In Theory . . . 

Since its inception, failbetter.com has been online quarterly magazine published in the spirit of a traditional literary journal – dedicated to featuring quality fiction, poetry and artwork.  While the web plays host to hundreds, if not thousands, of genre-related literary sites (i.e., mystery, sci fi and horror—many of which have merit) failbetter.com is not one of them.  We place a high degree of importance on originality—believing that even in this age of trends—it is still possible.  failbetter.com is not looking for what is current or momentary.  We are not concerned with length: One good sentence may find a home here; as the bulk of mediocrity will not.  Most importantly, know that what you are saying could only come from you.  When you are sure of this, please feel free to submit.

In Practice . . .

failbetter.com encourages submissions via email (submissions@failbetter.com). All email submissions should include title in header.  All fiction and poetry submissions must be included in the body of your email.  (Note:  We will not consider queries or submissions that ask us to check out their work on another web site.)  Additionally, please do not send attached files.  If for whatever reason, you wish to submit a story in Word format, please query first.  For artwork, please send query with samples attached in .jpg format. 

For the technically inept, submissions still may be sent with SASE via postal mail at:

failbetter.com
63 Eighth Avenue, #3A
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Please note, however, any materials accepted for publication must ultimately be submitted in electronic format in order to appear on our site.

We strongly recommend that you not only read the previous issue, but also sign up on our email list (subscribe@failbetter.com) to be notified of future publications.

failbetter.com acquires exclusive first-time internet rights.  Works will also be archived online.  All other rights, including opportunity to publish in print form, revert to the artist.  Submissions are accepted year round.  Unfortunately, there is no remuneration.

Fiction:  Original, unpublished short stories or self-contained novel excerpts.  Query first, if you need to submit as an attachment.

Poetry:  Four to six previously unpublished poems.  We can't stress this enough—if you submit just one poem, it is clear that you haven't read our guidelines. 

Art:  Three to five samples of your work (JPG or GIF format as ZIP attachment).