The Horror Tree

Horror Tree is a resource for authors that lists open markets, articles, interviews, original fiction, and more!

Category: Pay

Audio / Flat Amount / Ongoing Submissions / Reprints Allowed

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Ongoing Submissions: The Night’s End Podcast

Payment: $5
Theme: Spooky stories
Note: Reprints Welcome

If you think that your writing has the ability to spook the pants off our listeners, then you are just
who we are looking for!
If your story is accepted, our team will work hard to transform your piece into an auditory
experience never to forget.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
o Stories must be 2,000 – 3,000 words (10% tolerance +/-).
o Submission must be in a Word document – Calibri font, size 12.
o Include a 1-2 sentence logline for your story at the beginning of the document.
o Title your email with the following format: SUBMISSION – STORY TITLE – WORDCOUNT (e.g.
SUBMISSION – THE WINDING ROAD – 1,999).
o Name and an email address are at the beginning of the document.
o By submitting your story to us, you are confirming that you are the original creator of the
story.
o Previously published stories are welcome, however this must be stated in the document. By
submitting your story to us, you are confirming that your story is now free of all exclusivity
publishing rights.
o You will be allowed to place one call-to-action for your own work at the end of the episode
(eg. website address, book release, social media address). Please ensure to include this on
your document.
o Payment per accepted story is $5 USD via Paypal. All rights remain with the author.

Please send all submissions to:
[email protected]

Via: The Night’s End.

Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions

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Ongoing Submissions: Satyr Central

Payment: $20
Theme: A radical leftist journal for all things writing that don’t have a space of their own, or styles of writing within a genre that are not typical of the genre itself. Genre fiction welcome

HOW TO SUBMIT

Upload submissions below or send to our email at [email protected]! If sending by email, please include your name and the genre in the subject line. A short summary would also be greatly appreciated! If we accept your submission, we’ll be in touch with more details to make sure we post it exactly the way you want it (pictures, format, social media handles, etc, etc).

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Please note (update from Brioche 6/5/2020): We are currently paying $20 per submission and doubling up to donate to a protest bail fund or small business fund of the submitter’s choosing if they are accepted. As much as I would love continuing $0.05 per word payments, I am a recent grad and a poor noodle and unfortunately cannot do that and the donations without the site being monetized.

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Length Limit: We’ve been getting lots of submissions, which is super exciting! However, we don’t have the time or resources to continue with limitless submissions, as much as I’d like to. For this reason, we’re limiting submission word counts to 5,000 words.

Via: Satyr Central.

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount / Online / Reprints Allowed

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Taking Submissions: Scare Street

Deadline: July 25th, 2020
Payment: $10
Theme: Stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling
Note: Reprints accepted

Scare Street is accepting submissions for short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales.

Short stories must be 3,000-7,000 words and will be included in a collection totaling 50,000 to 65,000 words.  These stories will be published in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats.

WHO ARE WE?
Scare Street is a horror publishing company dedicated in helping fellow horror lovers experience sleepless nights. We’ve been around since September 2015 and have published 180+ e-book and paperback titles along with 110+ audiobooks (and counting!).

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

Get visibility from thousands of horror readers. We will promote your work on our email list (23,000+ active subscribers), Facebook Page (17,000+ followers), Facebook Group (7,000+ members), Pinterest (600k+ monthly views) and the rest of our social media channels.

Work with an experienced publisher. We’ve been publishing high quality manuscripts, non-stop for 4 years. We’ve worked out the kinks and know what it takes to bring stories to the masses, operationally. And marketing, too (see the point on visibility).

Distribution in e-book, print and audiobook formats. You’ll also receive a complimentary digital e-book and audiobook formats when they’re published. Note: These cannot be distributed without written permission.

Non-exclusive rights. Keep your rights and sell your work again! We’re looking to purchase non-exclusive license so you’re free to continually distribute your story and/or sell your stories to other publishers.

We accept reprints. Dust off your old horror stories. We’ll happily bring them back from the dead.

Jump to the top of our queue. Stories willing to be offered for a 6 month to a 1-year e-book exclusivity period will jump to the top of our submissions pile. These can be reprints as long as they’re not available anywhere else in digital format. Although payment will be the same $10 for every 1,000 words prorated, immediate preference and review is given to these stories.

Straightforward payment. We pay $10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on. There’s no waiting for royalties to trickle in, or confusion over whether you’ll get paid and for what amount.

