10,000 Tons of Black Ink features quality literary or experimental fiction and creative non-fiction. If you would like to contribute to the publication, please read Tips from the Editor and adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Manuscripts should be an unpublished work of fiction (including traditional, experimental, flash (under 1,000 words), and novel excerpts), or creative non-fiction (excluding theoretical, scholarly, or critical essays, editorials, literary criticism, historical accounts, or memoir). No genre fiction (conventional science fiction, romance, horror, fantasy, etc.)will be accepted.
2. Manuscripts should not exceed a word length of 5,000; flash fiction should be no longer than 1,000 words.
3. Our submission period is March 15 – September 15. Submissions will not be reviewed unless submitted during these dates.
4. A cover letter that includes your writing background and brief biography should accompany each submission. Please do not include your CV or resume.
5. Complete manuscripts should be submitted electronically in a .doc format to 10KTOBI@literarywritersnetwork.org. Please include “Fiction submission” or “Nonfiction submission” in the subject line. Submissions are no longer received via U.S. mail.
6. All manuscripts should be typed and double spaced, with the author’s name, address, phone number and approximate word count at the top of the first page, and numbered with the author’s last name and story title throughout.
7. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, and should be noted in your cover letter. The author must notify us immediately if the story is accepted for publication elsewhere.
8. Please submit no more than two manuscripts during the submission period (March 15 – September 15). Each submission should be sent in a different e-mail, even if those e-mails are only one minute apart.
9. All accepted work will be posted on the website. Before a story is posted, the author will be asked to select another published piece on the site and write a short statement about the writing, noting in what ways it might be provocative, insightful, interesting or impressive. The writer’s comment will appear with an Editor’s Note as to why the piece was chosen. In this way, 10,000 Tons of Black Ink strives to promote dialogue between writers, editors and readers and to support the writing community as a whole. Accepted stories will be published only after this step is completed.
10. All work published on the 10,000 Tons of Black Ink website will be considered for our “Best Of” print edition. As submissions dictate, 10,000 Tons of Black Ink will publish a “Best Of” print edition, highlighting the very best work published on the website. All authors whose work is chosen for print publication will be notified in advance and will receive one contributor’s copy of the finished print publication. You may be asked to read and comment on a second published story for inclusion in the print issue.
11. Due to the increasing volume of unsolicited submissions, the average response time is two to six months. Please wait at least six months before inquiring into the status of your submission. Please use “Submission Inquiry” in the subject line when inquiring.
12. Preference will be given to writers whose work has not appeared in a magazine with a circulation over 5,000.  
13. When sending a note to withdraw your submission, please include the title of the withdrawn work, the author’s name as it appears on the submission, the date (or approximate date) it was submitted and if it was fiction or nonfiction. The subject line should read “Withdrawal.”
14. As much as we’d like to offer payment upon publication, we are unable to do so at this time. We hope to offer some form of payment in the future. Currently, we are staffed by writers and editors who volunteer their talent to support our mission of providing new and experienced writers a strong and reputable outlet for literary expression.

We thank you for your interest in 10,000 Tons of Black Ink and look forward to reading your work!

Guidelines last updated on 12/29/2011.