S.B. Milne

With November upon us and the submission deadline approaching, I thought I’d take a few moments to share a final update with everyone. Before I do, though, if you’ve yet to check out the Call for Submissions and are wondering what this is all about, you can read the full details here:

Call for Submissions: Gender Ever After (Gender-Affirming Sapphic Romance Stories)

Given that I’ve received several stories with no romance (sigh) and even a few with no women (yikes), I thought it important to clarify. Gender-Affirming Sapphic Romance Stories means the stories must have an element of romance and that romance must be between women (cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, two-spirit, agender, demigender, gender non-conforming).

Cover Reveal

Thank you to the friends and colleagues who weighed in on the potential cover designs, sharing their observations on imagery, text, colors, etc. It took a few rounds of back-and-forth with the designer, but I love the final result!

Current Submission Statistics

None of this has any impact on the submissions themselves, but I love numbers, so I thought I’d share for those who are curious.

Geography: 63% of submissions have come from the US, 16% from Canada, and the rest from around the world

Length: Currently, submissions are averaging 3500 words, with the shortest being 2250 and the longest 6238

Queer Authors: Approximately 52% of authors have self-identified as queer/nonbinary

Titles: There’s a wonderful variety in titles, with 9% containing the word ‘love’ and 16% containing themes of emotion or perception (Peace, Compassion, Trust, Sight, Ethics, Promise, Time).

Write, Revise, Submit

You still have about 3.5 weeks to get your stories just right, so the only one who should be feeling any pressure or anxiety right now is me.

Seriously, I love seeing the submissions come in, but take your time, make sure you love it before you send it, and feel free to ask me if you’re unsure of anything.

I look forward to reading you!