writing.today.com

Who: Cricket/Ladybug Magazine
What: Fiction for a reading and listening magazine for young children ages 2 to 6.

How: Something a little lighter today, folks. Write something for the kiddies.

They want read-aloud stories, picture stories, original re-tellings of folk and fairy tales, and multicultural stories.

The format is 8″ x 10″, full color, and contains 36 pages plus a 4-page activity pullout. It is staple-bound.

How long: Up to 800 words.
How much: Here’s the kicker. Stories and articles: 25¢ per word; $25 minimum. That means 800 words will get you $200. Feeling a little more inspired now?

Is there a catch? You need to get at least some idea of what they want before you spend your time writing something. Look here to get a better idea: http://www.cricketmag.com/ProductDetail.asp?pid=5&type=

Where: Please address all MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS to:

Submissions Editor, LADYBUG
Carus Publishing
70 East Lake Street
Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60601

Who: Analog Science Fiction and Fact
What: Sci-fi fiction.

How: They want Sci-Fi, and not Sci-Fi that’s a thin veneer for talking about modern issues. They want to see how creative you are at thinking through the ramifications of future technology. Other than that, they simply want it to be believable.

Just remember that you’re writing for readers who know science, and know science fiction well… but I’m sure you can do this if you put your mind to it.

How long: About 4,000 words.
How much: Here’s the breakdown:

1. 6-8 cents per word for short stories up to 7,500 words.We prefer lengths between 2,000 and 7,000 words for shorts.

2. $450-600 for stories between 7,500 and 10,000 words.

3. 5-6 cents per word for longer material:10,000-20,000 words for novelettes, 40,000-80,000 for serials.

4. Fact articles are paid for at the rate of 6 cents per word.

Is there a catch? No. Five cents a word is considered professional-writer territory, and this is very respectable.

Where: Snail mail only. They state very clearly, “We do not accept e-mail or fax submissions.”

The editor is Stanley Schmidt.

Send submissions to:

475 Park Ave. South, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
E-mail: analog@dellmagazines.com

Who: Ideomancer
What: Speculative fiction. Yeah, I know that’s vague.

How: Give them credit for being open-minded.

“Ideomancer publishes speculative fiction and poetry that explores the edges of ideas; stories that subvert, refute and push the limits. We want unique pieces from authors willing to explore non-traditional narratives and take chances with tone, structure and execution, balance ideas and character, emotion and ruthlessness.”

Which makes me wonder how much fiction gets submitted to them that was rejected elsewhere first because it didn’t fit a format. Could be good. Could be bad.

“We also have an eye for more traditional tales told with excellence. We are especially interested in non-traditional formats, hyperfiction, and work that explores the boundaries not just of its situation but of the internet-as-page.”

A+ for trying to think outside the box, guys and gals.

How long: Fiction submissions should be no longer than 7000 words.
How much: Ideomancer pays 3 cents a word USD (our word processor count — Microsoft Word) up to a maximum of US$40. Poetry payment is a flat US$6 per poem. Payment is upon publication.

Is there a catch? I wonder about their “circulation”. I mean, how do you market fiction to readers that is so ill defined? Hmm. Well, they’re paying, so they must be managing. And always watch the math. In this case, don’t write more than 1,333 words in your story or you won’t get the full three cents per word.

Where: “We are open to submissions during December-January, March-April, June-July, September-October. Any stories or poems submitted to us during the months of November, February, May, and August will be deleted unread.”

Stories should be e-mailed to us at fiction @ ideomancer.com with “Submission: Your Story Title” in the subject line.

Who: Fortean Bureau
What: Slipstream fiction (explained below, sort of).

How: Their explanation of what they want is long-winded and surprisingly unhelpful.

“Stories that make passes at explaining the unexplainable. Stories of science dealing with the bizarre. Stories regarding events so unusual they defy explanation. Stories that debunk all of those things. Stories on the edge of reason, teetering on the brink of logic. Stories just gone over the edge. Folklore, wives tales, and urban myths so strange they just might be true. Most important; weirdness.”

And vagueness. Vagueness of the guidelines. What else?

“We’ve seen ghost stories. We’ve seen stories about vampires. We’re looking for things that are not common knowledge in U.S. pop culture, unless you’re putting a new spin on it that we haven’t seen. We especially like exotic locales and a variety of time periods. We also have a fondness for good, old-fashioned pulp-style adventure, but not without speculative elements. We rarely see hard science fiction that deals with Fortean themes, so you’ll get our attention with a science fiction slant at this point. Yes, we do like slipstream, but no, don’t ask us to define it.”

slipstream: \ˈslip-ˌstrēm\ Function: noun Date: 1913
1 : a stream of fluid (as air or water) driven aft by a propeller
2 : an area of reduced air pressure and forward suction immediately behind a rapidly moving vehicle

Oh, you mean this?

Slipstream fiction is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction/fantasy or mainstream literary fiction. The term “slipstream” was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, July 1989.

Thank you, Wikipedia.

The publisher also says, “We do not publish sword and sorcery, high fantasy, or space opera. When we talk about weird, we don’t necessarily mean a horrific kind of weird, either. We’re not interested in horror unless we’re doing a special issue. Nor “Dark” genre work, as a general rule. Stories that revolve around a paralyzing fear of the unknown aren’t going to pass muster with us. The Fortean philosophy seeks to understand those things, and at this time.”

How long: Please send anything up to 4000 words. Anything longer than 8000 words will be returned unread.
How much: They pay 3 cents a word, up to a maximum of $60 per story upon publication.

Is there a catch? If you didn’t need that definition of slipstream fiction, you should be good to go. If you did need it, then you have some reading to do, first.

Where: “We will reopen for submissions January 1 of each year, and close to submissions when we have enough fiction.”

Submissions should be addressed to editors@forteanbureau.com with the subject “Submission- (Your Title Here).” Submissions must be attached to the email in standard manuscript format in a Microsoft Word (.DOC) or Rich Text (.RTF) format.