On Spec Magazine

[shadowsminder]

On Spec is open to short speculative fiction and poetry.

I'm trying to get a better feel for this market. Does anyone have news or personal experiences to share?

 

[shadowsminder]

Oh, oops! Here's the link. (I'll post it like this to avoid the editing glitch that occurs on mobile devices.)

https://onspecmag.wordpress.com/

 

[waylander]

Been going a long time

 

[shadowsminder]

Right, it's not a new market. On Spec is an established market that uses only a free web domain, doesn't offer free samples of what it publishes, is behind in its issue deliveries, doesn't communicate well about issues (where I've been looking), and has a history of erratic rejection times. Is it as unstable as it appears?

I've avoided submitting anything there but am running out of decently paying markets for certain works. Stories from AW writers revealing what this market's rejections and acceptances are like might help some of us determine where to put it in our personal markets lists.

 

[waylander]

my data is long out of date. But erratic rejections times are the norm for mags run by a small team of unpaid enthusiasts

 

[Shoeless]

I'm not sure what the state of On Spec is now, but I'll always look fondly on them as my first paid short story publication. But that was back in the 1990s, so, yeah... as far as Canadian Spec Fic publications go, they've been around for quite a while.

 

[waylander]

Interview with the editor of On Spec: https://www.blackgate.com/2019/04/0...tLZaxxXFzG-_ChYsmoj4jFuBIas_z3hig#more-365185