Ruthless Peoples Magazine
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Copyright InformationSite content copyright Ruthless Peoples Magazine Limited 2009. Works published in RPM are copyright to their respective authors unless otherwise indicated. Site Created and maintained in |
Guidelines for Writers (formatting and submissions)General Guidelines Content Formatting and File Type Guidelines updated: 1 May 2009 General GuidelinesRuthless Peoples Magazine (RPM), despite the abrupt title, is aimed at a general audience who are passionate about stories. We are the only magazine that actively loves our readers, and this principle informs the following guidelines for writers: We are happy to consider:
OpeningYour story must take hold of our readers' attention and imaginations from word one and not let go until the end. Please note that this is not "grab our readers' attention", and consider the difference: it is fundamental to RPM's philosophy.DevelopmentExtreme violence, extreme sex and/or swearing will probably not be acceptable unless your story absolutely demands it. When you use these narrative techniques, try to imagine you're playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the cylinder. It's not automatic that the story will be rejected, but you're not playing wise odds. Sex, well done, may be fine. Pornography will not. If you submit child pornography take notice that this sentence is your rejection letter. We're not going to reply to you or deal with you any further. Priority: character or plot? Either is fine -- but your story must be lean and driven. We have perilously hair-thin attention spans. If you can hold our attention word to word, sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph you are a remarkable writer and we most likely want you.ConclusionTie it all together, no loose ends -- unless you're submitting a multi-part story, in which case you need to make us reach for heart medication at the end of Parts 1 and 2. Unlike with novel submissions, you don't get Part 2 for a little bit of pooching around. Keep firing until you're out.ContentRPM is cross-genre, prose. Thriller, Crime, Horror, Scifi, Literary and possibly even Contemporary or Historical stories are good. We are not likely to decline a story based on its setting or genre, providing it's appropriately evoked. Vampire & Zombie stories... well, it's very hard to make a good one, but if you do it must be standalone and mythos-independent. We currently accept serial fiction, short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. Serial FictionWe're very, very keen to have multi-part stories for publication in sequential issues. For the time being, this is restricted to a maximum of three parts, up to 3,500 words each. Make your submission as a single document at our submission page, indicating clearly where each part starts and ends. Also make very sure each part could conceivably stand alone: if one of our delicious readers comes across Part 2 or Part 3, the reader should still be left fulfilled and excited without having read the earlier part(s). Warning: this is hard.Short StoriesWe would like to see short stories of between 1000 and 3500 words.Flash FictionWe define flash fiction as anything less than 1000 words. Remember that, since your fiction is now much shorter, it should also be much more concentrated. Make every word count to dazzle your audience!PoetryRPM accepts 1-2 poems per issue, but you must be in absolute command of whatever form you choose, and convey your work in less than 40 lines.Formatting and File TypeWe only accept electronic submissions in double spaced in Calibri, Helvetica or Arial 12pt font. Do not use Courier/New Courier type fonts. If you a unsure what this means, search Google. Your manuscript attachment must submitted in .RTF format. Email editor@ruthlesspeoples.com if this sounds very complicated. |
