Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by c0riander 3771 days ago
As a writer familiar with SF&F short fiction markets, I agree that more information is needed.

Including more biographical information on the website about yourself and any editors making acquisition decisions would help. You don't need to have industry cred already (though that helps), but writers like to know that (a) you're not a publisher/editor known not to pay, has a bad rep, etc. and (b) that you're a real person. It's also very helpful to know how long the magazine is funded for when it's not yet established -- so you have confidence that if you submit and are selected, it won't go under before you get paid.

Also, you should include what the publication format is, what specific rights you'd be buying, whether they're exclusive, etc. You say "first English publication rights" -- I'm assuming you mean exclusive First English Language serial rights? Print or digital? Or would it be nonexclusive? Are audio rights exclusive or nonexclusive? If you have a template contract you plan to use, you could link to it.

You have an expected response time, which is great; consider also including time to payment/publication. If you have formatting guidelines/preferences (i.e. standard manuscript format like Vonda McIntyre's), include those.

You can take a look at the guidelines/sites of established short fiction magazines to see what best practices are -- i.e. Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Analog, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction, etc.

Hope that helps! Always exciting to see more short fiction markets!

2 comments

Thank you, this is very helpful. I will be adding much more information to the submissions page based on the great advice I've received on this thread!
I am in fact interested in publishing with you since you pay pro rate, but I'm interested in who you are and what experience you have in editing. What kind of narratives are you looking for? How do you plan to market your work? Do you have a turnaround time I should contact you in case my manuscript doesn't go through?
I have absolutely no experience as an editor. I'm a data scientist who wants to support good science fiction -- my linkedin is in my profile if you're curious. I'm looking for relatively hard SF, no horror, no fantasy. There is a slightly more robust description on the site, but overall I'm open to any well-written story within those bounds. I will contact you within 4 weeks of your submission, and please feel free to contact me at any time with questions at questions@compellingsciencefiction.com!
I somehow missed your post and so wrote a comment covering almost all of this. Went ahead and deleted mine as yours is far clearer, and op has already responded