Please read the following guidelines carefully:
- Submissions are open from November 15th to December 15th, 2022. Submissions outside this window will be deleted unread.
- We want horror in all its forms—from literary to weird, Gothic to psychological, and (almost) everything in between. We’re looking for amazing stories from amazing authors, regardless of race, gender, religion—if you’ve got something good, we want it. (Please do not submit YA, romance, erotica, or religious fiction; we do not deal in those genres. Also note that anything involving vampires, werewolves, zombies, or serial killers will be a hard sell, currently.) Need a firm idea of what we’re looking for? Check out the JournalStone website.
- The title of your email subject line and file name should read: “[Last name]-[title]-[submission type]”. For example: King – Carrie – Novel. This should also be the title of your manuscript document.
- In the body of your email, please give us the word count, genre, and a brief synopsis (300-500 words) of the plot. Submissions without this information will be deleted unread. Please do not include your synopsis as an attachment.
- Submissions should be sent to [email protected]. Attach the full manuscript as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file (absolutely no PDFs). Do not paste your manuscript into the body of the email. For proper formatting of your manuscript, please follow the Shunn way, though it’s not necessary to include your address and phone number–we’ll ask for those if your manuscript is accepted.
- Ideal word count for novels and fiction collections: 50,000 – 90,000. Anything over about 120,000 words will be a hard sell unless it’s just outstanding..
- Ideal word count for novellas: 20,000 – 30,000.
- We consider the quality of the editing in our review process. Please fully proofread and edit manuscripts prior to submission.
- Do not submit sample chapters or a work in progress. We accept only completed works.
- Allow approximately six to eight months for a response to your submission. We will try respond more quickly, but we cannot guarantee timing.
- Please do not expect automated responses or send follow-up e-mails. We will contact you when we have completed our review.
- Submissions are free. We do not charge any fees to authors. If we approve your submission for publication, we will make the investment in you and your product.
- Please, no multiple submissions, and no previously published novels. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but let us know that your work has been sent out to other markets, and if it gets accepted elsewhere.
- If you choose to self-publish, or market your manuscript elsewhere, please send an email withdrawing your submission. This is only common courtesy.
- This goes without saying (or so we thought) but: if you’ve submitted to us before and we declined your manuscript, do not submit it again.
- We offer standard royalty terms.
- We will be reading for both JournalStone and its imprint, Trepidatio Publishing. We are not currently reading for Bizarro Pulp Press.
