I want to be the next Terrance Dicks.

February 11, 2011 11:09 AM

I desperately want to write for Doctor Who - not the show, but the tie-in novels and audiobooks. Do I have a snowball's chance?

Last week someone asked me what my dream job would be, and it poured out of me before I even had time to acknowledge it: I want to write Doctor Who stories! But not the TV show. No, I'm in love with the tie-in novels and comics and audiobooks and audio dramas.

I've written non-fiction professionally for 25 years, but have no portfolio of published fiction. Is there any chance of me getting my name in front of the right people, if I have in hand a killer proposal/writing sample/etc.? I see that Big Finish doesn't accept unsolicited queries, and I can't find anything for the BBC publishing division.

Is there even a hint of hope for me to someday achieve this dream? Where would I start, which people should I approach, and what should the content of that approach be?

posted by jbickers to Writing & Language (4 answers total)

One way to get into the Whoniverse mix would be to pitch some stories to the BBC-licensed Panini magazines Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Insider (the latter is a new magazine for the North American audience).

Ebury Publishing (which publishes the Doctor Who licensed fiction as part of its BBC Books program) is an agented-submissions-only publisher, so you'd need to get your agent to contact them with your proposal.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:18 AM on February 11, 2011

Looking at your profile, your background in radio might be an avenue through the BBC's Writer's Room.
posted by cazoo at 11:26 AM on February 11, 2011

I know authors with their own best-selling series who got their start writing tie-in novels for television shows. It's definitely possible. What worked for my friend was to co-author a book or two with someone who was already published doing just that sort of work.
posted by Hylas at 11:34 AM on February 11, 2011

Apparently Obverse Books has an open submission policy for their Iris Wildthyme anthologies. That could be a way to get your foot in the door.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 9:09 AM on February 12, 2011