BattleCorps:/Manuscript Submission Guidelines

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

STORY CONTENT

BattleCorps is the market for official (canon) fiction set in the BattleTech® universe. We are primarily looking for "character oriented" stories, where the characters, rather than the technology, provide the main focus. We expect to see a good number of manuscripts where BattleMechs play a large role, but this is in no way a mandatory element.

The entire timeline is open for exploration, but newer writers are encouraged to stay on the sidelines of larger events (such as Kerensky's assault on Terra or the wedding of Hanse and Melissa) to prevent submission conflicts with the core BattleTech® authors. It is unlikely that we will purchase vanity stories about personal units with author-as-character. Neither are we interested in gratuitous sex or "gross-out" violence. The best advice is to find an unexplored area or idea, tell a really good story, and be professional.

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT

Submitted manuscripts must be double-spaced. Choose a standard font that is easy to read such as Times 12 point and please do not justify the right-hand margin. The first manuscript page should include the title, your name, address, telephone number and email and the number of words in your story. Use the body of the email for any cover-letter material you'd care to include. Do not summarize your story in your cover. We'd prefer to read it. For more detailed information about manuscript formatting, refer to our published Style Guide.

We accept electronic submissions only at submissions@battlecorps.com. Please attach your stories in Word or Rich Text Format (.rtf) formats.

PAYMENT & RIGHTS

By submitting to BattleCorps, you acknowledge that your work is set in an owned universe and that you retain no rights to any of the characters, settings, or "ideas" detailed in your story. Only the way in which you express your story is protected by international copyright law. We purchase all rights to every published story. Those rights are automatically transferred to The Topps Company, Inc.

We pay only after publication. Beginning writers generally receive four cents ($.04) per word. Established writers can expect more. We seldom buy stories longer than 5,000 words from a new writer, and chapter serials are even tougher. Non-traditional formats such as poetry or Flash HTML will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

SUBMISSION

All submissions should be emailed to submissions@battlecorps.com.
The BattleCorps staff will do its best to answer all mail in a timely manner. We regret that we do not, at this time, have the resources to make detailed critiques for every submission. Form letters will be used in most cases. If you have not heard from us within three months, assume your manuscript was lost in the Internet and feel free to resubmit.

Unless otherwise directed, all submissions must be made via e-mail to the address noted here:

BattleCorps Submissions

submissions@battlecorps.com