Post by Michael West on Aug 4, 2008 13:27:08 GMT -5
Note: We do not open to public submissions until August 1. Thank you.
What We Want
Beneath Ceaseless Skies publishes "literary adventure fantasy": stories with a secondary-world setting and some traditional or classic fantasy feel, but written with a literary flair.
Secondary-World Setting: We want stories set in what Tolkien called a "secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some key way. It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic). It could be set on Earth but an Earth different from our primary world in terms of time (the far future; the historical past) or history (alternate history). 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. However, the setting should contain some element that is in some way fantastical.
The inhabitants of this secondary world should have developed their own culture in response to the uniqueness of their world. The characters should fit this culture, and the qualities of the secondary world should have some bearing on the plot. We are not interested in urban fantasy or other types of stories set in the "real world," even if they contain fantasy elements.
Plot: We strongly prefer stories that have some plot. It can be external, in the character's surroundings (like much classic fantasy), or it can be internal to the character, a struggle of thoughts or wills, or it can be both. We are not interested in stories that meander between external events or internal emotions with no causality and therefore do not have any trace of a conventional-type plot.
Characters: We prefer stories that focus on the characters just as much as they focus on any other story element. We strongly prefer characters who yearn for something, external or internal, and feel driven to attain it. Our favorite characters are "round characters": ones who grow and change over the course of a story instead of remaining the same.
Literary Elements: We love modern literary devices like tight points-of-view, non-linear narratives, unreliable narrators, and ambiguous endings, so long as they fit that particular story. Our favorite literary device is round characters, who grow or change over the course of the story.
Narrative Style: We prefer styles that are literary but readable. We love gorgeous, poetic prose, but in genre fiction it's vital that the style be clear enough so the reader can understand what's happening. Our favorite prose styles are lush with language but still clear.
We have a slight preference for limited points-of-view, either 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. We find present tense often pretentious and second-person point-of-view always annoying.
We know grammar rules, such as which types of clauses should have commas between them and which types should not. Fiction is subjective, and we respect the author's freedom to bend the rules as suits their story. However, be forewarned that repeated ignorance of grammatical principles for no apparent artistic reason will make a manuscript look unprofessional to us.
Originality: We prefer fantasy stories that are as original as possible, particularly in the setting. We are unlikely to enjoy stories featuring elements we have seen repeatedly, such as elves or barbarian swordsmen or a quest to save the world from demonic evil, unless they present that element in a unique new way.
Extreme Content: We prefer that graphic sex and violence not escalate beyond the level of an R-rated movie. We also insist that sex and sadistic violence not be acted upon children.
Fairy Tales: We usually find that fairy tale-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. Any fairy tale-type story probably isn't right for our magazine.
Science Fiction: We aren't interested in science fiction; it's just not what we prefer to read. Any story with advanced technology or esoteric scientific concepts isn't right for our magazine.
Science Fantasy / Steampunk / Smoke & Sorcery / Weird West / Sixguns & Sorcery / Etc.: We do think there's a lot of common ground between fantasy and so-called "science fantasy," as some readers consider Dune because it focuses on secondary-world setting and culture rather than on advanced technology. 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. Feel free to send us anything that you think might fit.
Humor and Satire: We don't mind humorous stories, but we have a very dry sense of humor. We love wry satire, but we rarely enjoy slapstick or puns. We aren't planning to publish much humor, but if you have a dry satire that hits us just right . . .
Length and Policies
We prefer stories under 10,000 words. We will consider stories over that length, but the longer a story is, the better it must be to hold our attention. If we buy your longer story, we may choose to publish it in two or even three parts split over consecutive magazine issues.
We are not interested in reprints (stories that have previously appeared anywhere in print or online, including on a personal website or blog).
We do not accept multiple submissions (more than one story submitted at a time). Please wait until you have received a reply to your submission before sending another.
We do accept simultaneous submissions (stories that are currently under submission to another market), 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. We accept simultaneous submissions as a favor to writers because we know that response times can be long, but if people abuse this policy, we will rescind it.
Acceptances, Payment, and Rights
All accepted manuscripts will be line-edited for grammar, punctuation, and clarity. The author will have the opportunity to review and discuss all of these edits. However, we do insist on a high proficiency of grammar and clarity in our magazine. Payment will be made after receipt of the final, line-edited manuscript.
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). 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 in English
This means that our payment buys the rights to publish your previously unpublished story on the Beneath Ceaseless Skies website, as well as the option, at our choice, to pay you again at reprint rates (usually 2 cents per word) to reprint your story in any future anthology of stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies and distribute that anthology in English anywhere in the world.
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 for ninety (90) 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.
We also hope that you will let us keep the story in our online archives after ninety days.
How to Submit
Format: Format your manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format. If you don't know what that is, look it up. If you deviate from this in more than a few ways, your story will look unprofessional to us before we've read the first word.
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.
Cover Letters: We do prefer a short cover letter with every submission. Type it into the body of your email. Mention the title of your story in case the attachment gets lost. List the best one or two paid fiction sales you have, and/or the best one or two unpaid publications you have in the F/SF genre. Mention any writing workshops you have attended. TELL US if this is a simultaneous submission. DO NOT give a synopsis or summary of your story; we'll learn what it's about when we read it.
Attach your manuscript to an email as either a *.DOC MS Word document file or a *.RTF rich-text-format file. If you can't get either of these to work, you may paste the text of your manuscript into the body of your email.
Send your email to . Use the subject line Submission: (the title of your story).
