Writer Dashboard

Although we encourage you to subscribe and participate in our community, you do not have to subscribe in order to submit. You must, however, create a free site account. This cuts down on spam submissions and ensures you can join the writing team if your submission is chosen for publication.

1. Your submission must be original science fiction or fantasy and must not have been previously published.
2. We do not accept fiction that is primarily a rant or agenda disguised as a story.
3. We do not accept fan fiction.
4. We do not accept serialized fiction or stories published in multiple parts.
5. We do not publish erotica or graphic/obscene material. Excessive profanity may also result in rejection.
6. Your story must be 1,000 words or fewer, not including the title and subtitle.
7. Formatting / Style Requirements
   • If you are pasting your story into our editor, you may find it helpful to use your browser’s Paste and Match Style command to preserve clean formatting.
   • Use a blank line between every paragraph.
   • For separators, use the scene break option in our editor.
   • Do not include the title, subtitle, author name, or phrases such as “THE END” in the body of the story. Use the appropriate submission fields for that information.
   • Titles should use standard title case.
   • Include a meaningful subtitle. The strongest subtitles usually reflect the theme, tension, or emotional core of the story. If it fits naturally, a line from the story can make an excellent subtitle.
   • Subtitles should capitalize only the first word and should avoid punctuation unless it is necessary.
   • In general, spell out simple numbers and use numerals for more complex numbers.
8. Stories that are unclear, weakly written, or not yet ready for publication will be rejected.
9. If your submission includes errors or incorrect formatting, it may be returned for revision. This may happen more than once. Please note that it is the author’s responsibility to make the story publishable.
10. Before submitting, we strongly recommend that you run your story through a free editing tool such as Hemingway. If you are serious about writing, you may also want to use more robust editing tools such as Grammarly or ProWritingAid. Recommended writing references include:
    • The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
    • On Writing by Stephen King
    • Richard Nordquist’s punctuation guide at ThoughtCo
    • The Tameri Guide
11. Sci-Fi Shorts creates and retains the rights to the artwork produced for every accepted story. If you have an idea for an image that captures the heart of your story, feel free to mention it in the Notes to Editor field when you submit.
12. Payment:
    • We pay writers quarterly.
    • We pay a flat $10 for every published story.
    • We pay a $100 prize to the winner of the Reader’s Pick award.
    • We may also offer additional contests with prizes or rewards.
    • All payments are made through PayPal.
    • An email address associated with your PayPal account is required for submission.
13. We allow only one active submission at a time. You may submit another story once your current submission has moved out of Submitted, In Review, or Revision Requested (for example: Accepted, Declined, Scheduled, Published, or Closed). We also do not allow simultaneous submissions. Repeated spam submissions may result in all submissions being rejected.
14. Sci-Fi Shorts has a distinct editorial taste and style. If an editor suggests a change that does not work for you, you are welcome either to make the revision or to submit the story elsewhere.
15. By submitting, you agree that Sci-Fi Shorts is purchasing exclusive publication rights for one year following acceptance and non-exclusive rights thereafter.

Last updated 3/25/26