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SFReader Forums > Book, Magazine, and eZine Publishers > Black Gate > Black Gate now open to submissions

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John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 4/30/2009 1:13 AM (GMT -5)

Hi folks,

BLACK GATE magazine is now officially open to submissions. Thanks for your patience.

We'll be open for at least 60 days (longer if the volume of manuscripts is manageable).

We'll make making the official annoucement on the Black Gate website later today. But I wanted to give folks on the SF Reader boards a head's up. :-)

Looking forward to seeing what you've got.

Regards,

- John

RFLong
Stablehand

Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 19

Posted 4/30/2009 6:01 AM (GMT -5)

Great news. I'm in! :)

Available now:
'Carrying Keptara' by R.F. Long, Ruins Metropolis from Hadley Rille Books on Amazon.com
'The Wrecker's Daughter' by R.F. Long, Ocean Magazine, Fall 2008
'The Wolf's Sister: a tale of the Holtlands' by R.F. Long, Samhain Publishing, November 2008

Novels coming soon:
'The Scroll Thief: a Tale of Ithian' by R.F. Long, Samhain Publishing, 24th February 2009
'Soul Fire' by R.F. Long, Samhain Publishing, July 2009

www.rflong.com
rflong.livejournal.com

darkbow
Rabbit lord

Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 2266

Posted 4/30/2009 3:42 PM (GMT -5)

Cool!
Only about 10,000 words from finishing the first draft of a novel. Maybe I can get something together for BG after that. It's a fantastic market!

"Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology
"Zombie Tears" upcoming at Dark Fire

"Interlude in Lombardy" at Noctober, "The Death of Lester Williams" in the anthology Deadlines, "Ogre" at The Absent Willow Review, "Peter Piker the Pankin Man" at Big Pulp, "Day Trip" at Demonic Tome, "Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow" in "The Return of the Sword" anthology, "The Way the Sunlight Lies Upon Her Hair" at Every Day Fiction, "The Note" at Every Day Fiction, "Walking Between the Rain" at Every Day Fiction, "The Unconquered Mage" at Static Movement, "A Dragon's Tale" at Aphelion, "Terror in the Flare Lights" at The Tiny Globule, "Killing Just for Fun" at Demonic Tome, "Zombie Tears" at Tales of the Zombie War, "Steven Spielberg and The Magic Box" at The Ranfurly Review, "The Death of Lester Williams" at Crimson Highway, "Hot Off the Press" at Ray Gun Revival, "A Dragon's Tale" in Issue 22 of Beyond Centauri, "August" at Demonic Tome

www.tyjohnston.blogspot.com

Jim Stratton
Acolyte

Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 376

Posted 5/2/2009 6:11 PM (GMT -5)

I've been waiting too. I'm in.

Jim Stratton

Current publications;

“The Heretic” available in Tower of Light Online Magazine, Issue #6.
“Living With Miracles” available in Big Pulp Online Magazine, December, 2008.
"The Dragon's Food" in Mystic Signals magazine, Issue #1, January, 2009.
"Land of the Rising Sun", in the March Issue of Drops of Crimson

Forthcoming publications:

“One Life, One Arrow” in Fantasist Enterprise's “Paper Blossoms, Sharpened Steel” due out in late 2009.
“Your Duty To Your Lord” in Morrigan Books' anthology "Dead Souls" due out September, 2009.
"To Sleep, Perchance To Dream", in Teenage magazine, due out in early 2009.
"Ethics of Blood Madness", in Tower of Light Online Magazine soon.

"Virtual Deceit", in Big Pulp Magazine soon.

Kuroboshii
Shogun

Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 573

Posted 5/15/2009 11:50 PM (GMT -5)

Say, John, how do you feel about multiple submissions? I'm guessing you'd prefer one story at a time, just so the flood gates don't open too wide all at once. . .but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask!

Sean T. M. Stiennon (AKA Kuroboshii)

Check out my author page at www.sfreader.com/authors/seanstiennon

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 5/16/2009 11:26 AM (GMT -5)

Kuroboshii said...
Say, John, how do you feel about multiple submissions? I'm guessing you'd prefer one story at a time, just so the flood gates don't open too wide all at once. . .but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask!

