Sean Wallace

We’ve now gone well past eight hundred submissions for The Dark. Will we hit even higher or even close in on nine hundred on this last day of the month?

An observation: the average # of submissions as sent to The Dark over the last few months has steadily climbed. I used to get about 600 but now that’s inching closer and closer to 800. No obvious reason for the uptick, but it’s something to worry about if the response rates start to slow down . . .

A sneak peek at tomorrow’s issue of The Dark Magazine:

5) And, as always, you are appreciated and thanks for all that you do!

Sean Wallace
The Dark Magazine
www.thedarkmagazine.com

4) So, if you’re feeling at all generous or want to gift someone a subscription to someone special in your life I’ll leave the support us links to both magazines here:

www.thedarkmagazine.com/support-us/
clarkesworldmagazine.com/donate/

3)These are the two magazines that I’ve had the pleasure of editing or co-editing for over twenty years now, with over three hundred issues published between the two. In any case, I’ll keep this short: these are hard times for everyone involved in this field, and every bit helps.

2) In light of all that, I would like to take this moment to encourage you to take up a subscription to your favorite periodical, whether or not it's Clarkesworld Magazine or even The Dark Magazine.

1) As you may well know, The Dark Magazine has been sustained for years with support from its sales channels and its patrons, though with the loss of Amazon subscriptions some years ago, it has been difficult, with several cost-saving actions being taken to shore things up.

3) As it will equally be when you lose further opportunities to submit material in the future.

2) It isn't worth losing votes or readers or dealing with legal issues over what is basically intellectual theft from your fellow authors or artists. And before you say it, no, you don't have to use those tools, after all. That is a deliberate decision.

1) My position on generative AI, if it isn't clear enough: if you are caught using it in your submission or if it gets as far as getting published, then you will be entirely blocked for the former and the story yanked for the latter and then blocked.

3) Or just fill in the blank with a suggestion of your own? I am open to all ideas, within reason. Right now the magazine is in a break-even stage, even after the loss of the Amazon subscriptions, but clearly we need to move forward . . .

2) a $250 target to bring the podcast adaptations back, once a month, as I think the magazine should provide stories in more than one format, in order to be fully-rounded, and this is something covered in our current contract

1) a $250 target to hire a co-editor. To be honest I do my best with someone else, as I cherish my previous relationships, with Jack Fisher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Clara Madrigano. I’m well aware of my inadequacies, so . . .

Oh fiddlesticks. My mistake.

3) Or just fill in the blank with a suggestion of your own? I am open to all ideas, within reason. Right now the magazine is in a break-even stage, even after the loss of the Amazon subscriptions, but clearly we need to move forward . . .

2) a $250 target to bring the podcast adaptations back, once a month, as I think the magazine should provide stories in more than one format, in order to be fully-rounded, and this is something covered in our current contract

1) a $250 target to hire a co-editor. To be honest I do my best with someone else, as I cherish my previous relationships, with Jack Fisher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Clara Madrigano. I’m well aware of my inadequacies, so . . .

A question: I may wait until the school year begins with this, but I was thinking a subscription campaign for The Dark, but for what exactly? Here are the options:

Or, at a glance, it just doesn’t fit what I need for the magazine, for whatever reason. It’s better to dust yourself off and take that story and resubmit to another market as soon as possible, to maximize your time and energy. Please do not respond to rejections, at all.

As a reminder: rejections can come as fast as a few seconds after a submission’s receipt. Sometimes this is because the inbox is empty, and I just happened to get to it when the notification pops up. Or it’s an instant rejection because, well, it violated a guideline, somehow.

A good question: no, it won't be an issue.

Always.

I have need for two reprints, preferably published within the last two years, only in print (not online), either in a magazine or an anthology or a ss coll, under 6,000 words, sent to submissions@thedarkmagazine.com. TIA!

The Dark inbox is once again empty: your best bet, at the moment, would be something on the smaller size, 2k to 4k, rather than something longer. As always, quick responses are the usual norm at this magazine, so you really can’t go wrong in trying us out!

I will ask and get back to you as soon as possible. It's not a bad idea, at all!

4) (Our direct subscribe page is here: thedarkmagazine.com/subscribe/) And, again, thank you for whatever you have done or what you can do, going forward. You are appreciated.

3) Whether that’s between patreon or weightless, it doesn’t really matter. but that is where we currently are. So, if you haven't supported your favorite magazine yet, whether it’s us or someone else, please consider doing so.

2) It is almost for certain that we’ll have to make further changes just to survive, perhaps even a lower pay rate, as a temporary solution. Now, if I want to keep the five cents a word now in place, I would just need about eighty new subscribers.

1) As initially feared, some straight talk when it comes to The Dark Magazine basically boils down to this: the early reports from Amazon for the KU subscription model are not looking good at all. I can’t go into details, not yet, but this is pretty cataclysmic.