At Last…My Market Blurbs

At long last, I am adding my mini-commentaries on the markets in my market list. I had time issues and formatting issues to combat to get it this way. I hope it displays okay on your computer. It looks pretty good on mine. I’m no web-wiz; I just played with Excel and WordPress until it looked reasonable.

I’ve been trying to water my list of SF markets so it will grow. Each time I solicit a new market (new to my submission list), I add it, with the exception of one-shot anthologies which I don’t add so I don’t have to subtract later. Besides, an antho has limited spaces and I don’t need you stealing mine. So there.

I realize that I don’t delve into these markets very deeply here. I shouldn’t need to, as Duotrope and Ralan’s have more information that I could dream of providing here. But I should toss out a few comments on these markets just so you don’t think I’m claiming publications in them all (I have very few) or advocating them all (though most I advocate to some degree).

Key:

= Accepts Science Fiction    = Accepts Fantasy

= Pays Pro Rates   = Has Published My Work

SF Markets
Market	My Blurb	My Experiences
Analog	One of “the big three”; reputed for hard-SF.	Several form rejections, usually including a copy of the guidelines.
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine	Australian, semi-pro.  According to one of their emails, 95% of held stories do not get printed.	Held two of my stories but have not published any.
Aoife’s Kiss	(pronounced “ee-fah’s kiss”); token payout; part of Sam’sDot Publishing that evolved from Promartian that gave me my start	Published one of mine online.  Good relationship with the editor.
Apex Magazine	Pro market.  Dark fiction is their game.	At least one personal rejection.  Not the fastest response time, but not unbearable.
Asimov’s	The second of the big three.  Hugo and Nebula winners roost here.	Some nice rejections, formulaic but specific.
Basement Stories	Another dark market.  Semipro but recently raised rates.  Appears to be quite reputable.	Still awaiting first response at about the 2-month mark.
Black Gate	Semipro fantasy zine, one of the most respected.  Responses are very slow recently.	One rejection, personal.
Bull Spec	New pro-paying market, likes local (North Carolina) submissions.	One rejection, form.
Clarkesworld	Pro rates for science fiction.  Prefers optimistic stories, I believe.	Several form rejects.  Super fast response time (less than a week).
Daily Science Fiction	Another recent upstart.  Pro rates.  Likes flash but takes longer works.	A couple form rejections.  Fairly quick responses.
Escape Pod	Audio market that recently went print and pro!  Big bullseye on this one.	Withdrew one stary when rights changed.  Waiting for first reply.
Every Day Fiction	Flash market under the leadership(?) of my pal Jordan Lapp.  Low pay but good stuff.	Has run two of my stories, one in their yearly antho.
Fantasy & Science Fiction	The third leg of the “big three”.  Long history, stellar rep.	Multiple rejections, mix of form and personal including one from the editor himself.  Fast replies for snail mail.
Leading Edge	Heroic fiction, semi-heroic rates.  Long response times.	Only one try, a reject with nice long feedback.
Lightspeed	Fastest rejections in the galaxy.  Good rates if you can get it.	Numerous form rejections, some I didn’t receive but found on their tracker.
Martian Wave	Another Sam’s Dot zine, this one focused on space travel.  Small pay, big love.	I don’t recall selling here.  Not sure I ever tried it.
OSC’s Intergalactic Medicine Show	Orson Scott Card’s brainchild, now edited by Ed Schubert.  Good pay, good online content by subscription.	Several rejects, the latest a personal from Ed’s desk.
Shimmer	Semi-pro with a good rep and very discerning taste.	One rejection, personal.
Sniplits (audio)	Audio-only market that extends beyond speculative fiction into literature.	Been waiting a while for my one response.  Long waits.
Strange Horizons	Online pro-zine with a loyal fanbase.  I haven’t quite figured this one out yet.	Numerous rejections, mix of form and personalized.
The Fifth Di…	Yet another Sam’s Dot Market.  More low pay but quality beyond its tax bracket.	My first short story sold here!  Will always have a warm place in my heart.
Triangulation Anthology	This one’s put out by PARSEC, a Pittsburgh area SF group.  Well reviewed by Asimov’s.  Theme changes annually.	One of my favorite stories sold here a while back.  One rejection since.
Writers of the Future contest	The biggest contest of them all.  Novices only.  Some of the best fiction you’ll find.  They have a rep for taking longer works.	Most visitors recognize this as my big break (still in the process of breaking).