SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Welcome to Big Pulp

Big Pulp is an online journal featuring genre fiction and artwork of all kinds. We are actively seeking submissions of prose, poetry, photography, artwork, and comics for our pages.

We define “pulp fiction” very broadly – it’s lively, challenging, thought-provoking, thrilling, and fun, regardless of how many or how few genre elements are packed in. We don’t subscribe to the theory that genre fiction is disposable; in our opinion, a great deal of literary fiction could easily fall under one of our general categories.

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Submission Guidelines

Jump to :

° Deadlines
° Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry
° Comics
° Artwork, Photography
° What We Need
° What We Like
° Publication Agreement
° Rejected? WTF?!

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Deadlines

Due to the enthusiastic response to our call for submissions, we need to institute a reading period. We have filled our weekly publication slots for the upcoming months and do not wish to schedule work more than 6 months in advance.

Submissions received on or before February 1, 2008 will be read and will receive a response. If you have not yet submitted, please make note of the following reading periods.

Subs accepted :	Will be read between :	We'll respond :	For publication :
June 1 - 30, 2009	July 1 - July 31, 2009	around August 1	Sept - Oct - Nov
Sept 1 - 30, 2009	Oct 1 - Oct 31, 2009	around Nov. 1	Dec - Jan - Feb
Dec 1 - 31, 2009	Jan 1 - Jan 31, 2010	around Feb. 1	Mar - April - May
Mar 1 - 31, 2010	April 1 - April 30, 2010	around May 1	June - July - Aug

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Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry

Big Pulp publishes fiction, non-fiction,and poetry in all genres, styles, and tones. For our thoughts on what we'd like to see, follow this link.

We publish each piece twice - once online and once in PDF format. New online content is loaded weekly and the cumulative magazine is published quarterly. After those publications, all rights revert back to the author. In addition, we plan to publish an annual "Best Of" printed collection. Authors and artists chosen for the annual will be contacted prior to re-use of their work.

Payment
Fiction - 1¢ per word up to 2500 words (minimum $5.00; maximum $25.00)
Poetry - $5 per poem

Payment is made on publication, typically on the Sunday of the posting week. We pay electronically via Paypal only. We are not able to send cash or checks in the mail.

Word limits
Fiction and non-fiction - 2500 words
Poetry - up to 3 poems; 50 lines total

Fiction and non-fiction longer than 2500 words will very likely be considered, but no additional payment is possible at this time. Please do not submit fiction greater than 5,000 words.

We ask for first North American serial rights. Reprints may be considered, but please query first. You must have the rights to your work. We prefer not to publish work posted online or archived elsewhere. We will consider work that has appeared in print, provided the work is not generally available (ie: the work was published in a small press zine, small circulation collection, etc.)

Simultaneous submissions are okay. Please submit only one fiction or non-fiction piece at a time, or up to three poems. Do not submit additional stories or poems until you hear from us regarding your previous submissions.

E-mail your submissions to submissions@bigpulp.com. In your subject line, enter the genre you are interested in submitting to - ex: "Submission : Mystery". Please be aware that if your submissions has elements of multiple genres, the editors may assign it to any "department" they consider the best fit and where room allows.

Written submissions must be sent electronically in MS Word as an attachment to your e-mail. Please use normal paragraph breaks, double-space and use Times New Roman 12 point as your font. Submissions that can't be opened or are sent in the incorrect format will be returned.

We do not accept hard copy submissions, nor submissions embedded in the body of an e-mail.

Response time for written submissions is noted above.

If we wish to publish your work, we will contact you with a standard publication agreement.

Big Pulp requests first-time North American serial rights. All other rights are retained by the author or artist. Your acknowledgement of Big Pulp as the first-time publisher of your work is greatly appreciated by the editors. Word of Mouth rocks.

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WHAT WE NEED

We have found that not all genres are created equal and that even within the genres, some types of stories are more popular than others. The notes below are some observations regarding the work we've seen and what we haven't seen. Keep in mind that by the time you read this note, this could all change. If you have something to send, please do, but don't write for the gap. Write for yourself.

Horror
A large portion of our submissions have been in the horror genre. This is a very competitive area. We get a lot of zombie fiction. A LOT. Vampire stories are also a hard sell.

Adventure
This is a wide-open genre. Just about anything could fit here - war, western, survivalist, pirates, sports, vikings, a really stressful chess game. Even historical, depending on the plot.

Science Fiction
We receive only a moderate amount of science fiction. The super-intelligent, talking, Nazi gorilla sub-genre is grievously under-represented.

Romance
We've received lots of poetry, very little fiction. Be warned - we have found ourselves to be quite picky on romantic fiction. Don't take it personally. We definitely don't want formula woman-meets-unattainable-male fantasies (or vice versa) but we also aren't especially interested in how badly you were treated by your ex (just saying...) Like pornography, we'll know it when we see it.

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WHAT WE LIKE

Following are some of our ideas about genre entertainment. These aren’t rules, but we hope they will provide food for thought regarding your fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork. Most importantly - think creatively, do your best work, and have fun!

Fantasy
Fantasy did not begin in the Middle Ages nor end with the Renaissance. People create magic every day, unaccompanied by thunder claps or sparkles. You do it with every story you write. Conversely, mundane events occur in the lives of even the most fantastical creatures. Surprise us!

Mystery
Most mysteries involve a crime or a threat of crime, but it’s not necessary. “Is that bastard cheating on me?” is also a mystery, provided someone is actively trying to find the answer. In a broad sense, an element of curiosity or the unknown would be pervasive in a Big Pulp mystery.

Humor
Okay, so maybe "humor" isn't a classic pulp fiction genre, but we like to laugh as much as the next group of bleary-eyed, oily-fingered editors. In general, if we can't fit a story into one of our other six genres, but still want to publish it anyway, we'll call it humor. It helps if you're funny, but experimental, flash, and slice-of-life fiction and poetry are okay, too.

Adventure
Adventure comes in many forms - as physical challenges or mental puzzles - and in many venues - on mountain trails or the theater of war.Your protagonist could be an undercover CIA agent, a grunt in Iraq, a balloonist flying around the world, a doctor treating refugees, or an artist racing to get a contest submission to a gallery before a deadline. Strive for suspense, high stakes, and a spirit of achievement.

Horror
Vampires are horrific, but so is Rwanda. We love a good zombie tale, but we’re just as scared of people who believe everything they see on TV. Scare us with monsters, human inhumanity, or a devastating psychological truth.

Science Fiction
We love hard science and space operas equally. Alternative histories and speculative future fiction would also be welcome here. Physics is fascinating, but remember that politics and sociology are also sciences. The family unit has evolved more in the past thirty years than the automobile or the handgun. Charm us with dinosaurs or talking apes.

Romance
Not all romances are requited, nor are they guaranteed happy endings. Heartache is a part of romance, as is vengeance. People fall in love or become obsessed with lots of things, not just other people.

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REJECTED?

Unfortunately, we cannot accept every submission, even ones that we enjoy.

We publish material from many genres and therefore we choose submissions that will bring variety to the numerous departments of Big Pulp. We also try to maintain a balance in tone and theme. For example, if we accept a serial killer tale for the Horror pages, we might be reluctant to take another too quickly. We also receive a lot of humorous shorts, so that area is very competitive.

We will attempt to communicate with interested writers via the submissions page under "What We Need". Your best bet is to read through a few stories, write your best, and don't be discouraged if we are not able to use your story or poem.

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