hello! sorry i messaged you ages ago and you gave me some amazing advice on applying to writing journals. you said at the time you could name the more prestigious SFF journals -- at the time I didn't follow that up because I wasn't sure what genre i was shooting for, but now i've been writing more i am curious what those journals are? no pressure to reply, have a lovely evening!
HELLO yes, I can do that!
For reference: in SFF magazine publishing 8 US cents a word is considered a professional pay rate.
Clarkesworld: 14 cents a word. maybe the most prestigious and one of the best paying markets out there. also they are on top of their submissions to an incredible degree so if you don't make it through the initial sift you can expect a polite 'no' within 24-72 hours.
Strange Horizons: 10 cents a word. currently a complicated submission set up as they only open a few days a year so u want to keep an eye on when the window opens.
Analog & Asimovs: two magazines from the same publisher; separate editors so you can sub the same piece to both. Analog is looking for science-oriented science fiction and Asimovs is looking for character-oriented stories. 8-10 cents a word.
Apex: 8 cents a word. Speculative fiction magazine, I think tends towards more literary work.
ok off the top of my head I think those are the main magazines that make me go 'oh wow!' when I see them in someone's author bio and are currently open for subs.
here are a couple more that are currently long term closed to submissions:
Uncanny Magazine: 10 cents a word. I am unsure how long they have been closed but quite a while. they are still publishing issues with the most recent being this month.
Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine: the OG, as it were. founded 1949. 8-12 cents a word. closed to submissions in 2023, officially to catch up on a submission backlog, and haven't published since 2024.
there's no word I'm aware of on when either magazine expects to re-open for subs (Uncanny seems to be in otherwise good health, F&SF seem to be having some problems behind the scenes) but both are sufficiently reputable publishers that i think the community is keeping half an eye on them.
