Guidelines

Please read these guidelines carefully, as it is always a shame to reject a story because a writer hasn't taken the time to adhere to simple settings. If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please do not hesitate to query the editor.

We prefer not to have simultaneous or multiple submissions. Please let us know if you are submitting this elsewhere at the same time. No reprints; no poetry; no non-fiction.

Length:
We're looking for shorter fiction. 3,000 words is a good number, but we'll accept anything up to 4,000 words if it catches our eye. If you really think you have a great story that's over that, send a query to the editor, and we'll have a look at it (nothing over 6,000 words, though, please).

We are also interested in publishing works in serial, though we prefer such submissions to be queried first. Please indicate the length of the whole work, how it is to be divided (chapters, breaks, etc.), how many such divisions there are likely to be, and a general description of the story. Also, please include the entire work in your attachment.

Format:

If you're sending your story electronically, please fill out our form on the submissions page

If you are sending a hard copy, please send it as such:


  1. When submitting electronically, please including the following:
    • "Submission: 'title of story'" in the Subject line.
    • The word count and genre of the story in the email.
  2. Please put the following at the top of the first page of your story:
    • Your name (or names, if you have a pen name you'd like the story to be published under)
    • Address - please include both your street address and email address. The street address is for the purposes of sending out a contract should your story be accepted
    • The genre of your story
    • A word count - an exact one, please
  3. Please send all electronic submissions as one of the following document types: .doc, .rtf, or .odt
  4. If you are sending a hard copy, please send it as such:
    • Copy should be single-sided
    • Copy should be double-spaced
    • Copy should be in 11 or 12 point Times New Roman
    • Include your information (name, address, etc.) only on the first page
    • Have standard one inch (1") margins on the side and one inch (1") margins on top and bottom.

Electronic submissions are the preferred method of submission. The reason being that I can easily format a story in electronic form to the needs of my layout & design settings. With that in mind, formatting is of little consequence.

Do not include a cover letter or query. Your story should impress me, not the number of times you've been published.

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Payment:
UPDATED - 8/31/07
Staffs & Starships is new. Please keep that in mind when submitting to us. In light of this, we will pay a 1/2 cent per word to a maximum of $20. Authors may also choose to receive payment in the form of a one-year subscription in print.

Authors will also be given a free download of the .pdf from our website.

Rights
We ask for First North American Serial Rights for sixty days. All rights revert to the author after that time. We also optionally ask for electronic rights for archiving should we put the story in a later anthology.

UPDATED - 7/18/08
Contact Information:

James Boone Dryden, editor: editor@jbdrydenco.com

Sheer Speculation Press
c/o The JB Dryden Company
PO Box 11128
Shorewood, WI 53211