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Hey there!

I'm here to talk about sub-Q, a new literary magazine for interactive fiction! We are up and running now, and are currently accepting submissions! sub-Q pays authors and developers for original work and reprints made in any of the various IF tools out there. 

We are primarily looking for works of speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, or genre-bending) but are open to seeing what you've got. You can find out more about sub-Q by checking out our submission guidelines here: https://sub-q.com/about/submissions/

Thanks for your time, and looking forward to seeing your work!

Huh, cool. However, similar offers have been made on similar sites. If it wouldn't be too rude to ask, could you please tell me whether oranges and apples can be compared, just to be sure that you're not a spider-bot? (Or, at the very least, confirming that you are a very intelligent spiderbot with human sentiments)

I'd be impressed enough by a very intelligent spiderbot with human sentiments that I'd check it out in detail.

To this day I'm not entirely convinced that Nmelssx isn't an intelligent spiderbot with human sentiments. You might want to look into whatever coding he left on his profile.

I don't know why I just checked the source code on his profile page e_e I knew there would be nothing interesting yet I still checked.

Hmm well I'm not a bot, so those offers are all probably me posting manually. Just getting the word out there.

As for apples and oranges, hm, not sure how to reflect "human sentiments"... I'll go with no?

Hmmm... That doesn't sound like something a spiderbot would say. You're probably more of an woodcutting bot if anything.

"Our rates for text-based interactive fiction are based on prose word count. If the same person is responsible for both prose and interactivity, that person receives both rates.

We require that single text-based works be under 5000 words.
We prefer that single text-based works be under 3500 words."

Jesus, those are some short ass stories. I have a 40ish page one that is currently 18000 words, and I consider it more of a game than a story.

Yeah, sorry about that. Short form prose is better for what we're doing at the moment, but we're also playing with doing serialized novellas. If you've got a project hit us up and we can talk.

"In theme, we’re looking for stories that

• Affirm humanity deserves to live
• Smart and fun, with a spirit of joy
• Leave the reader feeling good overall (if the story hurts, let it be a good hurt)
• Use first or third person POV
• Require interaction only when a meaningful choice is being made

In execution, we’re looking for stories that explore any of these:

• Character configuration, e.g. reader chooses the gender/height/appearance of the main character
• Romance options, e.g.
  • A dating simulation nestled in a complete, satisfying narrative
  • A BioWare game (Dragon Age, Mass Effect) for reading
  • A Princess Bride where you get to romance Inigo"

 

So basically everything we really don't like here at CYS.

Lol.

They might as well have asked for Warrior Cat stories and gotten better results.

How many Warrior Cat fan-fics comply with "Require interaction only when a meaningful choice is being made"?

How many of them affirm that humanity deserves to live?

Haha. Well maybe there are some CYS writers hoping to branch out and try new things?

We at CYS value immersion, which means we like to maximize interaction,, write long epics, and enjoy second person, A simple, feel-good dating sim or the like has the capacity to range in quality from "Stupidly awful" to "Mildly Good", and, imho, has very little capacity to be great. We aspire to create things that are as great as possible.

Those epic warrior cat games man...

You're underestimating good authors out there imo. It's not really hard to create a good short story, even in those genres, it's just once you have a good idea you tend to run with is as far as you can. All you need to do is make sure the story is not set to be an epic, just a short conflict, and it should be fine.

Definitely respect the writing preferences at CYS, but we are looking for experimental work that is good and challenging, not just feel-good pieces. I think some good examples from what we've published already are Prospero (https://sub-q.com/play-prospero/) and Silver and Gold (https://sub-q.com/play-silver-gold/) -- they do have dark themes but the work is balanced. 

Horror without gore!? What kind of story is this!?

(fantasy, sci-fi, horror, or genre-bending)

When I first saw that, I thought the last one said “gender-bending.”

Most people who have seen anything to do with any kind of fandom probably read it that way, too XD 

No need to rag on the guy, friends. It's okay for other websites to prioritize other values in their writing. Thanks for reaching out dacharya, and I hope you find what you're looking for. Stories here tend to be 2nd person and we seem to value intensity, drama and depth. It sounds like you're looking for less intensity and depth and more of a feel-good marketable vibe.

Members, remember that being able to vary your style is important, and you just might make a little bit of money by writing something. That's not easy to do in today's day and age, so don't write these guys off just because they don't like the same thing we do! Treat it as a writing exercise and see if you can't improve yourself.

Wasn't really trying to rag, just pointing out their preferred size is really short in comparison to what we consider a good length here. As such it's going to be a hard sell for most of our seasoned authors.

He's mentioned they'll expand into longer stories later, so maybe it's just a matter of him coming back at that time.

Their pricing model may catch some eyes though.

Yeah, 3-6 cents a word is amazing considering that if you use up the 5000 word limit you can make 150, assuming you make something solid. It's not something CYS-writers are used to, but it's something to definitely look into if you want some cash as well as a challenge.

You can actually make up to $450.

Huh. Darcharya, how are payments given?

Canadian Tire money, by mail.

Author's choice! Upon accepting work we ask the author to select their preferred method of payment:

Paper check made out to [Author Name]

PayPal to [Email Address]

Square Cash to [Email Address]

Amazon Gift Card to [Email Address]

Other [Please specify]

 

I'll bite. I'll submit something and see if you like it.

@nightbirdblue

If online magazines count, maybe give this one a go.