Beneath Ceaseless Skies - The Diigo Meta page

• 11 Feb 12
  

  Guy Burdick

  fantasy magazine submissions guidelines

  • some other world that is different from our own primary world in some way. It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic).
• 08 Oct 11
  

  Sunny Jackson

  Fiction Writing

  • "secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some way
  • It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic).
  • It could be set on Earth but an Earth different from our primary world in terms of time (the historical past) or history (alternate history).
  • It could have a "pre-tech" level of technology, or steampunk technology, or magic as technology, or anything else that's not advanced or modern technology.
  • the setting should contain some element that is in some way fantastical.
  • The inhabitants of this secondary world should have developed their own culture in response to the uniqueness of their world.
  • The characters should fit this culture, and the qualities of the secondary world should have some bearing on the plot.
  • We strongly prefer characters who yearn for something, external or internal, and feel driven to attain it.
  • Our favorite characters are "round characters": ones who grow and change over the course of a story instead of remaining the same.
  • Our favorite styles are lush yet still clear.
  • We have a preference for limited points-of-view, first-person or third-person, because we find it harder for a story to get deep inside a character's head from an omniscient point-of-view.
  • We find present tense occasionally pretentious and second-person point-of-view always annoying.
  • We prefer stories that are as original as possible, particularly in the setting.
  • We usually find that fairy tale-style or myth-style narratives don't provide a gritty or immediate enough perspective to make us feel the texture of the secondary world or the direness of the protagonist's struggle.
  • In addition to fantasy, we also enjoy stories set in other types of secondary world that likewise don't have modern technology, including steampunk, smoke & sorcery, weird West, sixguns & sorcery, etc.
  • very dry sense of humor
  • We prefer under 10,000 words.
  • the longer a story is, the better it must be
  • we only want self-standing stories.
  • We are not interested in reprints (stories that have previously appeared anywhere in print or online, including on a personal website or blog).
  • Multiple Submissions (more than one story submitted at a time): We do NOT accept these.
  • Please wait until you have received a reply to your submission before sending another.
  • Simultaneous Submissions (stories that are currently under submission to another market): We DO accept these, but ONLY if you state in your cover letter that your submission is simultaneous, and ONLY if you notify us IMMEDIATELY when another market accepts your story.
  • For standard acceptances, we pay 5 cents US per word, which is professional rate as defined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

  • For this payment, we purchase the following rights:

     

    First World Serial Rights
     First World Electronic Rights
     An Option to buy Non-Exclusive World Anthology Rights
     An Exclusive Period to buy Limited-Time Exclusive Audio Rights
  • (You can't publish that story as a first-run or "new" story anywhere else in the world, and you can't have it appear anywhere else, in print or online or as audio, before or for ninety days after we publish it. But after that you can have it reprinted online and/or in a reprint magazine and/or in any reprint anthology, like one of the many Year's Best collections.)
  • (You also can't sell the audio rights to anyone else for ninety days after we publish the story. And if during those ninety days we buy the audio rights from you, you can't have the story appear in audio form anywhere else before or for ninety days after we podcast it. But after that you can resell the audio rights, including to one of the many fiction podcast websites.)
  • We also hope that you will let us keep the story in our online archives after ninety days.
  • We are a SFWA-qualifying professional market, so any sale to us can be used to qualify the author for membership in SFWA.
  • Format your manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format. If you don't know what that is, look it up.
  • Include your name, address, and email on the first page, and a running header with your last name, the title, and page number at the top of every subsequent page.
  • We do prefer a SHORT cover letter
  • Type it into the body of your email.
  • Mention the title of your story in case the attachment gets lost.
  • If you have prior fiction sales, list the best one or two. 
  • If you've been to any writing workshops, mention them. 
  • TELL US if this is a simultaneous submission.
  • DO NOT give a synopsis or summary of your story
  • Attach your manuscript to an email
  • ".DOC" or ".RTF"
  • DO NOT send a *.DOCX file
  • Use the subject line Submission: (the title of your story)
  • your subject line MUST include the word "Submission" or our spam filter will delete your email.
  • You should receive our email auto-reply within 24 hours after sending your submission.
  • Our response times average 3-5 weeks, occasionally as long as 6-7 weeks.
  • If we post on the BCS Forums that we've replied to all submissions sent before a certain date, but you sent yours before that date, please query us using the email form on our Contact page. We really mean this; it's not necessary to wait.
  • All rejections and acceptances will be notified by email.
  • Unsolicited Rewrites:  We do not accept unsolicited rewrites of stories that we've already rejected. (That is a nearly universal policy among short fiction markets of all genres.) 
  • we don't take submissions of artwork.  But we are interested in names of artists and links to their online portfolios, so that when we are ready to buy art, we can check out their work. 
  • If you're an artist and would like us to put your name and portfolio on our list to check out the next time we're looking for artwork, feel free to send us your information using our Contact page.

  48 more annotations...

• 31 May 09
  

  Don P

  We want stories set in what Tolkien called a "secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some way.

  markets.SFFH

• 03 Aug 08
  

  Sandra McDonald

  Bookmarks markets

• 21 Jul 08
  

  Pen Knife

  markets

• 19 Jul 08
  

  magazine fantasy shortfiction

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