11 Places to Sub to on March 1st
Angelique Fawns shares her Saturday Morning Subbing
It’s the first of the month, which is always like a mini Christmas in my mind. All these new markets unwrapping their sub opportunities!!! (Quivers with joy)
As an extra post today, I thought I’d bring you with me as I sort through where I’m going to yeet my next stories:
The Forge Literary Magazine
Lit - free subs open first of month and fill up fast (this is why we are starting with this market!) - pay $100 - 3000 words max - ANON subs - Literary excellence is our only criteria. We are open to all genres and voices, and stories with any background, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual or personal identity from all over the world. - I’ve subbed here 3 x before. All rejects. I’m sending them a short, sad story called Squid Ink that has been held several times, received nice personal rejections, but can’t find a home. Here is the one I just got from 34 Orchard:
I really enjoyed "Squid Ink" -- and one of the comments my editorial assistant made about it was that it was "sweet and sad" (and, in fact, all of our readers liked this)--but unfortunately, I'm going to have to pass on it this time. It's solid, the pacing moves well and the speculative details are meted out nicely, but it's not quite our vibe.
Wish me luck.
Plott Hound Magazine
Spec Fic Starring Animals - opens today till March 15! - in my writing group, this new market is causing lots of stir. And how could it not? It’s pro pay and who doesn’t like to write about creatures creatively? - 1000-5000 words - 8c a word
What We’re Looking For:
-Stories with anthropomorphized animals as protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.
I’m sending them in my weird space opera sci-fi short starring a lizard lady and her furry sidekick. Number 21 in their queue! A few of my fellow writers had some issues with the Moksha being down this morning, but it worked fine for me.
The Quarterly
Lit - a side note here, I’ve prepared subs for this magazine SO many times and then somehow the Submittable says it is full. Here goes nothing. - March 1- March 15 - Theme - The state of the world is questionable, at best, these days. Where even are we? - pay $5 - FIVE DOLLARS? Submit here
(WHOA— I am confused. This is a different market. The one I am thinking of is THE NEW QUARTERLY - a Canadian lit mag that pays $350.) With a bit of research, sure enough, the magazine says it is open, but you can’t sub. (Check it out here.)
See? I told you I’d bring you with me through my full morning subbing process. So, now I am NOT going to sub to this market. I’m not saying $5 pay isn’t enough, and at the beginning of my short story career, I was happy to get a few token pay markets on my resume. But I’ve sold almost 100 stories now, so I don’t sell them for token anymore, unless I really love the concept of the magazine, a friend is the editor, or it is for charity.
Solstitia
Spec Fan Fic: submissions close today March 1- pay $50 - Theme: coffeeshop! AU Definition: An Alternate Universe set in or related to coffee shops. Although inspired by a fanfiction trope, because we pay an acceptance award we cannot accept fan works.
The theme is preferred but not strictly enforced.
We accept all genres (yes, even literary fiction) and all submission types (fiction, non fiction, poetry, art). Word count 10,000 or less preferred.
I’m sending them my cute 1700-word story about a Lovecraftian bar. It is another one of those “held many times but not purchased” stories. Here is a recent note from DreamForge. (Scot Noel is one of my favorite editors. A kind soul who genuinely wants to help writers.)
While not one of our selections, we did enjoy reading your story. I have some notes for you, my opinion only of course: The story has strong descriptive writing, good sensory detail, and good dialog. I felt the story was too short for what it was trying to accomplish. The characters accept supernatural transformation too readily. The job offers seem a little too convenient, possibly needing more build up and subtle introduction. Motivation for Jinx's job offer unclear. Quick shift from law-abiding to considering robbery needs more development. The characters' reactions to supernatural events seems to much easy acceptance, and what happened to their clothes as they morphed? Their moral shift toward considering robbery needs more development. The resolution doesn't have much in the way of meaningful character growth or sacrifice (of course it is flash fiction and just supposed to be a fun piece). Keep this one in circulation and best of luck finding it a home.
If it doesn’t sell, I will take Scot’s advice and lengthen it…
Richard Donnelly – Feb 2025
Angelique I just found your excellent 'stack. How did I miss you? I don't praise other sites very often, but I cannot say enough, every submitting writer in the world should be tuned in. I'll get you under my recommended list, soon as I figure out how that works : )
Posy Churchgate - Feb 2025
Really generous that you & those you interviewed are willing to share’the inside track’ - thanks!
Lydia Joy – Jan 2025
A brilliantly informative article once again, thank you! Also I love your transparency with sharing your rejections, helps us all feel a little less alone 💕
Intrepid Times
Narrative Non-fiction - The Pilgrimages Writing Contest - closes today - 1,200 - 1,800 words. pay $300 US to the winner. - Four runners up get $100 - This is a travel writing competition. I thought for sure I could find something in my archives to send to this… but unfortunately, my “drive” with all my farm stories and travel articles is sitting at home in Canada, and I am still in sunny Arizona. Oh well. Next time…
Write or Die Magazine
Lit- free subs this week - 4000 words max - pay $50 - hints from the website -
Tamar is looking for character-driven stories with a strong central emotion. Don’t be afraid to break her heart. She is drawn to characters who make mistakes. She wants to read stories that make her look at life closely and see beauty in the shadows. She is looking for attention to details that are usually overlooked, and she isn’t afraid of surprises.
