To Infinity and Beyond: Submitting to Speculative Markets

Lesson #8 | From Fantasies to Futures: Lessons from Speculative Fiction

Art by Mariam Chagelishvili

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You’re done! We’ve made it to the final lesson! You can finally be rid of me! And since it's the home stretch, this class is gonna hit a little different. We aren't going to have any readings/viewings/playings. Instead, I’m going to give you a list of places to submit your stories, further improve your craft, and meet other speculative writers. 

Note, as I am based in North America and write solely in the English language, so these lists are inevitably, inherently limited by my perspective. However, I know there are plenty of other supportive communities out there, so I highly encourage you to look for your local resources no matter where you are!

This lesson may feel a little dry, but a giant list really is one of the easiest ways to convey all these options. That way you’ll have something you can always come back and reference as you move forward with your writing career, long after I’m gone from this workshop. So let’s get down to business!

Speculative Short Fiction Markets

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This may seem obvious, but the first step to submitting is… well, finding out when markets are open. Some venues (like Escape Artists) have regular periods when they are open every year, but others (like Flame Tree) announce windows shortly before they take submissions. Some (like Uncanny) will close after a specific period of time, and others (like Strange Horizons) will close after a certain number of submissions. You should do your research on each individual market’s submission policy. If you like a magazine, follow its social media for the most direct updates on open periods.

Remember how, in the very first lesson, we talked about how speculative fiction developed out of pulp fiction magazines? Readers would buy issues of the magazines, and editors would pay writers to create content for those magazines. So if you’ve only ever seen markets with submission fees, boy, do I have news for you… 

Because submitting to speculative fiction markets should be free.

Although readers now support the magazine via subscriptions and Kickstarter campaigns, the vast majority of respected speculative fiction publications follow a similar commercial model as the pulp days: “money should flow to the writer.” Payments may vary between professional, semi-pro, and token. But if a venue charges to read a submission, speculative authors tend to view it as a vanity press and are likely to ignore it.

In terms of technology, most magazines use e-mail or a portal called Moksha to manage submissions (each magazine will have their own Moksha portal with a unique URL).

If you submit a lot, Submissions Grinder by Diabolical Plots is a free tool that lets you track your submissions. It also anonymously aggregates data across all its user accounts, so you can take a good guess at any magazine’s usual rate of acceptance or how far along your submission is in the queue. 

Another word of advice - submit it and then stop worrying about it. It can take three to six months to hear back about a submission (so wait awhile before even thinking of sending a follow-up). This is totally normal. So you might as well spend those months writing. 

Here is a short (and definitely not exhaustive) list of just a few magazines that have great reputations in the field (in alphabetical order). Note, magazines change their operations frequently, so what I write may quickly become out of date. Always check the submissions guidelines, and I also recommend you read an issue or two to see which magazines fit your vibe. You can even work or volunteer for one of these to get more hands-on experience (like first reading)!