Guidelines

Scribe & Quill is a paying market. All payments are made via PayPal. We do not send checks. Please be sure you are able to accept electronic payments prior to submitting.

We are an established publication for writers of all experience levels and genres. Since 1997 – save for a temporary hiatus of a few years – our writing resource has published articles, columns, interviews, humor, announcements, and resources for the online writing community.

Our goal is to focus on all aspects of writing, including creativity, freelancing, technique, marketing, and promotion. Please be sure to read these guidelines in their entirety prior to submitting anything to Scribe & Quill.

The main rules are:

(1) NO e-mail attachments are accepted. Any attachments received will be intercepted and automatically deleted without being read. Paste your submission directly into the body of an e-mail when submitting material to us.

(2) Where noted, DO query before sending in a full submission. As a rule of thumb, DO query for articles, interviews, and unassigned book reviews. There is no need to query for humor articles. If you fail to query for items that require that you do so according to our guidelines, your submission will be deleted unread. Most writers are terrific at following guidelines, but some aren't. It's only fair to focus on those who bother to read the guidelines and follow them. If you aren't sure whether to query because of an extenuating circumstance, e-mail us we'll let you know if a query is required.

(3) S & Q accepts previously published pieces. In fact, we prefer them! It's not that we don't want your first-time submission, but if you can find a higher-paying market for it first, we recommend you do so.

(4) Due to the volume of submissions, please allow 14 days for a response. It is likely you won't have to wait that long, but please do not query regarding your submission until the full two weeks have passed. Please be polite and professional. If you're not, there's a good chance your submission will be rejected based on your behavior. We prefer to work with pleasant people. Fortunately, most writers are polite and professional.

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS

Articles must focus on writing-related issues and must be no longer than 800 words. If your work is accepted, you will be paid $20.

Interviews should be no more than 800 words. Interviews must be pre-approved and should focus on writers, poets, authors, writing instructors/coaches, editors, agents, or publishers. If your work is accepted, you will be paid $20.

All articles and interviews must be approved in advance. Please do not send an entire article or interview unless your query has been accepted by Scribe & Quill.

Scribe & Quill accepts reprints. You must hold the copyright to the article prior to submitting to us. Reprints are paid at the same rates listed above.

Send queries via e-mail only — snail mail queries are not accepted — to scribequill@gmail.com. Use QUERY in the subject line and paste the query directly into the e-mail message area.

Please note if the article is previously unpublished or if it is a reprint (if so, mention where and when the article was published before.) Your query will be accepted or rejected via e-mail. If your query is accepted, send your article/interview in the body of an e-mail — NO attachments will be accepted and they will be deleted automatically.

Be sure to include your full name, pen name (if applicable), and e-mail address with your submission. Submissions without your full legal name and contact details will be rejected.

Scribe & Quill reserves one-time electronic rights to publish the article in our e-mail version of the 'zine. The issue in which your article appears will be copyrighted via Scribe & Quill. However, all other copyrights remain with the author. Authors are free to publish their articles elsewhere.

Past issues of Scribe & Quill will be archived on our website. By submitting to us, you agree your work may be archived on our site as part of the issue in which it was originally published. If the article or interview is accepted for publication, payment will be made to the author within 30 days of publication via electronic means through PayPal.

HUMOR

Humor articles must focus on the trials and tribulations of the writing life. Offbeat or unpredictable humor is a plus — just make sure it isn't so nebulous that our readers will miss the laugh! Controversial, political, or religious humor will not be accepted.

Submissions should be no more than 500 words. If your work is accepted, you will be paid $15.

Want to tickle our funny bone? Send your humor item pasted directly in an e-mail message to scribequill@gmail.com. Use the subject heading HUMOR. Please include your full name, pen name (if applicable), and e-mail address.

We will either accept or reject your submission. If accepted, we ask for one-time electronic rights to publish the submission. We copyright the issue where the humor piece appears, but all other copyrights remain with the author. Authors are free to publish their humor pieces elsewhere.

Humor articles are archived on our website. By submitting to us, you agree your work may be archived on our site as part of the issue in which it was originally published. If the article or interview is accepted, payment will be made to the author within 30 days of publication via electronic means through PayPal.

BOOK REVIEWS

Scribe & Quill publishes reviews of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books. Reviewers must be willing to review both print and electronic books. Each review should be 300-500 words and must offer a balanced, objective assessment of the book reviewed. Most reviews are assigned, but we will consider queries from non-staff reviewers on occasion. Send all outside book reviews to scribequill@gmail.com.

For outside reviews, please rate the book you're reviewing on a scale of one to four quills, with four as the highest rating and one as the lowest rating.

Our staff reviewers keep the books they review and also receive a $5 payment. Book reviews are archived on our website.

We do not accept fiction or poetry at this time.

Payment for published content is made within 30 days of publication via electronic means. All contributors will receive a byline and may submit a short bio of no more than 50 words.

Guidelines updated as of March 29, 2017

PRIVACY POLICY and DISCLAIMER:

Scribe & Quill respects your privacy. We will NEVER buy, sell, or rent out your name or e-mail address to other companies or third parties for ANY reason. Our client and subscriber lists are NOT shared with others.

The opinions and reviews published in Scribe & Quill are the sole opinions of the article/review authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher, editor, or staff members of Scribe & Quill.

The decision to use any or all the information in Scribe & Quill is solely at the reader's discretion.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Scribe & Quill. If you have any questions, please e-mail scribequill@gmail.com.