Submissions!
Check here for writer's guidelines *updated 10/2024*
Underside Stories is looking for submissions! What does that mean exactly? Well, first, to learn what we are all about, go here. Basically, in case you’re still confused or cruised right past the link (I’m looking at you, buddy), Underside Stories sees things, well… from the underside. Ever put your shirt on inside-out and didn’t realize till later? Or driven around the backside of a grocery store? Or removed your car’s dash? That’s us. We want the nitty-gritty, the underbelly, the forgotten
Please read and follow these guidelines prior to sending me anything
Don’t worry, it’s not all rules, it’s more like, how did “Pirates” put it? Oh yes… guidelines. Like I already called them, come to think of it. Ahcktually, most of the below is clarifications, with a few, uh, guidelines as well
Speaking of the nitty-gritty, here it is:
Length:
no hard limits, but stories will be posted individually on a per-week or biweekly basis up to about 4k words. Longer will likely be serialized, i.e. split up into more than one post. Upper limits in the novella range, say 10k-15k, although a harder sell. Anything 6k+, please send as an RTF or DOCX attachment only, with proper formatting
Pay:
no charge and no pay, but don’t be surprised if you wake up with an extra egg in the carton one day when you need it most (especially relevant these days)
Formatting:
standard formatting for stories—if pasted in the email, standard internet formatting, ie: please do not indent, NEVER tab EVER, and double enter between paragraphs; attachments should be in standard formatting, indented, double-spaced, NEVER tab EVER (did I say that?), Times New Roman or similar 12 pt.
poetry can have free verse line breaks and white space if necessary
anything fancy or unusual is a harder sell. Anything unintentionally experimental is a no
Genre:
open to anything that fits the underside criteria, so basically anything! Our personal favorites are fantasy/scifi, mystery/thriller, and humor. But we’re open to good general fiction, literary, horror, magic realism, crime, supernatural, slipstream, and much more. A story is judged based on its merits, not its genre. No fanfiction or erotica, please!
in addition, we encourage submissions that relate to the season or holiday, that is Christmas stuff at Christmas, summer stuff in summer, Halloween stuff at Halloween, etc. While not a rule, this will be a tick in your favor (send up to a month in advance)
one more note: I get a LOT of dark fiction. This is understandable, I suppose, considering the connotations of “underside,” but feel free to interpret it in a more freeing manner. We are not Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone. I mean, we love these, too, but also send the fantastic, the quirky, the absurd, the light-hearted, and the wholesome as well! Think Neil Gaiman and Palahniuk (minus the gross bits and harsh language) and Jason Pargin and Douglas Adams and Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter (rather than Showtime’s), Ghost World (also the movie), et al. If you’re more of a movie buff, think Coen Bros, Wes Anderson, Studio Ghibli, Christopher Nolan, Charlie Kaufman…
yes, that’s an eclectic mix, and by no means exhaustive. In fact, any tone is welcome, so long as it’s not your same-old stuffy, rehashed, tv-plot emptiness that can be found on any free streaming service (and some paid ones, too!)
but be sure to tell me how it reveals the underside…
Content:
please keep it PG-13, i.e. limit the cursing (especially g-d, f-k, and the like), the violence/gore, the sex. If you do not, it will be easier to say no, or we might accept on condition of editing. Not interested in racist, political, hateful, stereotypical, derived, or otherwise reprehensible content. No need to “trigger warning” us, but one may be added at publication for readers (if we think of it)
also, not looking for non-fiction, including CNF, articles, reviews, etc in any of its guises (at this time) no matter how worthy or amazing. Submission must be in English (sorry), and translations must be divulged at submission
AI:
any AI use in creation of submitted materials must be divulged upon submission, to what extent and to what end. Failure to do so will be grounds for removal. We are looking for work created by humans for humans at this time. Your work will never be used by Underside Stories in any AI purposes
About you:
please include a short bio of about 100 words and recent encounters with the underside, however you interpret it. Please include your legal name and published name, if different (pen name). Please divulge if you are a legal minor (no need if you are adult), and be prepared to submit parental/guardian approval upon acceptance. That said, young people are encouraged to submit!
