Premium Novels FAQ

The submission process

Where do I submit my novel for consideration for the Premium Program?

Send your materials to submissions@tapasmedia.co. The full list of guidelines and requirements is listed here!

How old do I have to be to submit my novel to the program?

We ask that you be at least 18 years old to submit.

Is a novel that’s already available on Tapas for free eligible for pitching?

Yes!

Is a novel that’s available on another site eligible for pitching?

As long as you don’t have an exclusive contract with another platform, yes! We’d love to see your work.

Do I have to be on Tapas to be considered for Premium?

Nope! That was a requirement previously, but now any project that fits the other guidelines can be pitched. And if you are on Tapas, there’s no minimum subscriber count, either.

How do I send you my cover letter?

Put it in the body of your email, please!

What kind of attachments do you accept?

Word docs, PDFs, and Google Docs are all accepted. If you only have access to another program, shoot us an email at submissions@tapasmedia.co and we’ll see what we can do!

Is there wiggle room on the 80,000-word minimum?

We understand that some genres (say, epic fantasy) lend themselves to longer novels and others may come in a bit short, but we’ve seen that projects that are at least 80,000 words long perform well on Tapas. If you’re just under the 80K mark, feel free to send it along—there may be room for additions and expansion!

Is there a maximum word count?

At the moment, no! More episodes means more opportunities for you to grow your fanbase and find success, so the more the merrier.

If I have only one main character, should I include descriptions of the supporting cast, too?

You don't have to include secondary characters in the descriptions, but you can feel free to include a few. It would probably help give us a sense of the project and the world you're building to know a bit about them!

Can my plot outline be longer than outlined in the guidelines?

If you already have something a little longer written up from pitches and queries to other platforms or publishers, feel free to use that. With the outline, we just ask that you give us a good sense of what will happen beyond the five required episodes you submit, how you envision the story ending, and what kind of arc you expect your main characters to follow.

Does “first five chapters” mean “first five Tapas episodes”?

If you’re already publishing on Tapas, yes! If you have a manuscript written that you’re posting elsewhere or haven’t yet shared, you can submit the first five chapters of your manuscript.

How long are “episodes” or “chapters” supposed to be?

We’ll take a look at whatever you have prepared as part of your submission, but a good rule of thumb is about 800-1200 words per episode. That’s the perfect bite-sized chunk of the story for readers to devour!

When will submissions close?

In theory, never, but we’ll let you know if that changes.

How long does it take you to process a submission?

Our goal is to get back to everyone with a decision within two weeks, though as we mention in the guidelines, we won’t always be able to respond. If you haven’t heard from us after about three weeks, feel free to give us a nudge.

I’ve had success with my novel on Tapas (or elsewhere) and/or I have a nonexclusive contract with another platform or publisher. Will that increase my chances of being selected for Premium?

We take a number of factors into account while reviewing submissions, so we can't say what might increase your chances of being selected. That said, we'd love to know if you've had success or have a nonexclusive contract elsewhere, and you can also let us know if your novel is already available on Tapas and how things have been going. Please include that information in your cover letter.

Can I keep posting new episodes of the series I pitched after pitching you?

Absolutely!

If my pitch is rejected, do I have to wait to submit another novel? Can I resubmit the same novel later?

We ask that you wait at least one week before submitting a new project for consideration. If you decide to edit the first novel you submitted, or if you take it elsewhere and see success, we’ll be glad to take another look down the line.

Can I submit my comic for Premium consideration?

Sure can! Check out the guidelines on the same page as the novels guidelines and send your pitch to submissions@tapasmedia.co. Someone on the comics side will be in touch soon!

The Premium Program

Who owns my story after being accepted into Premium?

Just like community creators, creators of Premium series always own the rights to their story. Your creative freedom is very important to us, and we want to support you!

If you have a Premium series, you do have the option to choose to share some rights with Tapas, which allows Tapas to be an agent for your series, pitching for future opportunities like TV series, game adaptations, or international distribution.

Can I post new episodes after signing on?

We ask that all authors stop posting updates after signing on with us, as we create our production and launch schedule.

If I’m accepted to the Premium Program, does that mean I can’t post my novel anywhere else?

Not necessarily. We understand it might be important to you to be able to post your work elsewhere, or that your work may already be available on another platform, so we’re happy to work with creators on a deal that works for them. We offer both exclusive and nonexclusive contracts and tailor each new deal to the creator.

My story’s available for free and I want my readers to still be able to enjoy it. Can episodes added after I join Premium be free, too?

Once you join the Premium Program, only the first few episodes will be available for free. But there are some excellent ways for readers to earn ink (for free!) to unlock later episodes. We're working to ensure that free-to-read readers will always have access to high-quality stories!

What kind of support do I get as a Premium creator?

First, you get a share of the revenue generated from sales of your episodes. That split is typically 50/50 and paid each month via PayPal. You’ll also have a dedicated account manager to guide you through the production process and receive a fresh cover design to catch the eye of Tapas readers!

You’ll also receive marketing support from Tapas. That support varies for each novel and depends on what our marketing team thinks will work best, but marketing efforts can include things like inclusion in sales, push notifications to readers, banners on the Tapas site, or social media posts. We want you—and your novel—to succeed!

Additionally, successful Premium novels will be considered for our novel-to-comic program, through which we work with creators to adapt their novel into a comic on Tapas. Once your comic launches, we can use that as a pitching tool for new adaptation opportunities for you, like audiobooks, TV, and film.

What types of stories do well on Tapas?

The beautiful thing about Tapas is that creators from around the world can share a wide range of ideas with a fantastic community. You may notice a fair amount of action fantasy and romance fantasy on the platform, and we do love a good dragon or epic battle. But we’re open to a good amount of genre fiction—romance, fantasy, drama, and everything in between.

Is the Originals program different from Premium? Is it open to novelists, too?

It is different and it’s absolutely open to novelists, too. If you have a novel pitch in mind, you can send it to submissions@tapasmedia.co.

We’re excited to be launching our first Originals novel soon—stay tuned to learn more!