The Humour Club discussion

I'm putting together an international short story collection called 'Writers in Lockdown'. The stories are fiction but can be in any subject or genre, as long as they meet the criteria that they were written during the time the writer was confined to home because of the coronavirus. The word count is 2,000 to 5,000 words, the deadline is 20th June, paperback plus ebook and my email address as editor is faith at workmail dot com. This is not for profit and the author keeps the rights to their own story. If you are interested in joining and earning a publication credit, pm me on Goodreads or email directly. 16 authors have joined and that means I have about 4 places left plus any drop outs. If you can write like Wodehouse, you're in. If you have another style, give it a go. This won't cost you anything and should give you a worthwhile achievement that's more fun than checking the news.

Faith Jones

Would one count that was written while on a cruise ship with uncertain prospects of returning to shore?

Hi Rebecca. I guess it is a good fit for this time in history, so I'd certainly like to consider it. The main thing is that the work is written during these 3 months, so try to keep to that. Perhaps a revised version?

Faith wrote: "Hi Rebecca. I guess it is a good fit for this time in history, so I'd certainly like to consider it. The main thing is that the work is written during these 3 months, so try to keep to that. Perhap..."
I wrote it less than 2 weeks ago, while our ship was looking for a port that would take us. It's directly related to these times! :D

Rebecca wrote: ".."
Hi Rebecca. Yes, that certainly counts as 'written during the days of the outbreak/lockdown', so please submit it to my email address.

Faith wrote: "Rebecca wrote: ".."
Hi Rebecca. Yes, that certainly counts as 'written during the days of the outbreak/lockdown', so please submit it to my email address."

I just have to work on it some more. I roughed it out on the ship, but haven't done anything more since, so it's... unready.

Are there any more humourists here who want to be included?

Faith, I'm wondering what the terms of this publication are. Are you paying? Shared royalties? Selling it to raise money for the needy? Maybe a bit more info would get us going on this.

Rebecca wrote: "Faith, I'm wondering what the terms of this publication are. Are you paying? Shared royalties? Selling it to raise money for the needy? Maybe a bit more info would get us going on this."

Hi Rebecca. The collection will be a KDP paperback and ebook self-publication and there will be between 15 and 25 authors, so I originally thought splitting any sales profit between all those people minus international transfer charges would be pennies each, but then decided to make it not for profit with the retail price set to the lowest which covers POD fees. After paying a cover artist, I expect it to cost me money to organise and edit this collection. Authors will keep the copyright to their own story, so those can be reprinted (this is not to buy exclusive rights to anyone's work). The main incentives for joining are to earn another publication to your name and to be creative during a time when you are kept at home. A major publication house could be approached to do this differently but then we'd have to wait 9 months for a decision and lockdown would no longer be topical.

Makes sense, Faith. I assume there will be a contract to confirm that we retain all rights. I'd recommend a clause about donating any profits to charity, in the unlikely event that there are any.

Under those terms, I would submit my story, so I guess I'd better go get to work on the edits.

Rebecca wrote: "Makes sense, Faith. I assume there will be a contract to confirm that we retain all rights. I'd recommend a clause about donating any profits to charity, in the unlikely event that there are any.
..." Hi Rebecca. That's fine. I'll reply with a contract to make it clear when people complete.

Progress update at the two months to go mark: 3 stories have been completed so far and I've found a suitable cover artist.

This is just an update to say 13 stories are now ready for publication and it would be great if we could reach 20 by the deadline.

Hi Rebecca. Contracts have gone out to all authors who have submitted stories so far.

Faith wrote: "Hi Rebecca. Contracts have gone out to all authors who have submitted stories so far."

Faith, I have had a serious personal loss and am not able to complete the story. I am sorry.

Rebecca, I'm sorry to hear your situation.

19 stories have been accepted so far and it's going to be a good book.

Hi everyone. This is an update to say that ten days before the submissions deadline we have 20 stories across a broad range of subjects, totalling 71,558 words and 208 pages. I can fit in a couple more before this goes to press.

Thanks everyone for taking part. The anthology has now been published: