Ongoing Submissions: The Martian Wave

Payment: Original Stories: $25.00, Reprint Stories: $15.00, Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word, Poems: $5.00
Theme: SF & Fantasy original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development.
Note: Reprints allowed

The Martian Wave began with James Baker of ProMart Publishing back around the turn of the millennium. After his passing in September 2002, it was under the editorial stewardship of J Alan Erwine, now of Nomadic Delirium Press. In November 2019, it was handed over to Hiraeth Books.

The Martian Wave is now published semi-annually, in March and in September, in print [and, eventually, as an eBook]. It presents original science fiction stories about the exploration and settlement of other worlds. It also presents one or two original fantasy stories along that same theme. Although it does consider darker sf/f, it does not present horror. It also presents a few original poems, again along the overall theme.

The Martian Wave wants original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character[s], they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character[s] are just as important.

Stories submitted to The Martian Wave should be between 4K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 4K will be a difficult sell. Anything 1K or less will be considered flash fiction. We will consider reprint stories, provided they adhere to the guidelines; however, they are difficult sells.

Submit your stories as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

Please submit one story at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. We hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Poetry submitted to The Martian Wave should be from about ten to a hundred lines. Please submit no more than three poems at a time, and wait for the response before submitting more. Again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your poems as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] or IBOE to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

The Martian Wave also considers articles related to the exploration and settlement of other worlds. Articles include essays and reviews, as well as writing tips. Word count should be around 1K words, up to a loose 5K words. Please submit one article at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. Yet again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your articles as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Boil spammers; inexpensive vegetable oil works best].

The Martian Wave is not considering cover art at this time.

Payment is made upon publication by check or Paypal as follows:

  • Original Stories: $25.00

  • Reprint Stories: $15.00

  • Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word

  • Poems: $5.00

  • Articles: $20.00

NOTE: If you live outside the United States, you will be paid via Paypal, or must make some other arrangement with the editor.

All submissions must include contact information. This means:

  • Name [yours, not necessarily your byline name]

  • Address [street, city, country, and zip code or equivalent]

  • e-mail address

  • Paypal address

If your address changes before the publication date, please let us know.

Queries should be sent to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Grill spammers; the grillwork of a 1950 Buick or a 1953 Packard works best].

Via: Hiraeth Publishing.

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