Well Told Tales accepts and publishes all sorts of pulpy content in the HORROR, SCI-FIand CRIME/HARDBOILED genres.
We pay US$25 for short stories for our audio podcast.
We do NOT currently pay for comics, movies or “flash” fiction (ie: very short stories between 100-1,000 words, which we present on our site in text — not audio — format.)
Short stories for audio podcast
We look for edgy fare, 2,000 to 4,000 words (give or take) to record for our audio podcast. The main thing we want is quality (eg.: does your story transport us into another world?) Aside from that, we look for original, “high-concept” ideas that have the power to capture our audience’s imagination. If your story meets the first two criteria and has a fun, pulp-fiction feel, then it’s probably just what we’re after.
Payment/terms: We pay US$25 per story for a non-exclusive podcast license and a 24-month derivatives option. That’s a $5 bump from 2007 — still token, but we’re trying to pay as much as we can. The derivatives option simply gives us a limited time to purchase additional rights to develop your short story into a movie, TV show, graphic novel, etc. (Obviously, we’d have to pay a lot more to exercise that option.)
Other benefits: In addition to a few greenbacks, we also create bio pages for writers, so they can promote their writing … or anything else they do (within reason, of course.)
Reprints: Accepted (assuming all rights have reverted to author.)
Multiple submissions: Accepted (no more than three at a time.)
Simultaneous submissions: Accepted, but let us know up-front and give us a heads-up if your story sells elsewhere.
How to submit: Please submit via e-mail to welltoldtalessubmissions@gmail.com. Put “PODCAST SUBMISSION” in the subject line and attach your story as a Word document, PDF, RTF or TXT file.
Comics, movies, flash fiction, etc.
As we branch out from just audio podcasting, we would like to invite other types of contributions, such as flash fiction (100-1,000 words) that we can run in text format, pulpy comics, short films, etc.
The good news is that we provide some exposure for contributors by building bio pages, providing links, talking about your work on our podcast, etc.
The bad news is we don’t have the moolah to pay for these other contributions.
If that sounds like a fair deal to you, here’s what we’re thinking:
Flash fiction: Short, short stories that are a fun, quick read. We’re thinking 100-1,000 words, but would consider shorter/longer if the piece were strong enough. Lure us in with the first paragraph, then spin our heads with the ending.
Comics: Self-contained stories are preferred (see “A Zombie’s Tale” by Dwight L. MacPherson), but we’re open to other ideas.
Short films: We’ll be putting up our own, Well Told Tales-produced films. And we would be interested in sharing more great flicks with our users — both on our site and in our podcast feed.
We’re not trying to become the next YouTube, so we will pick and choose carefully. But if you’ve got a flick you’d like to get out there, send it to us.
And keep an eye out for our short film contest, which we will announce on our podcast.
Anything else: Got another bright idea? Paintings? Music? Whatever? Bounce it off of us. If it’s pulpy and cool, we’re probably interested.
How to submit: Please submit via e-mail to welltoldtalessubmissions@gmail.com. Put “UNPAID SUBMISSION” in the subject line. Attach flash fiction as a Word document, PDF, RTF or TXT file. Attach comics as jpeg — or simply provide a link. Do NOT attach huge movie files — just send us a description and a link for movie submissions.
(NOTE: We do try to reply to everyone regarding submissions … but please be patient because we are VERY backed up. If you haven’t heard back in a month or so, bug us about it.)
