic Mail: Submissions can be sent to us by attaching the file to e-mail. If sending files via the Internet, address them to: jthompson@battlefieldpress.com
PROPOSALS
The first step that you, as a prospective author, should take is to prepare and submit a product proposal. The proposal enables us to get an idea of the project as well as your capabilities, without requiring you to complete the entire project. It also allows us to make an initial appraisal without having to read dozens of pages of material.
The product proposal consists of the following:
Concept
The concept is a brief, one or two sentence description of the product that describes the project and why someone should buy it. It should give the proposed title of the project, the length and type of book it is intended to be, the game system it is for use with, and a general description of what the book is about.
Summary
The summary is a brief synopsis of the project.
Table of Contents
The Table of Contents is essentially an index without page numbers, which illustrates the topics you would write about and organized the way you would write the manuscript. In addition, you should include any pertinent notes, such as brief descriptions of what each section listed is about, if it is not obvious from the title.
Writing Sample
The writing sample is one to two pages from the book itself; a short section of the project that is written in full detail. This gives us an idea of your writing style and ability. We should be able to get a good feel for what your book will be like from reading the sample.
Please spell-check and edit your sample as much as possible before sending it to us; we will assume that your sample represents your best writing ability.
If you have previously published credits, you may list those instead of supplying a sample. But it's always best to include a photocopy of a page from your published work, in case we don't have access to it.
Product Release Form
All product proposals must include a signed release form. This is an unfortunate necessity of publishing, and it protects both us and you. We're not out to steal your ideas, but our lawyer insists on these things.
Please note that we cannot look at any submission that arrives without a signed product release form. Without a signed release form, your proposal will be returned to you without being read (if you enclosed a SASE - self-addressed stamped envelope) or simply thrown away unread.
You will find a copy of the release form at the end of this document. Please copy the release form, and include one with each submission.
Self-addressed Stamped Envelope
Always enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope with your proposal. We receive a large number of product proposals these days. Without including a SASE, we cannot send an acknowledgment of receipt or return your proposal if you request it.
ART SAMPLES
Artists desiring to work for Battlefield Press, Inc. need to show us what they can do. The best way for us to evaluate your art is for you to send in art samples.
When sending in arts samples, please bear the following in mind:
RIGHTS
Manuscripts
Battlefield Press, Inc. wants to buy all rights to written works. This means we'll want to own the characters and situations that you create for your manuscript. If you don't wish to relinquish rights to a specific character, then don't use it in your manuscript. While we appreciate the desires of many authors to maintain ownership of their creations, we want to avoid potential problems in the future regarding rights to material we publish (such as in the case of republishing material). If you have any questions, please contact the editor.
Artwork
In most cases Battlefield Press, Inc. purchases publishing rights to artwork, along with the right to reprint artwork in future books (for an additional payment to the artist). Artists retain all other rights to their work, which means they may sell prints or lithographs of the work, sell ancillary publishing rights to another company, and so on.
In some cases we purchase all rights to the work. This occurs most often in connect with our Cityscape product line.
CONSIDERATION (PAYMENT) POLICY
Battlefield Press, Inc. provides the following consideration for accepted projects:
Authors
Authors are paid either in royalties or flat fee (our discretion).
Cover Artists
Cover artists are paid either in royalties or flat fee (our discretion).
Interior Artists
Battlefield Press, Inc. pays a flat fee depending on our experience with the artist and the artist's previously published credits.
A full page of art consists of one or more illustrations totaling one full page of space - 8" x 10" (e.g., four 1/4-page illustrations, two 1/2-page illustrations, eight 1/8-page illustrations, or a combination equaling one full page).