Story Submission Guidelines
Daily Science Fiction (DSF) is a market accepting speculative fiction stories from 100 to 10,000 words in length. By this we mean science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, etc. All that fits under the broader science fiction umbrella. We have a special and growing need for flash, stories of 1,000 or fewer words, and other short short fiction.
We do not accept reprints. We do not accept reprints. Also, if you were wondering about reprints--nope, we don't take 'em.
Please don't submit a story to us and any other venue at the same time. Please don't send us more than one story. Don't send us another until we send you a response. You can send us another as soon as we send you a response (either "Yea" or "Nay). After, not before. (If that's confusing, ask Grover at Sesame Street. He's really good at prepositions.)
We pay 8 cents per word for first worldwide rights and for nonexclusive reprint rights. Additionally, we reserve the right to pay you more money for additional reprinting in themed Daily Science Fiction anthologies.
This sounds simple, but in today's fractured fiction market it is anything but. Here's what we mean by first worldwide rights: Your story will be distributed by email to our (free) subscription list, it will then be available on the website, via RSS, eventually through kindle and iphone/ipad (the "issue" consisting of all stories published during its calendar month), and as archived on the DailyScienceFiction.com website. The nonexclusive reprint rights are anticipated to apply to the omnibus volume of DSF's stories for one year. Themed anthologies are anticipated to consist of 50-100% material originally published on DailyScienceFiction.com, plus additional materials as contracted. For these anthologies, payment will be 5 cents per word.
Helpful Hints from Putative Editors
We love long fiction. We look forward to reading your novelettes, your long short stories and your other novelties. However, if you want to get published in Daily Science Fiction, brevity may better serve your purposes. We need short short fiction, especially flash fiction. Among our featured stories, a shorter tale will get an extra nudge on the scale when weighed against a longer one. This is both for financial reasons and because it matches the preferences of a plurality of our readership. Not fair? Perhaps. Consider yourself forewarned.
Of course, we want your stories to ooze originality, but a well-written story is a must. We are fond of character-driven fiction, though readers point out that not every story we publish fits that rubric. Our goal is to publish the best stories we can that will be interesting, worthwhile reads. Some stories, especially in the short short fiction, will succeed despite lack of plot, character, punctuation, what-have-you.
We may purchase dark fantasy, but will not publish pure horror. We don't mind feeling the flush of arousal, but will not publish erotica. Guns a-blazing might make our day, but we don't suspect most military SF will win us over. Humor? We take it, It often works especially for short short fiction, but do keep in mind that one alien's funny bone is located near another species' sac of indifference. We're likely not your best market for longer funny tales.
We don't accept multiple or simultaneous submissions, but we promise to be as prompt as possible with our responses. Query if you haven't heard back in four weeks. If you query, often that's because our response to you was blocked by your isp or ended up in your spam folder. Please provide another way to contact you (alternate email address, phone number, psychic connection, anything). When you query a second or third time, and we respond for a third or fourth, it gets tiresome for you and for us.
PS We'd like to emphasize that guidelines aren't worth the paper they're printed on (which in this case is no paper at all). Splurge for a free email subscription, or if you can't afford free, browse the archives here on the website. Read, and get a feel for what Daily Science Fiction publishes. We always want new and different work, of course, but you can get a real tactile sense of this or any other publication only by reading it.