Suzanne is most often drawn to character-driven fiction with a focus on interiority and a penchant for highlighting the surreal elements in everyday life. She most appreciates characters who are haunted in some way—by their pasts, by the hope and uncertainty of the future, by their own conflicting desires, and by the space between what they need and the achievement of those needs. Her favorite stories don’t necessarily adhere to traditional ideas about plot structure, but rather propel themselves forward via constant micro-tensions and questions raised on the page. She is looking for stories that allow us to step into the unknown while simultaneously holding up a mirror and pushing us to go deeper within ourselves. More than anything, she’s seeking stories driven by unique and diverse narrative voices and a strong sense of style at the line level.
I am going to send them The Giant Hogweed and the Croc. - this is a story I penned for the Flash on the Fly contest. It didn’t win. I think it has conflicting desires and a character who makes a mistake.
INKY BONES PRESS
Creature Feature Anthology - pay 1c a word - 1,500 - 3,500 words - March 1 - April 30 -Situations where something is being sought out by a person/group. They could be grave robbers, treasure hunters, archaeologists, cryptozoologists, entomologists, biologists, hide-and-seek fanatics, anything you choose—as long as their plans go awry. Get weird and creative!
Must Include:
Bones: you can mention the word itself or be more specific. Ex: spine, skull, vertebrae, ribs, skeleton
A creature of your choice: tiny, monstrous, an alien—just make sure it’s scary
This is an example of a low-paying call that I find interesting. So I include it, and might send something here. A quick look at my trunk stories doesn’t pop anything out, so I will keep it here for now.
COHENSION PRESS
Snafu: Contagion - fantasy, horror, sci-fi - open till March 31 - 2,500-7,500 words, no reprints - pay 5c Australian - SNAFU: Contagion, featuring action-filled tales of viral, fungal and bacterial horror.
Whether it be giant brutish mutations, fungal infections gone wrong, or experimental nightmarish creatures made with super soldier experiments, it always ends with people fighting to survive the horrible, seeping creations that result from contagion and infection.
Combine The Last of Us with Resident Evil, throw in some 28 Days Later and see what comes out of the mix!
I like the idea of this and have several stories in this vein, but none of them are long enough. If I find some extra time, I might expand one.
ELECTRIC SPEC
SPEC- open now - pays $20 - 250- 7000 - takes reprints 2c a word - Electric Spec has been around for over 11 years, don’t use slush readers, and pride themselves on giving every story they publish a good edit. They define themselves as: “Electric Spec is a not-for-profit speculative fiction magazine published four times per year. Our primary goal is getting great speculative fiction into the hands (or screens) of readers. Since 2005, we've been publishing short stories from authors all over the world. We've worked with all kinds of authors, from published professionals to new writers. We also believe in the value of the editorial process, and we edit every story we publish.”
I’ve got 16 Rejections from them. I’m putting this here because I should be sending out more of my reprints. I’ve sent them “Carol’s First Alien Draw.” Paid subscribers were given the full story as it appeared in The School Magazine.
Drabblecast
Spec - a podcast - open now - 500-6000 words - 6c a word -The Drabblecast is an award-winning online speculative fiction magazine and podcast that publishes “Strange Stories for Strange Listeners,” often also classified as “Weird Fiction.”
We’re looking for powerful stories that are simultaneously relatable and a good degree off the beaten path. We’re looking for stories that will work particularly well when read aloud and treated with full cast audio production. We’re looking for submissions that are humorous, bizarre, gross, disturbing, badass, interesting, and original — your favorite story that we both know would be a hit if only it found the right home.
They held my “The Love Craft Microbrewery” (as mentioned above) but didn’t buy it. I’m going to try again with a story in a similar type world.
Orion’s Belt
Spec - Opens today! - 8c a word - 1200 word max - no reprints - Stories told through another medium; i.e., journal articles, mission reports, diary entries, etc. The more idiosyncratic and experimental a medium you use, the more likely we are to appreciate it.
Characters who are rogues or tricksters working outside oppressive bureaucratic systems.
Characters forced to make difficult decisions that may conflict with their moral codes.
Hard-won optimism, not to be confused with saccharine sentimentality.
Ecological storytelling that avoids clear answers or easy moralizing.
The blurring of lines between poetry and prose.
Extensive allusions to mythology or classic literature.
Non-linear stories, or other stories that play with our perception of time. Bringing in special or general relativity or quantum physics is a plus, though the focus should still be on the narrative, not on the science.
They’ve held a couple of stories of mine, but no cigar yet! I’m going to send them a strange little journal entry about a vampire hunter today.
Planet Scumm
Sci-Fi- now till May 7 - 5000 words max - 8c a word - only send them one story.
I have eight rejections from them, and they only take one story per session, so I am going to think on this one before I waste my one shot…
Who am I kidding? I have no patience. So, Rosie’s Black Market Baggage it is…
WHAT TO SUBMIT
Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain
Speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream
Basically anything that pleases Scummy, our megaphone-toting slime buddy, will be considered for entry to the interstellar archive aboard Scummy’s saucer
So that’s six subs today, and 101 subs since the beginning of the month. No new sales since my last update, so still sitting at 3 wins for 2025.
My agent is on sub with my novel, and I have heard nothing yet. It’s like having success in the writing world just unlocks another level of torture.
I’m attempting my follow-up novel, and it is painful going. One bonus is that I have managed to do some dictating successfully. Fingers crossed I can get that going or I will look like the hunchback of Notre Dame with all my computer hours.
I’m still diving into the book-to-film world and found Prototipe Media, a company that helps journalists option their non-fiction.
I’ll let you all know if that goes anywhere!
Until next time…
SUBMIT SUBMIT SUBMIT!
Hey, if you like how I tell you EVERYTHING about my subbing journey, I have two books full of the same stuff. Paid Subscribers get the ebooks for free. I personally love paperbacks…
Thank you
Its wonderful