No queue – drastically increase your chances of being published! Despite 180+ published titles, this is actually the first time we’re opening up for submissions. That means we don’t have a submissions review queue at the moment, so do NOT hesitate on applying!
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WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

  • Short stories with 3,000-7,000 words

  • All submissions must be in English

  • We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling
  • Stories with clever, but logical twists at the end

  • New ideas and unusual writing styles, but without falling into traps of contrivance and cliché

  • Stories showing more of the action rather than just telling the reader what happens

  • Believable dialogues and minimal use of dialects/slang
  • Up to a 2 story submissions max per author per submission period. Additional stories will be left unread

WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR

  • Shorts with a lot of spelling and grammar errors

  • Stories that are not horror, dark fantasy or some form of disturbing fiction

  • Fan fiction
  • Sex is fine, but total erotica and torture porn are not

  • Stories that include intolerance of a person or group’s race, religion, nationality, physical or mental ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation

  • ​Gratuitous gore and violence with no purpose – blood and guts are fine as long as there’s something deeper

  • ​Stories that glorify, minimize, or inaccurately represent child abuse, animal abuse, or sexual assault
  • Extreme use of foul language. Use of foul language must be minimal as it loses its punch if over-used

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DEADLINE
Submissions will be accepted from June 24, 2020 through July 25, 2020, 11:59PM PST. Most submissions will receive a response within 30 days after the submission deadline, although it could take more time for consideration purposes. Feel free to send a query to [email protected] if you haven’t heard anything in 60 days.

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT

  • 12 pt. Courier New or Times New Roman font Double spaced

  • Include author’s name, title, and word count on the first page. Follow traditional Shunn format: www.shunn.net/format

  • ​Indicate the end of manuscript with three stars (***)
  • Submission must be in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
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SIMULTANEOUS / MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
Simultaneous submissions (submitting the same stories to other publishers at the same time) are allowed. If you have submitted an unpublished work AND are opting for exclusivity, please let us know as soon as possible if submission is accepted or published by another publisher. If we select your story AND you’ve opted for exclusivity, please remove the work from consideration elsewhere immediately.
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RESPONSE TIME
Author will be notified once story has been accepted or rejected via email. If accepted, we’ll be in touch with contract and publication details. Most submissions will receive a response within 30 days after the submission deadline (July 25, 2020), although it could take more time for consideration purposes. Feel free to ask if you haven’t heard anything in 60 days at [email protected] with the subject line “Awaiting Response: [Your Submission Title]”
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HOW TO APPLY
Please fill out the Google Form by clicking the button below:

Google Form

DO NOT email us your submission. We will only consider submissions through the Google Form link above. Each author can only submit up to two stories within the submission period.

Via: Scare Street.

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Infernal Clock: Dante’s Inferno

Deadline: August 15th, 2020
Payment: £10
Theme: Open to: LGBTQIA and POC
Note:

Payment: £10 and ebook

Theme: Dante’s Inferno

Closing Date: 15th August 2020

Open to: LGBTQIA and POC

Length: 3-5k

The Infernal Clock is the side-project of Stephanie Ellis and David Shakes. After a year’s break, they are bringing it back with the Inferno edition. Stories have been by invite but we are opening up 9 spaces to members of the LGBTQIA and POC communities only in order to be more representative.

The theme is Dante’s Inferno and each story will be set in one of the circles or the passages to/between circles. 

Whilst there are nine circles, there are a number of rings – or pouches – within each circle so there is a lot of scope. How you interpret your chosen circle/ring is up to you, eg it could be set below in the Inferno itself, it could focus on a particular sin, or you could recreate this hell actually on earth. 

We are particularly interested in stories set in the Second and Eighth Circles as we do not have any of these yet, although you are welcome to write in the other circles as well.

Stories need to be dark (but with the usual boundaries against extremes and gratuity) and 3-5k with flexibility, although we would prefer 4k.

Stories must be submitted in standard manuscript format as .doc or .docx to [email protected].

No multiple or simultaneous submissions.

No reprints.

Payment will be by paypal on publication.

If you have any queries please contact us at the above email address.

Anthology / Events / Royalties

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Taking Submissions: Murder & Mayhem (Rated R)

Deadline: April 30th, 2021
Payment: Royalties
Theme: A murder needs to be solved by these main characters as the stakes rise higher. Any branch of investigators can be included, even vigilantes.

Murder & Mayhem (Rated R)

  • Deadline – April 30th, 2021
  • Publication – July 2021
  • Word Count – 5,000-15,000
  • Theme – A murder needs to be solved by these main characters as the stakes rise higher. Any branch of investigators can be included, even vigilantes.

Submission Guidelines.jpg

* Introduction of yourself should be a short biography in 3rd Person between 100-200 words. Upon acceptance, this will be used within the anthology. Send a bio with every single anthology submission. We work with hundreds of authors and will not take time to retrieve yours from a previous anthology.

* Poetry submissions: All poetry needs to be contained within a single e-mail. Each poem should be in a separate document. Haikus may be grouped together.

* All e-mails should be addressed to “Dear Editor.”

After receiving edits back, the author has two weeks to return the submission for formatting.

All submissions will be reviewed within thirty (30) days of the anthology’s submission deadline. This ensures submission calls do not close early and gives everyone a chance to submit. You will know your submission has been received for consideration by receiving a generic response. Whether accepted or rejected, you will always receive a response.

View our blog articles on how to submit to a publisher and how to write a proposal.

 

Failure to submit following all of the guidelines will result in an immediate refusal. You are able to submit again before the submission call deadline.

