Authors, Reviewers & Columnists:
Interested in writing for Tabletops & Tentacles?
T&T is a fiercely independent geek ‘zine and it is largely the work of one guy and his supportive but not especially helpful dogs. If you’d like to join our party, we would love to have you! We do pay for all contributions, but the rates vary as we are working on building an audience and a regular release schedule. We are also ALWAYS open to work in exchange for promos or advertising.
CURRENTLY ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING ISSUE THEMES:
Sci-Fi Horror
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Film Noir
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KAIJU
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Western
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Sci-Fi Horror || Film Noir || KAIJU || Western ||
TTRPG & Game Creators:
We publish a number of game-related topics, ranging from supplementary archetypes, to tables, to full adventures. In each issue, we will be featuring at least two standalone adventures or locations, a few tables and smaller articles, and a small zine-size indie RPG, ideally on-topic or adjacent to the theme of the issue. If you are interested in writing any of these, please reach out to us about your idea.
We are particularly interested in:
Articles and interviews designed to promote an upcoming or recently released product you’ve made!
Short-form indie RPG Zines/Pamphlets that we could reprint in their entirety in the issue. (Max size 24 pages, the shorter, the better. Payment per submission.)
Adventure modules, tables and content that fit the theme of the issue. (100-2000 words, Payment $.12 per Word for new work, $.06 for reprint)
New classes and monsters for game systems. (100-500 words, Payment $.12 per Word for new work, $.06 for reprint.)
General articles and content related to RPGs! Articles, advice, experiences… If you have something you are passionate about, hit me up.
A note on game systems and third party content - If you like a particular game system, let me know and I will find out if we can print content in the magazine using that system. A lot of systems have flexible rules about writing adventures or classes for them and we want to be certain a mixed content magazine like Tabletops & Tentacles is allowed. System Agnostic and generic OSR-Style rulesets are always welcome.
AUTHORS:
Author guidelines and submissions: We are currently seeking short fiction - 1,000-6,000 words with a specific interest in fantasy, sci-fi, horror and noir themes.
T&T is a completely indie publication with my wife and I doing 90% of the duties and while our funds are limited, we believe in supporting and paying our creators for their work, whether in per-word scale, trade, copies of the issue to sell, advertising or a combination of them.
We are currently paying contributors $50 per story for accepted submissions.
Authors will also receive a physical and digital copy of the magazine and have the option of purchasing additional copies at cost.
Payment can be made via PayPal or Venmo. I am also open to alternate options, like store credit or space in the magazine to promote your projects if that’s preferred.
Currently, things are in a world of flux and we have received a large number of submissions. It could be some time before I have time to read and assign fiction for future issues, but I will try and get back to you as quickly as possible. (My wife recently suffered a near-fatal medical emergency that left her nearly blind and that has slowed our review and contact efficiency significantly.)
If you are interested in contributing, please send us your work and bio below. (Links to dropbox or other location is fine as well)
We are open to new and previously published works and the stories will appear in the digital and physical copies of the magazine. We are open to the idea of serialized fiction as well, but we currently have two ongoing series planned for the magazine, so space may be limited.
Each issue of T&T will also include digital content and items such as eBooks and excerpts can also be considered in that format. We are new to this and flexible as we shape the magazine to our readers’ interests!
REVIEWERS:
We do NOT have a house style for reviews. I don’t want you to feel restrained by a strict format when it comes to reviews to allow your personality to show through.
Reviews should be submitted in TWO formats: A short 60-80 word Summary review and a full review (400-1000 words) All of our reviews will ultimately be shared online in some format, typically on the Patreon page and the website and our plan is to have two versions for maximum flexibility. That way if we print the short version, the full review can be posted on the website. They will also be promoted across social media channels.
We have discontinued number scale ratings for reviews, as we have decided they often color readers’ perceptions of a review negatively when not intended.
Reviews will pay $7 each. You will also get a digital and physical copy of the magazine your review appears in and an option to purchase additional copies at-cost, if desired.
Payment can be made via PayPal or Venmo. I am also open to alternate options, like store credit or space in the magazine to promote your projects if that’s preferred.
Payment will be sent after the approved, finished review is submitted to us, regardless of when it will be printed in the magazine. If you have a question about whether a review will fit for the magazine, PLEASE REACH OUT before writing and submitting a written review. There may be overlap in reviews or other coordinations required. I will also be setting up a Reviewers-Only Discord once I get a better handle on Discord. You can always reach me via email or the form below as well.
