SUBMISSION INFO

We are open for story submissions

 

 

Science Fiction Trails  Writers Guidelines

Science Fiction Trails is an annual print magazine featuring stories with science fiction content that are set in the Wild West era.  Stories must take place  on earth during the time period 1850-1900 AD.  All stories should have a strong connection to the western region of the United States [this can include western Canada or northern Mexico].  We very much appreciate historical accuracy. Don’t have states that weren’t states back then or people using the Pony Express in areas the PE did not serve, unless you provide a reason for it to be otherwise. This is a science fiction magazine. Stories need to have some type of science fiction content. What’s SF to modern man is SF in the Wild West.  Another way of looking at it, people back then did not have the scientific knowledge we do today.  That doesn’t mean they were stupid, they simply had never been exposed to technology.  The difference isn’t in the science or technology, but in the way people respond to it.  For instance, computers would be almost impossible for somebody in 1880 to comprehend.  On the other hand, magazine articles of the day indicate a large chunk of the populous believed in life on other planets and, especially, life on Mars–far more than do people today.

We like character driven adventure. Take the time to develop interesting characters. We want science, but we want characters, too. A few things we like are The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr and  the short-lived Legend TV shows,  Aaron Larson’s Haakon Jones stories or our editor’s Miles O’Malley stories.  Not all of these shows or stories had SF content, but many did.  The point is, they were fun to watch or read with interesting characters. It would be worth your time to ask your library to get some of them for you.

A few things that don’t really work are aliens in some mine or cave for some inexplicable reason or some clod goes back in time and doesn’t really belong there.  Time travel, in general, is something the editor does not really care for.  That doesn’t mean we won’t take it, simply that it’s an easy crutch for the writer to use and it rarely leads to an entertaining story.

We are seeing way too many stories set in Tombstone, Arizona.  We are sick of hearing about the Earp brothers and we are sick of hearing about Tombstone.  There really were other towns in the Old West.

Things we'd really like to see: an alchemy tale; something with flying machines.

Please do not submit stories about copyrighted characters you did not create.  We liked Jim West and Artamus Gordon, but they are someone else’s creation and we won’t use them. 

Submit stories as an attached .RTF file.  Please include a word count. Email to weirdwesterns@gmail.com   All terms by written contract.  Payment for accepted stories is $10 and a copy of the issue the story appears in.  This is a small press venture and is not expected to sell in large numbers.

Before you submit, look over your submission. Have you included full contact info on the first page of the manuscript? That means name, address, email & phone #. Does your manuscript have a word count?  If using an attached file, is the file name similar to the story name?  At the end of your story, did you include the words “The End” or something similar so the editor is certain he has the entire story? If you want italic use italic. If you want bold face use boldface. Do not underline. Underlining to get italic goes back to the days when writers used typewriters and compositors actually set type. Those days are mostly over and it’s an antiquated habit. We prefer Times New Roman in 12 point type, if you have it. If you don’t have that one, then any plain clean type font will do.

Stories should be from 1K-7K words in length.  We will consider reprints, if so advised and you retain the rights to the story. Query if you have questions, but the editor will not provide story ideas. We reserve the right to close to submissions at any time.