Contributing Members provide stories and
artwork for Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe. The artists and
writers of the project develop characters and settings for one-shot and
serial stories using the shared elements of the Tai-Pan Universe. The
editorial board coordinates the project and helps keep the fictional
universe consistent. We are always looking for new contributors.
There are two types of contributing members: Contributing Writers and Contributing Artists.
To become a contributor, you must first purchase at least one issue of the magazine, then submit a portfolio of your work as an application for contributor status. If you wish to become a Contributing Writer, the portfolio must include at least one complete story. Please do not write a story set in the Tai-Pan universe; submit any story you have written for another magazine, a writing class, or any other forum. If you wish to become a Contributing Artist, the portfolio must include several pieces of artwork. Do not send originals! We cannot be responsible for portfolios lost in the mail. If you wish to have your portfolio returned, include return postage
If you are accepted you will be encouraged to write and/or draw for the project. Story ideas, timeline entires, and character arcs are not assigned. You, as a creator for the project, have the opportunity to develop your ideas within the framework of the established universe. The editorial board has developed a list of story ideas that is available to contributors who are looking for inspiration.
Members are expected to maintain a subscription to the magazine (or to make arrangements with the Treasurer and Editor-in-Chief for a wavier that allows the contributors an alternate way to meet this requirement).
Members are expected to maintain contact with the Editorial Board and/or Editor-in-Chief of the Project.
Members who have either an issue or set of story illustrations published in an issue, receive that issue for free. In addition artist who submit 5 (five) pages of filler art during a 12 month period receive a one-issue extension on their subscription.
Contributing members also have the opportunity to create or adopt characters who they plan to work with extensively. Characters you have direct creative control over are called persona characters. Creating or adopting a character can help provide inspiration for stories or artwork, but it is not required.
If you have an idea for a character you would like to develop for the universe after you have been accepted to the project as a contributor contact the editor-in-chief and he will give you more details. Since the Tai-Pan Project is a labour of love for most of it’s members, the editorial board wants to help inspire contributors to submit material that can be published in issues of the magazine. For some creators, being able to focus on the development of one or two characters can provide easy entry into our, increasingly complex, fictional universe.
We do not accept unsolicited characters. Unsolicited stories (stories by someone who has not been accepted as a contributor) will be placed in the "slush pile" and reviewed when and if time permits.
If you have any questions not covered in the So, You Wanna Be a Contributor or other Tai-Pan pages, please write! Gene Breshears, Editor. You can also look through our official Tai-Pan FAQ.
Inside this HTMLized version of the contributor's guidelines (click on the title above), you will find the information necessary to apply for a contributing membership in the magazine.
The contributor pages do not contain enough information to write stories for the universe, nor are they intended to. The best way to familiarize yourself with the universe is to purchase and read all the back issues, along with the Sourcebook and the contributor's guidelines. Please take your time to read the entirety of the guidelines before making any submissions.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tai-Pan
P.O. Box
17032
Seattle, WA, 98127
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe copyright 1988-2007, Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American conventions. All art and stories © by respective artists and writers. All persona characters © by their individual creators. All other material © 1988-2003 Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project. No part of Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe or these webpages may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without written permission, except for reviews with proper credit. We reserve the right to reprint any material contained within the pages of Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe.