Ah, you’ve found The RONN Project. Well, let me tell you what it is and what it isn’t.
What is The RONN Project?
RONN stands for Readers of Nordic Noir, and this project is aimed specifically at readers who enjoy books in the Nordic Noir genre. Typically, these would be crime books set in Scandinavia, or “the North”, but might stretch to Baltic areas, Russia, etc. I write books set in Greenland and the Arctic, so very north, which is fitting with the Nordic element of the genre. But, for example, a chilling crime book set in Alaska might sneak into this genre. If you ask me.
The ‘project’ aspect of RONN is me collecting and curating short stories from readers of Nordic Noir and putting them in an anthology, the first of which I intend to publish in December 2024, or earlier if possible.
So, if you enjoy reading Nordic Noir books and you would like to try writing a short story in the same genre, then this will be a fun way for you to take the next step, from reader to writer. More about that below.
This is a fun side project with the sole purpose of collecting stories from fans of the genre.
What The RONN Project isn’t
I am an individual, not a publishing house. I am a writer who just so happens to know how to curate, format, and publish books online. I’ve been doing this full-time since 2018, and I have published over 150 titles in this genre, of all lengths. I also have a Master of Arts in Professional Writing, which is my academic background and foundation for curating and publishing this anthology.
So if you submit a story for this anthology, you will not get an advance. And neither will there be a publishing contract. There will be a basic contract, in which you will agree, among other things, not to sell the anthology. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If I want your story for the anthology, I’ll send you a contract, and we’ll take it from there.
Looking for a deadline? It’s below. Just read through the basics first. 🙂
Here are the basics.
What I want
- I want 7 original (no AI) short stories from 7 different writers to put in an anthology.
- The stories should be minimum 2,000 words and maximum 5,000 words.
- The stories should include a character in a setting with a problem.
- The stories should fit the Noir genre, and preferably be set in “the North”.
- Mysteries, locked room, murder cases, cold cases, you name it, all good!
- Stories should be checked for spelling and grammatical mistakes and proofread before submitting.
- Stories should be formatted and sent in a Word document.
- Use this style guide by William Shunn to format your stories.
What I don’t want
Yes, I understand you might like your Noir to be dark, but I don’t want to read stories that include the following:
- Rape scenes
- Underage sex, rape, or child abuse of any kind
- Bestiality
- Torture porn
- Incest
- Racism
- Sex or erotica
- Graphic descriptions of violence
The list goes on, but if your story touches on or includes any of the following, then I don’t want it. It’s a short story, folks. It has a character, in a setting, with a problem. There’s not enough time for the nasty stuff mentioned above, you don’t have enough words to justify including it, and this isn’t that kind of anthology.
And just to be clear about the “original” aspect of the stories:
- The story must be written by you.
- No ChatGPT or AI generated stories of any kind. None.
- No plagiarism. Don’t steal or creatively adapt another author’s work.
- You are solely responsible for any copyright infringement.
I also don’t want the following:
- Money
You don’t pay me anything and I won’t ask for any money.
What you get
- Your story in a Nordic Noir anthology
- 10% of the royalties for every book sold*.
*Minus the costs associated with the distribution platform, and minus the cost of the sales platform, e.g. Apple’s cut of the sale on iBooks.
For example, at the time of writing – March 2024, an eBook priced at USD $4.99 gives app. USD $2.97 in royalties per book sold. Each of the 7 authors gets 10% of USD $2.97 which is app. USD $0.30. If we sell 10 books you get app. USD $3.00.
This is not a get rich quick scheme, folks! 😉 But over time it will add up. Slowly. Very slowly.
What you don’t get
- You don’t get an advance.
- You don’t get guaranteed sales.
- You don’t get any marketing or promotion. (That’s up to “us” via SoMe etc.)
- You don’t get any author copies.
- You don’t get an agent or anything else you might think you get with a publishing house**.
- You don’t get feedback or a reason why I don’t want your story.
**I am an individual. I am not a publisher. And, honestly, traditional publishing houses take rather than give. Just saying. 😉
Your rights
- You retain all copyright for your story.
- The story is your Intellectual Property.
- You can sell your story or give it away for free. (However, it can’t be in Kindle Unlimited.)
- You can sell your story to a magazine***.
- You can make your story into an audiobook or podcast***.
- You can submit your story to another anthology***.
- You CANNOT sell the anthology or give it away for free****.
***Be aware, if you agree to publishing your story in The RONN anthology, you cannot sell it with exclusive first rights to a magazine or another anthology. They won’t want it if it’s already been published, but might accept it for publication at a lower rate. This is important.
****You can buy paperbacks and take a stack to an event, for example, and sell them or give them away, but you can’t have a copy of the eBook to sell or give away digitally. That’s not fair to the other writers in the anthology.
What I do
- I will collect the stories.
- I will read them.
- I will reject those I don’t want.
- I will contact the writers of the stories I do want.
- I may suggest edits.
- I will format the stories for the anthology.
- I will create the cover (eBook and paperback).
- I will publish the story via an online distributor.
- I get 30% of the royalties for each book sold.
- I will add a story of my own to the anthology.
How do you get paid?
- The online distributor will split the royalties between the writers. I do not handle any money.
- It is your responsibility to set up an account with the distributor (affiliate link) and pay tax.
- I will send you details with the contract if I choose your story for the anthology.
Is there a deadline?
Yes.
- I need your story by July 31, 2024.
- Stories sent after that date will not be considered for the anthology.
Where do I send the story?
What’s in it for me?
Ah, yes, what are my motivations? How about this for starters:
- It’s fun to read new authors.
- It feels good to give something back to the readers.
- It’s another way to be a part of the Nordic Noir community.
- It’s easier to gain traction for a book if other writers are involved.
- I’m interested in moving into publishing and this is a gentle start.
I’m not in this for the money. I’ll get 30% of the royalties for each book sold which is my compensation for the time, energy, and assets (e.g. software), and costs (e.g. electricity) involved. But if we don’t sell any books, I don’t get anything.
Anything else?
Erm, not sure. But if I think of something, I’ll be sure to add it here. 🙂
This is my first foray into this kind of project. If there is sufficient interest and it goes well I might do it again.
Chris
March 3, 2024.