The Long View II: Genre Markets for Novelettes & Novellas

A couple of years ago I wrote a post called The Long View: Genre Markets for Novelettes & Novellas, and it turned out to be one of my more popular posts. Guess there are a lot of folks writing at that length. Anyway, in that post, I took a broad look at the number of genre markets that accept novelettes and novellas using Duotrope as my primary source. I think it’s time for an update on this subject, especially since my last post did not include The Submission Grinder and my methods were, uh, less than perfect. I’ve also included two more genres in this analysis: mystery and romance.

It’s important to note that my numbers are not complete. They’re a snapshot in time of which markets are currently accepting novelettes and novellas and are listed on Duotrope and The Submission Grinder. Though I’m likely hitting most of the markets that accept stories of these lengths, there are certainly others not listed on either market database or are currently closed to submissions.

We’re only going to look at novelettes and novellas, which Duotrope and the Submission Grinder define as such:

• Novelette: 7,500 to 15,000 words
• Novella: 15,000 to 40,000 words

As for pay scale, I’m looking at three categories, defined as:

• Token: under 1 cent per word
• Semi-Pro: 1 cent to 4 cents per word
• Pro: 5 cents per word and up

Lastly, (D) stands for Duotrope and (SG) stands for The Submission Grinder in the tables below. Also, note the two databases have a lot of overlap, and many publishers are listed on both. This is reflected in the numbers below.

Okay, lets look at those genres.

Horror

Since I’m a horror writer, primarily, let’s look at the horror market first:

Horror	Token (D)	Token (SG)	Semi-Pro (D)	Semi-Pro (SG)	Pro (D)	Pro (SG)
Novelette	12	21	4	4	2	3
Novella	4	11	0	1	2	2

There are a fair amount of token horror markets that will accept longer works, and a lot of these can be found on The Submission Grinder. Pickings get thin once you hit semi-pro and pro, however, and you’re really restricted to just a few markets for novelettes and novellas. The other thing to note here is that many of these publishers are not pure horror markets. For example, Clarkesworld and Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show accept a wide array of speculative fiction that includes horror.

Fantasy

Let’s move on to fantasy, where thing open up a little.

Fantasy	Token (D)	Token (SG)	Semi-Pro (D)	Semi-Pro (SG)	Pro (D)	Pro (SG)
Novelette	20	33	5	10	9	10
Novella	11	18	2	3	7	6

You have a pretty wide range of markets to choose from for long-form fantasy, even pro markets. There’s a fair bit of overlap between novellas and novelettes in that often the same market will publish both lengths. The pro markets here are some of the biggest names in speculative fiction, including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and Fantasy & Science Fiction. Though a number of these pro markets are listed as publishing novellas, they cap word counts at 25,000 words or less.

Science Fiction

Now science fiction, likely the best genre for long-form fiction in terms of available pro markets.

Sci-Fi	Token (D)	Token (SG)	Semi-Pro (D)	Semi-Pro (SG)	Pro (D)	Pro (SG)
Novelette	19	23	6	11	11	11
Novella	7	13	4	3	9	8

There are more semi-pro and pro markets for science fiction novellas and novelettes than any other genre. That said, many of these markets are also present in the fantasy accounting above (and even horror). Also, word counts here, like fantasy, are often restricted to the lower end for novellas. You’ll find a lot of the big names you’d expect among these markets, including those that publish only sci-fi, such as Analog Science Fiction Fact.

Mystery/Crime

Next is mystery/crime, and options are limited here.

Mystery/Crime	Token (D)	Token (SG)	Semi-Pro (D)	Semi-Pro (SG)	Pro (D)	Pro (SG)
Novelette	1	6	1	2	2	3
Novella	1	3	0	0	2	3

There really aren’t that many semi-pro and pro markets for mystery/crime of any length, and you’re really restricted if you want to write something longer than a short story. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine are the big names here. Note Hitchcock’s does not accept novellas, and while Ellery Queen does, they cap them at 20,000 words.

Romance/Erotica

Finally, let’s look at romance and erotica.

Romance	Token (D)	Token (SG)	Semi-Pro (D)	Semi-Pro (SG)	Pro (D)	Pro (SG)
Novelette	4	8	1	1	0	1
Novella	4	6	0	0	0	1

Your options are even more limited in the romance and erotica genres. The only pro romance market that came up was East of the Web Romance Imprint, which does publish novellas up to 40,000 words. I found no professional erotica markets listed on either database for novellas and only one semi-pro.

Pro Markets for Novelettes and Novellas

Finally, here’s a list of all the pro markets from the tables above that publish novelettes and novellas and where they cap word counts for novellas. As always, make sure you read the guidelines thoroughly before you submit to any of these publishers.

Market	Genres	Novelette	Novella
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine	M, T	Y	N
Amazing Stories	S	Y	N
Analog Science Fiction & Fact	S	Y	to 40,000 words
Asimov’s Science Fiction	F, S	Y	to 20,000 words
Beneath Ceaseless Skies	F	Y	N
Clarkesworld Magazine	F, H, S	Y	to 16,000 words
East of the Web Children’s Stories	F, S	Y	to 40,000 words
East of the Web Horror Imprint	H	Y	to 40,000 words
East of the Web Mystery Imprint	M	Y	to 40,000 words
East of the Web Romance Imprint	R, M, T	Y	to 40,000 words
East of the Web Science Fiction/Fantasy Imprint	F, S	Y	to 40,000 words
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine	M	Y	to 20,000 words
Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)	F, S	Y	to 25,000 words
Future Science Fiction Digest	S	Y	N
Grantville Gazette	S	Y	unspecified
Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show	F, H, S	Y	to 17,500 words
Reckoning	F, S	Y	to 40,000 words
Strange Horizons	F, H, S	Y	N
Universe Annex [Grantville Gazette]	F, S	Y	to 40,000 words
Writers of the Future Contest	F, S	Y	to 17,000 words

F – fantasy, H – horror, M – mystery, R – romance, S – science fiction, T – thriller

You’ll of course notice a lot of overlap, especially with fantasy and science fiction, and slim pickings for pro horror, romance, and mystery markets. As I said earlier, this is not an exhaustive list. It’s a snapshot of which publishers are currently open to submissions and are listed on either Duotrope or The Submission Grinder.

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So, what’s the take-away? I don’t want to give the impression you shouldn’t write long form genre fiction, but it’s important to understand that works over 7,500 words limits your options for publication in traditional magazines, zines, and anthologies, especially if you want to submit to semi-pro and pro markets. That said, sometimes a story just needs to be the length it needs to be.

Besides the markets I’ve listed above, what other options does a novelette/novella writer have? Well, a few big publishers, like Tor.com and Hydra (a digital imprint of Random House), occasionally accept submissions for novellas (both are currently closed to submissions). I’ve also seen a number of smaller book publishers put out open calls for novellas. Examples include Parvus Press (recently closed to submissions) and Twelfth Planet Press (open to submissions). A little research is likely to pull up more small publishers that produce novellas, just make sure you vet these markets thoroughly to make sure they’re a good fit for your work and that they’re legit publishers (not vanity publishers in disguise, for example).

Lastly, there’s self-publishing, which seems to be a popular option for novellas, and I see a fair amount of authors going that route. Obviously, self-publishing comes with its own share of challenges, and you definitely want to do your homework before diving in.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. If you know of any good markets for genre novelettes and novellas, please share them in the comments.