Sub Ops Ten

Ten Things About Submission Opportunities

The DF_Underground "welcomes submissions of fiction and nonfiction by horror and dark fiction writers from all walks of life" and are building an online community as well: " . . . theDF_underground editors provide review and response-time preference to members of the underground_Community. No two ways about it: our goal is to build a living, breathing community around the genre as a profession, and we support our community first. By joining and engaging within the underground_Community, you are taking steps to promote yourself as an author, build name recognition, network with other professionals in your industry, and take an active role in the success of your work. (And you can have a lot of fun doing it, too.)" Length: 1-5K+; Payment: "theDF_underground is a low-paying market for now, for one simple reason: we're new. We pay $5 up to 1,000 words, $10 for 1,000-5,000 words, and $15 for 5,000+ words"; reprints okay, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

The Library of Horror has an open call for Groanology : Amusing Monster Mash-Ups Unleashed: "Looking for original horror stories that are humorous, witty, silly, satirical, or sardonic. Each story must focus on using two different monsters. They can be used in the singular, plural, or a combination of both. Secondary characters may be used, including other monsters, but the two main characters should stand out. You may use typical monsters (such as witches/warlocks, skeletons, gill people, banshees) or mythological/fantasy monsters (such as ogres, giants, gorgons, harpies), or urban legend monsters (such as Big Foot, Bloody Mary, El Chupacabra, Jersey Devil). Feel free to use any combination of the different types of monsters you would like. Please do not use any monsters such as Jason Voorhees, Michael Meyers, Freddy Krueger or any other characters that are not held in the public domain. If you have a questions regarding a character please pm me." Length: 1.2 to 3.2k; Payment: 1¢/word + contributor's copy; no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: TBA

Library of the Living Dead has an open call for a post-apocalyptic/shared universe anthology, No More Heroes (see guidelines link for a great deal of important information on the characters/setting/details of the stories they want to see) Length: 3-9K; Payment: 1¢/word + contributor's copy; no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: June 15, 2010

Liquid Silver Books is currently accepting submissions for "all erotic romance genres in three different heat levels (note here: the levels are sterling, liquid, and molten; see guidelines page for specifics on what they entail.) We want to see strong stories that stand on their own if the sex was omitted. We are looking for the build up of passion, the explosion of a sexual relationship between characters, and not just a story with one sex scene after another. Sex in the stories must be descriptive, titillating for the reader, further the plot and be original; no purple prose will be accepted." Length: 15K and up; Payment: 35%; no reprints unless you've already submitted an original ms or are a LSB author; electronic submissions only, see guidelines page for more details.

Permuted Press has an open call for their Times of Trouble anthology: ". . . looking for grim, gritty stories about the unhappy unintended consequences of mucking about with the delicate fabric of reality. That doesn't mean there's no room for any note of hope, or the occasional happy ending—in fact, accomplishing such a feat effectively just might greatly enhance the author's chance of inclusion in this anthology—but the emphasis here is decidedly on the dark downside of time travel. Times of Trouble most emphatically does not want to see any stories of clichéd wish fulfillment—don't bother submitting any stories in which Hitler is fortuitously killed prior to World War II—or those using time travel as a convenient plot device to place the protagonist "elsewhen" simply for the sake of a rousing adventure. (The Editor has nothing whatsoever against a good romp with Tyrannosaurs, but the place for such is not here.) Time travel must be integral to development of the story. Unless crucial to the plot, it is not necessary to expound at length on the actual mechanism of time travel. The "how" should be far less important than "what happens next?" Examples of the sort of stories that will succeed in this anthology are "—All You Zombies—" by Robert A. Heinlein, "A Sound of Thunder," by Ray Bradbury (oh, look—you can use dinosaurs, if you do it right), and the classic Star Trek™ episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever." Length: 3-7.5K; Payment: 1¢/word; no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: July 4, 2010

Realms of Fantasy Magazine is now accepting submissions for its August 2011 "Women in Fantasy" issue; length >10k; payment at regular rates, submissions from female authors only. Deadline November 15, 2010.

Reuts Publications is currently accepting submissions for novel-length works: "We don't limit ourselves within genres, but we do ask for your stories to be fiction only and geared towards older-young adult and adult audiences. That said, our team is particularly fond of the following genres and their sub categories: paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, horror and romance." Length: >50k; Payment: 40% royalty on net; query on reprints; electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Severed Press is seeking submissions for its upcoming anthology, Dead Bait 2, to be headlined by authors Steve Alten and Guy N. Smith: "As with the original Dead Bait, stories must include themes revolving around fish/fishing and aquatic creatures (no mermaids). We will be looking for a good mix of horror, humor and deviance. Stories can be set anywhere in the world and can be fresh or sea water. Stories with exotic locations and unusual species of fish will be highly regarded." Length: 2-8k; Payment: 1¢/word of edited/final story + contributor's copy; query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: July 1, 2010

The parent company of Under the Moonhas signed a contract with author Mercedes Lackey to produce the Valdemar Source Books and D6 game. Because of this, they are now "seeking light fantasy with romance threads & space opera" novel submissions.

Vagabondage Press has an open call for their Lyrotica anthology series, as follows: "In order to further our battle against entropy in the universe of letters, Vagabondage Press has decided to stir up a little chaos by combining the two and launching our new anthology series of Literary Erotica, working title "Lyrotica" scheduled for release in September 2010. We are currently seeking well-written pieces of steamy literature--with the emphasis on literature. This is smut with its opera gloves on, elegant and provocative, perhaps even satisfying—but never tawdry. (Well, maybe just a little.) The focus is on character development and thematic plot via the wonderful world of human reproduction—rated NC-17. All genres will be considered and we hold no editorial bias in regards to stories for or about individuals of any race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or planet of origin." Length: 2-6K; Payment: 40% of cover for digital ~ 8% for print; reprints okay as long as earlier release was digital; electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Most of the above submission opportunities were found among the many terrific market listings at Ralan.com.