[Publisher] Aberrant Dreams / HD Image

snowdog · Aug 23, 2005

Hi,

Has anyone here tried selling work to the following magazine and its companion?

Aberrant Dreams

http://www.hd-image.com/aberrant_dreams/index.htm

The Universe Unleashed

http://www.hd-image.com/hdimage_main.htm

I have a novella and short story I'm thinking about submitting to them. Thanks.

CaoPaux · Aug 26, 2005

Well, their pubs are a lot prettier than their website, and they pay decently. You could certainly do worse.

Good luck!

snowdog · Mar 3, 2006

Querying About Rights

I have a short story I'm planning to submit to the following site-Aberrant Dreams:

http://www.hd-image.com/aberrant_dreams/index.htm

Now, what I find interesting is that they don't mention what rights they buy. Should I ask now, or hold off until I actually submit the story?

James D. Macdonald · Mar 3, 2006

snowdog said:
Now, what I find interesting is that they don't mention what rights they buy. Should I ask now, or hold off until I actually submit the story?

Why would you submit a story if you didn't know what rights they were buying and for how much? Ask.

snowdog · Mar 4, 2006

James D. Macdonald said:
Why would you submit a story if you didn't know what rights they were buying and for how much? Ask.

Thank you. I just sent them an email. This is the very first time I'm trying to sell fiction.

snowdog · Mar 6, 2006

Here is the response:
-------------------------

Hi ----,

We purchase First North American Serial and Electronic rights for accepted
stories. If by chance your story is a reprint and we accept it, we will
purchase the reprint rights.

The rates are detailed on our submission guidelines page. In short, we
pay 3 cents per word (up to $100 max) for science fiction, fantasy, or
supernatureal stories. For poetry of these same genres, we pay $1 per
line (up to $100 max). You can find the full submission guidelines at the
following URL:

http://www.hd-image.com/aberrant_dreams/submission.htm

Sincerely,

Leigh Daniels, editor
------------------------
Is there anything in the submission guidelines I should look out for?

Thanks again for your help.

Aconite · Mar 6, 2006

snowdog, the guidelines look standard (though I'm left wondering what the heck the deal is with the Quarterly Featured Story and why they don't state what rights they buy on their guidelines page). Just note the cap on payment.

CaoPaux · Oct 5, 2007

Updated link: http://www.hd-image.com/main.htm

GhostAuthor · Oct 5, 2007

I have a short story in their upcoming anthology - The Awakening I.

I can tell you that there will be many big names within the anthology, including a forward from Nebula Award winning author, Jack McDevitt.

They are a wonderful team to work with. Legit an professional.

Personal opinion - These guys are on their way up.

snowdog · May 14, 2008

Sorry for posting this late-RL has been getting in the way big time. I do have a complaint about Aberrant Dreams. At the time I submitted this story (May 4, 2006), I read that the wait time was 6 months. I submitted my short story, and waited the 6 months-then queried a couple of times about the status of my story. I never heard back, so I asked for it to be withdrawn. It wasn't until 4 months after I withdrew it that I got an email from the editor-saying that while the story was a good read, they couldn't use it at the time.

Frankly, that struck me as unprofessional to make me wait so long for a response-so I don't plan on submitting any more work to them.

Again, my apologies for not mentioning this sooner-but I've been going through rough times in my life.

CScottMorris · Jan 16, 2011

Aberrant Dreams is no longer an active market.
The editor has some health issues, and is taking them off market for the foreseeable future.
I subbed to them over a year ago and never heard back. I got this today:

Hi All,

By now, many of you are wondering exactly what is going on at Aberrant Dreams, and why there has been little word from anyone regarding the status of things around here. To be honest, the lack of updates and communication can be attributed to one thing only: everyday life got in the way. Because of many factors, the priorities have constantly been shifting, and while I love Aberrant Dreams, and wish wholeheartedly for things to run smoothly and timely, updates to the web (and worse, the authors) have kept sliding out of control. Way out of control! The health issues I've mentioned in the past have kept me from focusing any of my free time I do have into Aberrant Dreams. And to be honest, there appears to be no change in this situation in sight.

It is because of this that I have finally made the decision (rather late, I know) to suspend Aberrant Dreams' online publishing until further notice. This does not mean that Aberrant Dreams is a dead market, but rather I am placing it on an undetermined hiatus until such a time that things become more level, and I can put the appropriate amount of time and attention to making it a great place for readers and authors.

I'll keep this message fairly short. To all of the authors with stories currently in our queue, I am releasing those stories back to the respective authors involved. I wish all of you luck finding a more stable home for them than I can offer here, and I hope that when we are finally able to return that I'll see all of you here again!

Sincerely,

Joe Dickerson
Aberrant Dreams

CaoPaux · Nov 20, 2013

Is active again. Updated URL: http://aberrantdreams.com/content/

CaoPaux · Mar 7, 2016

Not finding any activity after '14. Anyone have recent contact with them?

[Publisher] Aberrant Dreams / HD Image

snowdog

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

snowdog

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

snowdog

snowdog

Aconite

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

GhostAuthor

She who should be writing

snowdog

CScottMorris

On a coffee fueled writing spree!

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless