Formatting Guidelines

This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we're putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully.

All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to submissions@allegoryezine.com. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly.

Email and Cover Letters

Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line:

Submission: (Title) - (First and Last name)

Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission:

Your name
Name to use on the story (byline), if different
Your preferred email address
Your mailing address
The story's title
The story's word count

You may also include a cover letter in the body of the email. We get a lot of strange stuff in cover letters, so if you're unsure of what goes in them (and especially what doesn't) please refer to these cover letter tips:

How to write a cover letter | What not to put in a cover letter by Jed Hartman

Submission Formatting

We ONLY accept submissions as attachments!

All stories submitted as an attachment must follow standard manuscript formatting. We will no longer read any story not properly formatted. (And we much prefer Courier New to Times New Roman)

Please send your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) or Rich Test Format (.rtf) only. Other formats, such as Works, WordPerfect, Open Office, etc., have proven difficult to open.

Please note that we no longer accept "inline" submssions; that is, submissions with the stories pasted directly into the body of the email.

Fiction Guidelines

We're looking for good, solid fiction. We specialize in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror genres. We will consider other genres, such as humor or general interest, provided that the work possesses an original, "quirky" slant.

Here are some basic do's and don'ts.

DO give us strong characters and good plotting. DO put clever, but logical twists on the end of your tales. DO experiment with new ideas and unusual writing styles, but without falling into traps of contrivance and cliché.

DON'T submit any stories based on movies, television or any printed media not your own. DON'T submit reprints without including the name of the publication in which the work first appeared, along with the date of publication. DON'T send more than one story in the same submission.

There is no minimum or maximum length for fiction. But bear in mind that short-shorts (less than 500 words) and flash fiction (less than 100 words) are usually hard sells for us, as are stories longer than 5000 words. We'll consider them, but they will have to be exceptional.

We pay a flat rate of $15 (U.S. dollars) for each story.

Payment is made upon publication, either by PayPal or personal check, based on the author's wishes.

Non-Fiction Guidelines

We publish one or two articles an issue. The subject matter MUST involve the art or business of writing. Research, editing, characterization, narrative style, query letters, cover letters, dealing with editors, agents or publishers - virtually any topic that concerns writing is fair game.

The maximum length for non-fiction is 2000 words.

We pay a $15 (U.S. dollars) flat rate.

Payment is made upon publication, either by PayPal or personal check, based on the author's wishes.

General Stuff

We publish biannually, on the first of May and November. The order in which stories and articles appear on the site is solely arbitrary and should not be construed in any other way. All works that are accepted for publication remain on the site for the full six months. With the publication of the subsequent issue, all rights to the works previously displayed revert to the author. We buy First World Rights and World Reprint Rights. Bylines are most certainly given.

Most submissions are reviewed within 6 weeks. If the story shows merit, we will respond with a "maybe" letter, explaining that the submission is in the running for a spot in the next issue. At the end of the submission cycle, which is always two months before the next issue comes out, all "maybe" submission are re-reviewed, and the top twelve selected for publication. At that time, all accepted authors receive contracts to sign. Since these contracts and, later, the payment checks, go out by snail mail, it is VERY important that all submissions include a snail mail address.

We don't "buy ahead". By that, we mean that ALLEGORY purchases only the stories it needs for the current issue, rather than stocking up for the next and the next. This means that every author who received an acceptance from us will see their work on this site with the next new issue, provided he or she reads, signs, and returns to us an unchanged contract.

Simultaneous submissions are "OK", provided that you let us know at the time of submission that other editors are reviewing this work.

That's about it. Good luck.

Ty Drago
Editors
Allegory