Hey Sean,

Great to hear from you. Your story "Black Water" was my favorite tale in RAGE OF THE BEHEMOTH (and Jason even let me say so in my Introduction). Splendidly done.

And while we don't generally encourage mutliple submissions, I have no real problem with them (as long as I don't receive a complete library of short fiction, as some writers have dumped into the queue in the past). In your case, I'd be delighted.

If you have a second tale, by all means send it along.

Regards,

- John

darkbow
Rabbit lord

Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 2266

Posted 5/17/2009 7:26 AM (GMT -5)

Hi John,
I'm interested in learning more about Black Gate concerning non-fiction articles. Do you prefer a query letter/e-mail? Or do you prefer the article(s) be finished and submitted similar to your policy for short stories?

Any other suggestions/remarks would be appreciated, too.

Thanks,
Ty Johnston

"Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology
"Zombie Tears" upcoming at Dark Fire

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 5/17/2009 11:57 AM (GMT -5)

darkbow said...
Hi John,
I'm interested in learning more about Black Gate concerning non-fiction articles. Do you prefer a query letter/e-mail? Or do you prefer the article(s) be finished and submitted similar to your policy for short stories?

Hi Ty,

Good question. For non-fiction, a query letter is always appreciated first. If it's something we think will fit with Black Gate - and remember that BG focuses chiefly on print fantasy, especially articles on the history of the genre - then we prefer to see a complete manuscript. For reviews, we're looking for something 500-800 words; for feature articles, generally from 4,000 - 6,000 words.

Does that help?

- John

darkbow
Rabbit lord

Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 2266

Posted 5/17/2009 5:58 PM (GMT -5)

John,

Thanks for the info. Yes, that helps a lot. I'll likely be in touch sometime in the next week or so. I'm thinking of an interview piece, but I'm waiting to hear back from the author before proceeding. I've also got another article idea in mind, but also waiting to hear from some writers.

For a query, should I use the usual submission e-mail for Black Gate?

Thanks again,
Ty

"Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology
"Zombie Tears" upcoming at Dark Fire

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 5357

Posted 5/23/2009 5:36 PM (GMT -5)

John,
I am in complete sympathy with your not encouraging multiple submissions, yet I have sent you several stories this time. I'm sorry, but its been so looong! Most of what I sent has never been seen by an editor, its not junk that has already cycled through everybody else.
I don't write that fast, and lately have had technical problems so haven't submitted much anywhere for a while. Part of that has been the places I really want to sell too have all been closed (and yes, that is mostly you. Black Gate is my favorite magazine, I'd rather appear in it than F&SF.)
How obnoxious is it to find a pile of stories from the same author bunched together?

Mike

Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Dutchman Rescue"in Continuum SF #6
www.continuumsciencefiction.com/orders.htm

"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises:

www.fantasistent.com/books/anthologies/BASH.php
"Pink Plastic Flamingos" in Big Pulp
www.bigpulp.com/m.html
"Stains" in Tales of the Talisman 3-1 www.zianet.com/hadrosaur/index.html
"Morning Coffee" in Every Day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/morning-coffee-by-michael-d-turner/
"The Jewel Below" in Flashing Swords
flashingswords.sfreader.com/issues/issue8/vol2-iss8-05.htm
"Happy Landings" in Every Day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/happy-landings-by-michael-d-turner/
"Teller of Tales" in Every day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/teller-of-tales-by-michael-d-turner/
Read "Silver Shells" In Every Day Fiction
www.everydayfiction.com/silver-shells-by-michael-d-turner/

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 5/26/2009 4:29 PM (GMT -5)

darkbow said...

For a query, should I use the usual submission e-mail for Black Gate?

Hi Ty,

Go ahead and contact me directly, at john@blackgate.com.

To be honest, we haven't purchased an Interview in over 6 years. These days, they're pretty ubiquitious. What we're looking for is more in-depth pieces on the history of fantasy - something like Howard Andrew Jones' History of S&S, or Rich Horton's article on Ace Doubles.

