Several people have asked about the rules for submitting work to Yours Magazine and Yours Fiction. I asked for clarification, both for myself and to share on this blog. The response was as follows –
Dear Patsy
Thank you for your email.
It seems that many of our regular contributors are a little confused about the difference between submitting stories for the magazine or the Fiction Special. Just to clarify, any stories intended for publication in the magazine that are either approximately 1,200 words long or three-parters (see the Short Story Guidelines attached) should be clearly marked for my attention.
Any stories intended for the Fiction Special (which can be of any length) should be marked for Katharine’s attention.
Making it clear whether a story is intended for the magazine or the Fiction Special helps to ensure that Yours admin staff can direct it promptly to the right person.
Every time that a story is accepted for publication, either in Yours magazine or the Fiction Special, we will ask you to sign a contract accepting Bauer’s terms and conditions which in their revised form do allow writers to place their stories elsewhere. In other words, stories are no longer accepted on an All Rights basis.
Please feel free to contact myself or Katharine if you have any further queries.
Kind regards,
Marion Clarke
Contributing fiction editor
Those attached guidelines follow.
SHORT STORY (fiction) Guidelines
Dear Reader/Writer,
YOURS is always looking for good short stories. Every submission is read but we receive more than a hundred manuscripts a month and are able to publish only one short story per issue.
Please allow up to six months for a reply and enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like your manuscript to be returned. Submissions should be 1000-2,000 words long and not have been published elsewhere before.
From time to time, we also publish longer stories that are serialised over three issues. These should be approximately 3,000-3,200 words long and the first two parts must end on a cliff-hanger so that readers will be eager to find out what happens in the next issue.
Manuscripts can be sent by email or by post, clearly marked SHORT STORY. Submissions must be TYPED on one side of the paper and the title page must include the following:
If we can’t use your submission and you would like it returned to you please enclose a SAE with enough postage to cover the cost of the submission/s.
TIP - Know your audience….
It is essential that you study three or four published stories in YOURS before writing anything for us.
Many manuscripts are rejected because, although they may be well written, the stories are aimed at a completely different market, such as younger women or a largely middle-class readership.
Read several issues of YOURS. This will give you a good idea of the type of reader you should be writing for and the general tone we use.
Our readers range in age from fifties upwards, with most in their mid-sixties and seventies. They are mostly women, although YOURS is read by some men, so don’t ignore their interests!
TIP - Good subjects….
Some of the most popular themes with YOURS readers are romance, families, grandchildren, nostalgia and wartime comradeship. A lot of our readers did war work and/or had husbands or boyfriends serving in the Forces. Don’t be limited to these subjects though; the style and tone of what you write about must appeal to our readers as much as the content.
The first line of your story should grab the attention; it is all too easy to start a story with a bang, which quickly turns into a damp squib by the end of the first page. Keep up the reader's interest until the end or they will not bother to get that far - and a brilliant surprise ending will not make them read it in the first place.
TIP - What to avoid….
Avoid stereotypical images of older people as ill, frail and lonely. Make sure your story is plausible and realistic and do not rely on unlikely coincidences. Try and avoid the hero turning out to be a cat or dog. Avoid downbeat subjects such as death, widowhood, illness and loneliness, or write about them in a positive way that does not dwell on negatives.
Try not to rely on obvious plot devices such as twists in the tale and memory flashbacks. These are very common and, unless cleverly written, can be predictable. A good story does not always need a surprise.
Remember this….
Always think of YOURS readers, not just as older people, but as ordinary human beings who have experienced everything in life - childhood, growing up, starting work, falling in love, friends and family, joy, sorrow, heartache, longing and laughter. YOURS readers have their own interests and needs which match their years of experiences but many of their hopes, fears and dreams are shared by all of us and they still enjoy a good story.
Send your manuscript to*:
Short Stories (FAO: Marion Clarke)
Yours Magazine
Bauer Media
Media House
Peterborough Business Park
Peterborough, PE2 6EA
By email to: yours@bauermedia.co.uk (Subject: Short Story Submission for the attention of Marion Clarke) – email submissions must include contact telephone number and address details.
Marion and the Short Story team
*PLEASE NOTE: If you would like us to return your submission, please include an SAE with the correct postage amount on it. We regret that any submissions without an SAE will not be returned. All successful submissions are accepted on Limited Licence Agreement
I was especially pleased that not one person suggested I may actually have infringed anyone's copyright, even accidentally. It had been my fear that some might think me capable of that and I've been greatly reassured.
Womagwriter blog news
I asked ‘my’ editor at The People’s Friend which story lengths and subjects are most in demand. He says it’s ‘the usual culprits’ by which he means 2000 and 3000 word stories as these are always in demand. Also, stories set around events and holidays – Christmas, Advent, Bonfire Night, Easter, Valentine’s etc are appreciated.
