Submissions
Submissions
Ricochet is currently ACCEPTING submissions of short stories in the traditional Western genre for our debut issue!
Please review our submission guidelines below, and then submit your story by using the form or by emailing us directly at ricochetwesternmag@gmail.com.
Please review our submission guidelines below, and then submit your story by using the form or by emailing us directly at ricochetwesternmag@gmail.com.
Genre: We're looking for traditional Westerns. In short, that means stories set on the American frontier - stories that sound like they could have been written a century ago on that very frontier. Think "The Lone Ranger" or "High Noon."
Rating: Our stories should be accessible to a wide range of readers. Think PG-13—nothing gratuitously violent, explicit, or overly disturbing.
Length: We prefer stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. However, we will consider outstanding stories outside this range with an aim toward serialization. Please note that this is a small publication with minimal payment. We encourage you to save your best work for higher-paying markets.
Style: We seek stories with strong, clear storytelling and, most importantly, good characters: Compelling, diverse, heroic, flawed, larger-than-life, and iconic characters!
Rating: Our stories should be accessible to a wide range of readers. Think PG-13—nothing gratuitously violent, explicit, or overly disturbing.
Length: We prefer stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. However, we will consider outstanding stories outside this range with an aim toward serialization. Please note that this is a small publication with minimal payment. We encourage you to save your best work for higher-paying markets.
Style: We seek stories with strong, clear storytelling and, most importantly, good characters: Compelling, diverse, heroic, flawed, larger-than-life, and iconic characters!
Editing: Your submission should be thoroughly edited and proofread. We will not accept drafts or incomplete stories.
Originality: We only accept original work that has not been previously published, either online or in print. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Format: Please submit a Word doc or RTF; do not submit PDFs.
Originality: We only accept original work that has not been previously published, either online or in print. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Format: Please submit a Word doc or RTF; do not submit PDFs.
We aim to respond to all submissions within a month. If you have not heard from us after that, please feel free to send a follow-up email.
If your story is selected for publication, you will be paid a $10 honorarium* and be asked to provide, via contract, “First North American Serial Rights” (FNASR). As far as we are concerned, all copyright stays with you, the author; however, by signing your contract, you will have sold/transferred FNASR. This is the right for Ricochet to publish your unpublished work for the first time. You should note that some professional publications may ask for FNASR upon acceptance of your work, and you are not legally permitted to provide those for your work after it is published in Ricochet. You are legally permitted to publish your previously published work as a reprint, but only if that publication does not require FNASR. This is why we encourage authors to save their best and longer works for higher-paying markets.
*If your story is selected for serialization in our magazine, you will be paid an additional $5 for the subsequent issue in which your story appears (i.e., if your story appears in three issues, that would be $20 total in payment—the $10 honorarium for the initial publication, plus $5 for the next two issues in which the story is serialized). Serializing a story is rare and will be reserved only for outstanding stories.
*If your story is selected for serialization in our magazine, you will be paid an additional $5 for the subsequent issue in which your story appears (i.e., if your story appears in three issues, that would be $20 total in payment—the $10 honorarium for the initial publication, plus $5 for the next two issues in which the story is serialized). Serializing a story is rare and will be reserved only for outstanding stories.