Fiction Ed’s Blog: Ten Tips For Submission Success

Ready to send in a story for consideration? Here are ten helpful tips to help your submission on the way to success.

1. Please submit by email only. We no longer accept postal submissions.
2. The cover page is important- it sets the tone for what’s to follow. Please include the title of the story; name of the author (with pen name if applicable); exact word count; and if the story is seasonal or historical, the date/season when the story is set. You should also include your address, email address and phone number.
3. No formatting is necessary – so no headers and footers, please, no page numbers, and all information (such as the title) should be included only once.
4. Don’t worry too much about how your story is presented – as long as it’s in a clear, legible font and at least 12pt text please. Double line spacing is helpful.
5. Is your story seasonal? Submit six months in advance of when the story would ideally be published.
6. Please don’t over-submit. If you’re an author who has not yet been published in the ‘Friend’, please submit one story at a time. For authors who have been published in the magazine, we usually suggest a maximum of five stories at any one time – please check with your assigned editor.
7. If you’re new to the ‘Friend’, please don’t submit until you’ve read at least a few issues of the weekly magazine.
8. Submitting the stories we need means shorter response times and more chance of success. Check our socials for details of what we’re looking for, or established authors can contact their assigned editor.
9. Include the title, word count, and season in your file name. Word documents only, please.
10. Sending stories in without success? Remember that even very established authors occasionally have a story rejected.