Submission Guidelines

Online Submission Form | Online Query Form

Rise Forms publishes all types of creative writing: fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose. Emphasis should not only be on what is said, but on how it is said. Therefore, pieces should be well-crafted and polished with attention to language and how it is used to express ideas and convey the emotional experience.

We accept works from both established authors and emerging voices. Our focus is on the quality of the writing, not the résumé. Regardless of that résumé, please send us your best.

What We’re Looking For

Rise Forms does not publish “how-to” or “where-to” type articles. We do publish creative, fly fishing related pieces in the following departments:

Poetry: all poetical forms considered
Fiction: short stories (novel excerpts will be considered if they stand on their own)
Essay: pieces that analyze or interpret ideas (whether fishing-related or not) to any aspect of fly fishing; or, taking any aspect of fly fishing and relating it to non-fishing ideas. Narrative elements may be used to highlight or make a point in the analysis. For example, these pieces could be in the History or Science departments, but lack the rigor and detail.
Narrative: personal fly fishing experiences that focus on the telling of that experience and that have an aesthetic aspect to which others can relate (there should be a story to the experience—a purpose for telling the story)
History: any writing which deals with the historical aspect of fly fishing (accuracy and rigor are important—footnotes are encouraged when appropriate)
Books: reviews of books (books of a literary nature have precedence)
Authors: interviews or other discussions concerning fly fishing authors and their work
Science: any science writing which deals with things that fly fishers might be interested in—fish biology, hydrology, environment, etc. (accuracy and rigor are important—footnotes are encouraged when appropriate)
Artwork: high-quality scans or photos of 2-D original works (paintings, sketches, prints, digitally created art, etc.) are featured throughout the magazine. Photographs, photo manipulations and photo montages are not currently accepted. (Please send us a query and we will provide more information.)
Other – Not all works may fit neatly into these departments. If you are not sure where your work belongs, or if it is within the scope of Rise Forms, please send us a query.

Successful submissions possess these qualities:

Well-crafted writing that is the result of careful editing.
Descriptive, creative prose that does more than simply describe an experience or event, but that submerges the reader in the experience, explores universal themes and raises questions.
Use of imagery and specific details that engage the readers’ senses and imagination.
A well-structured narrative with a beginning, middle and end, that takes the reader on a compelling journey.
An emotionally honest and distinct narrative voice.

There is no word limit at this time in any department. Our suggestion to you is that the piece should be long enough to get the job done, and not one word more.

We strongly encourage potential authors to read pieces which have been published by Rise Forms for examples of what we are likely to publish.

How to Submit

All pieces submitted to Rise Forms will be will be reviewed and edited as needed. The opportunity for revisions will be given, including for those which are rejected. We reserve the right to correct errors in usage, punctuation and grammar. The author will be given the chance to review substantive changes prior to publication.

Postal and email submissions are not accepted. All works must be submitted via the Online Submission Form.

Fiction Submissions: If you are interested in submitting a work of fiction please use the Online Query Form—unsolicited works of fiction are not accepted. All queries will be read and answered in the positive or negative.

Artwork Submissions: Please submit a query using the Online Query Form regarding submission of original art.

Submissions in all other departments: Please use the Online Submission Form. If you have any questions regarding submissions, use the Contact Us form.

We accept simultaneous submissions. If a piece submitted to Rise Forms is accepted elsewhere, please inform us as soon as possible using the Contact Us form.

Until December 31, 2011, we will accept reprints, but we will not publish pieces concurrently. The author must own all rights to the work and provide details as to where and when the work was originally published (this includes any print or online publication, including, but not limited to blogs, forums, magazines, journals, newspapers, etc.). Beginning January 1, 2012 we will only accept previously unpublished work.

By submitting work to Rise Forms, the author affirms that he/she owns all rights to the work and that publication in Rise Forms will not violate the rights of any other publication, organization or individual.

Payment

Rise Forms will pay authors based on the scale shown below. Payments will be made via PayPal to an account specified by the author. Terms of payment will be verified prior to publication.

Fiction – $15
Essay – $15
Poetry – $15
Narrative – $15
History – $10
Science – $10
Books – $10
Authors – $10
Art – $5

In addition to the monetary payment, publication in Rise Forms has some other benefits and incentives to the author:

Critical review of your work.
Author’s bio, including contact information (link to a website, email address, phone number, street address, etc.).
Accepted submissions are eligible to be anthologized in a print copy of The Best of Rise Forms (not all published pieces will be anthologized, but they all will be considered for The Best of Rise Forms).

Rights

Rise Forms acquires First North American Serial Rights to published works. Copyright for any works published by Rise Forms in the online Rise Forms magazine will be revert to the author after online publication.

As a part of the magazine’s publication contract, if a piece is selected, we request the author’s permission to feature published works in an anthology of The Best of Rise Forms.

Rise Forms retains the exclusive right to feature the published work on the Rise Forms website for a period of at least 6 months. All work will remain archived on the Rise Forms website after this period unless the author expressly requests its removal.

Online Submission Form | Online Query Form

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