Got anything like that in mind?

- John

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 5/26/2009 4:41 PM (GMT -5)

erazmus said...
John,
I am in complete sympathy with your not encouraging multiple submissions, yet I have sent you several stories this time. I'm sorry, but its been so looong!

Hi Mike,

No apologies needed. Yes, I do get a little annoyed when I see 30,000 words of fiction sent as 9 separate attachments to a single e-mail (I don't mind multiple submissions terribly, but I don't like to feel abused, either ;-)

) But I completley understand the fact that we've been closed for two years, and that some folks have been waiting for us to open nearly the entire time.

At the same time, I do need to treat everyone equally. If I let some folks submit freely, and ask others to limit to just a single sub, it won't be long before that policy bites me, trust me.

So yes, a little enthusiasm in bending the multiple-submissions rules can be forgiven. But please try to limit it to the best pieces you've written in the past 24 months. We've received subs from over 300 people since we opened, and May's not even over yet. smhair

- John

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 5357

Posted 5/27/2009 4:47 PM (GMT -5)

John,
I think I'd really be miffed at multiple attachments to a single e-mail (it would make tracking each piece darn near impossible) but I'm sure you won't see any of those as your guidelines clearly state;

Black Gate Submission guidelines page said...
Electronic submissions must be sent as plain text pasted into the body of an e-mail message, not as an attachment or separate file (which are more prone to carrying viruses). . . To safeguard our computer systems, submissions sent as attachments will be deleted unread.

I'm sure I pasted my stories into my separate e-mails, and certainly most hopefuls read the guidelines, don't they?

Mike

Matthew Wuertz
Stablehand

Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 41

Posted 5/28/2009 11:51 AM (GMT -5)

"We've received subs from over 300 people since we opened"

I'm curious how many people subbed each month even while you were closed. smile

Matthew Wuertz

http://www.matthewwuertz.com/

"First Son" in The Sword Review, Issue 11

"Becoming the Warrior" in The Sword Review, Issue 12

"From Drì Anem To Deřvinâss" in The Sword Review, Issue 13

"The Other's Mission" in MindFlights, Issue 4

"fc01a9" in Aoife's Kiss, forthcoming

Christopher Marshall
ROOKIE FICTION WRITER

Date Joined Jun 2009
Total Posts : 66

Posted 6/8/2009 10:41 PM (GMT -5)

I just want to say that John is a very nice guy. He problalby doesn't remember me but I emailed him in like '07 about something when I was a more green than I still am. He did not know me from Adam and I was not being published in his mag, and yet he was still very polite and took the time to reply.

So far as publishers go, John and Crystal Wizard get the nice awards. (clap of hands.)
Second runner up would be Carol Hightshoe and Jodi Lee. Both were kind as well.

K I'm done.

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." -Richard Bach

The Griot
Neophyte

Date Joined Apr 2008
Total Posts : 175

Posted 6/24/2009 9:46 AM (GMT -5)

I have a story that I'd like to submit but it's posted on my website. I know some publications won't accept work posted on sites. Does this apply to your publication as well?

Jim Stratton
Acolyte

Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 376

Posted 7/6/2009 1:17 PM (GMT -5)

Hi John,

I was curious to hear how your experiment on limited submissionm dates has worked out, now that you're officially closed to submssions. Did it limit the number of submissions? Improve the quality (since the submittee must specifically want to submit to Black Gate as opposed to sending the tale to whomever they find in the market listings)? And I know inquiring minds want to know if you think this new system will impact on acceptance/rejection times? Willyou be continuing with the two part prrocess, either you or Howard reading tales and then passing the best on to the other?

Jim Stratton

Current publications;

“The Heretic” available in Tower of Light Online Magazine, Issue #6.
“Living With Miracles” available in Big Pulp Online Magazine, December, 2008.
"The Dragon's Food" in Mystic Signals magazine, Issue #1, January, 2009.
"Land of the Rising Sun", in the March, 2009 Issue of Drops of Crimson
"Ethics of Blood Madness", in Tower of Light Online Magazine June, 2009

Forthcoming publications:
“One Life, One Arrow” in Fantasist Enterprise's “Paper Blossoms, Sharpened Steel” due out in 2010.
“Your Duty To Your Lord” in Morrigan Books' anthology "Dead Souls" due out September, 2009.
"Virtual Deceit", in Big Pulp Magazine soon.

