Beneath Ceaseless Skies : : Submissions Guidelines - 0 views
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"secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some way
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It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic).
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It could be set on Earth but an Earth different from our primary world in terms of time (the historical past) or history (alternate history).
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It could have a "pre-tech" level of technology, or steampunk technology, or magic as technology, or anything else that's not advanced or modern technology.
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The inhabitants of this secondary world should have developed their own culture in response to the uniqueness of their world.
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The characters should fit this culture, and the qualities of the secondary world should have some bearing on the plot.
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(You can't publish that story as a first-run or "new" story anywhere else in the world, and you can't have it appear anywhere else, in print or online or as audio, before or for ninety days after we publish it. But after that you can have it reprinted online and/or in a reprint magazine and/or in any reprint anthology, like one of the many Year's Best collections.)
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Our favorite characters are "round characters": ones who grow and change over the course of a story instead of remaining the same.
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We have a preference for limited points-of-view, first-person or third-person, because we find it harder for a story to get deep inside a character's head from an omniscient point-of-view.
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We usually find that fairy tale-style or myth-style narratives don't provide a gritty or immediate enough perspective to make us feel the texture of the secondary world or the direness of the protagonist's struggle.
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In addition to fantasy, we also enjoy stories set in other types of secondary world that likewise don't have modern technology, including steampunk, smoke & sorcery, weird West, sixguns & sorcery, etc.
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We are not interested in reprints (stories that have previously appeared anywhere in print or online, including on a personal website or blog).
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Simultaneous Submissions (stories that are currently under submission to another market): We DO accept these, but ONLY if you state in your cover letter that your submission is simultaneous, and ONLY if you notify us IMMEDIATELY when another market accepts your story.
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For standard acceptances, we pay 5 cents US per word, which is professional rate as defined by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
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For this payment, we purchase the following rights: First World Serial Rights First World Electronic Rights An Option to buy Non-Exclusive World Anthology Rights An Exclusive Period to buy Limited-Time Exclusive Audio Rights
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We strongly prefer characters who yearn for something, external or internal, and feel driven to attain it.
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(You also can't sell the audio rights to anyone else for ninety days after we publish the story. And if during those ninety days we buy the audio rights from you, you can't have the story appear in audio form anywhere else before or for ninety days after we podcast it. But after that you can resell the audio rights, including to one of the many fiction podcast websites.)
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We are a SFWA-qualifying professional market, so any sale to us can be used to qualify the author for membership in SFWA.
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Include your name, address, and email on the first page, and a running header with your last name, the title, and page number at the top of every subsequent page.
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If we post on the BCS Forums that we've replied to all submissions sent before a certain date, but you sent yours before that date, please query us using the email form on our Contact page. We really mean this; it's not necessary to wait.
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Unsolicited Rewrites: We do not accept unsolicited rewrites of stories that we've already rejected. (That is a nearly universal policy among short fiction markets of all genres.)
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we don't take submissions of artwork. But we are interested in names of artists and links to their online portfolios, so that when we are ready to buy art, we can check out their work.
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If you're an artist and would like us to put your name and portfolio on our list to check out the next time we're looking for artwork, feel free to send us your information using our Contact page.