Submissions
Fiction on the Web is accepting submissions for online and audiobook publication in the following genres:
Please submit your 1,000-10,000 word story, double-spaced in a 12-point font, using Submittable. One submission at a time - please wait for a response before you submit again.
(If you can't use Submittable for any reason, contact me.)
- Funny stories - for when you need a laugh
- Creepy stories - to make your hair stand on end
- Fantastic stories - ghosts, swords, magic and fantasy
- Futuristic stories - many worlds of science fiction
- Criminal stories - crooks and detectives
- Real life stories - everyday life and relationships
Please submit your 1,000-10,000 word story, double-spaced in a 12-point font, using Submittable. One submission at a time - please wait for a response before you submit again.
(If you can't use Submittable for any reason, contact me.)
If you use Chill Subs or Duotrope, please remember to report your responses.
How long will it take to hear back?
I try to respond to all submissions within a month, often quicker. If you have not heard back after one month, chase me!
Simultaneous submissions? Reprints?
You're welcome to send stories that you've submitted elsewhere, but if they are accepted elsewhere first please let me know as soon as possible. You're also welcome to send stories that have been printed elsewhere as long as they no longer appear online (or never did), and you retain the copyright.
Mature content?
Yes, as long as it's in service of the story rather than being gratuitous.
What happens if my story is accepted?
If your submission is accepted you'll get a message on Submittable with the date that your story will appear online. I will also send you an email offering you a USD $15 / GBP £15 / EUR €15 honorarium via Paypal (or equivalent in your local currency) - I can only make this payment if you respond to the email, so please check your junk folder if it hasn't arrived.
Once your story is published at Fiction on the Web, you're part of the family. If you've got any news about new publications or anything else you want to promote, get in touch and I'll send a message out to my networks.
Why did you reject my story?
See the tips page if you're writing a short story. You are also very welcome to contact me with any comments, questions, requests or complaints.
I try to respond to all submissions within a month, often quicker. If you have not heard back after one month, chase me!
If you are a patron, or you regularly comment on other people's stories, you're more likely to get an
extended response with some feedback on your submission.
Length?
Between 1,000 and 10,000 words, please.
Between 1,000 and 10,000 words, please.
Simultaneous submissions? Reprints?
You're welcome to send stories that you've submitted elsewhere, but if they are accepted elsewhere first please let me know as soon as possible. You're also welcome to send stories that have been printed elsewhere as long as they no longer appear online (or never did), and you retain the copyright.
Mature content?
Yes, as long as it's in service of the story rather than being gratuitous.
What happens if my story is accepted?
If your submission is accepted you'll get a message on Submittable with the date that your story will appear online. I will also send you an email offering you a USD $15 / GBP £15 / EUR €15 honorarium via Paypal (or equivalent in your local currency) - I can only make this payment if you respond to the email, so please check your junk folder if it hasn't arrived.
Be sure to spread the word! Note that I lightly copyedit each piece.
Each year, a small number of stories are selected for the Fiction on the Web audiobook project - if your story is selected I'll let you know.
If your submission is accepted, copyright in your story remains with you. The rights you grant to Fiction on the Web are as follows:
- Non-exclusive permission to publish and archive your story online, and to promote the publication of your story using social media. "Non-exclusive" means you are free to submit and publish and promote your story elsewhere as well. This permission does not expire, but you can choose to revoke it by contacting me, in which case I will remove your story from Fiction on the Web (but note that your story may still appear on digital archives such as the Internet Archive).
- One-time permission to email your story to Fiction on the Web subscribers.
- Non-exclusive time-unlimited worldwide audiobook rights, including the right to publish and sell the audiobook version of your story on third-party platforms.
- In all cases, you will be credited as the author of your story.
Once your story is published at Fiction on the Web, you're part of the family. If you've got any news about new publications or anything else you want to promote, get in touch and I'll send a message out to my networks.
Why did you reject my story?
A good short story is more than just this happened then that happened. A good short story is memorable, thought-provoking, unexpected. A good short story is 50% characters, plot, scenery; and 50% how you tell it. Consider the tools and techniques of a writer: subtext, voice, reversals, irony, etc.
Check out this video for a quick behind-the-scenes peek at the sifting and selection process.
Sometimes I reject good stories. Sorry about that. I get up to 40 submissions a week, and I only publish two or three pieces a week, so I'm often making tough calls.
To give you an idea of my editorial style, I prefer something:
- polished over something that needs copyediting.
- that transports me over something familiar.
- that makes me feel over something that makes me think.
- with strong characterisations over something populated by ciphers.
- with a satisfying ending over something that feels unfinished.
- with sparkling language over something perfunctory.
- punchy over something flabby.
- accessible over something confusing.
- uplifting over something depressing.
- that promotes peace over something that glorifies violence.
- anti-racist over something insensitive to race.
- aware of gender issues over something that ignores inequalities.
- that represents LGBT+ over something heteronormative.
- conscious of disability and neurodiversity over something that assumes homogeneity.
See the tips page if you're writing a short story. You are also very welcome to contact me with any comments, questions, requests or complaints.
How many people read each story? How many comments do stories get?
Your story will get more readers, and more comments, if you tell people about it!
Here's a snapshot showing some typical stats as of September 2024 (click on the image to enlarge it; the number of comments and reads per story is on the right-hand side):
