Guidance – submissions

This page last updated 1 May 2023

We’re not currently accepting new ficton. See our regular submissions page for details on when we’re open for submissions.

Query for art and non fiction at contact@wyldblood.com

We are a speculative fiction publisher. Interpret that as you will when deciding what to submit, but bear in mind that we are unlikely to publish fiction without a speculative element (science fiction, fantasy or horror). We pay for fiction.

Short fiction guidelines: We want speculative fiction only (SFF) for publication online in our Wyld Flash series (up to 1,200 words). For short fiction we pay £0.01 per word for print and digital rights (to a maximum of £75) with a 180 day exclusivity period (half rate for reprints and no exclusivity). Submit to contact@wyldblood.com and please follow our guidelines. Subject line: SUBMISSION – flash – story name – your surname. Always add a cover note in your email (from you, not your pseudonym) which includes a word count, contact details and a short third-person bio. We like to keep things informal – first names are great. Send your story as an email attachment (docx preferred. Please no RTF – and definitely not PDF). simultaneous submissions are fine but no multiples (ie only one story at a time – doesn’t apply to drabbles or other very short flash). Reprints only by invitation. We always acknowledge submissions within a day or so of receiving them – if you don’t get an email from us, please query. On format, so long as you use a reasonable font we’ll be happy, though we like Standard Manuscript Format, (Shunn – modern or classic). You don’t need to send us your full mailing address, though. We don’t knowingly accept AI content and will exclude permanently anyone who tries to sneak some in.

Preferences

If you’re going to be submitting work to us, here are a few things you may want to bear in mind:

• be original in your storytelling, not your formatting.
• we like stories that make sense, have satisfying resolutions and aren’t overwritten.
• if you’re not British, American English is fine (though we’ll usually edit out the US-specific word ‘gotten’) but if you’re from the UK only British English will do. Try to avoid jarringly American or jarringly British language – we’ve an international readership and we like to aim for common ground. We’re amused by the idea of fanny packs but we don’t want to see them in your stories.
• format like a pro: we suggest using standard manuscript format, particularly for shorter works, and please indent your paragraphs (using the indent function – not tab stops, which mess up our reformatting, or random spaces, which mess up everything). Assume we’ll change the font and text size so make your formatting robust enough to cope with that, so no fancy whizziness please.
• docx please. Doc if you must, RTF if you insist (but bear in mind half our First Readers will have problems with that format) and PDF only if you don’t actually want us to look at your story.
• don’t send us things we haven’t asked for – and definitely no poetry.
• elves, goblins, dwarfs, pixies, fairies and all the other usual fantasy tropes are currently a hard sell for us. And no wizarding schools. But despite what Duotrope says on our listing, we’re fine with vampires and zombies (for now).
• we’ve seen many things many times so be original.
• we can tell if you know your craft – don’t send us your first draft and make sure you’ve covered the basics. It doesn’t have to be perfect – but it does have to be professional.
• look at our published stories to get a feel for what we buy.
• no gratuitous gore or erotica and be sparing with swearing – don’t send us anything you wouldn’t want kids to see.
• No overtly Christian or pro-religion pieces, please.
• thoughtful, character based stories are our thing.
• Don’t send anything racist or deliberately offensive. And don’t be preachy.
• no fan-fic – we’ve no desire to get sued.
• enthusiasm, perseverance and an obvious willingness to take feedback and respond positively go a long way with us.
• We prefer stories submitted in Standard Manuscript Format. Your legal name, contact details and word count at the top of your manuscript are essential (though we don’t need your full address) and indent your paragraphs (not using tabs). Standard Manuscript Format looks like this (with page numbers from the second page onwards):