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 7/9/2009 10:42 AM (GMT -5)

Jim Stratton said...

Hi John,

I was curious to hear how your experiment on limited submissionm dates has worked out, now that you're officially closed to submssions. Did it limit the number of submissions? Improve the quality?

Hi Jim,

Well, it did limit the number of subs - but not as much as we'd hoped. We had even more subs in June than we did in May (and a crushing number the last two days). As to quality, that's a great question. So far several have been pretty strong, but we'll have to see if that trend bears out.

As to response time - I certainly hope it improves things. I'm trying to read at least ten submissions a day, but even at that rate it will take more than two months to reply to everyone. Ask me again in a month. :)

- John

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 7/9/2009 10:51 AM (GMT -5)

The Griot said...
I have a story that I'd like to submit but it's posted on my website. I know some publications won't accept work posted on sites. Does this apply to your publication as well?

Hi Griot,

Sorry for missing your post earlier! I need to stop scanning this page so quickly.

We don't usually consider a story that's been posted on a website "Published." We do like to know about it in a cover letter, though (just in case I've stumbled across it already, and don't start to think you've plagerized someone when I read it).

On the other hand, if your website has more readers than ours (about 12,000 unique visitors a month), that might make a difference. In that case, many of our regulars might want to get published on your website, too. smile

So in general, no. But we do like to consider each case of pre-publication individually, because the particulars change.

Hope that helps.

- John

The Griot
Neophyte

Date Joined Apr 2008
Total Posts : 175

Posted 7/21/2009 11:03 AM (GMT -5)

Thanks, John. I'll submit something fresh. By the way, I have no idea how many readers come to my site, but I'm sure it's not 12,000.

crystalwizard
Master

Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 6088

Posted 7/21/2009 2:48 PM (GMT -5)

John, how about doing what I'm doing with Abandoned Towers? Publish some stuff online and some other stuff in print. That let's you accept more subs, have new content going on more often and still have plenty for the print issues.

New content added on a regular basis.

Visit Abandoned Towers at
http://cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 7/31/2009 9:08 PM (GMT -5)

crystalwizard said...
John, how about doing what I'm doing with Abandoned Towers? Publish some stuff online and some other stuff in print. That let's you accept more subs, have new content going on more often and still have plenty for the print issues.

Hi Crystalwizard,

You know, I've thought about that from time to time. It's not a bad idea. We've reprinted a few complete stories on the website from time to time, and they're usually well received.

Probably the biggest reason I haven't done it is that most people who submit to the magazine are interested in being in print. There are a growing number of online outlets out there, but print seems to be shrinking.

Still, it's worth considering. How has it worked out for you?

- John

Jordan Lapp
Ebony & Ivory

Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 3293

Posted 8/21/2009 10:40 AM (GMT -5)

Hi John,

With my stint at Clarion West, it looks like I missed the submission window. Any idea when the next one will open?

Jordan

Jordan Lapp
Managing Editor, Every Day Fiction
First Place Winner, Writers of the Future Q3 2008
Visit my blog, Without Really Trying

John O'Neill
Neophyte

Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 53

Posted 8/31/2009 12:45 PM (GMT -5)

Jordan Lapp said...
Hi John,

With my stint at Clarion West, it looks like I missed the submission window. Any idea when the next one will open?

Hi Jordan,

Sorry to hear that. We hope to re-open around the same time next year. Depends how long it takes us to get through the backlog on this window, though. :)

- John

David Cohen
Stablehand

Date Joined Nov 2008
Total Posts : 2

Posted 9/3/2009 10:19 PM (GMT -5)

Hey there John,
My name is David Cohen. I submitted a story via snail mail called "Snowflower" durring your last reading period. I was just curious if it had been received. I have sent a few emails but didn't get a response. I thought I would try here. Hope you are well. I love your mag.

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