The short of it is that we at Comets and Criminals want fantastic stories of no more than 5,000 words in the Science Fiction, Adventure, Historical, and Western genres. We also accept Crime and Mystery fiction, with an upper word limit of 10,000 words. We want amazing poetry in these genres, too, though we’re willing to look at more mainstream poetry also. C&C is always hunting for art to front each quarterly issue. We pay $10 for flash fiction stories (1000 words and under), and 1c a word for fiction above that. We pay $10 per poem and $50 per piece of cover art.
FICTION GUIDELINES
Comets and Criminals is looking for flash and short fiction up to 5,000 words within the Science Fiction, Adventure, Historical, and Western genres. We’re also looking for Crime and Mystery fiction up to 10,000 words.
COVER LETTER
Make sure your subject line includes ‘FICTION SUBMISSION: Name of Story,’ or ‘FLASH SUBMISSION: Name of Story.’ Emails received without something like that in the subject line will be deleted unread.
Your cover letter need only include your name, the name of your story, the genre, the approximate word count and any relevant credits (two or three are enough, and if you have none, don’t fret–the strength of the story is the thing, not your previous sales), as well as your email address. If you’re not sure exactly what genre your story fits under, or if it falls under multiple genres, give us your two best bets. E.g. ‘science-fiction western,’ or ‘historical crime.’
And, of course, don’t forget to attach the story. Either .rtf or .doc, though .rtf is preferable.
We have additional cover letter guidelines for reprint submissions. Please see the reprint section below for these.
FICTION FORMATTING GUIDELINES
Fiction should be presented in standard manuscript format. Courier (the editorial preference) or Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double-spaced, 1-inch minimum margins, the opening lines of each paragraph indented.
At the end of the story, type END, just so we know we’ve reached the conclusion and we’re not missing part of the document.
FLASH FICTION
C&C defines flash fiction as a story of 1,000 words or less. We love flash fiction. Go to town. Hit us with those weird, experimental pieces (within the scope of our accepted genres, of course).
Payment is a flat rate of $10 per story. All payment is made through PayPal.
SHORT FICTION
For all genres except crime and mystery, our upper word limit is 5,000. For crime and mystery we accept stories up to 10,000 words in length.
We pay 1c a word, through PayPal.
Don’t feel you have to stick to one genre. A sci-fi detective story set in an alternate history of the wild west sounds like a real good time. That’s not to say you have to cross genres, but don’t be put off subbing to us if you do. Our interpretation of science fiction is fairly loose, also, so if you have a story that’s bordering on fantasy, but not quite, send it in. The worst we can say is no. That being said, straight fantasy and horror will be very hard sells.
We’d like to accept stories up to 10,000 words in all genres, but budgets are budgets and right now we can’t afford to. Perhaps in the future. If you’ve written a cross-genre story longer than 5,000 words where a crime or mystery is central to the plot, go ahead and submit it.
MULTIPLE AND SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS
Sorry, we do not accept multiple or simultaneous submissions.
WHERE TO SUBMIT
Send your submissions to ‘fiction@cometsandcriminals.com.’ You should receive an automated response within an hour of submitting. If you don’t receive one within twenty-four hours, email ‘editor@cometsandcriminals.com’ with ‘QUERY’ in the subject line to let him know.
Please be prepared to wait at least 60 days for a response to your submission. In the meantime, write that next story!
POETRY GUIDELINES
C&C loves all types of poetry, from formal to free-verse. Rhyming poetry can be hard to pull off, but if done well it’s magnificent.
The thing that will impress us most is your voice. Make us feel the poetry, make it turn the little spoked wheels inside our hearts.
While we’re a genre magazine, we’re aren’t strictly genre when it comes to poetry. Amaze us. Awe us.
Payment is $10 per poem, regardless of length. All payment is made through PayPal.
COVER LETTER
Make sure your subject line includes ‘POETRY SUBMISSION.’ Emails received without something like that in the subject line will be deleted unread.
Your cover letter need only include your name, the titles of your poems and any relevant credits (two or three are enough, and if you have none, don’t fret–the strength of the poetry is the thing, not your previous sales), as well as your email address. If your poetry is genre-specific, you can mention the genres encompassed, but that’s not a strict requirement.
We accept up to five poems submitted at one time. If you are submitting multiple poems, submit them in the same email, as separate attachments. Either .rtf or .doc, though .rtf is preferable.
We have additional cover letter guidelines for reprint submissions. Please see the reprint section below for these.
POETRY FORMATTING GUIDELINES
Times New Roman or Courier as the fonts. Black text on white background.
Apart from that, we’re pretty relaxed as to poetry format.
MULTIPLE AND SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS
We accept up to 5 poems in a single submission. We do not accept simultaneous submissions, and if you do submit multiple poems, make sure they’re in the same submission email, and in different attachments.
WHERE TO SUBMIT
Send your submissions to ‘poetry@cometsandcriminals.com.’ You should receive an automated response within an hour of submitting. If you don’t receive one within twenty-four hours, email ‘editor@cometsandcriminals.com’ with ‘QUERY’ in the subject line to let him know.
Please be prepared to wait at least 60 days for a response to your submission. In the meantime, keep writing those poems!
Contact Information:
For inquiries: editor@cometsandcriminals.com
For submissions: poetry@cometsandcriminals.com or fiction@cometsandcriminals.com
Website: http://www.cometsandcriminals.com
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