Markets for Short Speculative Fiction
Markets for Short Speculative Fiction highlights some of the markets that I like to use. Some of them have accepted some of my work for publication. Others are highlighted here because I'm a reader (listener if it's a Podcast), or because they have quick turn arounds when I submit material to them.
Whatever the reason I have them listed here, please understand that this is not an all encompassing list of markets. For complet market resources, please go to the Resources for Authors page. Duotrope's Digest is one of the best resources that I know of for listing writing markets.
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine
Spacesuits and Sixguns Magazine
SNM Horror Magazine was the very first magazine to accept one of my short stories for publication.
The SNM Horror Magazine web site is at www.freewebs.com/snmhorrormag/.
I submitted my short story, Phlebotomists Anonymous, to SNM Horror Magazine and they originally rejected it, but for the July issue. Twelve minutes later, I got another email asking if I would be interested in having it published in the November 2008 issue. I was!
This was the very first story I had accepted for publication, so SNM Horror Magazine will always be special to me and I hope the very best for them.
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine was the second magazine to accept one of my short stories for publication. It is a piece titled Woman Called Witch. Not only did they pick it up for publication, they turned it into a Podcast.
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine web site is at dunesteef.com.
The part that's really cool to me is that they asked me to record my own introduction to the story. I'm spending a lot of time trying to get my name out there to get recognized, and being able to record my own introduction is more than I could have hoped for.
So if you like to listen to horror Podcasts, check out The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine.
The Monsters Next Door was the third market to pick up one of my stories, Number Two for Brains
The Monsters Next Door web site is at www.freewebs.com/themonstersnextdoor/.
Number Two for Brains is a narrative piece written from the perspective of someone a little on the slow side. That's hard to write, but more importantly, it's hard to market.
In the acceptance letter, they discussed how hard it is to market stories like this, but then said they liked it and wanted to print it!
Six Sentences is a blog where the goal is to write — you guessed it — six sentences (abbreviated 6S — another way of saying success).
The Six Sentences web site is at sixsentences.blogspot.com.
I like Six Sentences for a couple of reasons. One is that I often write with authors who have never submitted anything before. Six Sentences makes you go through the whole submission process, getting new authors over that hurdle. I mean, after all, it's just six sentences, right? It's not like a story or a book that I slaved away trying to write.
The reality is that once you submit it, you really do care. I check the web site everyday to see if my six sentences have been accepted. If you're an aspiring author, or even an established one, you should check it out.
Pseudopod.org, is another location of free Podcasts.
The official Pseudopod web site is at pseudopod.org.
Pseudopod focuses on horror fiction, but they also have a couple of sister sites:
- Escapepod.org - Podcasts for science fiction.
- Podcastle.org - Podcasts for fantasy fiction.
Pseudopod.org has a lot of content and I am slowly, but surely, working my way through it all. If you like horror fiction, I recommend that you check it out.
Remember, you don't have to have an iPod to listen to Podcasts.
Lone Star Stories has rejected every single story I've ever sent in. But this market has one huge advantage over other markets — they do it quick. On every, single submission, I've heard back the very next day. I don't know about you, but I think that's a big advantage when you're shopping stories around.
You see, some magazines may take up to three months before they read your story. If it's a rejection, that means your story has been out of circulation for that long before it can be submitted to the next market (assuming you're not submitting to multiple market simultaneously).
For that reason, I almost always give Lone Star Stories first dibs on my stories, because if he doesn't publish it, it just goes to the next maraket that much quicker.
The Lone Star Stories web site is at literary.erictmarin.com.
P.S. I must admit to a secret ambition though, and that is that instead of a rejection the very next day, I get an acceptance the very next day. That would be way too cool, to get accepted from the first market you send it to and to get it the day after you send it out!
GUD Magazine (Greatest Uncommon Denominator) is also really quick with the feedback. I always know within a few days whether the story has been accepted or rejected (so far, only rejections). They average about five or six days on the turn-around.
But one of my stories, A Murder of Pixies, was out for twenty days before I heard anything back. I like to think that is because they almost published it. I imagine that it went around the circuit of editors that had a deciding vote, and it almost made it.
But maybe that's just me.
The GUD Magazine web site is at www.gudmagazine.com.
Not One of Us is a market, that as of this writing, I've only sent one piece to. But I have several other pieces slated to go that way. I don't know why, but somehow, from the description on their web site for what they're looking for, it almost seems like they would be a good fit for me.
I hope to be moving this market up on my list if they publish something I submit.
The Not One of Us web site is at not-one-of-us.com.
A Professional market.
Abyss & Apex is pretty prestegious market among speculative fiction magazines.
I've only submitted one of my stories to them: A Murder of Pixies. Even though it wasn't accepted, the rejection did say something along the lines that "It was well received here." I don't know if that was part of a form rejection or not, but I appreciated it nonetheless.
Update: I received an email from the editor of Abyss & Apex, and she said that if they told me that my story was well received, it was! It just wasn't quite what it needed to be to ask for a rewrite or to publish it. She had actually been seaching the Internet and found my comments. It was very nice that she took the time to send me an email and I plan on submitting other stories to Abyss & Apex.
The Abyss & Apex web site is at www.abyssandapex.com.
Spacesuits and Sixguns Magazine
I met David, the editor of Spacesuits and Sixguns Magazine, at an Agents and Editors Conference in Austin, Texas in June 2008. He and I talked at length about the quality of work he received at the magazine and how he had raise what he paid to professional rates so that he could attrack a higher quality story.
I liked David and I decided that I was going to send a piece or two his way for consideration. At the time I'm writing this, I still haven't heard back on the first piece I've submitted.
The Spacesuits and Sixguns Magazine web site is at www.spacesuitsandsixguns.com.
By the way, for those of you wondering, the name of the magazine is because he didn't want to be strictly tied into to science fiction or fantasy. David is open to all types of literature and he chose the name Spacesuits and Sixguns to help indicate the broad spectrum of material he's interested in.
Ideomancer is another respected market I submitted Kutter to. Like the markets before it, they also rejected it.
The Ideomancer web site is at www.ideomancer.com/main/ideoMain.htm.
Tales of the Talisman, yet another respected market, is the second market I submitted Kutter to. It was rejected but I still wanted to capture the market here for future reference.
The Tales of the Talisman web site is at www.talesofthetalisman.com.
Strange Horizons is also one of the more respected markets for short speculative fiction. I've only submitted one piece to them, Kutter. Yes, if you're wondering, it was rejected.
The Strange Horizons web site is at www.strangehorizons.com.
The Three-Lobe Burning Eye was one of the very first markets that I submitted a story to. The story I submitted was Number Two for Brains.
The The Three-Lobe Burning Eye web site is at www.3lobedmag.com.