Payment: $0.06/word, $0.02/word

Theme: Science Fiction, Alternative History, Fantasy, Horror, Mythology, Pulp Adventure

Note: Reprints accepted

General Information (All Submissions)

Ares seeks original and well-crafted art, fiction, games, and non-fiction.

Preferred Genres

Science Fiction

Alternative History

Fantasy

Horror

Mythology

Pulp Adventure

All subgenres and cross-genres of the above are welcome.

While we are particularly interested in action-adventure, we gladly consider everything.

File Types

Please submit text files in .doc, .docx, or .rtf formats.

Please submit graphic files in .pdf, .ai, .psd, .tiff, and .jpg formats.

Confirmations

For art, games, and non-fiction, we will email you within a week to confirm receipt of your submission. For fiction, you will receive an automatic response (sent to the email you provide on the form).

If you do not receive a confirmation, check your spam folder. If you don’t find a response in your spam folder, please contact us at the email you sent your submission to; for fiction submissions, email [email protected]

Acceptances/Rejections & Response Times

For art, games, and non-fiction, we make every effort to respond with an acceptance or rejection within 4 weeks of receipt.

For fiction, our average evaluation time is 8 weeks (and may be longer if your piece is shortlisted for the “under consideration” pile). Your patience is appreciated.

Due to the volume of works received, unfortunately we cannot offer personalized feedback on each submission.

Please do not resubmit a rejected item, unless requested to do so.

Compensation

All accepted submissions are paid on publication.

Submissions & Contact Info

Art Submissions

If you wish to have your art considered for Ares, please send an inquiry, along with a link to an online gallery (if possible). Please include the artwork’s name and its pixel definition in your email.

We generally only purchase pre-existing pieces of art. We will contact you if we wish to commission original art.

We pay $300 or more for quality cover art (full-page) and up to $30 per page for interior art. Smaller pieces pay proportionally.

Fiction Submissions

NOTE: We are not currently accepting new fiction submissions. Please check back here and/or keep an eye on our Duotrope listing for our next open reading/submissions period.

What We’re Looking For

When Ares is open to fiction submissions, we are looking for stories in the genres listed above.

What We’re NOT Looking For

Ares is not a market for fiction based upon the copyright-protected works of others. We will review fiction based upon the work of others, provided that the work is no longer copyrighted.

Ares is not seeking poetry or erotica. Real life includes poetic and erotic elements, so your story can as well, if it supports the plot.

Reprints, Simultaneous Submissions, and Multiple Submissions

We do accept reprint submissions. Please note, however, we are only interested in considering stories for reprint that are not available online or in any currently-purchasable form.

We don’t accept simultaneous submissions. Please do not submit works that are under consideration elsewhere.

We don’t accept multiple submissions. Please wait for a resolution of one submission before making the next.

Fiction Length

Minimum: 1,000 words

Maximum: 10,000 words

Preferred: 4,000 to 6,000 words

Fiction Rates

Our standard rate for the first digital and print publishing rights is $0.06 per word for original fiction.

Our standard rate for reprints is $0.02 per word.

Game Submissions

We publish a unique game in every issue of Ares. Like everything else, game submissions should align with the genre list above.

For game submissions, include the game’s name, a one sentence description, and a required component list in the body of your email.

For game expansions, modifications, and scenarios, include the name of the base game and a brief description of the submission in the body of your email.

Game design inquiries should be directed to [email protected]

Game Designs

Each game submission is evaluated individually for completeness, quality, and designer’s pedigree. Contract prices typically range from $1,000 to $2,000 based primarily upon these considerations.

We expect game designs to be complete, developed, and playtested before submission.

As for content, we expect to allocate one letter-size sheet of die-cut playing pieces, one 17” x 22” map, and eight to sixteen pages for rules. There is some flexibility here – ask us if you have a design with somewhat different requirements.

Game Expansion, Modification, and Scenario Submissions

Ares includes a limited amount of game scenario material for use with previously published games. One Small Step Games must possess the rights to publish this material. If these can’t be easily acquired, we will have to reject the submission.

Nonfiction Submissions

Non-fiction should be related to any of our preferred genres, with a preference for pieces that focus on the future and its implications.

We do not take reprint submissions for non-fiction.

Please send non-fiction submissions as an attachment to [email protected].

Non-fiction Length

1,500 to 6,000 words

Non-fiction Rates

Our standard rate for the first digital and print publishing rights is $0.06 per word for original non-fiction.

If you include professional-quality diagrams and art, we will pay an additional $1 per published square inch (about 6.25 square cm) for any that we use.

Submissions & Contact Info

In case you missed it, here it is again:

Source: Ares Magazine.