write for squishy!
submission guidelines for Space Squid
Space Squid is a paper-only 'zine that's oriented to people who are bored easily. If your story is boring, then we can't take it. We reject lots of stuff. There needs to be totally rocking shit blasting out of that story of yours.
What isn't boring? Subversion isn't boring. Literary skill isn't boring. Memorable imagery isn't boring. Funny isn't boring. Funny and sad goes a long way. We want to laugh so hard that snot comes out of our noses while crying and beating our breasts. Try digressing from the standard style.We like funny but it isn't always appropriate. That's why there's a slash when we describe ourselves as a sci-fi/humor 'zine. To be honest, we're not even tied to the sci-fi. We're technically a speculative fiction/humor 'zine, but the 'zine hos are not impressed by wishy-washy titles.
We often publish the story you have that nobody else understands. You know, the one you wrote that's pure genius, but it's so far outside the accepted norm of professional fiction that JJ Adams didn't even bother to scrawl his initials on your form reject. Space Squid appreciates you and we appreciate your vision. And we promise not to give your name to the FBI after we find out what goes on in that freakish head of yours.
Most of the stories we buy are under 1000 words. We'll usually run one long story per issue, but your best bet is to send us something short that we're not going to forget. We strongly encourage submissions by women writers who help dilute the nasty testosterone scent in the Squid offices. Try sending us something experimental or something beautiful or something profane. But please, no sloppy wandering grade-school humor stories.
We publish reprints if they rock.
Comics
Did I say that flash is your best bet of getting in Space Squid? Hell, no. We are so damn desperate for comics, and it doesn't matter what kind: gag, strip, or full-page adventure. Shoot, even meandering experimental comics with stupid non sequiteurs are cool with us.
We're looking for grayscale images, and if you want to draw to our page, then that would be 8" tall and 6.5" wide at 300dpi, but if you've got something you've already made that you would like to see published, we can probably find a way to make it fit.
Payment
No matter what you do, all you're going to get out of us is a flat payment of $5 USD and a contributors copy (that you have to take whether you want to or not). If you are so unfortunate that we accept two of your products in a single issue, then you're still only going to get that measly five bucks and a copy. We usually offer the option to take payment in issues, but if you live overseas we might have to work something out. A heavy wad of Space Squids with an airmail stamp eats up a shocking percentage of the annual Space Squid operating budget.
How to submit
Send your story or graphic as an attachment (either RTF or JPG preferably) tosquishy (squiggly symbol) spacesquid (period) com
Standard manuscript format is preferrable. Putting your personal information at the top of the file is going to mitigate mistakes we might make later.
Return Time
This tends to be either shockingly short or shockingly long. Keep in mind that this is an Austin-based zine, so we're spending most of our time drinking Mexican martinis and eating egg-chorizo kolaches. We shoot for a week return time, but if you make it past the first round of reading, you're looking at around three months, longer if the editorial staff is feeling crabby. Feel free to send us a query about the status of your submission at any time. It might not speed things up, but it's sure to make you feel better.
Miscellany
Avoid simultaneous subs. Multiple subs are okay, but we're likely to get confused if we have more than one of your stories on the table at a time (seriously, it could stretch the return time out by months). Read the stuff we consider to be funny sci-fi.Of course, if you've never actually owned a copy, you will be at a disadvantage. Buying Space Squid issues is ridiculously cheap, a mere buck for a PDF file or two bucks for a collectable print issue (issue #1 has already quintupled in value!). Issue 5 is free! If you have a print-on-demand novel that nobody's buying, how 'bout you advertise in Space Squid? It guarantees that your core audience (sci-fi fans who are careless with their money) will see it, our circ is comparable to many 'zines and journals, and it'll probably be the cheapest ad you'll ever buy (starting at $20).