Author's Guide and FAQs
Thank you and well done for choosing Anthill to share your story! To begin, please submit it to the Editorial Team for review. Once cleared, you'll come back here to upload the piece to the platform and readers can begin enjoying your work.
Author FAQs
What kind of stories is Anthill looking for?
Original fiction that is well-written, well-plotted, fast-paced and has well-developed characters. Anthill has zero-tolerance to AI-generated stories.
Successful stories are:
- short-chapter novellas (no more than 35,000 words in chapters),
- short fiction (up to 5000 words),
- and flash fiction (500 - 1000 words).
At the moment, we only accept stories written in English, with some vernacular sprinkled throughout. We will begin receiving complete stories in local languages soon.
Why do we review the stories?
Anthill wants to maintain a high standard of material on the site, thus ensuring we are bringing good quality writing to readers hungry for stories.
What does the Story Review process involve?
Anthill has a team of fiction editors who will assess the story for basic qualities such as:
- quality of writing (sentence structure, grammar, POV, coherence),
- structure,
- narrative arc,
- character development,
- originality (ie. no use of AI in the material),
The Editors will provide editorial guidance to ensure your story is in the best shape for the site. The author will make the edits and publish the story.
How long does the review process take?
The Editors aim to send the edits back to the author within 3 days, but Editors will communicate with the author if a longer review period is required. The better a story is crafted, the quicker it will be sent back to the author for upload.
What is involved in the review?
Editors will list areas of improvement to ensure the story is as best as it can be presented on the site. Authors are expected to edit the story accordingly, within reason. Anthill's goal is to present high-quality Zambian writing and the editorial process helps to assure this.
What kind of stories are not for Anthill?
We don't accept AI-generated stories. These will be rejected and the author will not be allowed to submit to the platform going forward.
We don't accept plays (stage or screen), poetry or stories longer than 35,000 words. We don't accept memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, non-fiction/creative non-fiction, self-help, essays, history texts, think-pieces, book reviews, or political or social commentary.
We don't accept children's stories. Anthill allows mature content and is not suitable for anyone aged below 18 years.
We don't accept comics or graphic novels yet. This will be incorporated in due course.
We don't accept stories that have been published on other platforms. This is to preserve copyright for the author and the story's publisher. We'd rather not get involved with any copyright concerns. If your story has appeared anywhere else in any form, please don't submit it.
What genres can I publish?
All genres, even mash-ups, as long as the story makes sense.
How many stories can an Author submit?
As many as they wish!
How does the Author get paid?
When signing up as an author, you'll be asked to enter personal banking information that will allow you to receive payment from the platform. Through their individual author dashboard, an author can check their sales. Cash out from the platform to author accounts is done once weekly.
The author is responsible for any tax or other fiduciary obligations they may have.
What is the payment structure?
Anthill takes 15% of each story sold on the platform. This fee contributes to site maintenance and payment of the Editors. The rest of the fee (85%) goes to the author.
Who sets the pricing of the stories?
Anthill can recommend the price point but the final decision is the author's.
Who runs Anthill?
Anthill is managed by Zambian authors and entrepreneurs interested in seeing other Zambian writers succeed.