Just in Time for Halloween: The Dark Fiction Market

by C.M. Saunders

That time of year is approaching again... Halloween. Packs of unleashed children prowl the streets in a rampant sugar-frenzy, and the public's general mentality strikes an altogether morbid and somber note. Most writers have a dark side they are reluctant to explore, so what better time to pen that chillingly macabre short story you've been planning for so long?

It can't have failed to escape your notice that, fed by huge Hollywood franchises such as the Underworld and Twilight sagas, and high-profile TV series like Medium, The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural, right now dark and/or speculative fiction is BIG business. In fact, within the literary world, dark and/or speculative fiction has always been big business, and probably always will be. Some of the very earliest publications contained some extremely dark elements, stemming from people's inherent fascination with the unexplained and the paranormal.

There was a period of uncertainty around the middle of the last decade when the small press, which until then had served a loyal and sizeable fan base, virtually self-destructed and most titles either went digital or went to the wall, but dark fiction, in all its various guises, remains enduringly popular. In some quarters it may lack some of the respect afforded more cerebral fiction genres, but the sheer volume of magazines, e-zines and niche publishers currently crowding the market are a testament to dark fiction's ongoing saleability, and it offers no shortage of prospective markets for writers at all stages of development.

This sounds obvious, but the first thing to do is get to know the markets. A common complaint amongst editors is that not enough potential contributors actually take the time to read their publications before submitting work. Many of the e-zines are free, so spend some time downloading the PDFs or browsing the website and get a feel for the kind of material each title prefers. Obviously, as they are free, some of these titles boast very high circulation figures. When scoping potential markets for your work, the aim of the game should not be to stifle your creativity by bending to the whims of various editors, but rather to identify the outlets that best suit your subject matter or individual writing style.

If it's just exposure you're after, then your best bet is to try submitting to token-paying or even non-paying publications, which offer the best opportunities for would-be scribes. Unless you are an established author in another field or manage to pen a work of nerve-shredding near-genius, the majority of high-paying titles will reject your work purely because they can have their pick of top talent. The pay scale, which is usually relative to the publication's status and readership, can be looked at like a ladder. The only sure-fire way to climb it is to start at the bottom and work your way up. Occasionally you'll get lucky and skip a few rungs, but generally speaking your ascent will probably be slow and laborious -- but ultimately well worth the effort.

A useful way to boost your list of published credits is to write a few book, film or video game reviews and send them on-spec to appropriate titles. Many fiction magazines are happy to publish reviews, and often suffer a shortage of same. Unfortunately not too many are willing to pay for them. Instead, you get the occasional freebie and, of course, a contributor's credit. Putting your name around as a prospective reviewer is also a highly effective way of making industry connections.

If you are just trying to break into the genre, aim low and submit primarily to lower-profile publications. Save your assault on the upper echelons until you have a few published credits under your belt; then you will be taken far more seriously. Here are a few token-paying markets to get you started...

House of Horror

http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/#/guidelines/4534003896

The Dark Fiction Spotlight

http://thedarkfiction.com/?page_id=9

Deadman's Tome

http://www.demonictome.com/DT2009Sub.html

The following links lead to submission guidelines for 'professional' dark fiction markets, which pay $0.05 per word or more. Most established writers have a system whereby upon finishing a new story they first submit it to high-paying markets; then if it is rejected, they work their way down the pay scale until they find a home for it. Be warned, the competition here is extremely fierce!

Dark Discoveries

http://darkdiscoveries.com/blog/submission-guidelines/

Pedestal

http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/submitguidelines.php

The SF Site

http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm

On Spec

http://www.onspec.ca/submissions

Shock Totem

http://www.shocktotem.com/guidelines.html

Some good advice to those seeking new markets would be to subscribe to industry newsletters like Writing World to keep abreast of any submission calls or other developments in your chosen field. Keep a keen eye open for new or fledgling markets, which are usually more receptive to submissions before their slush pile starts getting out of control. One such new arrival on the scene is the paying market Dark Valentine. Its publisher, Katherine Tomlinson, says, "We want to see short stories in any genre so long as they fit under the overall heading of dark. So black humor, dark romance, urban fantasy, horror, mystery, SF, paranormal, dark fantasy, speculative, slipstream, surrealism, magical realism, lit fic, steampunk, splatterpunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk, are all welcome."

Dark Valentine

http://darkvalentine.net/index.php/submission-guidelines/

With such a bewildering array of genres and sub-genres falling under the all-encompassing umbrella of "dark and/or speculative fiction," some publications are genre-specific, concentrating on a single aspect of the dark fiction realm. For example, there are a multitude of vampire-themed fiction outlets out there, and most will reject anything not closely connected to our fanged friends, so check those guidelines closely!

Hungur

http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/HungurGL.htm

Tales of the Zombie War

http://www.talesofworldwarz.com

Graveside Tales

http://gravesidetales.com/submissions/

In addition to genre-specific titles, an increasing number of publications, like UK-based Morpheus Tales, regularly produce special themed issues. In the case of Morpheus Tales, the next theme will be urban horror. As editor Adam Bradley explains, "You may use any city, real or fictional, but the setting must be urban, and the horrific element must be present."

Morpheus Tales

http://www.morpheustales.com/guidelines.htm

There is also no shortage of specialist publishing houses catering to dark fiction and covering the entire spectrum, from short stories to novel-length works. Most are primarily e-publishers, reflecting the direction the industry is heading in, but some also produce print-on-demand or trade paperbacks. One of the biggest players currently in the game is Damnation Books, which recently took over Eternal Press and publishes over fifty books a year.

Damnation Books

http://www.damnationbooks.com/index.php

Dark-fiction aficionados are known for ferociously devouring short stories, and to supply this demand many of these specialist publishing houses compile regular anthologies, most of which are themed, setting new and emerging authors alongside more established figures. Inclusion in these anthologies can be a great way to increase your profile.

Mundania Press

http://www.mundania.com/submissions.php

Last Rites Publishing

http://www.lastritespublishing.com/index.html

Pill Hill Press

http://www.pillhillpress.com/index.html

With technological advances making multimedia more accessible than ever, there are also exciting opportunities for writers outside the traditional parameters of publishing. The e-zine Everyday Weirdness regularly publishes an eclectic mix of fiction, poetry, art, animation and audio.

Everyday Weirdness

http://everydayweirdness.com/

And how's this for a challenge? Tweet the Meat could well be the world's first Twitter-only, horror/weird/speculative magazine. "No serials. No unfinished stories. You must scare us in 140 characters or less."

Tweet The Meat

http://tweetthemeat.blogspot.com/

Fueled by the rise in popularity of audio books, Podcasts are the latest Internet phenomena sweeping the planet. If you would like to hear your work brought to life, this could be for you...

Pseudopod

http://pseudopod.org/

Finally, don't forget that SOMEBODY has to write the stories used in comic books...

Grave Tales

http://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/grave-tales-comic-guidelines/

So this Halloween, instead of just locking the door and cowering beneath the covers, why not explore your dark side a little? You may actually like what you find...

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