What We Want
Beneath Ceaseless Skies publishes "literary adventure fantasy": stories with a secondary-world setting and some traditional or classic fantasy feel, but written with a literary flair.
Secondary-World Setting: We want stories set in what Tolkien called a "secondary world": some other world that is different from our own primary world in some key way. It could be different in terms of zoology (non-human creatures), ecology (climate), or physical laws (the presence of magic). It could be set on Earth but an Earth different from our primary world in terms of time (the far future; the historical past) or history (alternate history). 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. However, the setting should contain some element that is in some way fantastical.
The inhabitants of this secondary world should have developed their own culture in response to the uniqueness of their world. The characters should fit this culture, and the qualities of the secondary world should have some bearing on the plot. We are not interested in urban fantasy or other types of stories set in the "real world," even if they contain fantasy elements.
Plot: We strongly prefer stories that have some plot. It can be external, in the character's surroundings (like much classic fantasy), or it can be internal to the character, a struggle of thoughts or wills, or it can be both. We are not interested in stories that meander between external events or internal emotions with no causality and therefore do not have any trace of a conventional-type plot.
Characters: We prefer stories that focus on the characters just as much as they focus on any other story element. We strongly prefer characters who yearn for something, external or internal, and feel driven to attain it. Our favorite characters are "round characters": ones who grow and change over the course of a story instead of remaining the same.
Literary Elements: We love modern literary devices like tight points-of-view, non-linear narratives, unreliable narrators, and ambiguous endings, so long as they fit that particular story. Our favorite literary device is round characters, who grow or change over the course of the story.
Narrative Style: We prefer styles that are literary but readable. We love gorgeous, poetic prose, but in genre fiction it's vital that the style be clear enough so the reader can understand what's happening. Our favorite prose styles are lush with language but still clear.
We have a slight preference for limited points-of-view, either 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. We find present tense often pretentious and second-person point-of-view always annoying.
We know grammar rules, such as which types of clauses should have commas between them and which types should not. Fiction is subjective, and we respect the author's freedom to bend the rules as suits their story. However, be forewarned that repeated ignorance of grammatical principles for no apparent artistic reason will make a manuscript look unprofessional to us.
Originality: We prefer fantasy stories that are as original as possible, particularly in the setting. We are unlikely to enjoy stories featuring elements we have seen repeatedly, such as elves or barbarian swordsmen or a quest to save the world from demonic evil, unless they present that element in a unique new way.
Extreme Content: We prefer that graphic sex and violence not escalate beyond the level of an R-rated movie. We also insist that sex and sadistic violence not be acted upon children.
Fairy Tales: We usually find that fairy tale-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. Any fairy tale-type story probably isn't right for our magazine.
Science Fiction: We aren't interested in science fiction; it's just not what we prefer to read. Any story with advanced technology or esoteric scientific concepts isn't right for our magazine.
Science Fantasy / Steampunk / Smoke & Sorcery / Weird West / Sixguns & Sorcery / Etc.: We do think there's a lot of common ground between fantasy and so-called "science fantasy," as some readers consider Dune because it focuses on secondary-world setting and culture rather than on advanced technology. 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. Feel free to send us anything that you think might fit.
Humor and Satire: We don't mind humorous stories, but we have a very dry sense of humor. We love wry satire, but we rarely enjoy slapstick or puns. We aren't planning to publish much humor, but if you have a dry satire that hits us just right . . .
Length and Policies
We prefer stories under 10,000 words. We will consider stories over that length, but the longer a story is, the better it must be to hold our attention. If we buy your longer story, we may choose to publish it in two or even three parts split over consecutive magazine issues.
We are not interested in reprints (stories that have previously appeared anywhere in print or online, including on a personal website or blog).
We do not accept multiple submissions (more than one story submitted at a time). Please wait until you have received a reply to your submission before sending another.
We do accept simultaneous submissions (stories that are currently under submission to another market), 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. We accept simultaneous submissions as a favor to writers because we know that response times can be long, but if people abuse this policy, we will rescind it.
Acceptances, Payment, and Rights
All accepted manuscripts will be line-edited for grammar, punctuation, and clarity. The author will have the opportunity to review and discuss all of these edits. However, we do insist on a high proficiency of grammar and clarity in our magazine. Payment will be made after receipt of the final, line-edited manuscript.
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). 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 in English
This means that our payment buys the rights to publish your previously unpublished story on the Beneath Ceaseless Skies website, as well as the option, at our choice, to pay you again at reprint rates (usually 2 cents per word) to reprint your story in any future anthology of stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies and distribute that anthology in English anywhere in the world.
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 for ninety (90) 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.
We also hope that you will let us keep the story in our online archives after ninety days.
How to Submit
Format: Format your manuscript in Standard Manuscript Format. If you don't know what that is, look it up. If you deviate from this in more than a few ways, your story will look unprofessional to us before we've read the first word.
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.
Cover Letters: We do prefer a short cover letter with every submission. Type it into the body of your email. Mention the title of your story in case the attachment gets lost. List the best one or two paid fiction sales you have, and/or the best one or two unpaid publications you have in the F/SF genre. Mention any writing workshops you have attended. TELL US if this is a simultaneous submission. DO NOT give a synopsis or summary of your story; we'll learn what it's about when we read it.
Attach your manuscript to an email as either a *.DOC MS Word document file or a *.RTF rich-text-format file. If you can't get either of these to work, you may paste the text of your manuscript into the body of your email.
Send your email to . Use the subject line Submission: (the title of your story).