Call for Submissions

Nexus

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Call for Submission

2009 Guidelines for Nexus

Adam L G Nevill
Erotica Editor
Virgin Books Ltd
Random House
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2SA

INTRODUCTION
 
Nexus is our long-established imprint of erotic fiction. It was the first British book imprint devoted exclusively to erotica.
 
In order to maintain a clear identity and brand in an increasingly saturated market, we publish only very well-written erotica with an unusual slant. We are in favour of proposals dealing with bondage, fetishism, SM, CP, fem-dom, contemporary swinging or anything experimental - our favourite books are written (and read) by those enthusiastic about the subject matter.
 
If you would like to submit something to Nexus, please read this document carefully.
 
THE READERSHIP
We want to provide well-written and unusual erotica for a mass-market readership. Although some women read Nexus books, we know the vast majority of our readers to be men. A large number of Nexus readers are well-educated, successful and highly literate - they can tell good prose when they see it, and tend to favour more sophisticated stories than those found in top-shelf magazines.
 
CORRECT ENGLISH
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the editors primary function to correct mistakes of English. The editor is there to give advice on plot, characterisation, house style, series continuity, etc. Mistakes of spelling, grammar and punctuation are irritating, time-consuming, and therefore expensive to correct. They should, as far as possible, be the responsibility of the author. In any case, if a writer is unable to use English correctly, it is unlikely that he/she will have mastered the more refined techniques of writing. We want our books to be easy to read. Therefore you should use standard English punctuation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
 
COMPREHENSIBILITY
Clarity of expression is almost always a prerequisite of well-written fiction. This is particularly so in the case of erotic fiction.
 
Transparency of writing style is paramount; our readers don't want to be distracted and distanced from the erotic content by an overwrought prose style. This is not to say that you should write blandly, or that you should restrict the vocabulary you use to that of a child. A number of Nexus titles are exceptionally well written, and these are among the most popular of our titles, but their style never obstructs the immediacy of their content.
 
Non-contemporary and foreign settings provide additional challenges. Antique cant, futuristic slang, unfamiliar machines, oriental customs all of these things present obstacles to comprehensibility. Make sure that unfamiliar objects, words and behaviour can be understood from their context. If something requires a lot of explanation, you should consider how essential it is to your story. Bear in mind, however, that we are more likely to look favourably at an original and unusual proposal than one that simply reworks tired formulaic erotica.
 
WRITING A NEXUS BOOK
 
THE SETTING
A Nexus novel should be an arousing, escapist fantasy. The guidelines offered below are just that - guidelines. Many of my favourite Nexus novels don't really conform to these, and they should not be considered as rules. They are mainly pointers, based on what we know works well. It's unlikely, however, that if youre reading these as some kind of instruction manual on how to write erotica, you'll be able to write a successful Nexus novel. Our best books are highly original, well-written and very kinky erotic novels written by enthusiasts whose enthusiasm shines through.
 
However fantastic your story might be, the story should be believable within its own reality and internally consistent. Give the reader as much help as possible to suspend his disbelief. Contemporary settings are perennially popular, and can work very well. It is often useful, however, when using modern-day places and characters, to create a fantasy world within the real world - any setting which is remote from the creeping banality of real life and where the normal rules don't apply.
           
SEX
Firstly, we aim to produce well-written, interesting novels. We therefore need believable but unusual settings; a gripping, sex-oriented plot; interesting characters who are very keen on sex; and an atmosphere dripping with eroticism.
 
Secondly, we can provide variety. Subject-matter should vary from book to book i.e. while one novel could be slanted towards a particular tendency or fetish, others would deal with different themes but should also be varied within a book. Try to make sure that, even if the sexual theme is very narrow, the sex scenes are varied in terms of characters involved, settings, sexual activities, narrative viewpoint and so on.
 
It is very useful to have more than one viewpoint character. In this way you can vary the point of view chapter by chapter or scene by scene. (Don't change viewpoint mid-scene; this can be very confusing for the reader.) The overwhelming majority of Nexus readers prefer to see things from the female point of view most of the time.
 
When it comes to varying the sexual activities, it has to be admitted that there are a limited number of physical variations of sexual intercourse. These variations should be exploited to the full, but you should increase the variety by introducing different characters, clothing, circumstances, props, audiences, power differentials, etc.
 
Talking of power differentials, we overwhelmingly prefer to publish novels heavily slanted towards SM and/or bondage or other forms of marginal or experimental sexual activity, either with men dominant, women dominant, or both. Nor do we publish titles that encourage or condone racism or hatred of women; or which suggests that all women should be, or enjoy being, subjugated to men; or which includes bloodshed or wounding or emotional anguish as a result of sexual activities. So be careful.
           
THE LIMITS
What we want is as much varied and exciting sex as possible. But please no sex with anyone under 16 or flashbacks to childhood experiments; in fact, we'd rather all participants in sex acts were 18 or over. No sexual acts that cause bloodshed or other permanent physical damage; no sex acts that would cause genuine tragedy or anguish; no incest from parent to child, or with close family if one of the participants is much younger; no bondage that involves constriction around the neck; no sex against anyones will; and no sex with corpses. Watersports are fine. It's often the tone of a piece rather than the actual content which is offensive - we don't publish misogynistic prose.
 
