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Payment: $160

The Basics

• • To submit, email [email protected] with two related speculative fiction stories attached
  • Restrictions
    • We do not accept simultaneous submissions
    • We do not accept reprints
    • You must be the creator and copyright holder to submit
  • Submission email should only contain:
    • Contact email
    • Submission date
    • Title and File name of stories being submitted
    • Indication if you have additional stories on this theme or in this fictional universe that you would like us to review
  • Do not include a cover letter in your submission.
  • Attachments should be:
    • Two related speculative fiction stories
    • Both stories combined are no greater than 2000 words long
    • Formatted in manuscript format (example courtesy of William Shunn)
    • Use txt or rtf file format

• The pay is $160 for a pair of stories
• Rights given to Thrilling Words:
  • First publishing rights
  • Print, digital and audio publication rights
  • 6 months, exclusive publishing rights
  • non-exclusive publishing rights after 6 months
• Author retains all trademarks and copyrights not listed above

What we’re looking for

Thrilling Word’s mission is to promote episodic fiction.  Instead of publishing standalone speculative fiction short stories, we publish multiple flash fiction stories written by the same author.  Stories that are connected by author, theme or fictional universe.  That’s why we ask for a pair of related stories with a total word count of two thousand words or less.

And yet, while we say we want multiple stories related to one another, we don’t want a serialized story.  Episodic fiction is a collection of related stories where each story is a complete unit.  The stories expand on an idea or fictional world but don’t need each other for a satisfying read.  Serialized fiction, on the other hand, is a single story broken up into pieces, with each piece depending on the others to tell a complete story.  This is not something we are interested in.

What does this all mean?

To give some examples, your submission could be:

• One 500 word story and one 1500 word story
• Two stories both 1000 words long
• Two stories totaling 5 words (This is a legal submission, but those better be some amazing words)

Your pay would be $160 for any of these examples.

Your submission should not be:

• A single story divided up into two parts
• Any story that ends with a cliff hanger or a “to be continued”
• A 20,000 word novella

As for the style of story we are looking for, it can be anything that has a speculative element.  The nature of the speculation, be it fantasy, sci-fi, superhero or just plain surreal is not important, the more important thing is to have fun with the story. And it’s this last point, having fun, that’s the most important stylistic element.  We are looking for stories that trace their heritage more from pulp traditions than literary.  Stories that make you feel more than make you think.  Stories that have a sense of humor even if they aren’t humorous stories. Though we do love funny stories.

What are we looking for?  Thrilling words of course.

Rights

By submitting your stories, you are agreeing, that if accepted and purchased, you will grant Thrilling Words LLC text and audio publishing right.  You’re also agreeing to grant archive rights to those formats. In addition to digital publication, you will be granting Thrilling Words LLC one-time print publication rights in a year end collection book. One of your stories will be  released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.  The other story will only be released to paying members under a standard restricted use license.

Author beware

For those of you who have been published, this warning is a bit redundant, but it’s still worth saying.  By publishing your story with us you effectively burn it for any other market.  Professional markets don’t want reprints.  Even most token paying markets won’t accept them.  You get one shot at publishing your story, so make sure the market you are publishing with a market that is right for you.

Now, obviously, we think that Thrilling Words is a “right” market.  We pay a professional rate as well as having your stories illustrated and narrated for the best possible presentation.  But, we are a fledgling market.  Fewer people will see your story here than on other market.  That should be a consideration before submitting your works to us.

How to submit

Step one

Format your story using manuscript format.  Save the files as a txt or rtf.

Step two

Write an email with only the following information:

---

Subject: Submission of {Title1} and {Title2}, {Date}

Submission Date:
Contact email:
Stories file names and full titles:

---

Do not include a cover letter.  Thrilling Words LLC uses a blind submission process, cover letters will not be used in the evaluation of stories.  Also, with flash fiction, cover letters can often be longer than the story themselves.  Don’t make extra work for yourself.

Step 3

Attach the files and send it to [email protected]

Submission Complete

We will get back to you within a week to confirm that we have received your submission and give you a decision within 45 days of receipt.

Thank you for considering to allow us to publish your story.  We look forward to reading your application.

Via: Thrilling Words.