Taking Submissions: DreamForge Magazine Fall 2022 Window (Early)
Submission Window: September 22nd to October 15th, 2022
Payment: $0.07/word. Payment for reprints is $0.03/word, Poems are paid at the rate of $25 to $100
Theme: All SF and Fantasy genres, but horror is unlikely to find a home here. Ideally stories with a message of hope.
Note: Reprints are welcome
To accept submissions, DreamForge uses our own “Submissions Portal.” The link to that portal will be supplied on this page at about Midnight on 9/21/22 and remain open through Midnight 10/15/22.
When you submit stories through our portal, you will be able to provide a brief cover letter, tell us why you feel the story is right for DreamForge, and upload your manuscript doc.
Our response time? At DreamForge, all staff and readers are volunteers. While we’re all set to devote time to this, our day jobs and personal lives can set us back. So, expect 2-3 weeks minimum for us to get back to you. If we respond more quickly, or take significantly longer, those are just the breaks and don’t necessarily mean anything specifically regarding your story.
Because submitting stories can sometimes feel like you’ve dropped your manuscript into a time warp, we don’t mind simultaneous submissions. If your story sells elsewhere, we’ll help you celebrate!
Most stories will be returned without editorial comment. You will always get a polite response, but providing feedback often takes time we don’t have. A quick calculation shows you the problem. Let’s say we receive 500 hopeful submissions this period and we spend just 5 minutes each giving each one some feedback. That’s 2500 minutes. 41.6 hours. That’s time we really don’t have, and honesty it takes more than 5 minutes to provide insightful and politely crafted commentary.
However, if you want to engage with us and other writers as we welcome guest speakers, have fun with writing challenges, and learn the basics of story-telling, then consider supporting us on Patreon at our DreamCaster level and joining us for monthly ZOOM sessions. Your dollars go directly to supporting story purchases, and we all have fun and learn a lot. DREAMCASTERS.
Read below about what we’ll be looking for when we open for submissions on September 22nd.
This reading period, our sweet spot for stories will be between 2,500 and 3,750 words.
Overall, we will consider the following word counts:
Flash Fiction: 200 – 1500 words
Short Stories: 1,500 – 5,000 words
Poems: up to 900 words (As with stories, send one at time. Poetry collections will be returned unread.)
Name, Address, Email, and Word Count at the top left of the first page.
Title of Story (centered)
Your Byline (centered)
Page Layout:
Font: Arial, Size 12
Double spaced
Indented paragraphs
Single space after periods.
No extra line break between paragraphs
Section breaks, as needed, should be three ### symbols, centered on the page.
In the document Header, include Title/Last Name/Page #
File Naming:
When you SAVE your file, name it in the following way: StoryTitle-V01.doc as in “Pangenesis-V01.doc.”
In case we ask for edits or a rewrite, the second version would be V02, etc. (You may include your name in the file name if you wish)
During the submission process, you will have the opportunity to write a cover letter, enter the word count, select genre and story type, etc. (We know that’s a bit of double work, but there’s the story and then there’s the submission log, and if they get separated this helps us know what went where and what belongs to whom, etc.)
We are interested in all SF and Fantasy genres, but horror is unlikely to find a home here.
No to Pollyannish and Utopian simplicity.
Yes to communities and teams working together to overcome dire challenges.
Yes to marginalized and under-represented characters as protagonists.
Yes to science and magic that solve problems, alleviate suffering, and boldly explore new possibilities.
No to corrupt, dystopian governments or evil corporations.
Tone down the violence, profanity, and sex. It’s only useful if the story demands it.
We acquire First World Rights for online/electronic and print publication, exclusive for a period of six (6) months following the first date of publication and nonexclusive thereafter.
Payment is $0.07/word.
Payment for reprints is $0.03/word
Poems are paid at the rate of $25 to $100
Payment is on Acceptance
Simultaneous submissions are OK, if you let us know as soon as your story is accepted elsewhere.
Depending on our workload, we’ll try to get back to you within a few weeks. If you don’t hear from us in 9 weeks, send an inquiry to [email protected].
We will consider reprints if you can show that publication rights have reverted to you, the author.
Submissions will be through our online Submissions Portal, which is only available during submission periods.
We wish you all the best!
We realize that submitting your story is a personal and hopeful activity. The statistical reality however is that we can only publish between 2% and 5% of what we receive. If all the stories submitted were perfect, that number would still be the same. As a team, we don’t always agree on which stories to select. We just do our best, and we know that you do too. Have fun. Be kind. And know that you are appreciated.
Via: DreamForge Magazine.
- About the Author
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Stuart Conover is a father, husband, published author, blogger, geek, entrepreneur, horror fanatic, and runs a few websites including Horror Tree!
