SUBMITTING GUIDELINES A HELP-SHEET

SUBMITTING GUIDELINES

Firstly, make sure your story is polished and proofread.

The following are general standard guidelines when submitting a short story

• Paper size: A4 white
• Font: Times New Roman, although this is a serif font, each letter is proportional to the space it takes up. Courier New is also a serif font where each letter takes up the same space as each other: the i takes up the same space as the m (used mainly in US market and for novels).
• Font size: 12 (both in Times New Roman and Courier New)
• Spacing: Double spacing
• Justification: Title is centred. Story is left justification, this means Right side staggered.
• Get familiar with the magazines you wish to submit too. Buy at least two copies of the magazine and study them. Go to the website of the magazine and check their guidelines, if it’s not on the website then e-mail for a copy of guidelines.
• Think in advance: Magazines work roughly 12 weeks ahead of an occasion and sometimes more, e.g. Christmas, Valentines, centenaries etc. Submit in time.
• Competitions: Read The Rules

The word count varies for each magazine, roughly one A4 page magazine is up to 800 words. The following are a rough guide for fiction in magazines,

Flash- 1000 words              Short story- 1000-3500                   Serial- 4000-8000. 

Cover Sheet (used for novels and competitions): this page has the Title, Author’s Name, Postal Address, e-mail Address, Contact number and Word count.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SUBMITTING AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GET ON!