Submission Guidelines

Picture



The Were-Traveler is now a paying market. YAY!

  In order to be able to do this, I will only be able to put out two or three issues per year and the number of stories and poetry I'll be able to publish in each issue will be smaller than what it has been in the past, but... The Traveler is resurrected.

I want mostly flash. Stories longer than 1500 words will be a hard sell. I aim to publish one to two poems per issue, unless themes state to only send flash or only send poetry. Only for a very few issues will I ask for short stories. And you'll need to follow the guidelines on those as it will be a highly competitive category.

Since the zine will be a paying market, I will be a lot fussier about style and content.  With the old zine, I had time and when I was healthier, could edit stories. I won't have time to do this with the new zine. Get yourselves some beta love and make sure your submission is as free of errors as possible before submitting.  Also, with the old zine, there were times when authors would send stories or poems completely unrelated to any of the issue themes, or they would send poems when I said no poems or drabbles when I asked for flash. I will not be considering any work other than what I ask for for a particular theme. If you send it, it will be returned with a form rejection. So please, follow the theme and guidelines.

We do NOT have time to send you personalized critiques on your stories. Join a writer's group or critiquing group for that. We do not accept stories over 1500 words.

CONTENT: No gratuitous sex or violence. If it fits the story, that’s fine, but nothing over the top. I can be scared without all that blood-and-guts imagery. As far as language goes, I’ve got no restriction there. I won’t publish anything racist, sexist, or homophobic. 
​
PAYMENT: I will only pay using PayPal, so give the email address you use for PayPal. Payment is in $USD

NO REPRINTS: Unless the theme information says reprints accepted on the Submissions Call page. 

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS?: Yes. I’ll take them. If your story gets published somewhere else before here, please drop me a follow-up email to withdraw.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS?: No. The submission manager only allows 100 submissions per month. If I ask for poetry, you may submit up to 3 poems in one document. Same with 100 word drabbles. Send up tp 3 per document. Submit double-drabble stories and triple-drabble stories as mico-fic and flash (send only one in the submission and ONLY when I ask for them). 

RIGHTS: Authors retain all rights to their work. Your stories would probably still be considered “reprints” if you tried to get them published somewhere else after they’ve already been published here. 

For submitting using the form, put the theme first in all caps in the title area of the form, followed by the title of the story and your last name, like this: THEME OF ISSUE-Your Story Title-Your Last Name. Example:
​
  • FREAKPUNK 2-The Clown Who Stole Halloween-Williams​

Rates (in $USD):

Flash (700-1500 words, no more and no less*):  $10 per piece
Drabbles (up to 100 words for drabbles; 200 words for double drabbles*): $1-3 per piece up to triple drabbles (300 words).
Poetry (up to 30 lines-no fancy formatting*): $5 per poem
Short Stories (on the rare occasion we will accept them and please, DO NOT SEND STORIES OVER 1500 WORDS UNLESS WE ASK FOR THEM IN THE ISSUE GUIDELINES ON THE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS PAGE, will be 1501 words up to 2500 words and NO MORE THAN THAT) will pay $15 per story.

*Titles are not considered part of the word or line count.

NOTE: The submission manager only allows 100 submissions per month. For now, that is what I can afford. If you submit and get an error, this is probably why. Check the Submissions Call page to see if I have closed the submission early. If not, try submitting again at the beginning of the month. More than likely I'll close if I get the stories I want before submission period ends. 

How to Submit:
  • Upload your submission in Word format (.doc or .docx files) using the submission form on the Submissions Call page.
  • Make sure your submission is formatted using the Shunn manuscript format. No funky fonts. Times New Roman, 12 point font.
    • Exceptions to Shunn: Word count can be entered below your name and email address. You do not have to provide your home address, just an email address (PayPal address) will suffice.​

​William Clown
[email protected]
565 words
  • Make sure your story/poem meets the word/line count maximums. Titles do not count for word count or line count.
  • Make sure your submission has the correct format in the Title area box of the submission manager form: THEME IN CAPS-Your Story-Your Last Name.
  • Make sure your submission is as typo free as possible, with little or no spelling or grammar errors. 
  • Include at least a brief bio to appear with your work (if accepted) in the Cover Letter/Brief Bio part of the submission form.
  • Ready? Submit HERE: Submissions Call​