What We Want
The goal for this e-zine is to publish “scientific papers” by mad scientists. Or, at least, fiction that could be loosely considered such. We are willing to consider any fiction that is told from within a fictional world. This can be first person from the point of view of the scientist, someone who has witnessed these events, fictional newspaper articles, or even scientific papers about pseudoscience. We are willing to take almost any genre for this: humor, SF, fantasy, horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, pulp adventure. All we ask is that it be well written and fit within the needs of this e-zine. Gratuitous anything that doesn’t add to the story is discouraged. Reprints will be considered. We accept multiple submissions, but not simultaneous submissions.
If your story is accepted, we ask that you provide a fictional identity as the source of the article, with bio. Authors will still be credited under their own name. We just want to maintain the atmosphere of “scientific journal.” So, for example, your story might be “An Examination into the Giant Albino Fire Moles” by Professor Higglepiggle, as provided by Joe M. Author.
We currently are publishing a new short story every week on the site. Our goal is to collect them on a quarterly basis into an ebook, with a possible annual collection as well.
Short Fiction
These stories should be 3,000-8,000 words and stand alone. If you have a recurring character you’d like to use in future submissions, that would be wonderful. If you have a story that falls outside these limits, send us a query at madscientistjournal@gmail.com.
Serial Fiction
We are also in the market for serial stories or recurring characters. Installments should be 3,000 – 8,000 words each.
Publication schedule will depend on volume of submissions received. Depending on the success of the magazine, other submission types may also be considered.
Art
We like to provide a piece of art to go with each story. If you are interested in providing art for Mad Scientist Journal and can do complicated things like “meet deadlines,” please send us an email at madscientistjournal@gmail.com with an explanation of who you are, what you do, link to your portfolio, and how much you charge. Please realize that Mad Scientist Journal runs on a shoe string budget. Your time and art may be worth hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. But we can’t afford that level of awesome.
How We Want It
Submissions for short fiction should be 3,000 – 8,000 words in length and use Standard Manuscript Format. There are many variations to this on the Internet. We prefer this one:
http://www.sfwa.org/2008/11/manuscript-preparation/
Submissions for serial fiction should include the first installment plus an outline of the remaining installments in the serial. It should otherwise follow the Standard Manuscript Format above.
Please also put “Sparkle Pony” underneath your contact information in order to prove you’ve read this.
How It Will Appear
Our intent is to run one story at a time, the frequency of which will vary depending on the volume of quality submissions we receive. Our ideal starting point is one story a week.
What We Pay
For short fiction, we offer $10 for exclusive first worldwide electronic rights and for nonexclusive reprint rights. We reserve the right to pay you more money should these be compiled into an anthology. For serial fiction, we offer $10 per installment to a maximum of $50.
For reprints we offer $5 and ask for nonexclusive reprint rights.
Please Be Aware
Most publications will not reprint fiction that has appeared in online or print format elsewhere. By selling to a token paying market, you are limiting your ability to make more money off of your fiction. It is up to you, the author, to decide whether you want to give up First Publishing Right for token payment.
How To Send It
You will want to send it through our submission form on Submishmash:
[...] Mad Scientist Journal–I just found this magazine and I love the concept. They’re looking for “scientific” papers written by mad scientists–or at least fiction that resembles such papers. They’ll accept pretty much every genre, so long as it fits their qualifications. Some things they might be interested in are fictional newspaper articles, first-person accounts of mad scientists or witnesses of strange scientific experiments. Upon acceptance, they’d also like you to write a fictional author bio to keep with the feel of a “scientific journal”. They’re currently a token paying market–$10/short story–but they sound like a lot of fun to write for and work with. [...]
[...] For more details you can find their submission details HERE. [...]