 

Rating – Check each anthologies‘ rating.
Word count – Check each anthologies‘ word count requirements.

Antho

E-mail address to submit to – dragonsoulpressa[email protected]

 

NOTICE –  Failure to submit correctly will result in refusal of submission.

Via: Dragon Soul Press.

Events / Magazine / Poetry / Pro / Reprints Allowed

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Taking Submissions: DreamForge (Early Listing)

Deadline: July 15th, 2020
Payment: Between $0.04 and $0.08/word, depending on variables below
Theme: SF and Fantasy genres, but no horror please. More details below
Note: Reprints welcome

DreamForge is Opening for Submissions

DreamForge is opening for submissions on July 1, 2020.  We’ll be open until Wednesday, July 15th at 12 Midnight, Eastern Standard Time.

Submissions will be through our online Submissions Portal, which will not be available before midnight on June 30th.

What are we looking for?

If your story fits within the general guidelines below, please send it our way. That said, here are some things we’d like to see.

  • More flash fiction between 500 and 1500 words. I’d like to feature more authors, especially talented beginners.
  • Our theme will be the “Hope of the Big Idea.” Which means we’d like to see stories that call upon powerful new visions of how life could be shaped for the better either through technological or social change, or both.
  • Stories can be serious, lighthearted, or funny. They can include themes of rebuilding or starting fresh.

We’ll be reading for Issue # 7, which has a target date of November 15th, toward the end of a long and trying year. Who even knows what we’ll have to face between now and then, so let’s look to a hopeful future!

Our General Guidelines

Positive stories demonstrating the triumph of the human spirit and the power of hope and humane values in overcoming the most daunting challenges.

We are interested in all SF and Fantasy genres, but no horror please. (more…)

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount / Novella

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Taking Submissions: “Worldbuilding” Fantasy Anthology

Deadline: December 1st, 2020
Payment: $100 for a short story, or $200 for a novella.
Theme: “Politics as Story Conflict.”

Lagrange Books is soliciting short stories and novellas by new and established authors in the fantasy genre, between 3,500 and 7,000 words in length for short stories and between 9,000 and 15,000 words for novellas. (Shorter or longer works will be considered in cases of exceptional merit.) The goal is to select at least ten entries for publication* in a short-story anthology.

Theme: “Politics as Story Conflict.”

Your story must include as a significant plot element a political conflict that makes up a key piece of the worldbuilding. (For guidance on how to do this, you can refer to Beyond Kings and Princesses: Governments for Worldbuilders, from Lagrange Books.)

Accepted authors will receive $100 for a short story, or $200 for a novella.

Submission Rules

How to submit: Email your manuscript (acceptable document formats: Word, PDF, Pages, TXT, RTF) to the following address: editor at lagrangebooks dot com. Begin the subject line with “[Worldbuilding Submission]”, and make sure to list your contact information in the email itself. (Also, please mention how you heard of this anthology!)

Submission deadline: December 1, 2020.

Genre: Fantasy, broadly defined. This includes traditional high fantasy, urban fantasy, or any other flavor that includes a magical or fantastical element. (If you are interested in other genres, please suggest them for our next project!)

Details

Entries must be your own work, must be previously unpublished, and may not be plagiarized. You must own all copyright to work submitted. No exceptions!
(more…)

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Fix the World

Deadline: September 30th, 2020
Payment: Based on word count: 5,000-8,000 – $75, 8,000-12,000 – $100, 12,000-15000: $125
Theme: How to fix our broken world

The world is broken. Fires, hurricanes, famine and disease haunt the and. We all need a little hope.

For this anthology, we’re looking for stories that depict a (near) future Earth that’s somehow better than this one, Show us a world post-climate change, where we made peace with the planet. Or a world where we moved past racism and into a broader understanding of the connectedness of all the races of humanity. How about one where gender no longer matters? Or where borders are no more.

We’re not looking for preachy. We want realistic depictions of the Earth that could be, even it it’s not perfect.

Whatever fix you choose does not have to be the main plot – in fact, it’s probably better if it isn’t. But it should be very clear in the story – how we got from here to there.

The Details:

Length: Minimum 5,000, Maximum 15,000 words

Payment: Flat Fee:

  • 5,000-8,000 – $75
  • 8,000-12,000 – $100
  • 12,000-15000: $125

Rights: 12 months exclusive print rights; additional 24 months non-exclusive. Sunsets at 36 months and all rights revert to author.

Due Date: Closes September 30th, 2020

Publication Date: Winter 2020-21

Format:

Please use standard manuscript formatting:

  • 1 Inch Margins
  • Font: Times New Roman 12 Point
  • Double spaced
  • Half inch indent at start of each paragraph (please do not use tabs for this)

Otherwise we’re not all that picky. No cover letter is needed. Please include a short one paragraph summary of what your “fix” is.

Please, no simultaneous submissions.

Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line:

Submission: Fix the World

If you have any questions, email us at the link above.

Via: Other Worlds Ink.

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