These FAQ’s are for questions about magazine submissions.
For other questions, please see the Publishers FAQ page.
What genres do you publish?
Science Fiction, Fantasy and related sub genres such as supernatural, utopian and post-apocalyptic, supernatural, utopian, dystopian, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and alternate history.
What rights does the magazine acquire?
- an exclusive licence of the First World Electronic Rights to publish the story in electronic or digital form for a period of 12 months from publication; and
- a non-exclusive license to make the story available in electronic or digital form once the exclusive license has expired.
Can I submit a story that has been published elsewhere?
No. The story or a substantial part of the story must not have been previously published or made available for public viewing.
I’m already published, or I’ve self-published. Can I submit a short story?
Yes. Magazine submissions are not restricted to unpublished authors.
How quickly will you publish my short?
Unlike book publishing, the magazine publications do not overlap. General submissions are currently published once a month. You will be given an indication of the likely publication date if your story is accepted.
Special submission windows will have a specified publication date.
How quickly will I hear back about my submission?
General Submissions are read in batches depending on requirements. If we accept six great stories (for example), then we have enough content for six months of general publishing. In practice we work a minimum of two months in advance and further out depending on events (book launches, conventions, holiday season etc…).
We try to vary the theme and genre of the magazine from month to month. Therefore your story could sit in the pending pile longer than usual if we feel the magazine has been leaning too heavily in one direction. This is taken as an overall picture combining the themes of the specials and the twelve part series for that year.
If your story is accepted for publication elsewhere. Please inform us so that it can be removed from the pending pile.
Special Submissions are read after the closing date of the submission window. You can expect to be notified anytime up until the advertised publication date of the special.
How much say do I have on the picture?
We value the authors input into choosing the correct picture to accompany a short story. We retain the final say on the accompanying picture.
How much do you pay for a short?
General submissions are paid £30 GBP within 30 days of publication.
Special submission windows will specify the payment amount in the announcement.
What word count do you accept for short stories?
For general submissions we accept 950 to 1,050 words.
Special submission windows will specify their own word counts.
What is a Special submission window?
A special submission window is for anything other than general submissions. These will likely be theme based and will have a defined closing date.
Why do you only accept submissions from members of the Chronicles Science fiction and fantasy community?
Being a member of a writing community will help to strengthen an author’s craft. By restricting submissions to members of the forum, we expect to receive a higher quality submission.
What constitutes an active member?
A person who actively engages with forum discussions and has not joined solely to submit a short story to us.
Will you provide detailed feedback on why you rejected my story?
Sorry we don’t give detailed feedback on rejected stories.
Can I submit more than one story?
General submissions – Yes you may submit several stories for general submissions. However please do not submit several in short succession. We also try not to publish the same author two months in a row. Therefore we may hold onto your other stories for longer.
Special submissions – No. Only one submission per author is accepted for the special submission windows. You can send an updated submission up until the end of the window. The final submission you send is the one that will be considered.
Can I submit a story to you and somewhere else?
General submissions – Please give us at least 60 days of exclusivity before submitting your story elsewhere. After this period we will still hold the story in the general pile, so please contact us if the story is accepted elsewhere.
While we understand authors do not want publishers holding their work indefinitely. Some stories have been published as much as a year after being submitted to us.
Special submissions – No. Stories for the special windows must be exclusively submitted to us. Those authors who are not selected for publication are free to submit elsewhere once the final notifications are sent out.
Can a story submitted for a special window be re-submitted to the general submissions?
General and special windows have different word lengths to prevent an immediate re-submission. However you are free to rework the story to the general submission word count and submit.
Please indicate in the submission if you have done this as a sense of familiarity when reading the story may lead us to believe it’s too similar to something we’ve already published or has been copied from somewhere else.
I’ve seen stories on the 1st of the month longer than the general submissions guidelines?
In an effort to promote the magazine we occasional invite authors to write a story for us. These stories can sometimes be longer than the general guideline.
When sending a story to us, please abide by the guidelines for the submission window you are submitting to.
Do I need an agent?
We accept short stories from both agented and unrepresented authors.
I’m an author. Can I include book cover images and links on my author profile?
Yes we encourage authors to provide images and links for use on their profiles.
Author profiles can been updated when needed. Also any news about the author can be sent to us which we will aim to pass on through our new feeds.
How do I send you my short?
Please refer to the submissions page.
My question is not answered?
Please use the Contact Us page to ask further questions.