What we want:
besides a view from the underside, what we want here is your rejects, your reprints, your forgotten oldies, your misfits, and the ones you always believed in but could never quite sell!
for poetry, all forms and styles welcome, although we are a story site, so narrative poems are especially welcome. That said, if it reveals the underside, whether in content or spirit or experimental format, send it!
Also wanted:
first world electronic rights (if never printed before) or basic reprint rights with archival to perpetuity, or when I decide to remove, or when you decide to remove it (and inform me). I don’t specifically want these rights, but they are implied upon publication
simultaneous submissions are a-okay, no need to inform us, but let us know pronto if you need to withdraw! Multiple submissions at same time are disallowed (second will be deleted unread)
What we don’t want:
your best story ever. I mean, we do, but you should probably send it somewhere else first. US can’t pay you, and you deserve more! Plus posting your story or poem here will count as published and you can never regain first publication rights
also, again, no fanfic or erotica, nothing you don’t own rights to, nothing novel length, nothing that hasn’t been edited for content and grammar. It should be a clean copy free (mostly) of typos and stray commas and glaring plotholes your mother will drive her Buick into. Also, no stereotypes such as mothers that can’t drive. You’re better than that
How to send:
paste into the body of the email or attach as an RTF or DOCX! Failure to do so may result in rejection unread. Please include a word count for fiction. If attaching poems, do so in one document only. See how to format above; don’t skip this step! Brief cover letter first is appreciated, but not required, and don’t forget to subscribe here!
it’s free! In your bio, please include your recent encounters with the underside of life. But keep it short! The story/poem is what matters
—along with word count (for fiction), include one of the following descriptors that best describes the mood/content of your work:
sad dramatic happy fun adventurous exciting creepy unsettling
dark surreal amusing silly mysterious fantastic spooky terrifying
this will help me classify it, and also see who’s following directions. If you have your own adjective you prefer, let me know—
send up to 3 poems or 1 story. Wait until you hear back before submitting again. Expect to hear back within 1 month. Personal responses unlikely! No feedback will be offered, probably! I’m not your editor, I’m the editor of Underside Stories!
send to UndersideSubmissions at mail dot com — yes, that’s “mail” not “gmail” or “hotmail” or anything before “mail” except the @
subject should read “Submissions: fiction” or “Submissions: poetry”
ETC
upon acceptance, I reserve the right to edit all prose submissions for content (to get it to PG / PG-13 level), basic readability (minor rewording), and grammar, including punctuation. I will send you a test copy prior to publication, but will not necessarily wait for a response! If, before or after publication, there is a dispute about an edit, we can come to a compromise or the story may be removed at either party’s discretion
poetry is immune to this editing. All poetry is accepted as-is
any deeper edits, including with poetry, will be discussed prior to acceptance, or on conditional acceptance. This scenario has yet to occur
FINALLY
if you submit to US, please add us to your email contacts. There have been several situations where I couldn’t reply to a submission due to aggressive email filters. If your submission is more than a month old (OK, let’s say 5 weeks to be safe), and you have not heard back, consider checking your filters, and consider your submission declined. This has happened on more than one occasion
if you follow few to none of these guidelines, your submission may be removed unread. It also may not, but it doesn’t help your cause
IN SUMMARY:
1 story or 3 poems per submission
No multiple submissions
Email subject: “Submission: fiction (or) poetry”
Bio + word count (fiction only) + slice of underside life + descriptor
Name + pen name (if relevant) + age (if minor) + parental approval (if minor)
AI admission (if relevant)
Pasted work or attached RTF or DOCX document in correct formatting
Hear back within one month
sign off
GOT IT? GOOD! SEND ME WHAT YOU HAVE!
