How are BL Book Topics Decided?

[MillionsSons]

Hello!

Any one would know why there is no book for Minotaurs?

There are for Carcharodons, among the FW chapters but not Minotaurs or even Red Scorpions.

I’d like to know how this is decided

[Marshal Rohr]

Someone pitches a novel and it’s picked. No novel means no pitch.

[mc warhammer]

no novel might mean pitch not commissioned

[Brother Tyler]

Note that I changed the topic title. The original title ("Minotaurs Black Library book") gave the wrong impression that such a book had been announced.

[Kenzaburo]

As far as I understood, it's a mix of pitches and editorial oversight. Some books and topics are stuff, that BL wants or needs to tackle. On the other hand, authors get to pitch topics, characters, plots and if deemed fitting and sufficiently economic, are commissioned. The point of being sufficiently economic is very important in this regard: Scorpions and Minotaurs have the Space Marine theme going for them, but are these armies widespread and collected a lot? If not, they are battling other niche chapters like Emperor's Spears, Scythes of the Emperor and such for time in the spotlight / release slots.

[Fire Golem]

Apparently the Black Library Submissions is opening soonish, so maybe someone could write something with the Minotaurs for that. 

[Kelborn]

A mixture of what the studio wants to be written and what is proposed to be written.

 

Maybe we'll have some of them in the future? But with the Charcharodons being covered, those of FW are currently dealt with.

 

Maybe after or along a -please, dear Emperor- Badab War series?

[cheywood]

I wonder if there’s some notion of publishing a Badab Wars series in the future. If that’s the case it might make sense to leave most of the chapters unexplored just in case. Maybe do a series about one or two of the more interesting chapters, like say the Carcharodons, to gauge the waters ;)

 

Unlikely at this point I think, but a man can dream.

 

In all seriousness my guess is it’s probably because no-one’s pitched them a concept they like. The more established authors have their series (which happen not to include anything on the Badab War) and the Heresy. RobMac really stuck the landing with the Sharks, but it’s gotta be more risky letting a newer author introduce a chapter in novel form than it is letting them write about the Ultramarines or Wolves.

 

Then you’ve got the fact that the marquee chapters always sell better from what I’ve heard. Not to mention for a few years there BL was focusing pretty closely on works associated with the model line.

[Panzer]

Definitely a mix of things the authors want to write about and things GW wants the authors to write about.

For example I'm pretty sure that all, or most of, the M42 novels from Guy Haley are things GW asked him to write about while i'm fairly sure that almost everything ADB wrote about is something he pitched to GW (and that got accepted).

[RolandTHTG]

Definitely a mix of things the authors want to write about and things GW wants the authors to write about.

For example I'm pretty sure that all, or most of, the M42 novels from Guy Haley are things GW asked him to write about while i'm fairly sure that almost everything ADB wrote about is something he pitched to GW (and that got accepted).

Even then they'll ask for things. If I recall, he pitched Spear of the Emperor as one thing, then they came to him with the primaris/post rift stuff and said "can you throw this in?"

[MillionsSons]

Note that I changed the topic title. The original title ("Minotaurs Black Library book") gave the wrong impression that such a book had been announced.

 

Got it and make sense! Thanks