Submissions Guidelines
DreamForge will PAUSE its current submissions period on 5/24/19
Here’s the thing: you overwhelmed us! We’ll soon reach 1,000 submissions and we’re falling behind.
- If you’re working on a story for DreamForge, you can still submit it, but now you’ll have a little more time.
- Between May 25 and July 31st, we’re going to concentrate on reading and responding to our backlog.
- On August 1, we’ll open up again for 5 weeks to accommodate everyone who wanted to get a story in during this reading period.
If you submit through our portal during the pause (after 5/24/19), that’s fine; just know we won’t even start to look at those stories until 8/1/19. (Our original plan was to be open for submissions through June 30th, but due to the large number of submissions, we are falling behind in our ability to respond. We will still be open for the same length of time this year, just with a pause to allow us to catch up.)
Also to help in this situation, we are recruiting additional First Line Readers. If you have an interest; email the Editor-in-Chief at Scot.Noel@DreamForgeMagazine.com. We will be posting requirements and more information by the end of the month. (You can also email Scot with any questions about your submission while we work to catch up.)
Space and Time Magazine is
Opening for Submissions!
Our friends at Space and Time Magazine are opening for submissions soon. To quote editor and publisher Angela Yuriko Smith: “Poets and prosers get ready! Space and Time magazine’s fall issue #134 will be open for submissions starting June 1 for two weeks.” https://www.spaceandtimemagazine.net/home.html
DreamForge Submission Guidelines
At DreamForge, our goal is to publish positive science and fantasy fiction. (That’s about it, but if you want to know more, you can check out our Rules of Fiction page.)
What Are We Looking For?
Space opera, urban fantasy, military sf, magical realms, hard science fiction, sword & sorcery, time travel, cyberpunk, steampunk, hopepunk, and whatever else comes before punk. Parables, poetry, zombies, and vampires are also welcome. No horror please.
- 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.
- No Horror, please
- Stories set before, during, or after an “apocalypse” are more likely than not to be rejected.
- Tone down the violence, profanity, and sex
Story Length
Shorter is better!
If you submit a story over 5,000 words, it has to be amazing to get very far in the review process. We want variety in each issue, and longer your story, the less variety we can print.
Overall, we will consider the following word counts:
- Flash Fiction & Poetry: 100 – 1500 words
- Short Stories: 2,000 – 7,500 words
- Novelettes: 7,500 – 12,000 words.
Submission Formatting
Your story must be submitted in Word or RTF format.
Top of the Page
- Title of Story (centered)
- Your By Line (centered)
Formatting:
- Font: Arial, Size 12
- Double spaced
- Indented paragraphs
- No extra line break between paragraphs
- Section breaks, as needed, should be three ### symbols, centered on the page.
- In the document Header, include Last Name/Title/Page #
File Naming:
- When you SAVE your file, name it in the following way: FirstName-LastName-Story-Title
During the submission process, you will have the opportunity to write a cover letter, enter the word count, select genre and story type, etc.
Contracts and Payment
Our contract is based on the model provided by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA). Copyright and story ownership remain with the author. Contract terms are negotiable within reason.
We acquire first serial print rights in North America and first world electronic rights for online publication.
Payment rates vary between $0.04 and $0.08/word, depending on the following:
- Print and Online publication (6-8 cents/word)
- Reprints and Online publication only (4-5 cents/word)
- Word Count
- Merit (We have been known to pay more for stories that made us giddy with excitement to publish them.)
Poems and micro-stories are paid at the rate of $25 to $100.
Payment is on Acceptance
Miscellaneous Notes
- If you are a Forge Master (print) Dreamforge subscriber who subscribed before 3/1/19, be sure to tell us that in your cover letter. Your story will be read by the Editor-in-Chief and you will receive feedback on your story.
- One submission at a time, please, but you are welcome to submit again if your story is returned.
- Simultaneous submissions are OK, if you let us know as soon as your story is accepted elsewhere.
- Please allow 6 to 9 weeks for our review and final response. We try to be faster, but we’re a new organization learning the ropes of editorial review. Feel free to query us at submissions@DreamForgeMagazine.com.
- We will consider reprints if you can show that publication rights have reverted to you, the author.
Submission Procedures
Congratulations, you made it all the way here! It’s time to move on to our Submissions Procedure Page!
Please click the image to the right or the following link: DreamForge Submissions Procedures.
Curious Why Stories Get Rejected?
You know, you are probably a pretty decent writer. There is a very good chance we are going to like your story, even admire parts of what you have accomplished with it. We know that going in, but still, the odds of us choosing your story for publication are pretty slim. Read our Blog Post below to understand why:
By Outer Space