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Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Deep Magic Magazine is open for submissions; update on my submission goals

Hi readers and writers,

As some of you know, I'm a first reader at Deep Magic. And we just opened for submissions yesterday! Get your speculative stories sent in before we close again in a couple months. Details right here:

9/21-11/30 (closing date not set but likely some time in November), Deep Magic, 1000-40,000 words, 8¢/word up to 7499 words ($599.92 pay cap above that), Genre: SF and Fantasy, Note: PG-13, Reprints OK (2¢/word up to 10,000 words and capped at $200 for longer)

Earlier this month I managed to get a bunch of my story submissions sent off and I snagged several new rejections, so it appears I will easily make my 2020 rejections goal. Here's hoping I get some wins before too much longer. I did get a brief personal rejection from Clarkesworld on one of my stories, so I feel like that was one mark of progress. I do feel I'm a more confident and positive writer the more I practice and read and continue with the process of submitting and never quitting. So, onward!

Personal Goal of 100 Rejections in 2020
93 total submissions
22 pending (14 short stories, 7 flash, and 1 novel grant application)
71 rejections (43 short stories, 26 flash, and 2 poems)

I also feel pretty motivated running off excitement over finally finishing my draft to submit to the 4th quarter deadline for Writers of the Future. I'm running it through criticism from a few fellow writers, then I'll cut and revise a bunch and get it submitted by 9/30. Besides that, I recently revised two stories and sent them to Nightmare Magazine. I also finished a new horror flash just in time to submit to Flame Tree's monthly flash fiction contest. This one was a flash written as a prelude to my novel I previously pitched at a conference, and one I am hoping to do more work on soon enough.

Also, three conferences of note in October.
1. Fyrelite has a Fall edition coming soon. Sign up! Fyrelite: Fall Edition, Oct. 3, workshops available (Forrest Wolverton, Amy White, Scott E. Tarbet) of 4 or 8 hours ($75/$145 includes Fyrecon registeration), I especially recommended: Wulf Moon's workshop on a good plot.



As for the submission lists below, I only added a few to each list, but there are several coming up soon!

Submission Deadlines in September and Beyond (pay 5-20¢/word USD or equivalent)

9/25, Incoming Magazine, Pitches for 20-page black and white comic, Genre: SF, £ 800/$1000, email story outline (text/storyboard) and a selection of concept art/past work to: magincoming@gmail.com

7/1-9/30, WotF Q4, ~17000 words (aim for 3000-10,000), 8¢/word, prize money (1st $1000, 2nd $750, 3rd $500, annual grand $5000, plus Hollywood workshop; semi-finalists get feedback), Genre: F/SF, Note: contest for new writers w/o 4+ pro-level publications; the forum is very helpful, especially the Super Secrets thread; free workshop available on website

9/1-9/30, PodCastle, ~6000 words (3000-4500 best), 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy, Simultaneous OK, Reprints ($100 for >1500 words, $20 for flash), Multiple OK (one flash, one short)

9/30, Escape Pod, 1500-6000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: any SF, Reprints OK ($100/story) 

9/30, Future Science Fiction Digest, 500-10,000 words (~5000 preferred), 8¢/word, Genre: SF, Theme: positive East Asia

9/30, Ombak Magazine, ~4000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: F/SF/H (weird fiction), Simultaneous OK, Limited to authors from Southeast Asia

10/1-10/2, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 1000-40000 words (shorter preferred), 6¢/word (reprints 2¢/word), Genre: F/SF, Poetry ($1/line, ~40 lines, reprints 50¢/word), Articles (2-6¢/word, reprints 1-4¢/word), Note: great feedback provided if requested in cover letter

10/1-10/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

10/1-10/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors

8/10-10/11 Dream Foundry Contest, Words ~10,000, prize (1st $1000, 2nd $500, 3rd $200), Note: contest for new writers (have published 4000 words or less, earned $320 or less from those words and never been nominated for a major award), Note: winners are not published but do receive critiques along with the financial reward

9/1-10/31, UnMasked: Stories of Risk and Revelation (WordFire Press), ~5000 words, 6¢/word, Genre: SF/F/H/alien/magical/witchcraft/AI/romance, Theme: unmasking must be central to story, PG-13 audience, Edited by Kevin J. Anderson

10/1-10/31, The Reinvented Heart (anthology), 500-5000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF, Theme: how do relationships change in the future, note: this submission call is for female and nonbinary writers

10/31, Chiral Mad 5, ~5000 words (poetry: ~50 lines, up to 5 poems), 6¢/word (poems:$1/line) Theme: The End Is The Beginning / The Beginning Is The End, Note: for underrepresented demographic only, "If you are not part of an underrepresented demographic (POC, LGBTQIA+, female), please do not submit at this time, but feel free to send recommendations", Note: proceeds go to BLM

11/1, Metastellar, ~1000 words, 8 cents/word, Genre: F/SF/H

11/1 Weird Christams Flash Fiction Contest (3rd annual), ~350 words, prize money (1st=$50, 2nd=$25,10+HMs=$5, Genre: SpecFic/SF/F/H/Humor/Weird Theme: scary stories set around any winter holiday, Reprints: query, Note: accepts narrative poetry, multiple entries OK

10/1-11/15, Apex Holiday Horrors Flash Fiction Contest, ~250 words (not including title/byline), $25 for winner and $10 for two runner-ups, Genre/Theme: Horror set around any winter holiday

10/15-11/2, PseudoPod, 1500-6000 words (4500 best) or ~1499 words (500-1000 best), 8¢/word, Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy/Weird, Simultaneous OK (if not both Escape Artists publications)

11/1-11/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

11/1-11/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is only open to Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors

