Deadline: February 6th, 2015
Payment: $0.02 per word and Contributor’s Copy

Featured Author: Randy Ingermanson
(SD – 2/6/2015)
Sub-genres – All of them! Combine two or more genres to create a unique speculative story.

Two different genres. One story. We want a marriage that works. From steampunk spaceships to elves with tasers, from time traveling monks to superheroes in the Renaissance, pick any two genres, and craft an innovative speculative story that makes us believe it’s possible.

Splickety fills gaps in the modern reader’s day with concise, poignant fiction under 1,000 words. We want stories that hit fast and strike hard––stories that, no matter the genre, can cut through the day’s troubles and grip readers with short attention spans.

We primarily accept original, unpublished work by freelance writers, but we will also entertain submissions from artists, graphic designers, and photographers.

Splickety retains the rights to your story for six months from publication date and reserve the right to reprint the same issue in which your story appears in perpetuity, but after that six month period ends you have full rights to your story again. Other terms are delineated in our contract, which we will send to you upon acquisition of your story.

We pay our authors $0.02 per word, and you will receive one complimentary print copy of the magazine. Additional copies may be purchased at-cost.

Submission Guidelines

Your well-edited story should be between 300 and 1,000 words long and it should coincide with one of our 2015 Themes.

**What’s more, as of January 2015 each of our magazines will feature one Nano-fiction story of 100 words or less in our Nano Corner. If you can write a complete story in 100 or fewer words that fits with one of our magazine’s themes, send it to us.**

HINT: Due to design and layout restrictions, we can only publish a few stories longer than 700 words per issue. If you want to increase your chances of getting published with us, send us stories that are 700 words or less!

Refer to this breakdown (assuming approximately 12 stories per issue) for more info:

701 – 1,000 word stories — 2-3 stories acquired 

500 – 700 word stories — 8-10 stories acquired

< 100 words — 1 story acquired

We do not publish:

1. Previously published flash fiction
2. Scenes/excerpts/synopses from novels
3. Excessive violence, profanity, or erotica in any form. Splickety publishes from an open-minded worldview, but we do have our limits.
4. Conversely, we don’t want thinly-veiled stories that preach from a soapbox of any sort, whether it be political, religious, or otherwise.

Writing Resources

The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction is the best place to learn the fundamentals and intricacies of flash fiction if you’re new to the genre.

Also, we encourage you to download (for free) and read our fourth issue of Splickety Magazineso you can get a feel for how a well-written flash fiction story should flow.

Formatting Guidelines

• Microsoft word document (.doc or .docx)
• Double-spaced, size 12 black Times New Roman font
• Indented to 0.5″ using the ruler (not a tab or five spaces)

In the upper left hand corner of the document, include:

• Your name as you would like it to appear in print
• Your contact information (phone number, email address, and mailing address)
• The title of your story
• The word count (excluding the title, your name, and your contact information)

Attachment Guidelines

Send your story as an email attachment, NOT in the body of the email, using this file name format: <your last name>—<story title>. example: Winch—My Amazing Story

If your story is selected for publication, you will need to send as an attachment a high-resolution headshot (at least 300 dpi .jpg or .tif file). Your headshot should be professional—no “selfies,” props, or excessive shadows.

Any related artwork, photo(s) (also high-resolution .jpg or .png files) should also be attached to the email. You must own the rights to all images you send to us, including those of your headshots.

Email Guidelines

We only accept email submissions unless special arrangements have been made.

For your submission email, please use the following format for the subject:

SPLICKETY SUBMISSION-<your last name>-<story title>

Example: SPLICKETY SUBMISSION-Winch-My Amazing Story

Include in the body of the email:

• Your first and last names (NOTE: If you use a pen name, we need both your real name and your pen name, please)
• The file names of the attached documents
• An author website (if applicable) which we will use as your author bio

For multiple submissions, please send separate emails.

Before you submit

Double check to make sure you’re fulfilling all guidelines. If you don’t, we won’t read your story until you resend it in the prescribed format.

Please see our story Submission Deadline page for upcoming issue deadlines.

Should we select one of your works for publication, we will notify you via email. If you don’t hear from us within 6-8 weeks, feel free to follow up on your submission.

When submitting, please include the specific magazine/theme for which you would like your story to be considered so we can review it accordingly. Otherwise, it may get lost in our slush pile and not found until after an issue has already been acquired.

Thank you for your interest in our publications. Please contact us with any questions or submissions at [email protected].

Via: Splickety Pub Group.