“Clarkesworld” opens a call for the submission of stories in Spanish

Magazine “Clarkesworld” opens a call for the submission of stories in Spanish: between 1,000-8,000 words and payment of 12 cts per word. Only until February 15, 2023.

In Clarkesworld, We believe that great science fiction stories are not restricted to one language or country, which is why we regularly publish works in translation from around the world. Thanks to our experience in this work we are more aware of the language barrier that prevents many authors from presenting their work.

The resources provided by Storycom and LTI Korea to our translation projects helped us discover, translate, and publish stories from China and Korea. They also showed us a possible way forward. Likewise, the individual works that translators have sent us have shown us another one. After combining everything we have learned, we have developed a month-long pilot project in which we will accept manuscripts written in Spanish, a language that none of our editors can read or speak.

The purpose of this project is:

1. Find more stories to translate and publish in Clarkesworld.
2. Test and evaluate this manuscript submission model.

We hope that what we learn from this experience will allow us to:

1. Polish and simplify the process.
2. Open periods for the reception of manuscripts in other languages.
3. Create a model that other publications can reuse.

Because in spanish?

Spanish is a large language that represents a large community of writers from all over the world and gives some logistical advantages to form a work team.

Why will this opportunity last only one month?

One of the points that we are going to analyze is the effectiveness of a one-month period for receiving manuscripts. We believe that one month should be enough to receive a reasonable number of manuscripts and collect all the data we need to evaluate the process. If we are not correct, we will extend the manuscript evaluation deadlines.

Why aren’t the manuscript rules the same as in English?

The reason that the number of words is lower is due to a budget issue. Translations drive up the cost and we didn’t want to limit the number of stories we can publish. Translating several short manuscripts instead of a few long ones will allow us to gain more insight into our process and give us the opportunity to work with a greater variety of translators. The changes in the number of words and in the submission rules are also important to simplify the learning process for our team.

Are the stories going to be collected for a special issue?

Translated stories have always received the same treatment as those originally written in English. They are subjected to the same evaluation criteria, they are placed in the general inventory after translation, and they are programmed as any other story. We don’t want the translations to be seen or treated as exceptional, and our intention is not to publish a “special” issue or mark them as different from English science fiction.

Who pays for the translations?

We will select and pay for the translations.

RULES FOR FICTION IN SPANISH

Period:	From January 15, 2023 to February 15, 2023. We will not review submissions received before or after the cut-off date.
word limit:	1000-8000 words, no exceptions.
Rate:	12¢ per word. Payment will be made by PayPal or check (non-US authors may request wire transfers).
Genders:	Science fiction or genres with elements of science fiction.
Language:	Spanish (stories written in English or translated into that language should be sent here).
Rights:	Worldwide electronic rights of first publication in English (text and audio), first print rights, and non-exclusive anthology rights for the annual anthology of Clarkesworld. All non-English language rights will belong to the authors.

If your story has been published in Spanish: you can send the story and in your cover letter you must mention where and when it was published.

If your story has been published in English (even on your blog or Patreon): your story will not be accepted or evaluated.

Simultaneous submissions (having your story under consideration in another English publication while we evaluate it in ours) are not allowed.

Stories must:

1. be well written Language is important. There is no distinction between “style” and “content” or “story” and “writing.”
2. Be easy to read on the screen. Very long paragraphs or typographical tricks can work against you.
3. Be audio-ready. The stories should be equally effective, although not necessarily the same, in both written and audio formats.

Science fiction doesn’t need to be “hard,” but rigor is appreciated. While we don’t abhor specific settings, themes, or plots, we prefer to avoid:

1. Zombies or substitutes (really, we’re not kidding).
2. Sexy vampires, lewd werewolves, wicked witches or demon children.
3. Stories about rapists, murderers, pedophiles or cannibals.
4. Stories where the climax depends on viscera scattered everywhere.
5. Stories in which a mediocre government is represented as the only obstacle to catching some depraved criminal or to an uncomplicated military victory.
6. Stories in which Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, or (whatever political party or religion) take over the world and either save it or ruin it.
7. Stories whose style seems taken from the 19th century.
8. Talking cats or swords.
9. Stories where travel at the speed of light or through time is as easy as shown on television or in the movies.
10. Stories in which some children playing in the field discover THINGS (a body, an alien ship, excalibur, anything).
11. Stories about some scientific discovery disclosed three months ago in scientific publications.
12. Tales of the adventures of your role-playing character.
13. Comic stories that include or depend on puns.
14. Stories with protagonists who are despised or admired for their great intelligence or for being very extravagant.
15. Stories you had saved in the last drawer.
16. Stories that try to include all of the above.

MANUSCRIPTS SUBMISSION PROCESS

Do not send manuscripts by email or traditional mail. Clarkesworld uses an online manuscript submission system designed to streamline our process and improve communication with authors. Go here to upload your stories.

You must fill out our manuscript submission form with your name, email address, cover letter, manuscript title, number of words, genre and include the file with the story. If your story has been previously published in Spanish or another language, please mention where and when in the cover letter (keep it brief and without including a summary of the story). All manuscripts must follow the standard manuscript format (modern is preferred, but classic is also accepted) and can be uploaded in .RTF, .DOC, or .DOCX format. IMPORTANT: The standard manuscript format guide is written in English and follows the grammar and spelling rules of that language. Therefore, indications that refer to different punctuation marks between the two languages ​​can be ignored, as is the case of the dash in dialogues. We will be flexible with formatting requirements, as long as manuscripts are legible and contain all header information (name, title, and contact information).

After sending us the manuscript, a tracking number will appear on the screen that we will also send you by email. If you do not receive it within 24 hours, please contact us. The tracking number will allow you to check the evaluation status of your manuscript on our website, so don’t lose it or share it. NOTE: Some email providers mark our follow-up messages as spam, so check your spam folder.

We aim to respond to all manuscripts in less than two weeks, but sometimes we may take longer to review. To help us in this process, we ask that you:

1. Do not send us questions about manuscripts under evaluation that have not been at least three weeks since submission. Please use the tracking number to check the status before contacting us. You can send your questions to Neil at [email protected].
2. Do not submit manuscript revisions unless requested.
3. Do not try to upload more than one manuscript at the same time.
4. Do not upload another story until three days have passed after a rejection or acceptance.
5. Do not forward manuscripts that have been rejected. Don’t ask permission to do it either.
6. Don’t discuss rejection letters.

Clarkesworld uses standardized letters and will not provide any feedback on rejected stories.

For legal reasons, the edition and the contracts of the accepted stories will be in English. It will be edited on top of the translated version of your story.

In case you have doubts about any of the above points, we recommend that you interpret them in the most conservative way possible. You can send any questions, queries or technical problems by email to neil.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Authors’ personal information (name, address, email, phone or secret identity) will not be shared with anyone outside of the editorial team, except in the following situations:

1. If we are required by law.
2. If the perpetrators threaten our team.
3. If our speakers need help with pronunciation (only email).
4. If renowned editors of Best of the Year anthologies would like to include your story (email only).
5. If the authors tell us to do so.
6. If the submitted manuscript is determined to be plagiarism.