We will be printing reviews of the following types of content:
Board Games
Tabletop Games
Novels & Non-Fiction Books
Film - Theater, Disc or Digital
Video Games
Comic Books
Toys, geeky products and miscellaneous oddities
Locations, events or experiences
Roleplaying Games - Systems, accessories and expansions
Podcasts
As you can see, we are open to nearly any type of content and for the most part subject matter. However, this is a GEEK-THEMED magazine, so, while I’m open to the idea of less geeky subjects, I’d prefer that we stay closer to that end of the pool. Horror, Comics, Fantasy, Gaming and Geek-Specific content will always get priority.
Age/”Newness” of product - this will vary wildly depending on the type of content - For most, newer is better, obviously but if it is a retro review, particularly of a product that went under-appreciated during its original release, that’s cool too. For tabletop games and RPGs in particular, the age of the product is less important than the others and a mix of retro and current releases will be the norm in the magazine.
COLUMNISTS:
I am always open to proposals for feature content, interviews, focused articles or unique content. If you are interested in including something, get in touch with me and we can work out the best length/subject and decide on which issue it would fit into best.
Speaking of which, most issues of T&T will have an overarching theme, but not every article and feature will fit into that theme. The current planned themes for upcoming issues are:
Issue #4: Sci-Fi Horror
Issue #5: Kaiju
Issue #6: Westerns
Issue #7: Film Noir
Most articles and columns will be between 750 and 3,000 words. I’m doing most of the art and photography for the issues, but there is room for alternate options for that. If you are including artwork please include the artist name for credits. We will not reproduce artwork or photography in the magazine without the rights granted.
TONE AND STYLE:
Most content in T&T will be loose and conversational in tone. Snark and sarcasm are fine, but anger and bitterness is best avoided - It’s intent is to be an entertainment magazine. Mild swearing is allowed, in moderation. (Think PG-13) You can also use “Comic Book Cussing” if you’d like. “$#%*!” is fine. When in doubt, err on the side of humor and amusing content.
T&T is a completely indie publication with my wife and I doing 90% of the duties and while our funds are limited, we believe in supporting and paying our creators for their work, whether in per-word scale, trade, copies of the issue to sell, advertising or a combination of them.
We are currently paying contributors $.10 per WORD for accepted column and article submissions. We will also be paying a flat rate for interviews depending on length.
Authors will also receive a physical and digital copy of the magazine and have the option of purchasing additional copies at cost.
Payment can be made via PayPal or Venmo. I am also open to alternate options, like store credit or space in the magazine to promote your projects if that’s preferred.
IMPORTANT: We will be reviewing a lot of indie produced content, small press and kickstarter items and products. I would ask that you treat those reviews differently than you would a product from a major studio or release. Often those, like Tabletops & Tentacles itself, are made by a couple of dedicated individuals and our job is to celebrate and boost that effort, not tear down someone whose efforts are earnest. I will be doing very little editorializing of reviewers because I think your voice is important, but you may hear from me on this topic. As someone who has spent years working on books, games and artwork, I don’t want to be the person tearing down something someone worked so hard on for laughs. We are strong believers that INTENT in products is important. You can’t review a dramatic arthouse film with the same criteria you would use for a schlocky b-movie film and that should show in your reviews.
For reviews, we will be printing less of the “Metadata” content at the beginning than some magazines. (Director, actors, publishers, etc) All of that info is readily available to most readers these days, but if any of that is important, please remember to include it as part of your review body, as it will not be printed elsewhere. (This disturbing new Gungan vacation film from George Lucas…”)
As of this moment, we are not able to provide content/items to reviewers/columnists. This is an indie publication and without cons, we don’t have as much access to creators as we’d planned. However, I will be reaching out to folks about getting review copies of games, comics, films and books and will send those to reviewers when I can. For the time being, however, reviewers would be responsible for the items they review. If you have a bead on something you’d like to review, feel free to reach out to them in the name of the magazine and see if they will provide a review copy or contact me and I will reach out.
A reminder - this is an INDIE ‘ZINE - it’s mostly just me behind the scenes, so I really appreciate your patience if I don’t respond right away and I am always open to help and suggestions - I’ve worn a lot of hats, but magazine publisher is a new one.
By submitting content, either via this form or email, you are acknowledging that the rights for printing said content online and in the magazine is granted (once payment is made) and we reserve the right to use the content in promotions and social media posts. All reviews and columns may also appear in compilations or collections at a later time.
That’s about it for now - I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but this should be a good baseline for you.
If you are interested, simply fill out the following form and hit SUBMIT. You can also send an email to tabletopsandtentacles@gmail.com if preferred. please include the following info from the form in your email.
THIS FORM CAN ALSO BE USED FOR SUBMITTING ADDITIONAL CONTENT OR REVIEWS.