Good News for Short Fiction Writers

Hey there, friends. Last week I got some news from a publishing friend of mine. For those of you unfamiliar with Kristine Pratt and Written World Communications (WWC), I suggest you check both of them out, as well as their many high-quality imprints, both in print and digital form.

Anyway, Kristine surprised me with some news last week. I had previously queried her about the possibility of starting a magazine that publishes concise fiction for busy readers on the go. I suggested that I become the editor of said magazine. Kind of presumptuous of me since I have minimal editing experience (though I’m pretty good at grammar and spelling, etc.), right?

Well, she said I should go for it.

I’m shocked. I’m totally stunned. I really wasn’t sure if she would let me do it, but she’s all for it. Kristine said she spoke with the other staff members at WWC and, after mulling it over, they decided to let me take a crack at it.

After some introductory guidelines from Kristine, I came up with a magazine title, description, mission statement, and submission guidelines, including an email where authors can submit, but I still need a graphic created (if you have skills, contact me) for the magazine.

As of now, our first issue will come out in late autumn or early winter of this year. For those of us who live in Wisconsin, that’s sometime around early November–I had to clarify because winter in Wisconsin starts in August. That means that I have 6-7 months to receive submissions.

Easy, killer. Don’t yank that pistol of a story from its holster just yet–I still got some ‘splainin’ to do.

As I said, we have guidelines. We also have a name for the magazine, and a mission statement. If you’re strapped for time (or just impatient), skip this next part and go down a few more lines and you’ll find submission information. Otherwise, if you want to make sure you know what you’re getting into, then don’t skip anything.

We were calling the magazine “QuickTales Quarterly,” but we’ve changed the name to something a bit catchier. The magazine is now called Splickety Magazine.

Our Mission Statement is this: Splickety Magazine exists to showcase high-quality short fiction from new writers, established authors, and everyone in between, written from a Christian worldview.

Here’s a brief description of the magazine:

Splickety Magazine, or Splickety for short, is the premiere destination for high-quality flash fiction written from a Christian worldview. We feature contributors from all walks of life, everyone from best-selling authors all the way to new writers just beginning their publishing adventures. Our goal is to provide concise, poignant stories that our readers can enjoy despite the busyness of their everyday lives. Our readers include devoted working professionals, frazzled stay-at-home parents, youths with short attention spans, and anyone else who loves short fiction. If you wish you had more time to read, try Splickety–you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to take in your fiction in smaller bites. And if you write, but struggle with crafting book-length works, send us something shorter. If it’s sharp, clean, and quick, you may just earn yourself a spot in one of our issues.

Now, you ravenous beasts, here are the tentative submission guidelines:

Splickety Magazine is a new publication that features short works by both professional best-selling authors as well as up-and-coming writers, all with a passion for flash fiction. We exist to fill gaps in the modern reader’s day with concise, poignant fiction less than 1,000 words. We need stories that hit fast and strike hard–stories that, no matter the genre, can cut through the day’s troubles and grip readers with short attention spans.

We accept original, unpublished work by freelance writers, artists, graphic designers, and photographers. Each written submission must contain:

• Your name as you would like it to appear in print and your contact information. Put these things in the upper left hand corner and include both your last name and the title of the document when you email it.
• Your story between 500 and 1000 words (we will also entertain microfiction–works shorter than 500 words–if the story is especially gripping) typed, double-spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font in MS Word.
• Your art work or photo(s) sent in jpeg format.
• Any related Bible verses and/or references, if applicable.
• Your first and last name, and the title of your story in the subject line of your email. For multiple submissions, please send multiple, separate emails as it is easier to keep them organized as individual submissions that way.

We retain the right to edit written submissions for grammar, brevity, and clarity of language. We will send you suggested changes prior to publication. Please allow between 6-8 weeks for notification. All submissions accepted by email.

Should we select one of your works for publication, we will notify you via email. A small stipend, depending on the length of your piece, will be paid to you for the right to publish your submission. Each issue of Splickety will feature 10-16 authors/contributors, so writers have many opportunities to submit their very best short works with each issue.

Thank you for your interest in our publications. Please contact me with any questions or submissions at splickety.wwc@gmail.com.

Ben Erlichman
Executive Editor for Splickety Magazine
Written World Communications

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So there you have it. Good stuff coming soon. I’ve also secured agreements for three well-known, best-selling authors to submit short stories to our first three issues, and I’m working on a fourth for the fourth issue. So if you want in on this, write something short, edgy, and cunning, and maybe you’ll get pubbed alongside a best-selling author in Splickety Magazine.

-Ben