*We’ve extended the registration deadline to May 31 and dropped the price by twenty percent to $497!
Hey novelists!
We started Uncharted with the mission to serve writers—to get them paid for their work and to put their great stories in front of readers. Tommy and I are both writers ourselves. Tommy’s got a mystery/thriller in the works, and I’m working on my dream epic fantasy (gearing up for NaNoWriMo this winter, who’s with me?). We both know intimately how lonely this writing gig can be. It’s just us and our characters most of the time, and we can only make our best guesses as to whether we’re making the right choices or not.
When we searched for services online to help, most of them are very expensive and from an Editorial framework. We were curious instead about how the other gatekeepers would read our work—Agencies—and we didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on consultation. That’s where this Lab comes in.
Want to understand how your query would be read by Agencies? What sort of feedback these key decision makers would have on your story? This Lab is for you. We handpicked folks who can give you feedback you’d receive as if sending your manuscript as a query to an agency. Their feedback letter is sure to help guide your book to successfully finding that right agent.
Want some great unique self-guided learning materials designed just for writers pursuing novels like yours? This Lab is for you. I built these materials by hand myself utilizing my skills developed at Antioch University’s Post-MFA Teaching Certificate program, pouring my love of genre writing into every piece. This will be a series of pdf workbooks over fifty pages in length, centered around the reading of foundational texts on prose and novel writing.
Want the opportunity to meet some fellow novelists and build a community of serious, committed writers? This Lab is for you. If you’d like to be joined into a group of fellow participants, we’ll curate the group that best matches your style and experience.
We made Uncharted because we want to serve writers as best we can. It’s our passion. This Lab is just as important to us as our publishing efforts, and we hope to connect novelists like ourselves with great agents and readers that can push them forward as professional writers. Let’s leave the hobbyist mindset behind, together.
Please feel welcome to reach out to me at josh@unchartedmag.com with any and all questions!
Sincerely,
Josh & Tommy
Founders of Uncharted Magazine
Lab Details
Expert advice from the comforts of home. This remote, asynchronous writing lab is open to all writers and is an excellent way to improve your novel. Please submit only the first 50 pages and include a cover letter describing your project.
Your cover letter should include a brief introduction to your story, where you have submitted or hope to submit in the future, and any specific feedback you’re looking for, as well as challenges you’re having.
When your submission is uploaded you will receive registration confirmation. Manuscripts will be processed in the order they are received. Please give our agent and editor partners 8-10 weeks to return their feedback.
Early submissions may yield earlier feedback.
We accept works of science-fiction and fantasy, the first 50 pages or fewer of your novel. Please submit one single manuscript per submission.
To keep with all ethical guidelines recommended by the Association of American Literary Agents, our agent partners will receive works without any identifying information of the writer
Guest Editors
Maeve Maclysaght is an agent at Copps Literary Services with a background in Foreign and Sub-rights. She is looking for genre-blending commercial queer SFF in YA/MG/Adult/Graphic Novels with a particular focus on BIPOC authors and authors of marginalized identities. She often judges books by their villains, and thinks the best stories are the ones that gnaw at you.
Watch our Q&A with Maeve!
Noah Rosenzweig is a literary assistant based in Ross Yoon’s D.C. office. He reads manuscript submissions, develops literary projects with agents, edits proposals, and manages Ross Yoon’s social media presence. Noah is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he focused on English and Political Science. As an assistant, he now helps agents find the best book proposals and develop their next big projects. He is an avid reader of all fiction — especially YA, science fiction, and speculative fiction He has previously written about the changing face of gender-affirming health care, and works as a freelance editor.
Watch our Q&A with Noah!
More guest instructors may be invited to join the project, depending on the number of participants.
Participants Receive
- an editorial letter from your agent or editor with specific suggestions and developmental analysis that will help elevate your novel to the next level.
- a PDF collection of self-guided learning curriculum on fiction and novel writing, featuring workbooks uniquely built by our team around the foundational texts Naming The World edited by Bret Anthony Johnston, The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway, and Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.
- free submission in a forthcoming Uncharted Magazine contest
- the opportunity to join a workshop group with your peers in the program
FAQ
How much interaction will I have with the editors?
Each participant will be assigned one editor who receives their work. For accessibility and convenience, we’ve designed this program with the aim to be completely asynchronous and digital—you will submit your manuscript, and the agent or editor will write their feedback and send it back. After that, any continued conversation is at the editor’s personal discretion.
How much interaction will I have with the other participants?
Entirely up to you! The Lab is designed to be open to complete independence or group participation. After getting your learning materials, you’ll be asked if you’d like to join a group to either workshop writing, or work through the materials together, or both. The Uncharted team will help create the groups according to level of experience, and then it’ll be entirely up to the participants after that to figure out a working schedule and style that makes sense to the group.
Will this help me with my other writing?
Absolutely! While the feedback will be specific to the project you share, the rigorous learning material will help your current writing and all future projects become the best they can be.
Will I have to zoom or get on the phone?
Nope! This will be handled entirely through submittable. We will send you your packet of lab material soon after you submit. The timing of the feedback depends on the editor availability, but it should not be longer than 8-10 weeks.
Can I purchase a spot for a friend?
Yes, please feel welcome. Just make sure to make clear in your cover letter what you’re doing and put us in contact with that author.