9/21-11/30 (closing date not set but likely some time in November), Deep Magic, 1000-40,000 words, 8¢/word up to 7499 words ($599.92 pay cap above that), Genre: SF and Fantasy, Note: PG-13, Reprints OK (2¢/word up to 10,000 words and capped at $200 for longer)

11/30, ServiceScape Short Story Award, ~5000 words, $1,000 USD (one winner), Genre: any

11/30: Cast of Wonders (General Submissions), ~6000 words (best 3000-4500 or flash <1000), 8¢/word, Genre: any YA, Note: good feedback provided last time I submitted

11/30, Strange Horizons, open every Mon 16:00 UTC - Tue 16:00 UTC, ~10,000 words, 10¢/word, Genre: all speculative, (Note: closes for all of December, Poetry OK, Non-Fiction OK

11/30-12/4, Fireside (Autumn 2021 Issue), ~3000 words, 12.5¢/word, Genre: Any (English or Spanish) 

12/1-12/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

12/1-12/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors

8/7-12/26, Cemetery Media Gates Untitled Flash Fiction Anthology, 500-1000 words (submit 1 story per theme, up to 5 stories), 8¢/word, Genre: Horror, Theme: Cemetery Chillers, Spook Houses, Supernatural Slashers, Witchcraft, Within the Woods

12/31, Lost Contact, 1000-7000 words, 5¢/word, Genre: Horror/Weird Science, Theme: use lost contact idea as you please and link it with horror and technology, Simultaneous OK

8/27-12/31, THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (three anthologies from Zombies Need Brains LLC), 7500 words, 8¢/words + royalties, Theme 1: urban fantasy w/ a god/deity, Theme 2: SF/F about abandoned ships, Theme 3: SF/F about colliding cultures, Sub to contact@zombiesneedbrains.com w/ name of anthology and title of story submitted, Multiple OK (separate emails), Reprints/Simultaneous NO

1/1-1/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

1/1-1/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is only open to Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors

2/1-2/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

2/1-2/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is open to all authors

7/1-2/28/2021, The Wild Hunt: Stories of the Chase, 1000-3000 words, 8¢/word,  Theme: The Wild Hunt's folklore, myths, and drama), Genre: SF/Fantasy/Grimdark/New Weird/Dying Earth/genre-bending

3/1-3/7, Fantasy Magazine, ~7500 words, 8¢/word, Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Poetry ($40/poem, send up to 6)

3/1-3/7, Cossmass Infinities, 2000-10,000 words, 8¢/word, Genre: SF/F, Simultaneous OK, Note: this window is only open to Black, Asian, Latin, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors

8/10/2021-8/31/2021, PseudoPod (Flash Fiction Contest), ~1500 words (500-1000 best), 8¢/word, Genre: any horror, Reprints OK, Simultaneous OK (if not an Escape Artists podcast)


Publications Open for Submission (No specified deadline; pay 5-20¢/word USD or equivalent)

*note that I added Amazing Stories and Flash Fiction Online since I just noticed they were missing from the list*












CLOSED TO SUBS UNTIL FEB 2021 Hybrid Fiction, 500-5000 words (or serialized novellas), 6¢/word, Genre: speculative hybrid/cross-genre (blend of 2+ genres, such as dark fantasy, steampunk western, historical fantasy, weird western, crime fantasy, etc.)







Submission Deadlines in August and Beyond (pay 1-4¢/word USD or equivalent)

9/15-11/15, New Tales of Fairy Godmothers by Kate Wolford, 4000-7500 words, 1¢/word, Genre: fairy tale fantasy, Theme: new fairy godmother tales that refresh/subvert the trope, simultaneous OK

9/15-11/15, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary

1/4-11/15, In Darkness Delight Anthology (Corpus Press), 2500-7500 words, 3¢/word, Genre: Horror, SF (soft)

11/30, Women Destroy Retro Science Fiction, 750-1500 ($10) or 1501-2500 words ($15), Genre/Theme: retro-futurism with a female filled world of impossible wonders, Note: Women authors only (Transwomen authors accepted because transwomen are women)

12/1 Worldbuilding Fantasy Anthology, 3500-7000 or 9000-15,000 words, flat payment (short $100; novella $200), Theme: Politics as Conflict. Genre: any Fantasy (PG-13)

3/15/2021-5/15/2021, Lamplight Magazine, ~7000 words. 3¢/word, Genre: Dark/Literary


Publications Open for Submission (No Specified Deadline; pay 1-4¢/word USD or equivalent)




Conferences, Conventions, and Workshops to Sign Up For

Fyrelite: Fall Edition, Oct. 3, workshops available (Forrest Wolverton, Amy White, Scott E. Tarbet) of 4 or 8 hours ($75/$145 includes Fyrecon registeration), I especially recommended: Wulf Moon's workshop on a good plot.







Where to search for submission windows on your own?




Where to Submit Short Stories: 30 Magazines and Websites That Want Your Work, a decent list with a literary focus

28 Themed Submission Calls for August by S. Kalekar, submission possibilities including a few good ones I haven't had time to add to the lists above

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: plenty of updated lists of agents, calls for submission, contests, conferences, recipes, and more


Need motivation for the submission game? 

Submitting Short Fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Genre Edition by Holly Lyn Walrath, a useful guide on playing the submission game written in 2019

Submission Tetris: An Analytic Approach by Laurence Raphael Brothers, a brief but useful consideration of what and where to submit in the submissions game from SFWA


Also, great advice at these links below

Charlie Jane Anders' advice: chapters from her forthcoming non-fiction book Never Say You Can't Survive with new chapters released every Tuesday

Delilah S. Dawson's page of links, including her advice on how to get published


And here, more links

This is a listing of speculative award winners. Go read, study, and improve yourself.

Here are grants to apply for with the Speculative Literature Foundation

This is a listing at critter.org that shows general response times of various publishers and magazines

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