In November 2004, we announced an open submissions policy for anyone who wanted to write a Stargate SG-1 novel. Submissions are now closed, but we hope to be able to reopen them again later this year. In the meantime, we have produced this FAQ for the benefit of those writers who did submit a proposal and weren't successful this time around...

FAQ - Why didn't you accept my proposal?

We had close to 250 proposals for Stargate SG-1 novels during this round of submissions (which opened 1 November 2004 and closed at the end of that month). We couldn't possibly publish them all, nor can we enter into discussions with the writers regarding our reasons for not accepting their idea. However, we've put together a list of the most common reasons why outlines didn't grab our attention.

1. Cool concept, but not enough story. We had many proposals that included imaginative situations and cultures, but often there wasn't enough emotional drama, character development and/or conflict involving the members of SG-1 to make it a gripping story.

2. Too many secondary characters, diluting the focus on SG-1. For example, Lt. Hailey or Cassie saving the day.

3. Nothing at stake. A lot of things happened to SG-1, but there wasn't anything at stake for them personally. Sometimes, there was more at stake for the secondary characters they met off-world - such as the survival of their culture, village, family etc. See number 1 above.

4. The story left the Stargate SG-1 'universe' and crossed over into horror or fantasy - for example, including vampires, sentient trees, fairies or magic etc.

5. The story was too similar to an episode of SG-1, or featured a plot device we have seen many times. We had many proposals that involved SG-1 visiting a new culture that harboured a secret, the secret turning out to be a Goa'uld hidden among the population.

6. The story was too similar to a story currently in production - either by ourselves, or by the TV show itself.

Overall, the quality of the submissions was excellent. Thank you to everyone for putting so much hard work into them. If you haven't been successful this time, please don't be disheartened. We are only able to select a handful of proposals for possible development, and if you weren't successful please try again in future.

Aside from the above, one other thing we would say is that this time we did get a lot of proposals that featured the Goa'uld. While they will always remain a staple for SG-1, we would love to see ideas that involved some of the other bad guys from the Stargate universe - and even some totally new, evil bad guys.

Sorry we are not able to enter into discussions regarding individual manuscripts, but we hope you find this information useful in developing future story ideas.

And finally, another apology! Sorry this has taken so long but we were overwhelmed by the number of proposals we received. However, we have learned a lot about how to handle submissions in the future and, with that in mind, we will be amending the submissions process when we reopen it again in the Autumn. Please check back here - or register for our email newsletter - to be notified about the new dates and process.

The following FAQ was part of our original submissions page, and we'll leave this on the page for anyone who's interested in reading it.

FAQ (updated 1 November 2004)

Since announcing the opening of submissions, we have received a number of questions from potential writers. We will post some of the questions and answers here to save time for everyone.

Is this a contest?

No. There is no winner - there is no prize. If you are successful with your proposal, we will invite you to convert it into a manuscript. Our aim is to give writers, whether published or not, an opportunity to show us their work. We have no quota for how many manuscripts we will develop as a result of this.

So, you're going to publish my book?

Acceptance of your proposal is not a guarantee that we will publish your manuscript. We will let you know if we intend to publish your manuscript. At no stage in the process should you assume that there is an obligation on our part to publish your manuscript unless we notify you in writing of our intention to do so. All writers and manuscripts must be approved by MGM.

Can I email my proposal?

No. We won't accept email submissions. All proposals must be submitted via snail mail, postmarked by the closing date.

I know you are not able to sell your SG-1 novels in the US, but will you be taking submissions from US-based writers?

We accept proposals from anywhere, even if we aren't allowed to sell the novels in that territory!

My co-author and I are really looking forward to putting our
submission together. Regarding the 30-page writing sample we need to provide, since we will be doing a joint submission, is it 30 pages between us, or 30 pages each? Also, how many words is considered a page?

We welcome co-author submissions. If you have written something together, we would prefer to see that, but if you need to submit separate examples, please send approximately 30 pages each.

If you format your sample pages like this, then the word count should be near enough for our purposes:
Margins: 1-inch margins all around
Font: Times New Roman or Courier or New Courier - 10-12 pt
Standard paper size (ie, letter or A4 if you're in the UK)
Spacing: Double spacing, no extra line break between paragraphs. Please indent first line of each paragraph by approximately half an inch.
Page count: 27-33 pages.

Does your disclaimer mean that you can rip off my ideas?

Within the limited Stargate SG-1 universe, it's inevitable that people will come up with similar ideas. Indeed, while liasing with the producers of the show about ideas for the novels, we have already come across this problem and have had to shelve some of our ideas. It is not our intention to rip anyone off but rather to protect ourselves against allegations of plagiarism. This is exactly the reason why most publishing houses and studios do not accept unsolicited material. Without this clause in the disclaimer, we would be unable to offer this opportunity to unagented writers.

Your guidelines say that you need to include details about
previous writings and awards. I haven't really written before, can I still give it a go?

Please follow the submission guidelines and give it your best. We will judge all proposals based on their merits - including how well people stick to the guidelines.

The writers bio is just there to give people a chance to show us what they've done before, but it is not the only factor in our decision.

I see that you're looking for Stargate novel ideas - any chance of Stargate Atlantis books?

Sorry - we are only doing Stargate SG-1 novels at this time.

Does my writing sample have to be about Stargate SG-1?

No, it doesn't necessarily have to be a Stargate SG-1 story but if it were, it would give us more of an idea of your handling of the Stargate SG-1 characters.

Does my writing sample have to be a manuscript or can it be a screenplay?

If you don't have a suitable manuscript, we will consider a screenplay as an example of your writing.

I've got lots of ideas for Stargate SG-1 novels. Can I submit more than one proposal?

Yes, you can submit as many as you like (within reason!) provided you submit them separately, each one accompanied by its own proposal form, legal disclaimer, 30-page writing sample, writer's bio and synopsis.

Is there an age limit?

No, you can be as old as you like <g>. However, if you are younger than 18, you will have to get your proposal and disclaimer signed by a parent/guardian.

Does the proposal have to arrive by the deadline or do we just have to ensure it's postmarked by 30 November?

It has to be postmarked by 30 November. Hopefully it won't take more than about a week to arrive, but if it should, we won't penalise you for the slowness of the postal service.

Thanks to everyone for their questions. If you have other queries, please email us at info@stargatenovels.com.

The Stargate Novels Team
info@stargatenovels.com