Gay male sex - we think we should follow the Oscar Wilde philosophy. Humans are not strictly hetero or homosexual, just sexual. You should bear in mind, however, that Nexus readers will overwhelmingly regard themselves as heterosexual, so you shouldn't overplay gay elements.
 
Characters should be keen to participate of their own will - this is usually more believable and more erotic.
 
WHAT TO SEND 
A Nexus novel should be between 70,000 and 75,000 words long. It should have a fairly traditional structure, for instance divided into ten to fifteen chapters.
 
That's the finished book. What we want to see in the first instance is a paragraph explaining what the novel is about, a full synopsis of the story (about 1,500 words) and about 15,000 words (usually the first couple of chapters) of finished text. We also publish collections of short stories. While we don't consider publishing individual short stories, if you have enough to fit our word count for a novel, then we'd be happy to see a few of them. Please bear in mind, however, that we don't publish material of a standard me'ns magazine nature. Short stories should be especially kinky and unusual. Send your submission to the address at the top of the page.
 
The number of submissions we receive means, unfortunately, that we can no longer afford to be generous to everyone. If you would like your typescript returned in the event of rejection, please enclose a self-addressed envelope and enough postage to cover its despatch. If youre sending in a proposal from outside the UK, please enclose enough IRCs to ensure its return.
 
A FINAL WORD
 
When you've come up with something that you feel fits in with these guidelines, by all means send it in and let us read it. But you'll have to be patient. We receive something like 25 proposals a week, and theres only one editor, so were constantly working with a huge backlog.
 
Your typescript will be acknowledged as soon as we receive it. Once this is done, we'd very much appreciate it if you don't call to ask how your manuscript is faring. We'll get back to you as soon as we can, with a detailed assessment of why it is or isn't suitable.
 
CHECKLIST

MANDATORY POINTS
 
House style: Must be followed.
 
Language: Correct punctuation, spelling and grammar essential. Use standard English. Take care with slang. Do not use phonetic spelling in dialogue because a character is foreign/has a regional accent: Oim Oirish, for example. Avoid over-use of onomatopoeia - especially in spanking stories i.e. swish, crack, thwack etc.
 
Comprehensibility: Clarity of expression is essential.
 
The limits: Sex: anything goes except children, bloodshed, parent-child incest, and non-consensual sex.
 
What to send: A synopsis and a sample of text. Return postage.
 
ADVICE

Readership; Men and some women. Female narrative viewpoint characters preferred.
 
Setting: Escapist fantasy, but believable, consistent. Contemporary settings good for all readers. Take care with slang, and technical terms in non-modern stories. Setting should maximise erotic possibilities. Realistic, believable situations, but no mundanity.
 
Plot: A story - narrative tension - is required. Plots intrinsically about sex a good idea. No biogs. Plots arise from personal interactions.
 
Sex: Aim of books: to cause sexual arousal in reader. Frequent, varied sexual acts required. Esoteric sexual practices encouraged. Take care with humour can undermine eroticism. Efficient use of words required to convey sex and story. Narrate sex acts through characters perceptions.
 
Favoured Obsessions: SM, bondage, spanking, lesbianism, power games, sex in unusual places, clothes.
 

New Erotic Short Story Collections For 2010:
 
From March 2010 we will be publishing four new collections of erotic short stories in Nexus. As with the six collections of Nexus Confessions from 2007 - 2009, we are again concentrating on contemporary settings in these 2010 anthologies. A first person POV confessional tone is not mandatory this time (but is absolutely fine if you prefer to use one), though female POV is preferred.
 
Submission guidelines: your short story should not already be published anywhere in the world - websites excepted. Thematically, it should be written with the Nexus guidelines in mind. Obviously you will not be tied to having to provide detailed plot, numerous characters and enough varied types of sex to fill a novel, but the story should be about more than just 'some people having sex'. We do not want historical settings and we can only accept stories written for the themes (which offer a wide brief). The emphasis is on intensity, imagination, tension, pleasure and explicit action (and what's-at-stake for the main character). These collections will be aimed at erotica readers.
 
We pay a flat fee of £100 providing your story is 6000 words or longer. Or will pay £50 for 3000 words plus. Payment is made on publication. Multiple submissions are fine and stories of 3K length are encouraged to increase variety and value within each title. Please remember to write the working title of the collection in the title line of your email when you submit your stories.
 
Spanking Shorts (Title TBC)
Theme: spanking, CP, punishment scenarios.
Deadline for stories August 1st 2009. Publication March 2010
 
Female Domination (Title TBC)
Themes: Fem Dom in many guises fem dom ie foot/leg worship; cuckolds; BDSM; financial domination; hard lady bosses and cruel nymphs, wicked aunts, enforced cross-dressing etc
Deadline for stories October 1st 2009. Publication June 2010
 
Nexus: Best in Fetish Fiction Vol 1.
To feature the best in new fetish erotica, covering a wide range of sexual fantasy involving kink.
Deadline for stories 1st Dec 2009 Publication August 2010.
 
Bondage and Restraint (Title TBC)
Theme: Bondage and Restraint
Deadline for stories 1st March 2010. Publication November 2010.

Email completed stories as attachments to anevill@virgin-books.co.uk with the title of the collection in the subject line of your email. And then please be patient.

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