Do you love the My Favorite Things column as much as we do? Would you like be a guest author and submit one yourself? Here’s how!

Who qualifies as a guest author?

Anyone who participates in the speculative fiction genre (fantasy, science fiction, horror, and any mix thereof): authors, editors, agents, publicists, artists, podcasters, actors, convention organizers, bloggers…. if you love anything and everything speculative fiction, and you’ve either made it your career or a obsessively awesome hobby (or both!), we’d like to hear from you!

What do I write about?

Your favorite speculative things, of course! You can pick old favorites, new favorites, or a little bit of both! We also encourage writers to add one extra thing if they’re dying to talk about something that doesn’t fit under the speculative umbrella. The goal is to tell us what you love, what you want to gush over, to share your favorites! There’s no judgment in My Favorite Things, just love. If you’re selected, the word count can be anywhere between 500 and 3,500 words. If you want ideas of how the column is set up and the various types of things people gush about, please feel free to browse through past columns.

How do I qualify?

Do you have something to promote? A book, novella, short story that’s being released? Or are you part of a magazine or podcast that publishes on a regular basis? A spec fic blogger (like us)? Have you been nominated for an award, or have you recently won one? Do you have a Patreon that releases regular goodies? We’d love for your guest post at Speculative Chic be part of your overall promotion.

If you don’t have anything to promote at the moment, but you still want to write a guest post (and maybe promote your back catalogue), that’s great too!

Cool. How do I apply?

Fill out the contact form at the bottom of the post, beneath the gif. Please understand that applying will not grant you a slot; we currently publish one My Favorite Things column per week, and while we may make an exception to that rule (with the permission of both authors involved), there is a chance we may not be able to publish your piece on your preferred date. However, if you’re selected, we’ll work with you to get a date as close as possible.

Okay, I’ve applied. Now what?

If you haven’t heard from us in a week, please reach out to speculativechic @ gmail . com.

Once we receive your request, we’ll review it and see where we can fit you in the calendar. We’ll reach out using the email address provided in the form, and ask for the following:

1. A short bio (don’t forget links to your website/social media sites!)
2. A headshot (high-res if possible, and don’t forget to tell us who took the photo!)
3. Got anything published? Send us high-res cover art!
4. Your My Favorite Things essay: pick 3-6 favorites (only one of them should be non-speculative). Word count: 500 words minimum to 3,500 words maximum. Please do NOT use manuscript format, and please keep to a single space after a period. Titles of books, movies, television shows, and comics are italicized (NOT underlined).
5. Unique photos: you don’t have to provide photos for things like book covers or movie posters; if you have one you really love, please let us know and we’ll try to accommodate, but the final decision for images will be made by the MFT Editor. That said: if your favorite thing is a SIGNED copy of your favorite book? Send us a picture of the signature, or a picture of you with the author at the signing. Is your favorite thing a ghost tour of a prison? Send us a picture you took!

Your deadline date will be two weeks prior to your scheduled MFT publication date. This is so we’ll have time to work on any necessary edits or scour the internet for images. We will be reviewing your essay in Google Docs, so that all parties have easy and live access to your post. Once we format it in WordPress, we will send you screenshots for you to approve or request changes. Once you approve it, we’re good to go!

Yay, my post was published! Am I done?

That depends on you. Ideally, we’d love it if you check in periodically to see if anyone has commented, so you can answer questions or squee with another fan. We’d also love it if you could promote the piece wherever you’re comfortable doing so: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, your blog, etc. We will promote your piece on our end as well.

At Speculative Chic, we’ll do our best to make this process and fun and as easy as possible, though we may need to reach out and ask for changes or clarification. This is why we have a two-week lead time. If something comes up and you need to reschedule your post, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your interest! We look forward to working with you!

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