Shimmer

Fiction Guidelines

Note: Shimmer will continue to read regular stories during the Clockwork Jungle submission period.

What to send us: Unusual and beautifully-written speculative fiction stories with full plots and strong characters. The best way to understand what we are looking for is to read an issue of the magazine. We also recommend reading our What We Want page, which describes our preferences and expectations in detail. Improve your chances of acceptance by understanding what we’re looking for.

Length: We like our fiction short - under 5000 words. If your story is longer than 5000 words (and yes, 5100 words is longer than 5000 words) but you believe we would love it, please send us a query briefly describing the story, and send us the first page of the story. If we like what we see, we’ll ask to read the rest.

Payment and Rights: Beginning with our Autumn 2006 issue, authors will be paid 1 cent per word, minimum $10, maximum $30. In other words, stories 1000 words and under: $10. 1001-3000 words: 1 cent per word. 3000 words and up: $30. You’ll also receive a copy (both print and electronic) of the issue in which your story appears. Additional contributor copies available at the subscription rate.

We purchase First Serial rights and electronic rights. 120 days after publication, most rights return to the author, but we retain the right to continue selling back issues of the magazine, the right to archive your story, and anthology rights.

Audio Stories: Occasionally we offer an audio version of one of the stories from an issue. These rights are purchased separately. We have not yet offered any audio-only content, but if you have something that might interest us, please query.

Non-Fiction:Each issue features one non-fiction piece. To date, we have run book reviews and interviews, but will consider other articles. Please query.

Holiday Stories Occasionally, we create special web-only versions of holiday stories as a bonus for our readers and supporters (author payment is the same as for the stories in the print version). What holidays do we celebrate? Winter holidays, April Fool’s Day, and Talk Like A Pirate Day are our primary holidays, but we reserve the right to observe any holiday that we see fit - so if you’ve got a Shimmery holiday story, please submit through the regular channels. Please mention in your cover letter that it’s a holiday story so that we can deck ourselves with boughs of holly while we read it.

Response Time: We can often reply within several days. If we need to hold your story for longer than three weeks before reaching a decision, we will contact you. You can check us out on Submitting to the Black Hole. We comment on most stories.

Formatting: Please use standard manuscript formatting. Why? Because it makes you look professional, and because it makes it easier for us to read your story. It is in your best interest to have our first impression of your story be a positive one.

Standard manuscript format means 12-point Courier font, double-spaced, with 1″ margins, among other details. For more information, read this excellent description of standard manuscript formatting. You can also use our templates.

How to Submit: Send your manuscript as an attachment (.doc or .rtf) to submissions@shimmerzine.com. Make sure the subject line begins with Submission and has the title of your story. Example: “Submission: Attack of the Evil Robot Monkeys.” Please do not put your name in the subject line — story title only!

Once we receive your submission, our Submission Wrangler will remove identifying information and forward the body of the story to an editor for review. This allows us to evaluate your story solely on its merits.

Other: No poetry. No reprints. No multiple submissions. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but you must tell us this when you submit your story. If we accept your piece, please withdraw it immediately from other sources; if it’s accepted somewhere else, please let us know immediately.

Questions: Still have questions? Send an e-mail to: info@shimmerzine.com