Guidelines

Below are the requirements of the PGWI brand for "adult-friendly" fiction we want to deliver to our readers. It's a thing, just go with it . . .

1. Short Stories Only — We are not  receiving poetry, novels, plays, reviews, non-fiction, etc. at this time.
2. Original Content — The author contractually verifies the work is their own original writing. The Guardians get really mad when people borrow their stuff, so PGP does not assume any liability for plagiarized or quoted work without permission. (See also "Rights" below.)
3. Final Draft Level — We expect that your work will be submitted as a 'Final Manuscript'. What does that mean to the PGWI editors? Read on:
   1. Relatively free of spelling and grammar errors. Seriously, we are not your English teachers. Spell-checker is not enough — please carefully proofread.
   2. Well edited. Either the story should be professionally edited or you should have worked with beta-readers to fix plot-holes, odd sentence structures, poor characterization, point of view problems, etc. We are not expecting James Joyce or Hemmingway, but we look for a well-told and well-crafted story without the distraction of writing mistakes.
   3. Well formatted. That definitely means "less is more" — just words in paragraphs in a simple font without fancy indenting, colors, bolding, or underlines.
      1. Ultimately, our style will be required and enforced for publishing.
      2. If you take the time before submitting to 'clean up' the style, we will see your work lit by Angelic halos. If it's way off, we might send it back with, "Great story but can't accept unless you fix…" such things like poorly / oddly formatted dialog or the use of multiple spaces as paragraph indents or between sentences, etc.
      3.  See "Style Sheet" information here...
   4. PGWI reserves the right to edit the story before inclusion in the book.
4. Sex and Violence — Placer Gold Writers Ink imprint is our "adult-friendly" brand. Here's what we mean:  Our readers expect a PG-13 rating on its stories, much like you might see on prime-time American broadcast TV. So, "adult-level" content but without the "adult-oriented" explicit details.  If you aren't sure your story fits, submit the story anyway (we won't be offended by anything) with your question or concern in the e-mail cover letter. We will respond with yes, no, maybe, or suggestions on how to tone it down to make it work for us.
   1. Body Parts — Context is king. This would probably be ok: "We jumped off the bridge naked, protecting our balls from the icy impact."  Or even, "She shivered when my hand brushed her breast." But not a detailed description of the human or alien sex organs in the context of an intimate encounter.
   2. Sex Acts — Referring to a sex act, before or after the fact, is fine. But a play-by-play description of who put what where is not.
   3.  Sexual Violence — PGWI will not publish gratuitous depictions of incest, rape, and other extreme material included for the express purpose of titillating the reader. Again, it's about the play-by-play of these things that is not accepted. Certainly, the effects of such actions can be the source of drama.
   4. Blood and Guts — Think of the TV standard. Is what you are describing — if it were on film — too explicit for prime-time broadcast TV? Example:  "She bashed the zombie with her baseball bat . . ." is ok, while ". . . in the face, causing his eyeball to burst with a vitreous quirt of coagulated blood . . ." is too much.
   5. Swear Words — While we are aiming for a "PG-13" rating, we also recognize we are presenting material for adults and not children. We will let you know if we feel the language is too salty. Please avoid the "F-bomb".
5. Length / Word Count — The word count varies per the specific Call for Submission requirements.
   1. The count is determined by MS Word's word-count feature.
   2. The exact number is not the point. We aren't going to go all Vulcan-retentive on you, because: the need for a good story outweighs the cost of printing too many words.
6. Images -- The quick answer is 'None'. But wait, there's more . . .
   1. Photographs — Because we primarily publish in e-book formats, photos are difficult to render and we avoid them. Plus, we want to sidestep the whole copyright and attribution issue.
   2. Graphic or Illustration — Technically, any kind of image inserted into the page is a challenge to make look good in an e-book. However, if a graphic or illustration is critical to understanding a point in the story, we will consider it on a case-by-case basis. 98% of the time, the answer will be 'no'.
   3. Story header — In the print version of the book, the publisher may decide to add an illustration at the top of the story. This original graphic will be selected in consultation with the author, but the final decision is at the discretion of the publisher.

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