Anthologies...

...and how they start

A short time ago, the Horror Writers Association invited members to submit proposals for new books to the Publications Committee. A good move, but one thing was wrong: they didn’t really explain exactly what should be submitted. In fact, it wasn’t even clear that they wanted proposals for anthologies.

It’s time for me step out of the shadows on this and maybe provide a little insight.

The major writers’ organizations like to bring out their own anthologies, partly because it brings money and recognition to the org, and partly because it provides an additional member benefit (the chance to be in a big anthology). In the past, anthologies were a much easier sell; HWA had a long-running deal with Pocket Books back in the day, bringing out an anthology a year. It also managed to get deals for three volumes of Blood Lite, the comedic horror series edited by Kevin J. Anderson. But then…the market for anthologies started to dry up (which is undoubtedly why we also don’t have many genre magazines these days). It got harder to sell anthologies.

Here’s how it usually works: the organization gets a proposal it likes. The proposal comes with an editor, who has to first reach out to some big names in the genre and get their agreement to deliver a story to the book. THIS IS CRUCIAL, because, quite frankly, the book won’t have a chance of selling to a major publisher without those names. I know members often squawk about the pre-included authors and how few slots are left for member submissions, but that’s just one of the cruel realities of the business.

So once the editor’s got the idea, the names, and the organization’s approval, the book goes to the organization’s agent, who (provided they also like it) begins to shop it with major publishers. And the “major publishers” thing is important, too, because the organization wants to pay pro rates to all contributors AND make some dough for the org, so they need the distribution that only the big publishers can provide. There’s a lot of money involved here, in other words.

Once the agent sells the proposal, the organization can open to member submissions and the editor gets to work.

Here’s why I know how all of this works: when I was HWA’s President, I either crafted the proposals for or was heavily involved with four of the organization’s anthologies: Scary Out There (2016), Haunted Nights (2017), Don’t Turn Out the Lights (2020), and Other Terrors (2022); I also had a hand helping behind the scenes with HWA’s most recent anthology, Scaring and Daring (2025).

In other words, I know how to craft an anthology proposal that has a good chance of selling.

Let’s presume, first off, that you want to act as editor of a book you’re proposing (if you don’t, then you should get an editor to agree to the project - proposing an anthology without an editor attached is a bad idea). Hopefully you’ve got some experience, whether it’s actual work as an editor or at least assisting in editorial work in some way. If you don’t have much actual editorial experience, consider partnering with a more experienced editor.

You’ve also got an idea that you think feels fresh and commercial. Next, make sure you’ve got a title that rocks.

Now for the nuts and bolts of your proposal. It should be presented in four basic sections…