Submission Guidelines
Think you've got what it takes? We're looking for writing that engages—that makes you want to share it with the stranger next to you on the bus; or more specifically, that makes us want to share it with the world. We're more than willing to consider any genre, or lack thereof, whether it's a western, historical romance, or lovecraftian tale of horror.
But it also needs just a bit something extra, something that makes it atypical for what it is—it has to have a consciousness of language and of itself and its history, something that will help it reach out to someone not familiar with the pigeonhole it would normally be assigned but also something that will give that something extra to someone already familiar with the relevant tropes. We're looking for writing that's open minded, and intelligent; that challenges, and delivers proper reward for the challenge.
We are GUD. Greatest Uncommon Denominator. What you've been looking for in a magazine. Published two times a year, we provoke with words and art. We bring you stories that engage. Essays and interviews that make you think harder. Poetry that bares reality, more subtly interprets what it means to be human. Literature for the genre folks, and genre for the lit folks. Check out our past issues, and if you ask nicely we'll send you a sample (single story or poem from the "current" issue, your choice)!
Check out our submission stats.
How to Submit
Read these guidelines. Use the form at the bottom of this page. Submit only one piece of work per form. (This means you, poets.) Upload an .rtf, .doc, or .txt file as directed. (or .jpg, .gif, or .png for art/comics) Unsolicited snail mail submissions will be recycled unread.
Sub Guidelines
We publish work in any genre, plus artwork, factual articles, and interviews. We'll publish something as short as 20 words or as long as 15,000 words, as long as it grabs us. Be warned: We read a lot. We've seen it all before. We are not easy to impress. Is your work original? Does it have something to say? Read it again. If you genuinely believe it to be so, send it. We do accept simultaneous submissions, as well as multiple submissions; currently, we allow up to the following:
- stories: 1
- poetry: 5
- reports: 1
- scripts: 1
- art: 12
- comics: 3
Fiction
Our dictionary defines literature thus: written works, esp. those valued for form and style. And that is what we are looking for—form and style, though be sure there's substance as well. Any genre, including literary or mainstream, is acceptable. We don't back away from a fight—if your work screws with convention, breaks rules, makes demands of the reader, then we're equal to the challenge. Just please, by whatever you hold dear, give us some prize at the end of the fight.
Reports
Are you going to tell us something we already know? Or something we don't care about? Forget it. If you have something new to say, something that rocks the boat, challenges conventional thinking, we're ready. Political, topical, contentious—we can handle it. But don't vent. Get off your soap-box. Make your point, but do it intelligently. The key words here are research and balance.
Interviews
If we haven't heard of the interviewee, why should we care what they have to say? Make us. And if we have heard of them, make them open up, tell us something we didn't already know.
Poetry
Make something our readers will remember, make something they'll tell a friend about.
We want to feel there is reason behind every stroke yet we want craftsmanship as a vehicle for the expression, not the other way around.
PLEASE SUBMIT ONE POEM PER FORM ENTRY.
Art
Stop me. Make me linger over the image. Break my heart. Make me angry. Inspire me to write a story, a letter. Show me something I've seen before, but open my eyes to it.
PLEASE submit only .jpg or .gif format images, 600x800 (or smaller), @72 dpi for initial review. If we buy your work, we'll ask you to upload a full-size (300 dpi) CMYK .tif later. Please keep in mind, with the exception of the covers, images will be printed in grayscale. Also, for images featuring human figures, a model release will be required.
Comics
Any mood, any style—there must be craft involved, but the message is more important. You're not going to be the first to make your point, but if you make the point your own, it should be remembered. Keep in mind that items may need to be reformatted to fit the journal layout, if accepted—4.5" wide, 7.5" tall (printable).
PLEASE submit only .jpg or .gif format images @72 dpi for initial review (or larger as needed for legibility). If we buy your work, we'll ask you to upload a full-size (300 dpi) CMYK .tif later. Please keep in mind, with the exception of the covers, images will be printed in grayscale.
Rights
Hold on to your hats here. We want first world electronic and print rights (though we will consider reprints— see our payment terms), and we would like the right to archive the work indefinitely. We know we're not the biggest fish in the pond, nor the end-all-be-all. If a newer issue's out, and either our sell-through of your piece has seen its heyday or you've got a bigger offer that we're getting in the way of, we're willing to pull it from that issue's pdf, end its individual pdf sales, and see to it that it's not included in any future physical reprints of the issue. And if GUD should close its doors, rights revert six months after the fact. We intend no harm. We have no problem with you selling your work elsewhere, but would like a mention that we previously published it.
Once accepted it will be available in our archives—on a pay per view basis—and may be included in anthologies until either party decides they want out of the agreement. So if your story is as hot as you think it is, we'll still be sending you or your estate cash 50 years from now. We may make some exception for pieces that have already seen the electronic light of day just dimly. Please be explicit about any such encounters.
Payment
Who can say? GUD is breaking new ground here. We're selling content, not media. If people want to buy just one story, they'll get it. If they want a PDF magazine, they'll get the whole issue. If they want a beautifully bound paper mag, they'll pay a little extra, but they'll get it. And you? You get a cut. When we buy your story, we pay you. Every time your story sells, we pay you. If we include it in an anthology, we pay you. If an issue does particularly well, you're looking at pro rates plus. If not—well, it may mean we've lost some money, but you've got your semi-pro in hand. This is an adventure, an exploration of something new. If you're brave enough, take our hand and step out into the abyss; what have you got to lose?
It's an act of faith.
How long will this take?
Submissions for each issue will have a closing date. During that time we read for that issue, and that issue only. Start to finish, XXX days/weeks/months. Then we start all over.
An editor may see something he or she wants for a future issue. We'll buy it—pay you—right away, and publish it when the proper time comes. We'll keep you informed of when your words will see ink.
Who decides what goes in?
Each issue will be instigated by a different editor, so different tastes and biases may be apparent. Check out GUD's Masthead for information about the editors, and please read the information in the submission form carefully.
Submission Form
Send us anything you've got for Issue 4, so long as it's good! Issue 4 is instigated by Julia Bernd.
In fiction, Julia is looking for well-written pieces that score high on the what-did-we-learn-o-meter, broadening the reader's view of the world in one way or another. She likes to think she's open to work in any genre, though she admits that she probably has higher standards for some than others. Interesting characters are the easiest way to grab her attention.
She'd like to get poetry and art with oomph, that indefinable element that makes her brain shift sideways just a little bit. However, she's been known to occasionally be so philistine as to like something just because she thinks it's pretty. And of course, we're always on the hunt for comics with substance and reports that intrigue and inform.
Julia enjoys tweaking her sensibilities with the innovative, but innovation for its own sake isn't enough; craft always matters. If you're going to play with the form, make sure you do it responsibly -- she won't print anything that'll poke the other kids' eyes out.
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